Chapter 5: Soaking the Garden
"Time for action, my little weeds!" a booming voice sounded through the house.
As Zafina and Jun ran through the house they opened the doors of each person's room.
Xiaoyu murmured as she reluctantly dragged herself out bed.
"Assemble in the hall!" Zafina exploded whilst banging a wooden spoon on a pot.
Hwoarang turned his head and mumbled: "Five more minutes."
"Agent Ginger! Get up this instant!" Zafina commanded.
Hwoarang seemed to ignore her.
Zafina took one of the ice buckets she had prepared in the hallway and threw it over him.
As soon as the water had hit him Hwoarang jolted out of his bed.
"God damn it, that's cold!"
Raven, Yoshimitsu and Asuka were the first ones to stand fully clothed at the entrance of there rooms.
Miharu and Xiaoyu soon followed after, sporting a fluffy head of bed hair.
"Agent Ginger!" Jun yelled as she looked at Hwoarang.
"Why are you greeting us in your boxers? Do you have excuse, son?"
"...Haargh, shut up already. I wasn't ready okay," Hwoarang sulked.
Jun frowned as she took his wrist and threw him across the room.
He landed softly on the sofa.
"I shall have none of that lip, son," Jun yelled.
"And you may from henceforth now address me as 'ma'am'. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hwoarang replied as he stood up.
"I can't hear you."
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Hwoarang shouted as he straightened his stance.
"Agents Storming Flower and Lila, why are you still in your nightly attire?" Jun demanded.
Xiaoyu and Miharu stared at each other in silence.
"Well? Cat got your tongue? On the battlefield there's no getting ready.
There's ready and there is not ready. Do you understand?"
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Xiaoyu and Mihura replied in nervous unison.
A wet Lei exited the door of his room. Zafina soon followed after him
"Ugh, so hung over," he complained.
"Agent Phoenix, you and the rest of this bunch are the sorriest bunch of undisciplined lowlifes I have ever seen. Did you think this was a vacation? It most certainly is not," Jun shouted.
"Agent Venus, would you be so kind as to inform these little weeds what we have in store for them today?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Zafina thundered.
"First up is a 10 mile run, then we are going to train and spar until a wish for death's sweet embrace occurs."
"Thank you, Agent Venus! You little weeds have exactly 60 seconds to put on formal attire!
Go, go, go!"
Hwoarang, Miharu, Xiaoyu and Lei bolted into their rooms in search of their clothes.
After an excruciating hike through the woods the party entered the house. "Hey, can we eat something now?" Miharu asked. "I'm starving!"
"Agent Lila, you will eat when we tell you it is time to eat!
And seeing it is time eat now, we shall eat now!" Zafina yelled.
"Today's breakfast is oatmeal with hard boiled eggs!"
"Ugh, do we really have to eat that junk?"
"Young lady, I do not appreciate the before-hand criticism of me making a nutritious meal for the lot of you and yes, you do really have to eat that junk!" Zafina yelled.
After the meal the party went outside for some more training supervised by Jun and Zafina.
At the left-side of the house they found a little playing ground where they found Lars and Angel.
"They're here already?" Yoshimitsu asked perplexed.
"Yes," Jun said, "they have been training way before you were even up."
"Right, my little weeds," Jun yelled. "This is how it's gonna go down."
"Agent Phoenix, one hour of Crane stance," Jun said as she pointed to one of the very narrow
balancing poles.
"Right," Lei said as he climbed on.
"Agent Storming Flower and Lila, one hour walking the ba gua circle," Jun said.
"Yes, ma'am," Xiaoyu and Miharu replied in unison as they ran circles opposite of each other
around Lei.
"Agent Ginger, one hour of kicking this extra sturdy punching bag," Jun said.
Hwoarang started to kick the bag left and right.
"And you Agent Violet will spar with agent Venus for the next hour," Jun said.
Zafina and Asuka looked at each other as the former assumed her Scarecrow stance.
"Agent Cherry Blossom, you shall cut wood for our fire place the next hour," Jun said.
"My sword has been used for nobler ends, but if pragmatism demands it..."
Yoshimitsu contemplated.
"Agent Nightshade, you have privilege of cutting the cut pieces of wood into even smaller ones," Jun smiled.
"Ma'am, are sure this is all necessary?" Raven asked.
"Silence now, begin your training," Jun replied.
As the agents were all busy training, Jun walked around to see how they were doing.
"Agent Storming Flower?"
"Yes, ma'am," Xiaoyu replied.
"Do it better," Jun said.
Xiaoyu paused.
"I didn't tell you to stop. I said do it better," Jun said.
"Hey, you don't even know my style," Xiaoyu said frustrated.
"I don't need to know your style to see you're not putting your all into it.
Do it again. This time with feeling," Jun replied.
Xiaoyu was rattled by Jun's words.
Had she just gone through her form without paying any attention to it?
Had she just done it the way she had done it thousands of times before?
Had she learned anything at all this last half hour?
"Agent Lila?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Miharu stuttered.
"You're doing it too sloppy. If you doubt how the moves should be performed you should watch how your colleague is doing them," Jun said.
The indirect complement didn't go unnoticed by Xiaoyu.
"At least I'm better than Miharu," she thought to herself.
"Still, that shouldn't get in the way of becoming even better," she pondered.
Jun climbed up the balancing post behind Lei and put her hand gently on his shoulder.
As she stood in a one legged stance she gently pushed Lei of the pole.
"Agent Phoenix, that is where you are off balanced. Work on that."
"Yes, ma'am," Lei replied as he climbed back up.
"Agent Violet, what have you learned in this hour of sparring?" Jun asked.
Asuka thought about her answer for a moment and then said:
"I guess it's to keep calm and to keep the eyes on the opponent," Asuka answered.
"Agent Venus, what have you learned in this hour of sparring?" Jun asked.
Zafina was taken aback and didn't know what to say.
"Do you think just because you outrank certain people, that there is nothing to be learned from the people below you? That is the foundation of arrogance. So are you sure you don't know anything?"
"I guess... it's not to overcommit?" Zafina said in an asking manner.
"Hmm, I guess that'll have to do for now," Jun answered.
"Alright, my little weeds, first hours gone," Jun shouted.
"This is what's next on schedule. Agent Phoenix, you may now switch legs.
Agent Ginger, you may now start using punches on your bag as well.
Agents Storming Flower and Lila, you may now walk the circle in the other direction.
Agents Cherry Blossom and Nightshade, you shall cut the cut pieces into even smaller ones.
And Agent Venus, you may now supervise as I train with Agent Violet for the next hour..."
So it was said, and so it was done.
"Next, we're going to play a ball game," Zafina stated.
"Tekken Ball?" Xiaoyu asked.
"What's that?" Miharu asked.
"It might have been a dream I once had," Xiaoyu said.
"In it I had to play a really weird ball game against a small, orange, dinosaur-like creature.
Seems like ages ago,"
Zafina went to get a big ball from within the house.
It was light, floaty and about 1,5 meters in diameter.
"These are the rules of the game. We shall divide ourselves into two teams.
The person with the ball can't be touched.
Only the ball maybe touched.
Persons without a ball may also be touched.
The first group to run the ball to the other side wins," Zafina said.
After an absolute slaughter of a game, it was Xiaoyu's team that proved to be victorious.
Hwoarang, Zafina, Yoshimitsu and Angel lifted Xiaoyu above there heads as they chanted and cheered.
"Next up, is one hour of meditation," Jun declared. "I shall guide the process," she said.
"Ugh, do we really have to?" Lars spoke for the first time in ages.
"It might help to clear your head, Agent Urtica," Jun spoke.
"Phuh, meditation? Sounds like phony-ballony, New Agey tripe to me," Lars said.
"Just give it a try, Lars," Miharu said.
"Yeah, aunt Jun, Xiao, Miharu and me all do styles where meditation is like an essential part and I doubt you'd call us weak."
"Hmm... I guess I'll give it a try then," Lars spoke.
After the session the group entered the house again.
Alisa who had been waiting with Panda stood up.
"Ha, everyone, welcome back," Alisa said.
"How was training?"
"Pink-haired goddess of technology!
I have seen the color that drips from an open door and licked what it bleeds!
The sweetest ambrosia is nothing compared to what can be found within!" a bare-chested Lars said as he sat on both knees while repeatedly bowing towards Alisa.
"Uhm?" Alisa paused.
"Don't mind him, he's been hitting his inner world a little too hard," Zafina clarified.
"Okay... where's his shirt?" Alisa asked.
"Said he didn't need it. It was choking his creativity, he said,"
"I walk silent amongst a silent herd. Sheep and shepherd am I.
I know no evil or folly for angels guide my tread," Lars preached as he rolled into a fetal position.
"Now away with you, pants!" Lars said as he threw his pants into the fireplace.
"And, away with you too, underpants!"
"That won't be necessary," Jun said as she grabbed Lars hands.
"But the pendulum should not be constricted! Ever potent the one with a forward moving clock!"
Lars said in an apologetic manner.
"Honey, you said angels guide your tread, right?" Jun answered. Lars nodded.
"Agent Moonflower would you take him to bed please?" Jun asked.
Angel nodded and grabbed his hand leading him towards his room as a mother would a child.
"Hugh, my feet are killing me!" Lei said as he plunged himself into the couch.
"So, Alisa, what have you been doing?" Asuka asked.
"I've been through in the forest together with Panda. We've been hunting together! Actually you're just in time for dinner. On the menu is Beijing duck."
"Ooh, my favorite," an upbeat Xiaoyu said.
"It's good 'cause I am starving," Miharu said.
"Hey, how does a robot know how to cook anyways? You don't even have a sense of taste," Raven said.
"I know how to prepare the meal and Panda is my surrogate sense of taste buddy!"
"A bear, a sous-chef? Preposterous!" Yoshimitsu declared. Panda grunted shortly.
After the vast banquet Alisa had prepared for the entire group Jun announced the following:
"Right, that was delicious. Okay, everyone, half an hour to digest and then we train for another three hours!"
"Are you kidding?" Miharu said.
"Of course not," Jun said firmly.
"Next we're going to arrange a little tournament.
I want everyone to have sparred with everyone else at least by the end of the week.
We should also do our best to give each other useful advice and at least cross train the basics in each others styles a bit,"
"You never give up, do you, Aunt Jun?" Asuka remarked.
"Would I be boss if I did?" Jun replied seriously.