The Lost Scroll of Fudo Shin (12 page)

Jimmy bent his knees and continued running.  The air seemed to rush in and out of his lungs more easily now and before long, his muscles had warmed up to the point that he started to forget about the pain.  

Gradually, he started gnawing down the distance between him and Vanessa.  She was still ahead of him, but each step brought Jimmy closer.

She's probably just feeling sorry for me, he thought.

I doubt that very much.

Why?

Because she is not here to feel pity for you.  She is here to make sure you train and learn what it is that you need in order to survive.

Oh, great.  I thought she was here to protect me.

She did that already.  Now she is here to start the next phase of your training.  You should endeavor to enjoy it as much as possible.  

Sure thing, thought Jimmy.  He continued running and finally, he managed to crank out the twenty laps.  

Vanessa stood by the superstructure calmly sipping on a bottle of water.  A faint sheen of sweat glistened on her skin, but she otherwise looked perfectly normal.

Jimmy, on the other hand, was a sweaty mess.  He stopped and bent over double trying to reacquire his wind.  He could feel the sweat rolling down his back, soaking his sweats.

Vanessa handed him a bottle of water.  "Drink this.  Slowly."

Jimmy accepted it and felt the cool water slide down his throat.  He opened his eyes and saw Vanessa appraising him.  

"Not too bad on that go-round.  But you'll have to do better.  A lot better.  By the time this journey's over, you'll need to be able to endure a lot more than just a nice little jog."

"But why?"

Vanessa sighed.  "I suppose you'd like an answer to that question?"

"Yes.  I would."

"A lot of this may seem completely bizarre to you, Jimmy.  But it's the truth."

Jimmy smirked.  "I've nearly been killed multiple times already.  Nothing seems bizarre to me anymore."

"Fair one," said Vanessa.  "All right, there's no real way to put this gently so I'm just going to say it: you are the last in a line of mighty warriors stretching back nearly one thousand years in Japanese history."

"The last?"

"Which is why this man Kotogawa wants you dead.  Your family, the Matsuda-ryu, represents everything that Kotogawa's family has opposed over the centuries.  Namely, for all the good the Matsuda-ryu attempted to bring into the world, the Kotogawa family did their best to spread evil, greed, and cynicism."

"Why would they want that?"

"Because they have always known that the best way to control others is by using lies, deceit, trickery, and evil.  Such things keep those with simpler minds occupied and enables the Kotogawa to amass more wealth and power."

Jimmy stared at the waves surrounding the ship.  "And my family stood up to them?"

"Indeed.  Kotogawa comes from a long line of aristocratic samurai who ruled portions of Japan for many years."

"Was the Matsuda-ryu samurai, too?"

Vanessa smiled.  "No.  They were Ninja."

Jimmy looked at her.  "Ninja.  You mean those guys who wear black and sneak around at night killing people?"

"Don't fall for the common misconceptions purported by those who would rather you believed exactly that."  She took a breath.  "Ninja were the super spies of feudal Japan.  The used all manner of technique to gather intelligence on their enemies, they were supremely trained warriors able to do things that seemed to defy logic.  And while there may have been some clans that hired their services out to the highest bidder, your clan - the Matsuda-ryu - were honorable and devoted to the notions of peace and prosperity for all."

"And Kotogawa didn't like that."

"No.  They did their best to stamp your family out in ruthless fashion."

"But they didn't succeed, did they?"

Vanessa shook her head.  "No, they were unable to find all of the family's operatives.  But they tried their best.  And when they realized they couldn't find everyone, they did the next best thing to killing everyone: they stole the very things that gave your family its power."

"Things?  Like what?"

Vanessa sighed.  "Apparently, your family possessed a series of relics that represented what they stood for, gave them their purpose in life, and, in some way I don't quite understand, supplied them with the power of good."

Jimmy frowned.  "So, I'm here because there's no one else?"

"Exactly.  And if Kotogawa manages to kill you, the Matsuda-ryu will die out for good."

"Yeah, but this isn't feudal Japan anymore.  I mean, what's the point?"

"The point, Jimmy, is that the need for the Matsuda-ryu is now even greater than it ever was back hundreds of years ago.  Kotogawa has spent years building up his family to the point that they now have their hands in almost every country on the planet.  Their reach and influence is without measure.  As such, they are slowly steering the planet toward an almost inevitable future of darkness."

"Almost inevitable?"

Vanessa aimed a finger at him.  "You're the almost, Jimmy."

"But I'm just a kid."

"You're fourteen now.  Back the heyday of the Matsuda-ryu, field operatives were sent on their first missions when they were fifteen and sixteen years old."  Vanessa smiled.  "Of course, they'd been trained since about the age of three, but no matter.  We'll get you up to snuff soon enough."

"Three?"  Jimmy shook his head.  "Wow, that really makes my two days look impressive, huh?"

"All the better that I start you on another technique," said Vanessa. "But first-"

Her punch arced out at Jimmy's head faster than he would have expected.  He swung his left arm up and blocked its path, then using the water bottle, he stepped in and drove it up under Vanessa's chin, snapping her head back.  He moved forward and drove Vanessa down on to the seat of her pants.

Vanessa laughed.  "Fair one.  Nicely done.  I like the addition of the water bottle."

"I didn't have time to put it down," said Jimmy.  "Had to make do with what I had."

Vanessa's smile faded into a more serious expression.  "Exactly.  You had to make do with what you had.  Never forget that you said that because it's critical that you remember it.  Improvisation is an integral part of surviving a confrontation.  You won't usually have the luxury of scheduling a fight or being able to know what will be going on when a fight breaks out.  They will simply happen and you had best be able to deal with them, regardless of what you might have been doing seconds before."

She dusted herself off as she got to her feet and nodded.  "So: not bad, Jimmy."

"Thanks."

"Just don't let it give you a big head.  You're a long way from being a competent fighter."

Jimmy set the water bottle down.  "All right, so show me some more."

Vanessa held up her hands so they floated in front of her.  "Always keep your guard up.  Stay behind it and it will protect you.  Don't chase punches that don't come near your core or head because you'll just be wasting energy.  Only defend against stuff that can truly harm you."  She smiled.  "Now give me a straight punch and aim it at my head."

"Left or right?"

"No matter."

Jimmy unloaded a solid shot aimed directly at Vanessa's head.  But instead of intercepting it as she had shown him in the previous technique, this time, Vanessa simply brought her whole body off the line of the attack.  As Jimmy's hand sailed through empty space, she snapped her fist up into the softer muscles on the inside of his punching arm, right above the elbow.

Jimmy's arm exploded in pain.  "Yow!"

But Vanessa was already counterattacking, driving off her rear leg and punching into Jimmy's midsection.  The punch impacted and Jimmy found himself driven back and down to the deck.  

Just as he landed, Vanessa brought her rear foot up and drove her heel right into his chest.  The force knocked him back until he was sprawled out on the deck like a rag doll.

"Ordinarily," said Vanessa as she helped him to his feet.  "That last kick would have been to your groin or ribs.  The result would have been far more devastating."

"How did you do that?  You weren't even where my punch was."

Vanessa smiled.  "Well, why would I stay there?  I had room to maneuver and I chose to use the environment to my advantage.  And by angling off the line of the attack, I was able to choose a spot to counterattack.  You felt the effectiveness of my counter punch, right?"

Jimmy rubbed the inside of his arm.  "I'd say so.  Hurts like hell."

"And so it should have," said Vanessa.  "There's a bundle of nerves near that spot that I hit.  If you can damage the opponent's weapons, he won't be able to hurt you."  She removed a piece of chalk from her sweatpants.  "Now watch."

Jimmy watched as she drew a straight line on the deck.  "This is the direction of your punch on a straight line."  She then drew another line angled off at forty-five degrees.  "And this is where I moved to."  

As if to emphasize the point, she now stood on the forty-five degree angle line.  "My position when I stand here enables me to attack your centerline - the line running down the center of your body - and compromise your balance with less energy."

Jimmy stood on the punching line and examined their respective positions.  Vanessa was to the inside of his punch and despite the fact that he should have been able to reach her, she seemed untouchable.

"Angling gives me the ability to hit you without you being able to hit me."  She reached up and flicked her fingers at his eyes.  Jimmy blinked and fell back.

"That's pretty amazing."

"That," said Vanessa, "is water.  Think of the movement as a wave.  First it recedes and then crashes back into the beach."

“It’s different from what you showed me before,” said Jimmy.  “It may take a while to get used to.”

“I’d be surprised if you picked it up quickly,” said Vanessa.  “Your attitude is a lot more suited to a fiery type of energy.  What we have to do is make sure you know how to pull tactics from every type of perspective, not just the one that happens to feel the most comfortable to you right now.”

Jimmy frowned.  He didn’t necessarily see himself as being fiery, but if that’s what Vanessa saw in him.

She put her arm around his shoulders.  “Remember the flare?  You didn’t hesitate.  You didn’t think about it; you were right there ready to do what needed to be done.  That’s a fire energy.”

“So, that’s good, right?”

Vanessa shrugged.  “Well, that depends.  You can be overly impulsive and let the fire burn you up, so to speak.  The key to being any type of personality is to use the energy well, without letting it consume you.  That’s why you’ll learn how to use all of them equally well.”

“All right.”

Vanessa backed up.  “So, ready to try the technique I just showed you?”

“I guess so.”

She blinked.  And then smiled.  “Ah, I see.  Not going to be impulsive now is that it?”

Jimmy grinned.  “Something like that.”

“Well, you’d better get moving because here comes my punch.”  And even before she finished saying it, her punch was already rocketing toward Jimmy’s face.  He barely had time to register the action and then tried to jerkily take his body off the line of the attack.  But instead of angling like Vanessa had showed him, he simply moved back on the same path as her punch.

Vanessa’s fist sailed into his mouth and Jimmy tasted blood.  He reeled back and brought his hand across his mouth, smearing a line of crimson across his cheek.  “Jeez.”

She stopped.  “You’ll be fine.  Nothing like a swollen lip to remind you not to ever stay on the same line as your attacker.  You can see why that’s not a good idea, right?”

“Uh, yeah, because you punched me in the face?”

She frowned.  “Yes, obviously, but beyond that there’s a deeper lesson to be learned.  If you simply back up on the same line, an attacker intent on hitting you will simply charge ahead and flatten you.  Their momentum will overwhelm you.  You need to move off the line of the attack and into a safer position.  Then you can counter.”

Jimmy licked some of the blood off his lips.  “Okay, I guess I get it.”

“Good,” said Vanessa.  “Because we’re going to train until you get it down just right.”

Jimmy sighed.  “So much for getting a meal after the run, huh?”

“You can eat,” said Vanessa, “when you learn the technique.”

Chapter Thirteen

As the days at sea began adding up, Jimmy had to admit that he was actually enjoying himself.  He could feel his strength increasing with every day he trained.  Vanessa was a merciless instructor who urged him on well past what he thought his limits were.

“Your mind rules your body,” she had told him repeatedly.  “Even when your physical shell wants to quit more than anything else, you must drive it forward with the strength of your mind and spirit.  It will obey.”

“But won’t I just be injuring myself?”

Vanessa had smiled.  “Let me put it this way: if you were trying to evade a hunting party of armed soldiers intent on killing you and you had to run twenty miles across the desert to reach freedom, would you?”

“Well, sure…”

“But what if your legs ached?  What if you were thirsty?  Would you quit knowing that you would surely die?”

“No.”

“Exactly.  What we are attempting to teach you is that your body is capable of so much more than whatever you have believed in the past.  Most people go through their lives convinced that their bodies have limitations and they must accept them.  This is not true.”

“It’s not?”

“Your body is just a means of conveying your mind and spirit.  And its capabilities border on what people would consider supernatural.  But most people have no way of knowing how to tap that power.  The ninja of the Matsuda-ryu - your family - knew how to accomplish their goals regardless of obstacles that would stop anyone else.”

Jimmy took a sip of water.  “And this training will show me how to tap into that power?”

Vanessa smiled.  “Everything in its time.  For right now, we have to get you to a standard of passable physical prowess before we start showing you the incredible things you can truly do.”