1 Chapter 1: Ignite...
Stepping off the Greyhound hound bus, I grab my phone out of my pocket to check the time.
4:00 PM.
As the other passengers exit the bus, few as they are, I check the local taxi service phone number on Google. Going through the motions that have become second nature every time I arrive somewhere after a long trip gave me time to think about my destination.
I haven't seen my parents in almost a decade since I parted with them on bad terms. I guess it's not normal to have a son who wanted to travel the world for the sake of perfecting martial arts instead of going to college to get a degree.
Surprised as they were, it made sense because I always kept any money I got as a kid in a bank account my parents set up for me when I was little. When all the other boys and girls spent cash on toys, I patiently gathered small amounts from birthdays and holidays.
During those several years I looked up different martial arts and visited dojo's in the city with my parents. My mom and dad figured it was a good idea since I wasn't interested in sports that this could be a substitute. Indeed, it ignited the fanatic inside of me that was hidden behind all the kung fu movies I watched when I was little.
I was no genius like the protagonists from novels or movies. No Bruce Lee, but I had perseverance and stubbornness that wasn't common in kids around me. Everything martial arts felt like it resonated within my core personality.
Those lessons ingrained the idea of traveling the world to further myself into my thoughts.
That's how I found myself staring at the sign for departures to China at the DFW airport.
That's how I began my journey that shaped who I am today.
That's how I started the road to becoming a martial artist who broke through the barrier that others who spent their entire life trying to but failed in the end.
-----
"Hey you gonna get in or what? You're wasting my time!"
Broke from my reminiscing, I narrowed my eyes and assessed the situation around me looking for threats while subtly shifting my weight to my toes and widening my stance by only a few inches. The duffel bag on my shoulder shifting to an easier position to fall down to my hands in case I need more mobility.
As all of this happened with the time it takes to blink, I realized I was overreacting and that the taxi cab was parked in front of me while the driver had an impatient expression on his face. I relaxed my guard a little bit and simulated a bashful look and rubbed the back of my head.
"Sorry, I was just overwhelmed with finally coming back home to see my parents."
The driver softened his face some,
"Alright, get in quick and let's go, I'll pop the trunk for ya."
After setting my bag in the trunk I opened the door to the back seat and entered. Sitting there I reflected on my careless actions earlier and realized that returning home has affected me more than I thought.
The taxi continued to drive while I tuned out the taxi drivers attempts to make conversation. After a few minutes he understood that I prefer a quiet atmosphere.
After 30 minutes or so to go from one side of the town to the other I was looking out of the window at a house in a suburban neighborhood.
Sitting in the car, I feel the memories of my youth come from the back of my mind, threatening to overtake it and demand tears to be shed.
The voice of the taxi driver drifts over from the front seat like a greedy demon pinching a gold coin between its fingers with a sly gleam in its beady eyes.
"That'll be $35 sir."
After paying the taxi driver and grabbing my duffel bag from the trunk I walked towards the average house with brick walls and faded white paint.
Looking over at a house near the end of the street, I could see a subtle shift of space in the shadow of the roof. If it were a normal person without my enhanced senses that would be impossible to see.
Sighing with exasperation I continued along the path to the front door of my parent's house
Once I was at that familiar front door I hesitated for a few seconds before ringing the doorbell.
I took a deep breath to relax a bit as I heard the slow footsteps inside the house at a superhuman level and the slight smell of air freshener that my mother always used.
Suddenly the door opened and a middle aged lady with almost a full head of white hair stood staring at me in confusion. Before I could piece together a sentence the confusion turned into shock and tears gathered in her eyes.
"Son!"
My mom rushed into me at a crazy speed that shouldn't be possible for a lady at her age and hugged me with a grip that seemed to use all of her emotions as fuel.
I could feel the tears falling from her face as they soaked my shirt while she sobbed. Guilt stabbed at my heart when I saw that she had too much white hair for a woman of her age and the almost malnourished body.
"I'm sorry mom."
She shook her head while crying and pulled back to smile at me with that boundless love that all mothers have.
As tears were about to fall out of my eyes I could hear a car slowing down on its way to our driveway.
Turning my head around I could see an expensive BMW pull up with blacked out windows and black rims. I squinted my eyes at the shady car as it lowered its passenger window and a man with a buzz cut wearing military fatigues glanced at me with a grim face.
It seems that the military was a little antsy at my return. I didn't expect them to contact me so soon.
My stiff posture and sudden silence made mom realize something was wrong, and she separated form my hug and noticed the new arrival.
Before she could ask I told her everything was fine and it was just an old friend I met during my travels.
"Okay, I'll be back inside getting dinner ready." Even though she had doubt written all over her face she still walked back inside the house.
As I approached the vehicle I enhanced my hearing by directing the chi in my core to my ears. I could hear the heart beat of the solder speed up faster with every step I took towards the car and his grip tightening on the pistol holstered on his chest.
My face remained neutral as I opened up the back door and entered while inspecting the inside.
The only other passenger besides the driver was an older man in a military uniform with more than a dozen patches for accolades stitched on his left side chest along with the three stars showing his high rank as Lieutenant General.
The atmosphere was tense inside as the Lt. General studied my expression with a solemn face.
The Lt. General was the first to break the silence seeing my laid-back expression and "f**k you sir" face.
"What is your agenda for coming to back to America?" The steel in his voice could be felt from a mile away but it was useless as far as I was concerned.
"If you're wondering whether I'm here to spill blood and reap lives then you're mistaken. As the head of my organization I have control of everyone, so you can feel relief when you go back and inform the president."
I didn't have to rely on my inhuman senses this time to hear the man's teeth grit together.
"As a person who is on the top of every worldwide agency threat list, you should realize that any move you make is followed by speculation from government bodies throughout every level of the country you arrive in. I shouldn't need to remind you that any aggression on your part will be met with the full force of the four branches of military."
The threat was deflected from my amused face like a BB gun against an armored car. However even if I didn't really care about their might, I also knew that my family was more important than anything and would always be a concern in the case of an enemy's revenge against me.
"Well as much as I would like to toss threats and trade verbal attacks between ourselves all day, I have some business to attend to. Stay solemn Lt. and give the president my regards."
Leaving a smirk on my face and those words behind, I exited the vehicle without looking at his and his soldier's expressions.
----
"What an infuriating fellow."
The Lt. General sighed to himself and reached inside the briefcase that was attached to the backside of the drivers seat to take a thick stack of files from a folder titled:
"Top Secret.
Name: Ryan Anderson
Alias: Master Ryu, Devil of Murim, Dragon Clan adopted son/heir, Head of Shadow Organization 'Ascendance'.
Family: Mother (Jane Anderson), Father (Kane Anderson[deceased]), Wife (Asuka Tachibana).
Threat Level Designation: Do not KOS (kill on sight), Results predicted 0.01% chance of success without destroying infrastructure and extreme loss of innocent life. Target is to be monitored 24/7."
The soldiers in the front seat didn't dare to disturb the Lt. as he sighed continuously with an irritated mood.
After a few minutes the man re-stacked the files and put them back in the folder before signaling to the driver to leave the home and return to base.
----
Eating with my mother was an exhausting event as I maneuvered through my PG rated version of my story, leaving out any dangerous parts.
By the end of the story, it was described as a spiritual journey where I learned a lot of culture and met individuals that helped shape me into the person I am today.
For the most part that is actually true except for the violence, conspiracies, the fact that I can bend steel bars into a bread dough twist and punch through concrete walls like cardboard, and am the adopted son of a Chinese martial arts clan and run a shadow organization that is tied to several events that took down dictators and could cripple a mid-sized nation's military...
Not to forget that I didn't mention my wife is the daughter of the biggest Yakuza family in Japan.
Life is complicated.
As I rested on top of my bed to go sleep after reminiscing with mom I could see the window of my room slide up slowly as if it were a ghost controlling it.
"Minus points for the bad stealth display earlier, sweetheart."
In front of me the air shimmers and distorts as the fake image of the surroundings turns off and the intruder is revealed.
Standing at about 5"4' is a black haired Japanese beauty with facial features that would normally give a 'ice princess' vibe if it weren't for the grin that stretched across her face.
Shifting around in excitement wearing her black sci-fi looking catsuit with a katana attached to her back, my wife Asuka Tachibana could barely restrain her voice,
"It's good to see you again, Husband!"
Thankfully the walls of the house were thick and our conversation couldn't be heard or else I wouldn't be able to imagine the expression on mom's face!
I rose from my bed to hug her as she figuratively rocketed into my arms at the speed of light. After a good 30 seconds or so we separated before looking into each other's eyes and started kissing.
It was love mixed with a lot of lust as before I knew it both of us were undressed and going at it like animals in heat.
The separation from each other for a few days felt like years as we made love for hours only getting interrupted once as a curious mother knocked on the door.
The situation was explained with a simple "I'm exercising to fix my stiff muscles from the ride to town."
Asuka and I smirked at the innuendo while mom left to go back to bed.
We went through many "Forms" during our "training" throughout the night...
