Balamb Garden. Quistis' research lab.
"Ugh..." Acma struggled to handle a gallon of solvent, still feeling the effects of her physical and martial arts training with Zyma. Acma had explicitly asked Zyma not to strain her wrists because she had delicate tasks to handle in Quistis's lab. He granted her wish and targeted her rib cage instead. Now, she had to rely on an office chair with wheels to move around the lab.
"Are you okay?" Quistis looked concerned for her lab assistant.
"I'm okay. Thanks for asking, Miss Trepe. It's just from training..." Acma smiled, trying to find a position that would reduce the pain.
"Don't work too hard. You've taken on too many responsibilities. If I were you, I would take time to get used to the new environment first." Quistis offered advice, something she herself should have followed during her teenage years.
"I'll be fine. I just need to take advantage of Zyma's off-mission time. Whenever he's gone, he's gone for weeks," she said.
"Speaking of the devil..." Quistis glanced towards the glass pane.
Acma excused herself from Quistis and caught up with Zyma outside the lab.
"You're early. Are you looking for me?" she asked.
"Done with work?" Zyma inquired.
"Um..."
"Tell Quistis to take care of it. Come with me to Balamb."
"Now?" Acma confused. "Why are we going to Balamb?"
"For physical training, focusing on strength. Xu wanted your Str stat to increase by 2. Gotta work harder, pupil."
"When will we be back?"
"If you work hard, you'll be able to return soon enough to meet up with your boyfriend after curfew," Zyma smirked.
Acma rolled her eyes. "Boyfriend?"
"You sneaky..." Zyma's smirk grew wider. "That silver-haired boy. Good looking. Good build. Low durability though. Let me know if you two need any items to boost his performance."
"You..." Acma gasped. "You followed us to the Secret Area?"
"I live in the Training Center. Hard to miss that," he replied with a knowing smile. "No need to be ashamed, kid. We all have needs."
"What did you say?" Acma forcefully closed her eyes, wishing she could find a hole to jump into. She restrained herself from giving explanation, realizing it wasn't worth her time and effort to argue with this pervert.
"Enough. Let's get back to business. Lead the way, sensei," she composed herself.
Balamb, a forest near Alcauld Plains.
"What is this place?" Acma frowned as they entered the woods, following a path that was moderately clean and lined with stones. However, it still emitted a somewhat shady atmosphere. "I thought we were going to Balamb town."
"Oh, relax. Walk faster. This place is sealed with protection, so there are no monsters around," Zyma dismissed her concerns.
Soon, the path led them to a house made of bamboo in an ancient Chinese style.
"Is this... someone's house?" Acma asked.
"It used to belong to Master Miyagi," Zyma replied, placing a brick to keep the doors from closing.
"Master Miyagi? The former instructor at Balamb Garden?" Acma inquired.
"He was an independent contractor, teaching the first generation of SeeDs, then Xu and me. Zell was his last pupil," Zyma explained, and for the first time since they had met, Acma sensed sadness in his face.
"Such a loss. I heard he was a legend and a great teacher," Acma remarked.
Zyma nodded and gestured for Acma to pick up a rag from the table. "Can you help clean the table? I'll get a broomstick."
As Zyma vanished into another room, Acma took it upon herself to clean the table while staring at the wooden columns adorned with ancient Chinese scripts.
"Virtue, Wisdom, Humility..." she read aloud, reciting the motto that hung in the center of Master Miyagi's altar.
"You know ancient scripts?" Zyma walked out, surprised by Acma's ability.
"Just a little. I've helped transcribe a few ancient scripts discovered by archaeologists, particularly those involving early sorceresses. It's quite challenging to decipher the meaning of these words nowadays. The Lunar Cry and the invasion of monsters don't spare any regard for precious cultural artifacts," she replied.
"I see. GFs also speak different languages. I know a bit, enough to communicate with them. But yes, it's disheartening to think about how this knowledge gets lost," Zyma agreed, still holding the broomstick.
"Do you want me to clean this place?" Acma offered.
Realizing his primary purpose, Zyma switched to his commanding voice. "Indeed. Here, use these. Sweep away the dry leaves in the front yard as well. I have some guests coming tonight, starting at 2000. You clean, and I'll go into town to buy more supplies."
"Leave it to me!" Acma eagerly accepted the task. She had read about Master Miyagi's methods of physical training, using daily chores as a way to imitate real martial arts moves. She felt proud that Zyma, one of Master Miyagi's descendants, was passing on his legacy to her, an unknown girl from Trabia.
She began meticulously cleaning every inch of the house. There were stains on the curtains. She noticed a few holes, which she would have attributed to cigarette burns if it weren't for the fact that the house belonged to the respectable Master Miyagi.
"Probably caused by Fire magic," she pondered. Acma proceeded to take down the curtains and washed them meticulously. Afterwards, she hung them on the ropes in the front yard, making use of the remaining sunlight of the day.
"One, two, three!" Acma counted and slid on the wooden floor with a wet rag, meticulously tracing back and forth to clear the tiniest specks of dust. She attached a device to measure her heart rate and other stats. Zyma's physical training had left her body bruised and sore, but after two months, she could feel herself growing stronger.
Grunting and catching her breath, she looked proudly at the clean house—a great achievement in just half an hour. Zyma would be pleased with her work, and she hoped that Master Miyagi could see her efforts from his altar.
The front door to the yard creaked open, and Acma heard her sensei returning.
"What the heck are you doing?" Zyma shouted.
Taken aback by his vulgar language, Acma stumbled over her words. "Cleaning... like you told me."
"Damn it, I told you to sweep and do a little cleaning. I didn't ask you to turn this into a dollhouse. What are these flowers for? You've completely ruined the vibe!" Zyma snapped.
Feeling a sense of unfairness, Acma looked at her cleaning work again. "I thought some flowers would make the house more... livable. I can get rid of them."
"Please do. I want the shady, gloomy look back. It suits the tournament better," he said, then walked into the kitchen. It was then that Acma noticed the two large bags of groceries he was carrying.
"What tournament? Are your guests participants in a tournament?" she asked, following him into the kitchen.
"Yes. They're not the friendliest bunch, more like the rough types. So be quiet and don't talk to anyone," he replied as he unloaded the groceries onto the kitchen table.
"Do we cook dinner next?" she asked.
"No... you do. Can you cook?" Zyma turned to her, smiling.
Acma wasn't entirely confident. While she could handle a few simple dishes, cooking a large amount of food for a party was no joke.
"Okay, show me what you can do, nerd." Zyma pulled out a dozen carrots. "Start by peeling these."
Acma stared at the large carrots on the kitchen table.
"Um... where are the cutting board and knives?" she asked.
He scoffed and shook his head. "Of course, what do I expect? Fine, I'll show you how, and then you can do the rest. Practice makes perfect, kid."
He took out a sharp knife and held a carrot with one hand, spinning it while peeling off the thin layer within a few seconds. What remained was a beautifully peeled carrot.
Acma's jaw dropped.
"Now for the next step." Zyma retrieved a knife that looked more like a ninja blade. "This technique is more efficient when you have more carrots, but I'll just cut one for demonstration purposes."
He tossed the peeled carrot high into the air and began slicing it, the cut pieces landing neatly in a nearby wok.
"See? Who needs cutting boards? Cut the veggies stir them all together. Soy sauce is in the pantry. My guests aren't too picky, so just make something edible. The booze and cigarettes will take care of the rest," he finished his demonstration. "Easy, right?"
Acma was shocked and began to question her decision to transfer to Balamb Garden.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to cook for your dubious guests at this shady tournament, in your late master's house you've unlawfully transformed it into your underground inventory, and you dare call it my physical training?"
"Exactly! It's about building strength and learning how to handle a ninjato," he nodded, still smiling.
"I'm leaving." Acma grabbed her cleaning apron and shook her head, heading for the kitchen door.
"Oh, come on, stop whining, princess." Zyma changed his tone. "Do you want to end this mentorship right now after all the effort you've put in? Don't tell me you haven't improved."
Acma paused at the door.
"You just say these because if I don't help you, your guests will be starved and it's not good for your business," she mustered up her courage to speak back. "I'm your pupil, not your servant!"
Zyma's gaze locked with her intense burgundy eyes, and she immediately regretted her harsh words.
"Fine. You can go," Zyma said, then turned back to the groceries.
Acma was surprised at his lack of push back. "You're letting me go?"
"Yeah. I don't believe in forcing anyone, especially women, to do something they don't want to do. I have my own standards. Farewell, Acma. It's been good," he replied curtly, his eyes still fixed on the carrots.
Acma tried to process his words and wondered what would come next after this shattered mentorship.
"Are you sure you can handle all of this by yourself? It seems like a lot of work until 2000," she asked hesitantly.
"Uh-huh. I'll be fine. I thought having you here would make this more fun since Sean is no longer here, but... Anyway, go and enjoy your youthful life," Zyma said, his words laced with a hint of sadness.
Acma rolled her eyes internally, annoyed by his attempt at a guilt trip. Was he really a sad lone wolf, or just skilled at manipulation? She couldn't help but feel a mix of frustration and resentment towards him.
"Fine. I'll help you, but just for today. I need to figure out with Miss Xu if ending our mentorship will affect my upcoming SeeD exam," Acma reluctantly picked up the knife.
"That's my girl. It's all yours. Bring your friends if you need more help," Zyma said, slipping an apron onto Acma.
"Wait... Where are you going? I thought we were going to do this together?" Acma asked, her confusion evident as she immediately regretted her decision to come back.
"I did say you're the one to cook, right? I have to go back to the Garden and load up more items. The tournament is just an excuse to sell stuff," he explained.
"Okay..." Acma had more questions, but none of them seemed relevant to the task at hand. "Will you be able to pick up my friends to help? And please, compensate them with some items. Unlike me, they're not your slaves."
"Sure. Shoot me their names," Zyma replied.
Acma quickly listed a few names of people she had managed to become friends with in her short time at Balamb Garden.
"No, not Trepie #23, please," Zyma rejected the suggestion.
"But she's the only one I know for sure can cook!" Acma protested. She barely knew the rest of her classmates from S20, having only hung out with them a few times in the cafeteria.
"She's in the Disciplinary Committee. She's too upright, she'll definitely report this event," Zyma explained.
"What kind of tournament is it?" Acma asked, puzzled.
"I'll pick them up," Zyma evaded her question once again and left.