If there was one thing the Justice League could agree on: it was the fact that their masked hero Kitsune was a mystery to all of them.
The only thing everyone in the Justice League knew about the woman was the fact she hid her face to the world and her insane love for instant ramen, but other then that no one knew much about her. They did not know where she was born nor her true appearance. They only knew the woman had blue eyes and blond hair but this was as much as the fox mask would reveal to them. Despite the fact it had been nearly two years since she joined the Justice League, the young woman had made no attempt in telling anyone about her personal life. No one even knew how her powers work and there had been several theories about the woman coming from a different world.
To Bruce, the woman was a mystery who both frustrated and challenged him. The earliest records he could find of the hero was from nearly three years ago, where she saved people from the burning building with her powers. The reason why he asked her to join was to keep an eye on her, to make sure she wasn't a danger to the Earth. It really bothered him how the woman was able to dodge his own line of questioning.
"Are you thinking how much of a pain I am?" Bruce twisted his body around and scowled when he caught sight of Kitsune standing behind him with her arms behind her head. "Cuz you are making the same face you always do whenever you are thinking how much I avoid doing what you want."
"Why are you here, Kitsune?"
"I heard what your cute little sidekick did," Kitsune answered with a tone of appreciation. "Kid got guts I will tell you that, but what he did was quite reckless. I thought you would have taught him to use his head first before doing something reckless...then again he's thirteen. I was reckless at the age of thirteen, used to drive my teacher mad. "
Bruce arched his eyebrow and eyed the blond-haired woman, who just had her legs crossed around each other. The relaxed posture and the amused tone in her voice told Bruce the young heroine did not seem to care one bit what he would do with this information. Though there was not much he could do with this piece of information, Bruce thought as he clenched his hands into a fist, this piece of information wouldn't tell him where she was from.
He scowled.
"Kitsune, tell me why are you here?"
"Can't a woman come here and tell you that your sidekick had guts?"
"If the woman didn't have a hidden agenda, I would say yes," Bruce retorted, eyeing the woman. "Now tell me why are you here? You come and go as you please, Kitsune. While you are good at the job, not once have you ever taken interest in these types of matter ."
Taking a deep breath, Kitsune took a seat on the ground and stared at him for a good few seconds. "I am here because I want to talk about your plans for the kids," she admitted. "I don't know what you are planning but I hope you don't plan to give them a harsh punishment. They are teenagers and probably didn't know any better than to contact the League for help. I remember being their age and being excited to do badass missions."
"I have no plans to punish them," Bruce informed her. He did not miss the way the woman's slender shoulders relaxed at hearing those words. No matter how much he distrusted Kitsune, Bruce would admit the woman always had a soft spot for kids. She was always telling jokes with the sidekicks, who always looked at her with awe. "But I do plan to make sure they won't do something this reckless."
"Why do I have a feeling that it is more for your benefit then for them?" She asked, crossing her arms. The woman tilted her head and eyed him with suspicion. "Wait, are you really going to let them work together? Batman, tell me you are not going to let those four teenagers in a team? One of them just got out of a lab! Do you think they can work together? This isn't a game."
Why am I not surprised the woman knew about Superboy? Bruce wondered, fixing his eyes on the young woman. If he didn't know Superman hadn't been back to the Watchtower for the past three days, he would have thought the man would have ranted to Kitsune and the others. It might be the case of Flash telling Kitsune since the speedster loved to gossip. Then again, the presence of Superboy would not be kept for a secret for long.
"It is better for them to work together instead of them running off, doing missions that is out of their capabilities," Bruce drawled. He folded his arms and stared down at the woman. "This will not be the first time they will do this. It is better I hand them missions then for them to run off, doing missions which could endanger them."
Kitsune let out a breath, stood up from the ground before slowly walking towards him. He kept his eyes on the woman's bright blue eyes. Perhaps the only thing which really stood out about this young woman were her eyes. It just reminded him of the ocean with how dark and open her eyes were. It also surprised him just how slender and petite woman like Kitsune could be able to pack a punch which rivalled Superman. He did not know if the woman was born with super strength due to the fact she was an alien or if she was simply a meta-human.
"If you insist of making them a team then let me train them," Kitsune demanded, folding her arms against her chest. Bruce raised his eyebrow at the young woman, who jabbed her finger against his chest. How much strength does the woman have? He wondered, looking down at the petite woman. "Listen to me Batman, I will train them to make sure they won't do anything reckless again."
"And why should I let you do it, Kitsune?"
"Cuz you can keep an eye on me," Kitsune whispered in his ear. Bruce turned his head slightly and stared at the twinkling blue eyes of the young woman. "I know you don't trust me but think like this, you can have Robin keep an eye on me while I deal with the troublemakers which are the sidekicks."
"There is no point of me letting you deal with them when this is your idea," Bruce observed, earning a laugh from the woman. Her laugh reminded him of a bell, he thought as he stared down at the girl, beautiful and memorizing. "There is no point of me letting you work with them when you know this."
"Even if I didn't tell you, I knew if you asked me to take care of those kids that you will have Robin keep an eye on me. He would inform you of my actions and from there you will try to piece the puzzle you think I am," Kitsune shrugged her shoulder. "To be honest, I am not that mysterious. If you asked me I will tell you...but if you make it obvious. I hate it when people play mind games with me."
"If I ask you for your age."
"Twenty-three," Kitsune answered without any hesitance. "If you want to know my birthday Batman, I will be more than happy to tell you. But if you ask where I am from then I will tell you that you will never know where I am from since it isn't in the maps."
"Is it on another planet?"
"It would be cool if it was, Batman," Kitsune replied, shaking her head. It is on Earth but it must be in one of those countries that not many people knew, Bruce thought, staring down at the blond-haired woman, who had her eyes fixed on him. It could explain the strange accent in Kitsune's voice because while it might be an Asian accent, Bruce could not pinpoint the exact location. He would have thought Japan but her accent did not have the same tone as a Japanese person. "If you can beat me in a fight Batman then I might consider telling you where I am from."
"I could figure it out without fighting you," Bruce stated, looking away from the woman.
Kitsune laughed. "I told you Batman that it isn't an easy place to find."
"You don't know what I can do, Kitsune," He warned her.
"Oh I know Batman how well you will try to find answers," Kitsune said with a tone laced with amusement. The woman's bright blue eyes shone with amusement. "But even you can't figure out everything because whether you like it or not, you are not God. No one in the Justice League is perfect and you my dear Batman aren't as smart as you think you are. Now if you want to find out who I am then it won't hurt to have Robin spy on me."
Bruce scowled and stared down at the woman. The woman was taunting him, Bruce decided as he kept his eyes glued on the woman's bright blue eyes. She knew damn well how much he wanted to know who she was but instead of answering his questions, the woman decided she would let him find out through Dick. It would not be a problem if she didn't know. Must she be this frustrating? Bruce wondered, staring at her.
"And if I say no?"
"Then you won't find out anything," Kitsune sang. "And we both know that your desire to know everything is greater than your damn pride."
"If you know Robin is spying on you then you won't reveal anything."
"That is a possibility but I really want to train these kids," Kitsune admitted. "You, Aquaman and Flash might have taught your sidekicks how to fight but you haven't taught them how to work as a team. Frankly speaking, they won't be the perfect team by the time you send them on their first mission. In fact, I would dare say they might be discord between them since it would the first time they work together as a team. You, of all people, should know how good I am when it comes to teamwork."
Bruce curled his lips. "Fine but I give them the missions."
"Fair enough," Kitsune waved her hand at him before glancing down at her wristwatch. "I probably won't know which missions to give them since my idea of an appropriate mission would definitely not be the same as mine. I better go back home now, I don't want to miss my drama. Send me a message when you decide to tell those brats your plans for them."
"Why do I have a feeling I am going to regret this?"
"Because you aren't an idiot," Kitsune sang as she walked towards the Zeta-tube. Bruce curled his lips into a thin and stared at the woman's swaying hips. One day he would figure out who Kitsune was, he thought, looking away from the woman. No matter how much of a challenge she was, Bruce would figure out who Kitsune truly was.
"Mummy!"
Naruto grinned and opened her arms wide as her six-year-old son, Yuuki jumped into her arms. To her right, her clone sighed, shook her head before popping itself out of existence. Even though it barely had been five hours since Naruto left for the Watchtower, the young woman had missed seeing her son. She twirled him around, earning giggles and squeals from her son. Even though her son looked so much like Sasuke, he did not have his father's tendency to sulk whenever she was away from long.
It was a good thing he inherited her behaviour because Naruto doubt she would have been able to handle the headache that was a Sasuke's clone.
"Did you see Batman and the others?" Her son asked with a large smile plastered on his face. Naruto blinked her eyes and laughed, earning a pout from the little boy. "I really want to meet them Mummy! I want to meet all the superheroes you work with! I want to meet Robin and Kid Flash."
"And one day you will meet them Yuuki," Naruto promised, pecking her son's forehead before throwing the ANBU mask into the couch. The raven-haired boy beamed at her words before rushing towards his bedroom. No doubt her son wanted to show her his newest artwork from preschool, Naruto thought, glancing at the walls which were plastered with either Yuuki or her artwork. Her smile faded when she stared at the photo of her old team.
How long had it been since Sasuke died? How long had it been since the war ended? Naruto wondered, picking up the picture frame of her old team. For a brief moment, she could see the three of them arguing and bickering about where the three of them would eat. For just one second, Naruto could hear Sasuke's voice, telling her to stop standing there and go see what their mischievous son was up to. She shook her head, tore her eyes away from the picture and looked at the photo of her holding a baby Yuuki.
Sasuke would never get to know just how wonderful their son was. She gulped and looked up at the ceiling. Her lover died without knowing there was a part of him growing inside of her. He died before Yuuki could come to the world.
"Mummy, are you thinking about Daddy again?" Yuki asked softly. Naruto slapped her cheeks, rubbed her eyes before finally turning her body to look at her young son, who stood there with his eyebrows scrunched up with worries. "Mummy, do you miss Daddy that much?"
"Of course I miss your Daddy, Yuki," Naruto smiled brightly at her son. "Your Daddy was someone I love or why else would we have you?"
"I heard one of the teachers say that she accidentally got herself pregnant," Yuuki said with a small frown on his face. "Did you have me by accident?"
I am going to go to his school tomorrow and tell those teachers to gossip at home, where no one could hear them, Naruto thought to herself as she stared down at her son's innocent eyes. Did they not realize they were in a school where kids might just walk in, hearing those words which could bring a lot of questions? She rubbed her temple. How was she going to explain this to her son? Even though Naruto didn't plan on having Yuuki, he wasn't an accident. This boy was the reason she did the things she did. He was the reason why she wanted to leave Konoha because as much as she loved her village, Naruto knew her son would not have an easy life there.
"You weren't an accident Yuuki," Naruto informed her son. "You were a surprise but I promise you that you weren't an accident. That teacher of yours might think her baby was an accident but Yuuki, I never ever consider you an accident."
"Really?"
"Everything I do Yuuki, I do for you," Naruto said to the black-haired boy. She took in a shaky breath as she remembered the pain and understanding in her Kakashi-sensei's eyes when she decided to leave Konoha for the next couple of years. The yells and protests of the council rang through her ears and for a small moment, Naruto thought her small apartment was the council room, where everyone pleaded for her to stay here. "I know you wonder why we don't stay in Konoha or why I don't let you join me in my missions but, I promise you Yuuki that everything I do, I do it with you on my mind."
"Then can't I meet Batman and the other members of the Justice League? I won't tell them who you are," Yuuki pleaded and Naruto felt herself waver when her son stared at her with bright blue eyes. She wanted her personal life to be separated from her job but Yuuki wouldn't cause any harm to them. Then again, if they knew what he looked like then Batman might use her son to know who she was. While she trusted Batman, she didn't want her son to be used by him.
However she could use the new seal she designed on her son to alter his appearance. Yuuki may be good in using henge jutsu but her son won't be able to last long with holding it. Just like her, her son had no patience when it came to hiding.
"Alright but you will do as I say Yuuki," Naruto said firmly, glancing at the dining room table which had papers scatter around the table. "If I tell you to wear something then you will do it. You will not try to join in any missions or ask the Justice League any personal questions. If they ask anything about my name then you will not tell them who I am...especially if it is Batman."
"Can I tell them my name?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask for their autographs?"
"Yes but if they say no then leave them alone," Naruto answered quickly, rubbing her temple. "But Yuuki, the moment I see you causing trouble, you will never see the Justice League ever again. Do you understand me, young man?"
Her son vigorously nodded his head before tackling her to the ground. As Yuuki rained kisses on her cheeks, Naruto wondered what her life would have been like if she didn't have this boy in her life. Naruto knew if she didn't have this boy by her side that she wouldn't have became the hero she was today.
As long as she had him by her side then everything was fine.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.