Challenging the Council - Round 1

Part of a request by Fourfouri

The eleven of them entered the palace’s decision hall, Kronii first and Ame shortly after.

“This is where we’ll be holding our ‘contest’.” Kronii said.

Ame surveyed the area. The walls were far apart and the room took a rectangular shape. There was no furniture to be found, aside from a few folding chairs next to the door, and the floor was perfectly flat and smooth. A glass ceiling let the sun illuminate the room, several jewels and intricate golden patterns and designs along the walls shimmering in its light. “Yeah, this’ll do.” She answered with a single nod.

The time warden continued into the room. “You can admit it, it’s quite the stunning scene.”

Gura joined Ame’s side and sneered at Kronii. “It looks pretty dumb if you ask me.”

“I’m not listening to a girl who sleeps in a fishbowl.” She replied without even turning to see the atlantean stick her tongue out.

Bae and IRyS walked in next. As soon as they were through the door, the rat paused and took a deep breath. “It’s been a while since I last set foot in this place.” She stated.

IRyS stopped next to her, quietly snacking on a banana in her hand. “Has it?”

“Oh yes. It has.” Bae shut her eyes and clenched her fist. “I haven’t been here since… the incident.” She continued, clenching both fists now. “To once again return to the site of my greatest failure… my most devastating defeat at the hands of that kirin. I’m like a steel rose, trapped in a cage of ice.” She clutched her heart. “Today, I reclaim my honor, my dignity. Today, I bring justice t-”

“Pft-” IRyS snickered.

Bae peeked an eye open. “Oi, I heard that.” She slapped IRyS’s shoulder.

Fauna approached them, giggling. “How long is it going to take you to get over that fight, Bae?”

“You stay out of this!” Bae shot back. “I’m doin’ a monologue here, don’t laugh!”

Ina and Kiara carefully stepped around them as they entered. The two of them took a second to marvel at the beauty of the location. “Oh my god, Ina, why can’t we live in a magical palace? Look at this place!” She splayed her arms out, gesturing at the entire room.

“I know!” Ina replied, flopping onto her back. “So much floor to lay on; it’s paradise!”

“Ina.” Kiara sighed and knelt down next to the tako. “You seriously worry me sometimes.” She turned her head to the door just as Calli reluctantly stepped inside, nearly tripping over Ina. “Calli, could you please get this girl off the fucking floor?”

Calli picked the tako up by the shoulders and placed her on her feet. “Do… we really have to play this game? All of us? I know it’s for Ame, but, you know…” She said, barely catching Ina in another attempt to return to the floor.

“Girl, relax. It’ll be fun.” Kiara replied.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll all end up quite tickled by this experience.” Ina punned. Calli did not respond, Kiara did not respond, but a faint Ame-like groan from across the room gave the tako some validation.

Soon after everyone else was inside, Sana gleefully hopped in, shutting the door behind her. “That’s everyone, Kronini. I counted ten heads, and,” she tapped her own head, “that makes eleven~”

Kronii turned back and eyed the crowd. “Wait, what about Mumei? I didn’t see her walk i-”

“Here I am.” Mumei replied from behind the time warden.

Gura nearly jumped out of her skin. “HOLY SH-F- Where did you COME FROM?!” She squealed. Ame and Kronii were similarly startled but wouldn’t dare show it, especially in front of each other.

“Ahem, uh, nevermind. That is everyone.” Kronii said, briefly composing herself. “So, guys, now that we’r-”

“Listen up, everyone!” Ame cut Kronii off, stepping in front of her to address the whole crowd. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get into our teams. Then, I’ll explain the rules that Kronii and I discussed on our way here.” She shot a glance behind herself at the time warden, who was delightfully pissed off. The group quickly organized themselves, Ina, Kiara, and Calli joining Gura and Ame in one group, and Sana, Fauna, Mumei, and Bae joining Kronii in another, IRyS joining the second group after a moment of deliberation. Ame stood on one of the chairs and faced everyone. “So, here’s how this is gonna work: We’ll do a best of five rounds. Each round, my team sends one member in, Kronii’s team sends one in, and the two of them are gonna have a 1 on 1 tickle fight until one of them taps out by saying a safeword. Whoever taps out loses the round, and whoever wins earns their team a point. The first team to three points is the victor. Also, each team has to send someone new every round, so everyone gets a turn. Uhh… what else…?” Ame stroked her chin. “Uhhh, you can’t hurt your opponent, but if you’re, like, making them sore from laughter, then that’s okay. Oh, and no one outside the ring can intervene. You can only shout stuff. Any questions?”

IRyS raised her hand. “So… am I gonna be on Kronii’s team or what? Because if we do that, then it’s 6 on 5, and if we do five rounds, someone’s gonna be left out.”

“Well, I’m glad you brought that up.” Ame replied. “We need a referee, and since you’re the only one who could technically fit on either team, you’re the perfect fit. What do you say?” She asked the nephilim.

IRyS’s eyes lit up. “Ooooh, okay yeah, I’d be the perfect ref!” She claimed, striking a confident pose. Everyone else traded unsure looks in silence.

“Alright, and… uh… hmm… yeah, that’s all I got. You can iron out the details, IRyS.” Ame concluded, shrugging her shoulders. “Everyone good? Are we gonna get started?”

“Oh I think we are.” Kronii answered in a particularly sassy tone of voice. “Let’s get going, people. This isn’t gonna take long.”

“Well,” Ame smirked and crossed her arms, “if we’re all set, then…”

Let the game begin!

Each team huddled together, the two groups standing several feet apart as IRyS hovered around them, banana in hand, casually listening in as they discussed their strategies for the first round. Ame’s team, team Myth as Ame decided to call them, knew they were at a slight disadvantage going up against literal gods, so they needed all the clever schemes and tactics they could come up with.

Gura flashed an eager smirk. “What’s the plan, boss?” She asked, the team facing Ame.

“We beat them. That’s the plan.” Ame replied with a firm nod.

“Alright, yeah, let’s go, but like actually,” Kiara cut in, “do we have any real strategies or…? Cuz these are actual gods we’re going up against.”

Ame shrugged slightly. “IIIIIIIII’m… not entirely sure. Who’s up first?” She politely waited for someone to volunteer.

The rest of the team traded glances, confused. “Are you doing okay, Ame?” Calli asked. “You don’t have a plan? You dragged us into this whole tickle contest without a plan?”

“Well… yeah. I maaaaaybe sort of just challenged them on a whim to get my stuff back…” Ame answered. “Ahem, so, any volunteers?”

“Woah woah, Watson, you heard all that stuff Bae told us, right?” Gura grabbed the detective by the shoulders and tried to shake some sense into her. “They’re all like… tickling MASTERS! Not to mention they have frickin’ super god powers. You’re not just expecting us to go out there and get our asses handed to us, are you? I was starting to think there was a brain somewhere in that head.”

“Hey hey, chill out.” Ame gently pushed her off. “I know the odds are kinda stacked against us, but it’s not like we’re fighting to the death, right? We just have to beat them at tickling, which I KNOW a few of us are good at. Plus, we’ve got a couple ‘super god powers’ of our own.” She continued, gesturing to the other three. “Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

“I genuinely can not believe I’m about to say this,” Kiara pinched the bridge of her nose, “but unless you have some super secret plan that you can’t even reveal to your own teammates, I think I’m siding with Gura on this. Do you know just how ticklish some of us are?”

“Three of us need to win, Ame.” Calli added. “And, like, I’m not feeling too confident; I’ve never been in a real tickle fight before. Big surprise, right? As for you, you’ll be in an uphill battle against any of them without your time gizmos, and between Gura, Ina, and Kiwawa, I think Wawa’s the only one who’s got a shot at taking a round, no offence to the rest of you.”

“Yeah no I’m right there with you.” Gura replied.

“I for one am quite flattered~” Kiara slapped Calli in the shoulder again, but affectionately this time.

Throughout this all, Ame remained perfectly calm. “Well, either way, we’re all in this mess now, so someone still needs to go first, Calli. Any takers?” Her misplaced relaxation only served to make the others more stressed and argumentative. Except Ina. She was just listening quietly.

As team Myth bickered, fueled by their lack of any sort of direction, team Council thoughtfully discussed their intricate and thoroughly thought out strategy:

“Sana’s going first, right?” Bae asked.

“Yep.” Kronii answered.

Sana smiled. “Yay~”

Chuckling, IRyS eventually relayed this information to team Myth. “Hey, so they’re sending Sana in first. Just letting you guys know.”

“Oh, sweet!” Gura replied, turning to the rest of the group. “Did you hear that, guys? This is perfect! You’ve been friends with Sana for forever, Ina, you’ve gotta know some of her weaknesses! What’s the game plan?”

Ina looked over with her eyes, but her head remained still. “Against Sana?”

“Yeah, IRyS just said she’s gonna be our first oppone-”

“Forfeit.” The tako replied.

Everyone turned to her in surprise. “F-Forfeit? We can’t just hand them the lead this early, Ina!” Gura said, stomping her foot for extra emphasis.

“She’s gotta have some weak spots or something.” Kiara added. “Isn’t she super ticklish somewhere? Anywhere?”

Ina let out an iffy groan. “Well, yeah, everywhere. Stomach and sides mostly, but she’s a literal walking tickle spot.”

“Cool. So what’s the problem?” Gura asked. “I mean look at what she’s wearing! We can totally take her.”

“You don’t get it.” Ina replied, crossing her arms. “I’ve seen Sana have tickle fights before. I’ve BEEN her opponent for nearly all of them. She kinda seems like she’s gonna be a glass cannon at the start, but no matter how much that glass cracks and how much it looks like she’s gonna shatter, she never, NEVER breaks. And that’s assuming she ever gives you a CHANCE to crack that glass. We’ve already lost this round.” She sternly explained.

“I beg to differ.” Ame responded, softly laying a hand on Ina’s shoulder. “Sana might be tough, but we’ve got our own ace up our sleeves. Someone on our team who’s just as unbreakable as she is.”

“Who’s that?” Calli asked.

The other four glanced at each other, then slowly and somewhat unsurely turned to face Calli in unison.

“…are you for real?”

“Look, Calli,” Ame glanced back at the council, each of them waiting with varying levels of patience as Kronii’s head-clock ticked away, “let’s face the facts. Out of all of us, you’re easily the most durable person we have. And, well, you and Sana have similar proportions too. It’s the closest thing we have to a fair fight. If we’re going to have any chance at beating her, you’ve gotta be the one to do it.”

“I-… I get it, I hear you, but…” Calli fidgeted her fingers and glanced back at Sana, who stared back with an eager grin. “I- W-Why doesn’t Ina do it? I mean she already said sh-”

Ina’s head whipped around. “ME?! Are you insane?! This is SANA we’re talking about!” She yelped, her voice cracking from the surprise.

“Okay, alright, how about, uh, K-Kiara? She’s immortal too, so…”

Kiara shook her head. “Sorry girl, I am not taking this one.”

“Uh… Gura?”

“The heck do you expect me to do?” The shark replied, gesturing to her small body.

“Guys, I… I really want to be able to do this for you, but… but I don’t think I… I can…” Calli found herself at a loss for words for several seconds.

Throughout their indecision, Kronii’s eyes fell on team myth, the time warden letting a confident chuckle slip through, barely loud enough for everyone in the room to clearly hear. “If you would all be so kind, I’d like to get to winning already. Hurry it up.”

Gura annoyedly scoffed at her. “Give us a second, you big, uhh… you big… s-stupid…”

“Good one.” Kronii replied.

“Hey.” Calli moved in front of Gura and stared the time warden in the eyes. “How about you chill the F out, you big stupid. We’re discussing over here.” She shot back.

Kronii clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I’d like to point out it’s been ten minutes since we started the game, and our team has been ready to go since the fifth second. Sana’s dying over here, and I’d rather not have my time wasted like this.”

“You’re a literal goddess of time, dude, have some freaking patience.” Calli quietly and sternly replied, clenching her fists.

“Yeah, tell her!” Kiara added.

“Calli, look,” Ame said, getting back to the topic at hand, “I get that you never really wanted to join in on this. In any other scenario, I’d be with you on that, but-”

“No, you know what?” Calli marched up to Kronii and got right in her face. “If it means knocking clock-kun down a peg or two,” She jabbed at the time warden’s shoulder with her finger, “then count me in. I’ll gladly take on Sana, and when I’m through with her, you’re gonna have to get real used to the taste of defeat, Kronii.”

Sana stepped between the two, towering over Calli and silencing her immediately. She said nothing, only looking down on the reaper with a menacing grin, more than eager to finally get started. “Good luck.” Fauna snickered from a few feet away.

Round 1: Calli vs Sana

“Ladies and gentle…ladies!” IRyS announced, holding a banana in her hand like a microphone. “It’s time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the official start of our first annual Myth vs Council tickle tournament!”

“First?!” Sana squeaked.

“A-Annual…?” Calli muttered.

IRyS continued, not even realizing what she said. “For our first round, we’re starting out with quite a bang!” She gestured to her left. “In the yellow corner, we have the speaker of space herself, who, come to think of it, is the one who roped us all into this tickling business in a weird, roundabout way… It's Tsukumo Sana!”

“That’s me~!” Sana stood at one end of the large room, excitedly waving her arms in the air and bouncing up and down. Her pose showed off just how vulnerable her clothing left her, in some areas being tight and thin, in others being completely absent, such as her feet and armpits.

“And in the pink corner,” IRyS gestured to her right, “we have the first apprentice of the grim reaper, as much a killer on her mic as she is with her scythe,”

“And with her tickles.” Kiara whispered, glancing at a notebook in her pocket and smiling.

“It’s Mori Calliope!” IRyS continued.

Calli awkwardly stood across from Sana at the other end of the room, wearing her black spiked dress and veil. She waved to the crowds. “Yeah, uh, hey. Hi.” Her clothing, by contrast, left nothing open except for her face, chest, and a bit of her wrists and ankles. One might have called this an advantage if she was against literally any other opponent.

“Okay, so first, we’ve gotta pick a safeword so I know when to end the round…” IRyS inquisitively took a bite out of her banana. “That safeword is gonna be… hmm…” IRyS spent a few seconds to think of a fitting safeword for them to use. She quietly chewed the piece of banana in her mouth, then, in a spontaneous flash of inspiration, the perfect word popped into her head like magic. “The safeword’s gonna be ‘Banana’!” IRyS couldn’t help but marvel at the brilliance of her choice.

Bae rolled her eyes. “Banana? Y’serious?”

“Yes I’m serious!” IRyS furiously snapped. “No one’s going to accidentally say banana, right? It’s perfect!”

“Well yeah, obviously, that’d be a stupid move.” Bae replied, shrugging her shoulders. “But, like, out of every possible word? Do you just have some weird banana obsession that I-”

“Sorry, are you the ref? Hm? Are you? No? Didn’t think so.” IRyS snapped at her, Bae sticking her tongue out in response. “Are you two ready?” IRyS asked the competitors.

Sana menacingly cracked her knuckles and flexed her fingers. “Oh I’m ready.” She punched her fists together and sent a loud bang echoing through the whole palace.

“Yeah, let’s get to it, IRyS.” Calli answered, spinning her scythe in her hands, the blade scraping across the floor and sending sparks flying across the room. “Sana’s going down.”

“Oh is she now?” Kronii commented, sitting with the rest of her team on the sidelines.

Gura side-eyed her. “Yeah, she is. Calli’s the toughest there is.”

“We’ll see.” Kronii coldly and confidently replied.

Ame glared at Kronii’s cockiness and turned back to face the competitors. “Never give up, Calli!”

IRyS joined the other spectators against the wall. “Now, without further ado, let’s get this show started!” She announced. “In five… four…”

Calli eyed her opponent with determination. If Sana was really as tough a tickler as Ina said, Calli was going to have quite the battle ahead of her, but the reaper was confident she could take her. All it took was the right strategy, the right exploitation of her weaknesses. “Stomach and sides, stomach and sides,” she repeated to herself in her head. No matter how much tickling she would end up having to endure, Calli was not going to let herself let the team down; the strength of her will would not allow it.

“three…… two………”

Sana grinned.

“one……………” IRyS raised her hand and fired an imaginary pistol. “TICKLE!”

Calli put away her scythe and adopted a defensive stance. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve go-”

Sana leapt across the room at blinding speeds and tackled Calli to the floor. Before the smiles on team Myth’s faces could dip, Sana was already digging into Calli’s ribs with her fingers.

“WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA?!?! WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT THE FAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!?!?” Calli shrieked, tucking her arms into her sides, her legs pinned to the floor way earlier than she was ever expecting. The echoes of the reaper’s laughter rang up and down the room as the smiles on team Myth’s faces started to dip.

“Ooooooooh…” Gura deflated like a balloon, not daring to look in Kronii’s direction. “Oh nyo…” She whimpered, Ame glancing at the council, Kiara caught somewhere between loving and hating the sight, and Ina solemnly nodding her head.

“Tickletickletickletickletickle!” Sana cooed, having a ball trying to guess where the gaps in Calli’s ribs were under her clothing. The added difficulty of the reaper’s arms trying to block her only made the game so much more fun.

Speaking of fun, Calli was not having it. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EEEEHEHEHEHAHAHA! HAAAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHA!” She kicked and bucked her hips, not even shifting Sana any more than an inch in any direction, let alone knocking her off balance.

“Oh YES! Haha!” Sana squeaked, briefly relenting and placing her hands on the floor above Calli’s shoulders. “I knew under all of that dark, edgy attitude, you’re just a ticklish little giggle bean!”

“I-… G-Get off of me!” The reaper quickly caught her breath, grabbed onto Sana’s arms, and managed to gain enough leverage to tear herself out from under her. She climbed to her feet, clutching her waist and staggering back. “W-What the hell wa-”

Sana jumped to her feet and sped right back up to Calli. “Oh I’m not done with you yet, giggle bean~” She teased, getting behind the reaper, catching her even as Calli made an attempt to dodge, and tickling her ribs again.

“EE- HAHA- HEY! G-gET AWAHAHAY!!!” Calli’s arms clasped back to her sides, and she would have collapsed back onto the floor if Sana wasn’t holding onto her. “St- STAHAHAP IT! GET BAHAHAHACK!” She tried to squirm out again, but couldn’t fight the combination of Sana’s impossible strength and her hands shifting both up into the reaper’s armpits and down to her sides and hips.

Ame, Gura, and Kiara glanced at each other, then continued watching the “battle” unfold. “Yeah… ‘fair fight’, right Ame?” Kiara remarked.

“I said it was the closest thing to a fair fight.” The detective replied.

“You’re doing great, Calli!” Gura shouted to her, unsure if the reaper could even hear over her own laughter and Sana’s cooes.

Lucky for her, Calli heard every word. It didn’t help. “HahhEEAHA! GAAAHAHAAAHAHA! GE- ghEEHE- STOP! HAHA!” She wailed, every single pinch of her hips or sides making her arms fly out, every single dig into her armpits making them clamp shut. It was like an intricate dance.

“Kitchy kitchy kitchy kitchy coo!” Sana teased, joyfully prodding at Calli’s entire upper body at this point. Her neck and chest, some of the only openings her clothes delivered, were now in Sana’s sights. “So many fun little tickle spots! And big ones too~” She skittered her hands down to Calli’s belly and furiously kneaded it.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Calli let out a girlish squeal and reflexively swung her arm back at Sana. Her forearm slammed against the side of Sana’s head, just missing the accessories in her hair, landing a powerful and direct hit right against her temple. The hit did absolutely nothing. It was like punching a brick wall.

As the council enjoyed the show, Mumei eagerly scribbling in her notebook, Kronii chuckled and turned to IRyS. “You see that, IRyS? She just swung at Sana. As per your ‘no hurting each other’ rule, I believe Calli should be penalised.”

Ame quickly cut in. “Hey! That doesn’t count! It was involuntary!” She argued.

“A swing is a swing, Amelia.” Kronii continued. “Honour the rules, you agreed to them.”

Groaning her head off, Ame turned to IRyS instead. “You can’t fault her for a reflexive action, right? It didn’t even do anything to Sana!”

“Uhhhhhhhhh, yeah sure. No penalty for Calli.” IRyS replied.

“Ha!” Ame sneered at the time warden and snuck a glance at the rest of the council.

Kronii rolled her eyes as Fauna placed a hand on her shoulder. “Kronii, I really don’t think Sanana needs a bigger advantage.” She gestured back to the fight, where Sana was trapping Calli in a tight hug and fiercely tickling her belly. Fauna grinned cutely. “Uuuuu, I know that move! It’s the worst!”

Sana just wouldn’t let up, individually testing out every single inch of her belly with pokes and tickles, even playing a little game to try and find where Calli’s belly button was. “EEHEHE! HEHAHAHAHA! PFFFFAHAHANOHOHOHOHO!” The reaper continued to flail her arms. Each time one made contact with Sana, it had so little effect that no one could tell it happened. After absolutely nothing seemed to be working, a swirl of pitch black mist wrapped around Calli, and Sana stumbled forward, the reaper somehow having gotten out of her grip.

“Huh?” Sana waved the smoke away to see that Calli had vanished.

A second later, a similar cyclone of mist appeared far across the room, and there, Calli reappeared, gasping for breath. “Saha-… Sana… haaah… What the hell are you made of?!”

Sana struck a silly pose. “Pure unrefined ticklium.” She answered, darting toward Calli again.

“GA-!” The reaper barely managed to avoid her this time, jumping to the side, but not before Sana nipped at her hip with her fingers. “EE-PFf- S-Stop!” She backed away slowly, her scythe appearing in her hand as she struck a fighting pose.

“Careful there, Calli.” IRyS waved her finger at her. “You know the rules. You can only attack her with tickles.”

The reaper dejectedly looked down at her scythe, realising that it might just not have a ton of use in a tickle fight. She begrudgingly put it away. “Alright, time out. I need a second here.”

“Okay.” Sana politely stood still, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her eyes glimmering like stars, her smile beaming like moonlight.

Calli took some time to collect her thoughts. She knew Sana was going to be tough, she fully believed everything Ina said, but this was a nightmare unlike anything Calli could have ever imagined, though ironically it was pretty similar to a recent nightmare of hers. How was she supposed to have even the slimmest chance of winning this? “Stomach and sides, stomach and sides.” She whispered to herself, formulating something of a plan. Sana was tough to break away from, especially after Calli already showed off her teleportation, but the reaper would have to get in close at some point, and she would have to be fast. Fast enough to avoid getting caught again, fast enough to go in for attacks of her own. Faster than she could manage with her current clothes. What she was about to do was a risky move, but Calli figured it was necessary. Smoke enveloped her body once more, and once it cleared, she was revealed to be wearing her comfortable red jacket and loose pants, a much easier outfit to move in. The one unbelievably huge drawback: her entire belly was out and open for Sana.

Everyone was stunned by her decision, the council pleasantly surprised, team myth not so much. “Is… Is she giving up?” Bae asked.

“I would.” Mumei replied, setting her notebook down and watching intently.

“What is she doing?” Gura turned to Ame, who was watching the council carefully.

“I dunno,” The detective shrugged, still watching the council, “but it’s about to get really interesting.” She smirked, sneaking away from the other spectators and dragging Gura with her.

The others watched the battle with baited breath. Calli, more ready than before, but far from ready enough to truly face Sana, sighed and nodded her head. “Alright, let’s go.”

Sana immediately sped right back up to the reaper, arms out forward and fingers wiggling. “Time for more giggles!”

Calli shifted out of the way easily, watching as the speaker of space barreled past her. “Yeah, not this time.” She eyed Sana cautiously, staying ready for any move at all times.

“Ohohoho, now I get it.” Sana chuckled, darting toward Calli again and once again being dodged. “But just how long do you think you can keep running?”

“Long enough.” The reaper replied.

“Let’s see about that, giggle bean!” Sana began the chase, sprinting and leaping toward Calli while the reaper avoided her. The two of them dashed from wall to wall, ceiling to floor, Sana never quite catching up.

The spectators watched on from the sidelines, some more optimistic than others. “Wooo! Get her, Sana!” Bae pumped her fists in the air.

“Uuuu, she’s got her running!” Fauna cheered.

Ina and Kiara held out hope. “Believe in the me who believes in you, Calli!” The tako shouted out, not even remotely believing in her.

Sana, in the midst of her chase, momentarily stopped in the middle of the floor. “You’re not gonna evade me forever.” She declared, watching Calli land in front of her.

“Yeah, that’s not the idea anyway.” Calli said, quickly vanishing into smoke again. Sana barely had a moment to look around before the reaper reappeared behind her. “This is.” She reached her hands toward Sana’s vulnerable sides, but the speaker of space jumped forward too quickly.

Sana grinned at her. “Hehe, sneaky~”

Calli backed away, ready for whatever move the speaker of space could possibly pull out. “You can’t catch up to me, Sana. I’ll get an opening eventually, and then you’ll be done for.” She glanced at the rest of her team and back to Sana, stretching her arms. “Believe me, I’m just getting started.”

“So am I.” Sana replied, raising a hand in the air.

Ina and Fauna instantly recognized what was about to happen, and held on to the others and the chairs with their tentacles and vines respectively. “Wha- Ina, what’s going on?” Kiara asked, the priestess shaking her head hopelessly in response.

“Wh-What is-…?” Calli suddenly felt a bit lighter on her feet, then much lighter, to the point where she couldn’t feel the ground below her. She quickly noticed she was slowly floating toward the ceiling. “Woah, wh- Hey!”

“Yeah, being the speaker of space comes with its perks~” Sana chirped, flipping upside down and landing on the ceiling above (below?) Calli, giddily watching as she flailed uselessly in the air.

Calli tried to move herself somehow, gravity itself working against her as she floated up closer and closer to Sana, who was welcoming her with open arms. “Stop that! G-Get me down from here, Sana!”

Sana eventually couldn’t handle waiting any longer and just jumped straight at Calli herself, grabbing her in the air. “Gotcha!” She hugged the reaper’s waist, completely unaffected by her attempts to kick away. “And now, tickle time resumes!”

“No, NO! W-Wait!” Calli pleaded as Sana’s fingers tiptoed their way toward her open midriff.

“Ti… ckle… ti… ckle… ti- ckle- ti-ckle tickle tickletickletickletickle!” Sana teased, revving her fingers and releasing them all over Calli’s tummy, skittering them in circles and spirals, even playfully tracing a few hearts and stars. “Giggly giggly giggly!”

Calli screamed with laughter, squirming and wiggling and twirling in the air with Sana. “HEE! EHAHAaheheeEEEAAAHAHA! HAHAHA! OOOOHHOHOH! HAHAHAHEHEHEHEEEEEEEE! EYAAAHA! HAHAHAA!”

IRyS floated around them with her wings, marvelling at the sight, despite being completely unsurprised by the battle’s turnout. “Wow Calli, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this submissive before. Remember: B-A-N-A-N-A.” She said, teasingly waving a half-eaten banana over the reaper’s face.

“SHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUHUHUHUP!” Calli tried to reply, the words failing to reach IRyS through her laughter.

“Mmmmmmm, tickletickleTICKLE! Mmmmmmm, tickletickleTICKLE! Mmmmmmm, tickletickleTICKLE!” Sana repeated, wiggling her fingers above Calli’s belly before digging into the ticklish flesh over and over and over. “Tickly tickly tickly tickle! Kitchy kitchy coo!”

“GAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAAA! YAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOhoho, no, no noNONOHOHOHAHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEEEEE! PLEHEhehe- plehehease, please stoOOHHAHAHAHAHAHAP! STAHAHAP IT! ST- Stohohop, stop, stop it, not my bEHEHEEEEEEAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Calli squealed, swinging and batting at Sana uncontrollably. This was far more ticklish than anything Kiara had ever done to her, not helped by the lack of gravity keeping her from escaping easily. Every swing of her arms or legs was met with either Sana’s invincible body, or nothing at all. She couldn’t even muster enough concentration to vanish into smoke again, the tummy tickles were too strong. The only chance she had was to maybe sneak some tickles in Sana’s direction and break her focus instead. The next time Sana raised her hands away from the reaper’s midriff, Calli quickly tried to reach back and grab at her sides.

Sana was too quick however, catching Calli’s arm in her hand and chuckling at the attempt, but right as the reaper braced herself for a hellish retaliation, something else happened. “Oh, is it tickle time for me too? Here~” She said, releasing Calli and raising her arms in the air, leaving her… everything exposed as they floated back to the ceiling.

Calli softly landed on the glass surface on her feet, Sana on her back with her legs crossed and arms under her head. “…?” The reaper said, approaching Sana’s exposed body.

“Go on, go on! I’m super ticklish around here!” Sana pointed to her belly.

“………alright?” Calli said, hesitantly kneeling down and pressing her fingertips into Sana’s sides, making her giggle gleefully.

“EhEEEEE! HehehEEHA!” Sana squeaked, arching her back a bit and tilting her head every which way, but otherwise not moving an inch. “Hehe! AEEHE! OoohoHOHoho, yohOHOU’re a gooD TIHIhickler! HehAAHA!”

Flattering as the complement was, it didn’t do much to help Calli’s mood. Her mouth hung open in a mix between aggravation and disbelief, her eyes mostly showing the aggravation. “You can’t be fucking serious.” She muttered under her breath, unable to believe that this was the first hit she had landed so far. She forcefully dug into Sana’s sides, her thin clothing expectedly offering no defence whatsoever, but defence was the last thing she wanted anyway. Sana laughed and laughed, no harder or lighter no matter how hard Calli tried to tickle her. At this point, she would be tearing a normal human’s flesh apart, but Sana just kept giggling. Cutely and quietly. “Wh-… What the actual fuck are you made of?!” The reaper shouted.

Sana grinned. “Pure unrefi-”

“Don’t answer that!” Calli cut in, summoning her scythe to slash a hole into Sana’s top, exposing her midriff. “Let’s see how YOU like this!” She shouted, digging her fingers even deeper straight into Sana’s soft, exposed belly. Sana apparently liked it a fair bit, her laughter not changing in the slightest, but her smile glowing brighter.

On the floor, the council watched, rooted in place by Fauna’s vines as Gravity pulled them all upward. “Hold on, what’s going on with Sana? What’s she doing?” Mumei asked, everyone squinting her eyes at the ceiling, trying to make at least something out. Eventually, IRyS fluttered down toward them, upside down.

“Sana’s… uh… throwing-ish?” IRyS answered with a shrug. “She’s laying down and giving Calli free shots.”

“She’s what?” Kronii rolled her eyes, Fauna and Bae giggling next to her. “Oh my god, why am I even surprised?”

“Cool your rudders.” Gura snapped, wearing one of Ina’s tentacles like a floatie to help her stay on the floor. “If Sana wants to throw the game, that’s totally up to her, legs.”

Kronii pretended to consider the atlantean’s words before turning to the two competitors. “Sana! Quit playing around and win already!” She shouted to her.

Sana pouted as much as she could while Calli tickled her. “YohOHou’re no fuhuhun!” She shouted back.

“You’ve got all the time in the world to be tickled by whoever you want after the contest, but right now, you’re on my time!” Kronii continued.

Sulking, Sana suddenly grabbed Calli’s wrists and flipped gravity back to normal, the two landing gently on the floor together. “Hehe, ah well. You heard the warden of time, we don’t have all day.”

“GYA-” Calli yelped. As quickly as she could, she slipped away in a puff of smoke again, reappearing at the far wall. Her previous plan of “wait for openings and slowly chip Sana’s defences away” was, as she now learned, not going to work, and no second plan was coming to her.

Sana giddily patted and poked at her own now-exposed belly. She couldn’t contain her excitement at the thought of letting Fauna or Ina get at it. Sadly, she did have to get this tickle fight done first though, and Calli was proving to be a lot more resilient than her usual opponents. “I guess it’s time to bring out the big guns.” She said, reaching her hand toward the limiter on her head. “The BEEEEEEG guns.”

Calli’s eyes widened. NOW Sana’s using the big guns?! “Oh, what are you up to now?!” The reaper wailed, keeping her distance and watching as Sana gripped the limiter. Kronii and Fauna instinctively jumped to stop her before IRyS stopped them instead. The speaker of space gave her limiter a little twist, and immediately exploded into a glow brighter than any star in the universe, Calli barely able to keep her eyes on her. As she watched, Sana’s glowing body started to grow to double its size, then triple, then five times, then to the point where her head bumped against the ceiling, somehow not cracking it. Within seconds, the glow disappeared, a sparkling residue shimmering around Sana’s body, and she had grown to 50 times her size, sitting down so she could fit in the room. Calli’s eyes went white and her mouth hung open.

“Heheeeee! Oh I haven’t loosened up this limiter in soooooo long!” Sana squealed, playfully kicking her legs and wiggling her body. “You’re all such adorable teeny tiny little toys down there! Eeeeeeee~”

Calli shot a furious glare at the crowd, particularly at Ame, who returned a thumbs up and a big smile, a far cry from the others’ inability to even muster that. “I just had to listen to you guys…” She grumbled.

“Holy shit…” Gura whispered. “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Calli’s got this handled, right guys?” She asked.

“It was nice knowing her.” Ina whimpered.

Sana’s gigantic eyes fell on the reaper. “Well hello down there, you itty bitty giggle bean~” Her booming voice shook the entire palace like a magnitude 11 earthquake, or maybe that was just Calli’s head spinning; the reaper couldn’t tell. “Awwww, does someone want a wittle tickle from Sanana? How about a BEEEG tickle instead?” Sana teased, reaching her enormous finger toward Calli.

Calli dashed to the side, but for Sana’s unbelievable size, she was still abnormally quick, being able to intercept the reaper’s dodge and snatch her up with her hand. “G-! H-Hey!”

“Gotcha again!” Sana squeaked. “C’mere, Calli!”

“EyAH!” Calli’s entire body was squeezed into Sana’s palm, her arms pinned to her sides and her legs stuck together. She struggled in her grip, but couldn’t fight the combination of Sana’s absurd size and her absurd strength. “Urk- gh! Sana, come on! How much shit do you have up your sleeves?!”

Sana raised the tiny reaper up to her face. “Heheheeeee! Oh that grumpy little face is so cute! Now let’s see that tum tum!” She chimed, parting two of her fingers and opening a window to Calli’s belly. She lifted her other hand, wigging her finger toward the reaper’s open midriff.

“Gk! Ugh, not gonna happen!” Calli puffed away into black mist again. She popped back in on the floor a few seconds later with her black dress and veil again, her belly no longer exposed, and took a breath. “It doesn’t matter how ‘beeeeg’ you get, I-”

Sana snatched her up again, dangling her by the arms. “Gotcha again again!” She said, delicately pinching a bit of the reaper’s clothing with her nails and ripping a hole to reveal her midriff again. “Haha, now we’re even! You can’t hide that tummy from me~” She teasingly wiggled her giant finger against Calli’s belly.

“K-HEE!” Calli squeaked, vanishing again.

The moment she reappeared, Sana caught her again. “Hah! You can’t get away from my tickles!” She held Calli upside down by the ankles and circled her finger on her belly.

“YAH! HAAAAHAHAAHAHA! NOHOHO!” Calli disappeared, only to be caught and tickled again, only for her to vanish again, only for Sana to keep catching her over and over. Sana’s view of the whole room and her giant arms let her reach Calli no matter where she tried to escape to, and the reaper’s clothes were once again too heavy to let her move quickly enough to evade her. The reaper was beginning to exhaust herself from all of the teleporting, and Sana was getting no slower nor any less excitable.

“Woah, Calli~” IRyS darted around in the air, struggling to follow the action. “I see you getting sleepy there, girl~ I think somebody’s dying to name their favourite yellow crescent-shaped fruit~” She teased. Calli slammed the blunt side of her scythe against one of the nephilim’s horns, not exactly hurting her, but still knocking her across the floor. “ACK!” IRyS yelped as she slammed into the far wall. “…alright, I had that coming…” She admitted.

Regardless of how far IRyS was flung by the hit, it didn’t make her observations any less right. Calli was tired, borderline exhausted, and she knew she could only escape Sana’s grip so many more times. With each capture, it took just a bit longer for Calli to get free. With each attempt, Sana snuck just a few more tickles in before the reaper could escape. With each escape, it took just a bit less time for Sana to get her and start the cycle again and again. After minutes of escape after escape, Calli couldn’t take it anymore. She teleported away one final time before falling to one knee, desperately gasping for air. Sana grabbed her again, no less energised than ever, and pinched the reaper’s hands above her head, dangling her up in front of her enormous face again. Calli sighed and, with no way left to flee and no way left to fight, stared into the starry eyes of her impending torment. “Do your worst.” She said.

Sana’s giant finger twitched eagerly. “The grumpy little reaper’s ready for her tickles I see~” She grinned, stars glimmering in her eyes. “Well, who am I to keep you waiting?” She said, dragging out the moment for as long as she could handle. Calli clenched her teeth, bracing for a gigantic serving of tickle torture, and without so much as a moment’s notice, Sana made contact with her dreadfully ticklish middle. “Kitchy kitchy coo~!” She sang, wiggling her finger up and down Calli’s belly in a teasing manner.

“KEEEEEEEE!” Calli squealed, struggling to contain any of the laughter that immediately bubbled up and out of her. “AhahaAAA! SSSSHHHHHHAAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Aww, look at your teeny tiny little giggles~” Sana teased, gliding her fingertip over to Calli’s left side, and making her jerk to the right.

“EHYA-!” The reaper squeaked.

Sana chuckled. “Uh oh, Sanana’s gonna getcha!” She said, quickly circling her fingertip to Calli’s right side and assaulting it with tickles.

“HAAAAHA-!” Calli swung herself to the left.

“Eeeeeeee~! Itty bitty little Calli is such a big cutie!” Sana squealed, poking and tickling all over Calli’s midriff and armpits, expertly keeping up with all of her swinging and squirming, still only using a single giant fingertip. “Sana’s gonna getcha getcha getcha! Sana’s gonna gitchy gitchy getcha!”

“NO! NOHOHOHAHA! STAHAHAP IT! STAHAHAHAHAHAP! NAHAHAHAHAHA! GET OHOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Calli screamed, her flailing only growing more frantic as her body swung like a punching bag.

Sana giddily grinned, chuckling at the sight reaper’s wriggling. “Ahaha! Look at you go~ Wheeeee!” She squeaked, flicking Calli into the air and catching her in the palm of her hand.

Calli landed flat on her back, the softness of Sana’s hand giving her an easy impact at least. “AGH! S-Sana, I swear I-KH- HAHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” She cried out in laughter as Sana’s finger returned to her belly, gently tickling her like she was teasing a kitten. Calli fought against the finger with feeble kicks and swats. “NNGAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOOOOOHOHAHAHAA!”

“Hehehe~ I’ve gotta admit, Calli, you’re holding out for quite a while.” Sana said, not even bothering to avoid Calli’s attempts to fend off her tickle attack. “I was kind of thinking you’d be done already, but sure, we can keep playing if you want. Gitchy gitchy goo~”

Calli wasn’t in a position to reply. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Sana chuckled and raised her finger away. “Hmm… but I don’t want Kronii getting super duper cranky again… what to do…” She inquired, stroking her chin as Calli desperately tried to scrounge up every last bit of air she lost. “Oooooo, I know what’ll make you crack, you little giggle bean!” She pinched the reaper’s wrists with one hand, pinched her ankles with the other, and stretched her out in front of her. “Time for some RASPBERRIES!” She squealed. Before Calli even had a chance to panic, Sana had already slammed her head down, her giant lips pressing against the reaper’s whole body and vibrating against it. “PPPPBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBT!!!”

“Kh-gAH!” Calli winced at the odd sensation, her entire body tingling and vibrating under Sana’s lips. It wasn’t… exactly ticklish… she couldn’t really place what it was.

Chuckling merrily, Fauna cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to them. “Sanana! I think you’re a little too big for that move!”

“Oh, right, silly me~” Sana giggled, placing Calli’s drastically weakened body on the floor. “I guess BEEEEEEEEEG time is over already.” She pretended to wipe a tear from her eyes and reached for her limiter, giving it a twist back into place. In a flash of light, Sana had returned back to her normal size, and revelled in once again being able to stand up without shattering the ceiling. “Whew. You happy, Kronini? I’m not beeg anymore.”

Kronii rolled her eyes to cover up a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t you have a fight to win?”

“I know, I know!” Sana giggled, turning her eyes to the reaper. “You’re quite a tough cookie, aren’t you?”

Calli, struggling to pick herself off of the floor, weakly pointed to her. “Never forget it.” She replied as Sana approached her.

Kiara gritted her teeth. “Come on, Calli, you’re still in this!” She thought out loud.

“I mean…” Ina muttered.

“Ina, shut up, she’s still in this!” The phoenix snapped back, shaking Ina by the shoulder.

Sana knelt over Calli as the reaper braced herself on her arms. “Hey Calli. It’s still raspberry o’clock, you know?”

Calli’s arms shuddered, barely able to hold her weight up. “Oh is it? Is that what time it is?”

“Mhm~” Sana eagerly nodded her head, gently placing her hand on Calli’s back and forcing her to the floor again. She rolled the reaper over, leaving her tummy face-up, and perfectly vulnerable. “And I’m gonna give you a five star treatment!” She laid on her stomach, lips right above the ticklish target before her, took a deep, drawn-out, audible breath in…

“…I don’t think she’s still in this…” Gura whimpered.

And Sana struck.

“PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFBBBFFFFFFFFFBTTTTHHTHTBBT!!!!!”

Calli shrieked in agony. It was horrid, an explosion of pure ticklish energy slamming straight into her deathly ticklish belly. She thought she would be too exhausted to fight back, but Sana sure proved her wrong, as in mere moments, Calli was swinging her arms, legs, and head around in an uncontrollable effort to save her belly from its ticklish torture. “HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAHA!!!”

Sana’s assault was relentless. “PBBBBBBBBBBBBTH! PPTHBHBHBTH! PBBBPPPTH! PBTHTHTTTTHHHBBBTH!!!” She blew, her face keeping Calli’s midriff pressed against the floor even as every one of her limbs violently slammed against the floor.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Tears flew out of Calli’s eyes, her hair whipping in every direction throughout the raspberry torment.

“Uuuu, she’s about to crack~” Fauna chimed, grinning with a sadistic gleam in her eyes, one that Mumei shared next to her.

“Damn right she is.” Bae replied. “Give it to ‘er, Sana!”

Kronii confidently chuckled. “Enjoying the view, Amelia? I sure am.” She mused, leaning over to Ame with an obnoxious smirk plastered across her face. Ame paid her no mind, gently stopping Gura from paying her a lot of mind.

Kiara’s eyes were glued to the unfolding battle. “Stay strong, Calli, we can still win this!” She shouted, her determination showing through how tightly she squeezed Ina in her arms.

“Seems like round one’s coming to a close.” IRyS said, flying over to the action again. “Now just how much longer can Mori hold out?”

Sana’s raspberry attack was still firing on all cylinders. “PBBBTH! PBBBBBBTTHBBHTBHTBTBHBTH! PPBPBPPBPPBPTH! PPPPPPPPPPPPPT! PFFFFFFFFFFFFFT! PBBBBBBFFFFTHTHTTTT! PPPPPPT!” She kept going and going and going. Calli kept giggling and giggling and giggling. “PBBBBFFBFBFBFFT! PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFHFHFHEHEhehe~! You’ve gotta give up eventually! PBBBBBFFBFBTH!”

Calli enjoyed the quick break she got for Sana to say that. It was probably the last break she was going to get. Trapped under Sana’s weight, exhausted nearly to the point of passing out, dying of laughter, and reduced to a mess of flailing limbs, there was nothing left for Calli to do. She tried to vanish into her black mist, but she couldn’t muster the concentration or the energy. She tried to summon her scythe, not even knowing what she could do with it, but even that was too great a task. She tried to think of some solution, any solution, but not one plan had worked up to this point, and that was before she was in this position, squirming like a turtle on her back. It was hopeless, completely and utterly hopeless.

But even then… Calli didn’t stop. In the face of insurmountable odds, battling an unstoppable enemy, Calli didn’t once even think of quitting. She was suffering the torture what could very well be the strongest tickler in existence using one of the most ticklish methods she could use on what was easily one of Calli’s most ticklish spots with no way to escape, but the reaper was going to lay there and tank it until Sana let up, no matter how long it would take. As the minutes passed, all she focused on was hanging on until the end. Sure, this was only for the sake of Ame’s watch; sure, there were four other rounds after this; sure, even if she could survive this, there was no telling if she could turn the tables and win the whole round, but Calli didn’t care. She had something to prove. She was going to last through this torture on her willpower alone.

No one could ever beat (or tickle) that out of her.

Sana, slightly taken aback, could tell that her raspberries were getting her nowhere, and she pulled back. She was sure that Calli would be done by now, and she was out of bigger guns to bring out. It was the only time in any of her tickling endeavours, or anything at all for that matter, that she had ever felt like she was out of options. Sana stopped smiling. Something was going to have to break the reaper, but what else even was there to try? She figured that she should at least keep the tickle attack up, and wiggled her finger in Calli’s belly button as she tried to think of a-

“GYAA-! BANANA! BANANA! BANANAAAAA!!!!!”

The word rang through everybody’s ears, echoing off of the walls.

Eventually, after everyone in the room stopped buffering, IRyS cleared her throat, and announced the victor into her microphone that totally wasn’t a mostly eaten banana. “And… ahem… the winner or round one of our Myth vs. Council tickle tournament is… Sana!”

Round 1 winner: Tsukumo Sana

“I won? I- Oh, I- I WON!”  Sana’s smile returned in full force as she shot up to her feet, fists in the air as she celebrated.

Bae ran up to hug her, but Fauna was faster, wrapping Sana in a tight, viney hug before anyone else could lay a finger on her. “Uuuuuuu Sanaaaaaaa! You did it! You were amazing!”

“I mean… is anyone surprised?” Bae muttered before joining the hug.

“Nope, not even a little bit.” Mumei chimed in as Fauna pulled her into the embrace. “Calli didn’t stand a chance against you~”

“Awww, you guys are too sweet~ Flatter me more!” Sana playfully replied, squeezing them all back.

Kronii stood next to them, crossing her arms. “You did alright. Took a little long, but whatever.” She said, trying her hardest to contain her smile.

Sana giggled. “Nope. Try again, Kronini.”

“Alright, alright.” Kronii rolled her eyes, grinning at the sight of the defeated reaper on the floor. “I’ve gotta hand it to you; that was something else, Sana. Nicely done.” She continued as the rest of the opposing team rushed toward Calli. As Ame approached, she stopped and faced Kronii. The time warden smirked at her. “Anything to say, Amelia? Any snarky comments, or baseless threats, or do you just want to beg for a draw? I can tell you’re getting nervous.”

“The game’s just started, Kronii. And the only thing I’m getting is my watch back.” Ame said, turning around to help the reaper as Kronii and the rest of her group shuffled away to discuss their plans for the next round.

Calli climbed to her knees, panting her lungs out, relieved but humiliated. The rest of her team grouped around her as she gasped for breath. “Sorry guys…” She managed to mumble out through an exhausted sigh. “She… got my navel…”

“Aww relax, y’bonehead. We’ve all got our bad spots.” Gura said, patting the reaper’s shoulder as Kiara bent down to hug her. “None of us would’ve stood a chance against that.”

“That lasted way longer than any of my tickle fights with her.” Ina said, unable to resist joining the hug. “She’s never had to loosen the limiter on me. Not bad for a first attempt.”

Kiara smiled and squeezed her tighter. “Yeah, you did so well!”

Though their words were comforting, Calli still couldn’t help but be a little dejected. In their whole tickle battle, she didn’t once land a single hit that Sana didn’t give to her, something Calli was very conscious of. “Look, th-… thank you, but all I’ve done now is… is make this shit harder for you guys, and p-… probably fuck up Ame’s chances of ever… ever getting her watch back.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ame said with a confident smile, once again unusually calm for the situation. “Yeah, you didn’t beat Sana, and that kinda sucks, but what you did do was put on a show. A show that caught everyone’s attention, and lasted a really, really long time.”

Calli squinted her eyes. “Yeah, I did… and wha… what’s any of that w-… worth?”

Ame smirked and nodded to Gura, who reached into her hoodie and pulled out a small, worn booklet. “Oh nothing, nothing, we just happened to get our hands on a little something of theirs.” Gura said, flipping through the pages. The book contained anything and everything that team Myth could ever need to know about each member of the Council. Their powers, their weaknesses, their counters, and then the most important part: Six particular pages containing notes and highly detailed diagrams of each council member’s most ticklish spots, down to the most minute of details. It was Mumei’s notebook, and none of the opposing team seemed to notice it was gone. Kiara and Ina’s eyes lit up, their sympathetic smiles becoming much more hopeful. “And it was all thanks to our lovely sacrifice, Calliope Mori, and her expert-level distraction.” Gura continued, gesturing at the reaper.

“Yeah… I sure got them…” Calli responded, laying on the floor in exhaustion.

“Oooh, I KNEW you had a plan, Ame!” Kiara squealed, she and Ina helping Calli stay up.

Ame huddled with her team, holding Mumei’s book open in her hands. “Alright, we may be a little behind in points, but now we’re far ahead in a new way. Let’s start this game for real.”