Luna hesitated for a second but then she took a deep breath and continued according to Number One's instructions. It took her a few tries to regulate her breathing but they were not in a hurry. Number One kept assuring her until she eventually began making progress and scored near the middle of the board again.
"Well done, you are doing amazing," Number One praised softly and Luna kept shooting one blade after another. It didn't take her long to finally hit a dead center and her reaction was ecstatic.
"Oh! I did it," Luna exclaimed excitedly only to shudder when Number One suddenly held onto her hair and kissed her neck. She didn't expect such an attack and wished to turn around for more but he stopped her in time.
"No, you can only get a kiss when you get five centers in a row," Number One commanded as he fixed Luna's head to focus on the target. This time there was no hesitation on her side as she slashed at the board like a maniac.
The blades kept hitting the center as if she was possessed before she turned around happily to receive her reward. "I'm done! One kiss please."
Number One stared at her speechlessly but he kept his promise and leaned over to leave a sensual bite on her lips. He gently held her neck while slowly stealing her breath away but then he pulled away just when she wanted to invite his tongue for a dance.
"If I knew you were doing this well with kisses, I would use them from the start," Number One commented as he confirmed his guess. It really did seem like it was all a mental block that stopped her from improving.
Luna would probably do just fine if she wasn't trying to impress Number One. It wasn't healthy that she was bothered so much but at least he knew what was the issue. All he had to do was reverse engineer the problem and Luna would be back to normal.
Number One releasaed Luna and took five steps back. "Let's try this again. If you can hit the center, I will allow you to take a step back too. If you miss, you have to take one step forward. I will give you another kiss when you reach me."
It was an easy exercise which could help Luna with her accuracy over longer distances. It was supposed to slowly build her muscle memory but it worked much faster than he expected. Luna swiftly turned towards the target and fired five consecutive blades, each hitting the center without miss.
"Done!" Luna announced excitedly as she reached him with a happy jump which caused Number One to get suspicious.
"Did you fail all this time just to get my attention and trick me into teaching you?" Number One questioned with a roll of his eyes but Luna only giggled while looking at Nami in the sky.
"I actually thought about Nami and how she is enjoying herself. I realised I wasn't really having fun while training since I always thought of it as something I have to do," Luna replied while wrapping her arms around his head. "I guess having you around stressed me at first but now that I think of you as my reward, I am actually having fun and motivates me to do better."
This time it was Luna who leaned in for a kiss and forced her tongue into his mouth to continue their previous experience. She pushed forward hungrily while gliding on top of each other and he tasted her warmth wrapping around him endlessly. It felt like she was entering into her own castle but that wasn't the case.
"Mhmm," Luna moaned with complaints when Number One suddenly smacked her butt and pressed forward to invade her own space. Her aggressive approach immediately faltered and she bent to his demands by following his own desires.
"That's enough…" Number One withdrew as soon as he felt her fingers crawl into his chest. "It was supposed to be a kiss, not a whole session. You won't work hard if you are satisfied."
"Ah, but I want more…" Luna pouted but Number One held her neck to keep her at bay. "How about another challenge? I can do it."
"Sure, but we are going to raise the difficulty," Number One replied and his back lit up with the space around them. His white pair of wings formed again to finally resume his training as well.
"We will move over to the moving targets and we will train until you reach mine and Nami's level. You will get a reward after we are done," Number One proposed while embracing her waist and he leaped to the other side of the Training Grounds where Nami was practicing.
"Didn't you say I shouldn't skip steps? How am I supposed to hit those right away? You are being unfair," Luna protested as she gazed at the puppets that moved in random directions. "I should start from running and shooting at the same time first."
"Your opponents will never stay in a single place so this is a more realistic scenario. Don't expect to succeed every single time. I only expect you to reach an average of five out of ten. I think you will do just fine if you just believe in yourself," Number One pointed out while cheering with a smile. Luna clearly knew what to do and could perform as long as she had the right mentality.
"Can I at least pick the reward once we are done?" Luna questioned after letting go.
"That's fine but it will be the last reward you get," Number One replied while holding onto her chin. "I want you to work well for yourself, not for me or anyone else. I don't want you to stop working hard if there is no reward involved."
"Don't worry, I know," Luna assured and leaned over to whisper her idea. "I want to have you one more time before we leave for the main Academy. I'm sure we will be busy so I want to enjoy one last time."