When Faye finally found his breath again, the world felt… denser.
Quieter.
Like something fundamental had been rearranged and then sealed shut.
He sat wrapped in a light robe at the edge of the sanctuary, knees pulled close, eyes unfocused. Whatever had happened in the steam and heat had burned away his naïveté without fully answering his questions.
He wasn't broken.
He was activated.
The old softness was still there, but now it was threaded with restless energy, a need he didn't yet know how to manage, awakened by what he just experienced... .
And Taru's presence, just existing nearby, made his pulse jump with the memory of his dominance..
Shin noticed immediately.
The hyper-awareness.
The way Faye's attention kept drifting—curious, flustered, drawn.
The dangerous assumption that desire was something you simply let happen.
Shin sat beside him.
Calm. Grounded. In control.
"Listen to me," Shin said gently, but firmly.
"What you ran into isn't indulgence. It's instinct. And instinct will hurt you if you don't learn how to meet it properly."
Faye nodded too fast.
"I... I want to learn," he said quickly.
"I don't want to… lose myself again."
Shin's expression softened.
"Then you won't," he said.
"But you'll listen to me. Always."
In that moment, Shin stopped being just a companion.
He became warden.
And mentor.
Shin didn't teach through touch.
He taught through understanding.
How Saiyan dominance wasn't cruelty, it was gravity.
How Taru's needs weren't about excess, but release and grounding.
How presence, positioning, confidence, and breath mattered as much as anything physical.
"You don't meet a storm by lying down," Shin explained.
"You meet it by becoming something it can move around instead of through."
Faye listened rapt, blushing, asking questions that betrayed both curiosity and fear.
Too many questions.
Eventually, one slipped out that made Shin pause.
> "How do you… not pass out?"
Faye asked, mortified.
"When he..... when that kind of pressure is on you?"
Shin raised an eyebrow.
Then smiled, slow, knowing, almost smug.
> "That," he said, "comes with time. And preparation."
Faye's ears burned.
Taru said nothing during all of this.
He stood apart, arms folded, aura carefully restrained but not absent.
He watched Shin guide Faye with patience and authority.
And something heavy settled in his chest.
This was no longer just instinct finding an outlet.
This was responsibility.
Dominance wasn't about taking.
It was about what happened after.
Who remained standing.
Who needed guidance.
Who changed because of him.
For the first time since becoming non-governable existance , Taru felt the weight of choice press back.
"If I pull others into my gravity…
I don't get to pretend I don't shape them".
That realization didn't weaken him.
It refined him.
By the end of the cycle, the sanctuary felt different.
Tighter.
Charged.
Faye hovered near Shin constantly, eager, restless, clearly struggling to reconcile what he wanted with what he could actually handle.
Shin, for his part, remained composed but amused.
And Taru… Taru felt the pressure building again.
Not uncontrollable.
But potent.
Directed.
This wasn't an ending.
It was a configuration.
Later that day.
Shin called the trio together in the sanctuary. Mist hung heavy in the warm air, and the faint resonance of divine ki pulsed from both himself and Taru.
> "Listen carefully," Shin said, voice firm.
"Taru will always dictate the terms of engagement. That includes combat and… personal matters. You will respect his presence and boundaries."
Faye shifted nervously, absorbing the weight of both Shin's authority and the palpable aura of Taru nearby. Shin's hand rested lightly on his shoulder not for comfort, but to ground him.
> "And you," Shin continued, "will focus on learning everything you can. Every technique, every method to maintain strength, and how to support a Saiyan like Taru without becoming a liability. The stronger you are, the safer you are."
Faye's eyes widened. The responsibility pressed in but it was thrilling. Shin's voice carried calm authority, guiding, commanding, and reassuring all at once.
Taru's Deliberate Dominance
Taru's aura thickened, radiating control and intent, even in small movements. In combat, every strike, block, and feint carried precision and psychological weight—teaching Faye to anticipate, adapt, and respect his power.
Outside battle, the same tension lingered: in posture, gaze, and proximity.
Even in the hot springs, the three of them shared the space. Mist curled, muscles glistened, and the unspoken dynamic of dominance was thick in the air. Faye could feel the pull of Taru's presence like gravity, an overwhelming pressure mixed with fascination and desire. Shin's hand occasionally brushed Faye's back, steadying him, reinforcing boundaries and safety, while Shin's eyes watched Taru's movements with a subtle, private amusement.
> Shin thought quietly, It's… intoxicating, the way he commands him. I've never seen such precise dominance exercised with instinct and respect.
The lessons were never explicit. They were felt, observed, absorbed. Faye learned to navigate the weight of Taru's aura, to read subtle cues, and to prepare for whatever the Saiyan would demand next, without needing to be told.
Over the following days, Shin became a patient but exacting mentor:
Techniques to channel ki safely and efficiently
Methods to enhance stamina and reflexes
Guidance on supporting a Saiyan in combat, anticipating shifts in strength, and minimizing risk
Faye was clumsy at first, overwhelmed by Taru's lingering aura, but slowly grew more capable. Every success made him more confident, less vulnerable to the sheer presence of Taru and the intensity that radiated from both him and Shin.
Shin emphasized:
> "Understanding your own limits and mastering your body is how you survive. And if you survive, you can serve, support, and even influence outcomes."
A few days later, after intense training, Taru called Faye to sit beside him. His voice was calm, deliberate, both commanding and curious.
> "Tell me about yourself," Taru said. "Why you chose freedom over duty. What led you here."
Faye's heart raced. He wasn't sure if Taru's tone was inspection or interest or both.
As Faye began to speak, Shin watched quietly, allowing the space for Taru's aura to dominate while also ensuring Faye's safety. Shin could feel the subtle tension between them, the pull, the push, the implied hierarchy, and the intensity of attraction, without letting it cross into the physical.
> Shin thought, This is what I wanted to see, control exercised deliberately, discipline mingled with instinct. And yes… it's thrilling.
Faye hesitated at first, then slowly began to share, each word punctuated by the weight of Taru's presence. The heat of the hot springs nearby, the closeness of the two most powerful beings he had ever met, and the implicit unspoken expectations made every confession feel like walking across a precipice.