The Martial Arts Prodigy

Chapter 8

Song up above: Confident by Demi Lovoto

"Defeat is a state of mind; No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality." - Bruce Lee

AN: This chapter will now focus on the backstory of Vanessa Urban.

[Vanessa Urban POV]

High school, an enemy of most, but for me, it was just another page of my life. Growing up in high school, I was shy, weak and I actually got my ass kicked a lot. High school was like purgatory for young kids, every fucking minute, someone was ready to beat you senseless and shame you into submission.

The first three years are the hardest, you always the target of some popular arrogant asshole, just so they can fill up their own ego. Every day was a new humiliation, being hazed by cheerleaders, bullied and beaten by pea-brained jocks... yeah, it was just another period in my life.

I would always come home to my mother with a scar or bruise on my face. She didn't know what else to do, so she decided to send me away to the mountains in Japan. Legend speaks of a group of ninjas that train only someone seeking their deepest desire. I was seeking to break away from my weakness of fear, I desired to have the strength to confront my demons.

When I met the ninja's I was taken to meet their Grandmaster. His name was Tai Shin, master of the twelve arts of Ninjitsu. I had no idea my mom knew a Ninja Grandmaster. He taught me the way of the ninja, taught me how to deceive and use theatricality to my advantage. You must become a wraith in the mind of your opponent.

Training was excruciating, I remember one session where my flexibility was tested. My body was stretched out in places it shouldn't be. I felt like Jean Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport, it was not a good feeling. But it was good for my mental strength, as I learned to work through pain, to put pain in its place.

Thirty-eight, there are thirty-eight different forms of Ninjitsu. Thirty-eight forms and I mastered all of them in only two months. As I said, it was grueling and rigorous, but my training was not over.

"You have fought through the pain, but you now must delve deep into the abyss. Only through the darkness, comes true light. You have look inside your soul and embrace your fears and insecurities. Become one with the darkness."

Slipping into a deep meditative state, I wonder all the dark corners of my mind. It feels different from the aura of the real world. When you go into a dream-like a state, your fears can manifest into anything that catches you off guard. Confronting the darkness within meant confronting the very thing that I never admit. I was afraid of not having the strength to protect myself or those that I love. I feared to be helpless and never being able to fight.

My master tried to strike me with a metal rod, but his attempt proved to be a mistake. When I grabbed the rod, my master smiled with amusement. I have achieved ultimate enlightenment with my soul. When I was sent home, it was back to business as usual. But something in me changed... something snapped. No longer would I be humiliated by the same bullies, I decided to put an end to it once and for all.

Every time a lowlife would try to attack me, they would leave with a broken appendage. But, my activities would eventually catch up to me, as I was sent to an all-girls school for my erratic behavior. While there, I met a few friends that actually thought I was cool. It took me awhile to open up to them, but eventually, I broke out of my silent shell and embraced them as equals. I felt free for the first time, being among friends who cared about me.

Throughout my years here, I excelled at my academics and I was a star student. I have never loved being at a school so much in my life. Even though I looked like a semi-gothic girl, I was not ashamed of it at all.

Everything was going my way, that is until the day after I graduated. My mom died two days later, right after seeing me walk across the stage. Although I shed tears, I was not sad, she lived a full life and I always know she will be watching over me. What had me troubled, was that someone killed my friends that I had for the remainder of my school year.

They were reported shot to death by a man dressed in jet black, with a scar on his left eye. I was distraught that the only friends that I had, were killed in cold blood without a care. I wanted vengeance for their deaths, so I tirelessly tracked the killer down. I find him targeting a mother with her child, threatening to kill them both. I silently approached him and I kill him with the silent stroke of a whisper in the wind.
Although I got vengeance for my friends' deaths, I still felt empty.

I guess life was teaching me a lesson about having friends don't take them for granted and appreciate them more because they can be gone by the snap of a finger. I managed to get through the pain by taking time to grieve. Once I did that, I noticed that I had received a letter in the mail about a school. This school knew of my training in Ninjitsu and they chose me to be apart of their curriculum.

I couldn't say no, I did participate in a few tournaments in my spare time, while my mom was still living of course. I thought this could be a unique opportunity to expand my horizons. So I came here and I met a woman who was a Dragon Style master, followed by a woman who fights with the speed of a panther among others. I no longer felt alone, I was finally among friends once again. I know now that this will last not for a minute, but for a lifetime.