With Misla inviting him to come and teach the children a second time, Vahn once again found himself encircled by more than thirty attentive gazes. The presence of Riko, Nanachi, Mitty, and Prushka reminded him that he needed to visit Faputa, but before that, he spent fifteen minutes walking the children through the same exercise as the day before and an additional two hours observing the teen group's flight training.
"Damnit! Take...off...already...!" growled Bonney, her intense focus and frustration causing a vein to bulge in her forehead as she managed to get the ground around her to bend away from her as if pushed by a powerful wind but failed to get off the ground.
"You need to relax..." said Vahn, resisting the urge to reach out and place his hands on Bonney's sides from behind as he explained, "Tensing your body causes the flow of energy to become muddled because it gathers in your muscles to reinforce them. This isn't reinforcement training. Focus on your breathing and envision each breath you take flowing through the top of your head, down the center of your body, and through the soles of your feet..."
"Grrrrr..."
Though she quite literally growled, Bonney did her best to follow Vahn's instructions. The vein in her forehead didn't completely disappear, but it became significantly less prominent. She also stopped sweating buckets, reducing the rate at which she was depleting her stamina.
Moving on from Bonney, Vahn couldn't help smiling when he saw Prushka posed with her eyes tightly closed and her hands balled into fists at her sides. More notably, her fluffy and feathery ears were flapping, producing a fair amount of wind but ultimately failing to get her off the ground.
"Same advice," said Vahn, extending his left hand to tousle Prushka's soft and fluffy hair as he added, "Bukujutsu translates to Sky Dancing Art for a reason. Imagine yourself as a fairy dancing gracefully in the wind. It's not about exerting yourself, but being free and fluid with your movements..."
"Alright! Prushka will do her best so she can dance through the sky with Papa Two~!" exclaimed Prushka, balling and shaking her fists excitedly as Vahn exhaled a slightly strained chuckle, wished her the best, and moved on. Nanachi happened to have a potent Earth affinity, so he likely wouldn't be able to fly any time soon. Mitty, on the other hand, had an inordinately potent Fire affinity, causing the pressure radiating from her fluffy body to feel warm and smell fragrant, reminiscent of freshly dried, slightly starchy laundry.
"Nnaaaa...this is impossible..." muttered Nanachi, looking despondent as he pointed out, "Rather than getting lighter, I feel like my body is getting heavier..."
"That's because it is," affirmed Vahn, causing Nanachi to deflate like a balloon before he chuckled and added, "But that doesn't mean you won't be able to fly. Rather, back in the world that Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy originate, most of the people able to fly are powerful practitioners of Doton, Earth Release. Once you master channeling your energy, you'll be able to manipulate your weight and personal gravity to make your attacks stronger or your movements faster."
"That's amazing, Na-chan...!" exclaimed Mitty, promptly discontinuing her training to tightly hug and nuzzle a flustered Nanachi. The two had been a couple for years at that point, but while they were like a pair of magnets in private, Nanachi was easily flustered in public.
"M-M-Mi-chan! You're making a scene...!" cried Nanachi, becoming teary-eyed as the upper half of his face curiously glowed bright pink despite the fact he was covered in fur. Bonney directed a half-lidded, withering stare their way, but as lashing out at them for making a scene would be making one of her own, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and did her best to focus through the disturbance.
'I should remember to praise her later...' noted Vahn, nodding approvingly before leaving the fluffy duo to observe Riko. She had spent most of the previous day practicing, even after they had dispersed, so while she had yet to achieve flight, wisps of pale gold and green would periodically rise from her body as she stood with a straight but relaxed posture and closed eyes.
Since Riko was very clearly in the zone, Vahn nodded a second time and suppressed the impulse to extend his hand to caress her head. After her, he had to raise his gaze to the sky, where Wendy and Carla were working together to try and tag Dizzy. As Mages with potent Wind affinities and a considerable amount of experience flying, they had already mastered the basics of Bukujutsu. Dizzy had heard about the training the previous day, so at Jack-O's suggestion, she volunteered to help out and possibly make friends with children older than Lupheria, Lastia, and Rihoko.
Seeing Dizzy with a happy, slightly mischievous smile on her face as Wendy and Carla exerted themselves trying to catch her, Vahn couldn't help but adopt a smile of his own. He had been slightly worried when she and Jack-O chose to live in a small cottage away from everyone else, but her willingness to assist with the flight training suggested she was slowly but surely breaking out of her shell.
Though he was briefly tempted to fly up and join the trio of girls, Vahn turned his attention to Fran, Ghislaine, and the group of Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy. All six had succeeded in externalizing their life essence as a flame-like, color-coded aura that reflected their respective elemental affinities, but since they were so accustomed to empowering their bodies, they were habitually saturating their muscles—making themselves denser and, consequently, heavier. On a positive note, their strength, speed, and durability had increased by an entire order of magnitude, causing them to feel lighter and drastically increasing their physical capabilities at the cost of depleting their stamina.
Disregarding the standoffish and slightly wary frowns Kakashi and Asuma adorned, Vahn approached the group—his attention primarily focused on Ghislaine and her newly acquired, curiously white slime biosuit as he remarked, "You're focusing too much of your energy into reinforcing your body. That's useful when attacking or receiving a blow, but as a seasoned warrior, you should know that mobility and evasion rely on relaxation and explosive movements."
"Could you provide a demonstration...?" Ghislaine asked, her expression and tone bordering on monotonous, but her contrasting green and brown eyes were focused and attentive.
"Of course..." responded Vahn, nodding before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose, and slowly regulating the flow of energy in his body until he levitated from the ground. Contrasting his example from the previous day, there was no fiery golden aura or powerful wind surging away from him. He simply rose from the ground, producing a faint, pulsing fwish fwish fwish.
Opening his eyes, Vahn explained, "What I demonstrated yesterday is the first step to achieving Bukujutsu. Mastery involves decreasing the amount of energy needed to achieve and sustain flight as much as possible. Once fully mastered, moving through the air will be as natural to you as walking or running along the ground."
To demonstrate his point, Vahn moved from side to side without needing to change the position of his body. He still had a long way to go to master the technique, but compared to those present, he was a hawk to a bunch of boulders.
"Thank you for the demonstration," expressed Ghislaine, bowing her head low and respectfully—prompting Fran to do the same. Kakashi frowned at this, but as it was technically the proper etiquette considering Vahn's very lofty position, he didn't say anything...
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With two hours passing in the blink of an eye, Vahn enjoyed a meal with the three Parties before accompanying Dizzy to the cozy cottage she and Jack-O shared in the forest on the opposite side of the plunge basin. The layout was identical to their previous cottage, but the bathroom had been expanded, and a small garden had been set up with transplanted tomato, potato, leek, and strawberry crops from the Black Tower.
"No matter how you change, certain things remain the same..." remarked Jack-O, smiling cattily as she lay face down, inverted atop Vahn's body as he caressed her sides and admired her flawless bottom, clad in the same white slime biosuit as Ghislaine but fashioned to resemble her form-fitting leather bodysuit.
Despite their somewhat compromising position, Jack-O and Vahn had no intention of having sex. The former was simply most comfortable with her top down and bottom up, her soft and exceptionally round breast pressed to his bulge, but her attention on a technical manual that would cause the average person's brain to melt.
"If a day comes where I'm no longer fascinated by the perfection that is your entire body, just end me on the spot..." joked Vahn, leaning forward to gently nuzzle Jack-O's slit with his nose. Doing so caused the slime in his way to retract and eventually part, exposing her hairless and currently dry pussy for him to tentatively sniff before making his tongue rough and licking where her clit was hidden.
"Mmn...I'll keep that in mind..." responded Jack-O, casually turning to the next page in the manual. She didn't actually need to read to absorb the information recorded on each page, but she enjoyed taking her time and admiring everything from the author's penmanship to their artistic ability. The manual in question had been penned by Shaka, Dr. Vegapunk's aspect of Good, and while its contents were nothing to write home about, she found the notes he crammed into virtually every margin amusing and insightful.
"If you don't mind my asking, have you decided what you want to focus on or accomplish during your stay here...?" asked Vahn, caressing Jack-O's abdomen with his thumbs.
"Not really," responded Jack-O, wagging her butt enticingly from side to side as she appended, "I've considered substituting for Misla once she gives birth, but I prefer doing things at my own pace. Children are cute, but they require individual care, focus, and attention. Dizzy, Lupheria, and Lastia were easy, but I'm not entirely certain I have the patience to teach comparably ordinary or needy children."
"Someone as smart and beautiful as you can do anything they put their mind to," asserted Vahn, extending his tongue to lap up the trickling fluid from Jack-O's pussy before adding, "But you shouldn't force yourself for mine or anyone else's sake. If need be, I'll take over for Misla. If not me, there are plenty of others they can learn from..."
"Mmn...maybe I would be better off taking on an apprentice..." considered Jack-O, the images of Lastia and Rihoko appearing in her mind. Lupheria's intellect wasn't lacking, but the other two were like sponges when it came to absorbing and utilizing new information. With a dedicated teacher, they could become mages, martial masters, or experts in their chosen field in a few short years.
"Whoever you choose would be exceedingly fortunate..." affirmed Vahn, punctuating his words by extending an inordinately long tongue to probe Jack-O's insides. The fleeting thought of her taking on a male apprentice bothered him, but only for a moment. Any male apprentices she accepted would almost certainly develop a crush on her, but it wasn't like he wasn't accustomed to feelings of envy and mild resentment.
'Maybe I should take on an apprentice...' contemplated Vahn, prompting quite a few, mostly young female faces to flash across his mind. Another option was teaching his impending children, but that might prove difficult as most were girls, and his wives already had detailed plans in place for their education. Rias was expecting him a son, but with seven sisters and many beautiful mothers, Vahn knew his adorable little Valcas was going to be doted upon tremendously.
'So much to consider...' thought Vahn, closing his eyes and going to town on Jack-O. She eventually reciprocated by repositioning and giving him a blowjob, but after that, they relocated to the bath to soak and relax for a half hour. Not because they had grown weary of sex but because Jack-O was highly conscious of the new life that had recent taken root in her womb and wasn't willing to risk a mishap...
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