"... Did she seriously take us to a laundromat?" Senketsu asked Ryuko as much as himself.
"... Rrm hrmm." Ryuko affirmed through her flat lips.
As grateful as Ryuko was to Mako for saving her, she was not happy to be at Mako's mercy. Instead of simply taking her back to the Mankanshoku household or to someone who could plausibly be expected to fix Ryuko, Mako instead elected to leave their current location a "super secret surprise" until this point. The fact that Mako got lost several times on her way to the laundromat did not improve either Ryuko's or Senketsu's mood. The good news was that they were able to power down from their synchronized state despite being pretty immobile otherwise, so Senketsu wasn't stuck draining Ryuko's blood, and Ryuko had much more clothing covering her blanket of a body.
Mako waltzed on into the laundromat like she owned the place. "Y'see Ryuko, you're basically a big old sheet, so if I put you through the washer and dryer like a sheet, then maybe you'll pop back to normal! And if it doesn't work, at least you'll be nice and clean!"
"R drn't thrnk thrt'sh hrr rt wrks..."
Mako had given up trying to interpret Ryuko's murmurs for a while, so she just ignored her flattened friend instead. She dug through her pocket for a moment before pulling out four dollars.
"Here it is. All my life savings," Mako resolutely closed her fist around the money, "With this, I shall save you, Ryuko!"
Mako quickly stuffed half of her money into the appropriate slot of one of the washing machines, then enthusiastically flung open its door.
"W-Wrrt!" Ryuko tried to interject, "Crn't wr jrsht- hmmph!" Mako interrupted Ryuko's complaint by swiftly tossing her into the gaping maw of the machine.
"Hmmm... I've never ridden in a washing machine before," pondered Senketsu, "Who knows Ryuko, it might be fun."
"Yrr rrrn't hrlprng!" snapped Ryuko.
"Don't worry Ryuko! I'll crank the dial all the way over to 'Extra Gentle!'" Mako said as she absentmindedly cranked the dial in the opposite direction to "Ultra-Violent."
"Mrkr! Grt mr rrt rrght-!"
Mako slammed the door closed. "Gee Ryuko, you sure do seem excited to start this!" she obliviously cheered. Mako could just barely hear some of Ryuko's muffled cries, which she interpreted as exclamations of joy. She happily pressed the start button on the washing machine and peered into its see-through door.
Water quickly filled up the washing machine, and Ryuko was pretty happy to find that she didn't need to breath as a flattened person. The machine then gently began to rock its contents back and forth as gently as a mother rocking her baby to sleep.
"See Ryuko?" Senketsu said calmly, "This isn't so b-"
With a high pitched whir, the washing machine suddenly started spinning faster than the human eye can track.
"Woooaah!" Mako got up close to watch the pretty colors. "That looks awesome Ryuko! You're goin' so faaaaaast!"
Ryuko's response was too muffled by the water, door, and spinning to make out clearly.
As the minutes of the wash cycle ticked by, the easily entertained Mako was content with singing a song to herself as her best friend spun around at ludicrous speeds.
"Spinny spinny spin, I'm gonna fix Ryuko~! Spinny spinny spin, I hope she doesn't puke-oh~!"
After about 20 minutes, the machine dinged to indicate that it was done. Mako happily flung the door open to check on her friend.
"Aw man, that didn't fix you at all!" Mako pouted. "But hey, at least you're clean!" Mako dragged Ryuko's drenched body out of the washing machine. She rifled through her body, and, after some searching, found Ryuko's face amidst the messy pile of her. Ryuko and Senketsu's eyes were still spinning from the aftermath of the trip.
"Haha, you're so silly Ryuko! Guess we gotta dry you now!" Mako said as she patted Ryuko's face. Ryuko just sort of growled in response, knowing that nothing she could mumble would change Mako's mind. She simply accepted that she was about to take another ride through some heavy-duty clothing cleaning equipment.
Mako bundled up Ryuko in her arms and strained to lift her water-logged body out of the washer. Ryuko's body was so soaked that it added quite a few pounds to her, making it hard for Mako to carry her. "Nngh!" Mako grunted, "You really... need to... lose... some weight... Ryuko..."
"Hrrmph!"
"Never fear Ryuko! Even if... you weigh as much as a whale... I will never... ever... ever...! Give up...! On you! Hnnnggggggaaa!" Despite her arms nearly giving out, Mako managed to bring Ryuko over to the nearest dryer. She gave the last of her life savings to the machine, then opened it up and pushed Ryuko inside. She closed the door, unintentionally set the machine's dial to "Category 7 Hurricane," then collapsed on the floor and immediately fell asleep from exhaustion.
"She set it to the highest setting, didn't she?" Senketsu asked, despite being pretty certain of the answer.
Ryuko just sighed as she heard the dryer's machinery whir.
The machine began spinning about as fast as the washing machine, though this time it was more of a tumbling motion like a rickety amusement park ride. Intense heat blasted Ryuko and Senketsu from all sides, but it was more relaxing than burning. Like the washing machine, both wound up finding it oddly enjoyable by the time the cycle was completed.
Once the thirty minute drying cycle was done, the machine's buzzing woke Mako up. She sprung up as though she had been awake the whole time, then flung open the dryer's door.
"Ryuko! I'm so glad to see that you're back to norm- oh." Mako said with disappointment. Ryuko was still just as flat and sheet like as before, though maybe a little bit poofier than before. Senketsu, on the other hand, had been affected a bit more. In typical clothing fashion, he had shrunk a bit in the dryer. This resulted in him feeling much tighter around Ryuko, adding to the constantly-compressed sensation that she felt. Additionally, Senketsu's shrinking caused even more of Ryuko's skin to be revealed.
"Mmmmph..." Ryuko moaned, both relieved and disappointed that the ride was over.
Senketsu agreed, "You can say that again! You need to take me here again some time, Ryuko!"
Mako stuck her hands into the warm pile of Ryuko to fish her face out of the bundled up mess. "Aaah! You're so warm Ryuko! Like a heated blanket!" After some digging, she finally located Ryuko's face, which was flushed and bore an expression of utter relaxation.
"Mrrr... Rh hrr Mrkr..." Ryuko lazily mumbled.
"Hey Ryuko! Do you feel any more... three dimensional?"
"Nrt rrrlly."
"Aw, c'mon! Not even a lil' bit?"
"Nrpe."
"Dang it!" Mako pouted, "What am I gonna do?"
"Drn't wrry, yrr grt thrsh..." Ryuko reassured. She was still in a bit of a daze, so she wasn't nearly as concerned as she might have been otherwise.
Mako's eyes welled up at Ryuko's half-assed encouragement. "You really believe in me?" she sniffled,"If that's the case, then I won't rest until your back to normal! There will be no breaks in my quest-"
Mako's stomach rumbled loudly enough to scare a bear away.
"Man, I'm starving! Let's get home Ryuko!" Mako pulled Ryuko all the way out of the dryer and hugged her tight. "Mmm, you're so soft and warm Ryuko!"
Mako was unintentionally squeezing Ryuko's face into her boobs, so all Ryuko could respond with was a very muffled "Mmmph!" Mako didn't seem to notice this, and instead just happily cuddled up to Ryuko for a few seconds.
"Oh, I have an idea!" Mako declared.
Ryuko responded with an optimistic and curious "Mmm?!"
"Just gimme a sec here..." Mako proceeded to unravel Ryuko a bit, only to fold Ryuko over her own body multiple times. After a couple minutes of rearranging, Mako took out a clothes pin from seemingly nowhere and clipped it onto Ryuko. The flattened girl had now gone from bed sheet to makeshift dress. Mako had actually done a pretty good job securing Ryuko into a dress-like shape over her other clothes, all things considered.
"Wow Ryuko, you're so cozy! Who knew you were an amazing friend, an amazing fighter, AND an amazing dress!" Mako excitedly remarked. "Plus, this'll make it much easier to carry you home!"
"You hear that Ryuko? Maybe we're more similar than we realize," Senketsu cheekily added.
"Mmmmrrrrr..." groaned Ryuko, her face still firmly planted against Mako's chest.
Mako walked back home wearing Ryuko, much to Ryuko's embarrassment. She was just grateful that her face wasn't on the outside so that no one would recognize her as a piece of clothing. It didn't exactly help that Mako kept trying to talk to her, eliciting some strange glances from the people of the town. Still, despite the embarrassment, being worn as clothing somehow felt... right. It was as though somewhere deep inside she was yearning to be clothing. She huffed to herself and tried to push those thoughts aside.
Mako walked into her house just as her mom was finishing dinner. "Welcome back, dearie!" Sukuyo practically sang, "You're home awful late! You got the kotatsu [Google it] all cleaned at the laundromat, didn't you?"
"Gghk!" Mako froze in place. She quietly panicked to herself and Ryuko, "Oh no! I forgot that I was supposed to spend my life savings on cleaning the kotatsu! How are we gonna eat!?"
Mako's mom continued, "Because you know, dinner would be totally ruined without the kotatsu. It really brings the whole family together, some would argue even more so than the food. And it would be all your fault. But I'm sure you got it done, right sweetie?" Sukuyo was just as innocent as ever.
"Ahahahaha," Mako nervously laughed, "Yeah mom, it's all totally taken care of, no problem, lemme just set it up, don't look behind you or anything!" Mako quickly slunk to the dining room before her mom could see her.
"Oooooh maaaan! I can't believe I forgot that I had to clean the kotatsu! What am I gonna do?!" Mako pulled her hair and ran around the dining table.
Ryuko just couldn't stand the sounds of Mako being so stressed out, so she spoke up with some advice, "Jrst trll the trrth, shr'll rnderstrnd!" Ryuko had come a bit loose in all of Mako's running around, so her face was no longer so pressed up against Mako's boobs. "Rrrlly, rt's nrt rbrrt thr krtrtshr, rt'sh rbrrt sprndrng trme wrth frmrlr-"
"What was that Ryuko?! Use you as the kotatsu?!"
"-rnd thrt's thr mrst rmprtrnt- W-Wrrt! R drdn't srr thrt!"
"That's a brilliant idea Ryuko! Since you look like a sheet already, you'll pass off perfectly as the kotatsu! But, are you sure you don't mind making up for my mistake?"
"WHRT?! R DRDN'T SRR RNYTHRNG LRKE THRT! R DRDN'T RVRN RMPLR RT!"
"Oh Ryuko, you're so brave and self-sacrificing! That's what makes you so cool! You've even gotten super excited about it!" Mako was jumping with joy at this point, assuming that Ryuko was just chomping at the bit to get a chance to act as the family's kotatsu. Mako ripped Ryuko off of her and folded her up so that she would fit nicely on the tiny dining room table. She left Ryuko's face on top of the pile.
"HRR! MRKR! LRSTRN TR MR! HRR!"
Senketsu just gave a resigned sigh. "Something tells me she isn't going to listen to us..."
Mako then placed the table top on top of Ryuko and Senketsu, sandwiching them between the two pieces of wood. Ryuko continued complaining from her position, but she was too muffled to be heard unless Mako put her head close to the table.
"Perfect! No one will know that I wasted the kotatsu-cleaning money on cleaning you instead! You're even all soft and fluffy like a kotatsu!" Mako clapped her hands and grinned to herself.
"Dinner's ready!" Sukuyo came in carrying a plate of freshly made croquettes.
"Oh boy, dinner!" Mako's dad Barazo, brother Mataro, and dog Guts burst into the room, ready for a hearty meal. Sukuyo slammed the huge bowl of croquettes directly onto the center of the table, causing an imperceptible twitch in the Mankanshoku family's new kotatsu. They happily scarfed down their dinner, eighty percent of them completely unaware that Ryuko was under their noses the whole time.
Eventually, dinner began to slow down as the Mankanshoku's started to finally get full. They were so hungry that they hardly even thought about anything other than the food in front of them, so now was the typical time for them to talk about their days.
"Hey, I just noticed somethin'..." observed Mataro, "Ryuko isn't here! Where the hell is she?"
Mako spoke through a mouthful of food, "Oh, Ryuko's right here!" She grinned with stuffed cheeks as she held up a corner of Ryuko for them to see.
The rest of the Mankanshoku's stared in bewilderment.
"... Ack! I ratted myself out!" Mako threw her hands up in the air upon realizing that she gave away her plan.
"Are you bein' serious, Mako?" Barazo asked. He quickly pulled on Ryuko, swiping her out from between the two parts of the table like a magician pulling a tablecloth out from under some glass.
"Nmmf... Hrr rvryrne," Ryuko said with an embarrassed smile.
"...Is this a practical joke?" Sukuyo asked.
"Man, you guys are weird," commented Mataro.
"Guts!" barked Guts.
Mako sighed. "I-I spent the money trying to fix Ryuko! She got smashed by a baddie, and I put her through the washer and dryer at the laundromat to try and fix her! I cleaned her instead of the kotatsu! I confess! I did it! I'm guiltyyyyy! Waaaaah!" Tears erupted from Mako's eyes like a dam had just burst.
"Uh, it's really not a big deal Mako," Mataro said.
"Yeah sweetie, family is much more important," Sukuyo added, "Besides, Ryuko made a great replacement for tonight's dinner."
"Ya didn't have to make poor Ryuko here our kotatsu! We could have just used the dirty one!" Barazo said.
"Wow!" Mako said, looking directly into the camera, "I learned that it's bad to lie! Hooray!"
"Anyway," Barazo said, "If you wanted to fix Ryuko, you could have just brought her to me right away. I am a back-alley doctor after all."
"..."
"OMIGOSH!" Mako burst out, "I didn't even think of that!"
Barazo held Ryuko up over his head with one hand, "Don't worry Ryuko, I'll get you back to your voluptuous proportions in no time flat! Heh, get it?"
"H-Hrld rn! R'm nrt srre R trrrst yrrr mrdrcrl trchnrque!" Ryuko stammered out, remembering a line about Mako's dad killing more patients than he saved.
"Never fear, I've never messed up an un-flattening procedure! I've also never done an un-flattening, but there's a first time for everything!" With that, he proudly marched to the back room where he completed all his doctorly duties.
"Rt lrrst lrt mr wrrte my wrll frrst!" Ryuko cried as she was taken away.
The rest of the Mankanshoku family peacefully chatted about their days as various strange sounds came from the back room. About thirty minutes later, Barazo came out of his office, followed shortly by a fully restored, entirely 3D Ryuko.
"Hey, not bad for your first un-flattening!" Ryuko happily congratulated, "Though the part with the bike pump was pretty awkw-"
"RYUKOOOOOO!" Mako cried as she flung herself onto her friend, knocking her down to the floor.
"Gah! Jeez Mako, at least let me walk around a bit," Ryuko laughed.
"Omigod I was so worried because you got crushed by that big old iron and you were like a sheet and I couldn't figure out how to fix you and I thought you were gonna be stuck as nothing but a big blanket!" Mako rubbed her face against Ryuko's chest and cried.
Ryuko gave her a sweet smile. She was ready to be mad at Mako for using her as the kotatsu, but seeing Mako care so much melted all that resentment away in an instant. "Aw, I'm sorry I worried you like that Mako. I promise I'll never let it happen again! And tomorrow I'll show that Randori bitch what's up! You can count on it!" She could tell that Senketsu was trying his hardest not to cry at how much Mako cared about them.
Mako looked up at Ryuko. "Okay! If you say it won't happen again, then it won't happen again! Though you did make a pretty comfy dress!"
"Yeah... Let's just... Not talk about that ever again."
"And you were pretty good as a kotatsu!"
"Mm. Let's not talk about that one either."
"Ryuko, there's still some leftover croquettes for you!" Mako's mom helpfully pointed out.
Ryuko beamed a smile at her, "Awesome! I'm starvin'!"
"Hey Ryuko," Senketsu interrupted.
"What's up?"
"I'm sorry. When I saw those irons, they just looked so tempting that I froze up," he sighed, "I... I lost my way."
Ryuko put her hand on Senketsu, "Don't worry, we'll get her next time! Besides, after getting ironed, I can't really blame you for wanting it. Now let's get some dinner and get ready to kick her ass tomorrow!"
Senketsu would have smiled if he had a mouth. "Right. In fact, I think I might have a plan for next time..."
