Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy (c) Square Enix
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The Last Key Gets His Due
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The day was finally here! The final fighter in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament had just made his grand debut, and there had been much celebration as he had been given the welcome he’d deserved! Of course, the fact that virtually everyone on the roster had turned up to see him — even those whom he would have considered his enemies and one particular villain whom he did — meant that he couldn’t really get the time to meet up with everyone individually. That said, he’d have plenty of time to get to know everyone here, or at least Mario had reassured him of that. But there was one person in particular whom the Keyblade Wielder absolutely knew he had to see first and foremost, and hopefully he’d be there to greet him when he got to his destination.
His hands behind his head with its signature spiky brown hair, his comically oversized shoes squeaking a little as he walked, Sora’s mind was racing even as he was taking his sweet time making his way down the overworld path to Skyworld. As it turned out, he and the other person he was looking for had met each other once before, when they had both been invited to a different tournament years ago that had pitted many, many different people from across countless worlds against one another. Sora was still somewhat haunted by the experience — he had agreed to have his kind and all-loving personality essentially switched off prior to the fight, but the sight of that broken body lying there right in front of him would still haunt his memories for the rest of his life. If anyone who had gained access to his thoughts knew of it, they wouldn’t tell him. But while all was well that had ended well, the faint emotional scar had never truly faded.
Was there any lingering resentment deep down in spite of the truce after the fact? Was the forgiveness that had been exchanged really genuine? He didn’t want to know. But he had to be sure that the bond he had forged with his former opponent, albeit a very, very long-distance one, was still there.
So lost in his thoughts was he that he only realized that he had arrived at his destination when he quite literally walked right into the door to Palutena’s temple. Stumbling back and rubbing his nose in pain, he shook his head to clear his senses and then looked up at the massive, elaborate double doors.
His stomach dropped almost instantly. His nerves were getting the better of him, and part of him wanted to turn tail and run for the hills in a bid to avoid the risk of being sent away in shame. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave, not after having made it this far. So instead he swallowed, took a deep breath, and then knocked thrice on the gilded gate.
Silence. After a moment, he picked himself up, and then knocked thrice more.
“Coming!” And there it was, a vaguely familiar voice, muffled by the doorway but still unmistakable.
The sound of footsteps could be heard, coming closer and closer to the door, and then — quietness again. It seemed as though the other person had stopped in hesitation. Sora could suddenly sense a weird feeling like he was being watched, as though the other was peering at him through the keyhole in the double doors. What were they thinking now?
“Hey,” he said, his tone cautious, his voice shaking a little. “So. Uh. Pit? See, um… When I was invited here, I knew the very first place to visit, and that was Palutena’s temple. Because, y’know, you live there? So… yeah. Hi again!”
“Eh?” That was the only response the other voice gave.
“Ooookay?” Sora continued, very slightly annoyed but still otherwise nervous. “So… You know that time we fought each other to the death once? I… I-I already said I’m sorry. And I’m glad you not only forgave me for what I did, but also came to me afterward and asked if we could be, erm… besties, right? Yeah, besties! A-and I can’t believe it’s led me so far…”
He paused, wondering how to continue. But all he got in response was a confused “Huh? What??”
A sinking feeling came to him. Tears welled up in his bright blue eyes as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. But he forced himself to speak, knowing there was no turning back.
“See, Master Hand also told me you… you put in a good word for me after that battle, because of the good press it gave you.” Sora sniffled a bit before continuing. “That… that it gave both of us. I don’t know if it helped sway the decision-making process for who would be joining the Smash Bros. tournament, but I like to think it might have.”
He wiped the tears from his face. “I just… I don’t know what to say. I… Th-... th-h-h-h…” On the verge of sobbing, he only barely noticed the other voice.
“Hellooooo?! Hang on, lemme—”
The double doors swung open. Sora could almost hear the angelic chorus as light washed over him. And there he was, in full splendor, complete with the fluffy brown hair with that gold laurel crown, that white toga over a dark blue sleeveless undershirt, that equally white scarf, those brown forearm guards with gold trim, those disproportionately large feet, and especially those feathered wings the color of the clouds in a beautiful summer sky.
“Is that a ‘Thank you’ I’m hearing, Sora?” asked Pit, a warm, welcoming smile on his face.
Fresh tears welled up in Sora’s eyes again. “Y-yes,” he said quietly, before sniffling once more. And then he sobbed. And then, without thinking, he lurched forward and all but fell into Pit’s arms with a keening wail, not of grief, but of joy in its purest form. Weeping in earnest, he let his own arms wrap around his old friend almost on their own volition. It was almost a relief to feel the angel hugging him back.
By the time Sora was done crying, the two of them finally got a look at each other, and touched their foreheads together. It seemed their friendship was genuine after all, despite his private misgivings.
“Welcome to Smash, my friend.” Pit brushed a tear from his eye himself, before chuckling a little. “Oh, and you have a key! Like, always! You could’ve just opened the door!”
Sora couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Hey, I knocked, alright? Wasn’t that enough?!”
“Whatever,” Pit replied with a smirk. “Do you wanna come in?”
“Oh, sure! I’m assuming we’ve got lots of catching up to do, right?”
“Believe me, you have no idea. Oh, but you need to take your shoes off! I only put them on just before heading out on missions, so the place doesn’t get boot-prints everywhere,” Pit admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
“Oh? You didn’t tell me that before, but… sure thing!”
As Pit backed up to let Sora inside, the latter toeing off his shoes to set next to the doorway and wiping his feet against his shins just before entering. It was then that the angelic warrior’s eyes widened, and the memory returned to him about why he had to wear such impressively sized shoes. His bare feet were positively enormous, even bigger than Pit’s own! He decided not to comment on that for now, though — waiting until the time was more appropriate would probably be safer.
“So… What were you up to before I arrived?” asked Sora, his hands returning to their usual behind-the-head position. “You know, over the years since that fateful battle?”
“Oh, y’know. A little this, a little that, met a sassy Umbra Witch whom several other fighters think would make a cute partner for Lady Palutena, got turned into a toy by a giant winged ball of light—”
Sora’s jaw dropped. “You were what?!”
“…Oh. Oh, I forgot. You weren’t there to see it, weren’t you?” Pit’s face fell. “Look, whatever you do, stay as far away as you can from Galeem. Especially when he’s having his morning espresso while complaining about Dharkon blasting the Brawl-edition ‘Final Destination’ theme at max volume on the Smash Mansion’s loudspeakers at three in the morning…”
His rambling trailed off, and then he turned to see that the look on his friend’s face had gone from astounded to confused to thoroughly disturbed. Sora’s mouth worked in a bid to say something, but he could find no conceivable way to respond to what he’d just heard.
“Dear Goddesses,” Pit whispered in horror. “I said something I shouldn’t have, didn’t I?”
“No no, it’s fine. Everything’s fine. I just…” Sora looked away, starting to tear up a little again. “…I just wish Donald and Goofy could’ve come,” he said finally. “At least they’d actually make sense—”
“I get it, I get it, you miss them. And I’m sorry they couldn’t come. But I’m sure they’re cheering you on, wherever they are. And I wouldn’t doubt that they miss you as much.”
Sora smiled a little, but then his face fell again. It was clear that even after everything that he’d had to go through to get here, he still wasn’t sure if it was worth it.
Pit was wondering what to say next, and idly looked down at his feet in thought, but then he glanced at Sora’s noticeably larger pair, and an idea came to him.
“You know what, I think I know a way to make you feel better,” he said with a teasing smirk. “It might surprise you at first, but I think we both know what it is.”
Sora looked at him with a confused expression. “What are you talking about?”
Pit only gave a cryptic smirk. “Oh, you’ll see. But let’s just say you’d be positively tickled pink once I show you! Now, if you don’t mind coming with me to the courtyard…”
Sora’s eyes widened, the toes of his silky-smooth size 18s curling on instinct. A flood of memories came back to him in that instant, not just from the brief time he’d spent with Pit shortly after that calamitous battle, but also from so many other similar occasions throughout his long journey.
Before he could continue that train of thought, however, a faint noise reached his ears. It sounded like angry shouting from somewhere far below them. He looked at Pit and raised an eyebrow. “The courtyard, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well… Does this temple have a basement? I think I heard something down there—”
“Oh, it does! But that’s a surprise I’m saving for later~”
Sora’s eyes narrowed, but he figured it’d be best to humor him — ruining a surprise a friend prepared in advance was one of the worst things you could do to them, after all.
As soon as the two boys stepped out into the courtyard, an almost surreal sight greeted them. The beautiful garden of exotic plants from across the multiverse was incredible in its own right, but it was the centerpiece that really drew the eye. At the top of a massive grassy hill in the very center of the courtyard, surrounded by a chain-link fence, was a colossal ball of vines coiled up like an enormous yarn ball, each tipped with a floral head the color of a tomato with white spots and thick lips of a matching hue. Upon the very top rested the largest head, big enough to swallow a grown man whole, but with a large bubble coming out of the corner of its mouth.
“W-what… What is that?!” Sora gasped, wondering if he should break out his Keyblade and hack the plant down.
“Oh, that? The Naval Piranha is currently on loan from Viridi. She studied the evolution and family tree of every known species of Piranha Plant for her graduate thesis, and figured she’d use the courtyard to help continue her research. She’s busy elsewhere at the moment, but I’ve been entrusted to care for that big one and all the other Piranha Plants she brought over to Skyworld.”
“Wait. All the others?!”
“Oh, yeah! We’ve got your basic Piranha Plants, your Fire Piranha Plants, Ptooies, Nipper Plants, Nipper Spores, Munchers, Jumping Piranhas, Wild Ptooie Piranhas, Propeller Piranhas, Chewies, Megasmilax, Piranha Pests, Piranha Sprouts, Frost Piranhas, Putrid Piranhas, Proto Piranhas, Piranhabons, Piranha Beans—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, my head’s spinning just listening to all that! C-can we focus on just the one?”
“Oh, right! Getting off track, sorry! …wait, which one?”
He pointed up at the giant Piranha Plant, his arm trembling slightly. “That one.”
Pit looked at where Sora was pointing, and then back to him, his brow raised. “I already told you, it’s the Naval Piranha. Although… I’m having a bit of difficulty trying to handle it. See, it doesn’t like to be touched, which is very problematic for me when I’m trying to remove any weeds growing around it.”
Sora nodded, feeling a little leery — and rightly so — towards the verdant colossus. “Right. And I can help you with this…how?”
“Well…” Pit blushed a bit. “Viridi’s done quite a bit of research on it. She said there’s this knot on the Naval Piranha that is especially touch-sensitive, kinda like a belly button. If you hit the knot, it just drops its vines and remains completely still. I’ve seen her do it, but it’s very difficult because its roots are really sensitive. You know how it’d feel to have someone step on your toes? Same idea, basically.”
“Sounds complicated.” Sora spared a glance at the slumbering monstrosity, and then swallowed hard, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Yeah, it is,” Pit replied, his wing feathers ruffling. “See… I want to try something. I want to know… Does the plant just recognize Viridi’s scent, or will it stop moving if ANYONE touches that spot?”
Sora’s eyes widened. Then he gave Pit a death glare for a second, and then pouted, his arms folded. “If you wanted to fling me at that thing, just do it. Don’t expect me to forgive you, though!”
Pit raised his arms in a gesture for his friend to calm down a bit. “Oh no no, I never said I was gonna. But, y’know… I lost one of my boots when I last escaped its clutches, and I think it still has it. I’m not going back in there because I just know it’s got a score to settle with me, but if it’s true that it recognizes people, it wouldn’t be able to recognize you because this is literally the first time you’ve ever set foot in this courtyard. Ever. So… perhaps you could do me a favor and get my boot back?”
Sora regarded first Pit and then the sleeping plant, and finally let out an exasperated sigh. “The things I do for friends… Alright, sure.”
With that, he made his way towards the hill, and then slipped through the fence and onto the grassy slope. That was when he remembered why he only very, very rarely went barefoot — the soft grass brushing against his bare soles made him start giggling almost immediately.
Pit wasn’t sure what to think as he watched with anticipation. When he’d managed to free himself from the plant’s clutches that time, that was only due to sheer dumb luck. To escape by way of pure skill was a feat he was quite sure he couldn’t achieve. But he had to get his boot back, somehow. Could Sora do what he couldn’t?
The plant would surely notice the newcomer any second now. Despite the tingling in his soles, he managed to get within arm’s reach of it, before finally noticing the open-toed leather boot entangled in its vines. Without a second thought, he reached out with both hands to grab the boot, planted the bottom of his right foot on the cluster of bumpy vines, and started tugging.
That did it. As soon as his skin touched the Naval Piranha, it suddenly sprang to life, green vines covered in blunt white nodules whirling everywhere, and Sora let out a startled scream as it ensnared him within seconds, its tendrils coiling around him and binding his arms over his head and his legs together. The mouth-tipped vines closed in on him, the panicking hero fully expecting a horrible fate… and then the kissing started.
“CraaaaAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAHAAHP! AHAHAha AHAHHAHAA!” Sora cried as he squirmed uselessly. Dozens of tickly smooches were planted all over his large soles, his cheeks, his neck, and even upon his clothed stomach and ribs, the latter of which somehow managed to tickle despite the apparent protection.
“AAAAAAAH! AHAHAHAHAHHAHA PIIIIIT! AHHAAHHAAHH HEEEELLP HAHAHA MEHEHEHEHEHEHE EHEHEHEHE AHAHAHAHAAA!!” He twisted and turned about, but nothing helped — the Naval Piranha’s many mouths were quick enough to continue their assault no matter how much his feet kicked about or how much his head shook. He could only hope that his friend would help him out soon, or better yet that he could concentrate just long enough to summon his Keyblade… not the easiest thing to do at the moment, mind.
Somehow, all that struggling ended up loosening the vines’ grip on his right arm. As soon as he could slip it free, he reached out towards Pit’s boot — giving a vine a great shot at his armpit — and grabbed onto the fur-lined cuff, daring not to let go. The plant’s own movements allowed it to tug the shoe free, and he flung it out of harm’s way before succumbing to helpless laughter again.
Pit was surprised and proud of his friend for managing to get his boot out of there, but there were bigger problems. “Hang on! I’ve got this!” He didn’t stop to think, rushing forward and slipping through the fence himself. Dodging every vine that came at him, he grabbed onto Sora’s wrist the second he could do so. The ensuing struggle enabled him to free Sora’s other arm, but the Naval Piranha still tugged at his ankles, continuing to tickle his arches and toes. This led to the surreal sight of the angel and the giant carnivorous flower engaging in a sort of tug-of-war, with a very ticklish Keyblade master in the middle.
The hapless young man who had volunteered to rescue that blasted piece of footwear was now being almost comically stretched out and thoroughly tickled at the same time. He couldn’t even tell if the angel’s pulling was able to do anything at all to the vines tickling him.
“PIIIHIHIHIT!” Sora screamed. “AHAHAHAH HAHAHHhAHAHAHAH AAHAHAHH AHHAHAHAAWHAHAHAT THE HECK AHHAHHAHARE YOU DOOHOHOHOING?!”
“Rescuing you, dangit!” With that, Pit tugged as hard as he could, his wings aglow as he tried to use the Power of Flight to aid him. Thankfully, the plant was trying to readjust its grip, so most of the vines slipped off, leaving just a few wrapped around Sora’s ankles and of course, a sizable amount of mouth-pods still licking and kissing his large soles.
With marginally less tickling sensations assaulting him, Sora managed to concentrate just hard enough to materialize his Keyblade, and swung it at the bandaged bump on the main stem of the Naval Piranha. The sound of the tip of the weapon connecting with the sensory zone was satisfying on its own, but much more of a relief was how nearly all of the remaining vines lost their grip entirely, leaving only the two that were stubbornly holding onto his ankles… their mouth pods still nibbling his arches ticklishly!
“EEHEEEEEEHEEEE! LET GO, YOU—!!” Finally, Sora gave a hefty pull, and his feet wriggled free. He toppled forward, backing straight into Pit, and the two of them ended up rolling down the hill before finally smacking into the perimeter fence, the newcomer on top of the veteran in a heap.
“Th…thanks!” Sora wheezed. “Whew, that was… intense…”
“You’re welcome,” Pit replied with a blush. “I would have had it taken down, but, well, you know how Viridi is with her ‘precious babies’…”
“No biggie. Heh.” Sora raised his fist in triumph, before getting up and slipping back out through the fence. “Need anything else?”
Pit vacated the enclosed hill as well, picking up that stray boot that had started it all and dusting himself off. “Yeah, well… How ’bout we head over to my room? I’ll put my shoe with the other one near the front door first, but after that, I want to try a little something new.”
Sora giggled at the mention of Pit’s room, acutely aware that neither of them had their shoes anymore. He nodded, and let his friend lead the way.
**********
Pit’s room was surprisingly simple despite the otherwise sumptuous nature of his and his goddess’ home temple. Aside from a bay window, a few curtains, a mini-fridge, and shelves with a bunch of his favorite weapons and other items from the Smash Bros. tournament, there was surprisingly little decorating the plain white walls and the simple wooden floor. Even the two twin beds, with their simple white sheets and pillows, were the kind that could be found in a hotel. The only distinction was the door off to the side which was slightly ajar, and a quick glance at the gap revealed a small hot spring just behind it.
“So, ready to get started?” the angel teased, motioning for Sora to look over at the nearer bed itself. That was when the latter did a double-take — the wooden footboard had been modified so that it had two ankle-sized holes and consisted of two smaller panels between the posts. Essentially, it was now a pair of stocks!
“Oh, wow, you really did come prepared for this,” Sora muttered, unable to stop himself from laughing a bit. Then he took a closer look, and a sudden chill ran down his spine. “Hang on… You can’t have had this built on short notice. How long ago did you have it set up?”
“Pretty recently, actually, or at least as soon as the date of the final Smash tournament fighter reveal was announced. I figured that if it was you, I’d be ready to settle the score I’ve had with you since you beat me that one time. Uh. If that’s okay with you.”
Sora’s heart sank. It seemed Pit had not quite forgiven him for emerging victorious after all. But hey, at least it was a lot better than if the angel had hated him.
“I see,” he said with a resigned sigh and a half-lidded smile. “So… I’m guessing that after, uh, whatever you plan to do to me once you put me in there… Then we can call it even?”
“Yeah, of course!” Pit grinned in reply. “Now, if you could just take a seat on the bed and accept your fate…”
A few minutes later, Sora was resting quite comfily on the bed, noting that it was like reclining on a cloud. His ankles had been placed in the holes in the stocks, and his huge, baby-soft bare feet were completely at Pit’s mercy. His toes were visible peeking over the wood, and he couldn’t help but wiggle them playfully.
“Are you gonna at least tie my toes back?” he asked. “You saw how my feet are — I squirm a lot in general, so keeping them secure would be for the best if you want the full experience.”
“Way ahead of you!” Pit replied, taking out a metal bar that was bent at a right angle at both ends with a little hook at each end and a loop in the middle. It was just long enough that Sora’s toes could all fit in between it, and curved to match them precisely. Sora then noticed a trio of eye-screws on the top surface of the board, one on either side of his feet, and a small hook-screw in the center.
Pressing the bar to his toes, Pit pushed them back until they were bent back at a near right-angle, and then slipped the hooks into the eye holes and the center loop into the upper hook, so that his toes were secured tightly to the top of the stocks. Sora’s arches were thus stretched so tightly that he could feel a slight strain in the tendons of his feet.
“D’oh, me and my biiiiig mouth!” Sora laughed, before straining to flex his toes. The metal bar held, though, so it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere.
His effort to break free of his restraints, as useless as it was, was interrupted when he felt Pit’s index fingers wiggling into the exact centers of his taut, deep arches, one for each foot. “OH! EEEEEEK! EEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA NO NO NO WAIT STAHAHAHAP!” he squealed, bouncing a little on the seat of his pants as he tried in vain to pull his legs free. “I WASN’T REHEHEHEADEEEEHEHEHEE!”
Almost as quickly, the tickly feeling was gone. Pit burst out laughing, clutching his sides with one hand and wiping the tears from his face with the other. “Did you see the look on your face?! Hah, priceless!”
Sora pouted again, folding his arms with a blush in his cheeks. “I’d bonk you with my Keyblade if only I could get my legs free.”
“Heheh, sorry ‘bout that! Yeah, I should’ve said we were starting up.” Pit took a deep breath to calm himself down, and then regarded his friend again as he pulled up a chair. “No hard feelings, right?”
“Forgiven,” Sora replied, before attempting to flex his toes again with as little success as the first time. A third, half-hearted try, and he gave up and resigned himself to his ticklish demise. “Well, if you managed to get me in here, then what are you waiting for?” He steeled himself up and gave a determined smile. “Give me all you’ve got!”
“Alright, then,” said Pit as he took a seat in front of his captive friend, cracking his knuckles and fluttering his wings. “Shall we begin?”
Sora nodded, still acting brave, but while he felt a thrill of excitement for what was about to befall him, there was also a slight undercurrent of fear. He couldn’t help it, really. His nerve faltered a second later as he took one look at all those fluffy white feathers, and gulped…
Flipping his wings forward, Pit began dragging the tips of their fluffy plumes along Sora’s large, trapped soles, and in an instant, the Keyblade’s Chosen was screaming at the top of his lungs, slapping the mattress with his palms and shaking his head about in hysterics. “AIIEEEEHEHEHEHE EEEP! NO! NONONONOOOHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Awww, aren’t you a cutie?” the angel cooed as he started to tickle the exact center of each arch, a pair of sweet spots that were guaranteed to reduce his companion to a ticklish mess. “And such big feet too. I’m glad you stopped by…”
“EEEHEHEEHEHEEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA PIIIIHIHIHIHIT! AHAHAHAHAHAhAH AHAAHAHIHIHIHT THIHIHCKLESSS! HAHHAHA!” Sora tried to curl his toes, but the metal bar kept his size 18 feet perfectly still, his soles stretched so tightly that every inch of them was available for Pit's ludicrously tickly feathers to explore.
“Coochie coochie,” the angel teased, brushing and dusting his arches and toes with those fluffy feathers in that ever-maddening fashion. “Being tickled by an angel’s wings must be quite the unique experience, huh?”
Poor Sora could only nod, barely even able to speak as the sensation of Pit’s feathers sliding across his feet completely overwhelmed him. Though the experience was a thrill, it was really pushing the amount of tickling he could handle. The blasted plumes were probing and stroking all over every inch of his trapped, helpless, and very large feet: his arches, the heels and balls, the sides of said feet, and between the toes too for good measure. It tickled so much that even he could barely stand it! “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA AHHHAHAHA HAHAHA AHHAAHHAAHHA PIIIIIT! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHAHAHAHAA AHAHAHAHHAH!”
The feathering went on for a few minutes, but to Sora it seemed like forever. Mercifully, though, Pit finally stopped, allowing him to catch his breath. With a smile, he reached forward and gently massaged the still-tingling soles with his thumb pads, letting the other brunette relax away the tickles.
“So? How was it?” asked Pit.
Sora was still giggling, but his breathing slowed and he couldn’t help but flop listlessly onto the bed as the gentler massage helped let the tension out of his body. “Hahahahah… Hoo… You’re mean, Pit! I didn’t know you could do that!”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Pit giggled, patting the stocks in a playful fashion. “Wait here. I want to try something.”
“Whatever you say!” Sora grinned, anticipating whatever ticklish surprise Pit had for him.
The angel nodded and left the room, though not before making his wings swipe their feathered tips against Sora’s soles one last time, eliciting a new flurry of laughs from him.
A minute later, Pit returned with a decently-sized flowerpot in his arms, with a small plant inside, about three feet tall - at the same height as Sora’s hyper-ticklish arches. On closer inspection, he realized that it was another Piranha Plant — a regular one this time, and not the walking one he’d seen that he’d heard was playable. He remembered that one of the other guest fighters had befriended that particular plant — Akira, was it? Or was that Ren?
Sora’s thoughts were interrupted when Pit set the potted plant right in front of his bound feet. It seemed to regard his soles as though sizing them up, and he shuddered slightly upon realizing this.
“Viridi’s been keeping a lot of Piranha Plants for study, most of them on loan from Waluigi of course,” he said. “This is the variety that typically sees use in Mario Kart. Yesterday I asked her if I could, uh, borrow one for a little experiment of my own, and she agreed…”
Sora caught on almost immediately. “O-oh? W-what’s it doing? It doesn’t bite, does it?!”
“Well,” Pit explained, “Piranha Plants mostly respond to movement, and they’ve got sensitive lips so they can judge where other creatures are. I figured I’d give this one a wide-open target — and don’t worry, its teeth are blunt enough that it won’t hurt you. But I wanted to know… Can it detect a body even if it is completely still?”
Sora bit his lip, hoping the plant couldn’t detect him as he lay there, his feet completely still. Not that he could have moved them anyway, seeing as Pit had ensured total immobility of his huge, ticklish soles. He swallowed hard once again, and waited with bated breath.
“Oh, shoot!” Pit cried, slapping his forehead. “I forgot to take some notes! Hold on a sec…”
He moved the Piranha Plant so its mouth-pod was touching Sora’s left foot, and then rushed over to the nearby desk. A few moments of rummaging through his stuff, and… “Ah! Here we are…” he said, taking out a long white quill, a new toy of his own.
Sora, meanwhile, took a deep breath as the potted plant nuzzled his immobile left sole. He closed his eyes, waiting to see if it would react…
As Pit headed back to Sora, he noticed what the plant was doing. He pushed it away, and it stopped again. Keeping note of this, he showed the quill to Sora. “You know what this is?” he asked, grinning playfully.
Sora took a breath as he felt the plant being moved away. “A feather?”
“Not just any feather,” he grinned. “This is one of Lady Palutena’s very own molted wing feathers. It’s one of the most ticklish of all the feathers in our collection, and she had it converted to a feather quill for practical purposes. There’s a lot of others where it came from, but she gave this one to me as a thank-you gift after I rescued her from Galeem.”
“C-cool.” That name, Galeem, made Sora curious and disconcerted at the same time, a rare distinction. He made a mental note to ask the Hands about him later.
Pit, for his part, gave a cheeky grin, and started tickling his arch first.
“EEEEEHEEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEE!” As the feather touched Sora’s foot, he knew the angel wasn’t exaggerating. He squealed and wiggled about on the bed, trying and failing to maintain his composure.
The angel moved down to his friend’s left arch, adding in his fingers too as he pinched the taut arch of his right one.
“AHAHAAHAAH EHEEEHEEEHEHAHAHAA EHEEHEHAHA AHAHA!” Sora bounced around a bit, before just letting the laughter flow freely. This was just as intense a tickling sensation as all of Pit’s wing feathers combined!
After a few moments more of this, the angel stopped, glancing at the plant again. “Okay… Well, back to business. Shoot, I forgot to bring paper. Ah well, I have something else to take notes on.” Using the tip of the quill, he started scribbling on the ball of his foot. He still hadn’t learned to read, but drawing pictures as shorthand was a different matter. “Responds to physical contact,” he mused aloud as he sketched a simple doodle of a Piranha plant nuzzling a footprint.
The realization had hit Sora like a ton of bricks even before the pen had made contact. He SHRIEKED at the top of his lungs as the sharp point touched his sole; he tried to move it in any way, but it remained motionless as he lay on the bed and laughed his head off! “AAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHAHAHAHA AHA HAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAA HAAAA!!”
As soon as the doodle was done, Pit decided to try something else. So he dragged the chair over to sit in front of his left foot, and then pulled up the plant back to his right, so that its lips were touching his foot again. The plant made the same movements, caressing his right heel.
“NEEEHEE DAHAHAMN PLAHAAHANT!” Sora yelled.
“Repeats movement upon second exposure,” Pit added with a second, nearly identical doodle, but with the difference of two footprints instead of one.
“EEEAAAAAhAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!” Sora bounced around again, the quill tickling amazingly, making the plant’s snuggles seem tame in comparison.
Grinning at this, Pit rotated the plant so that one of its leaves was touching his foot. The leaf immediately started fluttering, brushing its tip against the arch of the foot. “Leaves respond to contact,” he said to himself as he doodled a leaf now touching a footprint. “No wait, scratch that…” he said, literally scratching out that doodle with the intent of making another more complex one. “Leaves trigger response to physical contact.”
“EEEHEHEHEHAHHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAH OH MY GAhAHAHAHAAD! HEHEHEEHEHHAHAHAHAH STAHEHHAAHHAHAHHP AEHAHAHHAHAA HEHAHAHAHAAHEEELLLP MEEEEEHEHAHHAHAAAA! PIIIIIIT!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAH!” Sora shrieked and squealed as his immobile arches were tortured by the leaf and written on by that darn pen! He couldn’t keep still on the bed at all, twisting and thrashing around so much that the bed posts actually rattled slightly.
Pit frowned a little, scratching his chin. “Hmmmm… The results are a bit inconclusive… Maybe if—” He pulled the pot back so it was several inches away, so that the leaf was not touching his foot anymore. But the plant had seemingly sensed a warm body near it, so it reached over with its stem and continued to tickle his foot, now nibbling the arch and slithering its tongue between his toes too. “The plant is still stimulated without physical contact,” he noted, jotting down a crude scribble of the Fire type icon from the Pokémon universe. “Heat sensitivity confirmed.”
“WAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHA AHAHAHAHIHIHIT TIHIHICKLES AHAHAHAHAHA AHHAAH AHAHAHAH!” If only Sora was able to move his FEET! But no, his size 18s were entirely at Pit’s mercy, and the lack thereof on the part of the Piranha Plant.
“But what part is the sensor…” Pit mused. He would have touched a finger to the inside of the mouth, the most likely spot, but he didn’t want to lose a finger. So he tilted the pot a little, until the plant’s mouth pod was pressed onto Sora’s right heel again. The plant immediately started sucking at his heel, while its leaves attacked his arches and toes. “Lips act as sensory receptors,” he noted, using his other hand to operate the quill and draw a diagram of a Piranha Plant near the side of Sora’s left foot.
The strange new sensation on Sora’s heel made the tickling even more intense, as the different types of stimulation coursed through his large feet. “EHEEHEHE HAHAHAHA AAAHAHAHHAHAHAHWHHAHHAHAAHAT’S IT DOOHOHOHOHOHINGGGG!?? AHAHAHAHAHHAHHHAHHAAAA!!”
Pit grinned happily, and started drawing a more detailed diagram of the sensory mechanisms he had found on his arch and heel. Meanwhile the plant continued to tickle and nibble and lick his other foot, and after a few more minutes of this he lowered the pot back to a stable position, leaving the leaves to finish the rest.
“AHAHAHAHHAHHA AHHAHAAHAHHAHA AHAHHAAHAA HHAAHAHAhAhAhAHAHAHAAOHMYGGGAAAAHAHAHAHAH! PIIIIIIT HAHAHAHAA WOHOHOW AHAH!” Sora still felt a slight tingling on his right heel, powerless to escape as the leaves continued tickling. He would swear that Pit was paying particular attention to the “sweet spot” at the center of his arch, seeing as he scribbled out a doodle he’d made near that part of his foot more than once.
After another three minutes of this… three very long, excruciating, laughter-filled minutes… Pit was finally done. He pushed the plant away, grinning. “There,” he said. “I think that should be enough… for now.”
For another full minute, Sora lay there, his feet tingling ticklishly, his giggles subsiding. “Ehe heheeoh… Good work, Pit, heheh!”
Winking at his friend, Pit set the pot aside, and headed back to his desk to grab a clipboard and some paper.
He returned a few seconds later with a smirk. “Hold on a sec, I think I’ll copy the notes first…” Putting himself back on the chair and propping the clipboard on his knees, he then proceeded to copy down all of the notes, making sure that the tip of the feather was ALSO tickling Sora’s foot in the process.
“EehEheHEHEHEH hehheeh EHHEehheheehHEHEhehehheeeeeEE!” The random light tickles forced Sora to giggle and wiggle again. Goodness sakes, would this ever end?!
After another minute or so, though, Pit was finished. He regarded the other boy with a gentle smile. “So, you know that time you bested me in battle? Three words, Sora… Now we’re even.”
Sora’s eyes widened, and then he flopped back down on the bed, his hands pressed to his forehead as he started laughing again, this time on his own volition. “That was your idea of revenge? To tickle me to an inch of my life and sanity?! Geez, wouldn’t defeating me in battle during the tournament fights have made a little more sense?!”
“Sora, in terms of raw power you have me beat without question. I had to rely on a different method of turnabout, so—” Then he gasped. “Oh, I almost forgot!”
The Keyblade Wielder sat bolt upright, his eyes as round as golf balls. “Forgot what?!”
Pit raised a finger in a ‘wait here’ gesture, and then picked up the potted Piranha Plant before setting it next to the bay window so it could get some much-needed sunlight. Then he headed over to the hot spring room, slipping through the door.
A few moments later, the angel came back out with four things clutched in his hands: a small pail full of soapy water and a small towel in one, and two wooden scrubbing brushes in the other.
The second he laid eyes on what Pit was holding, Sora realized what was coming. He shook his head, a look of absolute terror on his face, his spastic giggles returning. “Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, NO. You’re not gonna finish with THAT, are you?! Seriously?!”
“It’s either that or having to clean up after the ink you’ll track on the floor,” Pit replied with a nonchalant shrug. “Our troops HATE that even more than having to scrub shoe-prints off the tiling. There’s a reason the actual stage corresponding to her temple has no living quarters. Well, two of them, actually. They like to go ‘Woomy!’ and ‘Ngyes!’, respectively.”
A spark of recognition came to Sora at that point. His welcoming ceremony had included, among other things, a meeting with the two very first newcomers to this iteration of the tournament. He’d gotten along with them very well, but it had taken over three hours for him to get all that ink out of his hair!
“Okay, okay, you’ve got a point there,” he said finally. For the fifth time that day, he gulped audibly. “Uh… h-have mercy?!”
Pit shrugged. “Sorry, old friend. I have to be thorough. As the old saying goes: ‘An ounce of prevention…”
Pausing only to set the pail down and soak the brushes in the soapsuds, he sat down in front of Sora again, a brush in each hand… and started scrubbing the ink off his taut, fully restrained soles.
“…is worth a pound of cure’,” he finished.
“AAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Sora SCREAMED so loudly that he wondered if he could be heard from outside the temple. “OHHHHHHHHH GAHAHAHAAHAHaHhahahAHAAHHAHAAHAHAhaddDDDD!!! NOOOOOO! OH NO NO NO NO NOOOOOHOHO AAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHHAHAHA AHAHHAAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAAHAA!!!” The stiff bristles and slick soapsuds worked in deadly harmony to force him into his greatest fit of hysterics yet, flailing around more wildly than ever as his immobile, giant feet were scrubbed clean. Simple and clean, as it were.
“GAHAHAHHAH IT TICKLES IT TICKLES IT TICKLEHEHEHES! HEHEHEHEHEHE EEEEK! W-WHAT ARE THESE BRISTLES MAHAHAHAHADE OHOHOHOF?!”
“Filaments from Palutena’s molted wing feathers,” Pit replied coolly. “So soft and gentle, and so ruthlessly effective against spills and stains!”
“YYYAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAIEEEEEE! NO WOHOHOHOHONDEHEHEHER!!” Sora howled, arching his back as the centers of his arches were brushed with particular fervor. “WAHAHAHAHA! IT’S TOO MUUUUUCH! SOMEONE HELP! HEEHEHEHEHELP MEEEE! HEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!!!”
But no help came, obviously. So all he could do was sit there and take it, laughing up a storm and hoping that there wouldn’t be any ink left to get on the floor.
The next five minutes were chock-full of screaming, begging, chortling, howling, guffawing, giggling, wooden squeaking and creaking, and incessant scrubbing. But finally, mercifully… it was over. As Pit completed the washing and started drying Sora’s feet off with the towel, which mercifully only tickled a little, the latter simply lay there, too exhausted to move, only having enough breath left to giggle and chuckle every so often.
“Aaaaaand done~” Pit cooed, finally setting the towel aside before removing the toe restraints. “Well… That was fun, wasn’t it?” he grinned.
Sora caught his breath and curled his toes for the first time in a very long while before he finally managed to pull himself up to a sitting position. “I got it wayyyyy more than I expected,” he said with another indignant pout. But a moment later, his face softened, and then he burst into a large grin while flashing a thumbs-up. “But to your credit, it was awesome!”
“Well, I’m glad you liked it,” Pit replied. “It’s all part of science, buddy.”
“Of course. That being said, though…” Sora’s smile turned positively devilish as he punched his palm. “I’m going to get you back for this.”
Pit knew that expression meant nothing but trouble. “Y-you will?!”
“You’ll never know when, or where, or how, but mark my words, I will tickle you back, and trust me, I can give as good as I get!”
The angel began to panic. “Y-you’re not gonna do that now though, are you?!”
“What?! No! I barely have any strength left! I’ll have to regroup and wait for better time — and a better opportunity~” he teased. “I promise I won’t jump you if you free me from these stocks!”
Pit laughed, and opened them up so Sora could slip his poor abused feet free, which he did with such speed that his friend would swear he was now a little afraid of those two particular pieces of wood.
“In any case,” said Pit, “I’ll need to talk to Viridi about my progress next time I see her. She’s been talking about weaponizing Piranha Plants, and while I still question her motives, she did ask nicely…”
Sora shrugged. “Sure, whatever! Just let me know if she tries anything crazy, okay? I mean, I have heard a few stories…”
“Anyways, thanks for helping me out, buddy,” Pit replied, patting Sora on the shoulder. “You know, I think I should come over to YOUR place next time. Just to see what it’s like. Destiny Island, was it?“
“Yep, and if you want, feel free. It’d be fun for sure! Can’t wait, Pit!” Next thing the angel knew, his friend had pulled him into a big hug. Now that was the Sora he remembered.
“I’ll come over, don’t worry,” Pit replied with a smile. “And don’t forget to have an experiment of your own when I do!”
“Don’t worry, I have just the thing in mind!” Sora flashed him a grin.
“I fervently hope so. Part of me wishes Viridi was here, but then again she’ll be back soon. I can’t wait to tell her about my recent findings!”
“As long as she doesn’t use them against me, go ahead.”
Then Sora froze. His eyes narrowed as he stared at nothing in particular. He tilted his head, and lifted a hand to put against his ear.
“Huh? What is it?” asked Pit.
“There it is again. My laughter must’ve drowned it out earlier, but now that all is quiet again, I think I can hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“That faint screaming from below.” Sora’s eyes narrowed, and he summoned his Keyblade with a sudden look of angry suspicion. “No tricks, no lies, and no trouble. Who are you and Palutena keeping in the basement?”
Pit’s eyes widened. “Oh darn, I totally forgot about the surprise we prepared for you! Yeah, he’s in the basement, but before you bonk me with your Keyblade, I think you’ll definitely get a kick out of it when you see it. Let’s stop by the courtyard to get something, but after that it’s off to the basement!”
Sora raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know if I like where this is going, but… okay then. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, seeing as you don’t seem like the type to do anything weird.”
“Thank you,” Pit replied with a sigh of relief. “Well, I’ll let you recover while I get the thing, but after that, follow me!”
“Heh, for being such a ruthless tickler, at least you’ve got that level of decency,” Sora said with a chuckle. “Alright, then!”
**********
Ten minutes later, the two of them were in the underground chambers below the temple. In particular, there was a door in front of them with a small wooden sign dangling from the handle. The words “To Sora with Love - P&P” were written upon the sign in golden metallic ink with a few hearts around them.
“Well?” asked Pit, the Rolling Crate he’d pushed along just in front of him. “Ready to go inside?”
Sora nodded, trembling a little and expecting the worst. Reaching forward, he turned the door handle, swung the door open… and stared into the room in utter shock, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.
A young adult male, powerfully built with waist-length silver hair, his wrists shackled to the wall over his head, stared back at him, looking similarly gobsmacked. He was shirtless and barefooted, his ankles restrained in stocks made from reinforced titanium and bolted to the dungeon chamber floor, every single toe tied back to the stocks with steel cables and bent back as far as they could go.
“YOU!!!” the two of them shouted at the exact same moment, Sora completely taken aback, Sephiroth completely outraged.
Sora looked back at Pit. “Wha— How did you—”
“We have our ways,” Pit replied coyly. “He’s all yours, though first things first, could you scooch over? Gotta bring this thing in—”
“Oh, right!”
Sora stepped into the room and moved aside to allow Pit to move the crate in. Sephiroth just glared hatefully at them both, whispering death threats under his breath.
“Whatever you say to us, it’s not going to help you.” Pit smirked as he took out his bow. As the others watched, he used its tip like that of a crowbar to pry open the side of the crate. “We owed Sora here a favor, and we needed you to help with that.”
“This isn’t helping, you vile little pest!” Sephiroth spat. “And why am I restrained like this?!”
“You’ll see soon enough,” said Pit. “Well, Sora? What do you think?”
The Keyblade Wielder stared first at Sephiroth and then at Pit. Then, slowly, the corners of his mouth turned up. “Pit… I love it! Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?”
“Because I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, silly! You’d have been too eager to get started.”
“Started?!” Sephiroth snarled. “Started with what?!”
Sora cracked his knuckles. “With this.”
Taking a seat in front of Sephiroth, he wiggled his fingers in anticipation, and then suddenly spidered them all over the captive villain’s stretched soles. The reaction was instantaneous — Sephiroth’s vivid green eyes widened to their absolute limit, and he instantly started to twitch in place, his breath quickening and a series of rapid gasps coming from his mouth before he finally collapsed into laughter.
“NGAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAHAHAHAT ARE YOU DOIHIHIHING?! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOHOHOHOW!”
“What did you think?” Sora teased. “I had no idea that the One-Winged Angel was ticklish, but you can bet I will take full advantage of this knowledge. Coochie coochie coo~”
“NOOOOOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAH! CUT IT OHOHOUT! THE MOMENT I GET OUT OF THIS I’LL KIHIHIHIHIHILL YOHOHOHOHOHOUUUU!!!”
Sora snorted in amusement as he raked his nails up and down those helpless size twelves. “Big words coming from someone who’s not only got extremely sensitive feet — and probably everywhere else as well — but has also been defeated by yours truly not once, but twice. So suck it up, you so-called final boss!”
“HOHOHOHOW DAHAHAHARE YOHOHOHOUUU!!”
“Hey, Sora?” Pit asked, having pulled out one of the two things he’d brought inside the crate. “I know you’re having fun, but do you mind stepping back for a bit? I wanna see if this works.”
Sora looked round to see the Piranha Plant that the angel was holding, and smiled wickedly. “You read my mind.”
“Wh… What is this?!” Sephiroth spat, glaring daggers at them both.
Pit, heedless of that murderous look, simply set the Piranha Plant in front of their captive’s left foot, and pushed the pot forward so its lips were touching the taut arch. The plant instantly began rubbing its mouth-pod against the skin, and Sephiroth started giggling.
“Pffff… No, no, NO! Thihihis… Th-this cannot be! H-how… Wh-whahahat is this f-feheheheelihihing?!”
“Oh, you’ll know soon enough,” Pit replied, taking the second Piranha Plant out of the crate. “Sora? You do the honors~”
The other brunette nodded, grinning, and took the plant in his arms before setting it in front of Sephiroth’s other foot, positioning it so its leaf was in contact with the tender spot where the arch met the heel. The leaf instantly started swishing over that particular spot, and Sephiroth’s resolve broke in less than a second.
“BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT! STOOOOHOHOHOP! HAHAHHAHHAHA YOUUUUUU! HAHAHAHAHAH WHEN I ESCAPE THESE BINDINGS I’LL PFFFHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GEHEHEHET AWAHAHAHAHAYYYY!”
The plants, heedless of his cries, reached over and began their all-out assault, using their leaves and nibbling mouths to pinch, stroke, and brush against every inch of Sephiroth’s soles they could reach.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHH! HEHEHEHEHEHE I’LL KILL YOUUUU! I’LL K-KILL YOU BOHOHOHOTH! YOU AND YOUR GODDESS AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE GIVEN THE ULTIMATE DESPAAHAHAHAHAHAIR!!! GRAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ENOOOOUGH!!! AAAAARRRGGGHHH — HHHH — HHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAHH!”
“Despair?” asked Pit, holding up several apples he’d retrieved from the crate and taking a bite out of one. “What’s wrong with giving us these apples instead?”
Sora and Pit both burst out laughing at that bit of wordplay. A few moments later, they looked at each other, and exchanged warm smiles of a friendship renewed — and strengthened to a greater extent than ever.
Sora offered his fist for Pit to bump. Recognizing the gesture, the angel set aside the fruit he’d brought in just for the sake of a joke, and returned it.
“Badaladaladalah!” Sora sing-songed, raising his fist and wiggling his fingers.
“Wha? What was that?” asked Pit, heedless of the screams, death threats, and peals of helpless laughter coming from the other end of the chamber.
“Oh? A private joke, I’ll tell you later. Oh, but I do have one last question!” “Huh? What is it?” “See, last I checked, the guest fighters don’t have any places of their own to live in, and they’ve each been staying with one of the other fighters. I was wondering if… well…” Sora blushed, his hands behind his head as usual. “If you could spare a—”
“Already taken care of,” Pit replied, grinning. “Why did you think our room now has two beds? Yep, it’s now yours as much as mine!” “…oh. …OH!!” Sora gasped in astonishment, and then smiled more broadly than ever. “You really mean it?!” “Me and Lady Palutena both. She signed off the lease, so as long as you make yourself useful around the many worlds represented in this tournament—” “Say no more!” Sora cried, wiping fresh tears from his eyes. And the next moment, he gave his friend another big hug. “Needless to say, thank you so much for this. Thank you, Pit, from the bottom of my heart.”
Pit was all too happy to return the embrace. “You’re welcome, old friend. And once again… welcome to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament!”
“Happy to be here,” Sora beamed in response. Then he remembered his screaming, thrashing, and utterly defenseless silver-haired nemesis. “Oh, and Sephiroth?” he said with a devilish smirk, wiggling his fingers teasingly as the boys started closing in on those exposed underarms. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself over there, because we’re only just getting started… and believe me, One-Winged Angel, we’ve got aaaaaaaaaall day~!”
“NOOOO! NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHAH YOU LITTLE SHIIIHIHIHIHEHEHEHEHEHHH! GET AWAHAHAHAYYYYHEHEHEHEE EEEEEEEEEEEEK! GET OHOHOHOUT OF MY PIHIHITTTS! HAHAHAH YOU NASTY PIEHEHEHECE OF PFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP IT STOP IT STOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAAAPP!! W-WAIT, THE OTHER ONE?! B-BAHAHACK OFFFFFFF! Y-YOU KEEP THOSE DAMN WINGS AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEH! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAH YOU TWO ARE SOHOHOHOHO DOOOOOMED! HEHEHEHEHEHE EEEEHEHEHENOOOOOUUUGH! AHAHAHAHAHIHIHIT’S TOOOOO MUUUHUHUCHHH! NGGAAAHAHAHAHAH I’LL GET YOU BOHOHOTH FOR THIHIHIHIIIISSSS AHHAHHAHHAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!…”
**********
So caught up were the two boys in their enjoyment of Sephiroth’s ticklish torment, and so lost in his own helpless laughter was he, that none of the three knew they were being watched. Elsewhere in the temple, the green-haired goddess of light looked upon the scene playing out in her water-filled scrying bowl. If she had less dignity, she’d be laughing her ass off right now.
While Pit had come up with the idea to offer the One-Winged Angel as a ticklish gift to the tournament’s final newcomer in the first place, his goddess had done most of the heavy lifting to make that happen. It had been surprisingly easy for to talk the unsuspecting villain into complying, now that they both knew that Sora was finally here. The threat of setting the Keyblade Wielder upon him was more than enough to convince him not to try anything funny, but for all his bravado, the primal fear that had briefly flashed in his eyes when she’d brought the suggestion to him had told her all she needed to know. And yet, for all that talk about getting Sephiroth to do the goddess' bidding on threat of Sora, he had unwittingly agreed to become a ticklish homecoming gift for Sora! She wouldn’t remember the word until much later, but the schadenfreude was exquisite.
More importantly, though, the question of where Sora would live during the Tournament had been answered even before her best lieutenant had asked if he could stay with him at their temple. She had known of their friendship for a while now, though she’d decided not to tell him in case anyone else found out; it had long since become an open secret, though, and now that the one Chosen by the Keyblade had joined the fight, keeping it was moot. When it came to his living arrangements, there was really only one option that made sense, and without hesitation, she’d agreed and signed off the paperwork. It was legally forbidden to disappoint her favorite servant, after all.
As she listened silently to Sora and Pit playfully teasing both the helplessly cackling Sephiroth and each other, Palutena smiled to herself, knowing her work was done. She was quite certain, after all, that the captain of her guard and his best friend could take it from here. Whatever was to come in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament, it was clear that those two were going to have a lot of fun together!
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