Natsu and Naruto: Naturally Naughty (TK, CM)

This was one of three commissioned stories I worked on this year. It is also available to read on my DeviantArt, but I am including it both here and on my fetish-centric ArchiveOfOurOwn for archival purposes as well. Enjoy!

Word count: 9,012

DISCLAIMER: All characters featured in this story are portrayed as 18+.

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Natsu and Naruto: Naturally Naughty

(Based on characters from Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima and Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto)

A word to the wise: Trust not in strange holes in space and time that appear completely out of nowhere. Who knows where these portals may lead, and what could possibly be lurking beyond them?

If only that advice had been dispensed to Natsu Dragneel before he’d decided to enter this particular dimensional rift.

For what seemed like the thousandth time, the pink-haired mage pushed a cluster of leaves off of his face with a groan of frustration. He was lost, and he knew it. The portal had seemingly vanished behind him as soon as he’d stepped through, and now he had no way of knowing his way back or even where the heck he was to begin with. All he knew was that there was something off about these woods, but what it was exactly was a mystery to him for the moment.

That being said, the leaves of the trees and branches he’d had to forge his way through did seem a lot more… feather-like than usual. Not to mention that the colors of these woods were somewhat more exotic than he was used to — and the plant life itself was considerably friskier.

“Pfft, gah! This is ridiculous!” he said to himself, spitting out a bright turquoise feather-leaf dislodged from the branch that had reached for his face a minute ago. “I can’t believe I thought going through that weird glowing hole in the air was a good idea. Now I can’t get back home! I swear, Lucy’s gonna kill me next time she sees me… if she sees me again…”

Grumbling to himself, he thought for a moment about conjuring his fire magic to burn his way through, but then he changed his mind after noting that he was practically surrounded by flammable materials and might put himself in danger if he tried it. So instead he was forced to shove his way through, wincing and twisting away each time the leaves and twigs brushed and poked against his skin, particularly close to his ankles and sides.

It would only be much later when he’d take note of the fact that most of the pokes and strokes might have been done by the woods on purpose…

He had to get out of here soon, that much he knew. But with the very trees themselves changing position every other minute, it was no wonder he’d gotten lost… And very, very frustrated.

He was just about to give up on having to push the foliage out of the way and simply blast everything in front of him when he heard a distant noise. It sounded… Kinda like someone else yelling? Either they could provide directions, they needed a rescue, or both.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this…” he growled to himself before making his way in the direction of the sound.

He hadn’t gotten far when he pushed his way through the edge of a large clearing. The wild grasses carpeting the floor, which were oddly bluish green in hue, reached almost up to his knees, rippling with the slightest air current as their fluffy seed heads and soft-edged leaves wave about in a mesmerizing fashion. Natsu, however, remained unbothered, wading through the clearing in the hopes of finding the unknown stranger before something else did.

What did bother him, however, was the incessant light brushing against the tops and sides of his sandal-clad feet. Just a few steps in and he was already struggling not to start giggling, and it was now almost impossible to move further without an electrifying sensation shooting up through his legs, causing them to twitch and shudder violently and threatening to unbalance him. Steeling himself, he was successfully able to repress the urge to burst out laughing and give himself away… but after a long day of running around on mage duty that had left him positively footsore, he couldn’t deny that it felt rather nice.

“Hehehehehe… Oohh… Mmm, you know w-whahahat, maybe I could use a bit of a breheheather…” He allowed himself to snicker a bit, finally reaching a large stump at the center of the clearing. After taking a seat and pausing for a second to ponder whether it was safe to keep his feet in range of the grass, Natsu decided to pull them up and away just in case, his knees to his chest as he pulled his sandals off one by one and let them fall to the ground next to the stump.

He remained like this for a few long minutes, wiggling his toes in a subconscious invitation for the grass to make its move. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he felt a series of light, feathery strokes running up and down his arches and teasing along the stems of his toes, making him giggle a little as his eyelids began to droop.

This was certainly very relaxing, and he honestly wouldn’t have minded being pampered like this by Lucy’s hand if she found him in such a state. Just as the pink-ette was about to drift off to sleep entirely, however, it happened.

“AHH!! Wh-what the—?!?” Natsu yelled, feeling his rump and thighs sink right into the rotten wood as though it were some kind of goo. The stump then hardened again around him, and with a cry of infinite annoyance, he started banging on the top of the stump with his fists as his legs were propped forward. “Let go of me! Let go! I haven’t got all day!!”

A few seconds later, however, a large root burst out of the ground next to his ankle and arced its way up towards his toes, which melted into its surface as it grew. Natsu could only watch as the root buried its tip into the soil again and shifted its position a little, pulling all of his toes back as far as they could go. The pads of his toes, exposed and visible upon the surface of the root, were facing almost straight up, leaving his soles stretched as tight as they could be.

“You bastard! Let me out, before I burn you!” Natsu shouted, raising a hand in preparation to cast a fire spell. “If you know what’s good for you, then let me goooOOOOHOHHOHOHHH SHIIIHIHIIHIHIHHHHAHAHAHHAHAHH! WHAT IS THAHAHAAHAAAHHAHAHAHHHAAAT?!?”

His eyes widening as a full-blown tickle attack suddenly rendered him incoherent, he strained his head and neck a bit and realized that the breeze had shifted in his direction… causing the nearest grass stems to flutter their leaves and seed heads along the balls of his thoroughly trapped size elevens.

“BAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH S-STOP IHIHIHIT!” Natsu yelled as the grass played merry hell upon the taut arches and balls of his feet, seeming to focus on the especially tender regions where those two parts met. “OHHH FUHUHUHAHAHAAHHAHHH — YEEHEHEEHEHEEK! NO, NO, ANYWHERE BUT THEHEHRHEHHEEERE!”

He couldn’t stand it, he was beside himself with laughter! The flame mage was now repeatedly slapping the wood of the tree stump he was sitting on, thrashing and shaking as he tried in vain to pull his feet away. The roots held fast, though, and when several of the grasses seemed to grow tall enough in a few seconds that the wind blowing upon them caused them to wave upon the exposed pads of his toes, he lost all composure altogether.

“AIIIIIEEEEHEHEHEHHEHHAAHHH SHIHIHIHIHIHHAHAHHEHEHEHH NOOOO! EEHEHEHAAAHAHHAHAHH HEHEHEHELP! SOMEONE, HEHEHEHHEHEHHELP MEEEHEHHEHEHEEEE!!”

He couldn’t believe his pride had been worn down so much that he was begging for someone to come and save him, but desperate times call for desperate measures, or so the saying goes. That being said, however… This wasn’t that bad, actually, once he got used to it. The fluttering motions and the way his soles were being arbitrarily brushed resulted in an intense, overwhelming sensation which felt a lot more addicting than he’d admit out loud. And at the very least, it was immensely helpful in getting his tired feet to relax… Even as he continued laughing and struggling, he wondered if he could get Lucy to subject him to something like this when he got back. If he could get back, that is.

All the same, his wild movements were attracting yet more attention from the surrounding flora. So caught up was he with the constant foot tickling that he didn’t notice the much longer, larger, and more tentacle-like roots coming out of the ground behind him until they’d wrapped around his wrists and lifted them over his head, leaving him powerless to escape whatever was about to happen to the smooth, sensitive hollows of his underarms. Despite his increasing enjoyment of the tickling, it had become clear that his body was thrashing about far too much, and had to be contained.

**********

Meanwhile, a mile or so away, the source of the shout from earlier was having problems of his own. He too was hopelessly lost, and certainly not happy about it.

“Dammit, why did I do that?” Naruto Uzumaki grumbled to himself as he angrily kicked some leaf litter aside, a little wary of how uncomfortably feather-like the fallen leaves were as he raised his kunai for another slashing cut. His eyes narrowed as he groaned, using his free hand to nurse the lump on his forehead he’d gotten after falling on his face from some twenty feet in the air. “I should’ve known better than to just jump through that weird hole in the woods, and now I’m in some other part of it I don’t know about! How am I ever gonna get home?!”

Even as he continued hacking away while complaining to nobody in particular about the whole situation, having used the knives he had on hand to cut down every blasted plant that had dared to be in his way for the past ten minutes, he couldn’t help but notice the way the trees seemed to grow darker and more ominous as he ventured further and further into the forest depths. It was as though every branch and even every leaf was trying to grab at him like a great mass of fluffy, feathery fingers, and more than a few had been swatted away in retaliation. Some even had a few kunai embedded in them, and one or two had been snapped off completely. He had the strangest feeling that he didn’t want to know what would happen if he got too close, and needless to say, trying to climb the trees to see over the canopy was out of the question.

He fell into silence as he kept walking, not knowing where he was going but feeling like anywhere was better than the woodlands trying to entrap him. But how was he to know the safest way out?

A few minutes of foliage-shredding later, he found himself in the middle of another clearing, surrounded by trees spaced so closely together that he wouldn’t have been able to squeeze through them. The exceptions to this were large gaps on the other end of the clearing, showing two different routes leading away from it. One of them clearly looked far more dangerous, with grasping, claw-like branches reaching down from above the grassy path. The other one, however, was blanketed in what looked like a rippling carpet of ankle-high, swaying flowers, each butter-yellow bloom looking like a strange cross between a tulip and a snapdragon blossom.

“Heh, easy choice,” Naruto mused to himself. “The flower path definitely looks safer, so…”

Pausing only to sheathe his knife while blowing a teasing raspberry at the darker path with the clawing branches, he then continued on his way, his sandal-clad size tens threatening to trample the flowers in his path. The fact that they seemed to sway out of the way of wherever he put his feet down as though actively trying to avoid getting stepped on never seemed to cross his mind. This would be to his detriment, for his eyes were warily scanning the canopy above with no attention paid at all to the hidden danger surrounding his feet.

It was about a minute or so later that he finally came across a flower that had no way of escaping an imminent flattening, growing directly in the middle of the path. With little choice but to defend itself, it struck out at his incoming right foot like some kind of botanical serpent, and next moment, the ninja gave a startled shout and finally snapped his head down as he felt the jaw-like petals grab onto his big toe.

“What the—?!” Naruto shook his foot a little, trying to dislodge the biting bloom, not even registering the slightest bit of pain due to how soft and silky the toothless petals were, but their grip was surprisingly strong. A little tugging later, and he managed to pull his foot free, but to do so he’d planted his left foot dangerously close to several more of the yellow flowers. The response from the plants was instantaneous, and next thing he knew, he was receiving nibbles and kisses from multiple blossoms at once, one of them even starting to suck on his smallest toe.

“AHHHHAHAHH! Get off! Whahahat’s happening?!” he yelled, now struggling to free his other foot, but the chain reaction was now in full swing. More and more of the flowers had joined in and were peppering kisses and nibbles all over his toes and the tops of his feet. Only now did he understand the danger he was in, and with a surge of desperation, he attempted to bolt, unaware that some of the blooms had gotten a hold of the toe of each black sandal.

This naturally led to the comical sight of the aspiring hokage feeling his feet being pulled out from under him, toppling with a startled scream as though he’d been tripped and falling flat on his face. In the process, his feet slipped right out of his footwear, and the moment they came within reach, all the flowers surrounding them descended upon them as one.

“N-NONONONO WAAIIIIHIHIHIEHEHEHHAHAAHHAHAH!” Naruto howled, feeling four of the blossoms grab onto his big and pinky toes before pulling the down as far as they could manage, preventing him from moving his feet away as the rest started their nibbly, tickly assault. “EEEEEHEHEHE NOT THE TOHOHOHOHOESSSS! YAAAAHAHHAHHAHAH WHY C-CAN’T I GET FREEHEEHHEHEHEEE?!”

The flowers did indeed seem more focused on his trapped, wiggling toes than the rest of his soles, even if all parts of his foot bottoms were highly sensitive all the same. Still, the flowers were now extending multitudes of feeler-like white stamens from within themselves, the writhing, almost tongue-like organs starting to stroke and poke and flick upon every ticklish spot on his trapped size tens, but especially the pads and stems of all ten of their defenseless digits.

“AIIYYEEEEHEHHEHEHEHEE! YAHAHAHAHAHAH OHOHOHOH FUHUHAHAAAHAHHHH! WHYYYHAHAHAHHAHAHIIIYYY?! W-WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIIISSSS?!” Then he paused, drawing multiple ragged breaths as he recalled all his violent reactions to the overly frisky flora. “I-I MEAN, WHAHAHAT S-SPECIFICALLEEEEEEHEHEEEHEHEEHEHEEE?!?!”

Even if the flowers could talk, they probably didn’t care. This impudent and rather attractive intruder had almost crushed them flat, so it was only fair that the feet that had posed such a threat would pay the price for their insolence. And it certainly didn’t help their now thoroughly hysterical owner that they were far too ticklish for their own good…

He wasn’t sure how long it was before the flowers finally slowed the tickles down, but he was quite sure it was because his struggling had abated thanks to sheer exhaustion. But eventually, the flowers seemed less and less enthusiastic about punishing him, and the torturous stroking and scribbling soon turned into kissing and nuzzling, which admittedly tickled almost as bad. Still, as soon as he felt the grip of the flowers holding his toes start to loosen, he instantly pulled his feet away, rolled onto his back (though not before checking to make sure he wouldn’t squish any flowers for real in the process), and sat bolt upright.

“Hhhh… Hahahahah… Damn flowers… That was so much worse than any of those times Hinata got a hold of my soles! Eesh…”

Then he paused, thinking a little. “Though come to think of it… I almost couldn’t tell the difference. Maybe if—”

As soon as the thought occurred to him, however, the flowers seemed to snap to attention, stamens wiggling teasingly as every single one in his view turned in his direction. His eyes widened at the sight before him, and he couldn’t stop himself swallowing hard.

“N-nope, never mind! Forget it!!” the blond youth said frantically and quite loudly, and before the nibbling flowers could react, he’d ducked in and out of their mass with lightning speed to snatch his boots back. Pausing only to slip them back on, he took one look at all that frivolous flora and let out an undignified squeak of panic. In the next second, he was off like a shot, fleeing from his erstwhile botanical toe-tormentors as fast as his legs could carry him.

**********

“HAAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH! NAHAHAHAT THEHEEHEHHEHEEERE!! EEEHEHEHAHAHHAHAHHH OHHHH FFFFUUUUUUUUAAHHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHH!!”

Natsu would swear his laughter could be heard for miles. Surely, if anyone was around, they’d have noticed and come to his rescue in the meantime, though either way, he wasn’t exactly in a rush to escape… All the same, he’d been quickly overwhelmed after ten minutes of nonstop grass-induced tickling and he was quite sure he’d succumbed to a chortling fit a long, long time ago.

He barely even noticed when the blonde ninja found his way into the clearing. The other boy could only stare in shock at the sight of the fire mage at the center of the clearing getting tickled out of his mind.

Naruto, for his part, was feeling rather conflicted at that moment. Part of him obviously wanted to rescue this pink-haired stranger, but at the same time, the ticklish spectacle was all but hypnotic. He couldn’t bring himself to look away, but it seemed almost enjoyable to watch the other boy struggle in vain against the teasing torment, his laughing screams and pleas only adding to the deliciousness of it all. And was it just him, or were those soft-looking feet only barely visible through the grass stems caressing every last inch of their bottoms… attractive, in their own way?

The blonde shook his head, silently telling himself that something had to be done. Daring not to get within reach of the grass himself, Naruto called out from the edge of the clearing. “Are you alright?!”

“YAAAHAHAHAAHHHH W-WAHAHAHAHAIT!!” came the hysterical reply. “DOHOHON’T COME ANY CLOHOHOHOHOSEHEHEHEHRERR!”

“Don’t care! Hang on, I’m going in!” Naruto steeled himself, gulping as he took note of how feather-like all those grasses looked, and then waded into the meadow.

The presence of a fresh new victim seemed to excite the flora already holding the pink-ette captive, and several roots sprouted from the ground and snaked towards him. Naruto was undeterred, however, kicking them away each time they got close, and even managing to stomp on one or two that got in his way to send it packing.

He was getting good at navigating around all this weirdly inquisitive vegetation. And he would have in fact been able to pull the other boy out without any issue had he not hesitated for just one second too long.

Who could blame him, though? The sight of those bare feet getting tickled absolutely silly, toes held back and arches stretched, was rough to drive any tickle-lover mad with delight. He had in fact received more than his share of tickling from many other people he knew back in Konoha, and he was already flashing back to several times when Hinata had playfully tickled his own feet to his content.

“WAAAGH—! Dammit, they got me too!!”

In his lapse of perception, Naruto’s own ankles had been finally ensnared by the incoming roots, followed by his arms, causing him t o stagger backward and trip over his own feet. He sat down hard just as he felt the roots tighten and secure him to the ground, mere feet from the mage he’d been trying to rescue. Now held in a sitting position, he knew it was pointless to resist, and he now had a good idea what was about to happen to him. But even as his footwear was forcibly removed for the second time that day, to his own surprise, Naruto didn’t want to fight the flora off as much as he would’ve a half-hour ago. He honestly couldn’t believe he actually wanted to join the pink-haired boy in ticklish delight, yet here they were.

They were now positioned opposite of each other, so they each had a full view of the other’s feet. Before they could say anything, however, the wind shifted, and in fact it seemed to be moving in such a way now that it was forming a miniature swirling whirlwind between the two pairs of soles. The result was that the feathery grass was now being moved so it could sway in two different directions, beginning to stroke and flutter against all four feet at once.

“YAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH OHHH SHIIHIHIHAHAHAHAHH!!” Natsu screamed, struggling with all his might but failing once again to get free. The tickles had been going on for long enough that he was now feeling warmer and warmer around the cheeks, a moan or two interspersing it. He would swear that there was already a bit of a bulge forming in HS pants as he was yet again overwhelmed.

“GYEEEHHEHEHEEH WHYYYY MEEEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEEE?!” Naruto cried as the tickles resumed anew. He thought the flowers had been the most maddening torment he’d been put through, but this damn grass was even worse! Tears began pouring down his face as he realized that at least a few of the thicker grass leaves and stems seemed to be brushing against his toes as though licking them, trails of dew slickening the stems and pads which made them increasingly soft as the tickling dragged on.

Things were only about to get even worse for the two men. Snaking out of the grass came a series of vines with mouth-like pods at the ends, not too dissimilar to the nibbling flowers Naruto had run afoul of earlier. They could only watch in simultaneous horror and anticipation as the vines began nibbling and sucking upon the places where the grass didn’t cover, even showing long, serpentine tongues of their own to add to the tickling mix.

“AIIIEEEHEHHEHEHEHEE!! NOOOOOHAHHAHHA NAAHAHAHT THE TOHOHOHOHONGUESSS!” Natsu shrieked, already feeling the roots holding him lift his arms above his head. He was still trapped as ever, powerless to escape as his arches and stretched, smooth pits were subjected to multiple long, slow tongue-strokes into the soft underarm hollows and up and down his trapped, taut arches. “PFFFFHAHAHAHHOOOOOHHH T-THAT FEELS SOOO GOOOHOHOHOODDD HHHAHAHEEHEHEHYYYAAAHHHAHAH! EEEHHEHHEHEHHEH NAHHAHAHAT THAHAHAHHAHHHAHAHAHATT!!”

“HHAHHAHAH-HOLY SHIIIIITTTHHAHAHHAHHAHEHEHEHHEEHHHHH!” Naruto was now on the brink of breaking down himself, the feathery grass tickling between his toes as well as around and under them. While he still wore his orange and black jacket over the rest of his clothing, that didn’t stop the licking vines from slithering up his shirt to reach the stomach, sides, armpits, and even his collar and lower back areas. Two of them had even worked their way down his pants, and were now delivering kisses and licks to the soft skin if his inner thighs and his more… intimate spots. “MAKE IT STOHOHOHAHAAHAP, MAKE IT STAHAHAHHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHP! SOMEONE, HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEELLP!!”

But no other help came for them, and they were quite sure that anyone else who tried would also have gotten caught. So all they could do, for now at least, was take it and laugh…

**********

Neither of them were sure how long it was before the wind stirring the grass finally died down, and they had no idea when the tree roots had released them, but the two were all but catatonic by the time the chaos at last abated. It had only been about a half-hour since they’d found each other, but it had seemed to go on forever in the boys’ minds. Now breathless, flushed, and still quite hard between their legs, they were both sprawled upon the ground at the base of the tree stump the mage had taken a seat upon by the time they came to.

“Hhhahahahahah… Ohohoh my…” Natsu panted, sitting up and glancing at the blond who continued lying there with a frustrated groan. “Whew, that was intense… Ah! You there… Th-thanks, whomever you are.”

“What?!” came the shocked reply. “I got caught, too! I never got to help you!”

“Well, at least you tried,” the mage said with a chuckle as he went over to help the ninja to his feet. A flurry of giggles ensued, and Natsu let out a startled sound. “Sorry! Y-you need your boots back, right?”

“Hmph…” The blond pouted, giving him a dirty look. Natsu wisely shut up as he retrieved and slipped his own footwear back on, the other doing the same.

They turned to appraise each other for a few moments. “I guess we’ll be better off if we stick together,” said the mage, offering his hand with a smile. “I’m Natsu Dragneel. And you are…?”

“Naruto,” the blond replied, hesitating for a second. Then he finally shook Natsu’s hand. “Naruto Uzumaki. Much as I’d like to chat further, though, we’ve gotta get outta here.”

Natsu glanced at the feather-grass that had just gotten the best of him. Despite subconsciously wanting another go at it, he couldn’t suppress a slight shudder. “Sounds like a plan.”

As the two of them took their leave, they would swear that from the corners of their eyes, they could see the grass being stirred by another breeze, moving as though waving goodbye. Try as they might, they couldn’t resist glancing back and making farewell gestures themselves.

“So, anyway… what are you doing here?” Naruto asked as soon as they’d left the clearing. “Last I checked, there ain’t too many people like you ‘round here. Heck, not sure if there’s anyone else at all.”

“Believe me, I was gonna ask the same question myself,” replied his companion. “If you ask me why I ended up here, I’ve honestly got nothing. All I remember is finding this weird pink hole while heading back to the guild and then stepping through it.”

“No… That’s what happened to me, too!” Naruto’s eyes widened. “Dunno anything else other than that, though.”

Natsu looked downcast. “So there’s no way either of us are getting home, then…”

The ninja tapped his companion’s shoulder and pointed forward, making the latter look upward. They’d arrived at a fork in the path, and as with the one Naruto had encountered earlier, the route to the left led to a gauntlet of grabbing branches, while the right one was blanketed in the same kinds of flowers he’d been ambushed by that time.

“We take the left path,” Naruto said suddenly.

“Huh?!” Natsu gaped at him. “That does NOT look safe! Why not the one with the flowers instead?!”

“Tried that already. Barely escaped with my life.” Naruto felt a shiver run up his spine. “Seems like these woods’re trying to trick us into picking the routes that seem the safest. So yeah, left path.”

Natsu still looked understandably concerned. “But how are we gonna get past the branches? If we take ‘em head-on, we’ll get caught, and then we’ll be stuck here forever!” He paused, remembering how much he usually loved to challenge himself. “Gosh, that sounds so out-of-character for me…”

Naruto snorted in amusement. “That bad, huh?”

“Pretty much. Maybe if we cut the plants down? Or maybe I could use my fire magic to burn ‘em down—”

“NO!!” The ninja felt a flicker of terror. “We don’t wanna get caught in any fires, and the plants would hate that anyway!” Naruto pondered things for a few moments before continuing. “Maybe we’d be safe if we got ‘em to back off somehow? I’m pretty sure the plants here wanna tickle people, and since we’re the only two people here…”

Natsu gasped a bit as a thought occurred to him. “Ohhh, I’m gonna have a really hard time for who knows how long,” he gulped, “but here’s a thought: If we could just get the plants to think we’re already in ticklish trouble, maybe they’d leave us alone?”

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “Eh? What are you—”

Natsu smirked back at him as he led the way into the more ominous-looking path. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you staring when you tried to bail me outta there. You liked seein’ me get tickled, huh?”

Naruto blushed, feeling a bit hard down there again. “Y-yeah…”

“Then I’ll give you one better.” With a confident smile, the mage lifted his arms over his head, grasping his elbows to keep them there. “Since I’m sleeveless, my underarms are out for all to see, and if I leave ‘em wide open, I’m sure somebody’s gonna give ‘em a poke at the minimum. I think it’s better that you do it than the trees do, don’tcha agree?”

Naruto gaped at him. “You can’t be serious… You’re really not offering those up to me, are you?!”

“It’s either you or them,” Natsu replied, lifting a finger to point up at the branches above, already quivering as though in anticipation to seize them. “Take your pick!”

It took only one glance up at the canopy for the ninja to make up his mind. Stealing up behind his new friend as they continued upon their way, he reached forward and wiggled his index fingertips into the smooth, soft hollows the mage had so purposely exposed.

“PFFFFBBBFFFFT… Hmmmmhmmhmhmmmm!” Natsu bit his lower lip as he felt a vicious jolt shooting through his nerves. His legs quivered a bit as he kept pace with his companion, steeling his mind as best he could while the Ninja’s digits dug in.

The results were already apparent. As soon as Naruto had started tickling him, most of the branches above seemed to stop moving, their swaying now nothing more than the breeze moving their foliage. Not all of them stopped, but the worst torment had been mercifully averted. And Naruto could take comfort in knowing that now it was he who was getting the flame mage to have a laugh at his own expense.

Bolstered by this, the ninja chuckled evilly, letting Natsu take a few steps further, and then with a cheeky “Coochie coo~”, he suddenly spidered all ten fingers into his friend’s exposed underarms.

“YAAAAAGH! OHHOHOHOHOHHHHH FFFFUUUAAAAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHH!!!” Natsu nearly collapsed from the maddening sensation, but managed to pull himself together at the last moment. He couldn’t blow this for the two, not when his buddy was quite sure that this was the right path. He had to admit that he hadn’t a clue how to get out of here, so he had to trust Naruto’s judgment, but the blond did seem nice enough — even if those fingertips drilling into the skin of his pits and occasionally buzzing his sides and ribs were truly adept at the fine art of driving him insane. Still, he forced himself to grip his own arms tightly and keep leading the way, allowing himself to enjoy the tickling and occasional verbal teasing all the while. “NGGGAHHAHAHHAHAHHAA! BAHAHHAHAHAHAHA DAHAHAHAMMIT, N-NOT THEHEHEHEHEHEEEREEEE! EEEEHEHEHEHE PLEEHEHEASE STAAHAAHHAHAAAP! HEHEHEH GET AWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAYY! YEEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHHAAAHAAH…!!”

**********

Naruto was having far too much fun by this point. He’d taken the chance to subject this foreign hunk to a ticklish torment of his own devising without hesitation, and true to Natsu’s prediction, it had spared them considerable difficulty during their travels. They had related their respective lives and where they came from to one another along the way, though Natsu was laughing happily all the while due to his underarms being poked and stroked constantly, and the ninja often had to dial his tickling action back a bit so the mage could at least try to speak clearly.

On more than one occasion, Naruto had even gotten his companion to pause for a breather, only to use both of his hands at once to tickle one armpit, stopping only to lean in and give it a sniff here, a ticklish lick there. This had the effect of allowing one of the tree branches above to reach down and attack the other sensitive hollow. Naruto couldn’t help questioning the helpless pink-ette as to which tickler was more effective, but not only could poor Natsu not decide, but he found himself laughing so hard that he could barely speak. Naruto was quite sure he was going to suffer some severe retribution for this later, but oh boy, was it worth it.

By the time they’d exited the gauntlet, they found themselves at the bank of a gently flowing river, and as soon as they sure they were out of reach of anything that could capture them, Naruto gave his friend one last poke to both pits at once and said, “You can put your arms down now. I think we should be safe!”

“GYAAAHAHAH! Haahhahahha… Heheh… F-for the moment, anyway,” Natsu chuckled, letting go of his wrists at last and immediately clutching at his aching sides. “S-so, wana stop for a real breather, then?”

“You mean those times when I stopped us so I could double down on one of your pits and let the plants get the other… didn’t actually count?” Naruto teased.

“Oh, shaddup,” Natsu shot back facetiously. Then he paused as he glanced at the brook before them. “I do think we could use a break, though. Probably cool our heels while we’re at it?”

Naruto giggled. “Should’ve known you’d make that joke, given that you’ve got fire-style jutsu…”

“Huh? Oh! That wasn’t on purpose, I swear!” Natsu looked flustered for a moment, before he sat down and started pulling his shoes off. “Anyway, I was actually wondering… You don’t happen to have bigger feet than I do, right?”

His blond companion blinked in confusion. “Kind of an odd question, but maybe we could compare ‘em, just to be sure.” With that, Naruto sat next to Natsu and also removed his own footwear.

Neither of them wanted to say it out loud, but each was instantly smitten by the way the other’s feet looked. They were all well-kept, Natsu’s feet being a bit wider and longer, while Naruto had him slightly beat in the toe length department, but either way, there were almost no blemishes to speak of, and only faint spots here and their denoted any blisters or calluses that had long since faded to nothing.

The tickling from earlier had definitely left the two excited, and the possibility that they could enjoy each other’s… ahem, company… was enough for a pair of tents to soon be erected, something which both of them noticed quickly.

Naruto couldn’t resist a little wisecrack at that moment as he moved his foot to rub his toes against Natsu’s own. “Heh, you got anything to match those big feet, or are you just happy to see me?”

“Aw, don’t sell yourself short — you’ve got quite a bit yourself!” Natsu replied with a smirk. “You were standing THIS close to me a few times when you were tickling me back there, and I couldn’t help but notice something was poking me in the back the whole time! The back, not the ass.”

Naruto gasped, his cheeks burning. “Th-that wasn’t intentional!”

“Suuuuure it wasn’t,” Natsu snickered. Then he reached over and gave his comrade’s bulge a light, playful smack. “Pervert~”

“Hey, now! Hands off unless I say so!” Naruto curled up in a fetal position, looking rather miffed.

“Ack! Sorry… Yeah, should’ve asked first, won’t do it again.” He huffed, feeling ashamed of himself on top of being more flustered than ever. “Gosh, this place is really makin’ us feel a bit… Um…”

“Horny?” Naruto deadpanned.

“Was gonna say it’s doing a number on our self-control, actually. But y’know what, fuck it. Seeing as I’m the winner of the foot size competition, whaddya say you give me a nice foot massage so I won’t be so sore when we move on?”

Naruto’s eyes widened, and a grin broke out on his face. “Say no more!”

With a domineering yet playful smirk, Natsu turned to face his friend and then stuck his foot in the ninja’s lap, the latter taking it up in his hand and starting to press his fingers into it, gently yet firmly. The mage couldn’t help but hum in contentment as Naruto began with a light squeeze against the plush ball of his foot.

“Just a second in and I can already tell you seem rather talented at this,” said Natsu.

“Heh, thanks. I’ve learned from the best… I’ve got a friend back at home who’s given me plenty o’ foot massages after hard training. It’s really relaxing.”

“I wish you could teach me your ways, Naruto… I feel like we’ve only gotten to know each other for a short while, though, so maybe give it more time and practice.”

“Sounds good to me.”

By this point, the ninja had moved down towards his partner’s heel, kneading both thumbs at once into it. As Natsu sat back and continued enjoying the massage, letting the tension flow from his body, he let his other foot move a little, nudging against Naruto’s leg. It was a silent encouragement, to try and get his other foot involved in the action as well. Of course, with his friend so invested in the massage he was currently administering, he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be, and how much nudging it would require, for him to get the message.

Before he could continue that train of thought, however, he suddenly felt Naruto take a hold of his ankle with both hands and lift his foot up to eye level, before leaning in to press his nose against his arch.

“A-ahhh! W-what are you doing?” Natsu gasped, blushing.

“Just enjoying the view,” Naruto replied, before inhaling through his nostrils with Natsu’s size eleven pressed onto his face. “You’ve got a pretty good smell there, all things considered.”

“Ulp, uh… Y-yeah, I guess.” The mage looked away, trying to sound casual. “I mean, I do wash ‘em a lot, and they do get a lotta air since I wear sandals. How ‘bout you?”

Naruto snickered. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

He turned in place so he was facing Natsu now. As the mage reacted in mild surprise, Naruto lifted his own right foot and pressed his big toe against his cheek.

“Whoa whoa, now I’m the one who has to remind you that you’ve gotta ask first!” Natsu chided playfully. “But since we’re already here, you don’t gotta keep your toes to yourself…” He couldn’t resist taking hold of Naruto’s ankle and holding his foot in place to give the ball of his foot a sniff of his own. “Heh, you’ve got a bit more of a funk than me, it seems.”

Naruto chuckled, before giving Natsu’s toes another sniff. “That’s what happens when you wear boots all day, even if they’re open-toed. Oh well.” Then he gave a cheeky grin. “You know what, how about we take things up a notch?”

“H-huh? Whaddya me—AHHH!”

Natsu let out an undignified squeal as he felt Naruto’s tongue run all the way up from the heel to the ball of his foot, the soft, damp surface feeling like a washcloth gently caressing the skin. He actually had to resist the urge to kick the ninja in the face, and almost pulled his foot away, such was the surprising intensity of the tickling sensation, made only more extreme by how sudden it was.

“Heheheheyyy! C-careful there, the grass was bahahahad enohohough!” Natsu was still giggling even though the lick had stopped. This session was now delving into foot worship, and given how ticklish his soles were, it was about to get a lot more exciting — in a good way, though.

“Ohohoho, ticklish from foot licking, huh? I’m going to absolutely take advantage of this info,” Naruto said with a smirk.

“Nooo! Nonono waaait!” Natsu begged playfully, though he knew it wouldn’t help, and at any rate, he did look forward to it all the same.

The ninja started gently, making long licks up and down the arch of Natsu’s foot, pressing his tongue against the skin just enough for it not to tickle. Natsu moaned in pleasure, feeling the tent in his pants growing even further, squirming a bit in place as he tried not to lose control. “Hhhhh… Ohhhhohohohoh geez…!”

As the worship continued, Naruto decided to step it up a bit, his licking becoming faster and his tongue exerting less pressure upon Natsu’s sole. The squirming only increased, and within a matter of moments, the pink-haired boy was slapping the grass with his free hand and shaking his head around, his laughter flowing anew.

“NAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH I CAHAHAHAHAN’T! FFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHA P-PLEEHEHEHEHEHEEASE!!”

“Aww, lighten up, will you? You did enjoy this treatment, right?” Naruto replied cheekily, before he blew a teasing little raspberry at the other. Before Natsu could respond, he leaned back in and started nibbling at the boy’s rounded heel.

“EEEEEP! YAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA EEEHHEHEHEEE NO! NOHOHOHOAHHAHAT THEHEHEHEHEEHAHHAHAHAHAHA!” Natsu shrieked, thrashing in earnest now. He almost overturned the both of them with the now-constant struggling, threatening to pitch them straight into the shallow water on the side of the river.

Naruto didn’t let up despite Natsu’s protests, having come much too far to quit. Wordlessly, rapturously, he continued with his licking and nibbling almost nonstop, feasting on the scent and taste as well as the sound of his laughter. Slowly, agonizingly, he moved further and further upward towards the other boy’s toes until he reached them with his lips and tongue, flicking the latter in between the gaps when he wasn’t kissing and sucking gently upon each digit in turn.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH! OHHH, THAT’S IHIHITTT! TWO CAN PLAHAHAY AT THIHIHISSSS AAHHAAHAHH!” Natsu steeled himself, not one to settle for being outdone, before he picked up Naruto’s foot once again and moved his head in range to administer a surprise of his own.

PFFFBBFFT!

Naruto let out a shocked noise, mercifully having paused the licking to give his friend’s toes a nice whiff - had his tongue been out, he might’ve bit it by accident! As it was, though, he started trembling in place himself, the ticklish licking coming to a complete halt as he realized the one critical error he hadn’t known he’d made.

“Ohhh, I am SO screwed,” he laughed nervously.

Natsu smirked at him without uttering a single word. Naruto hadn’t even gotten the chance to get the first “NO” out before the licking from the other end of the worship competition had begun.

“YAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAHAH!” the blond squealed as he felt a series of rapid licks upon his arch and the ball of his foot set his nerves alight. “OHHH GAAHAHHAHAHHAHAHH! STAHAHAHARTING OFF STROHOHOHONG, ARE YOHOHOHOU?!”

“I strive for quality,” replied Natsu, before he resumed his thorough tasting of the sensitive size ten before him.

Naruto was beside himself with ticklish agony, but he too was competitive enough that he wasn’t going to let this go. So as he tried to stifle the expected reaction, with limited success, he started licking at his friend’s toes once more, as well as sucking and kissing them at random.

The two were now locked in rather intimate foot-to-face combat, their cackling and chortling now interspersed with moans of ecstasy. As they continued to “worship” the ticklish foot at their mercy, the free foot of each competitor was already moving, and within moments, Naruto was feeling Natsu’s bare toes sliding along the bulge in his pants, and vice versa. They were now rolling on the ground somewhat, squirming and writhing as each did their best to preserve their pride and avoid pulling themselves away.

“GAHAHHAHAHH MMMMMMFFF! OHHHH MAHAHAHANNN!” Natsu yelped, resisting the urge to kick with his free foot and accidentally hit his companion someplace tender. Trying to focus on the more gentle sensation coursing through the toes of his rubbing against Naruto’s crotch, he worked his way up towards the ninja’s toes and started licking at the little one.

“FFFHAHAHHAHA EHEHEHEH MMMMMM~!” Naruto squealed, nuzzling his nose against the ball of Natsu’s foot, before resuming his own licking against the arch; the sudden tickling to his pinky actually caused him to press his foot a bit harder than usual against the mage’s bulge, but that only seemed to arouse the latter even further.

Wriggling about on the grass, the boys trying to one-up each other in terms of the pleasure they could give, it seemed that to each of them, the only thing in the world at the moment was his companion in foot worship, tickles, and an impromptu footjob with only a pair of pants betwixt the toes of one and the private anatomy of the other. Neither of them noticed, or cared, that they already had company, for many pairs of little eyes were observing them from the river itself…

So intent were they to pamper and tease each other, in fact, that they didn’t realize just how close they were to the edge of the river until they rolled right off the ledge just a few inches above its surface and tumbled in with a tremendous SPLASH, causing them to finally come apart in the ankle-deep water. Next moment, they were seated on the muddy riverbed, spitting out water and scrambling to rub their faces dry.

“Pfft, pleh! Ahahaha… K-kinda got carried away, didn’t we?” Natsu chuckled.

“Worth it, though,” Naruto replied, grinning. “I mean, I may be way too ticklish to really appreciate foot worship, but at least I got you to laugh yourself sick!”

“I was about to say the exact same thing!” Natsu laughed, lifting a foot out of the water and wiggling his toes. “Guess we have that much in common.”

“That and a lot more, I guess,” Naruto replied. “Kind of a shame we’ll have to head back home soon…”

Natsu’s face fell. “Ohhhh, right. We still don’t know how to get outta here. But maybe if we—”

That was when he noticed all the little presences gathered around them. He had to resist kicking himself — he should’ve known the river was occupied! Before he could point this out to his friend, though, there was another small splash as something scaly and finned briefly jumped out towards them before disappearing again.

“H-huh? What was that?” asked Naruto, looking around in slight trepidation.

Natsu glanced at the water again. “I dunno, but maybe we should — AHH!” Startled, he lifted his foot out of the water, for something had latched onto his own little toe and was now sucking it as fervently as Naruto had just minutes before.

The little fish was bright blue in color, its tubular mouth perfect for delivering nibbly kisses as well as what it was doing currently. The four long, feathery extensions of its tail fin along with its overall shape almost suggested a hand, complete with a long, trailing dorsal fin invoking the thumb. It wriggled a bit in place as it continued suckling the sensitive digit, making Natsu squeak and squirm.

“Gahahahah! E-even the fish tihihickle?!” he giggled uncontrollably.

“Hey now,” said Naruto, “at least they aren’t gonna bite us, won’t theeeEEEHEHEHEYYYY?!?!” Several more fish had glommed onto his own toes, and it seemed like the texture on the inside of their mouths, almost tongue-like, was tickling the pads and stems as well. “BAHAHAHAHAH OHHH NOHOHOHOHOOOO!”

The boys only had a few more moments to realize that they were entirely surrounded by these hand-shaped fish, each with a body as long as their thumb. Within a matter of seconds, the water was boiling with movement all around them, and then the entire school descended upon their lower bodies all at once. There was a lot of splashing and squealing as tickly nibbles and suctioning were administered to every part of them from the waist down, some of the fish even managing to slip into their pants to reach the calves, knees, and thighs as well as all but enveloping their bare feet in masses of writhing, kissing little bodies.

“BAHAHAHAHAHH THIHIHIHIS IS AHAHACTUALLY PRETTY NIHIHIHICE!!” Natsu howled, before he lost the balance of his upper body with a startled yell and felt it submerge with another splash so only his head was above the surface. “YAHAHAHAHAHHAHA OHHH FUHUHUHAHAHAHAHACKKK HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA NAHAHAHAT THE PIHIHIHIHITTSS EEEHEHEHEHEEE!”

“HHEHEHEHEHHEHEELP! NO NO NAHAHAHAHT THE TOHOHOHOESSS! THEHEHEHEY’RE EVERYWHEHEHEHEHERRRE!” Naruto yelled, also finding himself flailing about wildly (even if he too was admittedly having the time of his life) until only his own head wasn’t under, feeling the fish slip under his clothing with their many tickly fins only adding to the tickling their mouths were already dishing out. “AIIIEEEEHEHEHE THEY’RE IN MY PAHAHAHANTS! GET THEM OUT, GEHEHET THEM OHOHOUT!!”

There was much splashing and shrieking from the both of them for another two minutes as the fish continued to tickle them incessantly, and in the process they decided to give up on discretion entirely. It was Naruto who made the first move, lunging at Natsu and scattering some of the fish as he dug his fingers into his pits once more. Natsu in turn started tickling the sides and ribs of his friend, letting the fish work their legs and feet over alongside their more… intimate spots. They were both getting harder by the second from the nibbles and tickles everywhere but especially their respective meat and potatoes, until finally Natsu reached down to lightly scratch at Naruto’s still-covered bulge, prompting the ninja to do the same in kind.

They both blew their loads at the same time, and even with their clothing still on, there were little pale clouds in the water where they were swimming, the fish scattering as their mutual climax ended. Even then, they were all still ogling the boys as they finally dragged their way back to shore, exhausted but content.

“Whew… Th-that was…” Natsu huffed.

“Amazing, yeah,” Naruto finished.

There was silence between the two for a few more seconds.

“So… Think we should try this again sometime?” asked the mage.

The ninja grinned. “Heh, totally. I know we gotta get home, but maybe someday we’ll be able to come back here again? I really do like this place a lot, actually. Really scenic views, and a lot of fun experiences with all those tickly plants and such.”

“Took the words right outta my mouth.” Finally getting to his feet, intending to put his footwear back on, he looked around just in time to see a pair of pink lights somewhere in the distance, further downriver.

“Hang on… Is that—?!” He could hear the voices, the sounds. The familiar environment of the Fairy Tail guild was right around the corner!

“I hear it too! Sounds like my place!” Naruto cried as he too sprang to his feet. “Or at least the woods outside of Konoha. Looks like we’ve got our way home!”

“Seems like the way outta here was to admit that we enjoyed this place rather than trying to escape,” said Natsu. “But hey, I had fun. How about you?”

“Same here!” Naruto laughed heartily. “Thank you for the great time, and I do hope we can try it again soon!”

Natsu picked up his footwear and flashed a grin in his friend’s direction. “Absolutely. For now, though, we’ve got some explaining to do to our friends back in our respective homes. Best not to keep them waiting, huh?”

Naruto nodded in agreement, though when he looked around, he would swear he saw the fish that had tickled them to near insanity a minute ago jumping out of the water, flipping in the air as though waving them goodbye.

Once again, the two of them couldn’t help but wave back. And of course, they also couldn’t resist sharing a friendly hug with one another, before the two of them set off to return to their respective homes, on the certainty that they’d eventually find the time to touch base with each other once again — and do a lot more than just touching, perhaps.

Naturally, the dip in the river had left Naruto completely soaked, but at least the mess he’d made in his pants would be easy to cover up. Hinata would naturally be very concerned, but the portal he’d entered through was near a river where he often came to train, so he could simply explain that he fell in and got washed away, before spending the rest of the afternoon trying to get back. Yes, that sounded about right. Of course, he’d have to remember to slip in a slight hint that his toes were sensitive enough to be worth playing with, but with her giving him foot massages so often, it wouldn’t be hard for her to figure that out herself. Either way, his next cuddle session with her was definitely going to be far more exciting.

As for Natsu, he too had had a great time, though he’d have to spin an excuse about getting distracted by a rogue water mage somewhere on his way home (and probably hope Juvia wasn’t there to hear it while he was at it). Of course, the next time one of those weird glowy holes appeared out of nowhere, he told himself, he’d have to be a lot more careful, because the next place he might be dropped into could easily be far less benign. That being said, though, there was a good chance the next portal he’d come across could lead him back to this particular stretch of forest, and all the tantalizing, thrilling titillation that came with it. Perhaps it might even be worth talking Gray into checking it out as well…