Sun.

Ritsuka wanted to look at the sun for longer, but the mechanical preamble of doughy digits fanning, releasing a pungent aroma and bits of dirt that the young woman missed, before curling over her body prevented such a wish from being fulfilled. Like several large snakes, Yu Mei-ren’s toes manipulated Ritsuka’s body, until she was gripped within the crushing pressure of her toes. The coastal air that blasted in Ritsuka’s body as she sailed. Then the successive plummet, as the construction of the fleshy appendages let go of her, were a minor reprieve.

SMACK

Guck

Blood spilled out in front of Ritsuka’s face once more. A productive cough of reddish sputum that confirmed what Ritsuka already knew.

Why…

She tried to roll over and lift herself back up. Even as the sandal began to shake from the shockwaves of the divine entity moving around. Reverberations of Yu Mei-ren raising herself up before looming over the pair of sandals. Such an innocuous action had undone nearly all the progress that the young woman made. Forcing the internally hemorrhaging master onto her back. 

The strength in Ritsuka’s arms gave out before she could mimic the action of the Crimson Beauty from far up above. The senpai’s leg merely lifted as she gave a slight unfocused glance at her sandal. A gaze that was to direct the older woman’s feet directly onto the insole and for no other reason.

She…isn’t even…looking at me.

A foot that Ritsuka had slaved to clear up of any dirt and sweat. Grime that collected on Yu Mei-ren’s foot because of its contact with the moist foot imprint. The same imprint that the young woman was laying on now. The ground that squelched under the pressure of the master’s body and would undoubtedly release a bog of mephitic and pestiferous brine when the larger surface area of the Crimson Beauty’s foot would land on the brown plane. An action that would not only crush Ritsuka but undo all the progress of cleansing the divine entity’s soles. Progress that required the sacrifice of the young woman’s health and well-being. 

This…isn’t…fair.

The young woman felt lower than dirt. At least those dust particles would get the attention of her senpai. They would at least inconvenience the ageless woman to clean them off herself. No, it seemed that no thought was given to Ritsuka at this moment. All the torture and suffering that the kouhai went through was ignored as Yu Mei-ren’s toes curled up in the air languidly. Like a member of the ruling class that was waving at someone that was about to be executed. Five digits, doughy and fat with opulence, that practiced their display of putting forth a proprietary air in front of a criminal. And then the entire slab of wrinkled muscle descended. The silhouette of the foot covered and darkened Ritsuka’s surroundings. She found herself oriented in the same position that was earlier. No, a little lower this time. Out of the reach of those invasive digits, but even closer to the flesh orb of the Crimson Beauty’s calloused ball. The master extended, a bent right arm. A last attempt at protection.

THOOOM

Crick

The first thing that Ritsuka did was choke and heave into the mouthful of rubbery skin. As the arm that she held out had undoubtedly been splintered into several pieces. The young woman could feel blood pool out and stain the sole creases that she had cleaned. Sanguineous fluid that flowed out of a limb that was closer to tenderized meat than a limb. And it only got worse from there as the tons of weight increased once more. 

The divine entity was knotting the straps of her sandals. At the very least, Ritsuka now knew from past experience that this would be the worst part of being underneath Yu Mei-ren’s foot. If she could survive this minute of hell, then…then what. Several parts of the young woman’s body were bleeding internally, her body had expended all energy just to complete the “minor” tasks that Yu Mei-ren set out for her, she had lost her right arm, and she had engulfed several pounds of fetid material from the bottom of a woman’s foot. An infectious source.

Even if Ritsuka survived this, she would need immediate medical attention. Otherwise, she might just end up dying underneath the heel of Yu Mei-ren’s rule, without the owner even noticing. 

Although, such complex thoughts had escaped Ritsuka at this moment. Now that the master was confronted by the question of whether to survive or not, she looked around for the crumpled pieces of her soul. The young woman had gone through so much abuse and was then shown the lack of value that her life and efforts yielded. 

Ritsuka didn’t feel like a human. She didn’t even feel like an animal. Existence was pain. The hurt and loss the young woman felt were things that she might have not experienced if she hadn’t tried to live in the first place. If she had just given herself entirely to the cavernous space in between the divine entity and her sandal. Thus, Ritsuka didn’t fight the pressure. 

When Yu Mei-ren began to walk along the beach’s coast, Ritsuka just let the tons of human flesh compress her form. The master didn’t time her breathing with the arc of her senpai’s steps. Instead, the young woman stuck out her tongue and tried to drain the foot sweat, that ended up collecting in the space once more, into her mouth. She did so in hopes that the Crimson Beauty would somehow recognize this, and that she would be given a merciful death. 

Squelch

Both the mind and spirit of the master was broken. The cleaned sole, the culmination of Ritsuka’s efforts this day, were erased as it became dirty once more. 

Ritsuka was no more. Just a cung zai remained.

Squelch

The cung zai would be knocked out periodically as she suffocated on the reddened cream surface of the sole’s skin. A brief reprieve for the former woman. Although, it wasn’t what she wanted. As the next couple of steps would invariably knock her cranium enough to arouse her body’s consciousness once more. The cung zai was thrust back into a reality where her body was just one big agonizing knot. One that the former woman was eagerly waiting for the wrinkled ceiling to untie and flatten into a growing spool of red. Regardless, or perhaps to accelerate this fate by means of cosmic intervention, the cung zai’s belly grew full and hot with the foot’s execrable ambrosia. The former woman continued to expend all her energy to subsume as much of the grime and sweat that trailed down into sole’s crevices.

Squelch

Then the cycle of the world that the cung zai was trapped in stopped. As Yu Mei-ren once again found a place to stand.

Ahhhh~

The former woman’s suffering grew exponentially as the walls of the ceiling’s wrinkles seemed to collapse on her. A sonorous shriek sounded through her fragile bones as she felt the familiar sounds of splinters forming in her other limbs.

Crack

The sodden wrinkles claimed another limb. This time it was one of the cung zai’s legs. The ceiling of flesh continued to pulse. Each excited vibration released a new splash of piquant brine. The nascent pain that thundered through the former woman’s body, and the near bursting volume of her stomach, made it impossible for such a nascent swill to follow the way of the cung zai’s abused esophagus. So, a pool grew as the former woman heard her divine entity’s voice from up above. It was then that a throbbing emerged in cung zai’s head. One distinct from the thundering headaches induced by her body’s agony. It was the beginnings of an inquisitive thought that was not befitting of a cung zai. Thus, the heavens saw fit to punish such independent thought. 

The former woman felt her world rapidly elevate into the air, and then in a fraction of a second it came crashing back down. With no warning the tons of muscles within Yu Mei-ren’s legs collapsed over Ritsuka’s body. Crushing her body and shattered several of her ribs. The cung zai was once again reminded of the mortality that it possessed. And with that the broken woman was reminded of the name that she once had. All before she lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmm~ This cool breeze blowing through my hair…

It may only have been the second time that Yu Mei-ren had her kouhai under her sole, but she felt confident that something was different.

It seems like cung zai has minimized her useless squirming and has given herself fully to serving my feet.

The older woman gave a sigh of relief as she internally crooned at this change in behavior. All that the senpai wanted was for her kouhai to show that she was willing to put forth the effort to change. It didn’t matter how, but just that the young woman showed that she had good intentions. By properly realizing what she did wrong, researching how to improve, implementing that change, and then further modifying her efforts. For so long Yu Mei-ren had tolerated the master with no such results being yielded. Until now. 

If you knew what ran through my mind, just how much I detested you and enjoyed today so far, then you might not believe me. But I truly wish that you just didn’t push me this far.

Yu Mei-ren realized that what started out as instruction motivated out of petty spite had now morphed into an irreversible punishment. As a result, the ageless woman felt guilty that she didn’t feel guilty about how things transpired. Rather, the True Ancestor was trying to look at the situation pragmatically. The master had nearly failed every expectation that the older woman had for her. So much that Yu Mei-ren doubted that things would be fixed up if she took the shrunken woman to the Chaldea health clinic right now. Not only that, but unwanted attention may very well be drawn to her because of this.

Aya~ And I just wanted to spend more time with Xiang Yu.

Thus, the idea of terminating Ritsuka’s existence was very tempting. And it was befitting her current station. As it seemed the role that the younger woman was most proficient at was being a cung zai. However, there was a nagging feeling that pestered the True Ancestor in the back of her head. If one were to consider lifespans, then most humans were practically cung zai in comparison to her. Should she just kill them all. No.

What if I made cung zai’s position one that could last…indefinitely?

The gears begin to turn in Yu Mei-ren’s head as she stood still. The older woman’s sandaled feet flexed in the footwear as she found herself lost in thought. A simple movement that led to the cung zai being squeezed in between the folds of her wrinkled flesh. The Crimson Beauty thought of the aspects of her abilities that she could utilize.

“Yes…this could actually work…”

A satisfied smile blossomed on the Crimson Beauty’s face. One that was accompanied by a thoughtless stomping of the foot that the cung zai was trapped in. 

Hmm~ I guess that I should begin cung zai’s absorption before the sun is down. I guess that I should head back to my stuff.

Yu Mei-ren stretched her arms and happily sauntered back to the towel on the other side of the beach. Due to how happy she was, the elated True Ancestor didn’t initially notice that her cung zai had stopped licking the bottom of her foot.

Huh…I’m not really bothered by this. Ritsuka will have all the time in the world to cement her lessons in the depths of her soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…

…

…

When Ritsuka woke up again, there was just darkness, heat, and pressure. The young woman tried to open her eyes, but it felt like they were sealed shut. Like something had dripped and congealed over her face. Partially mummifying the young woman entrapped in sandal. At least that is where the master surmised she was located. The young woman’s skin and muscles were so shredded by this point, that she wasn’t sure if her brain could trust the nervous signals that the rest of her body was sending it. However, they conferred constricting surroundings of moist flesh. A sodden floor that was smooth and sank until it became a firm curve under the master’s weight.

How…long was I out?

Ritsuka could scarcely recall what had last transpired, but she knew that if she was in a sandal, then she was in danger of being walked on again by her senpai. Thus, the young woman prepared for the next step. 

…

…

…

But it never came. Rather it seemed that the pressure of the doughy ceiling was constant and unchanging. Furthermore, Ritsuka could barely hear a distant rumbling.

Is Yu Mei-ren whispering?

The master tried to listen and parse out what the older woman was saying, but it might as well have been in a different language with the several barriers that was between the Crimson Beauty and the cung zai. Like a lightning bolt, a sharp tearing pain erupted through the middle of Ritsuka’s body. The young woman’s body jerked, and she felt the gross opulence of her filled belly push against the soft dough of foot flesh. 

Ritsuka recalled the liters of sweat that she had guzzled down in her delirious state. However, that did not answer why she felt such softness against her abdomen. 

Am I not under the ball of my senpai’s foot anymore?

It was then that the rumbling stopped. 

I can’t…continue waiting.

A conclusion that the young woman made upon realizing that aside from the sharp pain originating from her abdomen, the rest of her body had become numb. A lack of sensation and limited movement that made Ritsuka fear that she might have lost all functioning in those regions of her body. The young woman’s limbs, and several regions of her torso, felt heavy like lead. As if something was forcing her down. She was trapped like a buried worm. Thus, the only thing that the master could do was act like a worm. She struggled and fought against the invisible constraints on her body. The young woman rubbed her body along the muscular ceiling. 

These actions went against any rational thought that the master could have now, but it was the most apt choice that the blind girl could take. As she felt something chip off her body. Ritsuka paused and then shook her body. The mobility of her body seeming to re-emerge. 

I…I was covered…in dried sweat.

Ritsuka realized that she had been in a pool of sweat before being knocked out by the weight of a normal-sized human smashing down on her. A pool that might have dried as the coastal breeze cooled down as night approached. Ritsuka eked out the little amount of strength that she had left and once again began rubbing her body on the rubbery sky. 

She ignored the fact that the skin of Yu Mei-ren’s foot felt especially soft. She ignored how the folds of muscle, underneath the rubbery surface, felt especially inviting. She ignored how Yu Mei-ren seemed to be doing nothing as Ritsuka wriggled under her foot.

The rippled flesh and whorled ridges served as a convenient scraper for the bound girl’s body to free itself. Finally, she pushed her face into the piles of pungent foot flesh. A surface that Ritsuka would call, only this one time with her sanity intact, a heavenly surface. As the dried sweat smeared right off.

I…I did…it.

Ritsuka fell back down in quiet relief as the nebulous darkness was replaced by a dull and scattered light. The evening sun’s glow peeked out between the gaps of Yu Mei-ren’s toes. This exacerbated the confusion that the young woman felt. As she was most definitely still located centrally at the ball of the True Ancestor’s foot. Yet the flesh felt so malleable. Ritsuka tried to piece together why such an odd fact seemed consequential to her. 

However, the dull light shifted to a grainy black and then back again. The young woman’s head span and she could feel her weakness all throughout her body. As a result, the master counted her blessings and bided her time. She thanked whatever deity that was listening for giving her nearly mutilated body the time to recover at least this barest amount. For bringing about whatever reason that her senpai was suspended in motion. 

However, that suspension of movement had ceased as Ritsuka collected her energy. The young woman heard what sounded like tree branches being ripped out from the main trunk. A sound that Ritsuka had become familiar with. 

Is she unstrapping her sandals?

Ritsuka didn’t know what to expect at this point, but the young woman knew that she would beg to be released. The kouhai would yell as loud as she can in the next opportunity given. That she had learned her lesson. The anticipation of freedom from this malodorous biome was killing the young woman. 

Thus, the moment that the pressure on her body was released, she began to crawl forward. Even though a voice in the master’s head was yelling at her for doing so. That her independence might anger the divine behemoth above.

HEHEHE~

Ritsuka felt a tug and her body slumped back into the sandal face first. Right into a salty pool. As a result, the young woman’s body jerked, and she struggled to lift her head out of what might as well have been less than a microliter of sweat. The reality that the master had nearly drowned in such a minuscule volume nearly made the woman forget that the thunderous voice had sounded reminiscent of a peal that was swiftly muffled.

What…why does it feel like my body…

The pads of Yu Mei-ren’s fingers manifested and pressed down on the lip of the sandal. With a strong pinch she pulled it forward and away from her foot. However, contrary to Ritsuka’s expectations, she did not go forward with the footwear.

…like…my body is being dragged back…

Squelch

Yu Mei-ren popped off her sandal and lifted her foot. She felt a slight suctioning before a snap. A mass stretching before returning to the bottom side of her foot. Like a rubber band without the painful impact against her skin.

“Evening Ritsuka. I’m guessing from your earlier wriggling that you are awake now. You really are like a cung zai.”

Yu Mei-ren’s voice was back to a powerful whisper. Just like when she first talked to Ritsuka at the beach. But it wasn’t just that. The intensity behind her words seemed to have disappeared. Rather there was a calm and collected quality to the reverberating sound waves. These were the words of someone who had just won. 

More aptly, the conflict that Yu Mei-ren was confronting had become a perspicuous one. After viewing the positive and negatives of each outcome and observing how they lined up with her motivations behind instruction and punishment, the hesitations that the True Ancestor possessed were quashed. As the senpai had reached a decision for her kouhai’s fate. 

But that wasn’t in the forefront of Ritsuka’s mind. Rather it was the fact that the skin of her limbs had unwound themselves. The muscle and bones were in a grotesque orientation bent back towards the softened creases of a once stalwart wall. The young woman was barely able to see the revolting image of body horror that her form had become. Although the pain, that should have accompanied this evisceration of flesh was not present. Instead, Ritsuka felt and heard a strong pulse. A powerful flow of liquid that seemed to move through a bright circuit hidden in the net-like architecture of her limbs. 

It was a sanguineous circuit that connected directly to vessels and nerves within Yu Mei-ren’s foot. A substance that felt like hot fluid and electricity flowed through Ritsuka’s body unimpeded. It vibrated her inner core in a way that was wholly different from the pain she felt. It was indescribable. But the young woman, in the absence of vocabulary, could feel more of herself being pulled into her senpai’s foot than what was visible. 

Sglorp

The master was being absorbed.

“No! Gwhy…cough…doing this…”

Ritsuka exhaled deeply after her understandably violent outburst. This was the first time that the young woman had strained her vocal cords to try and talk to her senpai. It didn’t help that her body was brutalized by a mountain of flesh for the entire day, and that her body felt like it was being sucked through a strong vacuum. Like milkshake going up a straw. But instead of thick liquid vanishing behind the glossy lips of a pretty girl, it was being spread along the lines and folds of a flexing muscle.

The True Ancestor couldn’t hear the garbled words of what was already becoming a part of her foot, but she was able to make an approximate guess. 

Hmm~

Yu Mei-ren dragged out the time she took to answer her kouhai. It was not as if she was beholden to a standard of prompt responses to someone that was already a quarter foot flesh.

“Sorry my kouhai. From what you have shown me so far today, it doesn’t just seem like you are fit to be a master. Not even a cung zai either. And it just takes so long to educate you, and just look at your body. Tell me that you were able to withstand your treatment today.”

The older woman spoke patronizingly. As if she was chiding a petulant child over breaking something so small. But this wasn’t small for Ritsuka. This was her entire existence, one that she felt becoming increasingly small. Especially as the hot pulsating tendrils of Yu Mei-ren’s sanguineous circuits dragged the young woman deeper into the muscular quicksand. She could feel the walls of muscles, hidden underneath the skin, make way to entrap the master within this extremely damp space. 

Slurk

Each pulse of these tendrils seemed to dissolve, break down the cohesive forces that held Ritsuka’s body together. The young woman tried to push her hands forward. The digits of her little fingers, even the one on the arm that wasn’t broken, had turned into deformed nubs. And the skin of her hands, the young woman, was finally able to see, was shifting into a lighter shade of color. The purple and blue welts on Ritsuka’s skin disappeared and the natural peach complexion was shifting to a paler and more pristine one. Just like the tone of Yu Mei-ren’s creamy skin.

Oh God. I’m becoming her sole!

This horrifying realization consumed Ritsuka’s mind. So, all she was able to conjure was a choked sputter in the face of Yu Mei-rhetorical question.

“I thought so. I will be honest. I’m not fond of you kouhai. In fact, I grew a little hot at the thought of you dying underneath my dainty foot earlier.”

Yu Mei-ren reoriented her body, causing the young woman to sway and dangle off the wrinkled surface, and she sat down in front of the beach’s coast. Right in front of the descending sun.

“But I would prefer if the title of senpai had more value than just that. So, I think that this is a better conclusion for the both of us. You get more time to appropriate yourself to your new lease in life. To safely learn of the errors of your ways and retain that information, while in the presence and service of your elder.”

Yu Mei-ren relaxed and soaked up the evening sun as she said this. The True Ancestor left out the part of how she already felt tinctures of electric pleasure as Ritsuka merged with her sole. The older woman couldn’t help but scrunch her soles at the unrestrained kisses from the coastal breeze and the warmth of a soon to be subsumed soul.

“Much better than trying to learn as a cung zai. With the constant worry of death hanging over you like an axe. And I guess that I’ll let you out in a year or two to see how well you are retaining information.”

Yu Mei-ren left out the fact that this was technique hastily put together. That she wasn’t knowledgeable enough of what she was doing right now to know if there was a way to reverse this. 

At first, the True Ancestor didn’t know exactly why she withheld information. It wasn’t like she expected Ritsuka to break free. No. It might have been because it was in her rights to use her property in whatever way she wished.

Hmph~

Yu Mei-ren felt a strong bubbling sensation along the ball of her foot that extended down to her arch. The region that Ritsuka was being absorbed into. 

It was a delectable sensation.

Oh~what a pleasant surprise. My kouhai’s intense emotions serve as added bliss for me. I wonder…

“Hey! Look at the bright side, you get to be near my beloved Xiang Yu. Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place.

The older woman bit her lip in anticipation. She could feel a gentle warmth spread along her sole. To think that these pangs of delight would feel so strong despite the absorption not being complete yet.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t this like your Mecha anime! You get to be a passenger in my foot. I guess that your senpai will be your giant robot.”

The bubbling sensation increased in intensity, much to the grinning older woman’s delight. She tilted her head back and began to think of the days to come. 

Would this pleasurable sensation wane once Ritsuka’s spirit was broken? What could be done to prolong it? Would different emotional responses evoke different sensations?

The True Ancestor was so engrossed in thought that she had failed to sense the approach of another individual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being compressed by rubbery flesh, grappled by plump toes, and cleaning the scum off the bottom of Yu Mei-ren’s foot had fully sapped Ritsuka of her vitality. She broke down. Then the pieces came back together in a crazed and hopeful mess. One that was reminded of the brutality of this world. One that she shared with others whose views would conflict with hers. Life was a gambit where one wrong step, would have another trodden under the paces of another. Ritsuka had learned helplessness as a cung zai and was willing to give up whatever else she had to sustain her life for even a second longer. A life that was now literally being folded and sucked into the bottom of her senpai’s foot. The volume of the older woman’s voice was not only heard but reverberated through Ritsuka’s body. As the young woman now felt the vibrations of interconnected muscular infrastructure tremble from the sonorous and taunting outburst. 

Hope was a poison that prevented Ritsuka from enjoying the sweet release of death earlier. However, it was an intoxicating one. As through the intermission of smug and victorious remarks from her soon to be owner, the young woman had taken note of gentle vibrations that became stronger, more powerful, in the distance. Until, finally, the master saw a pink-haired young woman walk along the shoreline in a two-piece bikini. Her mountainous body was fuzzy at first, but the magnificent arrangement of muscles came into definition in front of the young woman’s barely functioning eyes. 

Ritsuka couldn’t feel her legs, the mash of red and stark white of her muscles and bones had unspooled and shattered with a burning and painful mind-melting heat. One that nearly released Ritsuka into the deep abyss, but the image of the new giantess, a woman that she recognized, kept her conscious. It kept the master conscious as the lower half of her body unspooled and then was slurped up like the bubbly froth crest into a shoreline. Sinking into the pristine white landscape of Yu Mei-ten’s foot. The poisonous hope had kept Ritsuka alive and wanting to live emerged when she saw her kouhai…Mash Kyrielight in the distance.

THUD

Mash possessed a glistening frame that the red-orange light of the descending sun bounced off. A thicker frame than the True Ancestor that Ritsuka was currently being absorbing into. Soft contours that would jut sharply as if they had been built and sculpted from battlefields and determination. Under Mash’s creamy skin were tons of muscles that bulged with a stalwart vitality. Her mammary boulders jiggled with the saltwater that had soaked into the crevices from an afternoon swim. A dusty coating of sand granules had layered over the toned lower half of Mash’s body. 

THUD

But none of that mattered to Ritsuka. Her kouhai could have worn anything or been through a storm of sharks, and she would still look beautiful in this moment. Mash Kyrielight was not just strong in the physical sense. She was kind, gentle, and never made the orange-haired master feel less of herself due to her weak physical strength or low aptitude for magic. The pink haired woman had always made it known, intentionally or not, how much she cared for Ritsuka.

“M—guh…M…gsh.”

A discolored fluid sputtered out between Ritsuka’s incoherent stammering. But the young woman did not register the damage that had been incurred to her body as an independent human. Instead, she fought through the pain that racked through her form. A pain that was unending in its intensity. So, what does it matter if Ritsuka put all the strength that she had left, in addition the strength that Yu Mei-ren was swelling in her sole to absorb the master, to rip her body free.

“SENPAI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“M…Mash!”

Yu Mei-ren stammered and a faint rose crept on her cheeks. She drew her legs back close to her torso, with her knees bent and feet lowered to a point of just contacting the towel. The True Ancestor, in her distress, had nearly planted her foot squarely upon the towel. A reactive action that she interrupted at the last moment. As the older woman wasn’t sure if smashing her foot, or even pressing it into the towel, will cause part of her kouhai to be absorbed into it instead.

Aya~ There is no way that Mash is going to agree to the young master being a fixture on my foot. 

“Oh! Hi Mash. I was just soaking up the summer sun.”

Yu Mei-ren said with a curt frankness. The True Ancestor’s brows trembled before furrowing. As she concentrated her energy and circuits into burying the master underneath her foot’s skin. The older woman could already feel how the young woman had loss the impression of limbs and defined torso. She was convinced that all it would take was just one more surge before Ritsuka was just an entrapped soul within the wrinkles of her sole.

“Not as if the body of a True Ancestor is vulnerable to such injuries as skin damage.”

Yu Mei-ren added in an attempt to engage in a humorous exchange with Mash. Regardless of the quality of the added quip, it had merited a modest laugh to erupt from betwixt Mash’s lips. To Yu Mei-ren’s ears, the abrupt eruption of noise from her kouhai was serene, smooth, and intoxicating. Just like wine made from the millet that the True Ancestor had a nostalgic want of for some time.

No wonder master finds herself swooning for this woman.

“Yes. I agree. I think that my constitution as a Shielder makes it difficult for the sun’s rays to irradiate my skin.”

Mash said before she sat, cross-legged, in front of Yu Mei-ren. Their feet were just next to each other in this position. The sole of the pink-haired kouhai’s foot was just adjacent to the upturned toes of Yu-Mei-ren’s foot. 

A subtle detail that Mash had noticed and felt oddly drawn to. 

Hmm. Is there something underneath senpai’s foot?

Meanwhile, Ritsuka felt her world become a blazing inferno from the added magical heat. Blood boiled within her remaining body and the tendrils that were her hands grasped clumsily out from the gaps of Yu Mei-ten’s toes. Mash’s deafening voice eclipsed the roaring waves of magical energy that had proceeded to render Ritsuka’s senses. 

Mash…please see me…

Ritsuka was able to peek out from the gaps of her senpai’s toes. The red light of the evening sun had all but disappeared. In its place was the all-consuming silhouette of Mash’s dirty sole. Beach grime had densely coated the underside of the pink-haired girl’s rough and weathered sole. As she had forgone any footwear in favor of feeling the warmth of the rugged sand granules in between her toes. And that she had. For every part of Mash’s, otherwise pink-tinted creamy soles, had become a hazy gray. The jaggy detritus either becoming lodged in the foot’s wrinkles, tickling the Shielder, or being ground to dust that caked the calloused underside.  

Such a slab of meat, attached to the physically focused combatant, would be unforgiving to Ritsuka id she ever found herself under the business end of it. 

Mash’s toes scrunched playfully, pebbles dropping from the gaps between her plump toes and onto Yu Mei-ren’s towel, as Ritsuka was in a bout of life and death.

Then another surge of energy coursed through Ritsuka’s body…

Was Ritsuka able to pull herself out of Yu Mei-ren’s foot?

•No — Proceed to Chapter 4 Ending: Senpai & Kouhai

•Yes — Proceed to Chapter 5 Ending: Kouhai’s Foot Fodder