Love Bites

by BlackCat393

When Dick's new teacher comes to stay at the manor, everyone thinks she's rather odd. When animals start turning up with bites, Bruce discovers her secret. But after a while, she's had enough of it. Will he be able to find a cure before it's too late?

Love Bites

Dick Grayson slowly walked to his last class of the day, Japanese. There was a new teacher today, and so far the kids before him had come out and done nothing but complain about the teacher. As the partner of Batman, he was willing to give this person a fighting chance. Compared to other people he'd met, they couldn't be that bad.

When he walked into the room, he found that it had been drastically changed. The once bright orange walls were now a dark red, the windows were covered in black curtains with green dragons, and the lights were kept only bright enough for the students to see the writing on their papers. And a few minutes after all of the students arrived, the teacher walked in. Immediately, the class fell silent.

The teacher was a slender Japanese woman in her late twenties. She wore a simple dark violet shirt, a black pencil skirt, and black stilettos. Her dark red lips, which stood out against her white skin, were placed in a firm line and her black eyes were hard and frightening. Her short black hair made her skin look even whiter. She slowly walked toward the front of the classroom; her dark eyes scanning each student in turn.

"Good afternoon, students," she said. Her voice was smooth and mesmerizing. "My name is Ms. Daaku. I am the new Japanese teacher; as I believe you know." As she sat down at her desk, she asked each of the students to recite their names and tell her why they were taking the class. Those that answered negatively were the students whom she asked for the answers to questions.

After class she excused the students one by one, carefully studying them as she stood at her spot by the door. Much to his dismay, and although he was determined not to show it, the new teacher excused Dick last. She stopped him before he went out the door.

"Yes, Ms. Daaku?" he asked politely. She watched him carefully as if she believed his politeness to be fake.

"You have a good accent, Mr. Grayson," she said in her velvety voice. He smiled.

"Thank you," he said. She watched him a moment more.

"I haven't found a house yet and since I assume you are familiar with the area, I was wondering if you would recommend anything," she asked slowly. The Boy Wonder was quite surprised that she was asking him. He thought for a moment, but the only place he could think of that might possibly interest her was Wayne Manor. But he didn't know if Bruce would go along with it.

"Can I use your phone?" he asked. The teacher paused and then nodded. Dick went over to her desk and dialed the number. As he expected, Alfred picked up the phone.

"Hello?" the butler asked.

"Alfred? I need to ask you something," Dick asked.

"Ah, Master Dick. What is it?"

"I need to know if you have any room for someone to stay at the manor."

"May I ask who?"

"My new Japanese teacher." There was a pause. "I think Bruce'll like her," he added.

"We do have an extra room."

"Great. Then it's settled."

"Wait! Mast-" Dick hung up the phone before Alfred could protest any further. He turned back to his teacher, who was still waiting patiently in the doorway.

"I found a place for you to stay. Is Wayne Manor alright?" he asked, expecting her to be surprised. Ms. Daaku simply gave a tight smile.

"Yes. I think it will do quite nicely," she said.

At five o'clock that evening, Alfred let Ms. Daaku in and showed her to her room. He though her manner of dress was peculiar, but chose to ignore it. The teacher stayed in her room for most of the evening. Near seven, Bruce came to invite her down to have dinner with them. She opened the door slowly and peered out. Her eyes widened and she shut the door for a moment.

"I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne," she said when she had composed herself and opened the door again. He smiled.

"Please, call me Bruce," he requested. She nodded.

"Koumori Daaku," she said. He nodded. Then he cocked his head slightly in interest.

"Do you prefer Koumori or Ms. Daaku?" he asked. She smiled, exposing shiny, white teeth.

"For you, I will say Koumori. My family calls me Mori; you are welcome to call me that as well," she said. Bruce held out his arm.

"Shall we?" he asked. She nodded and began walking down the hallway, leaving him standing there by the door.

At dinner, Alfred served them steak and a variety of other things that Koumori did not touch. She attempted to eat the meat, but after a while put down her eating instruments. Both Alfred and Bruce watched her as she stared at her plate.

"Is there something wrong?" Bruce asked as he put down his fork. She looked up and smiled apologetically.

"No; it's wonderful." Then she turned to Alfred, her white face turning light pink. "I'm terribly sorry to ask this of you Mr. Pennyworth, but do you have anything…well…raw?" she asked. Both of the men stared at her, then each other.

"That is quite a strange request Mistress Daaku," replied the butler. She smiled sheepishly.

"After what I have just asked of you Mr. Pennyworth, I would like it if you would call me Koumori," she said.

"I will see what I can find. And please, if I am to call you Koumori, you must call me Alfred," he said as he walked off. Bruce watched the strange woman next to him.

"May I ask where you acquired such a taste?" he asked. Her dark eyes turned to him, her blush still faintly coloring her blank cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Bruce, but I don't like talking about my past," she said softly. He nodded.

"Neither do I," he agreed. A few minutes later, Alfred came back with Koumori's replaced dinner and a message for Bruce. Bruce stood.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave, but there is something that I need to attend to," he explained. The teacher nodded.

"Then I suggest you go and attend to it," she said. With that, Bruce left the room. Koumori rapidly finished the meat that Alfred had brought out for her. She then tried to help him clean the dishes, but he refused her help. After a while, she saw no point in arguing with him anymore and gave up.

Koumori spent a good portion of the night listening to police reports on the radio. Right after Bruce had left; there was word of some criminal on the loose. She thought it was a robber, but she wasn't paying too much attention. But soon after she heard her host come home, the police were saying something about a "Batman". She perked up. Maybe Gotham wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"What do you know about Batman?" she asked Alfred the next morning. The butler seemed startled by her question.

"That depends. What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Everything," she said simply. He hesitated and was saved by the time.

"Wonderful," she said sarcastically. "It's time to go." She smiled prettily at him. "You can tell me all about Batman when I get back from school," she promised as she put on a wide-brimmed black hat and went out the door.

After fulfilling her duty as strict Japanese teacher, Koumori was relieved to curl up in the corner of her dark room and read a book. She hadn't felt like pestering Alfred, all of those teenagers had worn her out. Of course, her energy returned quickly. She just didn't want to waste it again. At least, that's what she told herself. Anyway, she could pester Bruce when he came home. That is, if he didn't run off again.

Unfortunately, he did. Half way through dinner, Bruce was called out of the house again. He felt bad for leaving his guest alone again, but the matter at hand was more important. Normally, he had about a day's break; but at the same time, it wasn't unusual for Batman to be called to duty two days in a row.

"What is it?" Batman asked. He had arrived to where Commissioner Gordon had called him. The Commissioner turned around with a strange look on his face. It was rather annoyed.

"One of his animals turned up with puncture wounds in its neck. The animal's fine, so I decided we could leave, but he's being quite persistent," he said as he inclined his head over towards a farmer over by a barn. The man was talking furiously to a man with a notepad.

"Where is this animal?" Batman asked. Gordon pointed to the barn.

"The last stall on the left," he said. The Dark Knight walked slowly over, completely ignoring the farmer. When he arrived at the last stall, he found a grey horse standing in it. The horse seemed perfectly fine, but when he studied it more closely, he found two small prick marks in its neck.

The next day during class, the students had an assignment, Koumori sat at her desk researching Batman. He was quite fascinating actually. As she scrolled through pages after pages of information, she wondered what had inspired whoever the man was behind the mask to become a bat. Or perhaps, he simply had no choice, as she didn't.

Over the next few weeks, Koumori disappeared for about a half and hour after dinner. The previous week, Alfred had made the mistake of serving fettuccine; Koumori was allergic to garlic. First, she had screwed up her nose. Then, when she saw what it was, she had let out a sharp hissing noise. She apologized quickly and ran up the stairs. When Bruce ran after her, he found her shaking on the floor in the corner of the room.

"What's wrong?" he had asked. She had raised a trembling hand and pointed to the dresser. When he turned around, he saw a shot lying on the surface. He brought it over to her and she viciously jammed it into her leg. Her black eyes temporarily rolled back into her head as her trembling stopped. After she finally recovered, she explained to him that she was deathly allergic to garlic. Alfred was careful to keep it away from her after that and she began her nightly disappearances.

Also over the next few weeks, Bruce was called from his home to investigate more strange puncture marks. More animals had been sighted with the spots on their necks; some were even found dead. When put under closer inspection, it was found that the animals had no blood left in their bodies. These were few, they only turned up twice.

Bruce spent a bit more time in his office after those. But even after all his research, he couldn't come up with anything that could have caused the deaths. There was absolutely nothing that could have caused the occurrences. But then he remembered someone that might know what was happening. Someone who also vanished at the time animals were given their marks. That night, Bruce gently knocked on Komori's door. It took a minute, but she opened the door. She was wearing her white night gown, but she didn't seem bothered that he was seeing her in it.

"Bruce? Um, can I help you?" she asked. He nodded.

"Do you mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Well, of course not. It's your room anyway," she said wearily as she stepped aside to let him in. He walked in and looked around the room. The curtains were open for a change, but it was dark outside. He looked at her. Koumori's face was strained and it looked like she was under a lot of pressure. She blinked a lot, as if trying to clear her vision.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a headache, that's all," she said.

"I can get you an aspirin if you want."

"No. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Yes. What did you need?"

"Um, nothing. You haven't been going out much lately." There hadn't been any more sightings lately either.

"I was going to go out tonight, but I think I'll go to sleep instead."

"Oh. I guess I'll go then." Bruce walked over to the door. "Good night."

She smiled, but her voice was grave. "Good night."

Bruce stood outside the door waiting to see if she would go against her word or not. But after a few minutes, he heard the window slide open. Then, even though he strained to hear it, he could the flutter of fabric getting softer. And after that, very distinctively, he heard something thud against the concrete outside. He opened the door, but the room was empty. He ran to the window expecting to see Koumori's body laying broken on the ground three stories below. But when he looked, he could see her white night gown trailing out behind her as she ran down the driveway with inhuman speed.

He quickly changed into his cape and cowl and drove after her. He lost sight of her numerous times, but eventually she stopped near the chicken coop on another farm. She looked both ways, but didn't see him hiding in the shadows of the forest next to it. Her gaze landed on him, but soon her attention returned to the coop. He froze. The woman in front of him was no longer the woman that was staying at his house.

Koumori's black eyes were bright red and her pupils were small black slits. Her lips had been pulled back in a snarl when she looked at him and it exposed her white teeth. But the most surprising thing was the long, shiny fangs that now adorned her upper jaw. She walked in and when she came out she was holding a chicken unceremoniously by its neck. The hen began to squawk, but she silenced it by tightening her grip and simply snapping its neck. Then she raised it to her lips in sunk in her fangs. Her eyes closed.

Bruce stepped back, but as he did so, he stepped on a twig. It broke under his boot. Koumori's eyes snapped open and she turned slowly in his direction. She opened her mouth and smiled in pleasure. Then she threw the chicken aside and started in his direction, her red eyes glazed with hunger. As the hen hit the ground, he could see two small bite marks in its neck.

He continued to walk backwards, but she knew where he was now. He turned around and ran. He was ashamed of running, but the shock of what she was compelled him to save himself. And for the first time in a while, he was scared. But, even as he ran, she was still faster. She skidded to a halt in front of him, causing him to stop as well. He didn't even think to start running in a different direction.

"Ah. So nice to finally meet you Batman. I didn't think you were the kind that ran from a challenge," she said. His eyes widened behind his mask. Her once smooth voice was deep and rough.

"I expected you to be one of my kind," she continued. "But you're just another weak little human. You smell delicious, but I'll spare you even though you ran. I always like a chase." But as she studied him more, her eyes narrowed.

"You smell familiar," she hissed as she began to circle him. He ran, but a branch sliced through his sleeve and cut his skin. He began to bleed. Her softening eyes widened and she lunged, unable to control herself. She pinned him to the ground with surprising strength and she stared at his arm hungrily. In a last minute effort to save himself, he pulled his mask from his face.

"Koumori! Wait, it's me, Bruce!" he pleaded. Her red eyes unglazed in surprise.

"B-bruce? What are you doing out here?" she asked, her voice back to normal. She blinked a few times in confusion. She released some of her hold on him. He stared up at her.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she jumped up and ran off. He watched her, ignoring the pain in his arm.

The next day after school, Bruce caught Koumori just as she was carrying his bags out to her small black car. She had set them down by the trunk and gone up to the front seat to open it. He walked over and picked up her bags. She looked up just in time to see him walking back into the manor with them.

"Bruce! Come back here with those! Wait up!" she called as she ran after him. Though she was running, she was careful to keep herself at a human speed. He didn't say anything; he didn't stop either.

"Bruce! What are you doing?" she yelled.

"I know, Koumori. So, don't be afraid to catch up with me," he finally said. He still didn't stop. She, however, did. After a second, her dumbstruck expression turned into annoyance. Before he could blink, she was standing in front of him, her pasty white arms crossed over her chest.

"What are you doing?" she repeated firmly. He stopped, startled by her sudden appearance. For a moment, he was scared that she was going to turn back into the woman she had become the night before.

"You're afraid of me. I can smell it," she said, not bothering to hide her talents anymore. His eyes widened. She slowly walked over and took her bags from him.

"You don't want me here. Trust me. I'll only put you in more danger then you already get yourself into," she said. He knew that she was talking about his being Batman.

"That's fine as long as you promise to spare Alfred," he said. She looked at him, her black eyes pleading and sadness and regret covering her face.

"How can you know what I really am and still want me here?" she asked quietly. He didn't answer. He tried to pull the bags from her hands, but even her relaxed grip was too strong for him. He gave her a look and she released her grip completely, allowing him to take the bags. He walked past her and she silently followed.

Koumori didn't come down to dinner that night. She stayed in her room the next day too. She called the school, figuring that her students would probably enjoy a substitute. It wasn't until Bruce came home from work that she finally even opened the door. That evening, he stood in front of her door for a few minutes, debating whether he should try to talk to her again.

"Koumori? Are you alright?" he asked as he knocked lightly.

"Bruce?" she asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Don't come in right now. It isn't safe for you. Come back in an hour. I'm…going for a walk." He could hear the window open as he walked back down the hall.

An hour later, Bruce once again stood in front of her door. He paused then knocked. Just then, he heard a scratching noise inside. He knocked again.

"Ah, just a second!" came Koumori's voice. There was more scratching. He hesitantly pushed the door open a crack. When he peered in, he saw her crawling back in through the window as gracefully as it was possible to do so. But then she saw him and lost her balance. He walked over and offered his hand to pull her up. She ignored it.

A few minutes later, they were comfortably seated on her bed. Well, sort of. Koumori was quite nervous. Bruce, however, was relieved that she wasn't in "vampire" mode. And she knew it.

"Well?" she asked. He looked at her.

"Well what?" he asked.

"You wanted to come in here. What did you want?" she asked. He kept watching her mouth, but her dark red lips constantly concealed all of her teeth. He didn't know much about vampires, so he decided that if he was gong to live with one he better start learning.

"How long have you been a…vampire?" he said. She looked at him in surprise although she quickly composed herself.

"Very long."

"Were you born a vampire?"

"No. But my parents were."

"How come you weren't, too?"

"Because I took after my only human relative, despite the fact that he was killed almost eight hundred years before I was born."

"Did he become a vampire?"

"Eventually."

"How old are you?" She smiled.

"Very old." He was beginning to get annoyed with her answers.

"Can't you give me a straight answer?"

"I could."

"Why don't you?"

"Because it's fun to annoy you." He frowned.

"How old?" She sighed; and figuring he wasn't going to give up, answered.

"Five hundred ninety-three." His eyes got very, very big. She looked at her lap.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you."

"No, it's okay. You just surprised-" He had reached out to put his hand on hers, but pulled it back as soon as they touched. Her hand was freezing. It was colder than freezing. They were like putting your hands in a bucket of ice and leaving them there; for an hour.

"I'm sorry. I probably should have warned you about that," she said.

"Why are your hands so cold?"

"Because my heart beats very slowly. Three beats a minute. They don't get much blood." She laughed scornfully. "It's ironic, really." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Being a cold, living-dead, bloodsucker has a few perks though," she said. She pointed to her nightstand. "Hand me that letter opener." He gave it to her. She shoved it into her palm violently. She pushed so hard that it came out the other side. He stared in shock. This evening was just getting more and more interesting by the second.

She pulled the letter opener quickly out of her hand. In less than five seconds, there was no evidence that she had ever wounded herself. When she handed the instrument back, he was surprised to find no blood on it.

"We vampires have extremely increased healing rates," she explained. He looked at her, trying to see if she was joking. But after what she had just done, he couldn't doubt it.

"How much can you withstand?" he asked. She paused.

"I never really tried to find out. But in World War II, I got shot in the chest, forehead, leg, and shoulder. In about four minutes, I was perfectly fine," she said. He nodded; impressed. They sat in silence again.

"But then, there's the fact that you can't get too close to anyone. Because there's the chance you might end up hurting them. But I guess it's the same for you, just you won't be the one hurting them," she said as she stared at him, her eyes full of loneliness and longing. Bruce was at a loss of what to do. Despite what other people might think, he didn't have much experience with women. Especially emotionally unstable vampire women.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked. After he said it, he realized just how stupid it sounded. Koumori smiled, her lips staying closed, and nodded.

"Yes. After five hundred and seventy-two years of being like this, I suppose you get used to always being alone," she said.

"Can't you stay with other vampires?" he said. It was awkward to say that.

"No. Vampires are vicious creatures, Bruce, even around their own families. Very few of us are skilled in keeping our tempers in check. Do you want me to leave?" she asked.

"No. You're perfectly fine here. As long as you don't get too mad at us," he said. She laughed.

"After almost six hundred years, I've learned. You don't have to worry too much about me." He noticed that she said not 'too much'. That meant her still temper still wasn't always safe.

"Some of us can even control our need for blood. At your hospital, two of the doctors are vampires," she said, interrupting his thoughts. He nodded, surprised.

"What about you? There are all of these special things your kind can do, but you make it sound like everyone else can do them and you can't," he asked. She smiled absent-mindedly.

"I can almost control my need to drink. I've sworn against human blood, that's why I preyed on the farm animals. Most of the time I take a bit at I time, but as you know, twice I went too far. Those times, I hadn't fed in a while because I didn't want you or Alfred to get suspicious of me. And the sunlight thing, all vampires can go out as long as they keep their skin covered. If we don't, we get nasty sunburns," she explained. He listened intently.

"What about garlic?" he asked.

"Some vampires are completely immune to it. Others get it when they turn. I had the allergy before I became a vampire though, so there was no hope for me," she said.

"And sleeping in coffins?" he asked. She laughed again.

"You only need a coffin for the first year that you're dead. After that, you can take it or leave it." When she saw him looking at her funny, she added, "I left mine." All of the sudden, his expression turned to confusion.

"You said that you could almost control when you need to…feed…right?" he asked. She looked at him warily.

"Almost. Why?" she asked.

"Is the 'almost' what made you jump on me when I cut my arm?" he asked. She looked horrified. She was quiet for a while.

"Do you remember the first day I was here? You came up to get me for dinner, and when I saw you I closed the door again, right?" she asked. He nodded.

"Well, every vampire has different…tastes, I suppose you would call them. And your blood, to me, smells sweeter than any I've ever run into," she said. She watched him closely, as if waiting for him to run off in terror. But he stayed where he was next to her and silently considered what she said.

"What about Alfred?" was all he said. She stared at him in disbelief.

"You're not worried at all that I might kill you?" she asked.

"Not really. What about Alfred?" he repeated. She sat there in surprise.

"Well, Alfred's scent smells a little like you, but the scent of his blood isn't as appealing to me," she said. He seemed satisfied with her answer.

"Should I stop inviting you down to dinner?" he asked.

"If you want. Human food doesn't do much for me, but it does feel good to do something normal. You might just want to tell Alfred to give me smaller portions. I don't want to hurt his feelings," she said. She glanced over at the clock.

"You should go to bed. It's almost one," she said. He paused, but stood up to leave. She stood with him and they walked over to the door. When he was out in hallway, he turned around and smiled at her.

"Good night," he said. She smiled too, and he could see her fangs. They weren't very long, considerably shorter than the other night, but her canines weren't quite human sized either.

"Good night," she repeated. Then she watched him until he disappeared around the corner.

The next day was a weekend, so Koumori didn't need to go to school. Bruce managed to get work off that day. They both spent the day reading. His attire didn't differ too much form what it normally was, but hers did. While she normally wore something professional or business-like, she was wearing loose black cotton sweat pants and a black T-shirt. It proudly proclaimed in bold white letters across her chest "BAD BAT". He smiled when he saw it. It was almost hilariously ironic.

They sat comfortably in his living room; quietly reading their books. He had picked historical nonfiction. She had screwed her face up when she saw it. She had picked out a romance, oddly enough about vampires.

"Where'd you get this, Bruce? You don't seem like the type," she had said teasingly.

"Someone must have left it," he said. She grinned.

"What kind of someone?" she asked, waving the book in front of his face. He blushed and didn't say anything. She laughed.

When the doorbell rang, they were both half way finished with their books. Koumori heard Alfred walking down the hall to answer it. She stood and walked past him at a normal speed. But as soon as she turned the corner and was out of his line of vision, she took off; using her speed to reach the door before him. When she saw who it was, she immediately switched into strict teacher mode.

"Shouldn't you be off enjoying your weekend, Mr. Grayson?" she asked. Dick looked at her in surprise.

"Ms. Daaku? Is Alfred alright?" he asked worriedly. Just then, the butler in question rounded the corner.

"Mistress Koumori? How did you get down here so quickly?" he asked, his expression clearly confused. She smiled.

"I have my ways, Alfred," she said. Alfred turned to their guest.

"Are you here to see Master Bruce?" he asked. The boy nodded.

"Is he here? I heard that he took the day off," he said. Alfred nodded. Koumori placed her hand on his arm to stop him. Her hand wasn't touching him; it simply hovered above his arm. Even through his sleeve, she knew he would be able to feel the cold of her skin.

"I'll take him, Alfred. I'm going back anyway," she said. The butler paused, and then nodded.

The two walked back in silence. Dick was wondering what was going on and why his Japanese teacher was answering the door. Koumori just wanted to know what he was doing here. She also wondered if Bruce would tell him her secret. She knew he was close with her student; but he was close with her too. But he wouldn't betray her trust like that though, would he? She tried not to think of what would happen if he did. Poor Dick, she thought.

When they arrived, Bruce was still reading. Koumori sat back down and resumed reading her book. Nobody said anything. The two just kept reading. Dick stood there for a moment, watching them. When he finally realized they weren't going to talk to him, he picked a book off the shelf and made himself comfortable.

After about an hour, Bruce put down his book. Fifteen minutes after that, Koumori did the same. Dick was a fourth of the way through his book and showed no signs of stopping. She smiled and shook her head; he was reading about Japanese history. She stood.

"Can I see you in the hall, Bruce?" she asked. He nodded and followed her out.

"What is it?" he asked when they got out. She paused.

"You won't tell him, will you? About what I am, I mean," she asked quietly. He put his hands on her shoulders, ignoring the freezing cold that seeped into them.

"Not unless you want me to," he said as he rubbed his hands gently up and down her arms and smiled reassuringly. She smiled too.

When they walked back in, Dick was standing with his arms crossed. He watched them sternly. The two adults looked at each other in confusion. Then they looked back at him; still trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Did you finish your book?" Koumori asked. The sound of her voice relaxed him a bit. He shook his head.

"What's wrong, Dick?" Bruce asked. The boy paused, his eyes drifting.

"I heard what you said out there. What were you talking about? Are you a terrorist or something?" he asked as he looked at his teacher. She laughed nervously and looked at Bruce for support. She hadn't prepared herself for this. At all.

Just like Koumori, Bruce was at a loss for words. He hadn't anticipated that Dick would listen in on them. What were they going to say? Oh, Dick, did you know your teacher's a vampire? He wouldn't believe them and would continue to pry for what they were really talking about. It was a lose/lose situation.

"Bruce?" Koumori's voice broke his thoughts. When he looked over at her, he could tell she was scared. It was slightly ironic. Then when he looked back at Dick, he found him as determined as ever. She sighed.

"I think we should just tell him," she said. "There's no use hiding it." He looked at her, but now she was just as determined as her student.

"Okay," he said quietly. He sat down and decided to let her handle it.

"You might want to sit down, too, Dick," she said. He hesitantly complied. She took a deep breath. Bruce felt sorry for her.

"You have to promise not to let Alfred know. I'm hoping that he won't have to find out," she said. Dick nodded in silent agreement.

"Well, you see, I'm not completely human," she started. "Or alive." Dick frowned. She took another breath. She could tell already that he didn't believe her. She could see it, but she could smell it too.

"I'm a vampire," she finally said. After a second, Dick burst out laughing. She bared her teeth in frustration, but her fangs were safely disguised as little canines. She pulled a shotgun off the wall.

"Does this work?" she asked. Bruce's eyes widened.

"As long as you're not shooting him," he said. She shoved the gun into Bruce's hands and stepped back.

"Shoot me," she demanded. Dick watched with wide eyes. Bruce, who knew she would be fine, lowered the gun and took aim. Then he shot her. Dick closed his eyes when he heard the shot.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Koumori, perfectly fine, pulling off her shirt. There was a small round wound just below her collarbone. She watched it, waiting patiently. Her red lips were put into a grimace. After a while, the bullet began to poke out, then it fell into her hand and the wound slowly closed up. Her white skin was perfectly flawless; there was no evidence that anything had happened.

She whipped around and looked at the door, quickly pulling her shirt back on. Then, before either of the men could blink, she had snatched the gun, put it back on the wall, and was back in her original spot in a chair. A few seconds later, Alfred burst through the door. He was clearly worried. But when he saw them all sitting in their chairs, he composed himself.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, unable to keep the worry from his voice. Koumori smiled prettily.

"Yes, Alfred. Everything is fine," she said, her mesmerizing voice relaxing him and his body. The butler let out a breath. Then he nodded in satisfaction and walked out. Both of the remaining adults turned to Dick and waited. His eyes were still wide and his hands were gripping the arms of the chair so tightly they were almost as white as hers.

"Do you believe her now?" Bruce asked. The boy nodded mechanically. But after a minute, he burst out with questions.

"But how come you don't have fangs? And you're awake! How's that? Do you sleep in a coffin? Can you turn into a bat? How come you're teaching Japanese? Are you allergic to garlic? Are you going to kill us?" he asked quickly. She listened patiently.

"I do have fangs, I have mostly the same sleep schedule as humans, I don't sleep in a coffin, I can turn into bat, my nationality is Japanese and I lived in Japan for almost all of my life and most of my death, I am allergic to garlic, and, no, I'm not going to kill you," she answered calmly. Dick was silent. Bruce smiled. She was very tolerant. Then he realized something.

"Wait! A bat?" he asked. She grinned.

"Did I not tell you that?" she asked sweetly. He frowned.

"No; you forgot that little detail," he said. She only kept smiling.

"What about pictures? And mirrors? Do you show up?" Dick enthusiastically interrupted. She stood and pulled him from his chair. He shivered. She smiled sheepishly.

"Side affect," she explained. They walked over to the side of the room where a mirror hung on the wall. You could only see what was from your neck up, but it would do. As they looked into it, Dick's image reflected back, but in Koumori's place, there was only a hazy gray silhouette.

"As for pictures, they work only slightly better," she said. Dick looked back at their reflections, not saying anything. His teacher was silent as well. Bruce watched them from his chair, also quiet. Dick had handled this much better than either had though he would. He turned quickly to Koumori.

"What do you look like as a bat?" he asked. She laughed.

"A bat," she said. He rolled his eyes.

"Could you show us?" he asked. Bruce was flattered that in his excitement he had remembered him. She paused.

"You have to look away or close your eyes until the transformation is over," she said as she gave in. The men did as they were told. They could hear her taking in rapid breaths and the sounds of her bones contracting and shrinking. After a few minutes, they finally heard the flutter of wings.

Bruce felt something soft repeatedly rubbing against his cheek. He opened his eyes to find a little bat perched on his shoulder. He gently petted its fuzzy black head. Then he told Dick to open his eyes. They both failed to notice the pile of black clothing in the corner of the room.

They both petted and stroked Koumori's soft fur. She happily rolled onto her back on Bruce's lap and let out a gargling purring sound. Dick laughed and scratched her stomach. Both noticed that her fur was almost as cold as her skin. But the sweet cuddliness the tiny creature displayed quickly made them forget.

Later that night, Bruce and Koumori, back in human form, debated whether or not to tell Alfred. Dick had gone home a few hours before. They figured the butler would feel a little left out if they didn't tell him. But if they did tell him, they might regret it. In the end, they decided to tell him anyway.

Like Dick, Alfred reacted much better that they had expected. After the initial shock wore off, all he wanted to know was whether he should stop making dinner for Koumori. She had laughed and hugged him, revealing her freezing body temperature. Bruce had simply sighed in relief.

That night, Bruce was woken by the sound of something banging against the glass of his window. He ignored it first, hoping that it would go away. But eventually he opened his eyes and tried to see what it was. He could see a small black shape outside. He sleepily got up and opened the window to get a better look. A tiny bat flew in and perched on his shoulder.

"Koumori?" he asked. The bat rubbed its head on his cheek. Then it flew into his bathroom. When it came out, it was carrying his robe in its teeth. He stared in amazement. The robe was substantially larger than Koumori, but she carried it effortlessly. She dropped it on the floor and wriggled under it. He went to pull it off, but when he got close, he could hear her bones popping as they expanded. He turned away.

"I'm sorry about this, Bruce. Alfred locked my window and I couldn't get back in," she said softly. He turned around. She had wrapped herself securely in his robe, which was much too big for her. He couldn't see much, but from the amount of her legs and collarbone area that he could see, he could tell that she wasn't wearing anything else.

"That's alright," he said, yawning immediately after he finished talking. She smiled, and he could see her fangs glisten in the moonlight. They were at their longest. She closed her lips.

"Sorry. I can tell you don't like them," she said.

"It is that obvious?" he asked. She laughed.

"Yes. But I can smell your anxiety, too," she said. He rolled his eyes. They were on opposite sides of the room, but he knew she could see it. He walked with her to the door. She stepped out into the hallway.

"I'll bring the robe back in the morning," she said. He nodded and turned to go back into his room.

"Oh, and Bruce?" He turned around and was surprised to find less than three inches between his face and hers.

"Yes?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. She laughed quietly. She could smell his embarrassment.

"Good night," she whispered. And then she was gone. He was left to wander back to bed and wonder if she had ever really been there.

The next morning, Koumori and Alfred were up long before Bruce. She had chosen to stay in her pajamas, loose black pants, long sleeve violet shirt, and fuzzy black slippers; and tried to convince Alfred to stay in his as well. He refused and was wearing his customary suit. Bruce came down dressed in what resembled golf clothes.

"Can you people not relax?" she asked. They both only looked at her. She huffed and crossed her arms. Bruce sat down next to her at the table and forced her to look at him.

"Koumori, you know that with my job we can't afford to relax too much," he said.

"Which one? Playboy billionaire or Batman?" she asked. Alfred's eyes got very wide. It took a moment for Bruce to calm him down and reassure him that she was trustworthy. Then he turned back to her.

"You know which one," he said. She sighed.

"Is that all you have? Fighting criminals and managing business?" she asked softly. He sighed too, ignoring the way his hand went slightly numb as he grabbed hers. She squeezed his hand gently. With her strength, she had to be very careful.

"Can't you make room for anything else in your life? You only get one, you know," she said. He looked at her curiously.

"Death isn't nearly as exciting," she added. He looked away, but he didn't let go of her hand. She pulled it out.

"You're going to give yourself frostbite," she scolded. He smiled. Alfred interrupted the awkward silence by offering Bruce some breakfast.

Later that day, Koumori offered to take Alfred on a walk with her. Bruce had gone into work a few hours earlier. She practically had to drag the butler out the door, but she eventually convinced him to come with her. They walked slowly through the park. Koumori, who was wearing small but extra thick gloves, gently held Alfred's hand in her own.

"There is no need to fear me, Alfred. I wouldn't dream of hurting you or Bruce," she said. The butler looked over at her.

"You think I fear you simply because you are a vampire?" he asked. Her eyes narrowed a bit.

"Why else should your heart always pump faster when I am near?" she asked. He sighed.

"You are right. I am afraid of you. But I am also afraid for Master Bruce," he said. She stopped them.

"I won't hurt him, Alfred. I promise," she said.

"So, you'll not break his heart? That is all I am worried about presently," he said calmly. Her mouth dropped open for a moment.

"You think I'm going to break his heart? But he doesn't love me," she said; baffled by his statement. He smiled in the way people do when they know they know something you don't.

"Not yet," he said simply. Then he proceeded to pull her into a walking speed again.

That night, Koumori sat in her room thinking about what Alfred had said. She didn't want to hurt Bruce; he was the one person that had accepted her willingly for what she truly was. But if he did happen to fall in love with her, it was going to hurt them both. They each had reasons not to love anyone. She couldn't because there was a chance she could kill them, and he couldn't because somebody else might kill them. They were only able to love people from a distance, but nobody was able to love them.

But as she sat there thinking, she realized that he would be able to love her because there were no chances that she could die again. She was already dead. But she would never be able to love him, and thankfully she didn't, because the scent of his blood always tempted her. But there was also always the chance that he might take "Batman" too far. She would be heartbroken if he was killed. But even though she would grieve if he died, she still didn't love him.

The next day at school while the students had their assignments, she sat at her desk, furiously typing at the computer. Her lips were pressed a firm line and her eyes were narrowed in frustration. For the ten billionth time in her death, she was researching for cures to vampirism. She figured that since you had to be bitten to become a vampire, it must be some sort of communicative disease. And that meant that there had to be a cure.

But all that day, nothing that she hadn't already tried came up in her results. She had tried millions of experiments in the few months after she had turned and many more in the almost six hundred years after that. And she was still a vampire. After all of her students had left, she slumped down in her chair and exasperatedly blew a stand of hair from her face.

Koumori spread out her feeding times a little more in an attempt to keep Bruce at home. After what Alfred had had talked to her about, she wasn't quite sure that she wanted him around, but she was willing to take her chances. Even though now, since she wasn't feeding as often, he was even more appetizing than ever. She did worry about her host when he was called out on duty. And after a while, she decided to take matters into her own hands to protect him.

A few weeks later, Bruce was called out of the house on business; the Batman sort of business. Koumori was very excited. This was the night she was going to start her second job; protecting the protector of Gotham.

"Alfred?" she asked. The butler looked over at her.

"Yes, Mistress Koumori?" She smiled and rolled her eyes. She had tried time and again to get him to leave off the 'Mistress', but had failed miserably.

"I'm going to go with Bruce tonight." Alfred's eyes got bigger.

"What do you mean?" he asked, struggling to keep his cool. She ran up the stairs, gone and back in flash. She held up her new outfit for him to see.

"Do you like it?" she asked, unable to keep herself from grinning. After a moment, he smiled too.

"Um, lovely, Mistress Koumori," he said. He wasn't sure what she planned to do; but he took reassurance in knowing that Bruce would be just as confused as he was.

Batman saw her every time. He didn't know who it was, but she always followed him. She knew where he was going and when he was finished. And she never failed to appear and disappear from the rooftops above him.

She was intriguing and somewhat familiar, but that might just be because she wore a costume identical to his. The only difference was that where his emblem was yellow, hers was purple. Other than that, she was an exact replica of Batman. She never introduced herself, and no one had ever seen her but him, but he had on an impulse taken to calling her "Batwoman".

He had told Alfred, and the butler had simply smiled. Bruce didn't feel like asking him, but he had a feeling that the older man knew something that he didn't. Alfred asked him each night when he came back if he had come any closer to finding out who she was, and each night he had the same answer; 'No'.

But after three weeks of this woman following him around, he was beginning to get tired of it. That night, Bruce was called out of the house, leaving Koumori and Alfred to finish their dinners without him. The Joker had somehow broken out of Arkham Asylum and was robbing a gag gift shop.

When he arrived, the Joker was taunting the store's clerk, who was cowering in one of the far corners. Before he slipped through the door, he noticed that Batwoman was standing on one of the buildings across the street and as he walked through the door, she crouched down for a better look.

The Joker had brought along his crony, Harley Quinn, and the two put up more of a fight than Batman had expected. He took out Harley first, knocking her unconscious after a few punches were thrown from each side. The Joker, however, wasn't going to go down as easily.

The Clown Prince of Crime had brought a few more tricks than usual, effectively keeping Batman at bay for several minutes. Finally, he dealt a blow that knocked Batman to the ground. And just as he was about to deliver the final strike, his arm was pulled behind his back and violently twisted. He howled in pain.

"You're going to pay for that," a voice hissed. When Batman looked up, the Joker's face was warped in an expression of pure agony. Batwoman was standing behind him, her bright red lips pulled back angrily over her teeth. She pulled his arm again and he released another scream of pain.

"Stop it," Batman said firmly. Batwoman's gaze turned to him, but her teeth were still bared.

"Only when the police arrive. I take him, you get her," she said nodding her head in Harley's direction. The sidekick had sleepily opened her eyes and seemed to be trying to remember what had happened. Batman rushed over to her, quickly and gently pushing the pressure point on her neck. She passed out again.

The police arrived only minutes later. Harley was taken first since she was still unconscious. The Joker was taken soon after. They were going to take him to the hospital section of Arkham; he claimed that Batwoman had broken his arm. But of course, he and Batman were the only ones who actually knew she was real. And also, she had already disappeared.

Batman hung around a little longer after the police left. It wasn't long before there was another bat beside him. They sat on the rooftop in silence, neither looking at the other. They both simply stared out at the other buildings in front of them; they could still faintly see the lights on the tops of the police cars as they drove away.

"Why are you following me?" Batman asked as he turned to look at her. Batwoman turned her gaze to him as well. She smiled sincerely.

"Because I can protect you more from them than I can from myself," she said. He frowned. Her voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it.

"Who are you?" he asked. Her smile grew. She reached out to pull his mask from his face. He grabbed his wrists before they could touch him. They were cold.

"Oh, Bruce. You haven't figured it out yet?" she asked teasingly. Then she pushed past his grip with immense but gentle strength and took off his mask. He didn't pull it back up. Instead, he reached out for hers. She made no movement or sound of protest. When he pulled her mask off, he simply sat dumbfounded.

"Koumori?" he asked. Batwoman smiled.

"Who else?" she asked. He had plenty of questions running through his mind right at that moment, but none of them wanted to come out.

"What's the matter, Bruce?" she asked, worry lining her voice. He looked at her, still not believing it.

"It's you," he said simply. She giggled and leaned forward to rest her forehead on his chest. If he hadn't believed it before, the cold of her skin reassured him that it was really her.

"Why were you doing this?" he asked. She smiled again even though he couldn't see it and deeply inhaled. He knew that she was probably enjoying being this close to him.

"Alfred was afraid that I would hurt you, so even though I can't protect you from myself, I decided that I can at least protect you from all of them," she said as she straightened her posture. Something was different. All of the sudden in dawned on him, she looked somewhat intoxicated.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She giggled again, her eyes slightly crossed. He noticed that they were slightly red. She started to sway a bit as well.

"I think you need to go home now," he said. She tried to focus her eyes on him, but brought them farther out of focus instead.

"Okay," she said. She sounded giddy. He sighed. She obviously wasn't going to be able to get back alone; but he didn't think carrying her would make her condition any better. But he ended up pulling their masks back on and carrying her anyway.

The next day, thankfully a weekend, Koumori came down late for breakfast. She didn't eat anything most of the time, but today was one of the few days when she accepted the small portion that Alfred placed in front of her. She didn't speak to either of the other men at the table as she ate her food. When she was finished, she washed her plate and silverware, refusing all help and ignoring all protest from Alfred.

After she got dressed, she settled into her chair in the living with another book. It was a random book that she had pulled from the shelf; she didn't even know what it was about. But then again she didn't care; it was just something to drag her away from her thoughts. They had haunted her all morning and all the night before and she was more than ready to escape from them. Unfortunately, her book offered no relief.

She was doing fairly well with protecting him and preventing him from falling in love with her, but she wasn't doing so well with protecting him from herself. She had begun to space out her feedings so far that it required immense control around him and Alfred. Once, she had almost pounced on one of her students.

And her cure research wasn't going much better either. Over the centuries, most people had either forgotten about vampires or wanted to become them. But she was already a vampire, so those experiments were exactly the opposite of what she needed. Although she hid it around her hosts and her students, she had slipped into a bit of a depression. Almost six hundred years of taking lives, even if they weren't human, was quite enough to lead someone to hate their very existence.

But there was always that part of her that didn't want to change. There were benefits to being one of the living dead, as hard as it was to believe at some times. Your lungs had really no need for air, so if you had to, you could spend infinite amounts of time underwater. Well, at least until you needed to feed. There were very few things that could hurt you since you were already dead. Your strength was boundless. And you had a never-ending amount of time to live.

However, that was a bad thing as well. You had to keep up with changing traditions and not talk too much about the past. Despite the fact that it made you an excellent history teacher, it wasn't that easy. And you watched all of the people around you grow old and pass away while you stayed young and healthy. And once they noticed that you weren't aging, you had to move somewhere else, change your name, and leave that life behind.

And if you somehow did let yourself fall in love, or let someone else fall in love with you, it never ended well. Either you had to break their heart and avoid them for the rest of their lives or break your own heart and avoid them for the rest of their lives. In the end, you had to sit back and watch them fade away both ways.

And when she did find a cure, now there was always the fact that if it really worked, she would die. She had well lived her life, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to let go of it yet either. She had traveled most of the world, but she had never been kissed. And if she died now, she would miss out on the only human experience she had ever wanted to have, alive or dead. But there was a complication; she wanted to be in love with the person she kissed, and them with her. And that wasn't allowed.

Koumori sat in the bathtub. The tile of the bathroom floor was warm and the mirror was fogged up. She had filled the counter and sink with the candles she kept in her room. They were all lit and their flames cast eerie shadows across the dark walls. She kept the lights off to save some energy; she had already wasted enough standing under the flow of the shower and filling the tub with water. She put the dial on full blast for heat.

When Bruce finally knocked on the door to see if she was alright, the water was off and she had turned on a space heater on the floor. She told him that he could come in, but that it would be wise to take off a few layers. When he stepped in, still in his long sleeves, socks, pants, and shoes; he realized that he should have listened. The room was sweltering hot.

"What's all this about?" he asked as he finally abided by her suggestion. She looked at him, still sitting chest deep in hot water. She was wearing a tank top and short shorts, both thoroughly soaked by now, so she didn't care that he was in the room with her.

"I'm tired of being so cold all of the time," she said. She held out her hand. "Am I warm?" Bruce took her hand, and the still cold of her wet hand was comforting in the heat of the room.

"No," he said, but regretted it when he saw the look on her face. She then buried it in her hands. He sighed. He had taken off all but his undershirt and his pants. However, he was smart enough to roll the legs up. After a while, she finally looked at him again. She scooted over in the water.

"Come sit with me. The water's probably cool by now," she said sullenly. He watched her, trying to see if she was joking. But when he looked at her expression, it was clear that she wasn't kidding. He sat on the rim of the tub. She rolled her eyes and stood up. Then she pulled him to a standing position, yanked off his belt, and pulled down his pants.

"Now get in," she said. He stood there, shocked. She stood there too, dripping wet. They watched each other in silence for a few moments. She crossed her arms.

"You're going to get heatstroke. Don't make me lift you in here myself," she threatened. After that, he tentatively lifted his foot and eased himself into the cool water. She stayed as far away from him as possible; not wanting to be tempted or to have a repeat of the previous night. And so they sat there, in comfortable and yet awkward silence until almost twelve at night. Then Koumori convinced Bruce to dry off and go to bed, even though she herself didn't leave the bathtub for another three hours.

The next day, Koumori regained her position as first person to wake up. Alfred woke soon after, but much to his dismay, she was already in the kitchen contentedly munching on a pop tart. He hunted down the box with the rest of them and demanded to know where they came from. She simply replied that they were hers and snatched the box from his hand. And also, she offered Bruce one when he came down. He accepted it, only adding to the butler's displeasure.

After breakfast, Koumori convinced Bruce to sit and read with her. He saw no point in arguing with her after a while, so he let her drag him into the living room. He really wasn't in the mood to read, so eventually he convinced her to play a board game instead. It turned out to be a really bad idea. She won every time they played. And even when they switched games, she still won.

Finally, when it was quite late, Bruce lit the fireplace and sat down in front of it. Koumori had gone down to invite Alfred to sit with them and to get some snacks. When she got back and saw the fire, she almost dropped her tray when she hissed sharply. He turned quickly to see what was wrong. She was crouched in an obviously defensive position with the tray on the floor in front of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Her lips pulled back in a snarl.

"The fire," she growled through clenched teeth. He look at the flames and back at her.

"What about it?" Her dark eyes flickered back and forth.

"One way to kill a vampire is like making shish kabob. Chop it up and throw it in the fire."

"Do you want me to extinguish it?" She paused.

"No." She picked the tray back up and hesitantly inched her way over to him. Although she would never admit it, the warmth radiating from the hearth felt wonderful on her skin. Alfred joined them and the three spent the rest of the night sitting comfortably by the dancing flames. They talked about anything and almost everything that came to mind, one topic leading to another with few periods of silence.

As she always did, Koumori went to bed long after the boys did. She sat in front of the fire for about an hour before she finally doused it. As she was on her way to sleep though, she realized that she had never seen the Batcave. So she spent about the next half-hour or so pulling random books off the shelves and tugging on the seldom candlesticks around the house as she tried to find the entrance. After she finally found the switch on the back of the grandfather clock, she explored for a few more hours before finally heading off.

For the next week, Koumori's days were almost identical. She went to school, came home and graded papers, then followed Bruce throughout the night. He didn't mind so much anymore, but the few times that he caught her running from his view, she could tell that he got vaguely annoyed.

One day, when Bruce was simply on patrol, it began to rain. Koumori was hiding under an awning, and looked up at the grey skies with excitement. Bruce grimaced with distaste. She ran out from her cover and began to twirl happily around the town square with her cape billowing out behind her. He watched her from his place on the rooftops. She looked over at him and stopped.

"Batman! Come dance with me!" she shouted happily. He hesitated, but jumped down and slowly walked over to her.

"We're getting all wet," he said. She giggled and led him around the square, spinning the whole time. "You're going to get really dizzy soon," he commented. She stopped again.

"Oh, Batman. Don't ruin this for me. Almost six hundred years and I've never danced in the rain," she complained. He smirked and quickly pulled her close to his body in a waltz formation.

"Well then, Batwoman; let's dance," he said. She smiled and they proceeded to twirl and dance and spin all around the square.

Alfred smiled when Koumori told him about their dance that evening. The two had slowly developed a friendship and she frequently confided her thoughts to him. He would quietly listen and offer a bit of advice. Occasionally though, they would reverse roles and Alfred would complain about various things that Bruce did out of habit. Koumori would sit and listen and when they were done sharing, they would both laugh.

After she told him about their dance, Koumori sighed. Alfred's face grew stern. He didn't say anything; he knew that she would say something eventually. And she did.

"I don't want this anymore," she said. Again, Alfred only waited. Koumori wasn't done yet, even though she had fallen silent. "I'm sick of being a vampire. I tried everything to make it go away, but now the only option left is to die." The butler looked horrified.

"Most certainly not! I will not have you committing suicide!" he exclaimed. She smiled meekly.

"It wouldn't be suicide, Alfred. That's not possible. Someone else would have to kill me," she said quietly. He let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"Vampires cannot kill themselves?" he asked. Koumori smiled faintly.

"We can, but it would take immense focus and an extraordinary will. You would have to be very brave to be able to kill yourself if you happen to one of the undead," she explained. Alfred's eyes narrowed.

"You seem quite fearless yourself," he remarked nervously. She laughed, but he wasn't very sure that she was amused.

"No one is without fear, Alfred. Dead or not," she said. Then she stood, bent to kiss his forehead, and left for bed. He shivered.

The next day, Bruce somehow managed to get home before Koumori. Alfred was waiting for him as he always was. He waited patiently until Bruce was settled and ready to listen. Then he told him about how he believed Koumori was almost willing to commit suicide. Bruce sat, silent and transfixed in surprise.

"What?" he finally choked out. Alfred's eyes drifted to the floor.

"I am sorry to report that it is true. We had the conversation last night," he said; his voice calmer than he felt. Again, Bruce was quiet.

"I'll talk to her," he said after a while. Alfred nodded and they both waited until the teacher came home.

When Koumori finally did, they were surprised. They hadn't heard her car pull up, so they were slightly flustered with her sudden appearance. She smiled, but her fangs weren't out. Then she ran up the stairs; at human speed. When she finally came back down, she sat flopped down in a chair opposite Bruce.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her cheery mood quickly dissipating. Bruce studied her for a moment. She didn't exactly look like a woman that preferred killing herself to being a vampire. Alfred simply watched them.

"Alfred says you…want to die," Bruce said softly. Koumori's black eyes widened as she stared at Alfred. The butler suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"Bruce," she started, but found herself unable to speak. The room was silent for a long while. She sighed.

"It's not that I want to die, I simply just don't want to be a monster anymore," she finished. "And if death is the only way to accomplish that, so be it." Her expression was defiant and her tone hard. Bruce didn't say anything as he stood up. He walked the few steps it took to get to Koumori and pulled her up from her seat. Then he turned and led her down the hallway, still firmly grasping her cold hand.

He took her to the library where he pulled the switch on the back of the grandfather clock. Then they walked down the winding stairs into the Batcave. Koumori wasn't sure what Bruce was doing, but she stayed hushed. They walked over to the examining table and he took out a needle.

"Don't move," he said. She was scared, but she stood still. For the roughness of his voice, his touch was gentle as he held her arm steady. Then he slowly pushed the needle into her wrist. The chamber filled with her blood. It was not the bright red that humans had, but instead dark black.

"Not too much. My body can't make more as fast as yours can," she whispered. He filled one more needle, then placed them in a container. From the chill that came out of it, she took it to be a freezer.

"Why?" she asked as they walked back. He stopped them.

"I'm going to find a cure that won't kill you," he said. She stared at him curiously.

"Why?" she repeated. He watched her too. Then he calmly brought her into his arms.

"Because you're my friend." Koumori's eyes widened in fear. Alfred was right; this was going much too far much too fast.

For the next month or so, Bruce continued to gradually take more blood from Koumori. In return, she spent more time hunting because her body needed blood for the blood it had lost. He didn't particularly notice; he spent more time down in the Batcave trying to find an antidote. After a while though, he realized what he was missing.

That night, when Koumori came home, Bruce led her back down into the cave. He showed her all of the work he had done, but she could sense that he wanted something. And it was starting to irritate her that he wasn't asking.

"Bruce, I know you want something. What is it?" she asked. He smiled sheepishly.

"When you turn someone into a vampire, you release a venom into their blood stream, right?" he asked. She nodded.

"What's your point?"

"The venom in your blood stream is almost six hundred years old, so it's practically untraceable. I need you to give me fresh venom that I can work with." She stared in disbelief.

"I am not going to bite you," she said firmly.

"You don't have to. You can bite a sponge or something that will absorb it," he explained. Her eyes darted nervously.

"Alright," she said as she finally gave in. He smiled.

Koumori stood in front of the dummy Bruce had set up. He had placed a towel against the dummy's neck where she would bite it. She stared at it for a while, unsure. It unnerved her that she was going to bite something fake and try to turn it into a vampire. She laughed, but it was forced. Then she allowed her fangs to grow to their full length and her eyes to revert to bright red. And she bit hard into the towel.

Koumori made sure Bruce was sufficiently protected from the venom. She made him put on gloves, a respirator, and an apron; just in case. He wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't protest after she told him that if the venom made contact with his skin, it could either turn him into a vampire or simply give him third-degree burns. Neither were willing to take either of those chances.

After injecting the venom, Koumori was exhausted. After she was sure that Bruce was finished handling it, she went straight to bed. Then she slept for the rest of the day and through the night.

The next morning, she was rudely awakened by Alfred pulling open the curtains. The sunlight poured in through the window. She was immediately awake, hissing and growling in pain. When Alfred turned to look at her, all he saw was a shivering mound under to blankets.

"Alfred, close the curtains. Now," she said menacingly. He obeyed calmly.

"You have to get up eventually, Mistress Koumori," he said. She slowly reached an arm out and turned on the lamp. Then she pulled herself out as well. As the light hit her body, she saw exactly what she had expected to see. The sunlight had burned the skin on her upper body, the white skin now reddish-pink. Alfred, realizing his mistake, brought her a jar of aloe. She smiled.

"That won't do me any good, Alfred," she said, "But it was a nice thought."

The next week, Koumori called in sick to school. Even with her incredible healing abilities, it would still take at least that long for the burns to heal. When she walked around with short sleeves and no shoes or socks, neither Alfred nor Bruce could get over it. Her snow white feet contrasted oddly with the pink skin on her arms, hands, neck, and face.

Koumori spent more time down in the Batcave with Bruce now that she was staying at the manor all day. There were no windows and therefore no risk of making her burns worse. And the cool air helped ease the pain, too. She could also watch what Bruce was doing and monitor his progress. She never objected to any of his methods; she found some of them quite intriguing. It was easier to protect him too when he was sitting a mere foot away.

Dick came over once. Koumori was wearing slippers, so he didn't notice the burns right away. However, the skin was still pink and he saw it eventually. When he asked what happened, she told him about how Alfred had opened the curtains on her. The butler coughed nervously. She smiled and kissed his cheek with her lukewarm sun-burned lips and told him that she forgave him. He smiled too.

After the burns finally healed, Koumori returned to school. Bruce holed himself in the cave more and more. Over the weekend, she came down to keep him company and grade papers. He was surprised to see her, but he made no objection.

"Dick is doing well," she commented. He didn't answer. She tried again.

"How's the research going?" Still no answer. Again.

"I'm married." He spun around.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide. She smiled.

"I had to get your attention some how," she said innocently. "I said, Dick is doing well." He nodded, still trying to grasp her method of getting his attention. She made a few marks on a student's paper. "Others, however, not so much."

"Do you think the substitute slacked off?" he asked, his eyes returning to his computer. She shook her head.

"No. I think the students bullied him," she said. "They're like that." He turned and smiled at her.

"You let them bully you?" he asked incredulously. She didn't look up.

"No. They're all scared of me. Except for Dick of course. They like subs because they aren't as strict and are easier to push around then me." She made more marks and moved on to the next paper. After a while of sitting in silence, she changed the subject.

"How's your research going?" she asked. His eyes drifted back to the screen of his computer.

"I think I may have found something that will help, but I'm still not there," he said. She nodded.

"Do you need anything else?"

"Not right now."

"You know where to find me."

"Uh-huh." She smiled and made more marks on her paper.

A week later, Bruce brought Koumori down to the cave again. He told her that he had found a combination that would hopefully cure her vampirism. She was so ecstatic that she risked smelling his jugular to hug him. However, he did have to push her off of him. But when they got down and Bruce explained the antidote, she was furious.

"What?" she screamed. He took a step back. He had just told her that the only way for the antidote to administer was for him to inject it into his blood stream and her to bite him.

"Are you kidding me? I am not going to bite you! How many times do I have to say it?" Bruce had been expecting her to be mad, but he hadn't been expecting her to explode like this.

"Koumori," he started. Her eyes hardened as she crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"Don't you 'Koumori' me. If this is the only way I'll be human, I'll stay a vampire!" she said firmly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she walked away from him.

"Mistress Koumori? Is something wrong?" Alfred asked as she stormed down the hallway. She only stopped momentarily.

"He wanted me to bite him, Alfred!" she said before resuming walking in the direction of her room. Alfred, totally lost as to what was going on, simply shrugged and kept going about his own business. A few minutes later, Bruce came up the stairs as well.

"Where's Koumori?" he asked hurriedly. Alfred simply pointed in the direction she had gone and hoped that Bruce could take care of himself by now.

Bruce knocked on Koumori's door. There was no answer. He pressed his ear against the wood. There was no noise inside. He waited a while longer before trying to turn the knob. The door popped open. He was surprised; Koumori never left it unlocked.

He walked in slowly. She wasn't there. Her clothes had been packed and the suitcases lay ready on her bed. His eyes continued to drift across the room. There was a folded piece of paper lying on the nightstand and the window was open. He knew that she was gone, but something told him she wasn't coming back.

He was right. Bruce refused to read the note on the nightstand, but he looked at it each night before he went to sleep. After a week, he called Dick. Koumori hadn't been showing up for work either. And finally, a week after that, he opened the letter.

Bruce,

I am sorry that I left so soon. I had to leave. Gotham was one of the few places that I have not stayed long in. I felt quite at home there, but my condition demands constant change. I would have stayed longer than I did, I could have, but I felt I must leave. You shall no longer see me, but I promise to still see you.

Koumori Daaku

He stared at the paper for a while. She never wrote her full name on anything; she really wasn't coming back.

Koumori didn't lie to him. He never saw her, but he always felt somehow she was with him. He especially felt it when he was out as Batman. There was only once when he thought he saw the tail of her cape. Then came the night when he thought she had come back.

Bruce was walking down the hallway to his room when he noticed the light was on in Koumori's room and the door was open. He was happy at first, but then he realized that whoever was in there wasn't Koumori. He approached in slowly, but the light turned off when he was only a few feet away. He walked quickly this time, but not quickly enough. All he saw was two glowing red eyes as they leapt out the window and took off down the driveway. But as the figure passed by a streetlight, he saw that it was definitely not Koumori.

He went down to the Batcave immediately after. He watched the colonies of bats that hung from the ceiling. As he watched, he spotted one bat in the midst. Its eyes were firmly locked on him and it followed his every move. He smiled as he spread his cape across the floor.

"Come down, Koumori. I know it's you," he said. Another bat across the room turned its head to stare in the same direction. The first bared its fangs and took off flying. The second flew after it, chasing it out of the cave. Then it slowly landed on the floor by the cape and wriggled under. The sound of bones popping and stretching floated up to his ears. Koumori stood, the cape wrapped around her body. It didn't cover her legs though, leaving the snow white skin fully exposed.

"That wasn't me." The sound of her voice was wonderful; it felt like forever since he had heard it. Her eyes were glowing bright red and her fangs had grown long enough to peek out from under her top lip. Somehow, though, he wasn't afraid. He took both of her hands in his, needing to be reassured that she was really there.

"That was a different vampire. Bruce, that wasn't me," she repeated. He nodded.

"What does that mean?"

"That means you're being hunted."

Koumori knew the vampire by his scent. When she went into her old room, his smell was there too. The vampire was young, even at eighty-six years old. Kakuidori was the descendant of one of Koumori's human childhood friends. She had met him the last time she visited her parents in Japan. However, then he was still human.

She guessed that he was hunting Bruce because he wanted a powerful ally. It was nice to have one of those while you were still young. And a strong human meant an even stronger vampire. After that, he might try to kill Koumori for the glory. If a young vampire could take out an older one, it would significantly boost him on the vampire social ranking scale.

Koumori agreed to stay again, but only until Kakuidori had been taken care of. She and Bruce began preparing an attack plan for when he returned. Most of it would involve her, since she was the strongest. Bruce would be responsible for placing the antidote in his and Alfred's bloodstreams. If Kakuidori bit either of them he would simply be changed into a human. However ready they were, he came before they thought he would.

Kakuidori arrived in the middle of the night. Koumori was a deep sleeper, but the smell of a vampire quickly woke her. She looked around her room and down the hallway. Seeing nothing, she sped down to Bruce's room. She shook him awake and pulled the two shots of antidote out of his nightstand.

"He's here! You have to get this to Alfred!" She made sure he had taken his own shot, but seeing how out of it he was, raced down the hallway to Alfred's room by herself. She woke him as well as made sure he took his shot. Then she ran back to Bruce's room. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. When she arrived, Bruce had fallen back asleep. And Kakuidori was standing over him.

"Get away from him!" she yelled as she ran over to him. The younger vampire looked up in surprise, but lunged as well. Bruce was immediately awake. He found two hissing, fighting vampires at the foot of his bed. Following the plan, he leapt from the bed and ran out the door. Kakuidori's red eyes saw him, and he struggled more against Koumori. He punched her in the face and she released her grip on him long enough for him to get free and run after Bruce.

Koumori panicked. How could she have let him go? As she ran down the hallway she could still smell him. However, she could smell Alfred's fear as well. She ran faster and reached Alfred in a few seconds. The butler was unconscious, but there were no bite marks in him that she could see. She checked his pulse. It was strong and steady, so she continued after Bruce.

Hoping that he had gone done to the Batcave as they had planned, she headed for the grandfather clock in the library. She raced down the stairs only to find Bruce cornered by Kakuidori. She was half way down the stairs, but she leapt off and fell the rest of the way down. She landed in a fighting position and launched herself at him.

The two vampires started hissing, spitting, and clawing at each other in an attempt to get rid of the other. Eventually, both had blood streaming down their faces and arms, but they only broke for a second before attacking again. The wounds on their bodies quickly healed, but they were replaced just as fast. Koumori yelled at Bruce to leave, but he was determined to stay with her. She knocked Kakuidori momentarily unconscious, but it was only long enough for her to grab her chosen weapon.

The younger vampire growled angrily and headed again for Bruce. She ran after him, her weapon shoved down her pant leg. She pushed him off of Bruce, but he furiously fought back. Finally, he grew tired of fighting and appeared to give up. She didn't. But as she pushed him to the ground to finish him, she found that he had tricked her.

Kakuidori grabbed Koumori's arms harshly. She gasped and tried to pull her arms away. She was succeeding, but he brought his face up and sunk his fangs into her neck. Her eyes rolled back into her head, but she had still succeeded in getting one arm free. She reached down her pant leg and pulled out her weapon. She had broken off part of the bookcase before coming down, but had lost it during to the fight. But when she shoved it into Kakuidori's chest, it was still a wooden stake.

The younger vampire choked and his head fell back from her neck. Koumori sat up straight, but fell over from blood loss. Bruce watched in horror as Kakuidori continued to choke and then finally die. Then he rushed over to Koumori's lifeless body. None of her cuts were healing. He knelt over her and took her face into his hands. The blood loss made her skin even colder.

"Koumori! Koumori, look at me," he pleaded. Her red eyes opened slowly.

"Bruce," she murmured as her eyes closed again. He gently shook her.

"No, you have to stay with me, okay?" Her eyes opened and closed again.

"I'm so tired."

"No. Koumori, you need to feed. That'll give you some strength back." Her eyes fought to stay open.

"I won't bite you."

"You have to. And it'll make you human, too."

"I don't care." He knew she wouldn't bite him on her own, so he was going to have to make her. When her eyes closed again, he quickly pulled a knife from the utility belt on the shelf next to them. He gently pushed it against his neck, making a tiny mark. However tiny it was, blood began to pool out of it.

Koumori's eyes snapped open. He could tell she was fighting it. She was determined not to bite him. He pushed on the skin next to the mark with his finger, making more blood come out. She looked away and tried to ignore the smell. But it smelled so good to her, that eventually she had to give in.

"You have to stop me," she whispered. He nodded. Then she lifted her head and sunk in her fangs. When Bruce finally dislodged her from his neck, she was in even more pain than before. So much so that she was screaming and crying.

"Make it stop," she begged as she clutched at his shirt. He could see her fangs slowly changing, getting smaller until they were human sized. Her red eyes gradually faded back to black, then changed to midnight blue. He knew there were other changes happening inside of her; her skin was warm now. So he held her close until it was all over.

It was finally over at two AM. Koumori was so exhausted that Bruce had to carry her up the stairs. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed that not only was her skin warm and peachy colored, her heart was beating at a human pace and she was breathing steadily. He put her in her bed and then went back to his.

Koumori woke with a start. Her curtains were still open and the sun was pouring in. She instinctively pulled the blankets over her head. But then she realized that the sunlight hadn't burned. She threw the covers off and walked over to stand in front of the window. The sunlight came through the window and streaming over her skin.

She ran over to the mirror and smiled at her reflection. It was hard for her to believe that the woman staring back from in the mirror was her. She loved her old blue eyes and tanned skin. She was finally human again.

Koumori ran down the hallway to Bruce's room and excitedly knocked on the door. Even without her heightened vampire hearing, she could still hear him moan and slowly crawl out of bed before walking over to the door. He opened it and stared sleepily at her. She threw her arms around him. It was so wonderful, not to be tempted by his blood. She couldn't smell it at all anymore.

"I can't smell your blood anymore. Isn't it wonderful? I'm human," she whispered. He was still half asleep, but he was awake enough to know that he was supposed to hug her as well.

"Yeah. Wonderful," he said groggily. She pulled away from him.

"Are you still sleeping? We need to celebrate!" she said. He only looked at her.

"I have a dead vampire in my basement and a vampire-turned-human hugging me. Can't I just go back to sleep?" he asked. She smiled.

"On one condition."

"And that would be?"

"A kiss." Bruce was fully awake.

"What?"

"A kiss."

"Why would you want one of those?"

"Because I love you. I've loved you so long, but I've never let myself admit it. Until now."

"Me neither." And he kissed her. She smiled as she returned it. When they finally broke, he rested his forehead against hers.

"Now can we sleep?" he asked. She nodded and they both walked back into the room and closed the door. They both climbed into his bed lay close together. She rolled onto her side so that she could look at him.

"It's nice to be warm again," she said. His eyes were closed, but he smiled. When she rolled over again, he pulled her into his arms. He put his mouth by her ear and whispered, "I love you, but do you know what else would be nice?"

"What?"

"If you would be quiet." She huffed and crossed her arms over his.

"Fine. Love bites."