I can't believe I slept for almost an entire day. And then I fell back asleep at the normal time just fine and slept until morning. I knew I was tired, but I didn't think I was that tired.

On the bright side, I woke up feeling pretty rested. No real soreness or pains. I felt fit and ready to get back into action.

"Absolutely not," Bisky said as I started to join our normal morning routine. "I don't care if Kusano healed you and you've rested, you're resting today too."

"But-" I tried to protest.

"No."

"I'm already the weakest combatant we have, I can't afford to take a day off!"

"Do you remember what I wished for?" she asked brusquely. "I now have literal magical training knowledge on top of my years of experience. I'm not saying this because I'm being overprotective, I'm telling you, as your trainer, that you would be better suited by taking a break today, alright?"

It was hard to argue against that. My shoulders slumped. "Alright, alright, I get it."

She nodded, satisfied. "Good. Stick around though, there's going to be a Nen lesson after."

So I watched as everyone else exercised. Well, only a bit. Sure, I appreciate the sight of seeing my girls naked, sweaty, and bouncing. But they weren't naked, thanks to Bisky's rule about having to be clothed while training.

That being said, their workout gear was pretty cute. Everyone was wearing sports bras that we bought on our various shopping trips for their tops. The bottoms varied though. Kusano was wearing simple shorts that showed a lot of leg, Levy and Bisky were wearing spats, but Uzume, Chiho, and Matsu wore bloomers.

Matsu wanted them because she's a pervert. Her fellow pervert Uzume agreed and pressured Chiho into wearing them too, which she agreed to because she was secretly a pervert as well. I never really 'got' the obsession with bloomers, but they enjoyed it, so that was enough for me.

Mami and Kyouko were wearing borrowed sports bras and shorts. They didn't fit perfectly, but they worked for now. And speaking of Kyouko…

I spent that time reading what Matsu wrote. I appreciate her… well, I appreciate a lot of what she did. But, specifically in this case, I appreciate that she recorded things similar to how I do, so I could catch up.

So I understood why Kyouko agreed to join us. Honestly, it should have been obvious. Once she accepted that Kyubey wasn't her ally, her choices were to go back to the person who tried to kill her or come with us. I'd feel guilty if she didn't put herself in that situation in the first place.

That understanding didn't magically make me know how to interact with her though. As Matsu pointed out repeatedly, she is a tsundere. Which is an oversimplification, really, but it means that her 'dere' side, her cute side, is protected by a shell of 'tsun', one that is bristly and sharp. More often than not, it's a defense mechanism, or to hide feelings of embarrassment. For Kyouko, it was both.

I don't mind a sharp tongue though, especially when I know them well enough to read between the lines, and Kyouko falls pretty firmly into that category.

I'm not sure how I'm going to go about fully folding her into the harem. The Stamp won't even start to kick in until tomorrow. But I guess I don't need to do anything. She got her first earful of our nightly orgy last night, and she was still blushing by the time we had breakfast the next morning. She also refused to make eye contact with any of us, especially Mami. I guess it's weird to hear your former senpai moan like that. Ah well, she'll get used to it.

I eventually settled on taking the more passive approach. As attractive as I found here, there wasn't a need to rush things. She'd come around at her own pace.

After our morning exercise, or theirs as was the case today, we had breakfast, and it was while we were eating that Bisky gave us her next Nen lesson.

"This is something I've touched on before, but today I'll be explaining one of the most important aspects of creating Nen techniques, your Hatsu," she started. She was sitting in my usual spot at the end of the table so everyone could see her. Even while sitting she managed to look like a teacher giving a lecture.

She held up a fist and extended a finger with each word. "Conditions. Limitations. Risk." She puts down the second two fingers, leaving just the first. "Conditions are exactly what they sound like, restrictions placed on skills that are required for you to use them. An example would be needing to touch someone to use a technique, or only being able to use it on things that are blue. Conditions can be pretty much anything, but if you want them to actually be useful, they need to be related to the technique."

"Why would we add Conditions though?" Mami asked.

"To make certain techniques possible in the first place, or give them a strength that you couldn't otherwise," she explained. "Let's say that you're a Conjurer and you want to conjure a sword that can light on fire. You're able to create the sword, but you just don't have the power to have it on fire as well. In this case, you'd add a Condition. You can create a sword that lights on fire, but only if the sun is visible in the sky. That condition refines the technique, lowering the aura cost in exchange for it being less versatile and harder to use. That's what Conditions are, other costs and requirements you can add to a technique in exchange for lowering the cost in Aura. This is especially important for Conjuration, Manipulation, and Specialization." She made eye contact with me, Levy, and Matsu.

Levy and I nodded, but Matsu grinned. "That's easy, Matsu can think of a couple just off the top of my head. You can stack them, right?"

"Theoretically, there's no limit to the number of Conditions a technique can have," Bisky answered. "Practically speaking, four or five is the most you want, unless they are all very minor conditions that individually barely offer any boost at all. You have to keep them all in mind too, so it can be tricky juggling more than that."

Matsu nodded. "Got it."

Bisky paused, giving the rest of us a chance to ask questions before continuing. "Now, Conditions are absolute. If they're not met, the technique doesn't activate. As you improve your abilities and refine your techniques, you can develop workarounds, alternate conditions, or just get rid of them entirely if you no longer need the aura reduction, but so long as your technique incorporates a Condition, it must be met to even work."

She raises a second finger. "On the surface, Limitations are the same thing as Conditions, but in fact they are closer to their opposite. Limitations are self-imposed restrictions that are usually, but not always, tied to a specific technique. They don't lower the cost or requirement to use those techniques, but they can increase their ability. Sort of." Bisky shook her head. "Limitations are… weird and inconsistent. They're also risky, because unlike Conditions, they can be broken. But at a cost."

"Ominous," Uzume commented. "What kind of cost are we talking about?"

"It can vary, but it's usually fairly severe," Bisky said. "Let's give an example and go back to the Conjured sword, one without the fire or the Condition. You could instead add a Limitation that every time you conjure the sword, you can't get rid of it away until the blade 'tastes blood'. That means every time you draw it, you must bloody it. You would be committed to a fight as soon as you conjured it. But in exchange, taking on this Limitation would make your conjured sword more powerful for the same cost."

"And if you dismissed it without doing so?" I asked, more to remind her to answer the question. I had a pretty good idea.

"You suffer backlash," she said plainly. "On the low end, you lose the ability to Conjure swords, and maybe you can retrain it. More likely, it's gone forever, and you have to start fresh. Or maybe you'll lose the ability to use Nen at all. Or you'll just die." She shrugs. "Limitations are not to be taken lightly. You can control it slightly by adding a punishment to your Vow, which is the act of creating a Limitation. An example would be 'If I dismiss this sword before it tastes blood, I will never be able to Conjure it again.'. By setting the punishment like that, you'll not only know exactly what punishment you'll receive for breaking it, but it will make the benefit of the Limitation far more consistent. The harsher the punishment, the greater the benefit."

"Can you do Conditions and Limitations at the same time?" Matsu asked.

"You can. It's quite common, sometimes even by accident as people can mix the two of them up."

"For the sword example… what would happen if you sliced your own palm?" Levy asked. "Or if you had a bottle of blood that you could sprinkle onto the blade."

"That's a very good question," Bisky replied. "Tell me, what do you think would happen?"

Levy furrowed her brow. "I think… the first would work and satisfy the condition. The harm to yourself would be a price you pay, even if it's a minor one. But the second one wouldn't work, as it's too cheap a price."

"Then that's how it would work, for you," Bisky said. "Remember the first rule of Nen. It is extremely personalized to you, and everyone's experiences are, to a degree, unique to them. Conditions and Limitations are no exception, and both are based on your own feelings and perceptions. That being said, remember how I said Limitations can be inconsistent? I would wager that, no matter your thoughts, if you frequently used a cheap workaround to satisfy the requirements of the Limitation, you would find it giving you less and less of a benefit. Even cutting your hand too often would likely blunt the effects, though to a significantly lesser degree. Remember, both Conditions and Limitations are equivalent exchanges. You are imposing one restriction to lower another. That restriction does not need to be an inconvenience in every scenario, but if it's never a problem, you'll get less out of it."

There are nods around the table as we absorb that information. "Good. Now that I've explained it, do not make any Vows without consulting me first. Limitations are not easily removed once they are placed, and a poorly thought out Limitation is one of the biggest dangers a Nen user can face in the development of their abilities. Am I understood?"

More enthusiastic nodding followed. None of us wanted to fuck up our Nen, but more than that, none of us wanted to piss off Bisky.

She nodded, satisfied. "Now, the third thing," she continued as she lifted her third finger. "Risks. This one is the most ephemeral. It's difficult to quantify and define, but it's easy to see the results of. The basic idea is simple. Aura responds to your feelings, your determination, your fear, your courage. If you intentionally add a degree of risk, if you make things more difficult or dangerous for yourself, your aura will reflect that positively. Your techniques will come out faster, hit harder, be more cost efficient, and more. In practice, it's a situational boost to your abilities."

There were a lot of furrowed brows around the table as we tried to wrap our heads around that. Even I didn't really get it, not specifically at least.

"Like what, if you tie one hand behind your back, you'll get stronger?" Kyouko asked glibly.

"Exactly," Bisky agreed in all seriousness. "Fighting one-handed is risky, but you'll find your aura rising to compensate. It's the same theory as Conditions and Limits of paying a cost in one way to improve in another, but it's more flexible, situational, and can be done on the fly rather than committing to it. Practically speaking, it's difficult to plan for this kind of thing. But it's something to be aware of, in case you find yourself needing a bit more of an edge."

I frowned, replaying the memories of what happened in the Witch's barrier. "Would that have factored into how easily I learned Shu?" I asked. "Because of the danger and the determination I had, I was able to master the new technique almost instantly?"

Bisky shrugged. "Maybe a little, but Shu is also a fairly easy technique. The only reason I didn't teach it to you is that you haven't used a weapon or tool that would benefit from it, so there wasn't a point when you could instead be focusing on other things."

"Shu?" Mami asked.

"A Nen technique in which you extend your aura, in any state, to cover any objects that you are holding," Bisky explained. "The object will benefit from your aura, making it more durable, stronger, and if applicable, sharper."

"Oh, I did that too," Uzume said suddenly. "In that double Witch barrier. I remembered you mentioning something about that when we did the Water Divination test and I needed a bit more of an edge, so I just tried it and it worked."

"So the same as me, huh?" I asked, a little deflated. I was thinking, hoping really, that learning it so easily was possibly a hint of my Specialization.

"I'm glad you took that to heart," Bisky said to Uzume. "We'll keep practicing that. When you figure out what you want to Transmute your aura into, that will be very helpful." She then turned to the rest of us. "Now, Risk isn't something to mess with lightly. You can make Conditions and Limitations that you can work around, and careful planning can alleviate the worst of the restrictions you impose on yourself. But that is not the case with Risk. Risk requires you to actually risk something, and it corresponds to how big of a risk you're taking."

"So I couldn't tie my hands behind my back and expect to get much out of it if I'm running in a foot race," I said.

Bisky shrugged. "Mostly, no. Don't forget the other part of it. How you choose to induce risk doesn't matter, but it only improves your aura. But, assuming that you're running in a foot race and you have a Nen technique that affects your running speed, you would probably get a small boost in that. The movement of your arms is important to normal running form, and if your hands are tied you won't be able to catch yourself if you trip and fall, so there are some small risks there."

I nodded in understanding. "I think I get it now."

Bisky paused for a moment, waiting for questions, before she continued. "Risk can also be incorporated directly into a technique. To go back to our swordsman Conjurer example, he could design his technique so that conjuring the sword is a process that is clearly telegraphed and takes several seconds, during which he is entirely open and defenseless. The technique itself would become more risky to use in combat, but in return it would be stronger."

My mind instantly made the connection. "Like Gon's Jajanken technique." We hadn't gotten to it in the anime yet, but Gon, the main character of HxH, would develop a technique based on rock paper scissors where he would charge his aura for several seconds before throwing it out as one of several techniques, 'rock', 'paper', or 'scissor'.

"Yes, exactly. He leaves himself open and chants that he's about to attack. It's lessened slightly by him having multiple variations and being able to switch to a different one at the last moment, but that benefit outweighs the slight loss in power. He can even extend it to build up more power, each second giving him more time to add more aura while simultaneously increasing the risk."

"What if you do that, add risk to your technique, but you don't use it in a situation where that risk applies?" Matsu asks. "Say, for the swordsman, if he summons his sword to kill off an already downed opponent? Would he still get the power boost?"

Bisky shrugged. "It… depends, really. The rules aren't very well defined, and are personalized to you. But if I had to theorize, I'd say it's similar to the blood Limitation. So long as he's primarily using it in risky situations, occasionally doing it 'safely' will still give him the benefits. But if he only ever conjures his sword in completely safe situations, then he'll lose the benefit."

"Does that mean that Nen remembers, or realizes?" Chiho asked.

"No, aura isn't alive, not like that at least," Bisky answered immediately. "It's not the aura that realizes, it's you. Even if you don't admit it to yourself, you know how much risk or how much of a price something actually is. Aura responds to those feelings."

"What about hypnotization?" Levy asks. "Making yourself believe the risk is greater than it actually is."

"I've only heard of a few attempts at that," Bisky said. "But it largely doesn't work. Self-hypnotization just doesn't work, full stop, whether you use a nen technique or other methods. Others hypnotizing you can work, to a degree, but it's difficult to tell by how much, since being under someone's control like that is also inherently risky. And even those generally tend to only work a few times before the effectiveness falls off." She shook her head. "It's not something I'd recommend experimenting with."

Levy nodded. "Got it. It was more of a curiosity anyway."

"Any other questions?" Bisky asked. When no one spoke up, she continued. "That's all I have for you about those, then. Just remember the core ideas. One, Nen is personal to you, and it responds to your will, your emotions, and your state of mind. Two, you can pay costs in one aspect to lower them in another, but they have to be equal. Three, don't make Vows until you have my permission." That last was said with particular emphasis as she glared at us.

We all nodded enthusiastically. "Yes ma'am!" several of us said, myself included.

Her expression relaxed into a sweet smile. "Good. Now, Uzume, Mami, and Kyouko. You'll be with me today. Kyouko still isn't completely stamped, so we can't do any training in Magical Girl form, but the two of you need to refine your Ten a bit and start working on improving your Ren. If possible, I'd like the two of you to master Zetsu as well. Uzume, we're going to work on your Shu and brainstorm some ideas for your future techniques."

She then turned to me. "You aren't to do anything strenuous, not physically so at least. Don't even do your Ren training, your aura is still recovering. You can try the Water Divination test again though, if you want." She frowns. "My new training power is telling me that it should be giving results, and figuring that out is the best way to progress. Just don't spend too long on it."

"Yes, sensei," I said. "I've got something to talk about with Chiho anyway. I'll be good."

Chiho perked up and Uzume sent me a grateful smile. I assumed that the two of them had talked, and I was glad.

Bisky nodded. "Good. Now, you three, to the training area." She marched off, the three she named obediently getting up and following after her. Levy and Tinks left as well, headed to the forge, Kusano headed for the garden, and VV trotted outside before hopping up to the roof to settle down for a nap. Which just left me, Chiho, and Matsu at the table.

Chiho and I looked at Matsu, who clearly had no intention of leaving. "Matsu wants to be here for this talk," she said. "She has a lot of metaknowledge as well and can help come up with ideas."

"I'm fine with it." I shrugged. "Chiho?"

"I don't mind," she said. "It's not like this is something private, and even if it was, I think we're close enough that I wouldn't mind." She flashed Matsu a smile.

"Oh, we're definitely pretty close," Matsu agreed with a teasing smile. She scooted up close to Chiho and wrapped her arms around her, her hands resting on the other girl's lower stomach. "Very… intimately."

Chiho blushed slightly, but it was more out of excitement than embarrassment I was pretty sure. But she wasn't in the mood. "Behave," Chiho chides her lightly. "I don't want us to get distracted."

"Mmm. Good point." Matsu let go of her, but still stayed pretty close. "Roland-tan slept all day yesterday and made you wait long enough as is."

"That's okay," Chiho said. "We can't even purchase it until tomorrow anyway, right? It's not like there's a rush. But… I did do a lot of thinking."

I took that as my cue to steer us back on track. "That's good," I said. "What were you thinking? There are a lot of options."

She nodded. "Too many. I couldn't decide on something, but I guess I did narrow it down a little. The first thing I figured out is that… I don't want to fight. I want to help, but fighting just isn't for me."

"That's perfectly fine," I reassured her.

"And now that we have Mami and Kyouko, we've got a decent number of fighters," Matsu added.

"But don't be afraid to pick something just because someone else can already do it," I added. "Like, I could give you a copy of Kusano's power, if you want, and the two of you can do the same thing."

"That doesn't sound so bad…" Chiho mused.

"We'll consider it a backup idea, if we don't come up with anything else," I said. "What else did you decide on?"

"Well… I want it to be something that requires a lot of work," she said. I raised an eyebrow, and she blushed. "It's just that… I don't do anything all day. I don't really contribute. I do the morning workouts, I do the Ren training during the day, and that's it. I can't help you guys train to fight better. I can't help Kusano in her garden. There's not really much I can do for Levy and Tinks except run to get stuff from the storage room. And even when I help Uzume with her sewing, it's only with little stuff and I spend most of the time just sitting next to her, talking with her. Everyone else is working hard all of the time, but I'm useless."

Matsu reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you're not useless."

"Aren't I?" Chiho asked in a sad tone.

"No, you're not," I said. "We're a family, and we don't measure each other by your usefulness." Except that was how the Company measured people, but that wasn't really relevant to the conversation, so I didn't mention it. "That being said, if you want something that can keep you busy, we can do that."

Chiho relaxed. "Thank you," she said.

I did take note of her apparent need to be useful, but I decided not to comment on it. I wasn't sure what to say, to be honest. While I was willing to let her continue only doing minor things indefinitely, it was better if she was contributing. I didn't want to force her into that, or even manipulate her into it, but it felt like she had reached those feelings entirely on her own, so I wouldn't try to convince her they were wrong. I'd just give her something to do, and a way to contribute.

"So, a non-combat ability that takes a lot of time," I mused out loud. "That narrows it down some… but not a lot."

"I'd also like to help keep you guys safe, when you go into dangerous situations," she said. "But without being there."

"A crafter, then," Matsu said. "Or a buffer, but most of those won't keep you busy."

"A crafter?" Chiho asked.

"Someone who makes something," I explained. "Like magic accessories or weapons or something. Stuff we could take into the field and it'll protect us, and you can spend your days making them."

"Oh! That does sound good!" Chiho agreed excitedly. "What kind of crafting should I do?"

"That's what we should be asking you," I replied. "What do you want to do? Though I suppose we do have to figure out what is feasible. We don't exactly have a steady supply of raw materials. Levy can provide some, but not everything."

"That's a good point." Chiho deflated a bit. "Umm. I guess magic items? Tinks already makes metal stuff, and Uzume makes cloth stuff."

I hummed in acknowledgement as I tried to think of people who could make magic items. Quite a few came to mind, but many of them did it as a side thing, or as part of a larger kit, and I wanted a more focused Template Stack for her. One that would maximize what she was trying to get out of it and not have entire parts of it that get ignored. There was also still the issue of materials, with many of them needing ingredients native to their home or things we couldn't easily get our hands on in significant numbers.

It's times like that where I regret this challenge, a little, because a Grand Manor workshop or a Warehouse District would solve that problem neatly.

But, as happened a few minutes later, finding solutions to those kinds of problems is what makes the Skyblock so rewarding and interesting.

"Oh, Matsu has an idea!" Matsu declared. "Potions! We can grow ingredients and not have to worry!"

"That… could work," I agreed as I thought over it. "Depends on the potion maker. Some still need non-plant ingredients, or magical plants that we don't have any way of getting our hands on immediately."

"But once we do, Kusano can grow as much as we need!" Matsu said.

I felt bad for putting more work on Kusano, she already did so much. But her power was easily one of the most useful ones we had when it came to living in such an isolated and small environment.

"Making potions, huh?" Chiho repeated. "Yeah, that sounds like it could work! It would be a slow start until we got our hands on the ingredients, but I can make do until then."

"Maybe not," I said, my mind whirring. I grabbed my phone and opened the Catalog. "There might be something we can get to help speed things up." I found the perk I remembered reading. "Laws of the Jungle, a demiplane perk that lets us modify flora and fauna, even giving them supernatural properties. Has two levels of purchase, with the second one letting us push beyond just slightly supernatural. But even just the first one should let us experiment and create minorly magical plants perfect for turning into potions."

"That's perfect!" Matsu agreed. "So we just need to find a potion maker who is flexible and doesn't need super specific ingredients."

We fell into a silence again at that as we all thought of potential candidates. Well, Matsu and I did. I'm pretty sure that Chiho didn't really know enough.

Thinking of potion makers had the same issue as item crafters. Most did need specific ingredients, or potion making was only a small part of their kit. The silence stretched on for quite a while.

It was only when I started thinking of games that involved potions did I come up with a good candidate. "Matsu, I don't suppose you ever played a game called Terraria?"

"You mean that 2D Minecraft game?" Matsu asked.

I glared at her. "That's a no then, because if you had, you would know just how blasphemous those words are." I shook my head. "The potions in the game are pretty good. There's a lot of variety to them. Most of them only need plants, though a few do need other ingredients, some specific to the world, others that would be easy for us to get. But… I'm not thinking of just vanilla Terraria potions. There's a popular mod for the game that adds a bunch of useful NPCs. One of those is the Brewer, and they sell all of the utility potions of the game as well as a bunch of modded ones."

"How would that work as a Template Stack?" Matsu asked. "They just sell them, right? Would she just create them from nothing?"

"Probably not," I guessed. "I mean, they're called the Brewer, right? Gameplay-wise, you just buy them. But outside of the context of the game, it only makes sense that they're brewing the potions themselves and selling them to the player, right?"

"It does…" Matsu agreed as she mulled over it. "And those potions don't need specific ingredients?"

"They might, but there's another reason I'm suggesting the Brewer," I replied. "She also sells potions of many different mods that are completely unrelated to the mod she's from. Lore wise, this implies she's capable of making potions using ingredients she's not used to handling, and can learn to make new kinds."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Matsu asked, unsure.

"Maybe, but I think it'll work," I said with a shrug. "Here, I'll message the Help Desk, see if they can tell us before I spend the Credits."

I shot off a quick message to the Help Desk and got an instant reply. "It'll work," I reported as I read the reply. "Though we'll need Science Talent to help fill in the gaps. And I'm fine with that." It was 20 more Credits, but we'll be getting a lot tomorrow and Science Talent is one that I'd need sooner or later. Crafting was always on the list of things to get, and it would help Levy learn more materials she could make.

And now that I had thought of it, my mind was whirring with possibilities for Laws of the Jungle and all the ways we could improve our home with it. That was definitely worth the cost.

"Then… I guess that's it?" Chiho said. "I'll get the power of this Brewer lady?"

"If that's what you want," I confirmed. "It will be a lot of work. You'll need to work with Kusano to create the plants you need, and you'll probably need to experiment with a bunch of recipes. You might not see immediate results."

"That's exactly what I want," Chiho confirmed with a nod. "So long as these potions can make you safer, then I'll be satisfied."

"If you can recreate the potions from the game, then don't you worry, they will," I said. "Teleportation, ironskin, regeneration, damage boosts, immunity to fire, and that's just the basic stuff. Plus, once you grow beyond that, who knows what you can make? Anything you want, probably."

"That sounds perfect," Chiho said with a smile. I noticed how much more relaxed she looked compared to this morning. I hadn't even realized she was tense until then though. "Thank you, Roland. I can't wait."

"Of course," I replied. "A promise is a promise, even if I'm a little late. I'll buy it, and the other things, tomorrow." I didn't want to rush into it and take a loan, not for just one more day. Besides, I wanted to give her a bit of time to think it over and make sure.

"In the meantime, why don't you go help Kusano today?" I continued. "Since you'll be working with her once we get Laws of the Jungle. Tell her what we plan and start coming up with ideas."

Chiho smiled, looking excited. "Got it, I can do that!" She got up, ran around the table and gave me a big hug before heading outside to join Kusano.

"That went pretty well," Matsu said once it was just the two of us.

"I thought it would take a lot longer to find something," I agreed. "And potion making is pretty good. We can get a lot out of that. And since she's an Enhancer, she can probably use her Nen to make them better."

"Well, that too, but I was talking about her mood," Matsu clarified. I looked at her, noticing that she hadn't referred to herself in the third person. "She's been listless lately."

I pressed my lips together. I needed to get better at paying attention to the emotional needs of my girls. I hadn't even noticed until after the incident with Kyubey. "Well… I'm glad we managed to help that." I said. "And speaking of… thanks. For Kusano."

"I just did my duty as a big sister," Matsu said. "Are you going to talk to her?"

"Tonight," I replied. "It's her turn to take a bath with me. We'll have some privacy there."

"Good," Matsu said, standing up. She walked around the table and hugged me as well. "You're doing a good job, don't worry. We all love you, and appreciate everything you do for us. You're not perfect, but none of us are, and we don't hold it against you when we can clearly see how hard you work to improve every day. So just keep doing what you're doing, okay?"

I swallowed. "I… yeah. I will. Thanks Matsu."

She let go of me and stepped back. "You can thank Matsu by getting Psychic Talent!"

I rolled my eyes even as I felt a smile tug at my lips. "It's on the list, I'll get it tomorrow."

"Woo!" she cheered. "Alright. Matsu is going to go and bother Levy then. Talk to you later Ashikabi-tan!" She waved and headed outside, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I sighed as I took some time to just think. I was still feeling a little wound up from our last portal trip, and the next one was fast approaching.

When I started this challenge, I was looking for something like the Minecraft modpack I enjoyed playing. This… isn't it. It seemed kind of like it at the start, but the experience has diverged quite a bit. The pacing is less controlled, and rather than managing different automated systems and pipelines, I'm managing people instead.

I think that's probably for the best, and I'm certainly enjoying it more than I ever did playing a game. Minecraft didn't have nightly orgies after all. But… it wasn't what I was mentally prepared for. And I need to change that.

So I thought about everyone. I thought over their mannerisms from when they first joined and their mannerisms now. I thought about all of the things we went through, reading parts of this journal to refresh my memory. I tried to consider everyone's needs, problems, and desires.

There's a lot we still have to do. That I have to do. But I realized that there were two more family members that needed some attention after the events of the last portal trip. So I eventually got up, went outside, and climbed up to the roof where I sat down next to VV, my feet dangling off the side.

"Hey, bud," I said as I pet him. As usual, his fur was unbelievably soft. He yipped quietly in greeting, but only spared me a glance. His head was resting on his paws, but despite what I assumed before he wasn't sleeping. His eyes were wide open, looking out below at everyone.

I could see everyone from up here. I saw Levy and Tinks at the forge area with Matsu talking to them, just as she said she was going to. Beyond them Kusano and Chiho were in the garden, tending to the chickens as they talked. Chiho was holding a clay pot lined with some cloth, and I watched as Kusano handed her an egg that she carefully put into it. The chickens had finally started laying eggs.

And to the right, I saw Bisky, Uzume, Mami, and Kyouko. The latter two were standing side by side, their auras fluctuating as they learned to control it. It was kind of funny, seeing the two magical girls act like martial artists. There was a disconnect there, the two aesthetics conflicting. But Bisky pulled it off, and they would too once they made some progress. Besides, it made them stronger and safer, and that mattered more.

Bisky was talking to Uzume, who was dressed in her battle outfit, and I could see the aura infusing her rolls of cloth. It was quite a bit of area for her to cover, and it wasn't perfect, but she was improving. I couldn't wait to see what she came up with for her Hatsu.

"This is what you've been doing?" I asked VV. "Watching everyone?" He nodded, eyes never leaving the others. "I see. Thanks. It makes me feel better to know that someone is keeping an eye out."

I continued petting him in silence for a bit before moving on to what I came up here for. "I wanted to thank you," I started. "For what you did a couple days ago, in that Barrier. For helping me protect the others."

VV finally looked at me. His expression wasn't easy to read, but I got the gist. He was looking at me like I was an idiot, and that of course he would help.

"Don't be like that," I said with a grin. "As far as I was aware, you were still unsure about fighting things that weren't Pokemon. And that… that was quite a bit more serious than a Pokemon battle. I wouldn't have blamed you at all if you had stayed in your ball. I don't blame Tinks."

VV growled lightly, not in anger but disagreement. He then looked at Bisky before looking back at me, chest puffed out.

"It was Bisky's training that prepared you?" I asked, and he nodded. "I see. That's good. But are you okay with that? It was pretty scary."

VV considered that, taking my question seriously as he turned back to watch the others. After a few moments, he turned back to me with determination in his eyes. He didn't need to 'say' anything else for me to understand that he would protect them, no matter what.

I gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you. I'll trust you with that duty then." It was hard to get a good read on him, but I'm pretty sure he was doing okay. I could rely on him and not worry. Though I should probably get a bit more involved in his training.

We both turned back to watch the others. Kusano and Chiho spotted us and waved, and I waved back with a smile.

"Another question for you then," I said after another few moments. "How do you feel about evolution?"

VV tilted his head for a bit, thinking about it. But then he just shrugged. "Not interested, huh? Getting a stone might be a little difficult, but certainly not impossible."

But he just shook his head, not interested. I shrugged. "If you say so. If you change your mind, just let me know, alright?"

He let out a tiny bark, barely audible, acknowledging my offer. I pet him one more time and then scooted close to the edge. "I've got some more things to do today, so I'll talk to you later."

He let out a little yip and I jumped down to the ground. My muscles were a little sore as I landed, indicating maybe I wasn't as recovered as I thought and that Bisky was right. Which wasn't a surprise, but it did finally convince me to listen to her.

I looked over to Tinks. I needed to talk to her too, but she was busy hammering away at something or other, and I didn't want to interrupt.

So I took Bisky's other advice and decided to give the Water Divination test another try. Spoiler, I didn't figure anything out. I probably spent two hours alternating between infusing the water with my aura and poking and prodding it in and testing everything I could think of. Bisky said it should be showing results, and everything I knew about Nen agreed with that, but it just wasn't. Not in a way that I could figure out.

I gave up on it and decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing. It had been a while since I had relaxed on my own. I felt a little guilty about doing so all by myself while the others worked, but I knew that I needed it.

So I grabbed a book I didn't recognize and started reading, passing the time until the sun set and dinner was served. It was nice, and the book was pretty good too.

After dinner all of us started taking our baths. As usual, I was the first to go, and since it was Kusano's turn to join me she got to go first as well.

After scrubbing myself, I sank into the brick tub filled with hot water, courtesy of Levy, with a sigh of contentment. A moment later, Kusano joined me, sitting between my legs with her back against my chest. I really did enjoy those moments, sharing a relaxing and intimate moment was just nice.

"Did Chiho tell you about what we plan on doing?" I asked, starting with an easier conversation topic. "With making our own magical plants?"

"Yes, she did!" Kusano replied excitedly. "We came up with all kinds of ideas, but we don't know how it'll work."

"I don't know either," I said. "It's kind of vague. We'll have to wait until we get it to find out."

"That's okay," Kusano said. "We also came up with other ideas for stuff around the house. You said they can be a little magical, but not too much, right?"

"Right," I confirmed. The Catalog put it in terms of tiers. We could make the plants equivalent to a T4 with one purchase, and T7 with a second one. Getting both was tempting, but I have too many other things to buy. T4 will have to do for now.

"We can make flowers that emit light and plant them in the walls," Kusano said. "Or maybe some kind of moss? And we can make a bigger bath! If we dig a hole in here I can line it with something that produces a sap or something that will harden into something that won't absorb water or get washed away and we can have a nice big bath! And something that collects water so we can fill it without having to rely on Onee-chan. Or something to clean it and keep it warm, like a little underwater bush or something, and then she can just fill it once and it'll be good forever!"

I blinked. "Wow, you girls really did do a lot of brainstorming. Those are some pretty cool ideas. The bath ones especially. It would be nice if we could fit all of us in here."

"That's what I think too," Kusano agreed. "There are a lot more ideas too, but making a big bath comes first! Well, except for helping Chiho with her potion stuff. That's first. But the bath is second!"

I chuckled. "I fully endorse this plan. Let me know if you need help. I can dig the hole at least."

"Okay Onii-chan, I will," she replied dutifully. "I'll probably need to ask everyone for help."

"And we'll be there to help you," I said as I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. I held her like that for a moment as I worked up the nerve to get to the main topic. "And speaking of help… Matsu told me about the talk she had with you."

Kusano stiffened and didn't say anything. I could tell she was still a little nervous and unsure about talking about it, so I decided not to push. "It's alright, I'm not gonna give you the same talk," I said. "I'm just going to say three things, okay?" She nodded nervously.

"First, thank you. I'm both glad and angry that you were there. You never should have been in danger like that, the battlefield isn't the place where you belong. But you stepped up, and you saved the day, and I'm very grateful for that."

She didn't visibly react to that, so I continued. "The second thing is that I'm proud of you. You didn't just do it, but you did such a good job. I know Matsu said that, but I wanted to say it too. And finally, listen to Matsu. Talk to us. It doesn't have to be me, it doesn't have to be her, so long as it's one of us, okay? We're here to help you."

"Okay," she said in a quiet voice. "I promise."

"Good girl," I said. "Now, we don't need to dwell on that. Let's just relax and enjoy the water."

She nodded and relaxed. I don't know if it was because it was me, or because it was so sudden, but it was clear it wasn't something she wanted to talk about. But that was fine. She knew I knew, and that she could come to us. She's a good and smart girl, she'll talk to someone she's comfortable with when she's ready.

I pulled her a little closer to me, cuddling with her in the bath. There was something novel about feeling her skin against mine when we were submerged in hot water. She was slippery and smooth in a way that I couldn't resist touching.

I don't remember making a conscious decision to do so, but I realized that my hands had started roaming her body, enjoying the sensation. There wasn't a lot of extra room in the bath, but I made it work as I groped her. This was hardly the first time I had done such a thing. Bath times usually got at least a little frisky.

But today it didn't stop at just a little. Kusano let out a quiet moan as my hands dragged up her stomach and cupped her breasts. "Onii-chan," she breathed as she turned her head to look at me.

I leaned down and kissed her, my lips gently pressing against hers. She leaned into it, and I felt her tongue enter my mouth. She was eager tonight.

I squeezed her slippery boobs as I made out with her, gently kneading them. She moaned quietly into my mouth as I played with her, and my erection dug into the small of her back, hot and hard against her.

One of my hands started sliding down her stomach. Her legs parted reflexively as my fingers moved past her lower stomach, her thighs opening so I could reach between them and touch her lower lips. She stiffened as my fingers brushed against her clit and parted her lips. Her hips moved forward, into my hand, asking for more.

I didn't tease her for long. My fingers pushed their way between her lips and found her tight entrance there. First one finger slipped in, and then another. She could fit more, and had on multiple occasions, but I stopped at two tonight. I didn't need to stretch her out, this was going to be quick and simple.

She moaned louder, some of it escaping as our lips parted, the pleasure causing her to lose focus on our kissing. I squeezed the breast I was still holding as I slowly probed my fingers inside of her. Soon I found the spot I was looking for, the spot that not only I, but most of the others knew as well. The spot that made Kusano arch her back and cry out, the sound of her pleasure echoing through the room. The others probably heard, but I didn't care. Kusano deserved a bit of special attention.

I focused on that same spot. "Ah! Ah! Ah!" Kusano moaned in time with the thrust of my fingers. Her body was tense and she thrashed against me, but I didn't let up. She could take it. I kissed her neck and pinched her nipple as I fingered her, assaulting her from multiple vectors.

It didn't take long to push her over the edge. Soon her body stiffened once again, her back arching an especially loud moan, one that could definitely be heard from outside, filled the room as she reached her climax. I stopped when she did, letting her ride it out before pulling my fingers from her.

She slumped against me, breathing hard. No words were exchanged, we didn't need anything like that at this point. She just made a little noise and leaned into me, enjoying the physical intimacy and the glow of a nice orgasm.

But she also knew that stopping at just one wasn't something we did, so after a few moments, she reached behind her back to grab my shaft. I inhaled sharply at the feeling of her fingers and the hot water, but I grabbed her wrist with mine.

She looked at me, confused. I shook my head. "Tonight, right now? This is a special reward, from me to you. Don't worry about me. Now, turn around, sit down on the edge of the tub, and spread your legs."

Her eyes widened, partially in surprise but mostly in excitement, and she followed my instructions, sitting on the far edge of the tub and spreading her legs.

I took a moment to just look at her, water dripping from her body and glistening on her skin. There was only one lamp in here, so it cast a harsh shadow, but that only added to the ambience.

I shifted position, pulling my legs under me so I could kneel in the water, and moved between her legs. I looked up at her, peering past her breasts and maintaining eye contact as I drew closer to her pussy, slightly red from my earlier ministrations.

Unfortunately, her boobs were just a little too big for me to keep eye contact with her as I got closer to her, but I hoped she enjoyed the buildup. I pushed my tongue out and licked up her slit, tongue flicking against her clit. She tasted like… well, the bath water at first. But I repeated my licks, and the layer of water gave way and changed to the more salty fluid I was used to tasting from my girls.

My hands clutched at my head as she let out a shaky gasp. My hair was too short for her to dig her fingers into, but that didn't stop her from trying. It didn't hurt, and in a way it actually felt nice.

I focused my efforts on her clit, swollen and stiff from her arousal, as my tongue plays with it. The 'alphabet' trick of spelling the alphabet with your tongue against her clit doesn't actually work very well, there's far too much wasted movement and it's awkward trying to focus on that rather than using your tongue on her. But the idea is sound, and I quickly push Kusano back to the point of repeatedly moaning as my tongue attacks her clit from multiple angles.

There was a reason I mostly avoided her clit as I fingered her earlier. An orgasm drawn forth from purely clit stimulation was similar but distinctly different from one caused by penetration. Neither was really better, or at least universally so according to the feedback I had gotten from my girls, so I liked to shake things up, and I wanted to give Kusano both.

Her soft thighs squeezed either side of my head as she clamped them around me, my tongue driving her wild with pleasure. I kept up the pace, getting fast and pressing my tongue against her harder. I couldn't hurt her with my tongue, so I didn't hold back.

Kusano's superhuman strength made itself clear when she climaxed again, her thighs threatening to squeeze my head until it popped as her body shuddered and she cried out. But it wasn't my first rodeo, and I had already started using Ren to provide enough of a defense that it didn't hurt at all.

Once she stopped cumming and her legs relaxed enough for me to escape them, I straightened my back. I used the back of my hand as I met Kusano's gaze, her eyes slightly glazed over from her second orgasm. I could see a spark in them though, one that was hungry for more. And I was fully prepared to give it to her.

And then the door slammed open.

Our heads snapped to look at the intruder and saw Bisky standing there, wearing nothing but an annoyed expression. "Oi!" she said. "I'm glad you two are enjoying yourself, but do it somewhere else! The rest of us need to take a bath too!"

I exchanged looks with Kusano, who had snapped out of it, and we both chuckled, a little chagrined. "Sorry, Bisky-nee," she said.

"Yeah, my bad. Got a little carried away." I stood up and stepped out of the bath. "The water should be… mostly clean."

"I think I'll be replacing it anyway," Levy said, revealing that she was behind Bisky in a similar state of undress, though she looked more amused than annoyed. "It's probably not very hot anymore."

"Fair enough," I said with a shrug. "We'll leave you to it then."

Kusano and I left the bath and were met by a wall of stares as everyone else looked at us knowingly. Fortunately, I had long gotten past the point of getting embarrassed about it, especially since I was standing in front of them with a raging boner, so I just grinned and winked back at them all.

Kyouko's reaction was pretty entertaining though. Her face was as scarlet as her hair and she was looking in the other direction. Or she was trying, at least. Her eyes kept flicking to me, to one part of me in particular, and then she'd wrench her gaze away again. I took the fact that she wasn't yelling or audibly protesting as a sign of progress and decided to leave it at that.

I was a little tempted to drag Kusano to the bedroom and get an early start on our nightly activities, but Bisky really had killed the momentum and mood and I still needed to write this journal entry, so I decided I could wait.

But now is a different matter. Having just written it all out and reminded myself of those feelings, and now that everyone but Kyouko has finished with their bath… I think it's time to call it a night and retire to the bedroom.

Until next time.

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AN: More Nen information dump. As usual, I've extrapolated and tweaked a few details, but it should be mostly canon compliant. I feel bad for writing this kind of thing, but both the characters and you guys, the readers, need to understand these concepts to understand the techniques they'll be developing.

Chiho's power wasn't easy to come up with. I had to take a lot into consideration. Roles that their group didn't have or could benefit from was one, and something I don't plan on getting from another character in the near future is also important. But the most important of all was what Chiho would want, which required a pretty deep analysis of her as a character(both in canon and how I have portrayed her) and the effects of the Madoka trip. Even then there were a lot of possible answers, but this is the one I settled on.

Pretty slow chapter, I know, but if you've made it this far, you're probably used to that by now. After all, this is what the fic is about. These moments of slow improvement, of problem solving, the way characters and systems from multiple settings interact. And this chapter was chock full of that.

I swear I'll stop bringing up the whole Witch barrier incident soon. Just one more conversation with Tinks and then a more analytical scene with Bisky when discussing Roland's training from here on forward.