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Shuichi was in quite the precarious position.
Dangling from the ceiling with his arms tied above his head, Shuichi could do little but wait there with his limbs pulled taut, trying not to panic.
He attempted to soothe his nerves by calmly recollecting the events that led him to his current position.
After a long while of researching and investigating, Shuichi had finally deduced the whereabouts of the infamous phantom thief’s lair. Noticing a strange pattern of graffiti on an abandoned building that was linked to D.I.C.E, Shuichi’s suspicions were immediately rasied. Unbeknownst to the rest of his detective agency, Shuichi made his way to the hideout to investigate.
While there, he found various papers strewn about the room, appearing to be some sort of blueprints and plans. Investigating the room further led Shuichi to discover a discolored patch of the wall, which was actually a hidden door.
Carefully pressing his palms against the wall, Shuichi fell forward and into darkness. Everything after that was a blur.
Shuichi sighed, trying to maneuver himself out of his bonds. A few hard tugs proved that any struggle was useless, and kicking his legs did nothing. The only other option was to wait patiently for his captor to arrive.
And wait he did.
That was, until he heard a door open behind him, along with the sound of footsteps coming towards him.
“Well, well, well…” An unfamiliar voice began, “What do we have here?”
Shuichi tensed at the sudden appearance of another occupant in the room. He tried to speak, but his voice remained trapped in his throat.
Shuichi remained silent as his captor walked in front of him, finally revealing himself.
There were a few observations Shuichi made right off the bat: His captor was a petite young man, about the same age as he was, and he had plum colored hair that stood out in all different directions at the tips. His overwhelmingly malicious presence more than made up for his small stature, pure evil radiating off of his body. Shuichi shuddered at the sight.
“C’mon, not even a ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Where am I?’, huh? How boring…” The small man picked at his nails, seemingly finding them more interesting than interrogating his captive.
Shuichi swallowed and steeled himself, preparing to speak:
“…You’re part of D.I.C.E., aren’t you?”
The man froze in place and looked up at Shuichi, appearing to be taken off guard. This expression was only momentary, however, as his features then morphed into those of pure joy.
“Ooh, looks like Mister Detective here did his research! Aaand…” he brought a finger up to his lips, smirking deviously. “Why the hell should I tell you?” He gave Shuichi a once-over before returning his gaze to his eyes. “You’re not exactly in a position to be making demands.”
Shuichi grit his teeth, repressing the many emotions he was feeling. Anger, confusion and embarrassment were included in the mix, but the most prominent one was fear. He had no idea what his captor had in store for him, and he didn’t want to find out.
“Let’s get started, shall we? I’m sure you’re dying to know what I’ve got planned for you!” the mysterious man said gleefully.
“…What do you want from me?” Shuichi asked cautiously.
“What do I want?” The man placed a hand on his chest, tilting his head innocently. “I want to have some fun with you, that’s all!”
Shuichi stared blankly, not satisfied with the information he had been given.
The man continued, “And I have the perfect game for us to play!”
He walked up to Shuichi, placing a hand on either side of his waist.
“Don’t laugh.”
Small fingers dexterously pinched at the detective’s waist, moving like frightened spiders. Shuichi had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing.
“Gh! Nnn! Stop it!!”
“Now, now, you heard the rules! Don’t laugh, Shuichi.” He picked up the pace, quickly drumming his fingers along the detecitve’s sides, all while wearing a shit-eating grin.
Shuichi thrashed back and forth, though his struggles were rendered futile due to his strict bondage. He kicked his legs, but that offered him no reprieve from the tingly sensations.
The supposed phantom thief pulled back momentarily, allowing Shuichi to breathe.
“…How… do you know my name?” Shuichi spoke through labored breaths.
“Oh, I forgot to finish explaining the rules of the game!” The thief clapped his hands together, completely ignoring the detective’s question. His sinister grin had returned, causing Shuichi to reflexively tug at his restraints.
“You can guess what happens if you laugh, riiiight?” He leaned forward, hands behind his back.
When Shuichi hesitated to reply, the thief took this as his cue to keep going:
“I’ll tickle the hell out of you!”
Shuichi’s eyes widened, the gravity of the situation finally dawning on him. He was stuck here indefinitely, completely at the mercy of a wicked phantom thief with incredibly unconventional torture methods.
His thoughts were interrupted by the phantom thief inviting himself closer, rolling up the detective’s shirt.
“So tell me, my dear detective…” the thief smirked, looking up at him, “Who do you work for?” He revved up once more, pinching and squeezing at the detective’s hips with no mercy.
“Hnn! I-I work for the Kirigiri detecti- GAH!” Shuichi yelped as the thief’s hands moved lower, tracing the area where his hips met his thighs. The smaller boy’s eyes lit up mischievously.
“Ooh, what was that?” he smirked, teasing the newly found sensitive area, “Did I find a weak spot?”
“D-Don’t!!”
“Don’t what? Don’t tickle you?” The thief’s grin grew wider as Shuichi writhed in place and grit his teeth, struggling to keep his composure. “Poor little you… My darling detective is oh so sensitive~”
“Mmf! S-Shihihit!” Shuichi giggled.
“Uh oh, was that a laugh I heard? Not good, Shuichi! You know what that means! Iiiiit’s punishment time!”
“Wha-?! B-But I- EEYAHAHA NOHOHOHO!” Shuichi’s struggles returned with renewed vigor as the thief started circling his navel with the lightest of touches with one hand, and clawed at his side with the other.
“Tsk, tsk… And here I was, thinking you were all cool and tough! Guess I was wrong!” he chuckled, “Not that I mind though! Cuz this is definitely not boring, that’s for sure!”
“M-MAKE IT STAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEAZE!” the detective thrashed and quivered violently, but it did nothing to diminish the awful tickling feeling coursing throughout his body.
“Next question!” the thief chirped, now lightly scratching at Shuichi’s ribs. “How did you find my super secret hideout?
“I-I JUHUST- FAHAHACKING HEHEHELL!” the detective’s smile spread from ear to ear, and his face was flooded with color as the thief poked and prodded at his torso with an unnerving determination. “THE GRAFIHIHITIHI!”
“Oh, so you picked up on that after all?” the thief responded, “Y’know, maybe I left those clues because I wanted you to find me! Just so that I could lure you here and have soooo much fun with you!”
The thief let up for a second, watching Shuichi pant with tears of mirth in his eyes.
“Last question! I saved the best for last, too!” he giggled childishly, placing his hands on Shuichi’s stomach. The detective shivered at the touch.
“What is my name?”
“What?! There’s no waHAHAHAY AHAHAHA NOHOHOHO!” Shuichi cried, trembling violently in his restraints. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes at this point, threatening to stream down his face.
The thief’s hands roamed all over the detective’s torso, free to do as they pleased what with the detective all tied up like this. His hands froze when he heard Shuichi squeal as he dipped a finger into his navel.
“Ohoho~ Someone’s got a verrry ticklish belly button~ It would be a shame if someone…” the thief moved his face over Shuichi’s navel, “exploited that.”
Shuichi screeched as he felt gentle lips blowing over his stomach, struggling even more as he felt the thief add his hands back into the mix, scratching and squeezing at his hips.
“GAHAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAHA ENOUHOHOUGH PLEHEHEAZE!” The detective had tears streaming down his face, and his struggles ultimately became weaker as a result of the prolonged tickling.
The thief pulled back, his lips hovering inches above Shuichi’s stomach.
“Psh! Phantom thieves don’t respond to cries for mercy! Now out with it, detective! What’s my name?” He continued teasing the detective’s stomach with the lightest of touches, never failing to make him squirm.
“IHI DOHOHON’T KNOHOHOW! P-PLEHEHEAZE!” Shuichi pleaded, voice growing raspy.
“Fine…” the thief sighed, stepping back from his captive. He watched with amusement as the detective struggled to catch his breath, still giggling a bit even though the tickling had already stopped.
“…So… What is your name?” Shuichi lifted his head to look at the thief, completely spent from all of the tickling.
For once, the thief had no expression. No childlike glee, no malicious smirk- nothing.
“Kokichi…” the thief stated. “Kokichi Ouma.”
Shuichi didn’t respond, still recovering from the torture he had endured.
The thief sighed and turned away.
“Wellll, I guess that’s enough fun for one day. Wouldn’t wanna torture my beloved Shuichi too much!” The thief began to walk away, only to be stopped by the detective’s sudden cry.
“Wait!” Shuichi yelled, “…You never answered my question. How do you know my name?”
The thief’s malicious grin had returned as he quickly spun on his heel to reply. He put a finger up to his lips and responded:
“I’ll tell you, my beloved detective… When we meet again.”
And with that, the thief- Kokichi- exited the room, leaving Shuichi a flushed mess all by himself.
When we meet again…
Shuichi’s mind felt hazy as he tried reviewing the information he had just obtained. No matter how hard he tried, his eyelids seemed to be closing on their own, and before he knew it…
Everything went black.