SEP. 2022 REWARD (Patreon)

Festival Frolics in Inazuma City (Part 2/2)

By Skaea and WernchOfTheTeam

Based on characters from Genshin Impact by Hoyoverse

Part 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sep-2022-reward-72716839 

“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 as well.

THE END... FOR NOW!

**********

The following is included in this reward:

• High-resolution artwork
• An additional version lacking the Patreon watermark and with a different signature
• Alternates of the above with no background or environmental lighting
• A PSD file version with all layers

-Skaea