Story: A Likely Tail

 

The obsidian appendage lashed against the floorboards, leaving a faint, rhythmic thud that echoed through Lala's workshop. Rito sat on the edge of a cluttered workbench, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated mortification. He gripped the edges of the wood until his knuckles turned white.

"Lala, please. Just... take it off. I'll give it back. I don't even want it!"

Lala leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with the manic intensity of a scientist who had just discovered a new element. She poked at the black, rubbery limb with a screwdriver.

"But Rito! You can't give it back! It's already synced to your nervous system! It's part of you now! Like an extra toe, or a very long, very wiggly finger!"

"A finger that just tried to unbutton my trousers!"

Rito lunged downward, his hands grasping for the tip of the tail as it snaked toward his lap. The appendage moved with a predatory grace, curling around his wrist like a constrictor. It didn't just feel like rubber; it felt alive, a warm, pulsing weight that seemed to possess its own agenda.

"See?" Lala chirped, clapping her hands. "It's responsive! It knows exactly what you're thinking!"

"I'm thinking I want to die! There's a difference!"

The tail suddenly retracted, snapping upward with a whip-like motion. It bypassed Rito's grip entirely, stretching upward toward the ceiling. It didn't stop at the height of a normal tail; it elongated, thinning out like a strand of dark silk, reaching nearly six feet into the air before curling back down.

"Whoa!" Lala gasped, her jaw dropping. "It's even more elastic than the prototype! I must have over-calibrated the polymer tension!"

"It's too long, Lala! It's hitting the light fixtures!"

"Don't worry about the lights! Look at the dexterity!"

As Lala reached out to grab the midsection of the tail, the black limb suddenly stiffened. A sharp, blue spark danced across its surface.

"Yipe!" Lala jumped back, her hands flying to her cheeks. "It bit me! Rito, your tail just gave me a tiny little zap!"

Rito froze. "It did what?"

"A little shock! Like a static carpet, but much more... zingy!"

Rito grabbed the tail, trying to pin it against his thigh to keep it still. The moment his skin made contact with the pulsing surface, a sensation shot up his spine that made his vision blur. It wasn't a shock to him-it was a wave of pure, concentrated warmth that settled deep in his gut, making his breath hitch.

"Lala, it's... it's doing something weird," Rito managed to choke out.

"Is it the shock? Did it shock you?"

"No. It's... I can't explain it. It feels like... like I'm touching something incredibly soft, but I'm feeling it from the inside."

Lala's eyes widened. She stepped closer, her curiosity overriding any sense of personal space. "Wait! Is it the sensory-link feature? I added a feedback loop so the user could feel the tail's environment! Does it work both ways?"

"What does that even mean?"

"It means if you touch the tail, you feel the sensation, but if the tail touches something, the tail sends the data back to you! And since it's synced to your brain, it bypasses the skin and goes straight to your nerves!"

Rito felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple. "That sounds incredibly dangerous. And highly inappropriate!"

"It's not inappropriate, it's efficient!"

The tail had other plans. While Rito was distracted by the technical explanation, the limb snaked around his waist, sliding beneath the hem of his shirt. It moved with a terrifying, rhythmic undulation, the tip brushing against his ribs.

"Lala! Stop it! It's going under my shirt!"

"I'm not doing anything, Rito! I'm just standing here!"

"The tail is! It's... it's moving toward my stomach!"

"Maybe it's just looking for a comfortable place to rest? Tails get tired too, you know!"

The tail suddenly lunged. It didn't go for Rito this time. It shot across the gap between them, a black streak of motion that ended with the tip hooked firmly around Lala's waist.

"Ah!" Lala let out a small, startled squeak. "It's hugging me!"

"Lala, get away from it! I can't control it!"

Rito scrambled off the workbench, tripping over a pile of discarded gears. He lunged for the tail, but the appendage was faster. It stretched out, pulling Lala toward him like a tethered buoy in a storm. 

"It's so strong!" Lala laughed, though her voice carried a hint of breathless wonder. "It's like a bungee cord!"

The tail began to coil around Lala's midsection, the black material pressing firmly against her skin. As it tightened, the tip of the tail began to wander. It traced the curve of her hip, moving with a deliberate, slow sensuality that was entirely too coordinated to be accidental.

"Lala, let go! Pull away!" Rito yelled, his face turning a shade of crimson that rivaled a ripe tomato.

"But Rito, it feels so funny!" Lala's eyes were half-lidded, a strange, dreamy expression settling over her features. "It's... it's very warm. And it's vibrating!"

"It shouldn't be vibrating!"

"It's not a malfunction! It's the tactile-feedback-oscillation!"

Rito finally managed to grab the tail near the base, his fingers digging into the rubbery flesh. He yanked with all his might, trying to peel it off her. 

"Let! Her! Go!"

The moment he exerted force, the tail reacted. It didn't just resist; it pulsed. A massive surge of sensation erupted through Rito's entire body. It was as if a dam had burst inside his nervous system. The feeling of the tail's struggle, combined with the sensation of the tension, flooded his brain with an overwhelming, dizzying rush of pleasure.

Rito's knees buckled. He slumped against the workbench, his breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps.

"Rito? Are you okay? You turned very white!"

"I... I think... I think I'm dying," Rito whispered, his eyes rolling back.

"Did the shock hit you too hard?" Lala asked, leaning over him. As she moved, her chest brushed against the tail, which was still coiled around her.

Rito let out a muffled groan. The sensation doubled. Every movement Lala made was being translated through the tail and directly into his brain. It was a closed loop of escalating stimulation.

"Lala... please... stop moving..."

"Stop moving? But I want to see if I can make it do the loop-de-loop thing!"

Lala began to dance, a playful, spinning movement that sent the tail whirling around her body like a ribbon. To Rito, it felt like being caught in the middle of a sensory hurricane. Every swirl, every snap of the tail, sent a fresh jolt of electricity through his loins.

"Stop! I mean it! I'm going to... I'm going to pass out!"

"Don't pass out yet! We haven't even tested the secondary tension release!"

The tail suddenly flared, its surface expanding slightly to grip Lala's waist more securely. It then began to slide upward, the tip teasing the underside of her chin.

"Ooh! It wants to play!" Lala giggled, her face flushed. "It's so much more active than the others! Haruna's tail just sits there like a sleepy snake, but yours is like a hyperactive puppy!"

"A hyperactive puppy that's trying to ruin my life!"

Rito reached out, his hand shaking, and grabbed the tail again. He intended to pull it away, but as his fingers closed around the tip, the tail responded by curling around his hand and squeezing. 

The sensation was catastrophic. 

Rito's head hit the workbench with a dull thud. He could feel the heartbeat of the tail, the warmth of Lala's skin through the link, and the frantic, driving energy of the device itself. It was a symphony of unwanted ecstasy.

"Rito! Your eyes are twitching!" Lala leaned in close, her face inches from his. "Is it working? Is the link successful?"

"Success... is a relative term..." Rito wheezed.

"I should write this down! 'Subject Rito shows extreme physiological response to tactile-feedback-looping!'"

Lala reached for a notebook, her movements causing the tail to sway. Every sway was a new wave of sensation for Rito. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying for the sweet release of unconsciousness.

"Maybe... maybe we should go back to the drawing board," Rito managed to say through gritted teeth.

"Drawing board? No way! This is a breakthrough! We just need to add a manual override switch!"

"A switch? Lala, I don't need a switch! I need an exorcist!"

The tail, sensing the spike in Rito's heart rate, responded by tightening its grip on both of them, pulling them into a clumsy, tangled embrace of limbs, rubber, and frantic, racing pulses.

"See?" Lala beamed, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "It brings people together!"

Rito could only groan in response, a long, low sound of absolute defeat.