Yuna woke up alone in her own bed the next morning.
Her room felt too quiet. She lay there looking at the ceiling while the wig head watched her from the desk with its blank expression.
Everything from yesterday was finally catching up to her. The run, the cafe, Ayane. All that adrenaline was wearing off and leaving her feeling messy inside.
She kept thinking about what happened, everything playing on repeat in her head.
Mika was sitting there, all calm with that annoying little smile. Ayane is being way too forward, practically throwing herself at him.
And Makoto... God, her stupid, fat, perverted stepbrother just sitting there eating it all up, happy as could be.
The jealousy hit her hard in the stomach.
She'd felt this way plenty of times before, sure. She knew what jealousy felt like. "This was different."
Now it wasn't just about him. They had something going on between them. Something weird and messed up, maybe, but it was theirs.
"Makoto belonged to me. He had to." She reminded herself. But the whole game had changed. Blackmail and transactions weren't enough anymore.
There were other players now, and they knew what they were doing.
Her smile disappeared when she thought about their actual situation.
Ayane's just some loud, horny weeb. I can predict everything she'll do. Handling her is easy.
Mika though? Mika was like trying to beat a final boss on nightmare difficulty. She didn't come at you directly or make big threats. She used being nice, being sincere, just like the good girl she was.
And Yuna understood how much more dangerous that would be. The way Mika'd confessed, played up being vulnerable, somehow turned everything around to get what she wanted?
It was brilliant, and scary as hell too.
She's thinking long-term. And she's really good at this.
Yuna sat up and pulled the blanket around her bare shoulders. She needed to figure out what to do. Come up with something.
Her usual moves weren't going to work here. This was different, and she needed different weapons.
She grabbed her phone and started scrolling through cosplay folders.
Whatever she prepared for their "cosplay party" had to make a statement.
Ganyu was off limits. That was their thing, where everything started with them. Too personal to bring someone else into.
Raiden Shogun could work somehow, showing her dominance and power. Still didn't feel quite right, though. And she would need two sets for both of them.
Then she found it, a fan art from My Dress-Up Darling.
Marin Kitagawa was looking all bubbly and gyaru, with Gojo-kun beside her, that quiet craftsman guy looking at her like she hung the moon.
Perfect, she thought, grinning slowly. That's exactly us.
He'd been her Gojo-kun way before Mika showed up. He helped with costumes, paid for stuff, looked at her with those stupid adoring eyes, even when he acted annoyed.
She wouldn't cosplay as Marin, though. That would be too sweet, too pure. Let Mika have that innocent girl-next-door thing.
She'd go as Shizuku-tan instead. The dark, alluring, and scandalously revealing character-within-a-character.
Her outfit would grab his attention and not let go. Something he'd have to help her with, put his hands on her to adjust.
Yeah, this would work.
With her main plan figured out, she thought about something else she needed to handle.
A couple of weeks back, Makoto had tried to win this limited Raiden Shogun keychain from a crane game.
He failed completely, of course. He signed and acted like it didn't matter, but she'd caught that flash of real disappointment.
She actually felt kind of bad remembering his face when he saw his bank balance, talking about living on instant ramen for a month.
Sure, he was a fat, disgusting pig. But he was her fat, pervert, disgusting pig. Good owners took care of their pets, made sure they ate properly.
"He probably thinks I don't notice when he goes on about his stupid hobbies," she thought, almost smiling. Moron.
She got dressed with determination written all over her face.
Going to the anime store alone in Akihabara felt like a military operation. She found the keychain hiding in some dusty corner. Last one in stock.
The price made her want to scream. 30,000 yen? Her gacha-addicted brain immediately protested. She could buy so many pulls with that money. Chase after digital waifus, feel that rush when you finally get a five-star.
Then she pictured his face again. How his eyes got all bright when he talked about characters he loved. That weird, proud look he'd given her after GenshinCon.
She tried haggling with the clerk, some bored kid with green hair. He didn't care about any of her usual tricks.
Full price it was. Painful, but somehow satisfying too.
Yuna shoved the little box deep in her bag like she'd stolen it.
When she gave it to him, she'd say she got a duplicate from a gacha machine. Say she didn't want it. She'd literally die before admitting she went shopping specifically to buy him something.
Walking home, she felt the keychain's weight in her bag. Small but reassuring while everything else felt crazy.
She had her plan ready. Her weapon was chosen. And now she would recapture his heart with this.
Those manipulative home-wreckers don't stand a chance. The main wife always comes prepared.
A fierce, almost wild grin spread across her face.