AN: The setting takes place a year following events LOOSELY based on the NESTS saga (KoF '99-2001) as well a combination of various story elements from other games and media like the Fatal Fury OVAs, KoF Destiny and KoF Kyo. It's best to just roll with it because let's be honest, KoF continuity makes almost no sense anyway.
This particular version of the DCU isn't exactly based on any animated, live action or comics continuity but it's my own self-contained interpretation, So some characters and events might be depicted a little differently.
Also, this fic is rated M for language and yes, Lemons ;)
Batman and all related characters are owned by DC Entertainment, King of Fighters and all related characters are owned by SNK.
CHAPTER 01: The Iceberg Grande
It's a scene Jim Gordon's all too familiar with: police tape, camera flashes, Bullock's ranting into his phone and of course a body bag. A panicked 911 call from one of the staff members of Zanac Cyber Securities brought them to the adjacent parking lot. There was a lot of damage including dented cars and scorch marks and small blood splatters; it looked it there was a hell of a fight.
"No good. Bastard's not coming to the phone and that asshole assistant of his still ain't co-operating." grunted Bullock after hanging up.
Gordon frowned. From what they know, Zanac is currently owned by a recluse named Alexander Soliani who apparently used to run a sister concern in Florida but is right now housed in a private villa in Gotham after he dissolved it last year. The company staff they questioned mentioned that none of them aside from the manager in charge had actually met Soliani and only thing they've learned out of him was useless and vague info about the man's eccentric lifestyle. Gordon found it suspicious that the man refused to meet with them and give a statement despite the security breach and murder occurring at his own company.
"Never mind him. Was there anything on the security feed?" Gordon asked.
Bullock gave a weak exasperated half laugh.
"What security feed? Whoever this guy was, he disabled half the cameras and left us with jack-shit! My hunch says it's probably an inside job and the guy did this poor shmuck in for being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Gordon half listened when he noticed high above him, perched on the corner of a neighboring building was a black shadow shaped like a frightening demon with its pointed horns, a ghostly shroud flowing from its sides in the wind with pointed ends like tendrils aching to grasp its prey and the glowing white eyes that seemed to pierce the night. Gordon had expected him to show up a little later but his presence was still appreciated. Gordon coughed to get Bullock's attention.
"I'm going to need some space."
Bullock raised a brow and then looked towards the Commissioner's gaze and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"You gotta be kidding me..." he grunted.
Bullock growled in exasperation, he was not a big fan of the Commissioner's unspoken policy to collaborate with a masked vigilante nor the way GCPD had to bend over backwards to accommodate his ways but he begrudgingly admitted that Gordon and the Bat's successful track record together spoke for itself. Bullock clapped to get the attention of everyone, minus Gordon, working at the scene.
"Alright gang, take five."
The CSIs paused from their work and simply looked back in confusion, prompting Bullock to bark at them.
"What!? Ya deaf!? Scram! Smoke if ya got'em!"
It took a while for Bullock to have the area cleared and left Gordon alone at the crime scene but soon the familiar black shadow floated down next to him.
"No doubt you overhead most of it already." said Gordon.
Batman said nothing and walked towards where the fight had taken place, making sure to avoid the areas marked as evidence. The Dark Knight's analytical mind was already at work observing details with every dent and damage on the cars, the scruff marks on the floor and the directions of the small blood splatter.
"Was anything reported missing?" he asked.
Gordon sighed and placed his hands into his trench coat pockets.
"Physically, no. The staff aren't reporting anything officially but they did say that some sensitive data might have been compromised. I guess it can't be good for a Cybersecurity business when word gets out that some guy broke in and manually copied some files. Honestly, the specifics are greek to me. Barbara knows more about this hacking and firewall stuff than I do."
While Gordon spoke, Batman knelt next to the larger pool of blood that was near to the chalk outline, he guessed it was likely the result after the victim received his deathblow. Something caught his eye and he noticed just a foot away from the blood pool, behind one of the tires of the parked cars was a medium sized thick residue of melted rubber. One could mistake that it came from the tire itself but Batman felt it was something else entirely. The Commissioner didn't seem to notice him collect the residue with an instrument and pocket it in one of his belt pouches, he made a mental note to himself to let Jim know if he found anything of importance after he analyzed it back at the cave. At the Commissioner's mention of Barbara, Batman also made a mental note to request assistance from her as her expertise might be useful, ironically Jim had no idea she was one of his partners along with Dick. Batman then walked back towards the body bag.
"And him?"
Gordon bent down and unzipped it to reveal the victim's face and torso. He was a well built young man with long blond hair that was slicked back.
"The strangest wrinkle in this case...Meet Andy Bogard."
"The martial artist!?" asked a surprised Batman.
Batman never really paid attention or followed the King of Fighters tournaments but since their popularity grew, the fighting teams who participated had attained a celebrity-like status despite some of them having private lives. Even in Gotham, whether one cared about martial arts or not, there weren't many who didn't know about these fighters.
"Believe me, we were as surprised as you. The M.E. says that cause of death was internal hemorrhaging from blunt force trauma to the chest, so we know he died from the fight. What we don't know is what was he doing here in Gotham, and this place. Bullock thinks he was just a bystander."
Batman had already taken a knee next to the corpse, examining every bruise and cut on the poor man's upper body with narrowed eyes.
"Or maybe he knew his killer."
"How'd you figure?" asked Gordon.
"Bogard is an expert on Koppouken, an aggressive and offensive fighting style but the bruises on his forearms seem to indicate that he was fighting defensively."
"Poor bastard must've been overwhelmed."
"Or he was stalling. Maybe..."
"He was trying to reason with him! He knew who the thief was so he came here trying to stop him!" exclaimed Gordon with realization.
Batman stood up and 'hmmed' to himself. So far all they got to go on were theories and unless they find concrete evidence, theories will be all they have. Batman turned and began to walk away, preparing his grappling gun for his exit.
"I'll need a copy of the examiner's report. We'll catch him, Jim. Just make sure your men are careful when they deal with whoever this person is."
"You think he's THAT dangerous, huh?" Gordon called after him.
Batman looked back.
"The Bogard brothers are master martial artists who have ranked high in all the tournaments they've participated in. There aren't many people who can take down Andy Bogard."
And with that, the Dark Knight shot off his grappling hook and took off into the night.
"Now THIS is a place to party!" proclaimed Benimaru Nikaido with his arms thrown wide.
The proud young millionaire model had to admit that from what he had seen from their personal tour so far, the Iceberg Grande Resort and Casino was indeed impressive. Located in Gotham's fashion district, it boasted over 700 rooms including several 2000 square feet suites, equipped with top of the line luxury amenities and a large casino on the ground floor. The tower's most interesting feature were the two fighting arenas: one near the top floor and one on the roof, they were built by their host specifically for the upcoming tournament. However all that wasn't what impressed Nikaido, rather it was the venue located next to the casino.
"Whooooa! Check out the size of that pool!" said Shingo Yabuki who had been acting like an excited kid since they touched down in Gotham.
Just next to the casino was a whole section of the building dedicated as a venue for the nightlife, a nightclub with the huge dance floor and stage surrounded by ten high-backed booths and an upper VIP level with six skyboxes for overlooking the action below, there was also an open air area where the large swimming pool Shingo saw was located. This was where the trio of Team Japan were standing, led here by their host. The man was portly with an unusual beak like nose, wearing an Edwardian style suit complete with a Top hat, a monocle and an umbrella cane; His name was Oswald Cobblepot.
"I'm glad you both like it. Believe me, it'll be much more lively come the opening party."
At that moment, Cobblepot was interrupted by a loud drawn out yawn which caused him to chomp down on the cigarette holder in mouth in annoyance. This person had been yawning throughout the entire tour and it was beginning to get on Cobblepot's nerves. The person was Kyo Kusanagi, heir to the Kusanagi Clan and argumentatively the most renowned of the KoF fighters.
"Which is more than I can say about your friend here." Cobblepot grumbled, a visible vein throbbed on his head.
Shingo chuckled dismissively, he knew that his idol was probably bored out of his mind.
"Eh-hehe, Don't mind Kyo-san, he's probably still shaking off the jetlag."
Benimaru interjected.
"And he doesn't appreciate the 'finer things in life' like me. By the way Mister Cobblepot, I've been meaning to ask you something..."
Benimaru fished out the envelope which contained their invitation letter. Unlike the previous letters which had a red 'R' seal, this one had a blue 'C' seal.
"I was a bit surprised to hear that you would be the one to host this year's tournament in Gotham City but at the same time, there's been an unfortunate trend with the King of Fighters tournaments of being fronted by people with...well, let's just say 'dubious nature' and I can't help but wonder..."
"This is about my criminal past, is that it?" Cobblepot interrupted.
This caught Shingo's attention while Kyo walked around nonchalantly, it may have appeared that the former KoF champion didn't care but he was actually listening to what their host had to say.
"Fair enough. First let me say that yes, I was involved in some shady dealings when I was running the Ice Berg lounge, back when people 'affectionately' called me the Penguin."
Cobblepot chuckled humorously at this but the three fighters could sense the disdain he had for that nickname. Their host paced around them as he made his speech as if he practiced and recited it over and over before.
"But that was in the past. I've been given a second chance after my key testimony put Harvey Dent and Roman Silas away and I haven't squandered it. I realized then that crime is only about short term gains and benefits no one. The Ice Berg Grande, This year's tournament and my contributions to the South Town relief effort has all been my endeavors to make a more positive impact on society."
He took a drag on his cigarette holder before turning to Beni with a grin.
"You can see my papers if you want, Mister Nikaido. You will see that I've been legit for the past two years now."
Benimaru wasn't sure what to say to that but he remained unconvinced.
"Maybe so but you can't blame us for having dou..."
Beni stopped talking when he noticed one of Cobblepot's lady assistants approach them. She was a curvy woman with a dark mocha coffee complexion wearing a tight fitting skirt suit and black glasses, the trio remembered her name was Candy. Immediately Beni switched his demeanor to his usual flirty one while flipping his long hair.
"...erm, doubts that you didn't employ this charming Goddess from the heavens itself!" finished Beni in a poetic sing-song voice.
Kyo rolled his eyes while Shingo scratched his head in confusion. Candy didn't seem to be paying any attention to Benimaru's advances and only approached Cobblepot but Beni did notice that for a brief moment, she flashed a look at Kyo.
"Sorry to bother you, Sir. But a Mister Shinzan is here to see you."
"Shinzan? Oh, THAT Shinzan!" the host said in realization.
Cobblepot linked his arm around Candy's, turned towards the trio and tipped his hat at them.
"Well gentleman, this is where I take my leave. Please do enjoy your stay here, there's a bar at the corner over there so feel free to help yourself to some drinks. I'll be seeing you all this week."
Before the host could leave, Benimaru called after him with a point of his finger.
"Oi Cobblepot! Don't forget my request!"
"Yes Mister Nikaido, I remember. You wish to challenge Bruce Wayne. Although he agreed to be a sponsor, he has not responded to any of the invitations I sent him. Are you sure HE is a capable fighter?" asked Cobblepot.
"Oh, he's capable alright. But not against me!" said Beni with a pumped fist.
Oswald couldn't help his skepticism, he had known Wayne as an entitled prick who had everything that the Cobblepot family deserved but he never envisioned him as a martial artist and always thought of him as a cowardly opportunist.
"I see. Well, he promised to attend this week's party so maybe you'll get your chance sooner than you think. Till then."
With that the host and his lady assistant left the trio to themselves.
"What do you think, Kyo-san? You think Cobblepot's bad news?" asked Shingo.
Shingo couldn't help but have an internal fanboy moment seeing Kyo fold his arms, close his eyes and mull over the question; he felt his idol looked so cool being in charge like that.
"There's definitely something fishy about him but we can't know for sure right now. Best we just play it cool for now and act according to the situation like we always do."
Kyo turned to Benimaru with a stern look.
"So how about we don't do anything stupid like ask the villain if he is a villain, okay 'Beni-kun'?" Kyo said with condescension.
Beni reeled back but then recovered and laughed while flipping his hair.
"My dear Kyo, sometimes the direct approach works best, didn't they teach that in your school?"
"Sh-shut up! You know I'm not in school anymore!"
"Oh yeah, you dropped out recently right? Sorry, the running gag's hard to keep track of sometimes."
Kyo simply frowned and grumbled but then he noticed that Shingo was about to speak up, in that moment he had a feeling what was going to come out of that boy's mouth but he was too late to stop him.
"It's not all bad, Beni-san. I've been helping Kyo-san with his studies and he's taken a part time job at a convenience store as a-"
"Idiot! I told you to keep that to yourself!" hissed Kyo as he comically bonked Shingo on the head.
Benimaru's jaw dropped and he took a step back, being flabbergasted.
"W-wait, WHAT!? When did all this happen? What part time job!?"
"None of your damn business!" snapped Kyo.
"He's in sales..." whimpered out Shingo while nursing his head, only to be bonked by Kyo again.
This new information was too much for Benimaru, the mental image of Shingo sitting down and tutoring a disgruntled Kyo as well of the image of Kyo wearing some tacky store uniform while minding the cash register popped into his mind and he couldn't help but guffaw at it.
"Oh my, that's too much! The running gag may have died, but Kyo the sales clerk? That's never going to get old!"
Kyo didn't seem effected by that remark and instead gave a cocky grin and raised his fist which ignited in flames, a trait of the Kusanagi clan. His competitive spirit was also ignited and his blood ran wild.
"I told you before, Nikaido: none of that matters because at the end of the day, I can still whoop your ass! Need a reminder? How about a go right here and now?"
Beni grinned in response. With electricity coursing through his arms, he ran his fingers through his long hair and made them stand upright, giving him his trademark hair style, and then got into a fighting stance.
"Anytime and anywhere, Kyo!"
The two fighters were getting fired up but between them, Shingo sweated and sheepishly twiddled his fingers.
"Err, guys? Are you sure you want to do this here? We might break something and Cobblepot'll scold us." he chuckled nervously.
Before anything could progress, Kyo's phone sounded off and interrupted their moment. When Kyo fished out his phone and checked the caller ID, he grimaced.
"Aw shit, I forgot to call Yuki! Hold on, I need to take this."
Beni and Shingo blinked as Kyo walked off, talking into his phone with a tone more pleasant than what they were accustomed to.
It was then when Benimaru realized the true reason behind Kyo's change in lifestyle. Kyo might have been willing to spend the rest of his adult life in high school but not Yuki who was the only reason he attended school in the first place. Since the incident with NESTS, Kyo had made a bigger effort with their relationship as he feared that his long absences might've made her drift away. Beni didn't know the full details but he figured that this was Kyo's attempt at taking some responsibilities in life...for her, to show he could change. Was it change for the better? Beni didn't know the answer but as a romantic at heart, he couldn't help but be a little proud of his friend.
"So Beauty has finally tamed the Beast, eh?" Beni murmured with a smile while shaking his head.
"Hmm? You said something, Beni-san?" asked Shingo.
"Nothing. Come, let's check out that bar Cobblepot's mentioned."
"Um, I don't think I'm old enough to..."
Before Shingo could say anything, he found himself being dragged towards the mentioned bar counter. The wide counter itself was lit up with a myriad of colors and the lighting made the bottles on display look like gemstones. Although the club was currently closed, the ambient glow from the bar gave a pleasant atmosphere. Surprisingly, there was someone tending the counter with her back facing the approaching me who immediately recognized her when she turned around.
"Miss King! Fancy meeting you here. How are those beautiful, taut, and exquisitely lethal legs of yours doing today?"
The short haired blonde woman simply known as "King" exuded a sense of class. She was wearing a white shirt, black bow tie, teal earrings and matching burgundy waistcoat/pants set. The woman gave an exasperated sigh and scowled at the male model.
"I see you haven't changed one bit, Nikaido." she said icily.
"Hi King-sama! What are you doing here?" waved Shingo cheerfully.
King gave a small friendly smile to Shingo.
"Hello to you too, Shingo. As for why I'm here...well, This is where I work now."
She said this with a halfhearted shrugged. Beni was actually surprised by her current predicament.
"What? But why? I thought you were running a bar back in South Town."
King sighed and sadly shook her head.
"You mean 'Illusion'? It's no more now, it got destroyed by that cannon along with most of the city. The worst part was that I didn't even have the place insured. I still need to pay for my little brother's medical bills so I came to Gotham hoping to get a fresh start. Mr. Cobblepot somehow found me and offered me a job and so...here I am." she finished with a gesture towards her surroundings.
Both Beni and Shingo couldn't help but feel sorry for her, they knew she worked hard on building that bar but they also knew she was too proud to accept any financial help.
"So does that mean you're not in the Tournament this time?" asked Shingo.
"Nope and unless Mr. Cobblepot feels I'm not better off serving patrons, it'll probably stay that way."
"That's too bad, I'll miss those glorious kicks of yours." said Beni, prompting a glare from King.
"Keep it up, Nikaido and I'll give you a demo right here. By the way, I assume you're both here with Kyo. Is this your whole team? I thought Goro Daimon would be with you."
Beni simply waved his hand and blew a 'pish' in dismissal.
"Oh THAT guy! Apparently, he's too busy training some new apprentices to join with his old friends. But whatever, we don't need him. Me, Shingo and Kyo are enough to take on anyone. Heck, I alone can take on most of them: Ryo, Iori, Terry, Bruce Wayne...bring 'em all on!"
Shingo couldn't help but give a wry smile, knowing full well that Beni was a little crestfallen that Goro couldn't join them. The three of them; Kyo, Beni and Goro were the dream team afterall. Beni's little trash talk also reminded Shingo that there was something that he curious about.
"Why are you so fixated on this Wayne guy, Beni-san?"
King's eyes lit up realization.
"Wait a minute, are we talking about THE Bruce Wayne? As in the billionaire playboy of Gotham? He sounds like someone you would get along with. And do you even know if he can fight?"
Benimaru nodded.
"It seems so. Apparently Robert Garcia and him are old friends and I've heard from Garcia that they had a sparring match and he was beaten by him."
"He beat Robert!?"
King knew both Robert Garcia and Ryo Sakazaki personally and was aware of their mastery of Kyokugenryu Karate. Beating either of them was no small feat and it was more unbelievable that it was accomplished by this supposed spoilt, carefree, man-slut!
"And maybe you're right. Maybe I would've gotten along with him. But then this happened..."
Beni pulled out a rolled up magazine from his jacket pockets and unfurled it on the bar counter. King and Shingo could see the man in question featured in the front cover, posed in a crisp suit. King admitted to herself that he was definitely good looking; dark hair, blue eyes, square jawline but not looking too rugged nor boyish. Positioned close to the photo was the main cover line: 'BRUCE WAYNE: WORLD'S SEXIEST BILLIONAIRE!'.
"THAT should have ME on the cover! Not him!" Benimaru declared.
Shingo scratched his head in confusion while King palmed her face with a groan.
"Of course this all had something to do with his ego, of course!"she thought.
Elsewhere in the club, Kyo was still engaged in his phone call with Yuki. The conversation between them had been mostly casual but then Kyo began to feel awkward as his girlfriend from the other end of the line began veer their conversation towards an uncomfortably romantic territory.
"Idiot, stop saying stuff like that!" he said with a grimace, listening to her giggle at his reaction.
Deciding that her boyfriend had enough, Yuki decided to let him go for today and cheerfully wished him goodbye.
"Right, I'll talk to you later...loveyoutoo." Kyo finished that last bit with haste and disconnected.
"Aw, That's so cute! Never thought I'd see Kyo Kusanagi whipped like a pathetic burro!"
The voice came from behind him, an annoying voice he was well familiar with and hadn't heard in a long time. With his teeth grit and his fists ignited, he spun around ready to attack.
"YOU!" he growled.
The voice belonged to a young woman of average height who had chin length platinum hair and a notably large breasts. She was wearing what looked like a combination between a black motorcycle jacket and a top with complimentary gloves, hot pants with tights that exposes her inner thighs and cowboy boots.
"Oh? you remember me?" she asked pointing to herself.
"Damn right I remember you! You're that NESTS bitch!"
She angrily pouted and stomped her feet like a little girl.
"It's Angel! Not 'NESTS bitch', pendejo! Man, your clone was a lot nicer than you!"
Kyo remembered whom she referred to. When Kyo was captured by the NESTS syndicate, they used his DNA to create a vast number of clones. This person in particular was their 'perfected' nine thousand nine hundred and ninety ninth named appropriately 'K9999'.
"Where is that guy? Is he here with you!?"
Angel simply shrugged.
"No clue. I was just wandering around bored outa my mind when I heard you and your gal-pal making kissy faces over the phone. Muwah! Muwah!"
She teased while making obnoxious kissing noises which further aggravated Kyo.
"Shut it! I don't know what you're up to but I'm going to burn you to a crisp!"
The lantina gave a playful grin and stretched.
"Oooooh, sounds hot!" She quickly then changed her demeanor and stated matter-of-factly "That's supposed to be a pun by the way. Get it? Burn? Hot?"
Kyo palmed his face, feeling the woman was getting more annoying as she spoke. Angel then let out a breath in disappointment.
"But I'm on the clock and Mister Cobblepot told me strictly no rough-housing within resort premises."
She explained with a wag of a finger at each of the last six words as if she was reciting a stern lecture.
"Wait, you WORK here!?" Kyo asked in disbelief.
"Well duh! Me and Kingy joined up around the same day. In fact, here she is right now!" she said pointing behind him.
Kyo turned to see that there wasn't anyone there and when he realized his mistake, he spun back to see that Angel had disappeared.
"Grr! Oldest trick in the book!" he spat.
Kyo let out breath knowing there wasn't much he could do about her right now and decided that he along with Beni and Shingo would deal with her if she becomes a problem to them later. He soon found his two teammates at the Bar corner of the club and immediately noticed King but just as he was about to greet her, Beni turned towards him. The male model looked like he had just gotten off the phone with someone as the device was still in his hand, his face was surprisingly serious and grim.
"We need to talk." was all he said.
Kyo and Shingo glanced at each other, Beni was usually the most laid back of the group and to see him like this meant that something had happened. The three of them then made their exit, with only Shingo giving King a short goodbye wave.
When King focused her attention on cleaning the glasses, a pair of hands suddenly shot out from behind her and groped her breasts!
"Sneak attack!" chirped Angel.
"What are you doing!?" hissed King with a blush on her cheeks.
Angel released her hold and casually slung an arm around the embarrassed barmaid who still couldn't figure out how the latina managed to sneak behind the bar counter.
"Aw lighten up, Kingy! What's a little touchy-touchy between friends?"
King scowled at the woman with irritation.
"I don't recall ever saying I was your friend! Go bother someone else!"
Angel released her co-worker's shoulder and jump to the other side of the counter.
"Yeah well, It was between you, Candy or Tracey. Candy's kinda cool but has her head in the clouds and Tracey's a snore-fest of a bitch! So I figure since you and I sorta know each other and are going to be working in the same place, we might as well try and get along."
In a continuous motion, Angel plopped on one of the stools and spun herself around like a kid before coming to a stop and resting her elbows on the table.
"Besides, you make one helluva Paloma. Speaking of which...Hit me, Cantinera!" she requested with a pat on the table.
King sighed again for the umpteenth time today and figured she'd better give the woman what she wants. While fixing her drink, she thought about what Beni said about Robert and from that train of thought she began to wonder about how Yuri was doing as well as a certain other Karate expert.
The dojo's long age was apparent. Some of the training equipment has fallen into disrepair, the furnishings were becoming undone and there was a musty smell that wouldn't go away. Still, the young man wearing an orange gi with a black under shirt swept away the insistent coat of dust on the floor. After a while he stopped and exhaled, his blonde hair which he inherited from his mother getting damp with sweat, it would seem for Ryo Sakazaki that the upkeep of his father's old Dojo was just as taxing as his training regime.
It had been over a month since he'd come to Japan. He wasn't sure if it had been the best idea but since the disaster in South Town, he was left with little options. His father was roaming around the world being Mr. Karate and his sister Yuri was now with Robert. He was happy for them, Really, but being the overprotective brother that he is made letting her go hard and left him with a void in his heart. Lately however, that void has been slowly closing.
"Sakazaki!" a young girl's voice called out.
Ryo chuckled. She was right on time, like clockwork. Ever since she found out where he was staying, this had become a routine of theirs; one which annoyed him at first but he later became accustomed to it.
He turned around to see Kasumi Todoh, a young girl with shoulder length dark blue hair which she decided to let down today, she was dressed in her usual navy Hakama and white Gi, separated by a red waist cloth, as well as the blue guards on her forearms and white Tabi on her feet.
"I've come to avenge my father's honor! Prepare yourself, Sakazaki!"
Ryo shook his head with a smile.
"Don't you think it's about time you changed your intro?"
The young Kubodo girl huffed.
"Enough talk! Are we doing this, or what?"
After letting go of the broom, Ryo approached her till he was of appropriate distance and then took up his stance.
"Alright, let's see how much you've improved."
Their session lasted almost twenty minutes this time. During the period of them exchanging blows and kicks, Ryo admitted that he enjoyed sparring with her even though Kasumi claims it's not sparring and she's fighting for keeps. Her strategy normally involves baiting and countering and through fighting him over and over, she was slowly becoming a master at reading his moves and reacting. Ryo personally liked it because it forced him to think outside box and in the end, he beat her own game; all it took was a Jodan Uke to catch her off guard and a throw to flip her hard on her back.
Kasumi panted while lying there, feeling embarrassed that she was beaten by such basic techniques. Ryo hovered above her and lowered a hand to help her up.
"I'm impressed. Your reaction has become much better though you need to work more on your foot work. With improved mobility, you should be able to avoid surprise situations."
Kasumi frowned, swatted his hand away and helped herself up. Although she was acting defiant, Ryo could've sworn he saw her cheeks tinged with red.
"I don't need you to patronize me, Sakazaki! I swear the next time you will face a different outcome!"
"So same time tomorrow?" Ryo nonchalantly asked.
Kasumi gave a loud "hmph!" and began to march out of the dojo when Ryo called out.
"Wait."
After the girl turned to look at him with an irritated expression, Ryo scratched his hair sheepishly.
"Do you want to have something to eat? The thing is, I ordered some grub earlier and they kinda messed up my order so now I have way too much food without anyone to share it with."
Kasumi's eyes widened and a slight blush graced her cheeks. She looked at him and could see that he seemed unaware of the implications behind such a request. Still, she quickly composed herself and held on to her defiant attitude.
"T-Trying to poison me, huh? Nice try but such tricks won't work on-"
A certain loud growl conveniently interrupted her, halting her speech and making her face bright red in embarrassment. It took a lot of willpower for Ryo to stifle his laugh because the look on her face was just priceless.
"I'll go get the food."
"I didn't say I was joining you!" she protested.
Before she knew it, the two of them were seated on the threshold/engawa of the building and eating from the Bento boxes in hand. After a period of silence, Ryo engaged in some small talk with her to which she responded with simple answers at first but then began to open up a little. Ryo glanced at Kasumi as she nibbled on her food and admitted to himself that she had grown well since he first met her three years ago, when she used to use that pocket dictionary in attempts to speak english. Although she was still fixated on finding and avenging her father, she was dedicated to improving her combat skills and it showed. Not only had she come to a point where she could effectively parry his Koh-Oh Ken with her Kasane Ate, she also figured out a way to counter his Zansetsuken and his Ryuko Ranbu but hasn't properly refined it yet.
Kasumi continued to eat until she caught him looking at her.
"What?" she asked irritably.
"Nothing. By the way, there was something I was supposed to give you."
Ryo held out a long strip of red cloth which had a long white band at the center. Kasumi looked at it curiously until it occurred to her what it and she almost jumped from her astonishment.
"My old headband!"
"Don't you remember? Back when we first met? You gave me this to as proof that you'll fight me again, to take it back."
Kasumi was stunned as memories from that day returned to her. She had been so used to challenging him that everything before seemed like a blur; like she had been doing this all her life, like she'd known him all her life.
"Y-You've kept it this whole time? I...I completely forgot."
"Well, so did I. But we've fought countless times since then and you never once asked for it. I think now, you more than deserve to have it back."
She looked at him with questioning eyes and Ryo assumed that she was urging him to continue.
"You have come a long way since that day. I used to joke about that tenacity of yours but now I've come to appreciate it and see the potential in you. You're proud, spirited and undaunted by failures. I...admire that."
Kasumi's face immediately flushed bright red and her heart began thumping wildly, not expecting such a compliment. For a moment it felt like the whole world froze and her brain was turned to mush. Seeing the sudden change in her condition brought concern to Ryo and he was about to ask if everything was okay but she set her bento box aside and got up quickly.
"You can keep it. I'll take it back when I finally defeat you. So you better watch yourself!"
She then looked down nervously and twiddled her fingers.
"And, um...thank you for the meal." she spoke softly and then scurried out of the dojo.
The Kyokugenryo master was left confused, wondering about the Todoh girl's behavior but then dismissed it thinking maybe she just needed to rush home.
After finishing his food, Ryo decided to continue with his chores and that included checking the letterbox outside the house. He flipped through each envelope to see that they were usual bills and ads which made him sigh internally and realize that he was going to need money soon if he was to continue the dojo's upkeep. He was about to continue on when he noticed there was one letter stuck to the side of the box which previously escaped his attention. He pulled it out to see that it had a stylized C within a distinctive blue seal which looked almost familiar to Ryo. He extracted the letter and began reading and when he read halfway through, his eyes widened in incredulous astonishment.
"How did I not notice this!?"
"What are you idiots doing!? Hit him!"
The voice from the gang member went futilely unheard as a powerful strike to his jaw sent him to ground unconscious. The assailant immediately dodged out of the way from the gunfire of another gang member and hurled a batarang to disarm him, he immediately followed up by closing the distance between them and knocking him out with a flying knee. Batman didn't give himself pause and immediately grabbed the tire iron swung at him from behind and launched a vicious elbow strike to the wielder's face. From there the Dark Knight effortlessly engaged from one enemy to the next in a rhythmic free-flowing fashion.
These men worked for Arnold Wesker aka The duo of the Ventriloquist and Scarface who was taking advantage of the recent power vacuum and looking to stake claim of Two-Face and Black Mask's old territories. Many tried their luck before such as the Penitente Cartel or the Lucky Hand Triad, Gotham's so called lower-tier gangs, but it seemed that the army Scarface had amassed for himself rose above them in the hierarchy.
The Batman was known for a lot of physical and mental feats but one of those which is rarely known or talked about was his ability to multitask and divide his attention, especially in situations like this where he was basically on auto-pilot and effectively handling these inexperienced thugs. And so, as he dodged a punch from another gang member, his mind went back to tonight's murder.
He had already forwarded whatever data he had to Batgirl but there was an aspect to this case he found hard to ignore. It seemed too much of a coincidence that a regular KoF Fighter would be murdered right around the same month when the Penguin will be hosting this year's right here in Gotham.
Batman frowned as he took down two more men, he didn't believe for a moment that the Penguin had gone straight as he claimed. He had been monitoring Oswald Cobblepot's activity since Two-Face and Black Mask were tried and on the surface he appeared clean except for one small detail.
Two years ago Penguin had amassed a large fortune in a short span of time, mostly originating from multiple off shore accounts, some of it obviously went towards that pet resort of his. It was definitely not the cache Dent and Silas left behind, Batman made sure to keep an eye on that too. He concluded that Cobblepot has a mystery benefactor, the questions were Who? and whether there was connection with Andy Bogard or Zanac Cybersecurity?
Up above, crouched on the edge of one of the rooftops was an individual with slicked hair with a few free strands dangling above his head and dressed in a dark blue/red ninja gi and a mask that covered the lower half of his face. He lowered the pair of binoculars from his eyes just as he finished observing Batman KO the last gang member.
"Dang. This guy's got some moves."
The ninja raised the binoculars again to see the Dark Knight standing at the center of the unconscious gang for a minute without movement until finally firing his grappling gun and disappearing behind the rows of buildings. Feeling that he had seen enough, the ninja pocketed his binoculars and rubbed his chin in thought.
"Still, shouldn't be too much of a problem to handle. Honestly, I have no idea what the boss was worried about."
"And which boss would that be?"
"GAH!"
With a startled yelp, the ninja spun towards the voice behind him only to loose his footing on the edge of the building. He would've fallen if not for his collar being roughly grabbed by someone but he was not pulled to safety and instead kept dangerously over the edge. The Ninja's eyes widened to see that the person who grabbed him was the same person he was observing just a minute ago.
"W-Where did you come from!?"
Batman didn't respond and instead got into the ninja's face gave a deadly glare.
"I'll be asking the questions here! Why are you following me!? Who sent you!?" he growled.
The ninja was person who prided himself for being fearless but he couldn't help but feel nervous about the scary white eyed visage in front of him. Still, he tried keeping his cool and cocky demeanor.
"Heh, Who said I was following you? I was just out for some air. You're the one invading my personal space! Do you know who I am, fool?!"
"I know who you are, Eiji Kisaragi."
Kisaragi gave a smug grin under his mask.
"Ah, so my reputation precedes me."
"Only as a hired thug! One of your fellow fighters from the KoF tournaments, Andy Bogard, was murdered tonight. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Batman rasped that last bit with a slow suspicion but the response he got wasn't what he expected. Eiji's eyes widened in shock and surprise like this was news to him.
"No way! The younger Bogard is dead!?"
Batman backed off a bit but still kept his grip on the collar. Eiji's eyes were downcast as if he was processing and mulling over what he just heard but then uncharacteristically, his cheeks under his mask became rosy and he began twiddling his fingers.
"Does this mean Miss Mai is single and I have a chance with her?"
Feeling his patience thinning, Batman shook Eiji violently over the edge and leered at him threateningly.
"You didn't answer my earlier question, Why are you following me!?"
"Fuck off."
With a swipe of his right hand, Eiji threw a kind of blinding powder at Batman which forced the caped crusader to let go and shield himself. This left Eiji free falling towards the alleys below but the ninja aligned his body and kicked off the surface of the building towards a street lamp which he used to swing himself towards a fire escape. After dusting the powder off himself, Batman watched as Eiji expertly jump off various obstacles to make his way towards another rooftop and began to bound away. The Dark Knight's narrowed his eyes and then fired a grapple line towards one of the other taller structures.
After landing atop of another adjacent rooftop, Eiji looked back to see that he put some some distance between where he was and that Batman was nowhere in sight. He was convinced that the vigilante had given up pursuit and chuckled under his mask.
"Hehe, Sucker..."
But when he turned around he saw the caped vigilante in question standing right in front of him, provoking a startled cry that was embarrassingly a little high pitched.
"How the hell do you keep doing that!?"
Eiji recovered from his astonishment and then got into a fighting stance.
"Y'know what? this suits me just fine. Fighting the renowned Batman should be interesting and defeating you will make me a legend!"
Batman was still, stoic and his expression didn't change for a few seconds before he turned around and began to walk away in a dismissive fashion.
"I have no time for this. You can go flaunt your mediocre fighting style all you want outside of Gotham." he simply stated.
Eiji recoiled hard from what was said to him and blinked incredulously, trying to process the fact that he was not only snubbed but had shade thrown at him then his body began to tremble in almost comical rage as he fished out two tanto swords.
"M-Mediocre!? Nobody insults my clan! DIE!"
With that, the ninja sprang forward and readied his two swords to slash in a wild arc but Batman sensed him and parried the swords with the fin-blades on his forearms.
Eiji didn't relent and slashed again and again but each time was dodged and parried. This went on until he finally was able catch his opponent off guard with a surprise kick which sent the Dark Knight to the floor.
The ninja smiled wickedly in satisfaction and readied his tantos to deliver a killing strike when something struck the side of his head and knocked him down. He propped himself up to see the object that hit him was a black escrima stick with a certain small blue symbol on top.
"A rooftop fight with a ninja and nobody invited me? I'm hurt."
Eiji turned to see a man with medium length black hair and had his eyes concealed by a blue domino mask, with both the top and bottom ends being pointed. He wore a full black body suit with blue highlights on the knuckles and calves as well as V-shaped blue bird symbol on his chest with the wings extending all the way to his shoulders. Eiji noticed that the man exhibited a devil-may-care attitude.
"Who the hell is this now!?" he exclaimed.
The man smirked and gave a mock salute.
"Sup? Name's Nightwing."
Nightwing looked to his side to see Batman standing there without even acknowledging him which prompted the ex-Robin to roll his eyes.
"Oh, and hello to you too. I'm fine, thanks for asking." he said sarcastically.
Eiji started to get nervous looking back and forth between the two costumed vigilantes. Even with his pride, he knew he was at a severe disadvantage when facing two heroes alone.
"Aw screw this!" he finally said and threw a smoke bomb at his feet.
Batman and Nightwing were well accustomed to the use of smoke bombs and could see that Eiji barely concealed his movements, being totally visible as he leapt towards another building.
"Heh, Amateur." snickered Nightwing.
The younger hero was about to go after him when Batman intercepted him with an outstretched arm, stopping him.
"What are you doing!? He's getting..."
Nightwing trailed off as realization hit him. He then sighed with lowered shoulders and gave Bruce a knowing look.
"You put a tracer on him, didn't you?" he asked.
Batman looked back at him and didn't say anything but that was enough for Nightwing to confirm that was the case. It was why the Dark Knight purposely riled the ninja up in the first place. Nightwing shook his head chuckling.
"You really need to teach me how you do that someday. So what now? We follow him?"
At that point, the in-built radio scanner in Batman's cowl alerted him to an emergency that was broadcasted throughout the GCPD.
"Later. There's a shootout at the corner at Burnley." he stated.
Batman turned around and made his way towards the edge of the building but then paused and looked back at Nightwing.
"You coming?"
That was enough to make Nightwing grin.
TBC
