DC: Don't Utter A Word

Chapter 68:

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If we reach top 8. I will post the last chap of this arc today. And maybe more. If we continue to rank.

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[David Lance POV]

After finally finding Master Kirigi, he surprisingly agreed to train me, even though I was expecting many refutals from his part, mostly because Batman had said he was a man hard to convince; however, against Batman's profile of the man, the moment I asked if he could train me, well, he accepted.

So, the very next morning, my training started.

The first thing we did that very first morning was to test my reflexes. With Master Kirigi throwing different objects at me, from knives to stones, my objective being simple enough, to dodge them all; needless to say, this time was rather easy.

"Hmm, so you are a superpowered being," Master Kirigi muttered to himself. "I see; then this will be more difficult than I thought. I will need to adjust my training for your conditions."

-If it helps, I have trained for quite a while in many martial arts, so I'm sure I have the basics down, at the very least,- I wrote on my notepad before showing it to him.

"Interesting," Master Kirigi said after reading my short message. "But be that as it may, I shall be the one to judge that."

For the next following hours, I continued doing various different tests under Kirigi's watchful eye; with me passing each test with flying colors.

"Very well then," Kirigi finally said after several hours of testing. "It seems you indeed have the basics down. But there's much to improve."

That felt insulting, but he's the master, one that Batman trusts enough to train me, so I guess he knows a thing or two I don't.

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For the next following weeks, I underwent a series of grueling training regimes under Master Kirigi's tutelage, regimes he had modified just for me. Every morning we would start with a quick round of reflex tests, with him using a machine gun to shoot at me from very close before moving on to actual combat training.

I honestly had no idea where he had gotten a machine gun, and I really didn't feel like asking.

After that, every afternoon was dedicated to learning different techniques from multiple different styles of hand-to-hand combat. For the most part, I was already familiar with some of the styles he was teaching me and their applications in the real world.

However, no matter my familiarity with the style, Kirigi would always start from the basics, building from there up.

"You might think you know everything there is to know about a certain style, but in actuality, you only know the surface of it," I remember him telling me after reading the confusion on my face during our first-afternoon session. "The true mastery of any style comes from the understanding of every minuscule detail. After all, the true mastery of anything comes from the mastery of the basics."

I nodded in response, taking his words to heart.

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As the weeks of training turned into months, I felt my skills grow by leaps and bounds under Master Kirigi's guidance. Not only was I getting better at hand-to-hand combat, but after our training had become more and more complex, he had added weapons into the mix.

Meaning I was also becoming more proficient in the use of different weapons, both traditional and non-traditional.

"A true warrior is not defined by the weapon they wield, but by their own skill," Kirigi would always say during our training sessions. "For It is the skill of the warrior that determines whether they live or die in battle, not the weapon they use."

On that, I couldn't agree more.

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[Batman POV]

I kept track of David's progress closely, checking on him when time allowed it. According to Master Kirigi, he was progressing through his training rather fast and would most likely complete it within a month or two from at the pace he was going if he didn't slow down.

I had originally intended for David's training to last longer, much longer. I had clearly underestimated his potential and ability to learn.

Be that as it may, I was content with the results he was giving.

Especially now that I was taking into consideration making a new team, one to do what we as the League couldn't do, work from the shadows.

Seeing as the candidates for this team lacked the experience necessary to completely succeed on the mission at hand, David's training would prove to be invaluable.

He was the only one of all the candidates for the team who had enough solo experience as well as very comprehensive training from a variety of experts and heroes. I had yet to see if he could manage a team effectively, but even if he didn't take the role of the leader, be it because of personal preference or other circumstances, his valuable experience was sure to assist whoever took up that responsibility.

However.

Before the team could happen, I had to ensure Richard had a talk with David about what happened more than fifteen months ago. I was well aware Richard was avoiding this talk, and seeing as he had made no moves to come clean, I have decided to make it so that he doesn't have a choice but to come clean.

I had been, so far, very patient, displaying a quality of character I severely lack.

So, now this talk was on my hands.

I was well aware that this wasn't going to be easy for either of them, but it had to be done. Richard needed to confront what had happened and what he had done in order to move on, especially if he was to ever forgive himself.

I wasn't sure how David would react, but it was safe to assume some bridges would come down, not because of what Richard did, that by itself was more than enough, but because he failed to come clean, instead opting to avoid David.

But that would have to wait for David's training to be done. Hopefully, things would go better than I anticipated.

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