Toadette's Story

Chapter 40 - As Minh T. Wishes

I’d gotten so used to stinking people out that I’d forgotten it only worked with my flats. And without anything else to drive people away, I’d have to resort to the last technique.

“FIRE! FIRE!”

Not something to joke about, but that word forced the rest of these innocent people to flee the building. While they escaped, I returned to the back area, finding Minh T. stuffing the arcade’s bags like she would her own. And Captain Toad went from dominating the cashier to having his neck underneath the human’s foot. Ugh! We Toads and our stupid body strength!

After receiving his fifth or sixth stomp, Captain Toad finally used his head. Literally.

“GAH!”

Butting the cashier’s leg, the Toad shakily got onto his feet. And he was quick to the draw, reclaiming his baton and aiming for Illepacs’ body.

“Too slow!”

Right before the baton connected, the human ducked under and rammed into Captain Toad head-first. The sharp sound of crackling glass was like nails on a chalkboard. When the screaming abruptly ended, Minh T. and I waited breathlessly. To our fear, Captain Toad’s body lay in a sea of glass, and no tears streamed from him. He was stiff and unmoving from head to toe.

“Don’t panic,” I said, preparing to calm Minh T. before the situation could worsen.

“I’m calling the cops, you maniacs,” the cashier yelled, reaching for a wired phone.

“No, you won’t!” I popped off my slide and slapped Illepacs. Yet even when this pasty human took the blow, the phone’s bright dial tone continued. Well, time for more property destruction. Without a second thought, I ripped the cords out the phone, then pulverised it with my remaining slide.

“Heh, a little fight in you.”

Why wasn’t he phased!? Didn’t he get that my foot was shredding through his valuable hunk of plastic?

“They got the alarm,” he chuckled. “They’ll be here before you can even move.”

“Then I guess we oughta make out like bandits.” I revved for a roundhouse kick. “HAA!”

THUD!

Oh-no.

He caught my leg halfway through the kick and spun me into the wall. I immediately reached for his body—something to claw at—but in seconds, the jerk slammed me into the counter. Reminder that the counter had so much broken glass that it resembled an arctic cavern. Despite not being torn to shreds yet, Illepacs squeezed my neck like a toy. So even the act of screaming hurt badly.

“Think you mushrooms can destroy my arcade and get away with it?”

BAM!

The swift punch to my back forced a slow, agonising cough out of me. Followed by some whimpering as the damage fully manifested.

“Yeah, cry like a bitch,” he said, delivering blow after blow to my body.

BAM!!

“STOP IT!” With all my strength, I elbowed his abdomen. Now that the bastard had lost his grip, I finished that roundhouse kick to blast him into the wall.

Across the counter, Minh T. was blue in the face. “Let’s just go, Toadette!”

I nodded, taking a step forward.

SMASH!

Ah… Whatever struck me in the head was raining in several pieces. Little white chunks followed by a splash of water. A snow globe? This wasn’t the time to observe pretty particles, but the hits on my cap and back knocked all the wind out of me. Above me came breathing so hot, I’d swear a dragon was about to torch me.

“Forget the other guys coming. I’ll just save them the hassle.”

Seeing the shadows on the ground, I shrieked. In his hand was a long blade, and he’d fully swung back. My arms wouldn’t budge to defend me, and so I clenched my teeth in anticipation. If I survived, I’d have to watch the Star Festival over TV in a hospital!

“Don’t do it! Please!” Minh T. screamed.

BANG!

Where was the pain? Where was the blood that should’ve spilt out my cap? After that ear-piercing noise, my back crumbled under an enormous weight. Was this some chance to escape? I scurried away, then looked down to see… The cashier grabbing his chest, coughing violently.

But right below him, a river of blood grew darker by the second. Nope, nope! If I didn’t look away, I was gonna get queasy!

“EW! EW!” I checked my feet to make sure they were still pristine… Oh, thank the stars.

Minh T.’s eyes shrunk until they were nothing but pinpoint specks. But right at my side, still holding an arm up at Illepacs, was Captain Toad. Wow. I’d never seen a compact firearm so up close in Toad Town. Yet right now, the blue weapon emitted yellow smoke, and the aftermath was dying on the floor.

“You killed him.” Minh T.’s voice choked.

“Star Gun, dumb-dumb.” Captain Toad waved his weapon in the air. Waved it a bit too carelessly since he lined the barrel up to my nose. “But going for his heart might’ve been smarter now that you mention it.”

Then I heard the scariest sound. The sound of car doors opening and slamming right outside the building.

“They’ll handle him,” I said. I wriggled my toes into my slides and picked up what bags remained. Anything left behind would just have to stay. “Where do we go?”

“Back entrance.” Captain Toad ushered us in, locking the door and barricading it with any tool. Chairs, desks, remaining stock.

Unfortunately, we weren’t in the clear—not by a long shot. This was just a backroom, and the true exit was through another door. Worst of all, the hotel sat on the other side of this dirty city. Please don’t tell me we’ll have to run the whole distance. Especially with all these bags! Heck, I’d abandon the bags at this point just for safety.

“Alright, Minh T., put that brain to work.” Captain Toad hit her on the back. “You know any ways we can leave without them—”

“I never had to run for my life here! Why’d you break the counter in the first place!? We could’ve gone home without being criminals!”

He folded his arms. “Excuse me? So, I should’ve just let him disrespect you and play us? Both of you just sat there. At least I did something.”

“And where did that something get us?” Her voice deepened. “Trouble follows you like a dog, idiot. This is exactly what I was talking about.”

“Say what you really mean.”

She stomped her foot. “You don’t know how to use your head!”

“I don’t see YOU dealing with serious decisions every week! You just play with girly flowers all day, gorging yourself like the pig you are!”

SMACK!

Captain Toad yelled out in frustration, grabbing his cheek. Minh T.’s panting got echoey as she let the heavy bag fall. And in seconds, the sliver of red came to light on the man’s face.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” he cried.

“Call me that one more time, you small-dicked psycho. I am not a pig!”

“Your hips didn’t get the memo. Nor your diet. Go back to the Li’l Oink Farm. The piggies miss their queen.”

CLANK!!

“Shut the hell up, both of you!” I startled both these babies with a powerful kick to a rusty pipe. Guess I had to play the role of peacemaker today. And in limited time, as these knuckleheads forgot we had cops breathing down our necks. Both were steaming at this point, with Minh T. terrifying me the slightest bit more. For her, resorting to violence was not, and should never become, normalised.

“Whose side are you on!?” Her anger reached an all-time high. “You think I’m some big pig!?”

I peeked out the exit door for a brief scan of our surroundings. So far, nobody was back here yet. So now I directed my voice to the Toads.

“I think you’re both wasting time right now. So calm down before I leave both of you behind.”

Was I really going to abandon them? No. As Her Highness stated, all of us represent her when we get into trouble, so I would’ve been just as guilty.

“I’m sorry.”

To my shock, Captain Toad was the first to get that out. And even more surprisingly, I detected no spite in his voice. On the contrary, it was as if I scared him into becoming a little girl with how soft he sounded.

He looked at Minh T. for a few seconds, then gave her a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“I know. I know!” Minh T. pushed him off of her, picking up the bags. “I just wish you stopped dragging me into chaos every time we go out! I don’t like insulting you, either.”

I got why both were angry. Captain Toad was an asshole, no doubt about that. But in this situation, we were getting scammed by this arcade runner. If there was any time to use violence, now was appropriate since we were owed these. However, calling Minh T.’ fat’ was a thin-veiled way of telling her to kill herself. And since she wasn’t a fan of hurting people, of course she’d be stressed hanging around this guy. How many other violent situations did he put her through?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Open this door, or we’ll use police brutality!”

“Just go to the back! The back!” The voice then mumbled something in a language I didn’t comprehend.

I stepped up. “We’re near some docks, but I don’t see a boat. I think we’ll just have to beeline for the subway and hope they don’t get us.”

“Oh! Wait a minute!” Minh T. shuffled through a bag, pulling out a blue mushroom. A Mini Mushroom! “Let’s all shrink with this, and they won’t see us getting to the train.”

“Not happening,” I said. “We won’t get THAT small, and we’ll be running for about a half hour or longer. They’ll grab us.”

“Unless…”

Captain Toad broke down a new plan. Rather than all three of us shrinking, he and I could reduce our size to ride Minh T. Even if she didn’t know this area’s layout perfectly, she’d still comprehend shortcuts better than we could. And furthermore, she was already accustomed to running in flip-flops, so she couldn’t trip like I would. The best part was knowing that this particular subway wouldn’t have another train coming for an hour. So as long as Minh T. made it on time, we’d be in the clear.

“What about cameras? Won’t they know it’s us?” I asked.

“I combed the building while you guys spoke with him. All these security cameras, and he’s not even using one.”

“We got 11 minutes.” Minh T. split the Mini Mushroom in half and forced the pieces into our mouths. “Don’t let go of the bags. They need to shrink, too.”

Chomp! Chomp!

Good news: unlike the Mega Mushroom, the Mini Mushroom’s body alteration isn’t as painful. It’s more like a poof than a bone-warping nightmare. And so, in ten seconds, the whole backroom turned into a city of steel skyscrapers. In front of us, one of the tallest objects of the bunch—with ten massive objects moving before our eyes. Huh. This was the second time this week I’d seen Minh T. larger than myself.

“What’s she waiting for?” Captain Toad asked.

Just as I wanted to tell him Minh T. would place us in her pockets, the girl turned around. And instead of grabbing us, she simply walked out of her flip-flops. Each step she made generated a tremor in each of us.

“All aboard!” she roared.

“We didn’t agree to go under your feet!” the frustrated captain screamed.

“Frankly, I didn’t ask. Come or stay.”

This may have been karma for Captain Toad, but I welcomed this experimental escape. I claimed her right foot, the one I’d licked spotless. One of the perks of this Mini Mushroom was that it didn’t shrink us to the size of ants or molecules. Instead, my body’s height matched that of Minh T.’s sole. So, as her colossal foot smothered me, my head received occasional light between her toes. It was like taking a car trip and seeing the light return and disappear when passing several trees.

Minh T.’s left foot absorbed Captain Toad’s whines. Knowing all the dust that covered it, it probably stuffed his lungs. Hehe. Hopefully, this girl could run comfortably with two Toads and a couple of bags pressed under her soles.

“Let’s go,” she said.

WHOOSH!

Whoa. Immediately, the escape plan took a horrific turn. Imagine, if you will, being at an amusement park. You go to one of those simulation rides for the thrills of being whisked around. However, instead of being upright, you’re taped to a bed. It’s the perfect way to describe being stuck under Minh T.’s feet as she walked.

Since the sky was still cloudy, greyer than a few hours ago, I kept my eyes open. After all, I didn’t have to be a foot vacuum cleaner, unlike a stubborn somebody.

And… Minh T. sure looked hot from this angle.

Whether it stemmed from her ultra-trashy outfit or the sheer size of those chubby cheeks, that tingling sensation in my groin returned. Although, it could’ve stemmed from the intense pressure her heel applies to my lower half. Emphasis on the word “intense”. Don’t think Minh T. would go gentle just because two living creatures clung to her flip-flops. Today, her mission was to run like she was on fire, and she did so at surreal speeds.

From a normal-sized perspective, I’d wager she wasn’t moving too quickly. But from a tiny perspective, this Toad converted into a sports vehicle. And we went along for the ride.

“Ey, there she is! Get her!”

BANG! BANG!

“They’re shooting at me!” she screamed.

After that cry, the foot pressure amplified. Damn it, Minh T. Why did the ball of your foot have to be so well-positioned on my chest? Every time she stomped me into the ground, her foot jiggled my breasts. Did I moan? Maybe. Okay, throughout most of this sprint, I couldn’t resist expressing audible pleasure. If I was gonna go to jail, I could at least have a good time beforehand.

Case in point, I stuck my tongue out, licking the wall that was Minh T.’s toe. The flavour may have been basic, but there was that addicting factor. And better yet, unlike at normal size, I could feel her essentially scraping her toe against my tongue. As a result, I didn’t have to do all the manual work. She could work her magic on my face.

“She’s headed for the subway!” a gruff voice shouted. “No!”

All of a sudden, the lighting switched. It went from greyish to orange, and I soon recognised the concrete ceiling pattern. The subway! Its dirty hue reflected on Minh T.’s skin.

The pounding on the ground destroyed my sense of hearing. It was so loud, and Minh T. stomped so fast that the universe warped into a disgusting blur. So I shut my eyes, retreating into the warm musk of her toes for comfort.

Sniff! Sniff!

It smelt like her regular feet. Her feet didn’t usually smell rotten, and I’d destroyed any odour earlier when I slobbered on her feet. But having the perimeter full of Minh T.’s aroma was both dreamlike and homely. If I had to live with her in her shop, this was the scent I’d wish to associate with her bedroom. With my eyes shut, I envisioned coming home to her, having her cook me something delicious, then planting her feet on my chest after bouncing out the shower. Mmm…

Toadette, you are a disgrace. Just a few weeks ago, you complained about smelling feet that weren’t drenched in lotion. Now, you want that pure naturalness with only a hint of beauty products. Well, what can I say? A foot fetish is a hell of a drug—even a super low-level one like my own.

Huh. The loudness persisted, but the deep pressure vanished. I opened my eyes, and Minh T.’s knees weren’t moving at all. Was it all over?

“Minh T.?” I forgot she couldn’t hear me at this size. Yet it was as if she did since she started to wiggle her toes all over me. OOH! The little noises made my heart skip a beat. And I didn’t mind making out with her toe in the meanwhile. Her middle one was about the size of my head if you include the cap.

Very quickly, I shot up nearly 100 metres into the air, finally landing in a seat next to Minh T. Just a few seconds late was Captain Toad, ending his voyage on her left flip-flop.

“You alive?” I asked, seeing him lie on his back.

“I declare war on filthy feet.” He dusted himself off, coughing. Hehehe! He looked like he had taken a bath in a coal mine! “But I’m alive.”

“Should’ve cleaned that foot better,” I said, making an “L” with my fingers.

Alright, time to get back to regular size. While I wouldn’t have minded camping on Minh T.’s flip-flop for about an hour, if someone else crushed us, there’d be problems. Bad news: Mini Mushrooms are not on a timer like the Mega Mushrooms. In order to reverse the effect, one has to eat the Mega Mushroom. I never understood why the Mini Mushroom lacked a time limit, but that’s just how these things work.

And since a Mega Mushroom was in the bag, I ripped it into pieces.

“Make sure you hold the bags,” I reminded Captain Toad. We both looked at the Mega Mushroom bits in disgust.

Chomp! Chomp!

Take a deep breath, Toadette. The pain won’t last— GAAAAAH! After the bubbling in my stomach, my bones cracked and snapped until I was regular size. My feet were the last to return to normal, and as soon as they did, I hunched over, sniffling. To my left, Captain Toad didn’t seem to be in intense pain. Aw, not fair! Probably his stupid training numbed him to its effects.

Several eyes were on us, but given the city we were in, people didn’t pay mind for more than a few seconds.

As we were all mentally exhausted, I saved my talking energy for when we made it to the Mushroom Kingdom Hotel. The trip back took longer due to some issues within the subway—notably, a Lakitu trying to fish on the train tracks. Just roll with it. That’s the only way to survive in this place. So, we spent three silent hours on this hot train.

“Knew this vacation couldn’t be so simple,” I said, slamming my bags in the corner of the room.

“I shouldn’t have taken us there.”

“That jerk’s in the wrong, not us. What are you blaming yourself for?”

She sat against the wall. “I could’ve come up with something else. Looks like I’m banned from that part of the city, too.”

“Probably for the better.”

Our heads cocked towards the door. How did he get in? He didn’t even have a key. Captain Toad shut the door, then waltzed to the fridge.

“From what I gather, they weren’t even Mushroom City cops. Firstly, while undercover cops exist, it’s unwise for a squad of cops to wear civilian clothing. Secondly, they didn’t appear to have handcuffs or any actual police cars on the scene. And lastly, Minh T., spell his last name again.”

“I-L-L-E-P-A-C-S.”

“Perfect. Now backwards.”

Well, that just spells Scapelli. What did that matter? It was one of those human last names. For some reason, Minh T. didn’t share my mellow reaction. She hid her face in her hands, then a loud yet muffled growl came out.

“Yep, I’m guessing that arcade’s a Scapelli business.” Captain Toad sipped a cup of water. “Probably thought spelling the name backwards wouldn’t draw attention to the lesser-minded.”

“Now I feel dumber, yay.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Who what now?”

“Scapelli. A crime family mainly known for plumbing. Far from the most powerful gang, but they’re rising. I know half their funding comes from the big man, Wario.”

“That waddling orc is still rich?” I chuckled. “Didn’t know you could fund gangs by ripping kids off with crappy video games.”

“You’d be surprised. Anyways, best to stay away from that area from now on. Not like we’d have to go there again considering…” And he pointed to the various bags.

Minh T. may not have been in the best headspace, but at least we could keep all these stolen prizes. It wasn’t the first time I broke the law in such a manner, but it was definitely the biggest score I’d pulled. And Minh T. earned a new pair of shoes! Finally, her feet would have proper protection from the outside world.

“Thank you. But…” She looked back and forth between us. “If I remember right, you two were supposed to do something special for me.”

“Come on.” “I should’ve knocked you in the head.”

As much as I didn’t want a guy’s foot in my mouth, I cared for Minh T. enough that I didn’t want to disappoint her. Especially after all she’d been through today, she deserved to see something she genuinely wanted. Admittedly, I wondered why she didn’t have us both lick her feet. But perhaps she guessed she’d get some action in the arcade. Or, just as likely, she saw this as a bonding activity between me and Captain Toad. Or heck, maybe the girl just wanted something to get off to.

“Can we shower first?” I asked.

“Please. If her feet are anything like yours, I want them bleached,” Captain Toad added. “And I still smell like your feet!”

Minh T. put her hands on her hips. “If you won’t do it right now, then I’ll let you two wash yourselves. BUT as an additional rule, you must bathe together.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I asked.

The answer was obvious. Anyone could see that she was interested in seeing me fully naked. Likely, she’d already seen this Captain Toad’s junk. Unfortunately, Minh T. trapped me between a rock and a hard place. It was either stripping naked before a guy or getting sick from his disgusting feet.

Splash!

“Are you getting in, too?” the male asked.

“I dunno. I wouldn’t wanna kill Toadette with both vagina AND penis.”

“Thanks for being considerate,” I said, making them laugh. Standing in the bathroom’s corner, I pulled my jeans down. After kicking them away, I threw my shirt to the ground, finally ending with the underclothing. Only now did I realise they had a perfect shot of my… My ass. And knowing that, I covered my pussy and spun around.

Big mistake.

Captain Toad was already sitting in the tub, so all I saw were his chest and above. But Minh T. took this a step beyond. She plopped right on the tub’s edge, exposing every inch of her body. Do you think she kept her legs closed? Use your head. Her legs were spread, giving me an uninterrupted view of her hairless slit.

What could I even say? She was putting on a promiscuous display for me—a show nobody asked for. Especially with how she thrust her hips.

“We’re ready, Toadette.” And she said that like a little girl, her signature sexy voice.

Since telling them to close their eyes wouldn’t change squat, I trotted to the bathtub and took the plunge. Only after submerging did Minh T. enter the warm, bubbling water.

Opposite to me, Captain Toad’s vision was glued to my chest. “Your tits are so—”

“I know they’re not big, thank you.”

“I was gonna say they’re cute, but sure, they’re tiny.”

Minh T. grabbed her own boobs and squished them together. “Boobies turn him on a lot, Toadette.”

I needed to speed up the cleaning process before things could reach maximum uncomfortability levels. I beat them to the soap bar, beginning to lather my body from top to bottom. Even with my lower half underwater, that feeling of apprehension never disappeared. Why were both of these Toads staring at me? Couldn’t they focus on their own genitals? Leave me alone.

But the more I scrubbed, the more pinkish bubbles rose to the surface. Therefore, the soapier I got, the more obscured my private parts became. I stopped rubbing the soap on my feet as soon as my soles got too slippery. Heck, getting the soap back above the water became a one-minute challenge that had these two chuckling again.

They acted like the incident in the arcade never happened, automatically turning back into friends.

“Here!” I flung the bar at Captain Toad’s cap. “Make sure you actually clean them.”

“Why do I get the feeling yours would smell worse than mine on any given day?”

“Ego. I know how my feet smell, and they’re not as disgusting as…yours.”

He was visibly thrown off by my slow response, yet that didn’t impede his soaping. In the water, someone’s foot was pressing against my own. And when I turned my head to Minh T., she looked straight into my eyes. At first, her face was neutral, like a girl staring at her crush in the classroom. However, when her toes ran along the side of my foot, a subtle smirk popped onto her face.

This girl’s mind games caused me headaches. Did she know I liked her feet? Or was she touching mine just to turn herself on? It wasn’t like it mattered much. No matter the explanation, I sighed at the smooth contact happening out of sight.

Captain Toad placed the soap on the tub’s edge. “Done.”

“Very good,” Minh T. said, lifting both our legs out the water. “Now get closer, both of you.”

“I don’t think we can get much closer,” I said, sensing my other leg pushing into his stomach. Probably a few inches away from his dick.

I grabbed his foot, eyes closed. “We just have to suck each other’s toes, right? That’s all.”

“Correct.”

Calm down, Toadette. They were just feet. Guy feet. Super gross, but you could do this one thing. At least they wouldn’t taste like anything. It’d be over in a few seconds.

It was like swallowing a giant pill. While frightening, you have to get it down your throat one way or another. I wouldn’t chicken out like a wuss. So, I opened my mouth as widely as possible, allowing Captain Toad’s foot to enter. Well, it TRIED to enter. My mouth welcomed the frist three toes without problem, but those other two required intense crunching to fit inside. In the background, Minh T. cheered me on, pushing my head and the foot closer.

“Do it, Toadette,” she giggled. “You too, Captain Toad.”

At that moment, my toes disappeared into Captain Toad’s moist mouth. Only the tips of them, as the A/C continued to blow on the bottom halves of my digits. Of course, Minh T. repeated the same operation with the guy. With words of encouragement, she forced my long toes down his throat, resulting in a gagging noise. With that noise came a heap of saliva oozing onto my toes. Yeah, clearly the captain had no desire to lick my feet, as his tongue refused to budge. It was just a bed for my toes.

However, my instincts commanded me to lick his toes. How could you suck toes without moving your tongue? And compared to mine, his toes were average-sized. A tad meaty like Minh T.’s, but his feet were rather vanilla. Not too big, not too chubby, but just right.

Hmm… Though I tasted some of the hair on the tops of his toes, nothing else was getting me closer to puking. What was going on?

“Okay, you can stop—”

SLURP!

Stopping? Why would I stop? Was Minh T. crazy? Rather than letting Captain Toad’s foot sink like a rock, I only switched the way I sucked on it. The toes finally got another breath of fresh air. But his foot received another tight suction slightly below the crinkly digits. Right on the ball of his foot, I rubbed my tongue in a circular motion. The flavour, for better or worse, was wholly neutralised. Nothing lingered but the taste of wet skin.

Maybe taking a bath wasn’t the smartest option. Then again, the poisonous odour from his feet would’ve deterred me from licking them in the first place.

“I think we’re done,” he said, attempting to regain control of his foot.

“Just wait!”

Opening my eyes, he and Minh T. watched in disbelief as I kept licking this guy’s foot. If I was watching myself, I’d probably have been weirded out with them. But despite being a male, Captain Toad’s foot was kind of…cute? The bottom of it. Seeing how his toes bunched together when his muscles tightened made me giddy on the inside. And as a result, I had to give them another sucking.

“Yeah, you cannot convince me you don’t have a foot fetish,” he said.

“What!? I don’t have one!”

“Jeez, Minh T., I’m talking about the girl who won’t let my foot out her mouth.”

“Well…”

Please don’t agree with him. Please don’t agree with him. Woman, do not agree with him.

Minh T. got closer to me. “She was hired as Her Highness’ royal footslave, so I think she’s just used to giving feet a deluxe mouth treatment.”

Phew, there were still some dark spots in her brain. I released his toes out my mouth to cut the conversation about feet short. I’d be a fool to let these two theorise about my foot licking as of recently.

“What she said. You should be grateful ’cause I could’ve ended at just sucking your toes.”

“It felt really slimy and weird, so I might’ve preferred that.”

I smirked, letting his foot submerge again. “We’ll see.”

Drying off led to some more awkward small talk about the event. Captain Toad mentioned that he’d never had so much foot action in his life before these past 24 hours. I joked that he needed to expect it when hanging around us, and like all good jokes, it was rooted in deep truth. I kept listening to Minh T., waiting for her to reveal the suspicion that I loved feet. To my satisfaction, I left the bathroom without hearing a peep of that.

“Guess we’re seeing you tomorrow?” I asked Captain Toad, who was leaving with a towel wrapped around him.

“I say we just let any heat die down for the moment. Stay out of trouble.”

“I don’t think WE need that advice, but sure thing.”

Minh T. rushed to him as he put his hand on the doorknob. What looked like a tackle turned into a hug. And then a kiss! Okay, awkward. Not a kiss on the cheek or something more platonic. No, she gave him a large peck on his lips. Don’t worry, there wasn’t any spit-swapping going on. It lasted a second, then Captain Toad headed out the door. Once locked, Minh T. sprung into bed with me.

Of course, she adopted her traditional position—the one I’d grown in love with. Having her feet on my pillows was like cuddling with stuffed animals. But this time, her feet had a river of wrinkles from the sizzling bath water. I couldn’t complain since their scent didn’t irritate my nose. Mmm… Lavender soap.

“Why does crazy stuff only happen when I’m with you?” Minh T. asked.

“Nobody said you had to be my friend. You made a deal with the devil.”

“And proud of it,” she chuckled. “Better a wild life than a strictly boring one.”

I inched closer to her dry feet. “That Captain Toad, how did you just forgive him so fast? I swear, the ability to stay mad at people is not something you were programmed with.”

“Look, he can be a pain in the butt. A real one. He’s almost gotten me killed more times than I need to count. But—”

“If you say you think you can change him…”

“Well, there’s that. AND when he’s not being rude, I have fun around him. Then there’s his cute looks, almost like an androgynous style. Plus, I’m not gonna refuse unlimited sex, Toadette.”

But being rude seemed like an innate part of his personality. To put up with that meant that Minh T. was flooding with mental endurance. Speaking of sex, though, she reminded me of that embarrassing fact. How was I 19 and still a virgin when she was the same age and could’ve had hundreds of partners? Not my world’s highest priority, but developing this foot fetish almost awakened my sexual urges again. Almost? No, I masturbated in a damn movie theatre. A moron could tell you I wanted some form of intimate contact.

Minh T. would deliver fine results with her feet, but at the core, I wanted male reciprocation. Maybe that’d be years from now, and I’d accept that. However, what I learnt today was to never question anything in Mushroom City. Anything and everything will happen.