Sarutobe Ayame, Gin's persistent stalker, was over at our place today. Why she was hanging out with Kagura rather than trying to get affection from Gin, I don't know. I only know that they were up to something. I had to know what. So when I heard the door to Kagura's room lock, I decided to peek in through the windows. Risky, since people on the street might see me and call me a peeping tom, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Well, I couldn't actually see what was going on, as the curtains were closed (even though it was bright daylight), but I could hear their muffled voices.

"...no way."

"...totally licked them...naked..."

"...tastes good..."

"Aha!" I exclaimed, bursting the window open, "I busted you...making paper swords?"

"I KNEW you were eavesdropping on us!" exclaimed Kagura, "You're really dumb if you thought we didn't see you, uh-huh."

"So I hear you like Kagura's feet," said Ayame, as blunt as ever.

"He likes all girls' feet," said Kagura, swinging her paper sword around as if she were an actual samurai, "I'm just the only one he's actually touched or licked or..."

"YOU TOLD HER?" I cried, "I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL!"

"Who's she gonna tell, baka?" asked Kagura.

"I dunno, maybe everyone?" I asked rhetorically.

That actually may or may not have been true. I wasn't entirely too sure about Ayame's ability to keep secrets. She may not have been nearly as blunt about other people's secrets as she was about her love for Gin. Or obsession. Or whatever anyone can call it.

"And it really brought you two closer together?" asked Ayame, with a hint of romance in her voice, "Perhaps this foot fetish stuff can bring me and my Gin closer together!"

Aaaaand there it was, Ayame being blunt. Wait, what did she say about...

"What made you think my deal with Kagura brought us closer together?" I asked Ayame,"Half the time she's humiliating me, in public or otherwise!"

"Stupid Shinpachi deserves it, uh-huh," said Kagura, now chewing on her paper sword.

"And stop eating paper! No wonder you keep getting sick!" I exclaimed.

Ayame had left the room to go chase after Gin while I kept bickering with Kagura. She was really starting to get on my nerves. Seriously, how does a person get so much enjoyment out of making everyone around them agitated? And not just the blackmail stuff either.

"Look, I'm going out, just try to find whatever goodness is in your heart to not completely degrade me for the rest of this nightmare," I told her.

I walked out of her room leaving Kagura to her own devices. I walked down the stairs and past Ayame chasing after Gin, hopping on one foot with the other held up in front of her.

"C'mon! Do it!"

"Not happening!"

"It will strengthen our bond!"

"Nope!"

"Don't be a chicken! Just smell them!"

"You're crazy!"

"SMELL THEM!"

"QUIT CHASING ME!"

"STOP RUNNING AND SMELL MY FEET!"

Freakin' Ayane. She really had no clue. I could use the walk right about now.

I really didn't go anywhere in particular. Just walked past some of the food carts. Smelled delicious, but I was bled dry over the course of the week. Partially because of last night's "date", if you can call it that, but mostly because Gin was either drinking or buying Shonen Jumps. Why did Kagura tell Ayane about how great it was that I was being enslaved by her knowledge of my foot fetish? Well, obviously great for her. She's pretty much been the one calling the shots. The only time it was on my own terms was the night I snuck in when she was asleep, but she still made it rough on me after filming me do it.

Eventually, after a good hour or two, I found myself back home, and it had been surprisingly quiet when I had made my way upstairs. Neither Gin nor Kagura (or even Ayame) seemed to be in. Just Sadaharu, who was napping in the corner of the living room. Good. Maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet. A moment to myself. But just to be safe...

I knocked on Gin's door. I didn't hear an answer. Might have been napping. Or his nose buried in more Shonen Jump. Or Ayame could have chased him out. Probably that last one. I walked right by the door to my room, because I was pretty sure no one would be in my room right now. I then knocked on Kagura's door, which creaked open. She wasn't in, but I saw something she left behind.

Her flats.

Her usual flats, just sitting at the edge of her end table. Why she would leave the apartment without shoes, I don't know. I rarely bother questioning Kagura's actions anymore, she's just...well, her. Anyway, I really shouldn't have, but I walked into her room. And this time I was sure nobody was home, so I decided to take a quick risk. Placing one of her empty flats into my hand, I lifted it up towards my face and dug my nose inside. Definitely hasn't cleaned them recently. It didn't smell bad, per se, but it wasn't exactly perfume, either. I hardly felt myself exhaling, only inhaling. The scent was hypnotizing. It had felt as though time froze.

At least until the toilet flushed and the bathroom door opened, with Kagura coming out to see me. And of course, she doesn't get angry, just laughs at me. I could have sworn I was alone. How does she do that?

"You can't quit, can you, baka?" asked Kagura.

"I should say the same to you," I replied, "What with you barging in on me at the worst times."

"You barged in on me, uh-huh," said Kagura.

Huh, guess she's got me there. She walked over towards me, bare feet echoing throughout the room as they hit the floor, and put her flats back on. She then sat down in front of me like she was getting ready to talk.

"So how long have you had a foot fetish?"

Why was she asking me that question? Why did she even care? And why did I even bother answering?

"Well, since I was a kid, I guess," I replied, "Me and my sister used to wrestle each other, and sometimes she would use her feet to keep me pinned to the ground. That's pretty much when I realized I had that fetish."

"So you're into incest, too?" asked Kagura, almost as though she was excited about it.

"Ew, no!" I exclaimed, "I might have a foot fetish, but I still have a strict 'no-sisters' policy. Even if she doesn't realize that yet."

And so we found ourselves talking for a while, not just about my fetish, but about other things, like Gin's idiotic antics, the crazy but interesting denizens of town...I almost forgot she was blackmailing me and practically had my balls in an iron grip. But at this point, I was wondering...did I even care?