Next Thread 23: The Art of Zen

[BreakABone]

I am doing this for the first time in a long time without the aid of spell check and grammar as I oddly don't have a writing program installed on this computer. Go figure.
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2
Zen entered the train with a single swift motion.

His presence was greeted by several men who wanted to introduce him to their fist and feet. Zen moved with the speed of a cheetah as he dodged and evaded their attacks effortlessly.

Finally when he had thrown them off balance enough, he launched into the offensive. His foes fell to the ground before they were able to feel the punches connect to their faces.

He stood over the dropped body ready for another assault when he heard a slow, mocking pair of hands enter the room.

"Bravo! Bravo good sir." TML came strolling into the room through the rear train door. "What do you think you have accomplished by beating up on a few of my hard working employees?"

Zen's eyes burnt with a fire that would incinerate a forest. "I'm here to put you behind bars, and to shut down your organization!"

Zen's eyes almost shot out of his head when he heard TML's reaction. It started off soft and then grow louder, laughter... heart-wrenching laughter. "Put me behind bars for what? Transporting goods for the needy? Don't tell me the mighty hero doesn't support the little man?"

"Transporting goods? The only goods you transport is to sell to the misguided and desperate!"

"Look around you boy, do you see anything of the sorts!" TML rips open a bag nearby, clothes falls to the ground, "Does this look like goods they don't need? Do they not deserve clothes to keep them warm at night!"

He kicks over a box and canned food rolls along the ground, "Let me guess, you are all for starving them as well! The mighty hero only looks out for himself I see. Who have you even saved recently?"

Zen felt something bubbling up inside of him, he did not know whether it was guilt or anger, but he knew he had lost the battle for the day. He slowly walked along the train corridor until he came face to face with TML.

He said in a low, but harsh tone, "You may have other people fooled, but I am on to your game, and you will slip up. I don't know how you did it today, but I will haunt you until the day you are caught. And I pray to god that it is by my hands because you will burn for what you did."

TML attempted to put a hand on Zen's shoulder, but it was quickly brushed aside, "And trust me, I know all about your powers so try to put your hands on me again and I will break your wrists."

Zen slowly backed away before making his exit through the door in which he came in.

TML stood nervously observing the scene.
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So I hope that was enjoyable.

[BreakABone]

Not a single response... Fine!
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3
Zen felt defeated as he heard the train fade away in the distance. Everything was perfect, but somehow TML had stayed a step ahead of him once again.

He would return to his apartment and regroup.
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Now Zen stood perched on the roof of a building adjacent to his apartment. As he stared into his apartment, the empty space he called a home, he could not bring himself to enter. He could see through the glass the reflection of failure. He felt the pain he had been trying to bury since he got off the train.

He had came face to face with the man who was responsible for his mother's death yet again, and once more he had returned home with nothing to show for it. Sure, he had put dozens of criminals behind bars, but this one always eluded him. He could not figure it out.

He felt the anger building up inside of him, he had to get away from here. He would clear his mind.

He turned his back to his apartment, the bare white room grew further and further as he built up speed. Then he closed his eyes, and took a leap.

The sensation was phenomenal, he had come alive again. He could feel the wind tap dancing along his face. His eyes caught glances of people, of reflections, of light, but they all blurred together into one uniform image.

He could see the ground growing larger and closer to his face. He had done this so often, he forgot just how refreshing it could be. One thing he had never forgotten was the split second timing he needed in order to not become sidewalk art.

He first grabbed the flag pole to slow his descent a bit. As his hands reached the end of it, he pushed himself forward landing on the opposite building. Now most people wouldn't believe it, but he runs down the side of the building ever so gently until he reaches a mini ledge which he uses to lower himself to the next level.

From here, he leapt down to the sign hanging over the entrance to the building, and hit the ground perfectly.

It was a rush he needed. Now he had to get the frustration out of his system.
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Zen now stood dwarfed by a giant non-descript building. From the outside, it appeared to be pretty rundown and beatup with only a tiny sign that hung low over the door announcing its presence, but Zen knew its true secret.

This was the only place in which he found comfort and guidance after his father then he found solace after the death of his mother. He knew that without this place his life would have been a completely different story.

Maybe it could have been better, but he knew better than that. This place allowed him to get back on track, and has kept him there for many years.

As he walked around to the back of the building, he looked up at the tiny sign that read Master Yodam's Dojo.

The Dojo taught many students from the very young to the elderly, and while they all enjoyed their time there, few of them took advantage of the perks the way Zen did. As he had discovered early on, the Dojo was never truly close to those he needed it.

So this is how he found himself at the back door on this night, he would let off some frustration in the most productive manner he could think of.

He opened the back door to enter into a pitch black room. Zen remembered when he questioned Yodam about installing a light switch by the door.

Yodam responded as he generally did with a long story in which the moral was the only answer. Zen could hardly remember the story, he had heard so many, but he remembered the moral being something along the lines of things in the dark frighten you only because you do not accept the dark.

Zen had taken away that Yodam wanted his students to be as comfortable in the dark as they were in the light. It took some bruised toes and busted ego, but it finally got to the point where Zen was able to navigate through the entire Dojo blindfolded.

A skill he was prone to show off to new recruits every now and then. Granted, he didn't really need it on this night as he had already found the light switch in the time it took him to reminiscent about his master.

He placed his fighting gloves on and went over to his favorite spot in the dojo. He found his favorite punching bag and began working it over.

As he was working on the bag, he saw flashes of people he had helped, and people he had failed. And then he saw the one face that haunted him more than his mother.

"I hate you... I hate you so much..."
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Yay another part down.