The best way to teach was to lead by example, teaching through both words and actions.
But at a moment like this, words could convey far too little. The sudden racing of the heart, the indescribable flutter, everything surging up from the depths of one's heart. Only the simplest touch could convey it directly.
Their lingering kiss mingled with their intoxicated breaths. Retsu Unohana gently guided Muten Natsu's advances, letting the faint sounds that slipped from her lips honestly convey how she felt.
This was already the best possible situation. Retsu Unohana knew that clearly.
Next, she would have to teach Muten Natsu even more. More things that would make her feel comfortable and pleasurable. And she would have to tell him herself just how comfortable and pleasurable the things he did made her feel.
That kind of thing was really...
Just thinking about it made Retsu Unohana's breathing quicken again.
No. If this kept going...
Retsu Unohana sat on the sofa, her cascading black hair spread messily around her. The flower-like crimson scar between her collarbones seemed to unfurl its petals with each breath. Her hazy eyes turned toward Muten Natsu, and she saw the intense thirst for knowledge in his gaze.
"Next..." Muten Natsu asked eagerly, "What should I do?"
This couldn't continue...
Retsu Unohana's moist lips parted slightly. "Are you hungry?"
If you are, we can stop for now and I'll make you something to eat.
Before she could voice that thought, Retsu Unohana saw Muten Natsu's eyes light up. By the time she tried to stop him, it was already too late.
"That's not what I meant..." Retsu Unohana wrapped both arms tightly around Muten Natsu's head and closed her eyes, struggling to calm herself as she earnestly instructed him, "You can use your hands too... Mm..."
Her slender fingers clawed about at random, leaving the hair she had only just fixed for Muten Natsu a complete mess again.
But what ended up even messier was...
"You..." After a long while, Retsu Unohana finally recovered some of her strength. Ignoring her badly wrinkled shirt, she reached out and pinched Muten Natsu's ear, her voice slightly hoarse. "I told you to bring a towel over, but you just wouldn't listen."
Muten Natsu simply let himself fall onto her and defended himself. "With you like that, there was no way I could get away..."
Retsu Unohana pinched Muten Natsu's cheek, her eyes curving into a smile. "Like what?"
Muten Natsu met her gaze. "Like this. Looking all cute."
The pink flush on Retsu Unohana's skin had yet to fade, and an adorable blush immediately spread across her face again. "Don't think you can sweet-talk your way out of this..."
She released the hand pinching Muten Natsu's cheek and lowered her head to kiss him. Just before their lips touched, however, something suddenly occurred to her. She pushed his face away instead.
"Go wash your face."
Muten Natsu stood up. "Let's take a shower together."
Retsu Unohana lounged lazily against the sofa. "I don't want to move..."
"Then I'll do the moving."
Muten Natsu bent down and picked Retsu Unohana up.
"No fooling around."
Retsu Unohana's soft, strengthless arms wound around Muten Natsu's neck. She glanced at the damp sofa, then buried her bright red face in the crook of his neck.
Sitting on a stool in the bathroom, Retsu Unohana let the warm water flow over her body, washing the sweat from her skin.
Muten Natsu moved the showerhead back and forth. Mist gradually filled the room, blurring everything before his eyes.
Retsu Unohana, who had originally been sitting with her back to Muten Natsu, turned around through the haze and repeated her warning.
"No fooling around, okay?"
Steam swirled, carrying the fragrance of lilacs.
Muten Natsu's breath caught, and the showerhead in his hand began moving wildly beyond his control.
By the time Muten Natsu finally got to eat breakfast, it was already afternoon.
Retsu Unohana watched in satisfaction as Muten Natsu ate heartily while she sewed back on the buttons he had torn from her shirt.
She lowered her head and bit through the thread, then lifted the shirt and gave it a shake. Satisfied that her sewing skills had not gotten rusty, she tilted her head with a smile, folded the shirt, and set it aside.
Her gaze happened to drift toward the sofa. Retsu Unohana's slender brows furrowed slightly, and she turned a reproachful look on Muten Natsu.
"I'll dry it with a hair dryer later," Muten Natsu said after swallowing the food in his mouth. "The outer fabric can be removed and washed, and it dries pretty quickly."
To be fair, even Muten Natsu hadn't expected things to end up like that...
"Hmm?" Retsu Unohana's eyes curved into a smile. "Is my naughty boy thinking about something amusing?"
"N-No... Nothing..."
Muten Natsu obediently lowered his head and kept eating.
Retsu Unohana gave a soft snort, stood up, and shook her head, making her cascading black hair sway with the motion.
When she had blow-dried her hair earlier, she had only dried it about seventy or eighty percent. Drying it completely would make it look frizzy.
Only by letting it hang loose and air-dry naturally would it have its current silky smoothness.
Retsu Unohana gathered her hair and loosely tied it into a low ponytail with a hair tie. The hair on the right fell naturally over her shoulder, giving her a relaxed, languid air, while the strands on the left were tucked behind her ear, lending her a crisp elegance.
Muten Natsu watched Retsu Unohana transform before his eyes, from the gentle beauty with long hair draped over her shoulders to her current languid yet elegant appearance. Then he remembered how adorably flustered she had been earlier, and for a moment, he could only stare.
Retsu Unohana glanced sideways at him. "Still haven't seen enough?"
"I could never see enough," Muten Natsu answered honestly.
"You..." Retsu Unohana reached out, plucked a grain of rice from the corner of Muten Natsu's mouth, and put it into her own. "Hurry up and get ready."
"Hmm?" Muten Natsu looked puzzled. "Are we doing something?"
"Isn't today that Saint... What was it called again?"
"Christmas."
"Right. I'm getting old. My memory isn't what it used to be." Retsu Unohana sighed. "While they're out shopping, let's go out too. We can buy some things and decorate the place."
Muten Natsu was a little surprised. "I thought you weren't interested in holidays like this."
Retsu Unohana nodded. "I'm not."
"Then why decorate?"
"Most holidays are simply specific days set aside to do things we normally want to do, but can't do every day." Retsu Unohana tidied the dining table together with Muten Natsu. "The desire to do those things is always there. A holiday is simply a romantic promise for everyone to do them together."
Wanting to eat certain foods, wanting to take part in fun activities, wanting to give gifts to the person you love, wanting to reunite with family... All of those were things people wanted to do ordinarily, but could never do every single day.
With holidays, everyone could come together on those agreed-upon days and do the things they had been wanting to do.
A smile lingered in Retsu Unohana's eyes.
"Just like a certain naughty boy who found himself an excuse to call it 'teaching.'"