Chapter 6: Tickle Trap

Tsukasa's face was inches from hers, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Nene's heart was still racing from the tension of the moment, but before she could react, Tsukasa's hands shot out and grabbed her sides. He tackled her in tickles, sending her into a fit of giggles. “Got you!” he exclaimed, his voice triumphant. Nene washed down in relief, her earlier anxiety forgotten in the face of her friend's silly attack. She tried to push him away, but Tsukasa was relentless, his fingers digging into her sides and making her laugh. Just as she thought she was going to collapse from laughing, Tsukasa flipped her over, and Nene found herself on top of Amane, who was lying on the couch. Tsukasa was still tickling her, and she tried to escape, squirming and wriggling on top of Amane. Amane, caught in the middle, started laughing too, and soon the three of them were in a heap on the couch, laughing and tickling each other. Nene was trying to get away from Tsukasa's tickles, but Amane's presence underneath her made it difficult. She ended up tickling Amane as well, and the two of them were soon rolling around, holding their sides in laughter. Tsukasa, still tickling Nene, was laughing so hard he was crying. “You guys are so easy to tickle!” he exclaimed, his voice choked with laughter. As they finally started to calm down, Nene looked up at Amane, her eyes shining with tears of laughter. Amane was grinning at her, his face flushed with excitement. Tsukasa, still holding onto Nene, looked up at Amane and said, “I think we can safely say that the tension is broken.” The three of them collapsed into a fit of giggles again, the earlier anxiety and tension forgotten in the face of their silly antics. As they laughed, Nene realized that sometimes, all it took was a little bit of silliness to chase away the darkness.