Bruce Wayne

Chapter 10: The Way of the Warrior

Bruce's hand drove straight down with focused power, shattering the stacked bricks in front of him.

"Very good," Yuro Sensei commended.

Bruce bowed at the waist toward his instructor before returning to his place with the other students. He knelt down on the padded flooring and watched the next student approach the front where a second stack of bricks was waiting.

When Bruce saw who was next, anxiety began twisting in his stomach. He knew something had to be done, but it wasn't his place to interfere. If he interrupted the proceedings, Bruce could be disciplined or expelled. The twin gunshots responsible for killing his parents rang loudly in his ears, and he could hear the clatter of pearls as his mother's necklace broke and scattered over the alley floor. Once before, he'd witnessed something wrong and been unable to stop it, but this time would be different; this time he could take action.

Leaving his position, Bruce rushed to the front of the garden courtyard where the testing was taking place. Crossing his wrists, he formed the back of his hands in a V-shape, catching the student's hand before it could strike the bricks.

"Explain yourself, Wayne-san," Yuro Sensei demanded, his voice never diverting from the even tone that was his standard.

"Pardon me, Sensei," Bruce apologized. "He's been favoring and massaging his hand and wrist since yesterday's practice. He's injured. If he'd hit the bricks, the only thing broken would have been his hand."

"Quite so," Yuro Sensei said, acknowledging his awareness of the situation. His steely gaze passed over the students. "I wanted to see if any would notice and which among you would act."

"What if no one had taken action?" Bruce questioned, wondering how close the student would've come to breaking a hand.

Yuro Sensei didn't answer with words. Without looking away from Bruce, his right hand struck directly out to the side, the index and middle fingers coming together in a scissoring motion. A petal from a cherry blossom had been descending slowly on the breeze until Yuro Sensei's fingers perfectly snatched it out of the air. Silently, Yuro Sensei held it out to Bruce and dropped it in his hands.

"Forgive my doubt, Sensei," Bruce apologized with a respectful bow. He should have known the Sensei wouldn't let one of his students be needlessly injured. If Bruce had not responded, Yuro Sensei would have.

"You have all come here for training," Yuro Sensei told the class. "But, of what use is this training if you only look after yourselves and not others? Never be so consumed by your own lives and personal interests that you do not notice those around you and the ways in which you can help them. When a stone is cast into a pool, it creates ripples, spreading across a space many times more vast than the width of the stone itself. Your lives are the stones, and your actions are the ripples, expanding and combining with those from other people. Never doubt your ability to reach another, even one you do not yet see, for no one can know how far their ripples will spread and whose lives they will touch."

                                                                                          ***

Bruce waited until the class had been dismissed before speaking with Yuro Sensei. A question had been lingering in the back of his mind, and he needed an answer.

"What troubles you, Wayne-san?" Yuro Sensei asked. He had his back to Bruce while tossing a few handfuls of seed to some garden birds, but he seemed aware of Bruce's presence.

"I had a question about our studies," Bruce began. "Our focus seems to be more on philosophy and mental attitude than on the physical. Although there is combat training, it seems to be secondary in importance."