"Get over here already, Yu-senpai!" The ash brown-haired gremlin yelled at the top of her lungs, unable to stay still in her chair as she repeatedly refreshed a web page.

"Hold on, hold on!" A shout from across the apartment responded. "I'm still getting our drinks."

"What?! Forget the stupid drinks, these plushies are infinitely more important than your caffeine addiction!"

"Aghh, how much longer till 5 PM?"

"Thr- wait no, two minutes! We're two minutes out before the merch drop!"

"Two already!? Ah damn okay, I'm coming!"

The black-haired college student with green highlights sprinted to the living room and hugged her roommate from behind, just as if not more anxious about the online warfare that was about to take place to get some coveted merch.

"How much time now?"

Kasumi glanced at her phone, also open to the store's webpage. "We're a minute and 30 seconds out, Yu-senpai."

"God this suspense is killing me! What if we don't get a single plushie at all? Just imagine how many people are like us right now waiting for the store to update."

"I swear if it crashes while we're still in the checkout… You did remember to log into your account beforehand, right?"

"Of course! I've been planning for this day for a month afte-"

"One minute Yu-senpai!" Kasumi jumped out of her seat, holding the taller girl tight before sitting her down. "We got one shot at this, you better not mess it up!"

"Okay, okay." Yu took a few deep breaths, cracking her knuckles and combing back her bangs before continually refreshing the store's webpage. "Count down for me, Kasumi-chan."

The ash brown-haired girl hummed while pacing around the room, her hands and forehead sweaty as she watched the clock on her phone carefully. "30 seconds out."

"20 seconds now." The pianist clicked the refresh button.

...

"10 seconds, Yu-senpai." Kasumi stopped her pacing and hovered over her friend, breathing heavily down her neck.

"Five, four, three, two."

Kasumi pent-up energy and anxiety was on the brink of exploding as the now more collected Yu clicked the refresh button a final time.

"One."


The ash brown-haired girl looked at her friend in inconceivable wonder, surprised just how quick she managed to select the three plushies they wanted, checked them out from the cart, and entered her info before the order went through.

Thank you for your purchase!

Even a second of hesitation, lag, or buggy internet connection, and those plushies would've surely been lost to the mob of just-as-passionate fans. Yu Takasaki's luck with online merchandise shopping pulled through once again.

"Holy shit, Yu-senpai! Y-you actually did it!"

The triumphant college student got up from her seat before high fiving and bear hugging her roommate. Both were relieved that not only had both their anxieties been lifted, but that the months of waiting and earning bank all paid off in the end.

"Ahh I still can't believe it!" The pianist squealed in excitement. "Those three little gumdrops are actually gonna be ours!"

"I kinda wish you were able to get some apparel though…"

"Hmm?" Yu let go of the ash brown-haired girl as she glanced back at the laptop. "Huh… y'know, I think we'll actually be able to!"

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Look at the site. Sure, all the plushies have sold out now, but all the shirts and jackets are still in stock."

"Wha…" Kasumi let this information linger in her mind before promptly switching back to war mode. "Well what the hell are you just standing around for?! Buy them already, Yu-senpai!"

"Haha, yes ma'am."

"You need that teal flower sweater in your wardrobe! Oh, and also that bomber jacket, definitely the bomber jacket!"

The main objective of their quest had been decisively completed, with the pair of roommates heading back for the loot they missed the first time. Both of them would be able to rest easy knowing every piece of merchandise they wanted would soon be in their humble studio apartment soon, and that's quite a fulfilling way to end the day.

The same can't be said for their wallets though.