It's festival time in Inazuma City! People all from over Teyvat are coming for the fun, food, and fireworks, but little does anyone know that there's trouble in their midst. Trouble with a capital T, which stands for both "Traveler" and "Tickling" - exactly what the aforementioned blonde is planning to do to more than a few of the young women making a visit. But with the Raiden Shogun hot on her tail and an impatient, starving Paimon in her wake, can she succeed in her mission? And more importantly... will Paimon be able to get any snacks?!
This is of a long-overdue co-write with one of my closest friends, WernchOfTheTeam - while I did a lot of proofreading, editing, and modifications to the story throughout its production, the bulk of the creative work and the original idea were their responsibility. Go check out and support their work when you get the chance!
The pitch in our head for this story was originally Lumine getting the drop on a bunch of different other (playable) women whom we really liked, and indeed that is the premise the first half of this story sticks to. However, while we were going over the planning and outline, I got the idea to spin one of the scenes into a secondary plot with Raiden and Jean, along with their respective aides, joining forces to catch Lumine before she causes some serious trouble, which ended up taking over most of the plot during this portion of the fic, though it certainly paid off in the end due to there being more to this story than just Lumine running around and tickling people with impunity. There had to be consequences for her, and the scenario shown in the Patreon reward pic associated with this story had to happen somehow, right? While I'd say Wernch and I contributed equally to the subject matter, a number of the ideas implemented in this latter half were actually mine, because I felt they would help the story flow more smoothly. We actually had plans at some point in the development of the story to include a few more victims like Hu Tao, Yelan, and possibly Yoimiya (there was in fact a throwaway mention of Lumine getting a hold of the last one), but the fic was already absurdly verbose as it was - a whopping 15,557 words spanning somewhere between 31 and 32 pages total! I told you this thing was my longest one-shot yet! If my IRL schedule permits it, maybe someday in the distant future we might get a follow-up to this story with Lumine getting her tickling fingers on some of the other girls from this game, including the ones mentioned above. We'd certainly be spoiled for choice with respect to who pick for a hypothetical Round Two!
This story took nearly seventy days to write, but we had so much fun with it the entire time despite it being quite the bumpy ride at first. I for one couldn't be happier with the end result, and I truly and sincerely cannot thank Wernch enough for sticking with me and my, well, me-ness throughout this entire endeavor. I look forward to whatever the future holds for her as an artist, as a writer, and as an amazing friend!
There is also an ongoing raffle related to the DeviantArt upload of this fic, which you can find in the link below if you wish to participate and offer Wernch and her work the support they deserves. Come one, come all, to suggest a Genshin girl to put through her ticklish paces!
https://www.deviantart.com/skaeadaimonion/journal/9-7K-Watcher-Special-TeyvaToberFest-Raffle-932354707
Genshin Impact (c) Hoyoverse
DeviantArt links:
- https://www.deviantart.com/skaeadaimonion/art/Festival-Frolics-in-Inazuma-Part-1-2-F-F-F-F-925250774
- https://www.deviantart.com/skaeadaimonion/art/Festival-Frolics-in-Inazuma-Part-2-2-F-F-F-F-929711677
Patreon reward for September 2022: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72987669
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Festival Frolics in Inazuma
by Skaea and WernchOfTheTeam
Contains: F/F+ and F+/F, concentrating on foot tickling but with some full-body tickling. SFW.
Word Count: 15,560
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The archipelago of Inazuma. Just one of the many colorful and vibrant nations of Teyvat, its recent liberation from the misguided rule of the Raiden Shogun was a cause for celebration. Little did its people know however that there was another threat now on the loose within its borders, one that no one could have possibly expected…
“Paimon wants lunch, and Paimon wants it now!” the little fairy griped, floating next to the blonde woman clad in a short dress of purest white. “There’s gotta be somewhere that sells one of those Sweet Madames around here, right?”
Lumine replied with a sigh then giggled a bit, poking Paimon in the tummy. "Don't worry, hehe! I'll be on the lookout."
Paimon was still giggling as the Traveler began, well, looking out. "So, what do you plan to do while we're here?" the fairy asked, looking around at all the wonderful sights of the festival. "Surely, there's gotta be some excitement waiting for us just around the corner, right?"
"Well… I suppose there could be. But I was thinking…" Lumine flashed a very impish look. "What would happen if instead of waiting for the excitement to come to us, I could make things exciting myself?"
Paimon’s eyes narrowed, apprehension and annoyance already building up within her. She knew that look, having seen it many times before. That could mean only one thing: trouble.
The two wandered the streets of Inazuma City, looking around at the celebration being set up. Paimon remained silent, but felt her heart sink as she mentally calculated a grim prediction for what was about to happen.
It didn’t seem like the kind of place where anyone could stir up trouble, but in the capital of Inazuma, anything could happen. Still, there was definitely a sense of festivity in the air. The traditional flourishes such as tanabata and lanterns were already being put up in full force, and most of the locals were sporting their finest robes of multicolored silk and satin. Many people from Liyure and Monstead had visited too, since the lifting of the Vision Hunt Decree meant that Inazuma was open for all.
There were so many visitors, in fact, that Lumine was spoiled for choice with regards to who she could get the jump on first. She always loved putting smiles on the faces of everyone she met, but some ways in which she did that were a little… less selfless than others. She was planning now to get a laugh out of as many festival-goers as she could, albeit at their expense.
The two of them were now on their way towards the statue of the Raiden Shogun, where they had twice before confronted the Archon in person, and Lumine noticed two familiar faces as she wandered with Paimon in tow. One of the two women had short blue hair, the other long brown locks with a hairband sporting two red ribbon tails on it. Both Eula and Amber were walking not too far from her, dressed up in matching yukatas for the festival: Eula wore a blue one and Amber sported a red one. However, what stuck out to the traveler the most was their getas. Seeing both Eula and Amber's feet as they passed her by made Lumine feel quite funny, and without changing her expression, or letting anyone else notice, the traveler began hatching a plan.
The two girls soon sat at a bench, just chatting with each other. They never noticed Lumine slipping into the bushes behind them, Paimon going into invisible hiding only after giving her a very hesitant look.
Lumine prowled through the bushes until she was right behind the bench, the other girls’ backsides in view. However, her eyes trailed downward to their feet, now in a heel pop position as they went into a lively discussion about the festival decor (well, Amber was, anyway). Eula had long slender feet that were slightly bigger then Amber's, but both pairs were pale and smooth. Amber had wider, more meaty feet, which were currently blushing red and probably warm to the touch.
Eula and Amber seemed warped up in their conversation as Lumine continued thinking to herself. She was just about to reach out and start with a single investigative poke when—
“HEY! PAIMON IS HUNGRY!”
Lumine snapped out of her thoughts, backing up as fast as she could. Before either of her would-be victims could figure out what that noise was, she’d slipped away and hid behind the corner of a nearby stall.
“Oh! Sorry about that…” She let out a nervous chuckle. “Just got a little distracted, that’s all.”
“Paimon can see why,” Paimon replied, glancing over at the two Mondstadt girls. "Amber and Eula are here, aren’t they?" Lumine noded. "Let's give them a little surprise. You distract them until I make my move. Then when I’ve had my fun, we'll eat. So, what do you say?" Lumine smirked, blushing a little.
Paimon pouted. "Hmph, fine. But only for the food!"
Eula and Amber had resumed their conversation about Inazuma in general, having already forgotten about the noise that had startled them a minute ago. They never noticed Lumine sneaking into the bushes again, this time without Paimon.
“Eula! Amber! Hello!” Paimon flew up to the girls with a cheerful wave. “Paimon wonders what you two are doing here at the festival! Enjoying the sights, huh?”
“I suppose we are,” Eula replied as coolly as ever. “You’re looking quite excited yourself.”
“Yep! I’m sure they’ve got a lotta sweet treats here! Ohhh, I can’t wait to try the stuff they’ve just brought in from Sumeru…”
“Where’s Lumine?” asked Amber, looking around. Little did the outrider know that Lumine had quickly thrown herself into the bushes again, the Traveler already once again sneaking in ever closer.
“Oh! Uh… She’s, uh… She had to take care of something, aheheheh…” Paimon rubbed the back of her head nervously, trying to think of a suitable excuse.
Amber shrugged. “Kinda odd that you’d be here without her — I swear, you two are practically joined at the hip!”
“She can’t be far,” Eula reasoned. “Perhaps she’s getting you a snack?”
“Errrr… Yes! Yes, she… kinda sorta promised me she’d get me one, heheh…” Paimon glanced around nervously.
Amber’s eyes narrowed, and she was about to ask what particular stall Lumine was at, which would’ve forced Paimon to build upon the lie more and more, when it happened.
The Outrider jumped as she felt a well-manicured nail poke her sole. "Hahaha hey what the!?" the outrider exclaimed as she looked back to try and see whomever was poking her feet. She couldn't make out the source of the poking, but she didn't get the chance to try and make sense of it before two long nails began stroking up and down her arches, making her squeal and wriggle in place.
Eula looked back too, surprised at Amber's sudden fit of laughter, only to notice that Paimon had darted out of view. Turning her head about to try and spot her, she completely missed the fairy diving under the bench to strike at Eula's foot.
"This better be worth it!" she whispered to herself before her tiny hands skittered across Eula's soles. "Brrrr, why are your feet so cold Eula?"
Amber jumped around a little in place, realizing only too late what Paimon and Lumine’s plan had been all along. She kicked a bit to try and dissuade her attacker, but this might have made things worse as her sandals began to slip off their feet. "Ahahahaha Lumine! Lumine, not theheheh- GAHHHHAHAHAHA!!!" The brunette shouted in laughter, clutching her ribs as she struggled not to fall off the bench altogether.
Paimon, meanwhile, kept up the action with her small but effective tickling fingers. "Eula's feet are cold," she muttered, "but maybe Paimon's tickles can warm them up!"
Paimon smiled to herself when she remembered that she was doing this for the food, and an idea came to her.
Eula's sandals began to slip off as Paimon tickled between her toes "Coochie coo!" Paimon teased as her fingers tickled from the undersides of the blue-haired girl toes to her long slender arches.
"AHAHAHHAHHAHAH P-PAIMOHOHOHN-! GET OHOHOUT OF THEHEHEHERE!" Eula cried, her toes planted firmly on the ground as she struggled in vain to handle the tickling without losing her trademark composure. Her heels in the air, her arches were stretched taut and powerless to escape.
Floating just a little closer to Eula's trapped heels, Paimon began putting her idea into action, her tongue beginning to trace its tip up and down each arch in turn.
Eula shrieked at an incongruously high pitch, flushing hard and struggling to hide her total embarrassment at the public display. "AAIIIEEEEE! EHEHEHEHEEEE! PAHAHAHAHAIIIMOOHOHOHOHOHONNN! STOP IT! STOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAP!"
Amber meanwhile was having troubles of her own, her creamy arches being stroked by two fingers each now as she giggled and laughed helplessly. "HAHAHAHAHAHA LUMIIIIINE!!! YOU HAVE A L-LOT OF AHAHAHA-EXPLAINING TO DOOOO! AHAHAHAH!" She shook her feet side to side as she clenched her Yukata. "HAHAHA YOU GOING TO MAKE ME RUIN THIIIIS! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Paimon, meanwhile, kept wiggling her fingers against the cold feet of her own victim, softening her up for her actual plan. A smug expression briefly crossed her face before she floated forward a little, sticking her small tongue out before gently running it on Eula's foot. "Mmm, Paimon thinks this is just like ice cream," she said to herself before she licked up Eula's foot again.
“WAHAHAHA YOU REALLY T-THIHIHIHINK SOHOHOHO?!” Eula shouted, trying to slide her feet backward to dissuade Paimon with a well-placed kick, but her toes were planted against the soles of her geta which, in turn, were firmly on the ground and unable to move further back than they already were.
“What’s going on here?”
A few of the security guards posted around the festival were now coming over, a little annoyed by the public disturbance.
Uh-oh! Busted! Paimon began to panic, and decided to beat a swift retreat, but not before giving Eula’s right arch one last lick which made her squeal at an oddly high pitch.
Sensing danger, Lumine also backed off, leaving a giggling Amber and her friend to their fate.
“What was that screaming I heard just now?” asked one of the guards. “You two should know that starting a riot here of all places isn’t the best idea…”
Amber and Eula exchanged nervous glances. If they told the truth, nobody would believe them. And that was exactly what Lumine was counting on as she slipped out of the bushes and out of sight.
**********
“Ugggh! Paimon wants a snack right this instant! Paimon can’t believe you put us through that!” The fairy leveled a furious glare at the traveler, her stomach grumbling just a little.
“Well, I needed someone to distract the girls before I made my move…” Lumine smirked, which did nothing to placate her guide. “Come on then, let’s see who else we can have some fun with.”
“WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?!”
“I’ll get it to you, promise! Just give me a minute…”
The two of them were making their way towards the coastline now, Paimon looking for a food stall and Lumine surreptitiously looking out for something else entirely. Once they arrived, the two of them paused to take in the sight of the beautiful beach, its white sand glistening in the afternoon sun and the gently lapping waves of the azure sea stirring up the division between land and water.
“Now Paimon wants ice cream,” Paimon grumbled. “There’s gotta be an ice cream stall around here, right? Or shaved ice? Do they even sell that here in Inazuma?”
Lumine stopped, and held a finger to her lips as she turned to face Paimon.
“Don’t you shush Paimon!” the fairy cried. “That’s just rude!”
“No no, seriously, be quiet!” Lumine whispered, glancing around. “We’re not alone here, are we?”
Paimon peeked over the traveler’s shoulder, and her heart sank. Lumine had found what she was looking for: a certain librarian with long brown hair and an oversized purple pointed hat. Lisa was on the coast laying on a towel in the warm sand.
Lumine giggled to herself, now thinking of something she'd always wanted to do to her for a while. As Paimon hung back, folding her arms with a scowl, she slowly walked over making sure she wasn't making so much noise. As she expected, Lisa had her eyes closed with a relaxed posture and expression, seemingly oblivious to the traveler now sitting next to her.
Then the witch stirred a little, and then sat up, turning to stare the traveler right in the face. “Oh! Hello there, cutie~”
Lumine jumped, caught off guard. “Lisa! Uh… Can I help you?”
“Heh, surprised to see me here? Well, don’t be. Commander Jean said the Knights of Favonius decided to attend the festival here in Inazuma because we were interested in reaching out to other nations, so here I am! And as for why I’m here on this beach? Well, let’s just say I figured I’d catch some rays while the chance was there.”
“Ah, well, that’s good news to hear,” Lumine replied, rubbing the back of her head. Then she paused. “Wait, Jean is here as well?”
“Yes, but I’m not obliged to tell you her location. She’s… relaxing, as she should be.”
Lumine’s eyes narrowed. “So you know where Jean is?”
“If I did, I’d rather not say. Don’t want to ruin the surprise, Cutie~”
Lumine snorted in amusement, and decided to use her ‘attack’ right then and there.
“EHHHH hahah hey~!” Lisa was caught off guard when she felt Lumine quickly poke her belly, fully exposed for tickles. However Lumine was caught off guard as well, as instead of struggling Lisa sat there hardly fighting back. She stayed the course, though, trying to wring an answer out of the Mondstadt wizard.
“Go on, spill it. Is Jean around and can I get her, too?”
“Hahahaha if you wanted to ahahaha tickle me, you ahahaha you could’ve just asked, ahaha!” Lisa said between her soft giggles biting her lip a bit before resuming her giggles. “Stihihill not tehehellihihing, thohohough~!”
Lumine blushed, still poking Lisa. “You like to be tickled?”
Lisa nodded in affirmation, though Lumine’s insistence at trying to track down her commander did seem… intriguing to her. “Hahaha, of course! Though — ahahahaha — I know you can do better, cutie~” Lisa winked, urging Lumine to try harder.
Lumine blushed, but then smirked. “On it!” Before Lisa could respond, she then leaned down and blew a raspberry right into her navel. The results were instant as Lisa kicked her feet around. “AHAHAHAHAHA OOOH, THAT’S MORE AHAHAHAHA LIKE IIIIT!! AHAHA!”
Lumine smiled at the librarian, giving her an expectant glance as though hoping she’d divulge the needed information, before going to blow another raspberry and another as Lisa kicked her feet around.
“AACK!”
Paimon had just floated over when one of Lisa’s movements flung sand right at her, much to her annoyance. “Pfft! Ptah! Can you stop kicking that in Paimon’s face!?”
Lumine looked up with a nervous smile. “Hehe, sorry! Just trying to get some intel out of this woman.”
Lisa let out a few giggles looking down at her feet. “Oh, why don’t you tickle me here, cutie? Perhaps you could get me to spill the beans just a little bit that way…”
“You’re tempting me on purpose, aren’t you?” Lumine laughed, unable to believe the words that came from Lisa’s mouth. Still, the traveler gave a big smile and moved down to the Mondstadt mage’s feet. Without hesitation, Lumine began to poke at her soft slender sole. “Just tell me where Jean is, and I’ll stooooop~”
“OOOH hehe! I-it appears I’m quite ticklish there! Ahahahahahaha!” Lisa giggled, wiggling her sandy toes in Lumine’s face. “Ahahahahah, but I love it! Keep going, ahahahahaha!”
Lumine couldn’t help but chuckle herself, realizing that this was going nowhere, but she spidered her fingers around Lisa’s pampered feet anyway.
As Paimon observed all of this, she grew more frustrated, and not just due to wondering where her food was. Lumine didn’t even notice the floating ‘imp’, being too invested in the tickling action.
Lisa let out a series of soft seductive giggles. “Hehehe, a-all I can say — ahahaha — is that Jean c-came wihihiith me~ Ahahaha, you are skilled at this~ Ahahaha!”
Lumine slowed her fingers a bit to hear Lisa out, but still kept her fingers dragging up and down. “Of course she would, but you’d have to do better than thaaaaat~”
“Ahahahah, she can use some tickles, heheh,” Lisa replied, before biting her lip in thought. “But I’ll l-leave you to figure the rest ohohout yourself~”
Lumine pouted playfully, looking away. Only then did she notice that there were two sets of footprints on the beach, one leading to Lisa’s beach towel and the other in a different direction.
“Bingo.”
Lumine stopped tickling the witch at that point. “Come on, Paimon, let's go say hello to Jean!” she exclaimed.
Paimon placed her fists on her hips and huffed. “WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?!’ she shouted.
Lumine giggled before replying, “In a bit, Paimon!” With that, she began to go down the coast line to look for her next victim.
“Get back here, you rascal! WHY YOU—!!” Paimon angrily flew off after her, leaving the still-giggling witch to watch them go.
“Hmm…” Lisa rubbed her chin. “So, Cutie’s coming for Jean? If she’s planning what I think she is, I’d never forgive myself if I missed it…”
**********
The Dandelion Knight gazed up at the sky with a forlorn expression, laying down on a towel of her own with only the gentle lapping of the waves beyond breaking the silence after she grew quiet again. She had been worked to the bone recently with too many crises to count — and they hadn’t stopped at Stormterror. The Abyss Order, the Fatui, the increase in raids by treasure hunters… For a nation of freedom, it seemed Mondstadt was only barely holding itself together. At least Diluc was keeping the worst of the lot at bay while she was out.
Lumine had single-handedly taken care of most if not all of the crises plaguing the nation while she had visited, but her absence had only made things even worse. She was now tired and incredibly footsore seven days a week, and she and Lisa both knew it.
“…I’m getting too old for this,” Jean grumbled.
The prospect of relieving stress at work was why the witch had dragged her here to take a load off her shoulders, which had helped somewhat — though the stated reason was a promise to meet the legendary Electro Archon, which Jean had honestly looked forward to for some time. She had had too much experience with the Anemo Archon and his frequent drunken antics, and the Geo Archon being somewhat absent-minded chafed on her as well, but the Raiden Shogun seemed more like a kindred spirit from what she had heard. Most of all, she had a lot more years to practice keeping an entire nation safe and sound, and Jean had considered consulting her for advice for a while now…
She would of course have to regain some measure of inner composure before even thinking about giving the Shogun a single glance, and that was how she’d found herself here, catching some rays at Lisa’s suggestion.
Still, the Favonius commander just couldn’t stop thinking about how things were back home, even while out of her armor and with nothing but sand and sea for company. And she had a sinking feeling that even though things were at their calmest in weeks, they’d only get much more exciting later. Regardless, though… she really did need a break.
There was nothing else to do — she’d just finished the romance novel she’d brought with her, and for all her attention to her duties back home, the fact that all the tension had gone from her body was nevertheless welcome. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and drifted and drifted and soon fell into a much-needed deep sleep… unaware of a certain someone sneaking up on her at this very moment.
If she had to be honest with herself, Jean had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but the next time she came to, she felt a strange weight pressing down on her that hadn’t been there before. Her eyes snapped open, and in an instant she became aware of her current state: her waist was bent at a right angle and her entire body was immersed in the sand, save of course for her head and her bare feet. And who else would be seated in front of the latter but—
“LUMINE!!!”
Lumine jumped a bit when she heard the shout of her name, but a moment later she gave Jean a devious smirk. “Heh, hello.”
Jean's eyes narrowed. "What is the meaning of this? Can't I take even one day off without you getting into some kind of trouble?"
Lumine shrugged. "Hey now, trouble finds me all the time. I might as well save it the effort, right?"
"If you don't unearth me within the next five minutes, I'll have you deported back to Mondstadt and tried for holding the captain of the Knights of Favonius hostage," Jean said dangerously, not that it mattered by this point.
"Go on, keep talking," Lumine taunted smugly. "No amount of attempted browbeating is going to save you now." She raised her fingers and wiggled them with a teasing grin.
“W-what are you doing?!” Jean asked, looking suddenly fearful.
The Traveler gave a small giggle in response. “Maybe it’s better to show you,” she said with a playful wink.
Jean put two and two together at that moment with a look of abject horror. "No! Lumine, NO!"
Undeterred, Lumine began wiggling her fingers as she inched them closer to Jean’s long sandy soles. The trapped knight felt the sensation though her whole body even before her captor's nails made contact, and was already giggling even at this point. Jean would’ve jumped if she could if it wasn’t for all that sand.
Her laughter spiked in pitch as all ten fingernails started digging into her soft soles. Lumine wiggled her fingers up and down and up and down again with constant and precise motions. Jean was howling loudly enough now to scare gulls into the air, and as her head lolled to the side, she could only stare in horror at the blonde who was now tormenting her.
Her fingers were so skillful at tickling! How does she do it?! Jean thought to herself as she laughed so hard she felt light-headed. “HAHAHAHAHA WHAT IS THIS?! AHAHAHAHA!!!” the luckless knight cried out, half-blinded by anguished tears and stray locks of her hair.
Lumine couldn’t help but giggle at the knight's sensitivity. “Wow, who knew such a stoic woman had such soft sensitive feet?” Her fingers gilded so easily along the surface of Jean’s smooth feet, almost like stroking silk. “Coochie coochie coo, hehe!” she teased
There was nothing Jean could do — her strength had been instantly sapped, so there was no hope of exhuming herself any time soon. Even through her laughter, though, she tried to impose whatever threatening command she could think of in a bid to deter the deceptively vicious little torturer. “EEEHEHEHEHEE YOU BETTER STHAHAHAP THIS OR ELSEHEHEH AHAHAH OR ELSE! AHAHAHAH!”
Lumine began to laugh harder herself. “Or else what, Jean? You’ll deport me to Mondstadt? Ahahah, I could just find and tickle you again when you get back!” With that, her fingers found themselves attacking Jean’s long toe stems as her victim screamed helplessly.
“AIIEEEEEEEEHEHEHEEEE! NO NO NAHAHAHAT THE TOOOOEHEHEHEEHEHEES! EHEHEHE GET ME OHOHOHOUT OF HEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEERE!” Jean cried as her eyes began to get watery and her face red.
Ignoring Jean’s protests, Lumine continued to run her fingers up and down and all around her soft, helpless soles. She even leaned in and started licking the general’s toes while she was at it, and was about to start sucking upon them when—
“HEY! WHERE'S PAIMON’S FOOD?!”
A very angry, frustrated Paimon had floated up right behind Lumine and shouted right in her ear, startling her so much that she nearly beaned the fairy upside the head when she whirled to face her.
“AHHHH! Paimon, don’t scare me like that!” Lumine yelled.
“Paimon doesn’t care! Aren’t you forgetting someone?!”
“Oh, right! Sorry!” Lumine said as she got up dusting the sand off her dress. “Let’s go get you a snack, shall we?” she said hastily as the two ran off, leaving Jean still stuck in the sand.
“Hey! Can’t you guys let me out?! GET BACK HERE!” she shouted, but it was too late. They were gone. “Ugggh… That girl is always causing trouble. She didn’t even care that I’m still trapped like this! For Barbatos’ sake, could this get any worse?!”
“Oh, my~”
Jean started and turned her head around. “Lisa? Oh, thank goodness… You should’ve arrived five minutes ago!”
The witch sat down upon the sand next to her, taking note of the look on her face. “So I noticed. What’s your story, hmm?”
“What do you think?” Jean glowered at her sweat-drenched feet, the residual tingling still making her giggle sporadically.
“Ooh… Cutie got you too, huh? Don’t worry, though — I saw the whole thing. You have a cute laugh, you know that?”
“You didn’t tell her where I was, didn’t you?!” Jean sputtered indignantly, still firmly embedded in the sand with only her head and feet sticking out.
“Oh, no no, she figured it out herself. I tried to distract her, I really did, but—”
“Spare me the excuses, Lisa. We need to stop that girl before she gets herself in serious trouble. This wouldn’t look good on our record if she makes a scene in public!”
“Heh, I can imagine.”
“Lisa, could you at least do me a favor and kindly unbury me?” the general grumbled, wiggling her feet a bit. “Then after that, come with me. I would like a word with the organizer of the festival.”
“Oh, I’ll get to that,” Lisa replied with a chuckle, taking note of Jean’s bare feet with their cute bubble-like toes. “But before I do, am I allowed to have some fun for a few minutes? Yes? Thank you~”
Jean’s eyes widened, remembering that she was still right where any conniving troublemaker would’ve wanted her. A moment later, she flinched as Lisa passed her hand over her sole, letting a little purple spark jump to the ball of her foot, making the spot tingle maddeningly. Panic overtook her as she realized what Lisa was planning, and she swallowed hard, shaking her head with a flicker of mortal, hysterical terror.
“OH, NOT YOU TOOOHOHOHOHOHOOO! GAHAHAHAHAHAH, NAHAHAHAT AGAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAIIIN!”
It was going to be a long while before she’d get to free herself to go and speak with the high leader of Inazuma. And to top it off, even as the sparks began to fly in earnest — along with Jean’s helpless, renewed laughter — Lumine, that meddlesome stranger who’d gotten her into this mess, was already long gone.
**********
“Now, who shall we target next?” Lumine asked herself, getting lost in her thoughts as she wandered through the shopping precinct with the irritated fairy in tow. “I’m sure there’s plenty of people worth paying a visit — Yoimiya, Yae Miko, Ayaka…”
“STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT! Paimon wants food, and you’ve been stringing Paimon along all day without buying any!” The fairy whapped Lumine on the back of the head. “How dare you put your own happiness over your friends’ well-being?!”
“I told you, I promise, I’ll get you something to eat! We just need to see if there’s any other friends of ours visiting the festival—”
“What did Paimon just tell you?! Stop that right now! We’re going to a food stall, and that’s final!”
“Alright, alright, snacks it is! But where—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence. With a startled yelp, she bumped right into someone familiar… and noticeably taller.
“Lumine?” the woman asked in astonishment, her long light blue hair and matching robe fluttering in the slight breeze. She glanced over at a woman next to her with shorter, dark purple hair and a black and pink yukata, as though pleading for her help in defusing how awkward the situation was.
“Oh! Sorry about that—!” Lumine looked up to see that the woman she had bumped into was no other than Shenhe, and not only that but Yun Jin had appeared to be tagging along with her as well.
"Oh, it’s you, Traveler,” Shenhe replied with a soft smile. “I was worried for a moment, and almost smashed your head on the ground.”
“Shenhe!” Yun Jin scolded. She gave the Traveler an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. We should’ve looked where we were going, but there’s just a lot to see around here! I’m sure the festival will be lovely once it starts…”
Lumine smiled nervously. “It’s okay, no need to worry,” she said as she nodded. “Sorry to be in your way.” She looked down instinctively out of slight guilt, and then she saw them. Shenhe’s toes.
“Oh, no…” Paimon quietly groaned, pinching the bridge of her cute little nose.
Lumine, for her part, smiled at the idea that came to her at that moment. “How about I make it up to you? I was thinking of a quick massage, since you two must be tired walking around the city all day.”
The two Liyue-native women thought for a moment, and then Yun Jin responded. “Sure, we'd love to!”
“That would be nice as well,” added Shenhe.
Paimon held back, folding her arms with a very sour expression, watching as the other three girls made their way to the nearest bench. “Paimon knew it…” she grumbled.
Thankfully for Lumine, not a lot of people were around which made her feel at ease for what she was about to do. She started by massaging the shoulders of the two other women — Shenhe’s right and Yun Jin’s left. The effect was almost instantaneous, the others relaxing and letting the tension out of their bodies.
“Mmmm, that feels good…” Yun Jin sighed dreamily.
“Perhaps you could do the other ones, too?” added Shenhe.
Lumine promptly did so, stretching her arms a bit to either side. Her eyes were still on the feet of the pair from Liyue, though…
“Alright, for the next step, I’d like to massage your feet,” she said after a few more minutes.
The other two looked at her in surprise.
“A foot massage?” asked Yun Jin. “That’s… unexpected, to say the least.”
“Come on, it can’t hurt! Certainly not more than having to walk all around the city… riiiiight?”
Yun Jin still looked disbelieving, while Shenhe seemed thoughtful. But ultimately, the latter looked up again.
“Alright, let’s give it a try.”
Yun Jin still felt a bit suspicious, but nodded as well.
With that, the two women began to remove their footwear. Adjusting their positions, they now sat on opposite sides of the bench with Lumine in the middle, and placed their feet up on the traveler's lap.
Shenhe had longer, pale feet with a perfectly round heel and ball and long arch for each of them. Yun Jin had quite the opposite, but Lumine found her feet still quite cute in appearance, with small toes and a wide sole with some lovely wrinkles forming on her arch each time she curled said toes.
Lumine decided to begin by giving what she promised, namely rubbing the other girls’ feet methodically and with proper pressure applied to the balls and arches as appropriate. Once again, the other two let out a sigh in unison. Lumine blushed and smiled as she watched the girls relax, closing their eyes, but then her eyes narrowed and a smirk formed on her lips. The secret to a tickle attack, as she had learned by way of extensive practice, was to strike when the target least expected it.
She started off subtly, her thumb digging into one arch for each victim, and she began to rotate the digits in teasing circles. Her two friends began to twitch a bit in place, their lips quivering, but neither of them reacted much. Undeterred, the Traveler smirked as she then began to move her thumbs up and down the Liyue girls’ soft feet.
"Hehehehe-hey, what gives?! Hahahahaah—!" Yun Jin finally spoke up through a flurry of bubbly giggles.
Shenhe, for her part, still kept her usually stoic tone even though her giggles. "Ehehehehe my my, this is a v-very interesting massahahage~ Ahahahaha…!"
Lumine mischievously smiled at both of them. The other girls realized her true intent only too late, as she suddenly wiggled her fingers upon both of their captive feet.
Yun Jin’s eyes widened. "W-WAHAHAHAIT! THIS ISN'T A MASSAGE! HAHAHA, THIS IS TICKLING AHAHAHA!!" She kicked her meaty feet lightly as Lumine's well manicured fingers danced upon them.
Shenhe, however had a different reaction. She kept her slender feet still as Lumine tickled them. "HAHAHAHA, THIS IS AHAHA Q-QUIHIHITE ENJOYABLE! AHAHAHAHA!"
Yun Jin was confused by what Shenhe had said as she cried out, "HAHAHHA WHAHAHAT YOU ACTUALLY LIKE THIS AHAHAHAHA!?"
Shenhe nodded as Lumine's fingers attacked her toes. "AHAHAHAHA, IT'S A PLEASANT FEELING, AHAHAHAHA!"
Lumine blushed a bit, but continued to skitter her fingers up and down both girls’ arches and toes, enjoying their respective reactions.
“YEEEEEEK! NONONOHAHAHAHA!” Yun Jin yelped, now feeling her own soft toes being prodded and scritched. She tried to curl her toes, but Lumine wiggled her nails under the pads to get at the vulnerable stems, forcing her to spread her toes and offering access to the spaces between.
“WAHAHAH GET BETWEEN MY TOHOHOES AS WEHEHEHELL!” Shenhe chortled, spreading them accordingly so Lumine could continue her work.
This continued back and forth for several more minutes, Lumine taking her sweet time to give each girl ticklish attention in turn, switching between them regularly. Finally, however, Yun Jin was the first to give, pulling her feet away, and Shenhe, a bit reluctantly, did the same a second later.
Lumine chuckled. “Looks like you two couldn’t take it, huh?”
“Oh, I enjoyed it as I’ve said,” Shenhe replied, shrugging. “But I just didn’t want to disrespect my friend…”
Lumine thought about it a bit, but decided that they’d had enough for now. “Can I at least rub your feet again? I won’t tickle you anymore, promise!”
Yun Jin looked a bit skeptical, but put her feet in Lumine’s lap after a moment, with Shenhe promptly imitating her.
The foot rub lasted another minute, both girls looking more content once Lumine was done. As soon as she pushed their feet away to clue them in that it was time to put their footwear back on, she stood up and dusted herself off. “So, maybe we can do it again some time?”
“I’d certainly like that,” Shenhe replied with a soft smile.
Yun Jin laid back a little, catching her breath. "You two have fun," she said with a faint smile of her own.
"Oh we will! But I better get going," Lumine replied, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish look. "Don't want Paimon to yell at me again," the blonde added under her breath as she headed off.
As it happened, Paimon had been sticking to the shadows and glaring at her the whole time, impatient and still hungry. She was about to yell at her again for sidelining her but as Lumine was already looking for her next target, she gave up on trying to convince her to look for snacks. Her motive now was to rein in the rampaging Traveler before she could spot her next target. But thankfully for Lumine — and unfortunately for Paimon — she didn't have to look for much longer…
**********
In a move meant only to annoy a certain uptight Mondstadt general, Lumine had left her Favonius uniform and her sandals further along the beach. Lisa had kept her footwear with her, but she was sadly incapable of carrying her, so poor Jean had no recourse but to cross the path barefooted. At least the grassy ground next to the beach wasn’t scorching hot, but to her annoyance and mild discomfort, Jean was forced to go barefooted until she got her sandals back.
“Yeesh, I never thought I’d regard Cutie as a public menace,” Lisa muttered, shaking her head in a mix of disappointment and amusement.
“We need to find someone who can stop her, and I think I know just the person,” replied Jean, glancing up at the large statue nearby. “I think an audience with the Raiden Shogun would be appropriate.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “I thought the Raiden Shogun was busy with political affairs.”
“She’s in charge of the festival, and it was all her idea to start with. If there’s anyone who can deal with the problem of the Traveler running loose, it’s definitely her.”
“Fair enough. But how do we find her, exactly? For all I know, she could be anywhere in this city — it’s pretty big, and I’d rather not risk having to walk all the way from one end of it to the other. How Cutie manages it every other day, I’ll never know…”
Jean ignored that last comment, thinking hard. “The Raiden Shogun’s not going to be out and about all the time, though. She’s most likely at the Tenshukaku compound in the southern half of the city, since that’s where both she and the Tenryou Commission are stationed. They’d have to manage general affairs at least some of the time, so they’re bound to be there at some point.”
“We can certainly start there, but we may need to get the Yashiro Commission to do the searching for us instead, since they’re the ones managing events like the festival,” Lisa replied, taking a seat on a nearby bench with a slightly discomfited look. “It’d be easier on my poor feet for sure, and in any case I’m sure they’d be able to help cover a lot more ground than just the two of us.”
“I can imagine,” Jean replied, leaning against a nearby tree. “I know I wanted to meet the Raiden Shogun myself, but I wish it wasn’t for this reason. Still, she’s probably the one who can best deal with the situation. Lisa, perhaps you could pass the word to the Yashiro Commission and let them know that I would be interested in a private audience with her.”
“You called, Miss Gunnhildr?”
That soft and elegant yet commanding voice belonged to neither of the two. They got to their feet and turned to see two more people striding up to them from behind, one with long purple hair and a lavender-and-white kimono, the other pink-haired with canine ears, a golden partly circular headdress, and a white-and-red robe exposing most of her shapely legs.
Jean was completely lost for words. “Uh…”
“Ah, so you must be the Raiden Shogun!” Lisa beamed, offering a hand to shake. “What brings you out here where the fun is, hmm~?”
“We were overseeing the preparations for the festival tonight, and were on our way to investigate a disturbance in Tenshukaku when we overheard your mention of us,” the pink-haired fox-woman replied, gripping Lisa’s hand as a token of greeting. “I’m Yae Miko, and I presume you must be Miss Minci. We did receive your message concerning your plans to visit, just so you know…”
“It is an honor to meet you in person, Shogun,” Jean replied a little faster than usual, remembering the Inazuman customs and making a respectful bow (though she was slightly miffed that Lisa, carefree as she was, didn’t do the same). “It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t have met under better circumstances. Be that as it may, though, I think I might have some information related to that disturbance you mentioned.”
The Raiden Shogun raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve found the culprit?”
“She found me, to be precise,” Jean grumbled, her sandal-clad toes curling instinctively. “And then buried me in the sand with only my head and feet sticking out, and—”
“Yes, yes, we get it, Miss Gunnhildr,” Yae Miko began.
“Jean is fine.”
“Fair enough. Anyway, the Yashiro Commission actually gave us some information that they in turn received from two young women visiting from Mondstadt. Supposedly, they’d been ambushed by a young woman with blonde hair and a white dress and a floating child with white hair, both of whom had tickled them upon their bare feet and caused quite a stir in the process.”
Jean’s eyes widened, and then narrowed. “Let me guess…”
“Lumine,” all four of them deadpanned.
Lisa did a small double-take and raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you know Cutie, too?”
“Who wouldn’t?” Raiden replied, shrugging. “She helped me reconnect with Inazuma’s people. As much as I appreciate her help, though… she can be quite the pest half the time. I assume you have a score to settle with her yourselves?”
“Well, I for one enjoyed the tickles Miss Lumine dished out, but I can see why Jean wants to stop her. The captain’s own feet are far too ticklish for their own good~”
“Not helping,” Jean snapped.
“In that case, we may as well cooperate in our efforts to intercept her,” replied Yae Miko. “This way, we can cover more ground and consolidate our resources.”
“You read my mind, old friend,” Raiden added coolly. “We can have the private chat Jean requested afterward, but our first priority is making sure the cause of the disturbances is thwarted. What say you, Favonius Captain?” She extended a hand with a small smile.
Jean was all too eager to grasp and shake it despite herself. “It’s a deal. So, how do we find her?”
“Simple,” Yae replied with a smirk. “Just follow the laughter.”
**********
“Food has been taken care of, so the next item is marketing,” the horned blue-haired woman instructed. “We need to make sure our inventory is all accounted for, with half our stock being Inazuman goods and the rest being an equal distribution of souvenirs from all other corners of Teyvat. While we want to show our appreciation for all the world’s cultures, this is an Inazuman festival first and foremost…”
Considering that this was a big festival, it was not surprising that the Yashiro Commission had had to bring in additional help. Having just arrived from Liyue, Ganyu was in the process of overseeing the operations and making sure they went as smoothly as possible. Little did she know that there was already an agent of chaos on the loose not far away, threatening to disrupt anything and everything with a single well-placed poke.
“Not to interrupt, Lady Ganyu,” a courtier said suddenly, “but aren’t you concerned about, uh…?”
“The disturbances that have been happening lately?” asked another.
Ganyu shrugged. “They aren’t a concern to me, admittedly. As long as all of the preparations are on time and on track, the festival should be able to proceed without any issue.”
“But Lady Ganyu, these ‘disturbances’ are interrupting the festival preparations,” the first courtier replied. “You should have seen what happened to Yoimiya the other day—”
“Yes yes, she was still giggling with each step by the next morning,” Ganyu repeated with a roll of her eyes. “You told me that before. Again, though, I believe we should be fine. I doubt this will concern or affect me as long as the planning itself goes well. Still, perhaps it’d be best to keep an eye out, just in case?”
“Sure thing, miss,” replied the second courtier. “If something comes up, we’ll let you know, don’t worry!”
Ganyu nodded. “I’m going to take a walk for a bit — I’ll be back soon. Let me know if you find anything out of the ordinary, alright?”
As she left, she didn’t notice her various subordinates muttering nervously among themselves. This wouldn’t end well for her if the rumors were true…
Finding herself out in the courtyard of the Yashiro Commission building, Ganyu looked around at the sights of the Inazuman people going about their business, listening in on the conversations about the upcoming festival. She smiled a little, knowing that soon enough, all her hard work would be worthwhile.
“I don’t see anything or anyone around here that could potentially disrupt the planning,” she said to herself, conjuring a small, comet-like sphere of icy blue energy and observing it spinning in place as it hovered over her palm. “Everything should be going smoothly. All the imports for the festival have been approved and accounted for, and security is air-tight. What could possibly go wr—”
“Hi, Ganyu!”
“AHHH!” Ganyu yelled in surprise at that all-too-familiar shout, accidentally letting the Cryo energy orb fly; it proceeded to ricochet off several nearby walls and right back to her. She tried to get out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough.
There was a WHOOSH and an icy crackling, and her movement ground to a halt in an instant. “NO! Nonono, NO!” she cried in panic.
“Ooh, did I scare you? Sorry about that~” Lumine’s tone was clearly insincere. The Adeptus’ mood was not helped one bit by that, and she tried to purposely ignore her even as the newcomer closed in.
"Come on, how did this happen?" Ganyu struggled in place, tugging at her legs. In her shock, she had accidentally frozen her ankles together. She struggled to free herself but ended up losing her balance and falling over backwards. There was a yelp of pain as she landed hard on her backside, the ice around her legs being thick enough that it wasn't going to melt any time soon. The only thing Ganyu could do was hope that maybe Lumine could help, but that look on her face didn’t make her optimistic.
Lumine giggled to herself as she observed. “Already perfect.”' Moving to sit in front of Ganyu, the Traveler wasted no time taking off her new captive’s footwear. The archer looked at her with a worried expression and started struggling harder.
“Lumine, what are you doing?”
“Just thought I’d say hello. What are you up to, anyhow?”
“I-I was working on planning for the festival… At least until you came along. W-why are you looking at me like that?!” The pitch of Ganyu’s voice rose steadily higher, betraying a growing sense of urgency. This hadn’t been the first time Lumine had gotten her trapped in such a manner, and already she could tell what fate had in store for her once she was stuck like this.
As before, Lumine let her actions speak louder than any word. As soon as Ganyu's wide, meaty feet were bared to the world, the blonde held her fingers close to them, letting the Adeptus look on in anticipatory dread. She began to charge up her elemental energy as if using her slitting wind, but instead kept it small and light, making sure not to hurt her captive.
Ganyu began to feel the effect of the elemental spell, cool air already brushing upon her already cold feet. “Mmmmh—! Traveler, are you-mmmm! Hehehe-ahaha—! Hehehehey!” She started giggling in earnest as she felt the air itself tease her soft feet.
Lumine smiled, and gave her victim no warning as she wiggled her fingers into both of Ganyu's soles.
Ganyu’s laughter increased several times over. It was clear she was very sensitive, and they both knew it. “AHAHAHAHA! LUMINE, COME OHOHOHON! AHAHAHAHAHA!”
Lumine smiled happily as her fingers danced on Ganyu's beautiful meaty feet. Her fingers striking between the horned blue-haireds wrinkles wiggling around blowing gentle air to add to the tickle.
"AHAHHAHA PLEASEHEHE, LUMINE! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Ganyu cried, thrashing about in hysterical panic.
Beneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree, Paimon sighed and rolled her eyes, powerless to do anything but watch Lumine play with her new victim, no doubt thinking of her next one. The fairy heard her stomach growl and quietly groaned in total despair. She’d never get her lunch at this rate!
"Hey Ganyu, have you seen Sara?" Lumine asked happily as she tickled Ganyu’s toes, her nails and air currents dancing along the pads and into the spaces between.
"AHAHAHA WHAHAHAHAT?! AHAHAHHAHA NOOO I HAHAHAVEN’T!" Ganyu was so overwhelmed by all the tickling that she couldn’t process the question at first.
Undeterred, Lumine began moving her nails faster, the breeze on her fingertips likewise blowing more quickly. "I’m asking you again, where is Sara?" she sing-songed as her fingers raked up and down Ganyu's poor ticklish feet.
“WHAHAHAHA-?! WHAT DO YOU MEHEHEHEHEHEAN?!”
“Oh, you know… Dark hair, bird mask on her face, always frowning, you know the one. Surely you’ve seen her, right? I won’t stop tickling you until you tell me~” Now she started scritching against the centers of Ganyu’s arches.
Ganyu shrieked and squealed as she tried in vain to free herself and escape, but ultimately she saw no other option. "YEHEHEHEHEHHHH! F-FIHIHIHINE! I THINK — AHAHAehehhehaHA — I — AHAHAHAA I SAW HER AROUND THEHEHEHERE! AHAHHA!!!" Ganyu pointed up a hill as tears formed in her eyes "HAHAHAHAA OK OK PLEASHEHEHE NO MOREHEHEHEHE!"
Mercifully, the tickling finally stopped. Ganyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, Lumine—"
The Traveler, for her part, grinned smugly. “No, thank you. I’ll let you be — looks like I’ve got an appointment to schedule. Come on, Paimon!” With that, she went off to find her next target, her dithering, ravenous companion in tow.
"HEY! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ganyu screamed as she watched the others leave her in her frozen stocks. All she could do was wait for them to melt.
“Miss Ganyu?!”
The Adeptus turned her head in flustered shock. It was one of the commissioners from earlier, with several others following.
“We heard the commotion outside and thought something had happ…ened…” the commissioner trailed off, everyone gawking at the predicament their superior was in. One look at her discarded footwear and the state of her lower legs told them all they needed to know.
“You were right,” she grumbled. “I should have known the Traveler was here.”
“Do you need any help, ma’am?” asked another of her employees.
“I’ll try to free myself first, but if I can’t by the time you get back, I’d appreciate the assistance.” Ganyu began struggling to break the ice off her ankles once more. “But first thing’s first — You need to warn the Raiden Shogun about that trouble-maker, before it’s too late!”
**********
Unbeknownst to anyone present, the warning Ganyu had wanted sent to the Raiden Shogun was not even necessary. She and Jean were, in fact, watching the entire thing from afar, safely hidden behind another blooming sakura with a large rock at its base for people to sit on.
“That’s her, right?” Raiden had asked when Lumine was still tickling the trapped Adeptus.
“Look at how skilled she was at tickling that Liyue commissioner,” Jean had. “I’m sure it’s her.”
“I’ll need to take a bit of a closer look,” the Archon replied, toeing her boots off. “It’s been a while since the last time we crossed paths, but while I do recall her appearance, making sure of it can’t hurt.”
“I’m quite certain everyone knows what the Traveler looks like by now, but if you insist…”
The Archon had already climbed on top of the seating rock, and was now on her hands and knees with one of her palms resting upon the trunk of the sakura as though tracing the vibrations of Ganyu’s laughter coming through the ground. Her eyes had been trained on the two girls in the distance the entire time the tickling was happening.
Now that the Traveler was gone, leaving Ganyu to be hauled away by the Yashiro Commission, that left the two commanders to figure out what to do next.
“That’s definitely the Traveler,” said Raiden, shaking her head with a disapproving look. “I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised by this point.”
“It’s as I’ve said before — wherever she goes, trouble follows,” replied Jean, seated with her back to the rock behind her. She turned her head to look up at Raiden and added, “So, how urgent is the need to put a stop to her antics?”
“Eeep!” Raiden had let out a cute little squeal and stifled a giggle. Her toes pointed forward so she could spring to her feet at a moment’s notice, her arches had been stretched as tight as could be, and Jean’s long hair had brushed lightly against them. She tried to maintain her composure as she responded: “W-well… I don’t know, but we have at least figured out her motivation. I guess if she just wants to find cute women to play with, then the festival shouldn’t be under major threat…”
Jean scoffed indignantly. She’d gotten caught and driven to near insanity by Lumine herself, and Raiden was going to dismiss that traveling torturer?! She hadn’t been oblivious to the noise she’d heard when her hair had brushed Raiden’s soles, though, and an idea came to her as she repositioned herself to face those upturned heels.
It was a well-known fact that Jean was dedicated to her job as the general of the Knights of Favonius. So dedicated, in fact, that she had gotten sick from overworking more than once. Lisa had taken her to Inazuma’s beaches specifically to relax and get away from it all, but Lumine’s antics were now putting her under a lot of stress once again, so she was pretty much back to square one. At some point, however, she’d found out that there were other ways of relieving her constant tension if relaxation was off the table, and as much as she wanted to keep her public image clean, taking a page from Kaeya’s book every once in a while certainly couldn’t hurt, could it?
Her heels in the air, toes planted on her rocky perch, the Raiden Shogun was unaware of Jean’s cheeky expression as she sidled up right behind her. So intent was she at observing where their target had been minutes earlier that only the sensation of two gauntlet-clad fingers wiggling into her taut, deep arches could offer any distraction.
“KYAAAAAHHHHH!” Raiden shrieked, taken by total surprise. “M-Miss Gunnhildr, whahahat are you DOHOHOHOIHIHING?!”
“What Lumine would’ve done if she’d been in my place,” Jean replied in a matter-of-fact way.
“And w-what possessed you to dohoho such a thihihing?!” Curiously, Raiden wasn’t even moving her feet at all. Either she was shocked into a paralyzed state — or perhaps she wasn’t as annoyed by the tickles as one would think…
“Well, I saw my chance and I took it,” Jean replied in a matter-of-fact tone as she skittered her digits over the taut, ticklish arches before her. “Any Knight of Favonius would know that taking advantage of your enemy’s vulnerability is crucial for achieving victory.”
“Oh, so I’m the enemeheheheey?!” the Shogun cackled, trying as best she could not to zap her accomplice accidentally. “Eheheheeeep! I’ll get you b-back for thihihis, you knohohow thaaat! T-traitors to the Shogunate must be punihihihished!!”
“Guilty as charged. I’d say it was worth it, though. As is this,” she added, before digging all ten fingertips into those large, stretched soles.
“AAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!” Raiden shrieked, trembling in place. “OKAY, OKAY, YOUR POINT HAS BEEN MAHAHAHADE! AHAHAHA JEHEHEHEAN! TREASON! TREHEHEHASON! EHEHEHE OOOH, MY AHAHAHARCHEHEHES ARE MY WORST SPOHOHOHOTS! EEEHEHEHENOHOHOUGH! C-CUT IT OHOHOHOHOUT!”
Jean was laughing herself now, a little confused as to how out of character it sounded for such a dignified general as her, but she relented and let the Archon take a breather. “Not so powerful when caught off guard, huh, Raiden?”
Still giggling a little, Raiden repositioned herself to sit atop the boulder, dangling a bare foot temptingly next to Jean’s shoulder. “If it helps any, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to deal with ticklish torment. I actually had to endure an entire decade of nonstop tickling once while in my realm of eternity — it wasn’t fun at first, but you get used to it after a while. And truth be told, I actually rather missed it…”
“Huh, didn’t think you’d like to be tickled,” Jean replied with a chuckle. “Or at least that you wouldn’t mind it. But let’s think about that later — we have a Traveler to catch, and we’ll need to do it as soon as we can.”
Raiden nodded, but even as she rubbed the tingling off the bottom of one of her feet with the top of the other one, she couldn’t stop thinking back to what Jean had said earlier. The Traveler was on the lookout for ticklish women, and here she was, a powerful figure of authority with very sensitive arches indeed. Who could possibly be a more tempting target for Lumine and her own ruthless tickling tactics? As she followed Jean away, the two women going in the same direction Ganyu had pointed Lumine toward, the Electro Archon was already starting to scheme.
**********
Following the directions given by Ganyu, Lumine was now making her way towards the Tenryou Commission headquarters, Paimon floating next to her once more.
“Are you done yet?” Paimon grumbled. “You’ve been ignoring every single one of Paimon’s demands for food! What’s gotten into you?!”
“I said we’d get it! Just let me do this just one more time, and I’ll get back to you—”
“There IS no ‘just one more time’ anymore! You should’ve listened to Paimon hours ago! What are you doing, stringing Paimon along like this? You keep saying you’re going to buy food and then you go on and find someone else to tickle-torture without even caring about how hungry Paimon is!”
Lumine shook her head. “What’s wrong with just going to get the food yourself?”
“PAIMON ISN’T THE ONE WHO HAS ALL THE MORA!”
Startled by this, Lumine turned to face her. “Alright, suit yourself! Just let me get you some so you can buy the food yourself! Happy?!”
She looked down towards her waist to prepare to fish out her Mora pouch when she saw something at her feet. It was a set of tabi and sandals discarded on the ground. In spite of herself, Lumine giggled as she recognized that footwear: Kujou Sara's.
Paimon cleared her throat, glaring at her. Lumine yelped a little and, with a flustered expression, hastily passed her the Mora pouch. “Don’t forget to return this when I get back. Though make sure it isn’t empty when you do, or you will regret it…”
With that, she turned and headed off towards a nearby tree, leaving a very annoyed Paimon to wonder if she should keep an eye on this madwoman or just give up on her and start looking for snacks on her own.
Upon reaching the imposing cherry blossom tree, Lumine looked up to see a figure seated high in the canopy towards the other side. With a silent chuckle, she removed her own boots, and began to scale the trunk towards her next target…
High above the street, Kujou Sara was surveying the city block before her, watching intently. She had heard of a series of disturbances that had been occurring throughout the city, and while she wasn’t sure who was next, a part of her was beginning to suspect that a pattern was forming. She’d removed her footwear for better balance and less weight, scaling the tree in order to get as high a vantage point as she could.
Tracing the locations where the commotions had happened, at least from what she’d heard, led to a startling revelation: they all formed a single coherent path. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense that a single person could be the cause of all this trouble! Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the horizon, tracing the imaginary route this rabble-rouser had taken thus far. With luck, she could predict where it was that she was heading next.
Her eyes widened as she connected the dots in a rather literal sense. At this rate, and knowing who had been involved in the rumpus thus far, the troublemaker was heading straight for the Raiden Shogun’s—
“Hi, Sara!”
“AIEEEEEE!”
So focused was she on trying to determine where the rogue was going that she hadn’t noticed Lumine right behind her. With a startled yelp, Sara lost her balance and nearly tumbled off the thin yet sturdy branch. Just in the nick of time, the tops of her toes held onto the wood, leaving her dangling several stories off the ground. Luckily, there were a few strong branches below her, so if she could just aim for one of them and grab it, she could slow her fall just enough to avoid serious injury.
“Wha — You?!” she shouted. “What are you doing up here?”
“Looking for you, of course! Just wanted to ask a few things from you, and I’ll be on my way.”
Sara turned her head to glare up at her. “If this has anything to do with the public disturbances I heard about a short while ago—”
“Oh, it has everything to do with those, in a way.” Lumine sat on the branch right next to Sara’s upturned toes. “You know, for a branch so skinny, this one’s rather strong. Are you alright with hanging around for a little while?”
Sara’s eyes widened. “How dare you?! That was one of the worst jokes I’ve ever heard! Give me one reason to not have you arrested for terrible wordplay on the spoAAAAAAAHH!”
Lumine had just poked the stem of her big toe, giggling cutely. “If you wiggle around too much, you might hit your head on something,” she teased as she started wiggling a finger over each toe stem in turn. “Try not to squirm, will you?”
Her latest victim had the biggest feet yet; Lumine always knew they were large just from seeing them in her tabi, but now she could finally admire them for herself. Her long arches were nice and meaty, with a perfectly round heel and strong, plump toes that bent backwards as far as they could go, hanging onto the branch for dear life as Lumine poked their defenseless stems.
Sara shrieked at the top of her lungs, both from the laughter of her absolute worst spots being tormented at their most vulnerable and from fear of falling from a height and hitting her head — or worse. “YIIIIEEEEEEHEHEHE! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH! COME QUIETLY, YOU PFFFFFFWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“You need to lighten up,” Lumine teased as she scribbled her fingers from the arches to the wrinkled ball of Kujou's large soles. “Come on, when was the last time you had a good laugh?”
“YAAAAHAHA! TH-THIS IS RIDICULOUS! AHAHAHA GET OFF OF MEEEHEHEHEHEE!” Sara began to try to pull herself up and wave her arms at the Traveler, but always found herself looking back at the ground. She did not dare curl her toes due to the risk of falling, which left Lumine free to play with her toes and soles as much as she wished. The traveler paused the toe tickling to squeeze Sara's heels, rubbing the nail of her thumb in circles around the soft sensitive skin as she did so.
“AHAHAHA STHAHAHAP! NOT THERE AAHAHAHA— DON'T DO THAAAAAT AHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEEELP! I’M GOING TO FAHAHAHAHAALLLLL!!" Sara cried as Lumine couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The right hand of the infamous Raiden Shogun was too ticklish to bear, and she was in fact the most sensitive target the blonde had gotten her teasing hands on so far.
Lumine then smirked as she had been using her hands all day. It was time for something else. She picked a leaf off the tree and began to stroke it in circles upon the undersides of Sara's toes.
“AHHHHHH! HAHAHAHAHA WHAT THEEEAHAHAH!” Sara felt the small tip of the feather-like leaf send tingles from her toes throughout her whole body. She started squealing in a rather undignified way, waving her arms frantically. “HAHAHAHA THE SHOGUN IS — HHHH — IS GOING TO MAKE YOU PAHAHAHAHAHAY!”
Lumine perked up as she stroked the leaf around the balls of Sara's feet. “Oh, is she, now?” she chuckled, before dusting the pads of her toes. “I hear her feet are pretty cute, actually. Perhaps it’s about time I paid her a visit…”
Sara gasped in horror, realizing what Lumine meant in an instant. “EEEEEHEHHEHEHAHAHA DON’T YOU DAHAHAHARE! WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE, YOU WILL FAHAHAHACE A PUNISHMENT SO MUCH WORSE THAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WAAAAAHHHH! OHHH NOOOOOHOHOHOOOOO!!!” she screamed as she felt her toes begin to slip, the leaf stroking around the stems being absolute torture.
Lumine couldn't help but giggle herself thinking about her final victim. Upon seeing the peril Sara was in though, she decided her current catch had had enough. The traveler let the leaf fall from her fingers before waving her hand to summon a sudden wind current that blew through the canopy — and not a moment too soon.
“WHOA WHOAAAAHHHHHH!” Sara’s toes lost her grip at that precise moment, but as she fell to the ground, the gust blew her sideways just enough that she managed to grip onto the lower branch with one hand, swinging down until she was dangling right-side up. “Hah… ahhh… Whew…”
Lumine looked down to make sure she was fine, and waved. “No need to thank me! I’ve got bigger fish to cook, anyway…”
Sara, for her part, did not look amused at all. “That’s it! I’m telling the Shogun right now.”
“So am I!”
That squeaky voice had come from neither of them. Lumine descended from the tree as well, her Anemo control allowing her to touch down lightly as a feather, to see a very ticked-off Paimon floating into view, glaring daggers at her. She’d tolerated Lumine dragging her along throughout all of this until now, but after all Lumine had done for Inazuma — outlawing the Vision Hunt Decree especially — this was just too much for her conscience to bear.
“Are you kidding me, Traveler!? THE SHOGUN?! You’ll get us arrested!”
Lumine shrugged. “Well, I’m sure it’ll be worth it. Not everyone gets the chance to get the Electro Archon to laugh, right?”
“Why you—!!” Sara dropped down from the branch she was hanging on to try and lunge at her, but she suddenly felt her bare feet tingle upon hitting the grass below and doubled over in a giggling fit.
Paimon was now more furious than ever, but there was no stopping her friend now. “That’s it, I’m out!” the fairy snapped. “Whatever you’re up to, go on without me! You’ve starved me for long enough roping me into these — these shenanigans! What am I to you, emergency food?! It’s not like I can talk you out of this, but I am not helping, and neither are you helping your own case by doubling down like this. If you get in trouble, you only have yourself to blame! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get something to eat, without you.”
With that, she flew off in a huff, leaving Lumine alone with a still-shuddering Sara.
“She’ll come around eventually,” Lumine muttered to herself. “But you know what, fine! Let her stuff her face to her heart’s content, I will not let this opportunity go to waste!”
“Oh, no you don’t—! HEY! Get back here, you—!!” Sara reached for the blonde, but another surge of toe-tingling stopped her before she could grab her.
Turning around and running off, the Traveler never noticed that Paimon had also stopped as soon as she turned the corner, wondering what Lumine would do without her, and overheard her intentions. She really was going to do it, wasn’t she?
“Looks like dinner will have to wait just a little bit longer,” she muttered to herself as she floated towards Sara. “Paimon thinks you need help. And it seems like you aren’t the only one…”
**********
“...and that’s why you five need to stop the Traveler!” the fairy finished. Upon bringing an exhausted Sara to the other four — Jean, Lisa, Raiden, and Yae — she had been inquired as to what she had witnessed, and immediately recounted all the previous torments Lumine had unleashed upon the other girls, making sure to include that she herself had been an accomplice when her friend had gotten a hold of Amber and Eula. Mercifully, Raiden had at least been courteous enough to let that one slide once she saw that Paimon was as fed up with the whole mess as they were.
“She really is coming for me, isn’t she?” the Archon said thoughtfully.
“Well, Cutie’s nothing if not ambitious,” Lisa replied, shrugging.
“And less predictable than I’d anticipated,” Sara grumbled, still rubbing one of her tabi-clad feet against the other. “How was I to know that she’d take a detour to catch me…?” She then looked at Raiden and bowed hastily. “Forgive me for my carelessness, Shogun—”
“Forgiveness granted,” Raiden replied, giving her a dismissive wave. “Underestimating the Traveler is an easy mistake to make — and yes, I speak from experience.”
It was Jean who responded. “Wait, she got to you, too? When?”
“I didn’t mean her tickling me, no — I was talking about the confrontation in the Plane of Euthymia—”
“STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!” Paimon shrieked. “Paimon wants to know if any of you have a plan! We can’t just chase her down without making a scene!”
“As a matter of fact, I do have an idea,” Raiden replied. “Though regrettably, my role in it might be the least savory.”
“Let me guess,” Jean replied with a smirk. “You’ll put your feet up and use them as bait?”
Yae raised an eyebrow. “How did you know she was—”
“She was being a little dismissive of the threat to the city. I had to show her how bad it could be.”
Raiden chuckled. “Miss Gunnhildr’s argument was certainly convincing. But yes, my plan is to use myself as bait. I have to make the opening address at the start of the festival in a half-hour’s time. If Lumine wants to make a nuisance of herself, what better opportunity is there than when I’m trying to be dignified?”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Okay, that’s very clever, I’ll give you that. But have we thought of how to trap Cutie once she’s reached you?”
“Paimon certainly can’t be involved directly,” the fairy replied with a nervous look. “The Traveler would only get suspicious! We have to make it look like only one of you five was the one who foiled her.”
“She’s already had her fill of me, so I should be relatively safe,” said Sara. “I’ll be the one to trap her.”
“Perhaps I could get in on the fun as well,” added Lisa. “There’s just one problem, though—”
“What do you mean?”
“I think what Sara means is that we apparently don’t know what the trap would be.” Yae thought for a moment and then smiled. “Well, you don’t. But I do. To make sure it works, though, I will have to be by the Raiden Shogun’s side and also place myself at risk during the opening ceremony. I’m sure Lumine will want to get a hold of me as well anyway, so that’s two more feet for her to enjoy, I guess.”
“Oooh yes!” Paimon chuckled darkly in spite of herself. “With Miko and Raiden waiting for her, Traveler’s gonna fall for this hook, line, and sinker!”
Jean gave the fox-girl a hopeful look, and the others followed her. “With all that being said, Yae Miko… What do you have in mind?”
**********
As the sun set on Inazuma City, the Shogun found herself at the foot of the wooden steps leading up to the podium in front of the gargantuan statue of herself. Her grand appearance before all the festival-goers, hundreds of folks of all ages from different nations, was in just a few minutes. People from Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and even Sumeru would be watching her… one in particular.
Yae Miko stood next to her, the others at her back and keeping watch. “Ready?” she whispered as the two looked down at their feet, all four of them now clad in some very special shoes for the occasion. “I hope you’ve practiced your stand-up comedy!”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“When the inevitable happens, we don’t want to throw the audience off,” Jean replied. “I presume you two have heard of a ‘boke and tsukkomi routine’, have you?”
Yae nodded. “I’ve seen a few such performances, but haven’t tried it myself. I think we can learn, though.”
“We did explain it a bit beforehand so hopefully you two know what to do,” Lisa added. “Just say the word, and we’ll be ready.”
“Let’s hope we aren’t too late,” added Sara.
Two pairs of open-toed stilettos clinked against the wood of the steps as the Inazuman women made their way up to the speaker’s podium. Raiden and Yae had polite smiles on their faces as they took in the applauding crowd of festival-goers, among which were several girls in particular who had just had a rather long, laughter-filled day.
The Archon and her assistant got into position, both of them taking note of the fact that their high heels were shankless — essentially, the toe and heel portions were supported by a ring of wood lying flat against the ground, the large hole in the middle requiring minimal material to produce them. At least that was the official reason. But the fact that they were essentially standing on tiptoe with completely exposed, taut arches had not gone unnoticed by either of them, nor had the fact that the sizable gaps in the footwear were perfect for slipping fingers or other implements through to reach the feet within…
“People of Inazuma,” Raiden began, “and people from the world beyond. It is my honor to greet you all as attendants and guests to this honored festival!”
“I’m standing right here, you know,” Yae replied with a chuckle. “The honor should be mine, too!”
“And I am the highest order of authority in all of Inazuma, so I should be the first to speak.”
“Harumph, and you’re just going to ignore the fact that I have been keeping things running for the entire time when you were away? Along with the Commissions for general affairs?”
“I suppose there’s that, but still.”
“That is beside the point. For now, though… Citizens of Inazuma, welcome! It has been a long, long time… Indeed, some might think it a thousand years since I last addressed—”
Yae squeaked and snickered, as though in amused disbelief that Raiden could possibly think she’d been gone for that long. “Pfffhehehe, last I checked it was f-five hundrehehed!”
“Ah. Give or take a century. Is something funny, Miko?”
“Hahahah— f-forgive me, Shogun… It’s just… You’ve been away for such a long time, but surely not that long!” And as funny as your statement was, it was actually those blunt little points running up and down my arches just now that got me giggling, the fox-woman added in her head. Good, she’s right where we want her!
The audience never suspected a thing, thankfully. There was certainly plenty of chuckling from the banter between the two women, which was good. Awkwardness wouldn’t rear its head tonight, it seemed.
“Or wait, was it just one hundred years ago?” Raiden wondered aloud, before she jerked in place ever so slightly, feeling the same dull tips wiggling against her own long, stretched arches. “Pffhheheheh… P-perhaps it’s been a whihihile… A-at the very leheheheast, I know the food is as good as it was back thehehen!”
The audience started chortling in earnest. The time when she tried milk dango certainly hadn’t been forgotten.
“The food has changed a lot while you were gone,” Miko replied, shrugging. “There’s certainly something to be said for keeping the traditional classics alieeeEEVE!” she squealed, causing the audience to murmur amongst each other in confusion.
Raiden attempted to save the situation. “Ah yes! Such as the fabled takoyaki—”
Yae was now feeling those blunt-pointed implements swirling around the centers of her arches, and took her chance to all but double over in laughter, slapping her knee as she wobbled in place. “PFFFFT! RAHAHAIDEN, ARE YOU DAHAHAHAFT? IT’S TAYAHAHAHAKIHIIEEE! IT’S A PASTRY! HOW DAHAHARE YOU C-CONFUSE PASTRIES WITH OCTOPUS BAHAHAHAHALLS?!”
Raiden herself was laughing now, trembling a bit as she too felt a second pair of the same tools sliding up and down her arches. “I C-CAHAHAN’T HEHEHELP IT! THEY BOTH HAVE A DOUGHY OUTSIHIHIDE AND A FISHY CENTEHEHER!”
The audience exploded with laughter at that one. Leave it to Raiden to make the most of a ticklish situation.
Yae made a playful swipe at her friend as the secret tickle torment continued. “THERE’S NO FISH IN THE TAYAHAHAKI!”
“EHHHH?! What do I knohohOHOHOW?! No matter what the erahaha, the food here is guaranteeeEEEHEHEED to leave a good tickle in your tummeEEE!”
At the word “tickle”, two figures moved to either side of the podium, and—
BZZZZZZZT!
“KYAAAAAHHHHH!”
The laughter quickly died down as a purple flash and a scream were heard from under the podium. Raiden and Yae both sighed in relief, still giggling and trying to hold each other up.
“What was that?!” someone whispered, and just like that, a ripple-effect of murmurs and hushed inquiries began to permeate the crowd. The question was answered, however, when Sara emerged into view, dragging someone by the ear behind her.
Lumine’s hair was a frazzled mess, the tips of her locks and the hems of her dress and sleeves slightly blackened and trailing smoke as she sported a dazed look on her face. Notably, she was still clutching the incriminating items in her fingers — four wooden chopsticks, two per hand, which she had slipped through the gaps between the planks of the podium to reach the exposed soles above.
“The culprit behind the public disturbances has been apprehended,” Sara announced. “We can now be assured that the festival will be well underway.”
There was a growing applause from the crowd, and Raiden beamed at her loyal guard captain. “Well done, Sara! And thank you, everyone, for enjoying the prelude to our opening address! But one question remains: what do we do with this young miscreant?”
There was a quiet throat-clearing noise behind them, and the two women risked a backward glance. Jean and Lisa — the latter of whom still had sparks of Electro energy dancing around her fingertips — were sporting encouraging, mischievous smiles on their faces. Raiden and Yae grinned back, knowing exactly what to do with this troublesome, tickle-thirsty Traveler…
**********
Lumine’s amber-colored eyes blinked as she began to regain her coherence. She couldn’t move at all, only wiggle feebly in place.
“Wha— what the?!” she shouted as she took in her predicament. Her arms had been pulled up and her wrists secured to a pole behind her, and she was seated upon a cushion atop a small table. Her feet were bare, and resting in a set of custom-made wooden stocks in front of the table — a set with the Raiden Shogun’s insignia painted on the front.
“Well, looks like our little tickle terror has been caught,” a familiar voice said behind her.
“Huh?!” Lumine turned her head as best she could, and realized in horror that the Raiden Shogun had appeared behind her. She wasn’t alone either — for Jean was there as well. And those smiles on their faces were anything but welcoming…
Lumine smiled as best she could, twisting and turning a little in place again, but it was clear that she was beginning to panic. “Hehe — i-is this about the tickling? Come on, it was all in good fun!”
The two women shook their heads as Raiden smiled. “Tell that to them,” Jean said with a smirk, noting six more girls coming into view. Amber. Eula. Shenhe. Yun Jin. Ganyu. Sara. All surrounded Lumine, their faces all showing great anticipation.
“Good luck,” Raiden said with a serene smile. Lumine whipped round to yell frantically at the Electro Archon, but she and Jean had already disappeared from view.
The Traveler felt her cheeks burn, glancing at each of her previous victims with growing nervousness. “Uh… C-can we talk about this?”
“After you’re done with your community service,” Amber replied.
“And tasting my vengeance,” added Eula.
“We also wanted to pay you back for the massage you gave us earlier,” said Shenhe.
“With interest,” Yun Jin interjected.
“To say nothing of the disruption you caused to the festival preparations,” Ganyu admitted.
“And threatening the Shogun’s chief officer!” finished Kujou. “Ready, girls? It’s time to destroy her.”
Amber rubbed her hands gleefully, and then poked Lumine’s bare, outstretched armpits. The Traveler shivered and jumped in her bondage as she squealed ticklishly. “EEEEP! Heheheheh, let’s uhhhuhuhuh— t-talk this out — come on, ahahahaha— i-it was in good fuUUUNNN EEEHHEHEEIIIIIEEE!” Lumine cried out as she felt the Outrider and the Favonius knight tickle her soft, smooth underarms.
Shenhe and Yun Jin then approached the tied, ticklish Traveler. “I wasn't for me," Yun Jin said with a pout, before proceeding to squeeze Lumine’s left side.
Shenhe was on Lumine’s other side, and she wiggled her fingers upon the Traveler’s belly and ribs accordingly. “We figured it might be fun to turn things around,” Shenhe said stoically as she emulated what she had learned from Lumine’s treatment of her feet earlier.
“WAHAHAHAHAHAH COME OHOHOHONNNN! YEEEHEHEHEHE IT WAS JUST TICKLIIIING!” Lumine pleaded as her laughter grew. Amber and Eula simply smiled back as they began to scratch Lumine's helpless pits with greater fervor. Yun Jin began to smirk as well, using one hand to squeeze her side and the other to squeeze the back of Lumine's knee. Shenhe watched and followed suit, causing the Traveler to squeal even louder.
“GAHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHA NOT THEEEEERE! PLEASHEHEHE STHAHAHAP!!” Lumine screamed. Yun Jin chuckled at this, giving Lumine a double squeeze with Shenhe imitating what she was doing again.
Ganyu was the next to close in. “How rude of you to leave me trapped like that and tickle me!” she pouted, and next thing Lumine knew, the Adeptus had begun scratching her fingers upon the arches of her long meaty feet. “Let’s see how you like it!”
Sara came along not long after. “Hmph… This will be proper punishment for the likes of you!” She promptly positioned herself in front of Lumine’s right foot and began to dig her fingers into those soft plush round ball of said foot.
Lumine was crying now, tears pouring down her cheeks. “AHAHAHAHA NOT THEEEEEERE! SARAAHAHAHAHA! AMBER! EULAAHAHAHAHAA PLEEEEEASHEHEHE! AHAHAH!!” She looked to one side and then the other, powerless to avoid the other girls tormenting her, and then felt her head loll back as her strength failed her, wondering when or if it would end.
It was around ten minutes before the situation changed. But to the poor Traveler, it had felt like a lifetime. “Alright, girls, you’ve had your fun,” a voice at last came from nearby. It was Lisa, holding a wooden sign, with Yae Miko at her heels. “Cutie may be a tempting target, but don't get greedy~”
The six girls stopped with a shared laugh as Lumine caught her breathwatching Raiden shove the sign into the ground.. Though they backed away, Lumine knew that there was more to come, glaring at Lisa despite herself as she watched her hang the sign up for all to see.
“Et tu, Lisa?”“What can I say, Cutie? You made your bed, so lying in it and laughing your adorable head off would probably be for the best. Don’t worry, I won’t punish you myself — I personally enjoyed the tickles.”
“But there’s a whole evening ahead of you,” Yae Miko added as she appeared at Lumine’s other side. “So don’t keep everyone waiting~” She waved her arm for Lumine to look forward, before addressing the space ahead of her. “Step right up, everyone! Here we have a lovely young rascal just begging for some payback. Any takers?”
The sight and sound of an approaching crowd greeted Lumine’s senses. She gaped, her face turning pale, and started to struggle harder than ever. “Oh, no… No! NONONONO! NOOOOO! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Oh, if only she could read the wooden sign next to her right now. It would have been little comfort to her, but it would’ve gone a long way towards explaining the line leading up to the square, considering that it read “PUNISH THE TROUBLEMAKER: 20 MORA PER PERSON PER MINUTE”. And the waiting line was indeed very, very long.
It was only a few minutes more before the Traveler’s laughter rang throughout the town square once again. Helpless and in utter despair, all she could do was watch, thrash about, and plead for help that would never come.
Admittedly, Lumine had figured that this was an appropriate retribution for what she’d inflicted upon her former victims, and she was actually enjoying this more than she’d expected. Regardless, though, she couldn’t help but wonder how her final shot at the Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko had ended like this, and through her haze of laughter she eventually concluded that someone had told on her. She had a very good guess as to who it was, and once she was getting out of this, she was going to track down her floaty companion and sit her down for a nice, long chat.
Little did Lumine know that said floaty companion was currently tucking into a warm hotpot at a restaurant right next to the square. The white-haired fairy was quite sure that she was going to get a very nasty earful from her best friend once all this was over, but the spectacle transpiring below her was more than worth it. What was more, she’d specifically chosen a balcony table facing the square, meaning she had a full view of the whole thing without the risk of being noticed.
As she happily enjoyed a well-earned dinner and a show, she made a mental note to order some second helpings later — not only for her own enjoyment, but also because this way, she could stick around to watch the entirety of Lumine’s long and ticklish punishment. And so, between mouthfuls of cured pork and steamed vegetables, Paimon continued to furtively spectate her friend’s karmic retribution with a look of smug satisfaction.
**********
Of all the women giving Lumine what was coming to her, there were two who were unaccounted for. In fairness, though, it wasn’t as though there were too few ticklers as it was, and in any case, the Raiden Shogun figured that her and Jean’s work was done.
“Shogun, forgive me for asking, but… While I’ve seen the inside of your quarters before, you’ve never taken me further than the main chamber,” Jean said as she followed the Archon into a side-room in the building where the latter took up residence. “If you wanted a private audience with me, rather than the other way around, you too could have sent a letter—”
“But you’re here now, aren’t you?” Raiden shrugged. “You came to me first, don’t forget that. Besides, General Jean Gunnhildr, you have been found guilty of assaulting the Shogun, and I’ve taken it upon myself to mete out the appropriate penalty,” she added with a sly chuckle as they slipped into her private room.
The room in question had no windows, so as to avoid any potential peeping from outsiders, and as such it had to be lit from the inside. Only a few candles on a table in the middle provided any illumination, but the purple-colored wallpaper was reflective enough that the light seemed noticeably brighter — almost like the walls were colored mirrors. The only other pieces of furniture were a couch, a bed, and a dresser next to it, all of which were styled in the traditional Inazuman aesthetic.
Both women toed their shoes off and set them aside, their bare feet stepping onto the polished wooden floorboards without making a sound. Raiden shut the door behind her and locked it, silencing the faint sounds of the Traveler’s tortured laughter somewhere in the distance.
“In my defense, I needed an outlet for the stress of having to deal with the Traveler’s rampage across your city, and putting a smile on your face seemed like a good idea at the time,” Jean explained as she took note of the surprisingly simple decor. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck before adding, “I still can’t believe that even when I visit Inazuma for a break from my work, it still manages to find me even here…”
“And something tells me you should be prepared for much more when it comes to the Traveler. I speak from experience when I tell you that she’s an agent of chaos. Even once she’s released from her punishment, I’m sure she’ll be out looking for more victims first thing tomorrow.”
“Oh, dear…” Jean gulped, knowing what was in store for the feet and ribs of every young woman she knew, including Jean herself. “So I’ll never find peace, huh?”
“You will once you submit to your ‘punishment’, trust me,” Raiden replied with a wink. “I figured you could use some pampering after everything that’s happened, and while I’m the kind of person who’s expected to be waited on hand and foot, I happen to know a few things of use.”
“Oh? Such as?”
“Lay on the couch and you will see. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit~”
Jean blushed as she laid out on the sofa, her feet dangling on the end. “I’m guessing you can’t guarantee that it won’t feel like… anything else, though?”
“I will make no promises there, I’m afraid.” Raiden sat upon Jean’s torso, her back to the Dandelion Knight, and smiled down at the latter’s soft feet. The Favonius Knights’ Acting Grand Master was blushing red and biting her lip by now, and she found that despite herself, she was already trembling a little with excited anticipation.
Gently, carefully, Raiden wrapped her hands around one of Jean’s ankles and lifted her foot up. Jean gasped as the Archon blew a ticklish puff of air onto her toes, which was her only warning before she felt Raiden’s tongue licking between them. She jumped in place a bit and let out a small giggle. “AHHHH-! Hehehe i-is that how you pamper?” Jean teased, realizing that the tension in her body was already starting to melt away. While this treatment did tickle, it also felt nice and relaxing — and at least it wasn’t as bad as when the Traveler had caught her on the beach earlier that day.
“What, you don’t want me too?” The shogun paused, glancing around as Jean shook her head. “No no no, just be careful… I’m… q-quite ticklish…”
“Noted,” Raiden chuckled, still straddling the blonde. She was ready to resume pampering her new friend, though she did take note of how her toes were planted against the couch cushion with her heels up, arches stretched and well within range of Jean’s tickling fingers.
Still, might as well go full steam ahead, even if it meant risking a counterattack on her own taut soles. With that, Raiden returned to licking between Jean's toes, smiling a little as the knight bit her lip to hold in her laughter.
Raiden licked between her companion’s toes and nibbled the sides of her meaty feet with increasing passion. Jean took some breaths, smiling still holding in her laughter, and tried to think of a way to distract herself. Needless to say, she was not oblivious at all to how the Archon’s arches were conveniently placed to either side of her ribs…
“Eeeek!” Raiden squealed as Jean’s nails wiggled into her soles once more. “Heheheheyyy!” Not to be outdone, she resumed her attack on Jean’s squirming toes, and this time started wiggling her fingers on the blonde’s arches as well.
“Pfffhahahaha! Okay, now you are just— ahahaha — TICKLING MEEEHEHEHEHEEE!” Jean yelped as she felt Raiden’s well-manicured nails dance over her silky-soft feet, the shogun still licking her beautiful toes. “EEHEHE DOHOHON’T! WAHAHAHAH S-STAHAHAHAHAHAAAP!” she begged playfully.
“Eeeheheheheee t-totally wohohohorth ihihiiittt!” Raiden giggled. “Dohohon’t stohohop? Fair enohohough!”
The two women were giggling like young girls now, tickling each other freely as their beautiful laughter filled the private room. Jean was beside herself with laughter now, tearing up once more and finding it difficult to concentrate on tickling the Raiden Shogun’s most sensitive spots. In hindsight, she should’ve known that Raiden would want to get back at her for the earlier tickle attack she’d sprung upon her, and it was only fair that if she wanted to tease her again in the future, she’d have to expect a degree of retribution in kind. However it was going to go, though, she was certainly going to enjoy every moment of tonight’s informal reception. After all, she now had the chance to enjoy a much-needed break… and some much-wanted podal pampering while she was at it.
THE END... FOR NOW!
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This story was a joint effort by myself and WernchOfTheTeam. If you want to see more of their work, check out their DeviantArt website!
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