After the two of them had opened up to each other…
A special atmosphere permeated the home; whenever the two met, the entire space seemed enveloped in a faint pink veil.
That pink hue didn’t truly exist where the naked eye could see, yet its presence could be clearly felt, born from the beating of hearts and unspeakable emotions.
The most obvious change was perhaps that the frequency of them sticking together had increased…?
Today, Mei sat by the dining table as usual, tightly cradling the “utterly adorable little kitten” in her arms.
Her gaze was as gentle as water, staring at the Little fellow in her arms with doting affection, as if she were the only thing in the entire world.
Holding a delicate small spoon, she gently scooped up a bite of food and brought it to the other’s lips.
Seeing her blush slightly but chew contentedly with a joyful exclamation, the smile on Mei’s face was one of great satisfaction.
She repeated this action tirelessly, without the slightest hint of fatigue, as if this were the sole source of joy in her life.
Nana: “I—I…
Mei!!!
*Dying of embarrassment*” Mei: “Hmm?
It’s not wrong though~ Nana really is just like a kitty~ So cute~ *Sincere*” Nana: “Guh…!” Nana’s heart was filled with doubt and confusion; she truly couldn’t fathom what had caused Mei to undergo such a massive change overnight.
Although she didn’t feel much aversion to Mei’s change—perhaps it even appealed to some inner trait of hers?—this sudden and overly intense shift in attitude was still a bit much for her to handle.
In plain terms…
“M—Mei, guh…
Could you be a bit gentler next time…
I’m not that big after all…” These words were true; the sudden intensity of the “upper hand” was indeed overwhelming for the child, and her frail body didn’t even have a chance to counter-attack.
Amidst this torrential rain, her only merit was simply that she wasn’t easily broken…
“Hmm…?
Ah…
I was inconsiderate~ But a month has passed, and it’s only been twice in total, so it’s fine.” Mei rubbed Nana’s small head—which was quite petite to her—as if she were talking about something trivial.
Clingy as they were, serious business still had to be done.
*Taps the blackboard* Teacher Mei’s little classroom is now in session.
“Eh?
Why the sudden lesson?” The kitty was confused; while she didn’t hate it, she just couldn’t retain knowledge.
“Well, I noticed before that there’s a major issue with your energy control, Nana.” She recalled how Nana had previously unleashed her full power without reservation, charging straight into Kurikara’s breath and knocking Kurikara unconscious with a few headbutts.
Mei felt a bit of a headache.
“While unleashing full power is potent for a moment, it consumes too much energy and easily leads to loss of control or other consequences,” Mei explained patiently.
“Just like your recent period of dormancy.
That’s why I need to focus on teaching you how to control the intensity and amount of your release.” Nana nodded, half-understanding, her eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Mei began to teach Nana personally, holding her hand and guiding her to feel the flow of energy within her body.
It was like a river with several branches; what she needed to do was learn how to use just one small branch without affecting the others.
“Just like this, try to condense the energy slowly; don’t rush to release it.” Nana followed Mei’s instructions, but she soon began to frown.
“Mei, it feels so hard.
The energy inside me always gets halfway through and then goes out of control.” Honkai Energy: “We can’t move, Boss…
the boys haven’t recovered yet…” Mei smiled gently.
“It’s alright; this takes time and practice.
You’re already doing very well.” As she spoke, she explained the tricks of energy circulation to Nana in even greater detail.
Nana listened with full concentration, trying her best to understand and master it.
Though with her intermittent IQ, much of it was only half-understood.
But under Mei’s careful explanation, Nana gradually made some progress.
She finally understood why the energy in her body would suddenly go out of control toward the end.
The reason was that they instinctively hadn’t recovered yet; her energy reserves were too low.
For example, if you start playing with a phone as soon as it reaches one percent charge, jumping back and forth between one percent and zero—how on earth could you play anything?
After half a day of explanations and experiments, a happy smile finally appeared on her face.
Watching her, Mei’s eyes were full of relief; she believed that with such talent, Nana would surely master her energy in due time.
After letting Nana “charge up” for a while…
…it was time for a simple combat drill.
Nana took a deep breath, her fingertips curling slightly as she tried to slowly condense the Honkai Energy she had just “charged”— No longer was it the reckless, wanton venting of before; instead, following the tricks Mei had taught her, she let the energy wrap around her fingertips like a thin stream.
She looked up at Mei, her eyes still holding a hint of raw nervousness, but she bit her lip and took a step forward, swinging her hand toward her.
A pale purple arc of energy grazed the hem of Mei’s clothes.
The force was far more restrained than before, though it trembled slightly due to lack of experience.
“Is this…
right?” Nana stopped her movements and looked at Mei uncertainly, her palms already slick with a thin layer of sweat.
Mei sidestepped to dodge the energy, nodding with a smile on her lips.
“Much steadier than before.
Try to speed up a bit more, and make sure the energy flow doesn’t break.” As she spoke, she gently raised her hand, a wisp of crimson lightning circling her fingertip—it wasn’t fierce, but it was enough to serve as a “target” for Nana.
Nana nodded and refocused.
This time, she didn’t rush to strike, but first felt the circulation of energy in its return flow, waiting until she became more familiar with the power.
Then, she suddenly kicked off the ground and lunged forward, her palm striking toward the spot Mei had designated with just the right amount of Honkai Energy.
The moment the energy touched the lightning, it made a faint crackling sound.
Instead of exploding out of control as before, it steadily canceled out the lightning and then dissipated into the air.
“Wow…
I did it!” Nana’s eyes lit up, and she couldn’t help but cheer, her gaze toward Mei full of excitement.
Mei stepped forward and rubbed her hair.
“Great, but not enough.” Before she could finish, the lightning at her fingertip suddenly split into two, attacking Nana from the left and right.
“Try to handle two spots at once; control the distribution of your energy.” Startled, Nana quickly refocused.
Her left hand condensed a weaker burst of Honkai Energy to parry the lightning on the left, while her right hand struck the right side with slightly more force.
Although her movements were still a bit frantic and her arm was numbed by residual electricity due to uneven energy distribution, she ultimately managed to withstand it.
She held her arm and caught her breath, but her face held a look of determination.
“Again!” She hadn’t forgotten her goals!
To become stronger and to protect!
Mei agreed with a smile.
The lightning at her fingertips became increasingly agile, sometimes splitting and sometimes converging, forcing Nana to constantly adjust the intensity and direction of her energy release.
At first, Nana was still clumsy, even occasionally losing control and letting energy overflow.
But with each attempt, her movements gradually became more skilled, her gaze more focused, and even the flow of her energy became much smoother.
After an unknown amount of time, when Mei stopped, Nana collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Yet she still grinned, a faint halo of Honkai Energy still lingering in her palm.
“I think…
I’ve learned it!” Mei sat down beside her and handed her a bottle of water.
“It’s just the beginning.” Her tone held a hint of teasing, but her eyes were full of relief.
“Still, your progress has indeed exceeded my expectations.” Nana took a few gulps of water, then turned to look at Mei.
Suddenly remembering something, she blinked.
“Then…
should we try something harder next?
Like a moving target?” Mei raised an eyebrow and flicked her forehead.
“Greedy little kitten.
But…
alright.”