Chapter 3: Musings and meetings
Wayne manor: The big mansion looms over Gotham as if, by some mistake of fate, it was given the undesirable duty of watching over the city. Most gothamites would laugh at this, knowing that the current occupant of the house could hardly take care of himself, much less the city.
Among the citizens of Gotham city, the reputation of billionaire-playboy Bruce Wayne seems to have only one positive: his money.
Not one of those people knows the secret life of Bruce Wayne. Nobody knows of what lies underneath the stately mansion. Nobody knows just how seriously Wayne truly took his life.
The secret world of the martial arts elite, though, is a bit different from Gotham city. For one thing, to be trained by a true martial arts master, honesty is required. Every master knows his pupil's name and even if that name is changed, masters do not forget the fighting styles of people they encounter.
Underneath the mansion, in the cave, Batman pondered upon this fact and realized that his studies of the martial arts have finally come full circle. Walking amongst his mementos, he realized that in every martial art he studied, there was only one where he did not reach the top.
Reaching into a glass case, he took a rectangular box and opened it up. "There it is" he muttered, looking at the rolled up parchment inside.
He often wondered to himself about when the scroll would be completed. By the actions shown by Yeshua when they parted, he knew that he only needed to wait for the challenge to come to him. Yeshua would seek him and he would answer.
Thinking of how Yeshua treated his son, he knew that Yeshua only wanted to let him know he was coming. Contrary to what people might think, non-lethal combat is much more difficult than killing. It takes precision and mastery to be able to bring down your opponent without killing him. You needed to have control, and if there was one thing the Bat had, it was control.
The Dark Knight roused himself from his musings and, taking the box, walked towards his dojo. Before stepping inside the room, he removed his cowl. The dojo was a place to be respected, here his mind lay open, and his face revealed.
Removing his armor, he went to a small chest on the side of the dojo door and there retrieved a gi. The gi was obviously old. Although it was still white (Alfred insisted it be kept so), It was torn in some places and patched up on some, a symbol of how much experience the wearer has had (at least, it was the reason Bruce gave to Alfred for not buying a new one).
Tying on the belt, Bruce bowed before stepping into the mat. Reaching the center, he faced the door and bowed again. "Welcome" he said in a voice devoid of emotion, but without the harsh, fear-inducing tone of the Bat.
In the shadow of the entrance, a figure suddenly appeared. Having prepared before coming to the cave, Yeshua entered the dojo with a bow, walked towards the center to face Bruce, and bowed towards him.