Cat Biscuits: 2400
Fifteen pulls.
In gacha games, this many pulls tossed into a banner would not even make a splash. Getting something good would require absurd luck.
But Inori bought a shop item called Star Rail Special Ticket.
Her next pull was guaranteed to be a Honkai Star Rail cat. The chance for characters from the Trailblaze faction was increased, and with Destruction plus Erudition achievements, the probability for those Paths was also increased.
The Cat System Wish did not specify how much the rates increased. She knew she would get a cat, but not which one. That gave Inori a headache. Mixed pools were truly a cursed invention.
The snake from Elysia Cat's side also wanted to become a cat, which meant she would need double five stars. A girl who was usually neither lucky nor unlucky felt immense pressure.
"No, no. I really want to pull, but I feel like I will not get a satisfying result. Maybe I should do something before pulling."
A classic gacha gamer symptom.
This phenomenon was well documented online. Some people pulled Saber at King Arthur's grave in Britain. Some made their pets press the button. Some streamers even did cyber fortune telling, claiming you had to stand at a specific map location to pull.
Mysticism.
Inori's habit was to take a bath before pulling. When she pulled Elysia Cat, she soaked in hot water for over thirty minutes, adjusting her condition to what she felt was optimal.
So…
Pink pig-cat stared blankly.
Elysia wanted to observe how the magic of turning a beautiful girl into a cat worked, but instead she saw the flaxen-haired girl suddenly stand up and start preparing bathing supplies.
"Hey, Inori-chan. Weren't you going to summon a new beautiful cat? Why are you cleaning up for a bath? Wait, you have a cold. Is bathing really okay?"
Elysia Cat trotted after her, meowing anxiously.
"While you were sleeping, the doctor came to check me. He said I am almost better, and I can bathe. I should be discharged in a couple of days," Inori said with a smile.
This was, in fact, a lie.
The doctor had not come at all. But if Elysia Cat believed that bathing would worsen a cold, then the effectiveness of Fairy Magic Healing might drop. It was better to let her think everything was fine.
Elysia's fairy magic was seriously overpowered.
Wait. Fairy magic?
Inori's eyes sharpened.
Fairy Magic: Fairy Tale.
A magical ability that could recreate phenomena based on things she had personally experienced. It was absurdly unreasonable, with incredible potential.
There was no magic related to luck in fairy magic. But theoretically, purely theoretically, she could create a fairy magic related to luck.
Seventy percent chance it would work.
A normal bath would not be enough. Fairy magic relied on experienced memories.
In other words, memories.
Only memories that left a strong impression, and were related to gacha and good luck, could support the creation of a new fairy magic. Come to think of it, Elysia's luck was probably not bad.
"My dear Elysia, want to join me?"
The girl, her flaxen hair casually tied into a bun, peeked out from the bathroom and invited the pink fairy who had become a cat.
"Uh… um… meow, meow meow."
Elysia Cat squeaked shyly and bolted away in a flash.
Too mean, Inori-chan. That was clearly teasing her. Even as a cat, bathing together was way too advanced.
That was complete exposure.
Elysia knew Inori was probably joking. If she just happily meowed yes, then Inori would be the one embarrassed.
But she did not dare.
What if she actually got carried in?
More precisely, the noble pink fairy politely rejected the improper temptation of a beautiful girl. That sounded nicer.
Inori's private room was spacious.
Elysia Cat found Inori's phone on the table by the window, skillfully unlocked it, and started browsing.
Magical girls.
Monster generals.
She wanted to understand this world better. Typing the keywords, pages of results popped up.
After reading, Elysia was confused.
She found no supernatural information about magical girls or monster generals. Instead, she found tons of gas leak accidents. Way too many. This was definitely not normal gas leaks.
Her clever mind took the high ground.
In the early days of Honkai, the organization Fire Moth also used gas leaks to explain Honkai energy incidents. When leaks became too frequent and Honkai sickness exploded, the excuse stopped working, and they had to change tactics.
Lost in her phone, Elysia Cat did not notice that the sound of running water from the bathroom had stopped. Light footsteps echoed in the room. Wrapped in a towel, Inori quietly approached from behind.
"Got you, my dear Elysia!"
Elysia Cat was watching a magical girl anime when she was suddenly scooped up.
"While I was gone, you were secretly playing on my phone again, you naughty cat."
"I am learning about this world, meow. Magical girls and monster generals. I just accidentally clicked into an anime site, meow," Elysia protested weakly.
"Hehe. By the way, Elysia, you have not taken a bath since becoming a cat, right? We are welcoming a new magical cat companion. Shouldn't you clean yourself first?"
Inori whispered into her ear.
"Meow…!"
Even though it made sense, Elysia Cat hated baths as a cat. Wet fur made her tense and insecure.
She struggled, but Inori already knew her weakness.
No matter how high her stats were, cats had one fatal flaw.
The scruff of the neck.
Once grabbed there, Elysia Cat became very obedient. Inori had discovered this while using Pioneer of the Stars to pet her and then getting tackled onto the bed.
"Wah, Inori-chan, you are bullying me again!"
Elysia Cat whimpered as she was carried into the bathroom.
Even though her soul told her bathing was not scary, and that she should enjoy watching a freshly bathed beautiful girl, the sensation of soaked fur was terrifying. It felt like wearing rain-soaked clothes, heavy and suffocating.
"Is this temperature okay?"
"Cold. Too cold, meow!"
Inori turned the temperature up to maximum and added more water.
"How about now?"
"Cold. I do not want a bath, meow. I am clean. I can use fairy magic to clean myself!"
She tried to retreat, but Inori pulled her back.
Fairy Magic Fairy Tale did not activate after Inori finished bathing. The key factor was memory. A normal bath alone was not enough.
So she needed Elysia Cat's help.
She activated Pioneer of the Stars again. This heroic skill had been used for petting cats more times than actual serious business.
"Meow, do not ambush me!"
"Wah, Inori-chan, you are so mean. I will wash, okay? Please stop touching my belly!"
Three minutes later, Elysia Cat sat obediently in the basin, completely dazed.
"Elysia, my dear Elysia?"
"Meow."
Her meow was almost heart-shaped now. She was utterly defenseless under Inori's unfairly skilled petting.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
Inori expected more resistance. Instead, Elysia collapsed in three minutes.
Was Elysia Cat… surprisingly weak?
Inori felt dissatisfied. The memory felt almost enough, but not quite.
Elysia realized at this moment that cats really did fear water. The damp environment alone felt worse than an extreme cold field from an Ice Herrscher beast.
She could only watch as Inori placed her into forty degree water that felt like ice to her body, rubbing and scrubbing.
Cat shampoo. Foam. Rub, rub.
Every cell screamed to escape, but mentally she had no will left to resist.
Chin. Belly. Tail.
"Why does the hospital even have cat shampoo?" Elysia meowed weakly.
"Uika bought it. She said this brand is good and brought it when she came to visit."
Inori massaged her with foam. The cat stayed still, but her tail wriggled nonstop.
Everyone knew cats and their tails were separate creatures.
Inori suspected a fairy Elysia was sealed inside the tail, silently protesting.
"How is it, my dear Elysia. Comfortable?"
"You are bullying me, meow."
Once Elysia Cat was clean enough, Inori rinsed her off, wrapped her in a towel, dried her, and blow-dried her fur.
Drying a cat was even harder than drying hair.
After much effort, the shrunken cat returned to her fluffy state, transforming from a pitiful Elysia Cat back into her charming self.
"Inori-chan. I can clean myself. I am very clean. Why did you suddenly force me to bathe?"
"Alright, alright. To reward Elysia Cat for being good, once I am discharged, I will take you out to play. Anywhere you want. Check the Tokyo travel guide."
Her smile was gentle. "Anywhere in this city."
"Really? You are not lying again, are you?"
"Relax. When have I ever lied to you?"
Ignoring the earlier lie about the doctor, Inori hugged her close.
"Then when your cat transformation magic cools down, you become a cat too. I will take you to bathe as well."
"I need to reconsider what I just promised."
Elysia Cat meowed softly.
Neither of them realized that cats were very vengeful, beautiful girls were also very vengeful, and combined they were catastrophically vengeful.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.