Kinji Hakari Truly Has Incredible Luck (But We Don't)

We settled around Sai’s dining table, cards shuffling, chips clacking. Texas Hold’em, as always. Low stakes, but the bragging rights were everything.

"Eat this, motherfuckers." Michael, the chaotic gremlin he was, opened the very first hand by raising like an asshole right off the bat. Valerie and I groaned and both called just to spite him. Sai and Kaze wisely folded.

The flop came down: Nine of clubs, Nine of spades, Three of hearts.

I looked at my hole cards — Nine of hearts and Ace of clubs. Three nines, baby. I had to fight to keep the grin off my face. Instead of raising, I checked, trying to look disinterested. Everyone else checked too.

The turn was the Two of hearts. Michael raised again, still trying to bully the table. Valerie and I both called. Sai was already out.

The river came: King of spades.

Now I raised — not too aggressively, but enough to look like I meant it. Michael groaned dramatically and folded, muttering something about “fucking bluffs not working.”

Valerie, though, leaned forward and stared straight into my eyes like she was trying to read my soul, smiling like an innocent girl - which I knew for a fact she wasn't.

"Ward, sweetie, do you have good cards?"

I kept my face completely neutral, even as my heart pounded. Her eyes were really pretty up close — sharp, playful, with that warm brown color that always made me weak. God, I can’t wait to make those eyes go glassy.

"Match me and find out," I replied.

She matched my raise with a dramatic sigh.

“Show ‘em.”

I flipped my cards. “Three nines.”

Valerie’s grin turned evil as she revealed pocket kings. “Three kings. Sorry, Ward. Better luck next time, dumbass.”

She raked in the chips while I groaned theatrically. “You got lucky.”

“Lucky? Nah. I use skill to grab ahold of luck,” she teased, bumping my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you win one later. Maybe.”

We played a few more rounds after that. Chips flew back and forth. Kaze cleaned up one hand with a sneaky straight. Michael went on a ridiculous bluff streak and lost half his stack, and Sai just wouldn't stop folding - tonight wasn't his night. Valerie and I traded wins, constantly roasting each other across the table. The vibe was perfect — loud, chaotic, exactly how it always was.

Then Michael suddenly stood up, looking constipated. “Fuck, I need to take a massive shit. Like, emergency level.”

Kaze immediately shot up too. “I need to pee. First come, first serve.”

They both bolted toward the hallway like it was a race. Sai sighed and chased after them. “Don’t you morons break anything! I’m supervising!”

The front door to the bathroom slammed. Sai’s voice echoed down the hall as he tried to keep the peace.

And just like that, Valerie and I were alone at the table. My pulse kicked up. Perfect.

Right on cue, the Wish-Interface shimmered into existence in my peripheral vision.

Ability: Hypnotic Touch Level 2
Please select command word for Valerie Wonder.

I glanced at Valerie. She was stacking her chips, humming lightly, completely unaware.

This was it. Time to make my move.