I didn't see either Kagura or Gin the rest of the day. Otae was mostly doing chores around the house, some of which I helped her with. They would never get done with either of my other two roommates here. I'll be honest, I was exhausted after that footjob from three different girls, so I hit the hay early, closing my windows and blocking out the moonlight to the pitch darkness of my room, easily letting me sleep. Despite the chilly weather outside, I got real warm and snug in my futon, already drifting off to sleep.

I really must have been tired after all, because after only five minutes had passed, I opened my eyes to see light coming through...and Kagura's face right in my own, the tips of our noses touching.

"Morning," she said deadpan.

I jumped back a little bit, not expecting her to wake me up.

"I'm ready when you are," she said.

"For what?" I asked confused.

"To go on our jog," Kagura replied, "Didn't I mention we were going jogging today?"

"No! You never did!" I exclaimed.

"Well eat a big breakfast, baka, because we're gonna be in it for the long haul, uh-huh," she said, leaving the room.

I really did not remember her saying anything about that. She probably didn't. But as long as she was blackmailing me with my secret, I wasn't in a position to argue with her.

Funny, even though she was the one who wanted to go on this jog, I was the first one out the door. I must have waited a good half hour while watching pedestrians go about their day before Kagura came out. She was wearing her usual attire with a red headband across her forehead, much like myself (only blue). Yet something else seemed different.

"You ready?" she asked.

I looked down when I finally realized what was different...underneath her flats, she was wearing socks. Tall, white socks that went inside her pants legs.

"Um...you don't wear socks," I told her.

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since ever," I replied, "You never do!"

"Well today is a...special occasion," she said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"You're doing it again," she said.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Asking dumb questions," she replied, "Now hurry up or I'll make it worse."

She already got a head start, jogging up ahead leaving me to play catch up.

I don't know where Kagura finds her energy. One hour after we started, I'm struggling to catch up. I'm sweating in places I shouldn't be! Then again, so was she. I could tell, her bangs were matted to her forehead and there was some small but still noticeable wet spots on her headband, under her armpits, and on her butt. Well, at least I hope that's sweat. But even Kagura wouldn't be that gross, right?

"Staring at my ass again, baka?" asked Kagura.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I replied deadpan, "Too busy trying to remember what it's like to taste water."

"Water has no taste, baka," Kagura said.

Wow, finally something remotely intelligent out of her mouth. Too bad that luck doesn't run long.

"Okay then," Kagura said, "We're almost there, anyway, I guess we can get some water."

I swear I heard the angels singing when I sat down on the nearest bench as Kagura came back with two water bottles. It didn't take long for me to chug it down, surprisingly faster than Kagura.

"So how was your reward last night?" asked Kagura.

Derp!

"Eh, good, I guess," I replied, not telling her the truth.

"You guess?" asked Kagura, "After what I told them, I thought you'd be over the moon!"

"Yeah, that's the other thing, I thought you were supposed to keep it a secret?" I said asking her.

"How else were they supposed to reward you with their footjobs?" asked Kagura.

"Wait, what?!" I asked shocked, "You knew about that?"

"It was my idea, uh-huh," Kagura replied.

This...this couldn't be right. This was Kagura. Sadistic, blackmailing, unhygienic Kagura. She wanted me to get a footjob?

"But why?" I ask.

"I dunno, baka," Kagura replied, "After all this time of me blackmailing you...and torturing you with my feet...I didn't think you'd want one from me so...I guess you deserved something nice."

Whoa...this was...new, to say the least. Is she actually feeling bad about what she did? This was a joke...right?

"We should get going," Kagura said, getting up, "We're just a couple blocks away."

"From where?" I ask.

One minute, Kagura knocks on a regular door to a regular apartment. The next, Elizabeth opens the door with a sign saying "So good of you to come."

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked.

"Come inside," the next sign said, "All will be revealed."

Elizabeth led us inside the main seating area, where none other than Katsura was sitting with a cup of tea.

"You?" I asked.

"Oh good, you're all here," Katsura said, "I expect my payment, yes?"

"Payment? What the hell are you going on about?" I asked.

"One side, pal," Kagura said, pushing me over, "I got this one, uh-huh."

Confused, I watched as Kagura stood by Katsura, grabbing a bowl from nearby. Even he seemed to be confused as to what she was doing. And then it hit both of us...she sat on the table and kicked off her shoes. From there, she pulled off her white socks, which I now realized were gray from all the sweat she accumulated. I noticed Katsura was all eyes on her socks, though, paying no attention to her feet.

And that's when I saw what she needed the bowl for...right in front of him, she squeezed her socks like a sponge, dripping sweat into the bowl. Katsura was, to say the least, ecstatic at this, and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was too. Knowing she had his attention, she gave her trademark evil grin as she dropped her drained socks in his hands.

"Paid in full, perv," she said.

"I-I don't believe it!" Katsura said, "These socks...these very socks, straight from the feet of Kagura! The feel of her sock! The smell of her sweat!"

Katsura started rubbing her socks all over his face, not even caring he was in mixed company. Elizabeth and Kagura seemed to enjoy watching him, though. Elizabeth however did not seem to like having Kagura's foot sweat in his...her...its bowl, so it ended up being thoroughly washed in the sink.

"So we're good?" Kagura asked.

"We're good," Katsura said, muffled by her socks, "You can go now."

"We're done here, Shin," Kagura said, "Let's go."

I followed her out of the apartment, realizing only after we had left that...

"You know you forgot your shoes at his place, right?"

"Did I?" she asked, "Silly me."

We had more or less given up on jogging the rest of the way, as she herself was pretty tired, so we pretty much just walked the rest of the way back. The sun was setting right about now, I can't believe I spent almost a whole day with her. While I walked on the designated walkways along the park, she walked barefoot along the brick walls that surrounded several of the patches. For some odd reason, I didn't tell her that I could smell her feet from all the way here. Maybe it was because I had grown to like the smell? The first time, I couldn't stand her foot odor. Now it's a very welcoming scent to me, as strange as that sounds.

"Let's go this way," Kagura said, jumping off the wall towards the tree.

Did she seriously expect me to climb that wall? Apparently so, since the next thing I heard was "You coming or what?" Mustering whatever strength I had left, I grabbed the edge of the wall and flung myself over, not so gracefully landing on my ass on the other side. Dusting myself off, I walked over to where Kagura was now relaxing under a tree. She patted a spot next to her, and since I was tired of moving, I wasn't one to say no. So I sat down next to her. She stretched her feet out as we relaxed, spreading her toes with a giant inhale. They relaxed as she exhaled, not bothering to keep her pits down, though I made a very clear effort to hide it on my face. Fortunately, she didn't keep them up long. But her arms didn't go back down to her side. They went around me.

"Wha...Kagura?" I asked in surprise.

"Shut up, baka," she said, digging her face into my side, "I'm tired."

She seemed to be getting pretty comfortable. I could tell when she started snuggling up next to me. The weirdest thing happened...besides this, of course. I felt her using her toes to pull my socks off. Somehow, she managed to get me barefoot, and started wrapping my feet in her own.

"This is comfy, right?" asked Kagura.

"Y-Yeah, I guess it is," I replied.

That was an understatement. I felt how warm and sweaty her feet were as they wrapped around my own. I felt how wet they were against the touch of flesh. I felt how hard I was getting from the feel of it all, but I wasn't about to tell her that.

"Look," Kagura said, pointing forward.

What she was pointing at was a small squirrel approaching her feet. It must have tickled having it brush its tail up against her sole, because she let out the most feminine giggle I ever heard from her. And it didn't stop, either. The giggling kept up, and I just kept wanting to hear it, no matter how evil and manipulative she really is...well, is she? She sure didn't seem like it as the squirrel kept tickling her feet.

"I've never heard you laugh like that," I told her.

"Well I've never had my feet tickled like that, uh-huh," Kagura said.

"Really?" I asked, an idea forming in my head.

I got up and shooed the squirrel away. Kagura almost got upset I did, until I grabbed her foot and wiggled my finger on her sole. That did the trick; she went right back to giggling away, holding her stomach as she laughed. I didn't even care she was kicking me with her other foot. Not only did it not hurt, it actually felt kind of good. And not just having her feet on me. Hearing her laugh so naturally, not being the sadistic overlord who hangs my life over my ow head.

It's a crazy thought, but...

It was late at night as Otae and Gin were in the middle of an intense game of Othello, with Sadamaru resting nearby observing their game, as I opened the front door. Kagura had been too tired to walk the rest of the way, so I offered her a piggyback ride. She fell asleep on the way back, as she was currently snoring into my shoulder as we walked in.

"Oh hey, you two!" Otae exclaimed, "Where were you? And...what happened to your guy's shoes?"

Dammit! I knew I forgot something. I must have been too distracted by Kagura's stinky but beautiful tootsies that were just dangling in the air as they bounced into my leg every now and then...oh right, we forgot our shoes, and I carried her back home.

"What were you two even doing?" asked Gintoki.

"...nothing too important," I replied, "Hey, Otae, can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

"Sure," Otae replied.

"And Gin," I said, "Be a responsible adult for once and put Kagura in bed."

He grumbled about it, but obliged anyway. He took Kagura into his arms and carried her to bed as I sat down near Kagura.

"There's something I need your opinion on..."