The Revenge
"Nico wants to play that game? Fine, I'll play, but I'll need some help."
The clouds covered the blue canvas as the sun did its best to peek through the crowd, yet was nothing more than a shy child, hidden behind its parents. Birds gently sang as students began their walk to their school, a gentle breeze teasing the hair of some of the females. All in all, the city of Otonokizaka had a peaceful morning to start of its Monday, as well as its week. However, while other students were just arriving at the high school, two other students were hard at work.
Those two girls were stationed at their outposts, the student council room. Yes, this was the duo of the student council president, Eli Ayase, and her vice president, Nozomi Tojo. Both the blonde and the violet haired girl sat diligently at the tables, greedily running through the various requests, complaints, and issues that the student body had left them. However, Nozomi had noticed something odd of her blonde friend; she couldn't put a finger on it, just something about her seemed...off. A normal student wouldn't have noticed it, as Eli was working just how she always was: eyes darting down the papers, taking a second to consider the issue, then using the pen to make the final decision. However, Nozomi wasn't a normal student, not to Eli, Eli was her best friend that she had known for so long. So, if there was something wrong with Eli, Nozomi would be the first to catch it.
"Eli?" came the gentle question of the violet haired VP, glancing at Eli, who returned the glance, "Yes, Nozomi?" "Is everything alright?" She had asked as Eli had paused, not exactly sure why she would need to ask that, "Of course, why do you ask?" Eli questioned her friend with the emerald eyes, which had not left the contact of her own cerulean eyes. Not exactly sure how to put her concern into words, Nozomi could only gently shrug, "I don't know, you just seem off a bit." The blonde teen paused again and blinked, before gently shaking her head, "I'm alright, you just need to focus on that paperwork." Eli had said with a wink, gently chuckling as her friend chuckled along, "Alright, if you say you're alright, then I believe you." Nozomi declared with a smile, returning to the work stated by her friend. Of course, she knew something was off, but since it was her friend, she wouldn't push it as much. However, Nozomi was right, Eli was off of her game today, and that's because her mind was still clouded by what had occurred just about 48 hours ago.
The clouds still held the sky down, yet it was later in the day when the event happened. Eli was finishing up the work on the day, just about half an hour after Nozomi had departed for the day. You could play the day over 100 times over, and Eli still would not have expected what had happened. A knock kept coming to the student council's door, yet no one ever entered the room. Fed up with the constant knocking, Eli had got up to investigate it. No one was there, not even when she had stepped out into the hall to examine the halls. However, she didn't check the proper side first, as she felt a rag suddenly pressed against her mouth, quickly being forced into unconsciousness. Yet, this wasn't exactly what kept repeating back and forth in the blonde's head.
What really bugged her, is what transpired afterwards. She awoke in a room, a room she still can't remember two days later; her hands were duct taped to a bar, as well as her feet to the ground, and that's what had worried her. It took a minute, yet she was finally greeted by a familiar face, yet this face was trying to remain hidden behind a familiar disguise. Yes, it was the little runt, Nico Yazawa, who had some sort of motivation to trap her like this. That motivation was described as jealously, the jealously that the first and second years were looking up to Eli, instead of Nico, which drove her crazy. However, what happened next it what really cemented in Eli's mind. Nico took it into her own hands to "punish" Eli for taking the younger girls away from her, and that was through the most childish thing imaginable: tickling. Yes, Nico had viciously tickled Eli for as long as the taller blonde could take it, which wasn't long past the introduction of the toothbrush; which the twin tailed girl added further insult to injury by stuffing it in her blazer for her to find when she came back into reality.
The remembrance of the event made the blonde president tighten her grip on the pen, which was probably her biggest mistake. "Eli..." Nozomi repeated once more as Eli jumped a bit, before turning to look at her friends worried face, "You remembered something, I can see it in your face." The girl with the low violet twin tails explained as the blonde could only gently sigh. It was over, the fact that she took way too long of a trip down memory lane, combined with the aggressive grip on her pen, meant that Nozomi had enough evidence to get a firm answer out of her. However, Eli truly didn't want to admit of the event that had happened, so she simply rested her hand on her cheek and got back to her paperwork. Shockingly, this wasn't going to cut it for her friend, who kept a firm stare into Eli's blue orbs, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep quiet for long, all she had to do was keep eye contact. Occasionally, Eli would glance up, yet quickly look back to her work as soon as she came in contact with Nozomi's own emerald orbs, before finally letting out a defeated sigh, "If I tell you...can you promise to keep it between us?" was her only request as the vice president nodded, "You have my word." Knowing Nozomi was someone she could trust, Eli gently tapped her nails on the table, before gently sighing.
"On Saturday..." The blonde slowly started, "I was...surprised...ambushed, really...by Nico..." Eli began as Nozomi sat a little straighter in her seat, the familiar name striking a lot of interest in her. What could Nico have to do with what made Eli so tense? Not being able to get words off easily, Eli had paused again, yet Nozomi allowed her all the time she needed. "She took me...into a room...restrained me..." At this point in the explanation, Nozomi was growing red hot inside; with her knowledge of things, she knew this was going one of two ways, and she was hoping for her latter thought. "And she tickled me.." Eli finally admitted as Nozomi let out a sigh of relief. Bingo, it was exactly what she had thought it was going to be. "That's what happened?" The emerald eyed girl asked as her now blushing friend nodded, "And...it wasn't even the kind of tickling you do to, like, Hanayo, or the other girls." She explained as Nozomi could only giggle and the remembrance of the gentle side squeezes she'd give her friends. "I couldn't move or anything, and all she did was tickle my stomach with that infernal toothbrush..." She muttered as her cheeks grew even rosier as Nozomi giggled, "Have you considered revenge?"
"Excuse me?" Eli asked, looking back up at Nozomi, who had a rather mischievous grin on her face. "You see, Eli, one of the best things about tickling is the fact you can easily get revenge on whoever tickles you." She explained with a smile, "Of course, you don't see that around here, because no one really fights back with my game." Eli blinked again, stuck looking dumbfounded at her friend as her hand remained on her cheek. Yes, she knew Nozomi had a thing for tickling the younger girls, but every time she brought it up, it took a while for her to adjust to the odd topic. After pondering the thought for a second, Eli shook her head, "I...I can't..." She muttered as Nozomi blinked, tilting her head, "How come?" "I just..." Eli started, searching for an excuse, "I've never...tickled anyone before..." the statement was a half-truth, because yes, she hasn't tickled anyone, in a while that is. The last person she had tickled was her younger sister, Alisa, but that was almost three years ago. Plus, she knew she wouldn't be able to top what Nico had done to her.
Unfortunately for Eli, the statement went in the completely opposite direction that she wanted, only drawing a wider grin from her friend. "Eli, I can teach you how." She explained with a chuckle as Eli looked at her out of the top of her eyes, lowering her head, "Really...you can teach me how to tickle someone?" She asked with curiosity as Nozomi nodded, "It's as easy as teaching someone how to ride a bike, and you'll remember it just the same. " She said with a wink as the blonde friend still seemed doubtful, "What, are you going to pull up some instructional video?" She asked with a smile as Nozomi smiled and gently shook her head, turning to her friend as she held her hands up, teasingly wiggling her fingers, "Tickling is a subject best learned hands on..." Eli gasped and scooted her chair back a bit as Nozomi giggled, her wiggling fingers straightening out as she shrugged, "Of course, it'll be a gentle lesson, I just had to see your reaction." She said with a wink as her blonde friend let out an annoyed sighed. Sure, it was fun to mock her, because she clearly wasn't tormented by the game almost forty-eight hours ago. "After school, I can teach you." The violet haired girl declared with a smile, "Since we have an hour before our practice starts." "And you promise you won't go to rough with your...teachings?" Eli asked with a hint of concern as her friend chuckled, "the great thing about tickling, is if it's your friends, you can go as light as you want. I promise." She said with a wink, "Just meet me back here after school." Eli paused, yet knew she really wouldn't have a choice. Yet, at the same time, the thought of getting Nico back in this safe way was becoming...more and more enjoyable.
The rest of the day flew by as the only thing in Eli's mind was what was happening after school. She didn't let it distract her from her studies, yet the occasional thought always popped in, which actually gave her a smile. The thought of Nico, restrained in the same fashion she was, armed with the same toothbrush, running it over that tiny stomach of hers. The thoughts were actually pretty odd to her, as she wasn't as interested in tickling as Nozomi was. So, the constant thought was strange to her, maybe it was the thought of the not-so-playful revenge she could get. Needless to say, as soon as the final bell rang, Eli could feel her excitement jump up. The excitement was quickly diminished for a second as she realized the obstacle in front of her; Nozomi. It had slipped her mind that Nozomi was going to have to teach her the tickling techniques, which meant she would have had to endure Nozomi tickling her. At this point, she was hoping she would have kept her promise; yet, that was just a non-existent threat she put into her head to worry over. Nozomi was her best friend, she would never break her promise. Nevertheless, she grabbed her bag, heading to the student council room, ready for her lesson.
Opening the door to the student council office, Eli glanced in the room, a little down that Nozomi hadn't beaten her there. The lack of her friend meant that she would have to sit in silence until she had decided to arrive. Maybe it was just her nervousness, but sitting in a silent room knowing you're about to get tickled for the "sake of education", wasn't exactly the most pleasing feeling in the world. The silence was broken after about ten minutes as the familiar face walked into the room, closing it behind her, "Sorry I'm late, I had to run home for a second." She explained, giving her alibi as Eli smiled, "It's alright, how are we could to do this/" The blonde inquired, then paused and blinked as Nozomi closed the blinds on the door window, as well as starting to do so with each of the windows. "Why are you doing that/' Eli asked as Nozomi chuckled, "For the sake of avoiding peeping toms." She explained with a smile, "i know it'd be embarrassing for you to be seen being tickled." Nozomi teased as Eli gently blushed, adverting her eyes for a second, before returning them back to Nozomi, "How do we start?" The blonde asked as Nozomi smiled, "First, I'll give you a list of every place you can tickle on someone...that will be a good basis." She explained as Eli nodded, then chuckled, "Should I write this down, Ms. Tojo?' She teased as Nozomi chuckled, "Now now, don't be mean, just listen."
"The basic spots you're probably going to focus on are the stomach, the navel, sides, ribs, and the underarms." The violet haired teacher explained to her blonde pupil, "These are the most basic spots that don't include the feet, which I imagine you don't feel like touching." She presumed, which was a correct assumption as Eli nodded, "After a hard day of practice, I can barely stand my own feet." She admitted as Nozomi chuckled, "To someone like me, something like that is marvelous, because when you get sweaty, your skin gets softer, and softer skin is always more sensitive." She explained as Eli blinked, the fact actually giving off a bit of interest, "You're kidding me?" She asked as the green eyed girl chuckled, shaking her head, "Combine that with the sweat, which makes the area more slippery for the fingers, it makes it a whole lot more ticklish." Nozomi explained as the blonde girl chuckled, "Remind me to never make you made during practice, then." Eli joked as the violet haired girl chuckled, gently shaking her head, "You don't need to worry, I'd never do anything serious with you." She promised as her friend smiled, "Xорошo..." " Xорошo", or "harasho", was a word that Eli had used often, originating back from her Russian grandmother, meaning "good" or "okay". Hearing the signature word of her friend brought a smile to Nozomi's face as she nodded, "Tie for the fun part, remove your blazer for me, please."
The request was simple, yet rather daunting to the blonde girl. The last time her blazer was removed, was rather unpleasant. To add even more intimidation to the request, it was for the exact same reason. Yet, all Eli had to do was remember that this wasn't the same room, she still had full control over her body, and most importantly: this wasn't Nico. Nope, this was her best friend, someone she could trust; and yet, all that trust didn't stop her from slowly and nervously fiddling with the buttons that kept her blazer held together. "That's okay, take as long as you need." Nozomi commented warmly to her friend with a smile, "I know it's not exactly easy for you to do after what you went through." This is why Nozomi was one of her best friends, she was always so understanding and considerate, at least to her needs. Finally, after she had managed to convince herself to remove the blazer, she folded it up and set it on the desk, left in her buttoned up, white, short sleeved shirt. Quickly, Eli grabbed the opposite arm, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm them, being suddenly attacked from a cold chill. Nozomi gently chuckled, walking behind her friend as she gently rubbed her arms, "Ready to begin?" "As ready as I'll ever be..." Eli replied with a sheepish giggle.
"Alright, then your first lesson is simple, and that is simply testing to see if someone is even ticklish." Nozomi explained as she gently slid her hands down Eli's arms, before gently squeezing her sides. "Eek!' Eli squeaked, jumping up a bit as her friend grinned, "See? You jumped and squeaked, nothing else in the human body besides tickle nerves can cause such a reaction." She explained as Eli gently smiled, "Can you provide citation?" She asked as Nozomi chuckled, "Of course not, but it's a safe assumption." She commented, giving her friend's sides another squeeze, which made her squeak and gently giggled. "See how you giggled that time, yet you didn't the first time?" Nozomi questioned as Eli gently nodded, "Yeah...' "That's because your resistance to tickling is slowly dropping." She started to explain, "Everyone has a certain...threshold when it comes to tickling, and it varies on the person. A shy and fragile girl like Hanayo would have a weaker threshold, while someone bigger and tougher...or even someone dedicated to such a feat like Rin would, would have a stronger threshold." Eli gently nodded, slowly taking in the information, forgetting that her friend's hands were currently on her sides. "So, does it have to do with strength?" Eli asked as Nozomi gently shook her head, "It determines on will, really." She answered, "As I said, someone like Rin could really strengthen her threshold if you made it a game with her, while in reality, she could have a really weak threshold, but there are ways to weaken someone's threshold."
"How do you do that?" Eli asked as the violet haired girl smiled, "Well, if you want to go really simple, you just tickle them harder." As soon as she gave the response, she began squeezing up and down the blonde's sides, causing her to squeak and began to giggle frantically, "Oh gohohohohohohohohohd, it tihihihihihihihihckles!" Eli commented as Nozomi giggled, bringing her fingers to a halt, "That is the most basic and obvious way, reach the threshold faster, however..." Nozomi paused, "If you don't feel like exerting such energy right off the bat, gently tickling the skin serves just as much, and sometimes, greater results." "How come?" The blonde girl asked as Nozomi smiled, "Because tickling is all about how the skin reacts to a soft touch." She explained, "That's why the softer the touch, the more it tickles. That fact is also what opens the door to use so many objects as, what are called, tickle tools." "Like an electric toothbrush..." came the muttered response of Eli, which caused her tutor to nodded, "All those bristles vibrating at once really drives the skin wild." This was rather an odd thing for Eli, because it wasn't too often she didn't understand or know of something, and everything about tickling seemed to have her baffled.
"For example..." Nozomi started, gently raising Eli's shirt a bit, just to reveal the pale skin of her lower stomach. The action itself made her blonde friend jerk nervously, yet the violet haired girl gently shushed her. Slowly, she slid her nail from the left side of her waist to the next; yet wasn't able to get all the way across before Eli jumped and quickly slammed her hands to opposite sides, covering herself. "EHEHEHEHEAAHAHAHAHAHA!" was the blonde's response as Nozomi giggled, raising her hands away to let her regain composure, "Ahh, this is another perfect lesson, sweet spots." She said with a happy giggle as Eli gently panted once before sitting back up. "I take it that's just a fancy way of saying the spot that tickles the most?" Eli had asked as the tutor nodded, "To put it simply, yes." She said with a chuckle, "Everyone who is ticklish has a sweet spot, although, that sweet spot is determined by how ticklish you are everywhere else." "For example..." The violet haired girl started once more, "If a person isn't ticklish anywhere else, but one spot makes them do even the smallest thing, like even break a grin, it's considered their sweet spot."
"On the other hand, if someone is extremely ticklish all over, even if it's hard to tell, one spot will make them laugh louder than the others." The green eyed vice president explained as Eli nodded, "So, every ticklish person has a most ticklish spot." She repeated as Nozomi nodded, "Correct, even if you don't know which spot is is." "Oh, I know mine, for sure..." She said, pressing her arms closer to her body as Nozomi chuckled, "I know my body language for this, it's your underarms." She stated as Eli blinked, "How did you..." "This is just my personal experience..." Nozomi stopped her, "When threatened with tickling, if their sensitive spot is in the upper body, they will always cover it up." She stated, starting off by crossing her arms, holding her hands on her sides, "This is common for either the side or stomach, even the navel..." Her hands slid up her body, now covering her ribs, "This is a sign that the ribs are the sweet spot..." Finally, her elbows pressed into her ribs as her hands went down, "And this is the underarms, because it makes it hard to raise the arms." Eli nodded, then tilted her head, "But, can't they try and fake you out by covering a different area?" She asked as Nozomi shook her head, "Depending on the person, it's normally the body itself." She explained to her blonde friend.
Eli nodded, then gently scratched her head, "you know, it's really nice you're teaching me and all, but there's a small issue..." She brought up as Nozomi tilted her head, "And what's that issue?" "I have no way of getting Nico trapped like she trapped me." Eli explained, folding her arms, "I don't exactly have the chloroform that she had...nor do I feel obligated to go out and get some for such a silly reason..." Eli explained as Nozomi nodded, putting a finger on her chin, "Hmm..." The twin tailed girl went deep in thought, then quickly snapped her fingers, "Why did she originally do what she did? Did she say why?" She asked as Eli paused, having to recall the whole incident again. "She said...it was because I was 'stealing the first years' away from her..." The blue eyed girl restated as Nozomi gently chuckled, "She's upset over that?" She asked, rather surprised as Eli shrugged, "You know how Nico is..." She muttered as Nozomi couldn't help but giggle a bit more, "What if...you say you're going to give her a special practice that'll help her look better in front of the younger years?" She suggested as Eli placed her elbow on the desk, putting a hand on her chin, "I...don't think it would work..." She said, gently shaking her head, "Not so soon after the event...she'd get way too suspicious..." "That's why you have to modify the trap to suit her..." The violet haired girl said with a wink. Nozomi reached into her bag, pulling out the familiar deck of cards she had always carried around. Quickly fanning them, she pulled out one of the cards, before straightening out the deck. She held the card up, depicting a knight riding on a horse, holding up a wand, "do you know what this is?" Nozomi asked as Eli nodded, "Yeah, it's one of your tarot cards." She responded as Nozomi chuckled and shook her head, "This is the Knight of Wands...a card that symbolizes one's aggressiveness, one's eagerness, one's will to just push forward..." She explained as Eli paused, staring blankly at her friend, who giggled, "Nico is eager to be the lead idol, she won't let anything hold her back, she's ready to go go go...If you explain to her that the encounter gave you a change of heart...and that you'll aid her in appealing to the younger idols..." "Then she'll hop right into the plan without thinking too much of it!" Eli finished as Nozomi nodded, "Now you're catching on..."
"So, all you have to do is lure Nico somewhere, work her to her fullest, and capitalize on the situation." Nozomi explained as Eli nodded, then paused, "But...I'm not like that...it'd be a little out of character for me." She explained as the violet haired girl giggled, "And those who follow the Christian faith always go out of their supposed character...all you do is forgive yourself afterwords." She winked as the blonde girl gently shrugged, "That seems fair enough to me...but what about everyone else?" She asked as Nozomi blinked, "What do you mean?" "Well, there is still Honoka, Umi, Maki, and the others...who is going to watch over them?" She asked as another grin broke over Nozomi's face, "I can handle them, I'll just let them know you two are off doing something more...important.." Hearing that Nozomi already had a simple plan for the situation made the blonde president smile, "Thanks, Nozomi, I knew I could have faith in you to make something up." She thanked, standing up as she hugged her friend, "And thank you for helping me with this entire situation in general." "Hey, thank you for letting me teach you." The vice president countered with a chuckle, "It's not too often I get to teach people this kind of stuff." "Well, I'll make sure to make use of your knowledge." Eli stated with a smile as Nozomi gasped, "Wait, I have something to give you!" She announced as she grabbed her bag, reaching into it, then pulling out a long, stiff, violet colored feather. "This is a feather, one of the most iconic tools in all of tickling." She explained, then handed it to Eli, "Use this, it'll drive her mad if she's feather-sensitive." The blonde gently took the feather in her hand and observed it, before smiling and nodded, "I'll use this as soon as I find her sweet spot." "I'm glad you paid attention to terminology." Nozomi replied with a giggle, "Come on, we need to change for practice."
And thus, the duo departed the student council room, Eli armed with not only a feather, but her new found knowledge for the interesting phenomenon known as tickling. Now was the time to focus on the best way to convince Nico that Eli would know teach her how to get the younger girls to like her. "So, Nico...I learned from our experience...no..." the blonde denied herself as she pulled on the blue shirt she wore for practice, the purple "R" on the shirt lining up over her right breast. "Nico, I wanted to let you know I learned a lot from the inci...no..." She muttered, now pulling on her navy blue shorts, then slipping her socks on and sliding into her tennis shoes. Eli sighed as she stood up, looking at herself in the mirror, "You can do this, Eli..." She told herself, "You just have to focus..." The blonde girl glared at her own blue orbs in the mirror, then nodded; she was ready.
Eli stopped at the entrance to the stairwell, Nozomi catching up to her, "You ready for this?" The violet haired girl asked as Eli nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess..." She said, looking at her friend. Nozomi's practice outfit was a little different, being composed of a pale purple top that depicted a crescent moon; which was short enough to slightly expose the magenta undershirt beneath it. Completing the look were her beige pants, and her own pink sneakers. The blonde girl slyly smiled, hatching a quick idea. It had still been a long time since she had actually tickled anyone, and nothing would hurt from getting a quick practice in there, now would it? Slowly, she reached out in an attempt to give Nozomi's side a quick squeeze, yet forgot an untold rule of tickling. Never, is it wise to try and tickle someone who is looking right at you. Therefore, Nozomi slightly smiled, gently pushing her friend's hand down as she shook her head, "I'm not a good target to get practice in...I'm not ticklish." She confessed as Eli blinked, "Wait, someone who knows about the subject as much as you isn't even vulnerable to it?" She asked as the violet friend nodded, "I know it awful, but it's not something I exactly have control over." She stated, giving a wink. "Come on, enough games, it's show time." Nozomi commented with a smile as she opened the door, the student council duo starting to make their way upstairs.
"Oh, Eli! Nozomi! There you are!" came the bubbly response of Honoka, the energetic ginger haired second year of the group. Her energy was only topped by one girl, who immediately ran beside Honoka, "Eli! Nozomi!" mimicked the orange haired first year, Rin. "Hello Honoka, hello Rin." Eli greeted with a smile, "You two are going to have to listen to Nozomi today, I have to talk to Nico about something..." "You said my name?" came the familiar response as Eli turned her head with a smile, her eyes coming in contact with her target.
There she was, the girl of the hour, Nico Yazawa herself. With black twin tails gently brushing her shoulders, and her red eyes being able to flip emotions easily, Nico was quite the cutie. Her outfit consisted of a lose maroon top with a small smiling face above her left breast, the top itself falling over her shoulders, revealing the straps of her black undershirt. Yet that same maroon top was tied into a knot at the bottom, securing it to her waist. A frilly pink skirt fell to the middle of her thighs to cover anything inappropriate, while white thigh high socks over her legs, yet left enough room for Zettai Ryoukki. Finally, a pair of ankle high, red tennis shoes covered her tiny feet to complete the outfit. A fitting attire, Eli analyzed, because it already left room to already get access to her bare un-...Wow, Eli was already making skilled ticklers observations, maybe Nozomi isn't that bad of a teacher.
"Yes I did, Nico." The blonde said with a nod, "I need to talk to you about important business." She explained as Nico narrowed her eyes, then simply shrugged, "Sure." "Alright, Nozomi, they're all yours." Eli declared as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, whom nodded, "I'll take care of them." Nozomi promised with a smile. "Come with me." Eli said as she walked back to the door, holding it open for the twin tailed girl, whom walked through it, "What's up?" "Well...there's a possible threat to the idol group I need to discuss with you, Nico..." Eli explained as they began walking down the stairs together, "A threat? Like, a bad one?' Nico asked, already worried. She already had an idol group fail in the past, and she would not let this one slip through her fingers, especially if she wasn't the leader. "She's already falling for it..." The blonde thought to herself as she gently shrugged, "It's not a really bad one...but it's really bad for the younger girls." Eli explained, opening up the door as they began walking down the halls of the school together. "What is it?" Nico asked, the taller blonde taking a deep breath, "There have been a ton of requests and paperwork coming through the student council recently..." Eli started, making sure to keep her eyes ahead of her and not on the twin tailed girl next to her. She couldn't risk breaking a smile through her lie.
"And since all this paperwork came in...I fear I might start not showing up right away...and being late to the practice every day..." The dilemma came as a bit of an odd one to Nico; I mean, all she would be is late every day, that wasn't too major of an issue."So?" Nico retorted, "What's that have to do with the rest of us?" She asked, folding her arms as Eli gently sighed, "Well, you know, Honoka...Maki...Rin...those girls look up to me..." She explained as Nico tensed up slightly. "Yeah...rub it in..." The red eyed girl thought, "I clearly didn't teach you enough..." "And if the person they're looking up to is late every day...guess what they're going to start doing?" Eli quizzed her smaller teammate, who gently shrugged, "They'll start showing up later, too..." "Exactly, and poor attendance isn't something this group can afford." The blonde commented as Nico looked back up at the girl, "So, what does that have to do with me...?" She slowly asked, then gave a silent gasp. Everything was starting to fall into place for Nico, the grin on her face widening the more she thought about it. Why else would she come to her with such a situation? It was obvious this dumb blonde was finally coming to her senses! It was time for Nico to take the opening role! "Well...the girls need someone to look up to...and Nozomi is going to be caught up in the work just as much as I am..." Eli stated, stopping as she turned to face the girl, who stopped in her place as well, "I need you to become their role model...the person they look up to." Eli explained as Nico gasped, jumping up, "Yes! I'll do it with no problem!" She declared, holding her fist up. Finally, the girl who deserves the spotlight is going to get it! "But..." Eli interrupted her celebration, holding her index finger up, "I need to get you into shape for it...If I can get you to at least have my figure, they'll look up to you more." "What kind of a reason is that?!" The blonde ridiculed herself in her mind, "You got so far, and now you just-" "Of course!" Nico interrupted her thoughts, taking the blonde back a bit. "Besides, if I'm going to be the center stage, I need to look my best!" The dark haired girl declared with a wide grin as Eli gathered herself, nodding, "Exactly!" "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the workout room!" Nico declared, suddenly taking control as she grabbed Eli's wrist, yanking her towards the room.
The sudden life of Nico...the excitement...the eagerness to be the center stage...It almost hurt Eli to do this to her. But she had to remember, this is what Nozomi was talking about with the tarot card. That eagerness will be her downfall, even if the downfall isn't the most dramatic thing ever. Rather quickly making their way to the small gym of the high school, Nico stood across from Eli, "What's the first step, boss?" She asked as Eli smiled, "Stretch first...I'll show you the routine I use." She said with a wink. "First, ten jumping jacks, just to kick your body into gear." Eli stated, starting to do her ten jumping jacks with Nico, which were done with no problem. "Now reverse them, arms in front." Eli declared as they quickly switched to the horizontal jumping jacks. Not only was she activating her body for the...workout ahead...she knew she was also wearing Nico down. Eli took a deep breath, spreading her legs a hip-width apart, extending her arms in front of her. "Now, this stretches your core, the important part of the workout today." She explained, slowly stretching her arms towards her right side, aligning them with her shoulder. Nico nodded, mimicking the motion as she spread her legs, spreading her arms out, and turning her body to the right side. "Ooh...I feel that..." The red eyed girl commented as Eli chuckled, "That means you need to stretch more..." She explained, slowly turning her body in the opposite direction, "This'll take a while, forty times." Eli told her friend, who nodded, "Gotcha." Nico replied, stretching her core out the best she could.
After the core stretch, Eli stood up straight as Nico did the same, gently groaning, "My stomach hurts already..." Nico whined as Eli gently shook her head, "You'll never win them over by whining..." The blonde teased the girl, before smiling, "But since your core is hurting, that'll be the key for this workout." She explained, walking over to the equipment closet, opening it up as she pulled out a long pad. "What this'll do, is really work on your core muscles, then we can work on more stuff tomorrow." Nico nodded, understanding the goal of improving her core. She knew a bit about the various workouts, and knew core was a key part of a lot of physical activity. "Alright...now, I don't know how strong you are...so, we'll start with just your weight." Eli explained, kneeling on the edge of the pad, "This is called a hamstring forward lean, it's actually going to help your hamstrings, too." She explained as Nico nodded, "Just get on your knees and face away from me." The dark haired girl nodded and did so, kneeling down as Eli gently grabbed each ankle, "Now cross your arms over your chest, and you have to lean forward without falling." She explained, "Got it...sounds easy enough." Nico commented as she slowly leaned forward, before stopping and going back, "Oh...that's...not as easy as I thought..." She stated as Eli giggled, "That's good, then you'll really work out that core."
The future center of attention nodded as she slowly began to do the workout, going back and forth with her leans. The blonde girl watched her carefully, slyly grinning. She could admit this wasn't a golden plan, as she probably wouldn't get as much out of it as she had experienced herself; but hey, this was going to get the job done. After waiting for Nico to do a few more reps, further weakening her defense, Eli initiated her plan. Waiting for the girl to lean forward, Eli quickly gave a tug at the girl's ankles, causing her to gasp and fall forward. Taking advantage of the stunned girl, the blonde swiftly moved up to gently sit on her lower back, reaching forward as she grabbed her wrists, pulling them up above her head. Sure, Eli didn't have the biggest hands, but thanks to Nico's tiny, slender wrists, she was able to get a hold of both of them in one hand. "Got you." Eli gloated with a grin as Nico gently gasped, trying to tug free from her grasp, "Ugh...W-what are you doing?" Nico asked, rather worried as she began to remember what she did almost forty-eight hours previously. "Well, don't you remember the little game we had a few days back?" Eli asked as Nico gently groaned. Yep, that's exactly what she was worried about. "...Yes..." The twin tailed girl quietly replied as Eli grinned, "Well, I want to play again...only I'm going to help you...because don't you know how when you laugh hard, your stomach hurts?" She asked as the trapped girl gently nodded, "Well, that could be helping your core, so it is a core workout." She stated, chuckling to herself.
"L-look, Eli...w-we can work this OUT!" Nico pleaded, her voice raising at the end as Eli gently squeezed her side, "Oh? How so?" Eli asked rhetorically as she gave the girl's side another testing squeeze, just how Nozomi had taught her. "Eek...we could...t-talk it out..." Nico tried to reason as the blonde girl giggled, gliding her nails up the girl's ribs, causing her to jerk to the side and giggle, "But...this is more fun than talking." Eli teased as Nico groaned, "Ihihihiht reheehahahahaly isn't..." She managed through her giggles as Eli giggled, now gently wiggling her fingers back on the girl's side, causing her giggles to increased. "Ehehehehehahehehe nohohohohohohho, E-eheheheheheheli!" Nico pleaded as the blonde girl giggled, ignoring her teammate, forcing her fingers between Nico and the mat, targeting her stomach, which caused Nico to jump slightly and giggle quicker, "Eheheehahahahahaha, stahahahahahahahahap!" Nico pleaded, pressing herself closer to the pad to trap the fingers, forcing Eli to withdraw from that attack.
"Aww, you can't do that, I never did." Eli teased as she slid a nail down Nico's back, causing a surprisingly loud squeal from the girl, "EEEK! NOOHOHOHO, DON'T TOUCH THERE!" Nico snapped as the blonde girl giggled, "Oh? I think I know what that is...but let's play a little more." At this point, it was already game over for Nico, who just revealed to Eli what Nozomi had explained as the "sweet spot". However, Eli didn't want to be like Nico was, just targeting her worst spot, she wanted to draw this out for a bit. So, she started the next spot by gently tugging on the knot of Nico's shirt, undoing it to allow Eli to slid her shirt up. This was actually more complicated as she only had one available hand. After a bit of struggling, she got it, sliding her shirt up to reveal the girl's pale sides. "We really should hit a beach soon, we're all pretty pale." Eli commented as she began tickling up and down the trapped girl's sides, causing her to squeak and began giggling quicker, "Oh gohohohhohohhod, shuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuht uhuhuhuhuhuhuhp!" She snapped, yet she couldn't deny that a trip to the beach sounded divine.
"don't like the beach?" The blonde teased, sliding her fingers into her shirt as she targeted her ribs now, causing the girl's giggles to become a gentle laugh, "OhohohohoHOHOHOH Gohohohohohahahahahahahahaahahahahad tihihihihihihihihickles!' Nico stated the obvious as Eli giggled, 'I mean, you're laughing, it must tickle." She giggled, before moving her hand more up to the underarms, which gave a great result. "EHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHOHT MY AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAARMPIHIHIHIHIHHIT!" The twin tailed girl suddenly burst out with laughter as she began to shake. "Oh? Is that another good spot?" Eli teased as she wiggled her fingers faster, which caused the girl to shake and laugh louder, "YEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHES!" "Who would have known she was ticklish in the same spot as me..." Eli thought to herself as smiled, withdrawing her hand from the shirt, letting Nico pant heavily, her cheeks as red as her eyes. "How do you feel?" Eli asked, because even if she was commencing the revenge, she cared more for Nico than she had for her. "Ihihihiht...tihihihickles..." was her only response as Eli giggled, "Well, I'll cut you a deal...I'm not as evil as you...so I'd let you go..." She explained as Nico gently gasped, "But I made a promise to someone, and I'm keeping it..." Eli stated, pulling the purple feather from her pocket, "I had to promise to use this on you, so I will." Nico gasped, catching it out of the corner of her eye as she tried tugging at her wrists, "N-no! No feather!" The girl begged as Eli shook her head, "You picked the best shirt for this." She winked, dipping the feather into the girls underarm, which was actually bare because of the girl's shirt. The feather did exactly as Nozomi had promised it would, as Nico's laughter shot up past what her fingers had done, "EHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH GOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHD! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" She tried begging through her laughter as Eli gently shook her head.
Out of hindsight, the blonde questioned herself. Why did she go through the effort of sliding her hand that far into her shirt to get to her underarms...they were right in plain view. She brushed it off, then smiled; Nico had used the toothbrush on her own sweetspot, so it as only fair she finished it just how she did. Eli removed the feather from the girl's underarm, before sliding it up and down the girl's spine. As if her previous prediction was made by an expert like Nozomi, Nico let out a deep shreik as her laughter spiked and filled the room up, "EHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHO! PLEHEEHEHEHEHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The twin tailed girl was now begging for the horrible tickling to stop. Yes, she knew her spine was the most ticklish spot on her body, Nozomi made sure she didn't forget. Her playful attitude always had her sliding her nail down her spine to get her to squeal. But all those gently strokes were never as bad as that feather was doing to her now. "S-STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!" She begged again as Eli smiled, but that smiled didn't last very long. What she had noticed, were the tears that streamed down the twin tailed girl's cheeks. Sure, she knew they were from laughter, but she couldn't help but feel awful for the girl. So, for the final time, she withdrew the feather, letting go of the girl's wrist, letting her take in deep, greedy breathes.
"How did that feel?" The blonde teased as she stood up, giving Nico the chance to curl up, "Ihihihih...tihihihihckled..." Nico commented, still giggling and shivering as the blonde smiled, "You can thank Nozomi for the lessons...I'd never have got you back without her help." Eli explained as the twin tailed girl pouted. "Of course..." Nico thought to herself, "She'd never have done that without Nozomi..." Eli smiled, folding her arms, "I'll wait here for you to catch your breath...I know you didn't abandon me...and I wont do that either..." The kindness got to Nico a bit, but that wasn't enough to exactly erase what she just had to go through at her hands. "Hey, cheer up a bit." Eli said with a smile, "No one's going to know this happened...and you won't tell anyone like I told Nozomi, right? " She asked as Nico gently nodded. If there was something she didn't want to happen, it was for people to know she got outsmarted by Eli.
However, the secret wasn't going to be as kept between them like they had expected. Wandering from the practice was a certain pair of violet eyes that had watched the entire event go down; which had brought a burning sensation to the girl's cheeks. Needless to say, it wasn't going to be easy for the secret to get out of the range of these three. However, as the saying goes, two is company, but three is a crowd.