Christie awoke to a strangely rough and cold feeling all over her body. She'd fallen asleep on the beach beneath a blazing sun, so she shouldn't feel cold at all. She looked down and saw why she felt so strange: almost her entire body was buried in the sand. The only parts of herself she could see were her bare feet sticking out at the end, as if she were under a blanket in her bed.

Worried and confused about her current predicament, Christie struggled to get herself free, but it was no use; try as she might, she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. She looked around as far as she could turn her head, only to find that not many people were still on the beach. It was strange; this beach had been crowded when she'd arrived, and it was still midday.

Seeing no other choice, Christie called for help, hoping there was someone nearby who might be able to help her.

"You called?" asked a voice from just outside Christie's field of vision. It was the voice of a young girl, speaking French from just behind her. The girl walked into view and Christie recognised her immediately.

Emilie De Rochefort, or 'Lili', the only daughter of Rochefort Enterprises' founder. She was a blonde girl, roughly sixteen years of age. She had been a late entrant into the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament, and had since competed in the sixth. Her style, a strange mix of ballet and simple street fighting, was strangely effective and she had done surprisingly well in both tournaments, despite her petite frame.

She was stood in Christie's light in a yellow-ish striped two piece bikini with sandals and a large straw hat and sunglasses. She also had a navy blue duffel bag slung over her shoulder.

"Thank goodness you're here," Christie said in her native Portuguese. "Someone must have buried me while I was asleep."

"Oh, I know," the girl replied with a smirk. "For it was I who did it."

"W-What?" Christie asked in total confusion.

"Yes. I have been watching you for quite some time, Mademoiselle. Your fighting style has such grace, yet I find it lacking in one area." Lili knelt down at Christie's exposed feet and placed down her duffel bag before opening it up.

"W-What do you mean?" Christie asked worriedly.

"I find your body to be perfect for your art, yet one part of you does not seem to get the attention it deserves. Or rather they deserve," Lili added, looking down at Christie's feet.

Christie's feet began unconsciously fidgeting, worried about what this girl was implying.

"Given your preference to fight barefoot, it is odd that your feet do not seem to receive the treatment they deserve." Lili produced a small bottle of water from her bag and poured the contents all over Christie's feet, washing away all the sand that had stuck to them. She then produced a towel to dry them off.

Christie was confused, yet also strangely intrigued by what this girl was doing.

Once she was done drying, Lili produced a small bottle of lotion from her bag. "It does not do for a lady of your beauty to be lacking in such an exposed area," she explained as she poured some of the lotion into her hand.

Christie was terrified now. She struggled to break free, but it was useless; she was trapped and the only things she could move were her neck and her feet.

"Now, now, there's nothing to worry about," the blonde girl assured her. "Though the lotion is pretty cold, so you should probably brace yourself." Lili then brought the handful of lotion into contact with Christie's left foot. It was indeed cold. Very cold, in fact, sending a chill right up her leg and causing her to unconsciously spread her toes. Lili took advantage of the opportunity and spread the lotion between Christie's toes. The terrible coldness was a great contrast to the scorching heat that had, until now, been so prevalent across her exposed soles.

Lili continued to rub the lotion into Christie's foot and, once Christie was sure the lotion now encased her entire foot, Lili began to deeply massage the foot. Christie couldn't deny that the massage felt good. So much so, that it took her mind off the bone-chilling coldness of the lotion. Christie moaned a little before catching ehrself and blushing.

"I see you're enjoying this," Lili said with a smile.

Christie, still embarrassed from her outburst, could only nod in response.

"I'm glad. I'm only doing this for your benefit after all."

Christie wasn't sure what she meant, but one jab into one of her pressure points and she found that she didn't care. Christie let her head lay back as she relaxed, enjoying every second of this wonderful massage. Lili continued to rub the lotion into Christie's skin until she was sure it was all gone. She then poured out some more and got started on the other foot.

Christie had been so caught up in the lovely, relaxing feeling of the massage that she had forgotten how cold the lotion was at first, leading to her shivering in shock when the second batch touched her right foot.

Lili giggled. "You forgot how cold it was?"

"Ugh," Christie replied, shaking her head.

"Don't worry. This lotion is just to soften your feet a little; to relax the muscles so I can better treat your feet."

"W-What do you mean?" Christie asked cautiously, growing worried again.

"Ever since I saw you fight at the fifth Iron Fist, I've been captivated by you."

"Y-You have?"

"Yes. Perhaps it is because of my upbringing that the thought of being barefoot in public is so... alien to me. But then I saw you, not only fighting, but also simply walking around with no footwear. It's so... fascinating."

"It is?" Christie responded curiously. She'd never been told anything like this before.

"Yes. But doing so must have an effect on your feet. As I suspected, the skin on your soles is rough and hardened. This lotion is intended to moisturise and soften skin. A lady must maintain her body, especially if she shows it off as much as you do your feet."

"I guess that makes sense," Christie noted.

"Good," Lili replied with a smile. "Next, your nails." Lili retrieved some more items from her bag, including a nail file. She was very efficient and precise with the file, surprising for Christie, as she imagined Lili would have always had attendants to do her nails for her. Regardless, within a few short minutes, Lili had left Christie's toenails the perfect length.

"Wow, you're good at this," Christie said in awe.

"Thank you. I try to be self-sufficient where possible." Next, Lili pulled out a few bottles of nail polish. "Hmm..." she said, considering two bottles in particular: one black and the other dark blue. "Blue," she said finally. "The colour of water, which flows like your dance style."

"Poetic," Christie responded.

"Indeed. And I think this shade will suit you perfectly."

Lili repositioned herself so that she was facing away from Christie. Despite this, she continued to speak to the Brazilian woman as she applied the nail polish. "I hope all of this isn't making you uncomfortable."

Christie considered this a moment. "Hmm... not really. I guess it did at first, but I'm starting to like it. I guess you're just really good at this."

"Thank you. You know, I'd very much like to spar with you some time."

Christie chuckled. "After this, who am I to say no?"

"I look forward to it. Aaaand... there. all done." Lili moved aside to display her masterpiece.

Christie gasped as she looked on in awe at the job Lili had done with her toes. She wiggled them, letting the light of the sun reflect off of the deep blue coating her nails.

"You seem to like it."

"I love it!"

"I'm glad. Now, one last thing..." Lili took Christie's right foot in her hands, Christie still wiggling her toes as she did so. As Christie did this, Lili was overcome by a strange sensation. She looked over the foot in her hands, completely entranced by it. She had never touched another person's feet before, outside of a fight.

"Uh... what is-?" Christie began before she gasped as Lili brought her foot up to her lips and kissed the sole. "W-W-What?" Christie sputtered, struggling to break free.

As Christie thrashed about under the sand, Lili began planting more kisses on Christie's foot, eventually licking right up the sole.

A fresh shiver ran up Christie's spine and she unconsciously kicked her leg, breaking free of the sand blanket and colliding with Lili's face, knocking her on her back.

Christie was shocked but quickly realised the sand around her was now much looser. She managed to free the rest of her body easily enough, and stood up. She stretched her arms and legs, happy to finally be free. She then noticed Lili, who seemed to be unconscious from the accidental kick.

Worried, Christie was about to wake her up when she noticed the bottles of lotion and nail polish strewn about, and a mischievous grin spread across her lips. She picked up a spade and started digging. As bizarre as that last part had been, Lili had made Christie feel good, and her feet were now lovely. What kind of a girl would she be is she didn't return the favour?