**2/2**
**12k out of 140k book**.
Chamada’s voice cut across the Arena in a howling shout.
“This is it! The first round of the finals! BEGIN!” Chamada shouted.
Claire immediately dashed from his place on the sand towards his opponent, Gregor the Bold lifted his pillar and swung it low to the ground sending a wave of sand up into the air. Claire swung his sword at the wall of sand, and the force of his swing was enough to cut it horizontally, just in time for Gregor’s pillar to appear through the empty section of the sand wall and start its terrifyingly fast journey towards Claire’s head.
Gregor’s arm suddenly began moving much slower for some reason, and it gave Claire enough time to leap up into the air and twist over the pillar, only just clearing it in time. His sword had already begun to glow a bright red before he had even left the ground. Claire touched down and, with a swing of his sword, unleashed a wave of fire that smashed into the sand and overran it in an instant.
Gregor brought his pillar in front of him, suddenly finding it easier again, and speared it into the ground in front of him. The fire split into two around the pillar and traveled the entire way to the arena walls turning two long furrows of the sand to glass. Gregor raised his pillar as the fire vanished and hefted it onto his shoulder, suddenly grunting at the effort again, and Claire jumped backward with two small hops, which carried him fifteen meters away.
“Running away, huh?” Gregor called with a boisterous laugh.
Claire gave the man a charming smile but didn’t say a word, as his sword began to glow, first faintly white, and then deepened to a light blue, and when it darkened and began to crackle, Gregor’s eyebrows shot upon his forehead in alarm. Gregor immediately began to sprint towards Claire, somehow struggling with the weight of his pillar.
Lighting and earth were the two magics that Shin himself could perform with some degree of control, so he immediately knew which type of spell Claire was channeling into his sword. Lightning Magic, it the obvious choice for fighting someone who was wielding a giant metal conductor. If Gregor discarded his weapon, then Claire would enter melee with the advantage of being armed with a longsword, and if he didn’t, then he would stay back and blast the man with lightning magic that would be unblockable with the metal pillar. A simple but effective strategy that didn’t leave much room for Gregor to move. Either he lost his weapon and fought a losing battle, or he tried to tank the damage. If Gregor had lightning magic of his own, he might have been okay, but this didn’t seem to be the case.
Judging by the distance that Claire had opened and the speed at which he had done, it seemed pretty clear what the outcome would be. It also hadn’t escaped his notice that before the battle, Gregor had been tossing his pillar around with zero effort. N*ow* he was struggling to hold it up with no apparent cause.
Claire had done *something* to weaken Gregor’s strength attribute somehow.
Shin wondered what the exact effect of the ability he was using was though, Gregor *seemed* overall weaker and slower when Claire could *see* him, that much he had managed to figure out at least. Once again, Tato was correct, as he generally was. Regardless of the much higher physical capabilities that Gregor had, he was going to lose this battle.
Despite it all, Gregor *almost* managed to get to Claire before a crack cut through the air. A blast of crackling energy slammed into Gregor’s pillar, the energy raged for almost fifteen seconds before it disappeared, and Gregor howled the entire time, thrashing wildly but refusing to drop his pillar until finally he was left panting on the sand, smoking and blackened, and unable to hold his pillar up any longer, but still somehow conscious.
Claire placed his sword at Gregor the Bolds’s neck, and Gregor let out a booming laugh.
“Claire Aristide wins!” Chamada shouted, and the cheers of the crowd rocked the Arena.
Shin found himself yelling along with them.
In a display of sportsmanship, Claire held out a hand to help Gregor to his feet, and the larger man took it with a smile before clapping Claire on the back and lifting his pillar seemingly without effort once more. Gregor waved to the stands before tossing his pillar around again as he exited the Arena, and the crowd’s cheers followed him the entire way out while.
Claire gave his wave and headed for his own gate, and there was an intermission before the next bout was set to begin.
Shin sat back in his chair in wonder, was that all there was to these fights?
It *looked* impressive, sure, and there was some sound strategy at work. Claire was an amazing swordsman, but he had barely used it during the fight, other than to direct his magic attacks towards Gregor.
“You don’t look too satisfied, Shin?” Tato asked with a knowing glint in his eye.
“You didn’t like the fight?” Mai asked quietly, watching him.
Shin thought for a moment before responding.
“I guess not? This was more up your alley Tato. Claire had already figured out how to beat Gregor before he even stepped into the Arena.” Shin said thoughtfully.
Mai was studied his face closely as he spoke.
“It was more a display of well-executed strategy than combat prowess,” Tato summarised his thoughts perfectly.
Tato knew him too well.
“The few times he used his sword, it was with perfect form and efficiency,” Mai said nervously, wondering if they would shoot her opinion down in flames.
“You’re right, Mai, Claire, no doubt, has amazing physical skills.” Tato said easily, “Shin is just sad he didn’t get to see more of it because he wants to figure out how he would match up to him.”
Mai snapped her gaze back around to Shin.
“Really?” Mai said quietly.
Shin felt a heat in his cheeks and turned his head away from them.
“Of course not, I’m years away from reaching attributes on his level,” Shin pouted, still facing away from them. “Give the three of us a couple of years, and we could *all* crush him.”
Tato whispered something into Mai’s ear, and she suddenly hooked her finger into his side of his mouth and pulled his head back to face them. Shin was so shocked at the sudden fishhook attack that he clamped his teeth down on the finger in his mouth, trapping it.
Tato started laughing at his shocked expression still on his face, but Mai was staring at his mouth intently. Shin felt her tug her finger a few times, but he didn’t let it go, and when she looked up and met his eyes, he ran his tongue over her finger. Mai’s cheeks grew red, and he let her retrieve her finger after he licked it a few more times first.
“I can’t *believe* you would stick a finger in me,” Shin said slowly.
Tato snorted and spoke up when Mai was unable to respond.
“Uh-huh, and that’s a clear setup for a ‘sticking-your-finger-somewhere-in-Mai’ joke,” Tato said dryly, killing his joke before it had even left his mouth.
Mai looked at Tato with wide eyes.
“How could you! My poor joke, cut down before it’s time.” Shin said sadly.
Tato bent down a bit and whispered something else into Mai’s ear, and he squinted at them again. They had united against him, it would seem. Shin was just happy to see his friend enjoying himself. Being stuck in the hospital all of the time had ground down Tato’s energy to almost nothing. This was almost like he had borrowed some of the energy from the crowd, and Tato’s eyes were bright, alive, and sharp, in a way, they hadn’t been for *months*.
Chamada’s voice cut through the crowd to announce the next match, and it was just as entertaining as the first one. Claire Aristide ended up winning the entire tournament, and hours later, once all of the fights had finished and the crowd had screamed itself raw, Claire stood in the middle of the Arena alone.
Chamada had congratulated him before the glass panel switched back to showing King Victor. Not much had changed in the King’s box, other than Alexander looking much more intoxicated. The man was laughing uproariously at something Grimmur said to him, and the smaller man had a wicked smirk on his face.
Cynthia was now sprawled in her seat, looking like she had been poured into her throne, and was currently staring curiously over at the throne that was separate from the rest, where Hannah still sat by her lonesome.
Victor looked annoyed, but he spoke up in the same cold tone he had started the day with.
Shin wondered if that was how the man sounded all the time. Did he roll out of bed sounding like that? He honestly felt terrible for Queen Hannah if that was true.
“The Tournament of Kings has ended, and our champion has emerged.” King Victor said coolly, staring down at Claire.
Claire fell to one knee before bowing his head, and one of Victor’s eyebrows raised in curiosity.
“You have fought long and hard, noble warrior. I do hope you have a wish in mind.” King Victor said curiously.
Claire spoke, and his voice was being carried across the Arena with the same magic as before.
“I do, your grace,” Claire said clearly, still in a kneeling position.
“Speak your wish, champion, and I will grant it.” Victor Cloudhall said evenly.
The crowd held its breath, and Shin’s mind raced to think of what he would wish for in Claire’s shoes.
It wasn’t a magical wish, and some rules went along with it, you couldn’t ask to be made King, you couldn’t wish death upon someone, you could not ask for additional wishes, the wish had to be something that *could* be granted, so no wishes for immortality, or godhood or to destroy the kingdom. *Everything* else was fair game, and the King of the hosting kingdom was oathbound to fulfill it lest he or she be stripped of their titles.
Claire remained where he was for a long moment before speaking loud and clearly.
“I wish to become a member of your King’s Guard, your grace,” Claire said calmly.
The crowd cheered and hollered at the wish, but King Victor raised his hand, and the crowds slowly quietened down.
Shin wondered why on earth you would waste a wish on that, just go challenge the strongest of the King’s Guard to a friendly duel and crush them. They would have come begging for Claire to join them after *that*.
Was this some kind of Noble nonsense? King Victor lowered his hand.
“To serve the king as a member of the King’s Guard is a great honor.” King Victor said pleasantly, sounding almost pleased by the wish. “Make sure you remain worthy of it; your wish is granted. Rise, Claire Aristide, the newest member of the King’s Guard.”
Claire rose to his feet. The crowd went wild, but Shin couldn’t help but notice that Tato had the strangest look on his face.
“What’s with that look? Not what you’d have wished for?” Shin asked him curiously.
Mai was studying Tato’s face closely, but he didn’t respond right away; instead, he thought for almost a minute before he nodded thoughtfully.
“Not at all, it seems like a waste of a wish to me,” Tato said evenly, but the lilt in his voice indicated he was leading up to something. “There are numerous ways to join the King’s Guard if you have the strength.”
Shin nodded in agreement, having thought the same thing.
“What would you have wished for then?” Shin asked again.
Tato nodded seriously before making sure he met both of their eyes one after another.
“It’s quite simple, really, I’d wish to fuck the King’s wife,” Tato said evenly, with a completely straight face.
Shin gaped at him for a moment, unable to believe what he had heard before while Mai let out a startled gasp and covered her mouth with her hand, which tipped Shin over the edge, and he found himself laughing so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes. Mai found herself getting pulled into the moment, and almost a minute had passed before they were spent. Tato was actually crying now and rubbing at his eyes with a smile, while Mai was still giggling and thoroughly flushed down to her chest. They slowly pulled themselves together and found that they were the only people left in their section of the Arena. People had long since started threading their way down the stairs and out of the Arena.
The Tournament of Kings was over once more.
“Oh, god. That was the single funniest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” Shin wheezed, still sprawled in his seat.
Tato laughed once and thumped the armrest.
“Don’t remind me, if I start laughing again, I’m a goner,” Tato said, sounding strained.
Despite the words, he was still fighting to keep the grin off his face.
“Naughty, Tato!” Mai admonished him before she descended into giggles again.
Shin’s smile stretched wide, and he forced himself not to start laughing again. Tato had *never* said anything like it in the entire time he’d known him. It sounded more like something *Shin* himself would have said to shock them. To hear it come from the serious, soft-spoken, and reserved Tato, it had hit them both for funny critical damage.
“We should get back soon before the nurses send out a search party,” Tato said happily.
The nurses already knew where he was, Shin had cleared it with them beforehand just in case, and they had told him that as long as he was just sitting and watching the fights, he would be fine.
“Mm, it’s starting to get dark anyway,” Mai said distractedly, with her finger in her mouth.
Shin couldn’t help but note it was the same finger she’d stuck in *his* mouth earlier. The three of them quickly got setup again with Tato on Shin’s back, and they climbed back up to the rooftops and started moving slowly back to the hospital. The sun was dropping slowly out of the sky, and it was beautiful, a great view to ending the day with.
They reached the roof that Shin had hidden on that morning, and Mai leaps across first and opened the window before disappearing inside. Shin followed a moment later, landing lightly on the windowsill and carefully slipping inside, making sure not to bump Tato into anything. Mai had already dragged a pair of chairs over and pressed them right up against the bed, and they helped Tato climb back in.
Shin excused himself for a moment and slipped out to talk to the nurses, assuring them that he was perfectly fine and nothing had happened. He chatted with one of the younger ones for a while about the fights. She had had to work through them, what rotten luck. Shin returned to the room and sat in the free chair next to them.
“I told Mai about the book,” Tato said quietly, once Shin was seated.
Shin nodded unsurprised—they had talked about telling her multiple times before, and now was as good a time as any.
“Sorry, we should have told you earlier.” Shin offered.
Shin leaned over to her and dragged her out of her chair and into a hug hoping she wasn’t too mad, and Mai squeaked as she fell into his lap.
“Had to make sure you weren’t some kind of sexy ninja trying to seduce us for our dark secrets,” Shin said with a laugh.
Shin let her got after a moment, but she didn’t move from her spot on his lap, and Tato laughed at the comment.
“Are you *sure* I’m not a sexy ninja trying to seduce you two?” Mai said softly, tilting her head back to look up at Shin.
“The only thing I’m *certain* of is that you’re not a ninja.” Shin snickered.
“Shin!” Mai said in embarrassment
“You didn’t see that one coming, Mai?” Tato said, amused.
They had spent so much time together that Tato almost always knew what he was going to say before he said it, and sometimes, he used this superpower to cut Shin off at the legs, backing Mai up. Still, other times Tato would insert his own little jokes in to tease Mai a bit, much to her embarrassment.
Shin could never tell *which* was coming, but it never stopped him from taking the risk. Mai sometimes managed to surprise them *both*, suddenly landing something without *any* setup or saying something lewd that would shock them after they needled her long enough.
Mai raised the arm that wasn’t trapped by Shin and brushed a handful of hair away from her eyes, revealing her embarrassed face before she reached out and poked Tato in the chest, but he managed to keep his serene smile on his face, thinking himself untouchable.
“When I dropped by here, a different time than I normally do, I definitely saw *someone* coming,” Mai said quietly.
Tato’s mouth dropped open in shock, and his face went red, and then she dropped her hand to rest on Tato’s thigh.
“I-*You*-That *didn’t* happen!” Tato insisted and pointed at Shin quickly. “*Shut up*!”
Tato shut him down before he could even open his mouth.
“*Don’t* even think about it,” Tato said embarrassedly.
Shin looked down at her in complete awe as Mai made a loose fist with her free hand and shook it a couple of times up and down tauntingly. Shin swallowed at the gesture and felt a twitch in his pants, and Mai twisted slightly in his lap almost straight away before she sat back against his chest, mind over matter instantly failed him.
“*Stop* that!” Tato demanded, cheeks bright red. “I’ve never done that in the morning before, *ever*.”
Mai was on the attack; apparently, they had picked on her a little bit too much today, and this was payback time.
“I never said it was morning,” Mai’s said innocently, and Tato was left staring at her in disbelief.
Shin watched his friend’s destruction and knew that there was no way that Mai couldn’t feel him pressed against her at this point, but she hadn’t said anything, so she might have thought it was his belt strap or something running down his thigh. Tato pulled himself together a moment later with an embarrassed grunt and tried for a recovery, but Mai shut him down without mercy.
“The little noises were cute,” Mai admitted softly and moved her hand slightly up his thigh.
Shin marveled at her ruthlessness, he could still see that her cheeks were red, but she was still attacking despite her own obvious embarrassment. Tato just sat in shock, unable to think of something to counter her as he stared down at the hand on his thigh as it slowly slipped under the thin sheet covering Tato’s legs.
Shin decided he had better help out his oldest friend, so he took in a breath, preparing to throw himself in the line of fire, but Mai’s other hand suddenly dipped down between her thighs and brushed against his dick. The illusion of stealth that he had managed to build for himself was shattered into a million pieces as he felt her hand curl around and grip his dick gently through his pants.
Shin swallowed.
“You’ve both gone quiet,” Mai murmured as she slipped her hand inside Tato’s gown and encircled his dick with her fingers beneath the sheets.
Tato made a little gasp when she tightened her hold a little.
“Nothing to say?” Mai wondered aloud.
Mai trailed her fingertips across Shin’s length, and Tato let out a small gasp when Mai started to stroke him with a featherlight touch.
“I had a dream like this once,” Mai mumbled embarrassedly, the silence getting to her a little.
Shin decided to man up and took another breath, and Mai’s hand tightened on his dick immediately, but he leaned into the attack and put his mouth to Mai’s ear before he slid his left hand up under her skirt and found the seam of her pants. Shin snuck his hand down into her pants and slowly slid his fingers in between her thighs.
Mai leaned back slightly to look up at him, and he could see one of her eyes peeking through the curtain of hair.
“You’re the quiet one now, Mai,” Shin mumbled into her ear, and she tightened her hold on him.
Mai let out a small, breathy noise as he ran his finger slowly down her, Tato swallowed as he watched them, his breathing hitched, and Mai hadn’t stopped the motion of her hand at all.
“What happened next in this dream of yours?” Shin murmured, loud enough for Tato to hear.
Tato’s nervous eyes met her own lidded eyes, and Mai managed to hold his gaze while she stroked him.
“Depends on which dream,” Mai confessed softly.
Shin slipped his other hand up Mai’s stomach, sliding it under her shirt, searching upwards, and Mai pushed down to grind down into his lap. She still hadn’t stopped gripping him with her other hand and was lightly rubbing him through his pants. Shin gripped her chest tightly, and Mai made a small noise before ducking her head for a moment.
“Pick one,” Shin whispered into her ear.
Mai made another small noise and used her fingers to pinch the material of Shin’s pants, tugging on it gently but refusing to say anything.
Shin swallowed again—she wanted him to take his pants off.
Mai moved the sheet on Tato’s lap and revealed her small hand curled around his dick. Tato let out an embarrassed noise but made no move to cover himself. Shin used the hand that was up Mai’s shirt to hold her against his chest as he slowly stood up, and Tato was staring up at them with wide eyes, and Mai gripped Tato tighter, drawing out another small noise. Shin pulled his hand out of her pants before reaching down and tugging his own pants down, and Mai pressed back on him immediately, wiggling her ass.
Shin threaded his hand up out of the neck of her shirt and wrapped it gently around her throat, applying no pressure, and she arched her back when he put his mouth to her ear again.
“What’s next?” Shin whispered, and she made another small noise.
Shin slipped his hand back into her pants and gently motioned his finger over her clit, and she ground her hips back against him. Mai took the hand that had lost contact with him when he stood up and tried to tug her own tights down and failed. Tato watched Mai intently from the bed, as her fingertips still played with the head of his dick.
Mai made a small noise.
“Nuh-uh, you have to say it,” Shin teased quietly.
Tato must have heard because the corner of his mouth twitched up, and Mai saw it.
Mai immediately leaned forward and gripped Tato tightly before she gave him a series to fast tugs. He let out an involuntary groan at the sudden assault. Mai mumbled something too soft for Shin to hear, so he leaned his ear down to her mouth and pressed slightly harder with the hand between her legs.
She got the message and repeated herself.
“You bend me over onto the bed,” Mai whispered, barely audible.
Shin slipped his hand back out of her tights and took a moment to work them down a couple of inches before he pulled the front of her skirt up, and Tato’s eyes snapped down between her legs. Mai let out a squeak and wriggled in his grasp, and Shin grinned.
Shin placed his free hand against Mai’s back and slowly lowered the hand from her throat out of her shirt to rest on her hip, he pressed gently against her back, and Mai folded forwards over the bed, bracing herself with her free hand on the bed, the other still wrapped around Tato. Mai’s face ended up inches from Tato’s own, and she glanced away for a moment before meeting his eyes and speeding up the motions of her hand. Shin tugged her tights down to her mid-thighs and pressed the head of his dick to rest against her, and she let out a small noise.
Tato’s eyes flicked up to meet his, and Shin touched a finger to his lip and then pointed to Mai. Tato swallowed and managed to meet her gaze again, and Mai studied his face wondering what he thought before Tato leaned forward and kissed her. Mai made a pleased noise and leaned forward into the kiss. Shin slowly pushed into Mai, watching as the head of his dick slowly vanished inside her, and he already felt the overwhelming rush hovering dangerously close.
Shin took a deep breath, waiting for the feeling to vanish.
Mai leaned forward eagerly into her kiss and then pressed back gently against Shin, and he barely survived the onslaught by clamping his hands tight on her hips and then gently easing himself into her, inch by inch.
“You are *way* too tight, Mai,” Shin said quietly, sounding strained.
Mai made a muffled noise into Tato’s mouth that was utterly indecipherable as he slowly slid into her. Mai pulled back slightly from the kiss and studied Tato’s flushed face, leaning forward to kiss him gently on the mouth before turning and looking over her shoulder at him.
Shin studied her for a moment; she clearly wanted something but didn’t want to say it, likely too embarrassed. Shin pressed the rest of the way into her, and she squeaked and ducked her head. Shin pulled back and slowly slid back into her, building up to a slow but steady rhythm. Mai kissed Tato on the mouth again before looking over her shoulder at Shin once more. Shin hummed thoughtfully before he realized what she wanted.
“I like this dream so far.” Shin breathed, feeling slightly embarrassed by the words.
Shin said them anyway because she was silently asking for his help.
“I think I can guess what happens next,” Shin said quietly.
Mai turned back around to kissed Tato again, and Shin did his best to work her shirt over her head. It ended up in a tangled mess around her arms over her head, and he had to hold onto her shoulder as she lost the use of both of them. Shin held her steady to keep her from falling forward into Tato’s lap. Shin worked, with a great deal of effort, both her trapped arms behind her back amongst the long sleeves of her shirt, and she made an embarrassed noise as her breasts hung free in the air below her.
Tato drank in the sight in front of him.
“Shin.” Mai pleaded.
Shin let her hang in the air for a long few seconds before she made another noise.
“Tato.” Mai tried again.
Shin lowered Mai down by her shoulder and arms to dangle over Tato’s lap before she suddenly took him into her mouth.
“Oh god,” Tato whispered, feeling his limit quickly approaching.
Shin kept his steady pace, pushing in and out of her, doing his best to keep himself centered, but every time he entered her, Mai would let out a muffled moan, and it was making it *very* difficult for him to concentrate.
Mai just kept on eagerly bobbing her head and moaning lewdly around Tato.
“I *can’t*-” Tato strained, swiftly approaching the point of no return.
Mai made a pleased noise, slipping her mouth off the head of his dick and rubbing her mouth down the side of his length, taking mercy on him. Shin wasn’t sure he could keep going for much longer either, so he gripped her shoulder tightly and then let go of her arms. Mai clasped her hands behind her back and kept them there.
Shin moved to the left and stuck his hand past his dick and between Mai’s thighs, but he had to slow down his thrusting to make it work, a strategic move to help *him* last the distance and ultimately dooming Tato in the process. Mai squeaked at the fingers brushing over her clit and immediately buried her face in Tato’s lap, and his dick throbbed dangerously in her mouth.
Tato gasped at the assault, the loudest noise any of them had made since they had started, and they all started to rush to the finish. Mai began to pull her mouth back to the tip of his dick and then buried her face back down in his lap without pause.
Tato reached out and gripped the back of her head as if to warn her, but she didn’t stop, and Shin could feel Mai’s thighs tightened on his hand as he sped up the motion of his fingers.
A shudder ran through Mai’s body as he pushed her over the edge, and she let out another moan around Tato’s dick as he came in her mouth, unable to hold himself back. Shin thrust several times at full speed and immediately came inside Mai with a series of convulsions, but he did his best to keep on fucking her until he noticed what was slowly starting to leak out down her thighs.
Mai hadn’t stopped shuddering and was still sucking noisily on Tato, and he was gasping and twitching with every motion, hands fisted into the bedsheets. Shin slowly stopped thrusting as he tried to catch his breath, while Mai slowly stopped shuddering and finally pulled her mouth off Tato’s dick with a wet gasp.
Shin panted above her and slowly let her drop all the way down until she lay with her head on Tato’s lap. Shin and Tato looked down at her silently for a long while, and Mai’s flushed face quickly became darker from the continued attention. Mai twisted her hands behind her but couldn’t escape the tangled mess Shin had made of her sleeves, so she buried her face into Tato’s lap, hiding from them, and Shin laughed at the sight.
Tato smothered his own smile, brushing his hand over her head gently.
“Why are you hiding *now*?” Tato mumbled, and Mai made a muffled noise that they couldn’t make out.
Shin was still buried in her, so he twitched his dick just to see what the reaction was, and Mai turned her body onto her side and looked at him, face bright red.
“You’re embarrassed.” Shin teased quietly.
She just stared at him in embarrassed silence, and Shin looked down at where they were still joined—Mai followed his gaze a moment later and swallowed.
“I really made a mess of you, didn’t I?” Shin confessed and slowly pulled out of her.
Mai’s eyes were locked onto the motion, and the result of their coupling rolled down her thigh into the sheets.
“I came inside, sorry,” Shin said sheepishly, feeling proud and guilty at the same time.
“So did I,” Tato admitted, “Is that usually how the dream ends?”
Tato asked the question quietly, sounding genuinely curious, and Shin snickered as Mai rolled over and buried her face back into the sheets with an anguished noise.
The three of them cleaned up the room and got dressed, and Shin snuck out for a moment to steal some clean sheets from an unoccupied room, making sure to dump the dirty ones in a bin on his way back.
Tato was once again sitting on his bed, looking much the same as he always did when he returned, with no sign of their previous activities. The bathroom door opened a moment later, and Mai stepped into the room without her leggings for some reason, and Shin couldn’t help but comment on it, seeing as he had *never* seen her without her legs covered before.
“What happened to your leggings?” Shin asked curiously.
Mai wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“They had cum in them,” Mai mumbled embarrassedly.
Shin felt abruptly guilty again; he hadn’t meant to ruin her clothing.
“I’ll buy you new ones.” Shin promised immediately, “Don’t worry about it.”
Mai nodded but stayed across the room from them both, standing awkwardly away from them, but Shin wasn’t having it.
“Hey, I don’t care much for awkward silences. Get over here and give me a hug,” Shin said cheerfully and held his arms out wide.
Mai approached slowly, and Shin swept her into a hug, lifting her off the ground when she came into his range, he mushed his face into her neck, and she finally cracked.
“Shin! Stop it.” Mai laughed.
Mai was smiling again, and the tension was broken, so Shin put her down and pushed her towards Tato, who immediately held out his arms, and Mai leaned down to hug him tightly.
“Nothing’s changed, don’t worry so much,” Shin said easily.
Tato nodded into her hair.
“Shin’s right for once.” Tato said wryly, “Nothings change Mai, don’t worry.”
“I’m *always* right,” Shin huffed before blinking. “Weren’t we talking about your list before sexy ninja woman ambushed us?”
“I’m not a ninja,” Mai mumbled embarrassedly but didn’t deny that she had been the one to initiate it.
“That’s right, the list,” Tato said, surprised, “I already explained about everything, more or less.”
Mai nodded and looked quietly between them, and Shin decided *now* was as good a time as any to finally voice the fear he had been hiding up until now.
“Tato, I’m worried about the distance and how strong the monsters are getting.” Shin said quietly, “Eventually, we’re going to reach a point where it’s going to take a month of traveling just to *get* there.”
“Not to mention everything above number seventy-four are all monsters that usually take teams to take on or kill.” Shin swallowed down his shame.
The three sat in silence after that, and Mai had a distinctly worried look on her face now, but Tato started laughing after a moment.
“I already knew that was going to happen, Shin. The distance problem can be solved by moving to Sigra, the capital city of the Clan lands. We can use that as the next starting point.” Tato explained easily.
Shin stared at him for a moment, having never even considered the idea of moving. It was so evident in hindsight, and Shin felt abruptly stupid even as he felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders
“I’ll come with you and help with the monsters,” Mai promised quietly, watching them through her hair.
Shin once again felt immensely grateful that they had met her.
“Thank you, Mai. We will probably need to recruit more people as well, though, selling materials or rare monsters for money would allow us to hire even more help.” Tato explained with a strange tone in his voice.
Shin watched him with a smile. Tato really did have a plan for everything, the only remaining fear was that they would eventually run out of monsters to hunt, that they might one-day exhaust all healing methods on the list, but *something* had to be able to cure the illness.
“What’s the next kingdom after the Clan lands?” Mai asked quietly.
“The Moon lands, we would be working out of Nightfall,” Tato said softly.
There was a small silence where everyone seemingly thought over the information, and then Tato spoke up.
“I’m sorry that I’ve become such a burden, Shin. I wish it weren’t like this.” Tato said quietly, voice barely above a whisper, and Shin almost flinched back from the words.
Mai watched them both carefully, staying very still and feeling as if she had intruded upon something not for her to see.
“Tato, you’re such an idiot, you aren’t a burden, and I *never* thought that you were,” Shin said seriously. “I’m going to find every single monster on this list, and if none of them work, I’ll go and find something in the forbidden lands that *will*.”
Shin said it with complete conviction, absolutely meaning every single word of it.
——————–
Three days later, Tato was dead, and everything fell apart.
——————-
**Authors Note:**
Hi! Tato’s List is a 140k original NSFW novel that takes place during a tournament arc. It is available over at **Amazon for $4.99**, or **Patreon at the $10 tier along with all my other work**. It was my first venture into the NSFW area and my only complete NSFW work, but I’m currently writing another NSFW story called Ameliorate, chapter one is live on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/Elbowsnapper) ($10-tier exclusive).
can find me on a bunch of sites; Spacebattles, FF.net, Wattpad, Royal Road, web novel, etc, but you can find my latest stuff on my Patreon. I spend most of my time writing original novels, but I also write a lot of fanfiction on the side.
My main project atm is Reroll, a free superhero webserial, about a man stuck in a time-loop. Chapter 17 is the latest and it’s available at [Reroll – A web serial. (rerollwebserial.com)](https://rerollwebserial.com/)
There is a *lot* of sex scenes in the full book, I kind of went a bit overboard, but it was a fun month of manic writing. Feel free to give me some feedback, constructive criticism, and spicy takes! Hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter!
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/kszgrk/tatos_list_by_elbowsnapper_nsfw_threesome_part_2