It was on a Friday when Jack did something stupid, it wasn't but the fifth day that Riddick had been gone, Imam was walking past the bathroom upstairs, the door was cracked a little and he caught a glimpse of something crimson red oozing across the floor, he wasn't an old dirty man, playing the peeping tom, he was worried about her, she was a kid and she had already been through hell on the Devil's planet, he knew Riddick had snapped something in Jack, she was walking around like a zombie and wouldn't talk to him. Imam had been talking on the phone to one of his good friends that had always helped him when he needed anything, he was an old Chinese man, no one really knew how old this man was, but the man could still train those that wanted to learn the martial arts. Slowly Imam pushed opened the door,
"Jack, dear god," Imam getting the broken kid in his lap, he had the phone in his hand, shaking, he punched the redial button,
"Lee, it's me, you have to get over here and bring your healing herbs, hurry," Imam hanging up. That night Jack did die, her last breath was drawn, but Lee gave her back her life and healed her wrist, but she would have to heal the rest her broken heart herself. She would have to piece together her life, but she was never the same after that night. The conman she looked up to, who she tried to become had ended her life, he had now conned her from her own breathe. All of it was gone he had taken away not only her last breathe, but every bit she had left; the ability to trust, to love, to even get close to a person. She developed sort of a disease as one might call it, she didn't like anyone touching her, she had a fear of getting close to someone so bad that human contact was a overwhelming nauseating thought for her. After that night she had tried to end her life, Imam thought of the perfect thing for her, Lee. Lee of course was getting in his old age now just as Imam though no one knew exactly how old he really was, not even Imam, but Imam sat her down and told her that she was going to go to school like the rest of kids her age, and she would go through training and if she would listen to what the old Chinese man had to say, she would be a great warrior, even better than the conman that had stolen her innocent life away from her without turning around. So, she started her new life, with school books and her sensei, the old Chinese man, her time was completely filled up. Imam and Lee had talked, they agreed that she needed a room where she could let go of her pent up anger that festered in her at times, so the basement became her workout room, with a punching bag, a dummy man to kick and punch who already had a name picked out for him; Riddick, and another punching bag in the shape of a ball that hung a little up high but it was mainly for punching. Everyday she studied and did her homework in school but when she got home she put her books away and studied the wisdom of the old crazy Chinese man who was now her sensei. Lee taught her fighting techniques but he also taught her wisdom with every hour they spent together. Over time, eight years to be exact time that it took her to actually look up to her sensei as a child would to their father, she hadn't even come to trust Imam that much, for all she knew Imam and that damned con had planned it out together that she would be left with the holy man, for all she knew she was just a replacement for his lost boys. She learned well in school and her teachings from her sensei, but she had no friends and the only family she considered was Lee. Her name was Keira now, and she would make a place in the galaxies for herself, if the planets aligned just to watch and laugh at her fail at this mission she would blow the hell out of those stupid rocks. She was a new person, filled with fury and determination. Now, it had been 10 years since she had seen the conman, who had stolen everything from her, even the innocent shine from her eyes, she was now 22 years old, Lee had sent her through the roughest part of training, combat with the most biggest and best of the people he knew of, which happened to be his biggest and best past students. Lee knew she was getting good in her techniques that he had taught her but now came the rest which along with fighting the biggest and best, she now had to anticipate the opponent's move. She got the shit beat out of her the first couple of days,
"Keira, calm your heart beat and want you to wear a blind fold and listen to the air around you," Lee putting a blindfold on her and taking his fight stance to fight her one on one himself. Keira did as she was told, she calmed her heart beat by doing her breathing silently and closed her eyes to concentrate even with wearing the blindfold. Lee started fighting her, slow at first then started to throw his punches and kicks faster, Keira blocked every punch and kick.
"Now, again I want you to open your ears and listen for movement, anticipate my moves of where I am in the room, I want you to hit me back," Lee explained.
"Sensei that is impossible," Keira huffed,
"Keira, you have done well with the training I have provided you, if the tiger does not stand his ground and attack the hunter at the exact given time, the tiger will always keep running, he will never be safe, and most likely be killed, now come, stand your ground and fight," Lee bestowing a little wisdom in Chinese form to her. Keira again took the steps to calm her heart beat and listened for any movements, for such an old man Lee moved with ease and stealth like she had never heard before, not even Riddick moved that silent, Lee kept circling her, waiting for her to throw a punch or a kick. She heard nothing, not even wind when he moved. Lee started throwing punches and kicks, again Keira blocked them,
"Come on Keira, fight me," Lee bellowedm that was all she needed, the basement echoed his bellow and she anticipated where he was and threw out a punch, he caught her fist,
"Good, again," Lee commanded. Keira again listened and calculated the angles he was coming from and within a minute she spun up into the air and kicked him in the face and flipped over onto her feet gracefully. Keira pulled the blindfold off and stared, she had actually got her sensei onto the floor, sure he was an old man but he didn't knock down that easily.
"Oh god sensei, are you alright?" Keira helping him up,
"I am fine, you have done well, I have another exercise for you," Lee getting a bowl full of metal balls and showing her.
"Blindfold on," Lee strongly, Keira slipped the blindfold on,
"I want you to do the techniques I taught you while you catch these," Lee explained, Keira did her techniques and caught the little metal balls flying and bouncing off of the things in the room. With Lee as her sensei she learned to see what wasn't there in the darkness before, she learned to feel with her senses she never thought she had, she learned to really smell things with her nose like she was learning to smell for the first time, all of these instincts animals already had been born with, Riddick, the Furyan already had. Again Keira went up against the strongest and biggest and best that her sensei had known, she was given a staff this time, she started with one guy first then another man joined the first man she was fighting, till she was taking on six men at a time! Next would be real katanas, by the time she was through the training with the katanas she was all bloody and cut up. Lee had sat her in a bath and magically healed her wounds closed.
"Can't you heal them completely?" Keira confused,
"You will bare the scars to know and remember your decisions and mistakes," Lee showing the scars that she had created so long ago on her wrists. Keira rubbed the thin scars on her wrists,
"I have came very far, sensei, I want to be able to control my anger, I feel so much anger towards him, I want to move as stealthy as you do," Keira thinking.
"Riddick is a very complex man, if you want to be better than him you will let the anger go, only through meditation can you allow your body and soul free from such pain, and if you want to be as stealthy as I am you will have to study the tiger in wildlife and watch his every move," Lee explained.
"Sensei, can you tell me why my parents and Riddick didn't want me?" Keira thinking the old man was so wise he would be able to tell her.
"Greatness of a tiger is not stopped by other tigers of the family, the tiger only knows of his own protection and protecting his cubs, meaning, the people who you have loved and held dear to you, were either trying to protect you or they didn't want to hold you back from becoming who you truly can become Keira, you can't see of all the greatness you can become, you can only see how far you have come since our very first meeting in the bathroom, why did you make that mistake?" Lee questioned her. Keira stared at the blood tinted water,
"He broke me sensei, I had never thought I would be abandoned again, I just felt numb all over, like I had my life stolen from me, I just wanted to feel something, anything, to be alive again," Keira explained softly.
"You did die Keira, back then you had nothing, and suddenly I gave you a breathe of air and you were reborn to the family who knows you have such ability to become so much more, Imam took you in not because he felt sorry for you but because he saw his chance to help you to become great, he wasn't afraid of the greatness you hold deep down, there are some who never see the greatness a person has, others see too much of that greatness that lies dormant deep down, and they run away but sometimes if you are lucky you come across someone who wants to truly help bring that greatness to the surface," Lee explained as he stood with a robe open for Keira, she got out of the bath,
"Like Imam and you…," Keira putting on the robe. She closed the robe and tied it, she hugged Lee.
"Thank you Lee, you have no idea how much you have impacted my life," Keira letting tears slip down her face silently,
"I think I have an idea how much, and if I ever had a daughter I would hope she was as great as you," Lee hugging her tightly.
"You have been a great sensei Lee," Keira smiling up at him,
"And you have been quite a student, you have done very well in your training, I am very proud of you," Lee smiling.
"Go get some sleep, and study well in school," Lee explained, Keira bowed and Lee bowed to her and she left and headed for a cold shower to relax her body down and to wash the coppery smell from her body. Today had been tiring both mentally and physically, she knew this night wasn't over yet.