Toadette's Story

Chapter 16 - A New Lead?

“Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a princess in my store!?”

Sorting through all of Minh T.’s tools was like going through a child’s dirty laundry pile. So many things that shouldn’t be scattered in a utility closet barely missed slicing me. First, a machete. Then a pocketknife. After that, a goddamned saw.

“Because we’re not here to stop and chit-chat. And how the hell haven’t you ever cut yourself in this mess?”

Carelessly flinging items at me, she said, “So long as the blade’s not pointing at you, it ain’t dangerous.”

Prodding through this pile for the feel of a single hammer had the same difficulty as finding a needle in a haystack. The difference? The hay couldn’t jab right into you. Despite this survival challenge, Minh T. couldn’t care less about keeping me safe. She came a finger’s length from piercing my heart with a hook.

“So… You think that Princess Daisy would let me—”

“Lick her nasty feet? Yes, that sounds in-character.”

“What am I doing here, then!?”

Minh T. zoomed past me and almost made me trip into the sharp pile. Sure, she couldn’t run a mile, but she could be fast whenever she wanted to be.

Her voice faded out in the other room. “Princess Daisy, do you mind I were to worship your feet, ma’am?”

“Wow, now we got Toads offering themselves up to me.”

While this clown was on her knees praying, I lugged two silver hammers into the main shop area. Of course, leave me doing the heavy work. A staple of our relationship, really.

“I appreciate your submissiveness, Flower Toad. But I kinda had a thing on the bus already, and I can’t have my feet over-worshipped now.”

I cleared my throat. “And like I said, we’re not here to just sit and chat.”

Besides, if Minh T. was so into feet, it wasn’t like anything stopped her from doing stuff with her own. Come to think of it, is that what she ever did in the past? She wasn’t the purest girl in school, but nobody would be dumb enough to entertain her foot thing, right? Otherwise, I had some questionable classmates.

The princess pointed to me. “You can go have fun with Toadette over there.”

“Not funny!”

Minh T.’s neck snapped back at me, her body following suit. Sorry to break her heart, but she wasn’t getting another piece of me. My body pumped itself to push her off me if need be.

“If you’re gonna offer anyone up, make it the rich girl who likes this stuff.”

This whole time, Penelope played on that video game thing. Wholly immersed in it, if her giant, wide irises were any indication. Lying flat on her stomach, her feet swayed back and forth.

Minh T. smacked her lips. “She’s a cutie, so I ain’t complaining.”

Being the pervert she was, she pounced for Penelope’s legs and yanked her shoes off. The girl didn’t give a strong reaction, surprisingly. I swear that game had control over her mind or something. Maybe games could sedate people.

Shaking my head, I crashed against the counter. This was gonna take a while.

After stripping her of her socks, Minh T. wiggled her skinny fingers across Penelope’s soles.

“Ya ticklish!?”

Penelope burst into a peal of laughter, sending her device to fall out her hands. This put a massive grin on Minh T.’s face, and she started digging in between the girl’s toes. And wow, her dodgeball abilities came into play, for Penelope never kicked Minh T.

“Aw, come here!”

Now Minh T. gave a nibble on Penelope’s foot. The laughter only rose from here, and Minh T. didn’t let up. She really enjoyed rubbing her fingers along the wrinkles of the girl’s soles.

“See, why can’t you be that enthusiastic, Toadette?” asked Princess Daisy, who sat above me on the counter.

“Because I’m not interested in dirty feet. Like a sane person.”

The princess put her dangling shoe near my mouth. “Get used to it, it’s part of your job. Better be taking some notes, ’cause Flower Girl here’s a real pro at her game.”

Minh T.’s tongue travelled across Penelope’s chubby soles like she was licking a giant ice cream cone. After each lick, she’d let out a moan as if it were delicious. Penelope’s laughter died down from the tickling, but the smile on her face was still there. Whether it be from her game or my friend drenching her feet was up to you to decide.

“Can you wiggle your toes?”

Penelope obliged like a loyal dog, moving her toes around as they entered Minh T.’s mouth.

Princess Daisy said, “See, that’s one of the nicest-feeling ways to clean someone’s toe-area if they’re filthy.”

“And if they’re not?” I proposed.

“Feels wonderful regardless. It’s not all about cleaning the feet, ya know.”

Not all about cleaning the feet? Hmm… So far, the only feet I’ve actually had to clean were Penelope’s the first day I met her. Every other time, the feet may have stunk or been sweaty, but they weren’t dirty. Well, if this foot licking game was all about feeling good, couldn’t a basic massage cover that. Get some oil, get some pillows, rub a little, and all is solved.

“Your feet taste so good, Miss… um…”

“Penelope. And don’t say Miss, that’s all weird.”

Minh T. backed out of the girl’s wet soles, panting with her tongue drooping. A second later, she pecked her feet with a flurry of kisses. Eventually, the kisses turned into pure toe-sucking. That would have been tame on its own, but Minh T.’s hand dropped on the girl’s butt. Not a light, accidental tap.

To step in or not to step in?

Yeah, enough was enough. If somebody didn’t stop her now, we’d be sitting here for an extra 24 hours. And nobody could predict what she’d do then. Penelope’s poor feet were probably numb at this rate.

“Alright, this was fun and all,” I said, picking Minh T. up. “But I prefer to get my work done early.”

“What work’s that?” Minh T. asked.

Penelope flipped over to grab her socks. “Finding Miss Daisy’s stolen stuff.”

“EXPENSIVE stolen stuff, let’s be clear. That’s not some fake gold we’re dealing with.”

Minh T. leapt behind the counter. “Gold?”

I nodded. “There’s a crown, there’s a soccer ball, and a bunch of her shoes are gone.”

What a bizarre list of items still. Why steal a bunch of shoes instead of something more valuable to a kingdom? Steal a document, steal a rare item or go all out and steal the princess herself. I mean, the last is a Mushroom Kingdom tradition at this point.

“You know what these guys look like?” Minh T. asked.

“They’re probably ugly. But no, Flower Girl, we got no idea.”

Minh T. leaned over the countertop. “Well, I think I saw someone walk past here with a crown an hour or two ago.”

The princess gripped Minh T.’s shoulders and shook her back and forth.

“You think!? Where!? Where!?”

Oh no, this was not the way to go about handling this! I pulled the princess off Minh T., giving my friend some room to compose herself.

My voice was stern. “You trying to give her a panic attack?”

We could’ve lost a valuable piece of information with the princess’s stunt.

After rapidly blinking, Minh T. scratched her head. “It was someone in silver. H-He went south of here.”

Well, this was a brain scratcher. South of the flower shop could lead into a variety of locations. He could be in the sewers, could’ve gone to Forever Forest or could be screwing around in the Playroom.

I held Minh T.’s hand. “Please tell me you got more than that.”

She shrugged. “I’m sorry. If it helps, it looked like he went straight south. Didn’t change direction. Maybe he took the train.”

The train? Wait. White clothing doesn’t make you as hot as when you wear darker stuff. I may have been grasping for straws to find a connection, but it would make sense that he would wear something bright in that scorching region.

“The sewers gotta wait. We’re going to the damn desert,” I groaned.

Penelope scratched around her bag, and disappointment hit her face as hard as it did mine. “Aw, I didn’t bring a hat.”

“My type of land!”

Of course the princess gravitated to such a place. While Her Highness’s daughter and I dreaded our next location, she tugged on Minh T.’s hair like this was all fun and games.

“Hey, Toadette. We may as well take your gay buddy with us, too.”

Minh T. dove onto the floor, shouting in refusal to go. Ah, so our last visit to Dry Dry Desert was still burnt in her head. I pulled so many Pokey needles out her body that day.

The princess, chuckling, tapped on the counter. “Hey, you join our little team, and when we get my footwear back, I’ll lend you my second-most stinkiest pair. We’re talking over 10,000 hours spent trapped in those tight, platinum flats.”

As quickly as she dove, she sprung over the princess. “Let’s get a move on, Toadette.”

I sighed. “Mmm-hmm, great. Drag someone else along for the ride.”