About a week and a half passed, and so far, PIXAL only had them do warm ups - "baby steps", she kept saying. The boys' bodies were starting to get used to the training, but only in the slightest. By the end of the first week, nearly all of the boys could push their bodies straight up off the ground and cycle their legs in the style of PIXAL's balance exercise; however, none of them could handle the clay weights yet or perform the exercise on one hand, much less swap hands.

Regardless, each of the boys were itching to get some actual learning done. Every day when they came to the Monastery, either one blader or another came up to the white Nindroid to ask her to teach them something other than the fact that their bodies can quite literally scream in pain. Some martial art moves, or, dare they dream, Spinjitzu. And every time they asked, she would always tell them the same thing: "baby steps". Which they took to meaning "you're not ready".

So that day, when the boys came to the Monastery to train, and they saw PIXAL standing next to the clay weights - she kept them out every time they trained with the hope that one of them would soon be able to handle them - one of them finally snapped.

It wasn't one that they excepted, though.

"Okay, enough is enough!" Boa grumbled loudly, startling those around him. Up until then, Ren Wu was the only one to show hostility towards PIXAL's teachings, but even he was silent towards the goldenrod haired boy's outburst. Boa was usually quiet, hanging out near the back of the group. Yet for some reason, today was different...

The group parted to let the new Master of Form through; his walk towards PIXAL was brisk and laid back, as opposed to Ren Wu's imposing stride the day he had challenged her. He wasn't coming to interrogate, merely to ask something of her.

PIXAL stared Boa down. It seemed to be her first line of defense towards opposers. "Is there a problem, Boa?" She asked him gently.

"Yeah," He said back, but not nearly as harsh as Ren Wu had been. "Not to disrespect your teachings or anything, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we're getting tired of just doing warm ups."

"Oh, really?" PIXAL asked flatly, her green eyes probing the rest of the group; some shied away from her gaze while others stared right back at her, conveying that yes, they did agree with Boa's statement. "I'm sorry, it seems that your moaning and groaning for the past few days flew right over my head."

Boa smirked. "I'm not saying we don't enjoy the exercises, but they're getting pretty repetitive. I'm just saying, I think we would all appreciate it if you'd give us something a little more challenging."

"You say that, but none of you have perfected the Balance Exercise yet," PIXAL reminded him, all of them. She gestured towards Fubuki and Kit; both flushed under the attention. "The younger ones still can't cycle their legs for more than 45 seconds. I just want to make sure you all are ready before we try anything too difficult."

"We know, we know, 'baby steps'; like we're some goddamn toddlers," Lui grumbled from the back of the group, much to the disdain of those around him. He could make the atmosphere of a room drop just by opening his mouth.

"Uh, which we appreciate," Shu added quickly with a warning glance at Lui. "But you never know; maybe learning a few moves could help us with the exercise!"

PIXAL appeared to consider, though her eyes remained apprehensive. In an attempt to weigh in her decision, Valt spoke up from next to her. "Come on, Pix; what's the harm in teaching them a few of the basics? Like Shu said, it could help them with the exercises." His albino boyfriend shot him a grateful look.

She gave him a long look, though the apprehensive look in her eyes was gone. Then she looked back at the entire group and found them all looking at her with hopeful, pleading eyes. Even Lui and Free had expectant expressions. Each pair of eyes held the same plea: Teach us something else, please!

The group staring contest lasted for about 30 seconds, then PIXAL finally blinked and sighed. "Fine. Form the sparring circle; we'll skip the warm ups today and start with the fundamentals of the Art," She relented, already moving to take the future center.

There was an outburst of ecstatic gasps and laughter. Boa was hailed as some sort of hero as the boys moved to form the usual 12 foot circle, getting numerous fist bumps and claps on the back for getting the usually immovable PIXAL to change up the day's training regime. The poor boy wasn't used to the attention, smiling uneasily and shaking his fists slightly as he lifted them to accept the fist bumps. PIXAL's green eyes followed him as he took his place in the circle, an unreadable smile on her white face.

When the group had formed the circle and had quieted down, PIXAL began speaking animatedly, "I told you all that today, I would teach you the fundamentals of the Art of the Dragon. That it is not entirely true. The truth is you already know the fundamentals. Everyday, every time you do something you love, you're exercising the basics of the Art. With each movement of your body, every twitch of your limbs, you're performing one of its root traits. You may have seen Karate Kid - the sensei told the student that Kung Fu is in everything we do. And maybe it is, for them. But for us, the Art is in everything we do. Today, I am going to show you some of the root traits in basic activities."

"Well, this ought to be good," Lui audibly snickered. "Most of these bums probably view eating and laying on their asses as a basic activity. They probably don't even do anything that lifts a muscle." He laughed cruelly, rejuvenating everyone's dislike of him.

"I wouldn't talk, Lui!" Kit spoke up, feeling brave. His tan hands were clenched into fists as he faced the blue flame haired blader. "I haven't seen you flexing a lot of muscle lately, either!"

Shark teeth came into light. "WHY YOU LITTLE-" He started, reaching for the little Spaniard. The orange haired boy squeaked and hid behind Free's legs, who looked surprised at the sudden contact. Those around the two immediately reacted, some going to defend Kit while others went to hold Lui back.

"That's enough, all of you!" PIXAL exclaimed loud enough to scare even Lui into submission. Those who had reacted to the sudden scuffle turned back towards her fast enough to cause whiplash, ears burning with the mortification that a student gets when they are caught by a teacher. PIXAL noticed the red ears, but only sighed deeply and turned to Lui. "Might I remind you, Lui, the Art of the Dragon focuses mostly on inward balance. That means you must find the balance between your anger and your peace. That also means that while you may snap and make snide remarks towards your teammates, I would appreciate - and by that, I mean we would all appreciate - if you'd refrain from violence. ESPECIALLY when I'm teaching."

At the giggles from the other boys at Lui being called out on his attitude, PIXAL addressed them as well, "And that goes for all of you!" Lui's face was red from being reprimanded, but he didn't show it as he smirked at those who had also been called out around him.

PIXAL continued, "As I was saying, the Art has roots in everyday life; whether you're aware of it or not. I will now demonstrate one such root." She turned to the boy who had started the whole thing. "Boa - since you asked for this lesson, you can be my example."

Boa froze, those around him casting nervous glances at him and each other. The last "example" PIXAL had help her make a point was Ren Wu, and he'd ended up with second degree cuts. If she had gone so far over a mere outburst, what would she do for a complete rewrite of the day's agenda? Would she do worse? Would she completely humiliate him to make an example in front of the class? The emerald eyed blader found himself unable to move while PIXAL stared at him expectantly.

"Boa," She said, gently this time. "Don't be afraid - please come over here."

Against his better judgment, Boa walked from the safety of his teammates and took the position directly opposite from PIXAL, making sure to keep a safe distance. Unfortunately for him, she closed the few feet until she was less than half a foot away - this was going to be a hands-on lesson. "Show me a move, or series of moves, that you know well," She instructed him.

Boa's mind went blank. "Uh...what exactly are you looking for?" He asked. "Maybe I can show you something specific."

PIXAL shrugged her shiny shoulders. "Anything," She said vaguely. "Perhaps...your launch style."

Finding it oddly ironic that she had told him to show nothing in particular, then told him to show her something very specific, Boa complied. He spread his legs and bent them and positioned his hands as if he was holding his launcher, with his left hand above his right. He counted from 3 in his head, then pushed forward with his left foot, pulling his hands apart and throwing them opposite ways while he did it.

PIXAL observed his form frame by frame, contemplating quietly. Then she moved forward to lay her hands on his body. "Do that again, but slower," She told him. Confused, Boa went into his launch position again. PIXAL gently nudged his feet farther apart, then slowly adjusted him so more of his body weight was leaning on his left leg. With his hands, she curled them into fists and moved them into more a boxer stance. "Now go through the whole sequence," She instructed. Boa paused, getting his footing, then pushed off with his left foot and swung his fists. To his and everyone's surprise, he got at least a foot off the ground and more than three feet away from his original position. He fumbled a bit when he landed and nearly went headfirst into his teammates; they caught him before he could face plant on the cobblestones.

(Do I know if this would work in real life? No. No I do not.)

"It needs some refinement, but that move could probably take out two people, at least," PIXAL told Boa's flailing form proudly.

Everyone in the group gasped as Boa stared at her, then at his own hands, as if he couldn't believe his own body had just performed such a powerful move.

A loud guffaw broke the stunned silence, and everyone turned to find the source. It was Lui, who was laughing in disbelief. "Oh, come on!" He yelled. "All you did was add a few fancy tricks to his launch style! How could you possibly have known that it was a move in the Art of the Dragon?"

PIXAL did her creepy stare with him, causing him to take some of the heat out of his stare. "Like I said before, Lui," She said firmly. "It needs some refinement in order for it to do some true damage. The finished move would probably look something like this." She lowered herself into the same position Boa was in, with her feet spread apart and her right foot in front of her left; her chest was twisted sideways, with her fists held in front of her collarbone. After pausing, she pushed off with her left foot, effectively pushing herself at least three feet off the ground. She spun in the air a few times with her fists flailing before her right foot met the ground first. Once it met, she stopped spinning and had both hands delivering a blow rivaling that of a sledgehammer by the time her left foot met the ground.

When she was done, every boy breathed a sigh of relief that she had not used the move on them.

"As to your question, how did I know it was an established move?" She continued, straightening and looking back at Lui, who had gone pale. "The truth is, I didn't know. Like I said, the Art has roots in everything. All you need to know in order to use it is the basic rule: Everything is the Art. You just need to know how to turn an everyday activity into a way to attack or defend. Make the Art your own!"

(Does that logic make sense to anyone? I have no idea what I'm talking about anymore.)

Boa stepped forward timidly. "So...will I be able to perform that move?" He asked quietly.

PIXAL smiled warmly at him. "You will be able to perform that move, and more, with practice, young Boa," She promised him. "I will teach you and the others how to properly use the Art, and you'll be able to spar with it."

"Does that mean the Spinjitzu lessons are coming sooner than later?" Valt piped up, grinning slightly.

PIXAL snickered. "I wouldn't go that far," She admitted, much to the annoyance of those around her; the ancient art of Spinjitzu was in many of their ancestral memories, and the boys were itching to learn it. As it turned out, though, they would have to wait longer in order to learn it.

Done with her main lesson, PIXAL turned to the rest of the group. "Now...who wants to go next?"

—————
2313 words.

I don't know how to write about the fundamentals of martial arts...