Best Friends

After finishing the mock battle and a bare-minimum strategy meeting with Shaina…

I was once again visiting Shaina's house.

Teleport was wonderful. Going over there, coming back here, moving freely as often as I liked.

I wished Earth had teleporters too. Mostly I'd probably just use one to sleep until the last possible moment and then instant-warp straight to my classroom.

Even told "you can go anywhere in the world," I didn't have a passport or anything…

Anyway, back to the topic.

After taking a bath at Leone's inn,

"Come to think of it, there's a hot spring bubbling up right near my house."

That was Shaina's suggestion, so I'd come to soak in it.

"Oooh…"

It was a nice natural hot spring. The temperature was just right. Oh… for a Japanese, this was irresistible.

Well then, time to enjoy.

The water was milky-white, kind of nice-looking.

… Sorry, I wasn't well-versed enough in hot springs to write a proper report on one.

But somehow it felt good, and my skin seemed to be going smooth, sort of.

It was probably a good hot spring.

"Phew…"

While soaking… I let my mind drift over today's events. The S-Class meeting… and then the mock battle with Shaina.

What I was thinking about was the mock battle with Shaina.

… I'd lost.

That, more than I'd expected, had done some damage to my heart.

No, I knew. Six versus three, I wouldn't have lost. Three versus three, it couldn't be helped that I couldn't win.

Shaina had climbed all the way to S-Class with just three — a three-person-battle expert, said to be mid-tier among three-only setups, or even on the upper end of mid-tier.

That we, as we were now, had lost to a Shaina like that wasn't really something to regret all that much, maybe.

… But honestly, it was a shock. Losing never got easier, no matter how many times. You probably weren't supposed to get used to it.

Honestly, the gap in ability was stark.

Of course, now that we knew her hand, if we built from here — thinking about attributes, formation, all of it — there was definitely a path to victory.

But Garumon battles were all about the first encounter.

Once you lost, no excuses.

"… Aah…"

Frustrating…

The gap between Shaina and me… it had to be the number and quality of skills.

Take Adelia, for example: easy to see. I always had her use a small set of powerful skills, with almost no skill-choice flexibility.

Shaina's group, on the other hand — Divine Arts and Demon Arts were a given. The other skills they had were specially useful, the kind you'd intentionally pass on Divine/Demon Arts to keep. Their skill loadouts were thoroughly considered and powerful.

Ursula's group was the same. From several options, they could properly choose a skill.

That was the gap between us and Garumon that had fought several years in S-Class.

Until we closed that gap… we'd never hold up against the top tier of the S-Class tournament.

Beating Caios and grabbing S-Class 5th was a dream of a dream.

And beating Leonhart-san and telling him "it's okay now" — even more so.

How far away was that…

"Uuu…"

Buku buku buku…

For a moment, my vision went dark.

… No good. Losing left me down.

It was better than feeling nothing after a loss and grinning like an idiot, but slumping pointlessly hard was no good either…

I didn't really want my companions seeing me like this, so I'd come out alone.

…Chapu, chapu…

Just then, a sound of water.

Someone had followed? When I looked over…

"Fufufuu. Looks like you've been awestruck by my skill, eh, Naoto-kun."

Jabu, jabu…

So she said as she approached — it was Shaina.

… Hey, this was the bath right now.

Naturally, Shaina was naked.

Her white skin and pink nipples on full display, her large breasts swaying purun, purun as she approached.

The penis at her groin was at half-mast, the tip drooping slightly.

"Shaina…"

"Yeah, it's Shaina!"

She said it playfully, then sat down next to me.

The water was milky-white, but it wasn't completely opaque. This close, the moonlight made it show through plenty.

Shaina's beautiful large breasts were on full display.

… Was she not minding it, treating it like guy-to-guy?

Well, if her sense was truly a guy's, then maybe…

Even so, my penis was beginning to harden.

"Yeah, you're right. Shaina's skill… was strong."

"Well, three on three, there aren't many Masters who can beat me. No need to be down.

"… I mean, I'm three years your senior even with all this, you know? Getting beat and then getting depressed — I find that a shock the other way around…"

Shaina was the one looking down now.

"S-sorry. But losing never gets easier, huh. It's always frustrating, and I always think 'I will absolutely not lose next time.'

"… As expected of Shaina, you noticed what I was bottling up inside."

"That's because I'm a Master too, you know. The frustration of losing — I know it real well.

"You might not want consolation from the one who beat you, but…

"You don't want to show weakness to your companions, right?"

… Ah, it was comfortable.

Shaina was kind, easygoing… and somehow we just clicked.

There was no one else who got me like this.

For Shaina, I really did… feel some kind of comfort I hadn't felt before.

"… Thank you."

"Mm."

Shaina smiled. So cute.

"I can't stay down like that. Getting a glimpse of the height of the peak I have to aim at is honestly something to be thankful for.

"… For now, if everyone reaches Shaina's level, we'll at least be able to put up some fight against the upper tier, right?"

"Hoh, casually saying that, are we.

"… But yeah. If it's Naoto, you'll reach about my level pretty soon.

"Anything I can do to help, I'll do."

So Shaina said.

"Eh, that's… you mean another mock battle?"

"Of course. Anytime, I'll take you on."

This one match, even though we'd lost, had been a wonderful experience for me and for the three of them.

A chance to borrow a chest from someone of higher ability was something you'd pay a great sum to get, and Shaina's offer was something I was truly thankful for.

"Really, thank you, Shaina."

"It's fine. We're friends, aren't we."

So she said. Shaina looked embarrassed… It seemed making a friend like me had made her happy too.

Shaina had said she'd approached me to get stronger herself. But that was also incredibly useful for me getting stronger…

I was really glad she'd come.

I'd said it a few times, but for me, trusting someone wasn't convincing myself I wouldn't be deceived.

"If this person deceives me, if it's for their sake, then good" — being able to feel that way was what trust meant to me.

For me, Shaina had already reached that territory.

In this short time, already…

"… I love you, Shaina."

I confessed that frame of mind honestly.

"Eh…"

Kaaaaa…

Shaina turned red.

"E, ah, ah… um… e, eeto…"

Shaina stammered.

… Huh? It kind of sounded like a love confession?

"Um, just to clarify… as a friend, I mean…"

I caved and tacked on the explanation.

"… Eh?"

Shaina froze for an instant…

"A-aah, aah, as a friend, yeah, r-right! Yeah yeah! I love you too, Naoto!"

Shaina played it off like that.

Hmm, surprisingly, was there a pulse? But still…

This best-friend relationship — in itself, it felt nice.

Of course I wanted to have sex with Shaina too. Hard. Right now if I could.

But even if I couldn't… my friendship with Shaina felt valuable enough to suppress that ulterior motive.

"W-well, one week to the decisive battle. This me will lend you a chest, so lean on me good and hard!"

Ponyun!

So she said, slapping her own breasts.

Her breasts went ponyun and bounced.

"… Thank you. If I can borrow such a wonderful chest, that's a hundred-strong reinforcement."

Pito…

So I said, and casually, freely, I touched Shaina's breasts.

Fuwari…

Naturally, Shaina's breasts were wonderfully soft…

"Nn, hau…"

Shaina shivered, pikun, and let out a sweet breath… Ugh, with this casual guy-to-guy atmosphere, suddenly showing off as a woman — that was unfair.

My penis stood up even harder.

"A, ahaha… w-well, we're Master to Master. I-it's fine. If breasts like mine are okay, I'll lend them as much as you want. Here, here, knead my breasts."

Shaina laughed it off and started kneading my chest back.

"Ahaha! That tickles, geez…"

If she was going to do that, it became easier for me to touch too. It was that kind of thing, right — touching across the male-female divide.

I touched Shaina's breasts.

"Nn, ha, a…"

Pikun, Shaina reacted sensitively. No sign of reluctance…

"… E, ehehe… I… well, best friends… Carla's already my lover… Shita's also my lover…

"And I don't really have other friends, so a best friend — Naoto's my first… and only one. I'm happy you're my best friend…"

So she said, and held my hand in place.

… Not to stop me from touching her breasts, but gently, like here, please.

"… Shaina, is your heart really a man's? … Um… honestly, I find Shaina really attractive.

"… But, if being hit on by a guy is really gross and unpleasant to you…

"I'll bear with it.

"Being thought gross by Shaina, that's what I'd hate more…"

"… Naoto…"

Shaina thought it over.

"I… I don't really… know either.

"Until now, there've been mountains of men hitting on me.

"… But honestly, every one of them, I thought 'no thanks.'

"… The only one I thought 'this one's special' about was futanari Carla. Shita I love, and other girls don't gross me out either.

"So the ones I liked were futanari or girls, and… my heart was a guy's, that's what I thought.

"… But if it's Naoto… it's not so much… not gross at all… maybe…"

"Shaina…"

"B-but even so, that doesn't mean we can have sex right now!

"Wh-what I really like is having sex with cute girls, and doing it to or being done by cute futanari girls.

"Being done by a guy is the exception of exceptions!

"Y-yeah. If you can beat me 3 versus 3 in a mock battle, then… then I, it'll be okay. It's a promise. How? Motivating?"

"… Insanely so."

"Ahaha! That's good. Then it's fine. You'd better get strong, Naoto!

"For me to get strong too!"

So she said, playing it off.

"… B-but um… t-touching breasts, that's… f-fine.

"Because, well, we're guy-to-guy, right? Even girl-to-girl, touching breasts is normal, right? So between guys, touching breasts is normal too, right?"

T-that, was it though? But sure, between same-sex it was fine to touch casually…

Whether two guys would actually do that aside…

Between me and Shaina, it might be fine.

"In exchange, I touch too… Heh heh. You've got more chest muscle than I'd thought."

That tickled…

"Ahaha. Then, Shaina's breasts… let me touch."

Munyu, puni, munyun…

"Hau, a, a, aah…"

When I kneaded her breasts…

Toron, Shaina's face melted. She looked so good it made me happy.

Of course, for me too, her thick, full breasts filled my palm and felt really good.

At first she was kneading my chest back in retaliation, but eventually Shaina's hands stopped, unable to bear the pleasure.

… Cute.

… Both of us had penises rock-hard and erect.

While kneading Shaina's breasts, I pinched the stiffened nipples between my fingers.

"Hyu! … a… t-this far… is, this is too far…"

"Ah, was that unpleasant? Sorry…"

Going after the nipples was too much, huh?

"… I-it's not that it's unpleasant… but…"

Shaina was struggling with it.

"Sex is on hold until you can beat me… so any further…"

So she said.

"Mm, got it."

I avoided the nipples and limited myself to gently massaging her breasts.

"Haa, aah… Naoto…"

Shaina kept accepting my hand in a daze, indefinitely.

"Mmm."

Shaina was troubled.

"What's up?"

"… No, I'm wondering if maybe I'm… a bit homo too."

"… Ahaha."

"Heey, that's not a laughing matterrr."

Well, whether you were homo or not was tied to your identity, so it wasn't a laughing matter.

"But futanari Garumon are Garumon too, right? Being held by a Master is the original form, no?"

"Not really. Master-exclusive futanari Garumon sometimes refuse to let anyone else have them.

"I love Carla, and I love feeling good, so having sex with Carla I didn't agonize over.

"But sex with other Masters… that's… by my read I'm fundamentally homo…

"And I should hate it… I should… but I don't… Being done by Fergus was the worst, too…"

"Shaina… if you really hate it, I'll bear with it. Shaina, you're wonderfully attractive and I really want to, but… I'd hate it if Shaina hated it."

"… I-I'm troubled because I don't hate it, I keep telling you… aah, geez, a-anyway, sex is on hold until you can beat me! … U-until then I have to prepare my heart, sort out my feelings… uuu…"

So Shaina was agonizing.

… A best friend. The special relationship I'd finally been able to make in this world.

Naturally I wanted to have sex, but for now… I felt like I wanted to enjoy this relationship too.

All right — from here until the decisive battle, one week. With Shaina helping too, I had to stack up serious training.