Ryuko Gets Wrecked (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: 5,565

DISCLAIMER: The following story contains SPOILERS for the ending of Kill la Kill. Experiencing the media itself is not a strict requirement for enjoyment of the story, but such is recommended before reading.

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Ryuko Gets Wrecked

(Based on characters from Kill La Kill by Kazuki Nakashima and Studio Trigger)

Ryuko Matoi was bored. Very, very, very bored.

It had been a while now since she’d had to bid farewell to Senketsu, who had given his life to save her after she’d defeated the terrible Ragyo. Now that the menace of her awful mother was no more, she and her sister Satsuki, along with their friend Mako Mankanshoku, were free to live their lives as they wished, along with everyone else who had fought by their sides to save the world.

Okay, wise guys, Ryuko thought to herself as she reclined on the living room sofa, idly reading a motorcycle magazine while not focusing on anything in particular. You wanted me to save the world, and I did. Now what do I do?!

With the quest of vengeance she had been undertaking for so long finally complete, Ryuko was now left with virtually no purpose beyond, well, being a regular girl with a regular life alongside her friends and especially her sister. Maybe someday she’d be able to find another goal in life that’d last her until her time finally came, but for now, she might as well amuse herself by being every bit the younger sibling any sane family would be expected to have.

As in, being as annoying to everyone as humanly possible.

“Ryuko…” Satsuki glowered at her sister, taking her eyes away from the living room television for just a second. “Do you have to stick your feet in my face every time we watch TV?”

“I’m not touching you~” Ryuko taunted in response, lightly jabbing the toe of her bare foot in the direction of her sister’s cheek. She was lying supine upon the couch with one leg dangling over the edge of the cushions, the other two seated on the floor in front of it since she was hogging it at the moment. Unfortunately for them, this gave Ryuko a prime opportunity to mess with them both, especially since she hadn’t had any footwear on her.

Satsuki remained unamused. “Stop it. Now. Or else I’m going to have to slap some sense into you.” She moved her head out of the way of another toe-jab in her general direction, scowling. “And wash your feet while you’re at it, they’ve been in your shoes all day.”

“All the more reason to stick ‘em where you don’t want ‘em,” Ryuko said with a smirk, now trying to position her big toe right under Satsuki’s nose, to which her sister batted her foot away with a light slap of her hand. “It’s Saturday, anyway. Lighten up, will you?”

“Ryuko, I get that you wanna be entertained,” Mako said with the same cheerful tone she always had. “But testing the patience of your sister isn’t the best way to go about it. Couldn’t you just watch TV with us like, oh, a normal person?”

“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?” Ryuko chuckled.

“Oh, it’s definitely fun, more so than getting kicked in the face every two seconds.” Satsuki glowered at her. “Not that it’s saying much, but it’s something.”

Ryuko snickered. “Being a grump like always, huh, sis?”

“Not really. Just stop being a jerk and relax. We’ve got nothing urgent coming up, and we could all use the time to unwind. You’ve been denying us that chance all day, and it’s gotten old very quickly.”

Ryuko pondered this for a moment, and then gave the most evil grin imaginable. “It never gets old to me, at any rate,” she replied, before running a toe down the back of Satsuki’s hair. “I didn’t touch you.”

“Alright, that’s it!” The elder sibling turned and raised her arm in a bid to slug her sister, who flinched and put her arms up defensively. It was Mako, however, who stopped the two from coming to blows.

“Calm down, you two! Fighting’s not going to help! We have to find a different way to keep Ryuko from being so annoying!”

Ryuko folded her arms and pouted. “Et tu, Mako? You gonna try and hit me instead of her?”

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Mako waved her arms desperately. “There has to be some way to dissuade you from annoying Satsuki so much, especially by poking her with your bare feet.”

Ryuko thought about it for a few moments. If pushing Satsuki’s buttons wasn’t going to work, what was she going to do? It was then that a thought occurred to her…

“What if I poked you instead, then?” she asked, lifting her foot to do just that. In hindsight, though, that might not have been the smartest thing to do, because the next thing she knew, the brunette had gotten a hold of her ankle in a headlock, keeping her foot in place.

“Ryuko, you know what happens when you try that on me,” Mako replied cheekily, wiggling the fingers of her free hand. “Why do you do it? Do you want to face the consequences?”

For the first time all day, Ryuko felt a flicker of fear the second she caught the look on her friend’s face — and especially that gesture she was making. “I-I guess I’m a slow learneEEERRRRRRR! HAHAHAHAHAH OHHHH GEEHHEHEHEHEEEEZ!!” she shrieked, feeling five nimble nails suddenly start scribbling upon the arch of her offending foot.

“Coochie coooo~” Mako teased cheerily. “Bet you didn’t know she was ticklish, huh, Satsuki?”

The taller girl raised an eyebrow. “So, she is…”

“WAHAHAHHAHHAHAH YOHOHOU LITTLE SHIHIHIHIHHHHAHAHAHHAHA!” Ryuko howled, squirming and slapping the sofa cushions. “WHAT DID I SAHAHAHAY ABOUT NOT TICKLING MEEEHEHEHEHEE IN FRONT OF HEHEHEHERR?!”

“Sorry, but you forced my hand,” Mako replied, wiggling her fingers into the bases of the soft toes now entirely at her mercy. “Sometimes I have to break my promises to keep you in line. You should’ve known that before testing us, Ryuko-chan!”

“GAHAHAHAHHAHAH WHY YOHOHOHUUU—” Ryuko reached forth as though about to throttle the smaller girl, only to once again lose control and descend into hysterical laughter.

Throughout all this, Satsuki was already processing the information she’d just received. She’d been struggling to find a way to get her sister to stop shoving her toes where she shouldn’t, and now she had her answer. But was there any way to make her really suffer without getting kicked in the face or being subject to a solid thrashing?

“You know… If Ryuko wanted to get a laugh out of annoying the two of us, what if we gave her one?” she asked finally. “But to do that without risk of injury, we’d need to take the restraints a step further. Got any ideas, Mako?”

The tickling mercifully stopped, but Ryuko would swear she felt an icy chill running up her spine upon hearing what her sister was saying.

Mako grinned. “As a matter of fact, I do! Do you two want to come to my room so I can show you?”

Satsuki stood up almost immediately. “You have my word that I will follow your every whim until we see this through. Take us there, and then we’ll talk.”

Ryuko tittered nervously. “Uh… Y-you two go on ahead, I’ll—”

“And that goes for you too, sister,” Satsuki snarled, reaching down and grabbing onto the nearest bit of her sibling she could reach. “Come on, then!”

“Ow ow owwww! I was gonna get there eventually anywayyyy!” Ryuko cried, being forced to get off the sofa and follow as her sister dragged her away by the ear.

The three of them entered Mako’s room one by one, the first two toeing their shoes off as they went in, with Ryuko being hauled in last. Rubbing her sore ear as soon as she was released, she took one look at what was in the room and felt her jaw drop. “Ohhhhh, you have gotta be kidding me.”

Even Satsuki looked taken aback. “Mako… I don’t know if I should ask, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to accept whatever answer you may have for me, but… what exactly motivated you to get yourself a pair of wooden stocks?”

“Oh, it’s simple,” Mako replied with a warm smile. “I heard they make people smile and laugh, so I figured I’d buy a pair. Too bad they don’t do anything on their own, but ever since I looked up what they’re used for, I’ve been meaning to find someone to use them on. And it looks like I’ve finally found that someone!”

“I hate you,” Ryuko grumbled.

“Alright. Um. What.” Satsuki raised a thick, dark eyebrow. “Of course, even if I inwardly question your methods, perhaps I shouldn’t question your results…”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Mako laughed. “Let’s get her in there!”

Ryuko was just about to bolt when she felt Satsuki tugging her ear once again. Several loud expletives and a short scuffle later, she was on the floor, her sister having wrestled her down while Mako clamped the stocks around her ankles. The angry former host of Senketsu was now flat on her rear end, her bare size elevens propped in front of her as the other two girls regarded them like wild beasts eyeing a cornered prey animal.

“Mako, how could you have kept this from me?” Ryuko snarled. “I trusted you! I thought we were friends!”

“I just didn’t think it was important until now,” Mako replied, wiggling her fingers teasingly. “You really need to take things in stride more often.”

“Hmph.” Ryuko folded her arms and pouted once more. “Well, you got me here, haven’t you? Well, get on with it, then! But don’t think you can get a single laugh out of me — I’m not sensitive anywhere!”

“I’ll be the judge of that, sister,” Satsuki replied with a teasing grin. “Lying to our faces, on top of aggravating us all day? You get what you deserve, so sit back, be a grown-up woman for once, and take it like you should!”

Ryuko began to panic, but it was too late. Satsuki had already zeroed in on her right foot, and next moment, she was using both hands to wiggle two fingers each up and down the length of the tender arch.

“Mffffhhhhhh… Mmmmmph! N-no, I won’t laugh… I won’t lahahahaughhhh!!” Ryuko bit her bottom lip, struggling not to lose control, but it was clear that she was going to crack at any moment.

“Here, let me help!” Mako chimed in, before she started wiggling three fingers at once onto the ball of Ryuko’s other foot.

“PFFFFHAHAHHAHAHHHAHHAHHAHAHH!!!” Ryuko shrieked at the top of her lungs, banging her fists against the floor. “HAHAHAHAHHAHA S-STOHOHOHAHAHAHAHP! I-I’LL KIHIHIHILL YOHOHOHAHHAHHAHAHAHHA!”

“Kinda hard to make any threats when you’re laughing too hard to speak clearly, huh?” Satsuki grinned, now wiggling four fingers per hand upon the entirety of Ryuko’s right sole. One hand attacked the ball of the foot and the base of the toes, while the other tackled the heel and the lower inside arch. Together, they were more than enough to drive Ryuko stir-crazy with laughter.

“PFFFHHEHEHEHEHH GEHEHEHET OOHOHOHOHOFFFFF!” she shouted, reaching forward to try and grab at the stocks, undoubtedly intending to tear them off of her ankles. She obviously couldn’t reach them, but the intent was clear. Drawing the same conclusion at the same time, the two tormentors smiled at each other.

“How about we make sure she doesn’t back out of this?” asked Satsuki. “She can’t move her legs right now, but what about the other pair of limbs attached to her?”

“Ooh, good point!” Mako replied. “I’ll go get the rope!”

Satsuki had a small smile on her face as she repositioned herself to sit in front of both of Ryuko’s feet. Cracking her knuckles, she gave her sister only a second to panic before she reached forth and started spidering all of her nails over the bare size elevens.

“YAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH YOHOHOHOU BIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI—”

“Ah ah ah, insulting me only makes it worse,” Satsuki chuckled, expertly moving her fingers in such a way that no matter how much Ryuko wiggled her feet around, they couldn’t escape the incessantly scratching, teasing torment. “Kitchy kitchy, sister! I’m going to enjoy every second of this, and you know it~”

“I’m baaaack! Got the rope!” Mako had indeed appeared with the brown coil in her arms. “Let’s get her all tied up!”

Satsuki mercifully stopped tickling Ryuko at that point, but the younger of the siblings knew that the torture was only about to get even worse. She made to drag herself backward with her arms, but both girls had moved before she could, and next moment, they’d grabbed her wrists and were now forcing them behind her back. Try as she might, she couldn’t resist them both as her wrists were tied together, leaving her only able to squirm in place like a worm on a hook.

The two of them returned to Ryuko’s feet once again, this time with Mako sitting in front of Ryuko’s right foot and Satsuki relaxing on her stomach in front of the left. They gave their captive grins of purest evil and raised both pairs of hands, causing Ryuko to swallow hard, a bead of sweat trickling down her face.

The poor girl only had a second to scream “NO”, before all twenty fingers descended upon her soles at once.

“BWHAHAHAHAHA S-STOP THIS RIGHT NOHOHOW, YOU TWOOOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHA!!!” Ryuko shrieked, struggling vainly to free herself. “JUST YOU WAHAHAIT UNTIL I GET OUTTA HEHEHEHERE! GAHAHAHAHAHH!!!”

“Aw, but Ryuko, you look so cute when you smile!” Mako cooed.

“And I’m sorry, sis, but you brought this on yourself by sticking your feet in our faces so much,” added Satsuki. “Suck it up. Now… coochie coochie coo~!”

“THAHAHAT IS BESIHIHIHIDE THE POINT ENTIRELEEHEHEHEEE!!!”

The two of them were now in the process of tormenting every inch of Ryuko’s feet, and aside from the soles they were also focused on the sides and even the tops of her toes, picking at the digits one by one. Ryuko continued to shake and bounce on her seat in protest, laughing too hard to remain coherent. The tickles themselves were bad enough, but the teasing was utterly humiliating. All she wanted to do now was curl up into a ball and never talk to them again!

“This little piggy went to market~” Mako singsonged, wiggling Ryuko’s little toe.

“OH NOHOHOHO, NOT THAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAATTT!” Ryuko howled, trying to curl her toes. Her cheeks burned from the sheer embarrassment of having to hear that childish game being played out. Satsuki deciding to silently imitate her with the other foot only made things even worse.

“This little piggy stayed home~” Mako continued, now wiggling each other toe in turn. “This little piggy couldn’t stop sticking her toes in her sister’s face, and this little piggy had to suffer the consequences~”

“BWAHAHAHAH GODDAMMIT, DON’T REMIHIHIHIHIND MEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEE!”

“And this little piggy…” Mako poked at Ryuko’s big toe. Before the dark-haired girl could react, Mako had grabbed that one with one hand, wiggling the fingers of the other. Since Satsuki was still mirroring her, both big toes were restrained and held back.

“NOHOHOHOHO! DON’T DOHOHOHO IHIHIHIT!!” Ryuko protested.

“She went wee, wee, wee, all the way home!” Mako skittered all five fingers along the join between the ball of Ryuko’s foot and the taut arch, while on the other foot, Satsuki did the same.

“AAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! EEEEEEHHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEE NOOOOHOHOHOHOHO! YOU BAHAHAHAHSTAHAHAHAHRRDS! STOP IT! STOHOHOAHHAHAHAHAP!” Ryuko screamed at the top of her lungs. “DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOUR FINGERS?! USE YOUR TOES I DON’T CARE ANYTHING BUT THOHOHOHOSE!”

The other girls paused, momentarily releasing their grip on her feet, looking at each other in bewilderment, and then in mischievous conspiration. Before Ryuko could respond, they both sat back, one bare foot each propped in front of them, and angled their toes forward until their tips touched Ryuko’s own soles.

“EEEEK!” The tough girl squealed in alarm as she felt five short nails dragging along her skin.

“Be careful what you wish for, Ryuko,” Satsuki chuckled darkly.

“NooooOOOO!” her sister pleaded.

The begging, of course, was to no avail, as the two of them started wiggling their toes upon Ryuko’s soles, matching every movement of her helpless feet and making her buck and guffaw scream for mercy once again.

“GAHAHAHAHAHHAA THIS IS PAYBAHAHAHAHACK, ISN’T IHIHIHIHIHITTT?!” Ryuko yelled, the irony hitting her too late to avoid the maddening sensation.

“Oh, of course,” Satsuki replied, lifting her foot a little to tickle the ball of Ryuko’s own. “Then again, you did ask for us to use our toes to tickle you, right? And we’re still not done. We’ve got plenty more if you want us to keep going~”

“Your call!” Mako added brightly. “Unless you admit to us that you’re too ticklish to stand this, then we might as well continue.”

Ryuko shot an incredulous glare at them both. “N-NEHEHEHEHVEHEHEHEHERRR!”

“Then in that case, you’ve asked for it,” Satsuki replied. She crossed her legs, motioning for Mako to stop as well. “Is there anything you want us to tickle you with aside from our fingers? Or toes?”

“NO! I don’t want this!” Gasping, panting, Ryuko looked as though she was ready to wrestle her way out of her restraints and hurl herself at them both. “Get me out of here this INSTANT!”

“Resisting is only going to make us tickle you harder. Make a choice — brushes, forks, or something else?”

“I don’t want any of them! Now untie me, or I’ll—”

“Come ooooon, decide for us!” Mako teased. “You know you want this, don’t you?”

She was met with another death glare from the exhausted captive. “F… f-fu—”

“Forks it is,” Mako replied, holding up a pair of plastic forks.

“NO! That’s not what I meant! W-where did you get those?!” Ryuko gasped in panic.

“I brought them from the kitchen, silly!” Mako replied, handing one of the forks to Satsuki. “So, ready to accept your fate?”

“Go to hell,” Ryuko growled.

“Suit yourself,” Satsuki replied, before reaching forward with the fork and using it to stroke up and down the arch of Ryuko’s right foot.

“BAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OHHH FFFHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHH— WEHEEHEHEHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH!” Ryuko screamed. “THAT’S EVEN WOHOHOHOHOHORSE! HAHHAHAH GET THEM OHOHOHOHOFFFF!!”

“That’s the point,” said Satsuki, prodding at the ball of her victim’s left foot and the base of the toes. “Or points, I should say.”

“OH COME OHOHOHOHON! THAT WASN’T EVEN FUNNEHEHEHEHEHEEE!”

The other two shrugged and giggled at one another. As they continued to slide the forks up and down the soft, sensitive feet before them, scraping at the arches and heels and pricking at the toe stems like two sets of miniature claws, all poor Ryuko could do was watch, laugh, and twist around in place.

“Looks like her feet are getting pretty wiggly, huh?” asked Satsuki. “What do we do about that?”

“Ooh, I know! Just a moment, keep at it!” Mako passed her fork to Satsuki and headed over to fetch something from elsewhere in the room, leaving the taller girl to scooch over so she was facing both of Ryuko’s feet at once. Next moment, Ryuko was shrieking and thrashing again as all ten of her sister’s toes tickled her in unison.

“GYAHAHAHAHAH D-DAMN YOHOHOHOUUUUHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAH!”

“Oh, but you haven’t let up on being mean to us, sister. That means we’ll just have to tickle you more and more until you say sorry!”

“I REGRET NOHOHOHOTHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHING!”

Satsuki shrugged, “Oh, you will regret everything once you get what’s coming for you. And you deserve it, that’s for sure. Kitchy kitchy coooo~”

“YYYAAAAAAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHH! AHAHAHHAHOOHOHOHO NOHOHOHOHO! NONONONONOHHHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHH!”

Ryuko couldn’t muster the energy for a retort, not with the tines of the forks dragging up and down her soles without a hint of mercy. She settled for trying to glare at her sister, but even that was only partly successful, blinded as she was by her tears and locks of her hair.

She couldn’t yield. She wouldn’t. Forcing herself to try and exercise her breathing, she willed herself to endure, to struggle as hard as she could. Ryuko was not going down without a fight, even if it was clear as day that the other two had already beaten her beyond recognition.

“Got the stuff I need~!” Mako called as she returned. “Whaddya say we take this to the next level?”

Ryuko managed to blink the wetness out of her eyes just in time to see what her best friend was holding. She would swear her face had turned pale, her pupils pinpricks. “Y-YOU WOHOHOULDN’T!”

“What, scared of two hairbrushes and some twine?” Mako gave her a flirtatious wink. “There’s no need to be afraid. Just give it a try! Who knows, perhaps you might like it~”

“OH, SOHOHOHOD OHOHOHOHOFF!”

With Satsuki continuing to scratch at the size elevens before her using the forks, Mako sat next to Ryuko’s ankles and took the two lengths of twine, tethering them to the eye-loops at the top of the stocks. Then she grabbed onto each big toe in turn and held it back as much as possible to lash it in place with the free end of the twine. This wasn’t the easiest process, given that the laughing dark-haired girl struggled to throw her hands off with each stroke of the forks, but it was eventually completed, leaving her soles taut and unable to move quite as much.

“There, all done! Now we can continue with the other tool I got for this occasion!” Mako held the brushes up. “What say you, Satsuki-chan?”

“You read my mind,” the elder Matoi sibling said as she took one of the hairbrushes from their brunette friend. The two of them brandished these deadly implements in the air for Ryuko to see, with the clear intent of showing her that her doom, her very ticklish doom, was imminent.

Ryuko’s eyes were at their widest extent. Even while laughing from the one fork still scratching at her right sole, she was shaking her head wildly about, pleading for them to reconsider. At the last moment, as the other girls closed in with the brushes, she closed her eyes, hoping it would lessen the impact at least a little.

Of course, it didn’t work. At all. The instant the brushes made contact, Ryuko let out a high-pitched scream that could be heard all across the house.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

The scrubbing was pure agony. She couldn’t even move, let alone muster any more insults. The brushes were scraping up and down along every inch of the taut soles before them, the bristles oh-so-lightly dragging their wiry ends along the tender skin.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAHAHHAHEHEHEHEHHAHAHAHAHAHHHAH! BAHAHAHHAHAH! AIIIIEEEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHHAHAHHHAHH HEHEHEHEHEHEHELP! HAHAHHA MERCEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEE!”

“You get none until you yield, obviously,” Satsuki replied, making sure to move the brushes as slowly as possible, prolonging the ticklish suffering.

Damn her stubborn pride, Ryuko thought to herself. The ticklish intensity was so great that she threw her whole upper body backward, hitting the back of her shoulders against the floor, mercifully keeping herself from getting concussed. Now she understood why they’d put the stocks on the floor, away from any furniture.

“HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHA HEHEHEHEHEH I CAHAHAHAHAN’T! I WOHOHOHOHOHOHONNN’T! BWAHAHAHAHAHHAH HEHEHEHAHAHH AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHOOHHOHOHOHOEEEHAHEHAHAHEEHHEHEHEE CUT IT OHOHOHOHOHOUUUT! WAHAHHAA STAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHP!”

She was getting light-headed now. The incessant, itching, tingling, teasing sensation was nothing short of maddening. Struggling to draw breath was an increasing challenge now, for her throat and lungs felt like they were on fire from all the screams, curses, and chortles she was uttering. She couldn’t even struggle anymore, such was the extent of her exhaustion, and yet the fibers of the brushes continuously scratching at her soles with wild abandon was never letting up…

Ryuko wasn’t sure how long it was before the tickling finally stopped. But ultimately, the brushes began to slow to a stop, the girls’ voices betraying clear concern.

“You think she’s had enough?” asked Mako. “She looks… kinda like she just got out of a pretty bad fight.”

Satsuki gave a skeptical look. “She isn’t bleeding, though. And from what I can tell, she has not received any physical trauma. Emotionally, though? Who can say?”

“F… fff…” Ryuko shakily raised her head to glower at the others. “F-fuhuhuc—”

“Okay, she’s still at it,” Satsuki chuckled. “Sister, do you yield?”

The death glare wouldn’t let up. Ryuko was almost at the tipping point, but her pride was still hanging on by a thread.

“Well, you asked for it,” said Satsuki. She nodded at Mako, and the two of them poking their feet forward for one last push.

Ryuko’s eyes widened as the two of them wiggled all twenty toes into her taut arches once more. “YAAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHH! D-DAHAHAHHAHAMMIT, NOHOHOHOT AGAAHAHAHAHAHHAIIN!”

“I’ll ask you again, Ryuko.” Satsuki moved the toes of her right foot upward to tickle the ball of Ryuko’s left. “Do. You. Yield?”

“AIIIIEEEHHEHEHEHEHEEE NONONONO NOT THEHEHEHEHERE! YES, YES I YIEHEHEHEHEHELD! GAHAHHAHA MAKE IT STOHOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHP! PLEEHEHEHHEEHEHHEHEEEASE!!”

Eventually, finally, it was over. By this time, Ryuko was a total mess, locks of her dark hair having fallen over her face, the top of her shirt drenched with tears and her own sweat and her soles slick with even more of the latter. As the other two sat back and let her recover, she couldn’t even muster the energy to rip the ropes off of her arms, let alone pull herself out of the stocks.

“Should we, uh, untie her now?” asked Mako.

“Only once we know she won’t retaliate,” Satsuki replied. “You won’t, right? Are you too tired?”

“Rrrgh.” Even after having been tickled to near insanity, Ryuko still had the nerve to glare at them. But finally, she faltered. “Y-you can f-free me now. I p-promise I won’t hit you…”

The other girls shared a hearty laugh, though she wasn’t quite sure if it was at her own expense.

It took them about a minute before she was untied, curled up into a ball upon the floor of Mako’s room. She was still drawing breath at a rapid pace, trying to withdraw her feet as close to her as she could for their own protection.

“Well? How are you feeling?” asked Mako.

“Royally pissed off, thanks to you both,” replied Ryuko. “You two did such a number on me. Don’t you dare think I’m gonna forget this anytime soon.”

“I didn’t know you were ticklish until now, sister,” said Satsuki. “But then again, it’s as I’ve said before: everyone has a weakness.”

“Indeed, Satsuki-chan,” Mako beamed. “And Ryuko’s feet are definitely hers’!”

“Screw. You. Both,” Ryuko hissed through her teeth.

“Anyway, do you want to join us again back in the TV room?” asked Mako. “We’ve still got my favorite program coming up, and as long as you don’t annoy us again, I’d be happy to let you join us.”

“Th-thanks, but I’ll pass,” Ryuko replied, folding her arms and looking away. “Not gonna take any chances after today. I kinda wanna just chill in my room for the rest of the night, at any rate.”

Satsuki nodded. “A wise decision, sister.”

“Eh, your loss,” added Mako. “Well, then, see you tomorrow!”

As soon as the two of them helped Ryuko up and led her to her room, the younger sibling darted in and hastily shut the door behind her, pressing her back to the door. Only once she was sure they were gone did she head over to her bed and collapse face-first onto it.

She’d had more than enough for one day, that was for certain. The tickling torment had been beyond what she could handle by a fair margin, and she’d have to be careful around the other two in the future. Who knew how soon before they’d knock her down and pull her shoes off?

She gasped in alarm as she realized what was missing. She’d left her shoes at the TV room, right where Mako and Satsuki were undoubtedly relaxing now! If she were to retrieve them, she’d have to head back downstairs and risk getting jumped again. It was quite certain that this would not be the last time they’d attempt to tickle her, now that they knew her secret weakness. She’d have to go barefooted the rest of the night, and pick up her footwear tomorrow.

Staring down at her toes, Ryuko sighed in dismay, her mind swirling with the recollection of the day’s events. Try as she might, though, she couldn’t scrub the memory of getting stocked and tormented out of her mind. She was tempted to bang the back of her head against the door in frustration, but though she thought better of it, one question did burn in the back of her mind, one that would no doubt keep her from getting much sleep tonight.

If what Mako and Satsuki did to me today was supposed to teach me a lesson about not sticking my feet where they didn’t belong… then why did I enjoy it?!

~ The following evening… ~

“Ah, you’re back!” said Mako. “Just in time to join us for the evening news!”

Ryuko staggered over towards the sofa and slumped down upon it, clearly exhausted. She’d been out all day training, sparring, and other athletic things, trying to focus on something else aside from yesterday’s events. But still it was to no avail, and she’d already figured out why. But what was she going to say that could possibly convince the others?

“Are you alright?” asked Satsuki, sitting next to Mako on the floor once again.

“M’fine,” Ryuko grumbled. “Just been out and about. That’s all.”

Mako smiled at her, that bright grin that she just couldn’t stay mad at. “Well, you’re free to hang out with us again, if you want. I see you got your footwear back, at any rate.”

“I guess. I’ll probably just chill out as usual, though. I’m already starting to get bored again…”

Satsuki side-eyed her. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Or what, you’ll tickle me again? You do realize I didn’t actually hate that, right?”

The other two gasped in surprise. “H-huh? But you—” Mako began.

“The thing I didn’t like was that you dragged me into that mess without asking me first. That wasn’t okay. And I hadn’t agreed to any of it, either. So if you wanted to wreck me, you really should’ve asked first.”

“I could say the same with how you annoyed us the way you did before then,” Satsuki responded with a shake of her head. “What is that expression about the pot and the kettle, again?”

Ryuko rolled onto her back and sighed despondently. “Yeah… Sorry ‘bout that. I’d have thought you’d take it better, like a harmless prank. Didn’t think you’d be actually angry about it.”

“Oh, I’m not mad, just disappointed. You should be lucky things didn’t turn violent yesterday — and that Mako was there. And you should be even luckier that all we’d do if you bothered us too much was tickle you now that we know you’re vulnerable to that.”

“But don’t worry,” Mako chimed in. “We’re still friends and family, no matter what you do with us. We were trying to help you be better. Isn’t that enough?”

Ryuko flushed a bit. Mako was right, in a way — there really wasn’t a dull moment between the three of them. Or at least, if there was, she’d make sure to make it more exciting.

“Yeah, you’ve got a point. Though you know what family members do to each other, don’tcha?” Ryuko sat up, preparing to toe her shoes off once more. “Besides, you know what they say about old habits,” she added smugly, “And believe me, sis, it’s gonna take a lot more than what you put me through yesterday to make me get rid of mine.”

“Oh boy, here we go.” Satsuki rolled her eyes with a small laugh. “Looks like she’s right back to normal.”

“I’m not touching you~” Ryuko teased, running her toenails down Satsuki’s hair.

The elder sibling gave her a deadpan look. “So soon?”

“Yeah, so soon.” The younger Matoi thrust her foot forward a little, wiggling the tip against her relative’s earlobe. “Still not touching you~ See if you can catch me n—AAH!”

The two of them had both grabbed her ankles in a headlock this time. With no way to push herself off the sofa without being unbalanced, there was no way out.

“Always remember, Ryuko-chan,” said Mako. “Your actions have consequences, and we won’t hesitate to remind you as such. If you mess with us using those cute feet of yours, we’ll just tickle ‘em until you scream for mercy. Those are our terms — take ‘em or leave ‘em~!”

Ryuko snorted in amusement, wiggling her toes as though inviting the other two to subject them to as much teasing torment as she could take. “Pffft, are you kidding? As long as you do it properly, I can absolutely get on board with those terms. So you can bet your ass that you haven’t seen the last of these little piggies just yet.”

Mako and Satsuki smirked first at one another, and then at their captive. For her part, of course, the younger Matoi felt a thrill of excitement which was, to her surprise, no longer tinged by fear.

“Well, then, you asked for it.” Satsuki chuckled darkly, wiggling her fingers an inch from her sibling’s sole. “Ready for Round Two?”

“Whenever you are, sis,” Ryuko shot back with an audacious grin. “Bring it on!”