Chapter One
A swift right hand darts towards the ninja like a cobra. Like the ninja being attacked, his opponent wears a black ninja-yoroi. Quickly, the ninja pushes his attacker's hand off course. As the attacker's left arm comes up to take a swing, the ninja grabs it with his right hand and pulls his opponent to him. The ninja twists to the side slightly so his left hand goes under his opponent's outstretched arm. The ninja presses his fist into his opponent's back just between his shoulder blades, and using his immense strength, is able to flip his opponent onto his back.
Although it is faint and undetectable to an untrained ear, the ninja can hear the light bounds of a second opponent sneaking up behind him. This new attacker wraps his right arm around the ninja's neck, choking him. The ninja elbows him in the stomach, making him release the ninja. Grabbing his attacker's arm, the ninja slides behind him, twisting his arm backwards over his head. The attacker gets lucky and gets a chop at the ninja's face, catching him off guard so that he loses his grip on him.
The chop spins the ninja around just in time to see his first opponent, now back on his feet, throw a punch that the ninja is able to catch. Attacker number one swings a high kick, but the ninja ducks beneath his leg. Now behind him, the ninja pushes him to the ground. As attacker number one rolls away, his partner hops over him, landing in a roll to the ninja, and attempts to swipe his feet away from beneath me. The ninja cartwheels out of the way of his kick.
Attacker number one charges, but again the ninja blocks his punch and jabs him in the side. The ninja grabs attacker number one's arm and undercuts him in the jaw. Attacker number two kicks the ninja in the side, but the ninja gives him a blow to the side of the head. Attacker number two finally looks down for the count. Attacker number one is blocked by the ninja, before receiving a final two punches to the chest. He is down now.
All is silent in the monastery as the ninja slips back into the shadows. He ignores the throbbing ache in his abs as he slowly sneaks his way through the shadows, listening for a sound.
He feels before he hears.
A fist emerges out of thin air, colliding with his chest, knocking him to the ground. The ninja gets up, and leans back quickly as the fist shoots towards his face. The attacker kicks, and the ninja grabs his leg. He loses his balance and lands on the ground. Instantly, the attacker's legs shot up and hit the ninja in the chest, catching him off guard. He managed to stay on his feet, but the attacker sprung back to his as well. As the ninja threw a punch, the attacker caught his fist, and spun behind him, pulling the ninja's arm painfully behind his back, and finally flipped the ninja to the ground, where he laid panting, his chest rising and falling, beat.
The ninja on the ground pulled down the black hood of his ninja-yoroi, revealing his handsome, chiseled, fair American face, unwrinkled from his young twenty-six years of life. His black hair lay unkempt, messed up from the fighting. His opponent, an ancient Korean man with a long, pointed beard that matched his long, white hair, pulled the younger ninja to his feet. Unlike the ninja, the old man wore no black ninja-yoroi. Only a thin, white Sensei's robe and pants.
"Let me try again," the young ninja begged between gasps. By now, his Korean was fluent. By now, he was fluent in every language known to man. "Please, Master Kirigi."
Master Kirigi stared at the ninja, as if searching the depths of the young man's thoughts. "You cannot win," the master said slowly in Korean.
The ninja punched a wooden column in anger, splintering it in two. "Master, I know I can learn ninjutsu. I just need another chance!" The ninja looked down in frustration. He had gone too long without meditation. There wasn't any time for neither meditation nor sleep. He needed to train. Again, silence filled the monastery.
"Bruce," said Master Kirigi calmly. Bruce looked up slowly. This was the first time his Sensei had addressed him by his first name. Bruce's anger was replaced by a sense of surprise as the Korean sensei began to speak in English, which Bruce had never heard him do before. "You have traveled the world for over a decade since a very young age, mastering every fighting method from boxing to jiu-jitsu. You are fluent in every know language from Spanish to Chinese. You are an expert in chemistry and forensics, and you are at the peak of human physicality and intelligence, and you can escape any trap." The sensei looked Bruce in the eyes. "Any trap but one." The sensei walked to a window and looked out at the high, snowy mountains of Korea. "You have perfected your body, but your mind is still weak. The only trap that you are not allowing yourself to learn to escape from is that of your Past. If you never learn to confront the Truth of your Past and accept it, you will never truly find what you seek."
Bruce hadn't moved. He stayed standing in silence where he was, his back to Master Kirigi.
The sensei turned to Bruce. "Tell me, Mr. Wayne, what happened to you all those years ago?"