The first of the five muggers Bruce approached had his back to him, letting Bruce close the distance between them unseen. The other criminals were focused on their intended victims and didn't notice Bruce coming until it was too late to stop him.

Bruce lashed out with his left foot and struck the unaware thug hard on the back of his right knee, causing the leg to buckle and tip the man backwards as his balance was thrown off. Before the man could recover, Bruce struck again, driving his fist hard into the man's jaw, slamming him to the ground on his back.

Attention diverted from the two civilians toward Bruce as the four remaining bandits realized a new threat had arrived, and they were the intended target.

One criminal shoved a blade toward Bruce's stomach, hoping to end the fight with a quick kill. Bruce had trained extensively on how to handle attackers with blades of all sizes and capabilities. The limited number of attackers made the fight feel more like practice than anything else. Seizing the wrist of the man, Bruce twisted hard, summoning a scream from the bandit as his wrist broke. Bruce used his free hand to grab the thief's shirt and swing him around to collide with the brick wall of a nearby building. The man's skull struck the bricks hard, and he slid to the ground in no condition to fight anyone.

With two attackers down, the number of opponents had dwindled to three. Two of the knife wielding men worked in tandem while the third waited a few steps behind them, ready to jump in if needed. Bruce had to move fast as the coordinated strikes left no margin for error. If he missed a single dodge, deflection, or counter, it would surely mean his death.

The mistake, when it came, wasn't made by Bruce. The men with knives both stabbed toward him at the same time and in the same manner, straight toward his heart; Bruce brought his hands together and swept upward from underneath. The maneuver struck both men's wrists with his, knocking the knife hands upward and leaving a perfect opening for Bruce to attack freely, so he did.

Stepping forward, he shouldered the man on his right, forcing him backwards into the criminal waiting behind the two attackers. Kicking toward the man on his left, Bruce landed a blow against his midsection, knocking the wind out of the mugger and doubling him over. Moving quickly, Bruce snared some of the gasping man's shirt at the shoulder and used it for leverage, swinging him around to collide with the other two men before any of them could recover.

Knives clanged against the ground as the reeling thieves lost their grips on the weapons. Bruce responded before any of them were able, kicking the blades down the alley behind him and forcing the confrontation to be strictly a hand to hand engagement.

One of the three remaining men tried to throw a punch, but Bruce easily dodged it, retaliating with a fist to the criminal's stomach before raising his arm to catch the crook under the chin with his elbow. Taking a firm grip on the man's arm, Bruce lowered his shoulder while wrapping his other arm around the thug. A turn and shift of weight perfectly flipped the man over and into a garbage dumpster.

The courage of the two criminals still standing seemed to have vanished with the loss of their weapons, and they fled with all the speed they could manage. Bruce let them go rather than tire himself needlessly chasing after them. They knew these streets better than he did, and they might have better armed friends out there; it was safer and smarter to let the cowards run.

Bruce turned to check on the condition of the imperiled couple, but they were also hurrying away, not wanting any part of the battle. Seeing as how they were well enough to escape, Bruce was satisfied and headed toward the end of the alley to meet Alfred.

"Well done, Master Bruce," Alfred praised. "You seem to have a natural talent for finding trouble and stopping it. Have you considered a career in law enforcement?"

Bruce halted in his tracks as the suggestion struck him. He turned it over in his mind, considering it from different angles and weighing the pros and cons of the idea.

"I think I've been very selfish, Alfred," Bruce said as he started walking with his butler.

"How so?" Alfred asked, handing back to Bruce the bag of items he'd held onto while Bruce fought the bandits.

"Ever since my parents died, I've been focusing only on myself and how I can defend my life should an attack arise again," Bruce explained. "I never once thought about anyone else."

"That's absolute rubbish, Master Bruce," Alfred denied. "Twice now you've had encounters with muggers, and your protection of your fellow student at the dojo was hardly an act of selfishness."

"It's not that," Bruce countered. "I respond to visible threats because I can't be a bystander while someone is being victimized, but what if I took a more active role? Rather than simply waiting for the criminals to strike near me, what would happen if I went out after them, looking for criminals to stop and people to save? As a police officer, I could certainly do that."

"With your training and wide array of skills, law breakers would be hard pressed to escape your grasp," Alfred agreed.

"The more I think about it, the more I like the idea," Bruce said. "As soon as my training here is complete, we're going back to Gotham. I need to get myself a badge."

                                                                                         ***

The proving grounds of the dojo were the equivalent of a military obstacle course. Bruce had seen the course before, but because the majority was reserved for the more advanced lessons, he'd only experienced some of what the proving grounds had to offer. Now, he looked over the various challenges with an eye toward conquering them all. It would be no easy task.

The initial obstacle was a deep pit forty feet across and perfectly square. Placed within the pit were rounded posts of wood. Bruce remembered seeing two of the more senior members of the class train using the pit. They'd stood atop the logs while fighting, but the limited diameter of each post barely allowed sufficient room for them to put a single foot on each vertical column. Balance and concentration were essential to keep from falling off, and the real challenge of the pit was the opponent whose sole purpose was to ensure a fall occurred.

Bruce had no time to examine the course further as Yuro Sensei climbed the short steps and took his place on the vertical logs, signaling his being Bruce's opponent. Not wanting to keep the instructor waiting, Bruce hurriedly climbed up to stand opposite Yuro Sensei.

"Balance is key to remaining stable," Yuro Sensei said before bringing out a bamboo rod he'd concealed behind him and pushing Bruce in the shoulder with it.

Bruce was already precariously perched atop the logs, and the sudden force against his shoulder pushed him off balance. He took a hasty step back onto a different log while leaning forward in order to compensate. The maneuver was none too graceful, but it kept him standing.

"In life and battle, one must always be firm in their stance yet ready to adjust it as needed," Yuro Sensei explained. He used the bamboo rod like a cane, resting it on a nearby post, while keeping his other hand folded behind his back in a stance of calm confidence. "Holding your ground when you are correct is always the thing to do, but you mustn't cling to your point of view if it is revealed you are in error. A true warrior is constantly evaluating their actions and motives in order to correct errors while they are still small and manageable."

Yuro Sensei struck again without warning, and Bruce blocked three of the hits, deflecting them against his forearms, before twisting sideways to dodge the remaining two jabs.

"Consider a ship at sea," Yuro Sensei continued, his train of thought uninterrupted by the brief training. "By making small corrections, it stays on course, but if the deviations aren't managed when small, a much larger correction is needed if the vessel has any hope of reaching its destination."

Yuro Sensei went on speaking while unleashing another flurry of impacts. "Wind and waves can push a ship off course, but a sturdy hand on the helm and a reliable compass will bring them safely to port."

Bruce found his concentration split trying to listen and consider what Yuro Sensei was saying with dodging the incoming blows. Twice he nearly lost his footing and had to adjust his stance to keep from falling off the logs. A hit against his ankle pushed his foot sideways and off the column. Bruce leaned forward and caught himself with his hands by dropping into a push-up position. Shoving off, he propelled himself up, returning to standing. Yuro Sensei watched with a neutral expression, his bamboo rod resting on one of the logs as he calmly waited for Bruce to regain his balance.

"Examine your choices and chosen path, Wayne-san," Yuro Sensei explained. "However, beware of the extremes. There are those who spend so much time considering their choices and evaluating their motives, hesitation and inaction are the result. At the opposing end are those who don't examine their life choices at all and go completely off course, becoming lost and never knowing how it happened. Both are to be avoided. As I said before, balance is key. Take action as best you can. If you've chosen wrong, correct it. Always remember, doing the right thing involves doing something."