New Life : A Second Chance

Chapter 22 - Kato

Three days later.

Master Shifu was busy observing Kyle, who was shirtless and doing the horse stance. He walked around him, looking at the position and then he would suddenly kick at the back of Kyle's leg. Kyle didn't flinch. Satisfied, Master Shifu then jumped up and landed right on Kyle's shoulders.

Kyle grunted, but didn't budge. Master Shifu bent down, staring at Kyle's face upside down. He then started running on the spot, with each step down pressing upon Kyle's shoulder even more. Kyle's stance shifted down a little bit on the 20th stomp and Master Shifu tsked.

Jumping off, Master Shifu rapped at the top of Kyle's head. "Is that the best you can do?"

"No, Master Shifu," Kyle replied respectfully, "But you gained weight."

"Cheeky brat," grumbled Master Shifu, rapping the top of Kyle's head even more, "Now go and spar with them."

Master Shifu watched as Kyle jogged over to the sparring mat. He had to admit, he was satisfied with Kyle's performance. He had shown great aptitude to the basics of the art, and his head seemed to seep all the knowledge and skills like a sponge. His mind was sharp, his senses were keen and his passion undeniable.

Master Shifu sighed, thinking of his own deceased son. He grudgingly admitted that Kyle was better than his son in this aspect. Master Shifu continued watching as Kyle first sparred with those of his same build, then bigger. Finally, to fight several at the same time. The men had been hired muscle, and were paid highly to be beaten up. The men were from various backgrounds, with differing styles of fighting.

Ever since D-Day, Kyle had been training like a demon. Theory and sparring safely wasn't satisfactory anymore. He needed real experience. Thus, the sparring was upgraded into the form that it is right now. As of last year, when Kyle entered puberty, Master Shifu had started another programme.

Like Batman, Kyle's duty was to infiltrate the seedier parts of town, save people and leave. Sometimes he was allowed to go out in the open and beat up the criminals in public (with his face hidden, of course), sometimes he was required to use stealth (enter their HQ or living quarters and). Kyle learned the basic rule of the street as well : Never show mercy.

It didn't take long for Kyle to get a street name: Ice. Kyle wore coloured contacts whenever he went out, but instead of opting for a less striking colour, he merely chose the type of contacts that lightened his own blue eyes. As a result, instead of deep blue sea colour, it was striking light blue. He hardly talked, he was cold, and he finished off his enemies quickly. "Ice" appeared fitting.

Master Shifu decided that today, was the day.

Calling Kyle over, Kyle first bowed as thanks to his sparring partners that were groaning on the floor. They waved at him, and he came over to Master Shifu and waited patiently.

"Kyle," Master Shifu began slowly, then sighed. Resolving himself, Master Shifu looked at Kyle straight in the eyes and continued, "Kyle Kato Smith. Do you accept?"

Kyle's eyes widened. Kato was Master Shifu's true name, carrying the name of the original ninja. It was said that Kato Danzo was his ancestor, a ninja that specialised in the art of illusion. It was Kato Danzo that gave ninjas the reputation of having magical powers.

Kyle immediately went down on his knees and kowtowed three times. "Disciple greets Master Kato."

Master Shifu/Kato patted Kyle's head, tears in his eyes. "Good, good. From now, the real training begins."

"Yes, Master," Kyle answered, getting up.

Kato Dazai was his Master's full name. However, the "Kato" name was not used, nor ever stated unless it was within the other ninja clans. By giving the Kato name to Kyle, it meant that Kyle was a successor of the Kato Art. Officially, he is still Kyle Smith. On the super-secret ninja clan ancestry list, however, Kyle's name had been inserted under the 'Kato' Clan.

When Master Shifu decided that the day before, he was a bit heavy hearted to do so. He looked at the greyed out name next to Kyle, and softly caressing it. "Son, meet your brother." he whispered, "May he break the curse that seems our Family is under." There is a saying amongst the ninjas : A competent Ninja cannot be loved by his Master. Their ancestor, Kato Danzo, had been betrayed by his Master, just like he had been betrayed by his.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Master Shifu rolled up the scroll and submitted it. The other clans would get its notification within 24 hours, and that was the time he told Kyle of his decision.

*** --- *** ---

Kay was inside her bedroom, busy tapping away at her keyboard. She was busy strengthening the security of the MIB system, not taking things for granted. The more jobs she took online, the more she had to be careful. Lots of people were trying to track her, or at least, find out who "K", the top hacker in the country, was. Kay would take the jobs more as a reason to hone her skills rather than for the money (though additional money is still nice), and she would avoid any criminal activities.

Okay, that was not true. She would participate in deep web activities as well, and hack into government secure bases - but it was not to cause harm to innocents. Gathering information that would allow another to obtain justice, put corrupt individuals to jail and blackmailing blackmailers were just a bit of the things she did. So, she was still breaking the law - but she wasn't doing any crime by her own definition.

Kay leaned back on her chair, satisfied after putting in the last code. She looked around and sighed. Her bedroom was decorated simply, her bed was littered with several soft toys : a dolpin, a cat, one small husky, one bigger husky and a long caterpillar that served as her bolster. Ever since they hit puberty, she had to stay in a seperate bedroom than Kyle. His room was just across hers, however, but she still felt lonely. Thus, she need all the toys to surround her as she slept, the slight pressure of the toys giving her some sense of comfort.

Still, she missed him. R

Right now, he would be training with Master Shifu. When he had first arrived, he was rather harsh but soon succumbed to their charms. Still, he didn't make any decision at letting Kyle be his successor. Despite that, Kyle was calm and stated that so long as Master Shifu didn't leave, they had a chance. He was patient and he knew it would take some time.

Kay snorted as she smashed the keys in frustration. Time, my foot. It has been 6 years now. What else could he be waiting for? Couldn't he see how awesome her brother was? Hah. He should be begging for someone as fantastic as her brother to learn his art.

Her eyes darted over the screen, seeing the information flashing by as her fingers flew across the keyboard. The money in their Swiss Bank accounts were steadily increasing, despite the expenses they had to incur for the maintenance and upkeep of MIB and its employees.

Stocks were up, investments were good. Bitcoins sold off at an unprecedented profit and people were still trying to buy it up, unaware that the time it boomed had long gone. It's still good source of money, but it wouldn't make anyone instant millionaires. Not anymore, that is. Kay was certainly glad that they now had people who would manage their money for them, and all she had to do was simply stare at the lovely amount in their accounts. That was something she enjoyed doing everyday.

Sure, their family was rich but it was the Family Money. This. This was their own money. Earned. Money money money. MY MONEY. Kay giggled. The sense of security and happiness from seeing it was priceless. In fact, the high spec computer she was using was actually bought with her own money. Her parents thought it was a 'normal' computer that was only a few thousand ... not knowing that it had been modified by parts that Kay obtained herself. Its capabilities and value was not "just" a few thousand.

In fact, everything that Kyle and Kay owned were mainly "wolf in sheep's clothing", like they were. On the outside, it (and they) appeared normal but its contents were completely different. It was akin to a spy movie, but with cooler gadgets. Previously, while still in primary school, they never used the items but things will change now that they are entering secondary school. They were going to be slightly more active now, but it all had to happen right under the noses of everyone else.

Kay laughed a bit when she thought of the movie "MIB". Kyle had told her about the movie before it came out, and had actually imitated it to a certain degree. Not just their items were hidden gadgets, their rooms also contained hidden compartments to house a few hidden things. It wasn't easy to build it in without their parents or the household knowing, but they managed somehow.

'Secondary school is going to be fun', Kay thought to herself. The Second Phase begins.