"...And that is how this particular product will generate enough revenue to put money in all of our pockets!"

The CEO, a short man with combed hair, a business suit and a rather chubby frame, finished. Kyoji Tobishiro, newly appointed CEO of Tobishiro Industries, had just ended the meeting on that note. He was demonstrating to his investors a new product, some new anesthetic that surgeons could use to maintain a longer and more profound effect on patients. Bruce was suspicious of Kyoji and his anesthetic. He had requested test reports, lab reports and to personally see it in action himself. Kyoji had agreed behind a pleasant visage but deep down, Bruce suspected he had ticked him off. Bruce, of course, didn't really care.

Exiting from the board room, Bruce went down to lunch room to grab some water. There was already someone there, pouring a cup of coffee. She was quite stunning actually, being quite tall and busty. She wore a grey suit and with a matching grey skirt that went down to her knees. She had black hair and wore it in a ponytail. On her face were glasses that emphasized her mysterious purple eyes. The woman turned her head, surprised to see someone there.

"Oh, I didn't see you there."

"Ah, excuse me." Bruce waved apologetically. "I didn't mean to startle you. I've just come for some water." He walked past her to the fridge, fishing out a bottle of fresh water. "So, you're Tobishiro-san's assistant right. Goryu, is it?"

She nodded in response. "Yes. I help Kyoji-sama with whatever it is he desires."

"Must be taxing at times."

Her hand shook slightly. It was extremely subtle, so much so that the average person wouldn't notice it but Bruce was no average person and he took notice when she smiled politely in what seemed to be a rather insincere smile. "Yes," She admitted softly. "At times."

He looked into her eyes now and briefly caught sight of something. He wasn't sure what it was but it seemed almost like her soul was crying out for something, something he couldn't quite pin down.

"Freedom, perhaps?"

"Goryu! Where the hell is that cof-" Kyoji stormed into the room but paused upon seeing Bruce there and quickly caught himself, clearing his throat. "Erhm, Miss Goryu, is the coffee ready?"

"Yes, Kyoji-sama." She handed him the cup.

Kyoji took a sip, turning to Bruce with a smile that Bruce, quite frankly, didn't like. "So, Komori-san, what do you think of Thursday? You can come by then and see our anesthetic in action for yourself. It'll be sure to convince you!"

"Yes," Bruce nodded firmly. "That sounds fine."

"Splendid!" Kyoji sipped his coffee with a noticeable cringe before turning to leave. "I'll see you then! Come now, Miss Goryu."

"Yes, sir." She followed him, leaving Bruce alone to drink his water.

Now in the hall alone, Kyoji reached up and roughly grabbed her hair. "Come here, you bitch!" He dragged her to his office, before using her hair to throw her down to the floor. "This coffee was hot as hell, damn you! You tryin' to kill me?"

"N-no, Kyoji-sama, I-"

"Don't talk back to me!" He threw the coffee on her chest, causing her to cringe in pain. To avoid screaming, she bit her lip. Kyoji walked up to her and slapped her in the face with the back of his hand. "If you weren't so cute, I'd spill that coffee all over your face! You're lucky I'm at work and that I'm a gentleman. When we get home, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget." He kicked her in the chin, knocking her on the floor before finally turning around and walking out of the office. On the floor, salty tears of frustration and anger fell out of Goryu's eyes.

"...I hate you..."

Konomi walked through the park, her head down in deep thought. Last night, she just found out that her boyfriend was a vigilante who worked outside the law, who took justice into his own hands. He dresses as a bat and scares criminals to near insanity. The obvious course of action would be to take him to jail, to make him answer for the laws he's broken.

She stopped at the pond, watching as the ducks swam and the dragonflies flew about. Frogs jumped from lily pad to lily pad. She looked down at the pond, the water showing her the sad reflection on her face. "I know what I have to do... I know... but... why does it feel so wrong?" She grimaced, her hand going to her chest. Her hand felt her heart and it was hurting. It felt like it was bleeding.

"I've heard about the Batman... The criminals fear him, hate him, curse him... the police despise him, resent him... Some say he's killed people, others say that another group of vigilantes commit those murders... Is the city so crooked, the law so useless, that we have to resort to people like them to save the ones we can't? To lock up the ones we can't even touch? What good is the law if it doesn't protect a damn thing..."

She walked down near the bank of the pond and sat down. The duck was being followed by her ducklings, quacking as they followed her single file. She smiled as the duck pulled up water from its beak and showered her young with it. Konomi sighed, hugging her knees.

"What's stopping me anyway? I'm not in love with him. We've only been dating for a few weeks. I like him but... but... there's no reason not to turn him in. I have to. It's my duty...! What would I even be losing? All he has a nice body... smooth hair... soft lips... a really nice body..." She shook her head, blushing. "Was he pretending all that time then? He seemed so sweet and so gentle that I... I couldn't even imagine him being some scary man in a bat costume. Is that just a lie? Was he lying to me all this time? When we were talking, kissing... making love... was that all just a... just a lie so I would never know who he truly is? What he truly is?"

Konomi stood up, a determine glint in her eyes. "Alright... I've come to my decision! I can't let someone like him undermine the law any longer!"

With her decision made, she stood up and made her way to the police station to make a statement. On her way, she passed by Mochizuki General Hospital. A woman came walking out and she turned with a face of recognition at Konomi.

"You!"

"Huh?"

The girl ran up to Konomi energetically, practically jumping on her. "It's you! You were there at the warehouse yesterday!"

"Uh, y-yes... how do you know about that?"

"I was one of the people kidnapped! The Kabuto group had stormed a store and took us hostage. I was just coming back from getting a check up."

"I see... I'm glad you're safe."

The girl nodded happily. "Yes! It's all because of him."

"Him?"

"Why, the Batman of course!"

Konomi's face became one of surprise as the girl continued. "He saved us all, beating the shit out of those guys and setting us all free! I owe him my life."

"So... to you then, the Batman is... good?"

The girl looked at Konomi bewildered, as if the answer itself was obvious. "Well, isn't he? A man who protects innocent people, scares the bad guys and puts his life on the line for others... That's no monster, now is it?"

Konomi stared at her for a moment, measuring her sincerity. She meant it. She meant every word. "I see... well, in any case, I'm glad you're safe."

The girl nodded happily. After a few more words were exchanged, Konomi parted ways with the girl. She continued on her way to the police station, but this time a little slower and in deep thought. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice a boy run into her, the impact knocking him down. He was a young boy, about ten, with black hair and wide blue eyes. The boy looked up at her angrily.

"Hey, old lady, watch where you're going!"

"Old... lady...?"

"Eric!" Konomi raised her briefly depressed head up to see the boy's father come around the corner. "Don't be disrespectful to adults!"

Eric looked away with a huff, making a face. Eric's father sighed, turning to Konomi. "I'm sorry, miss. He's still young."

Konomi waved it off. "No, no, it's fine."

Eric glanced at her waist, spying her police badge. "Hey, lady, are you a cop?"

"Hm?" She followed his line of sight to her badge, before smiling and nodding. "Yes, I'm a detective."

"Really?" Eric got up and with a smirk, put one hand on his hip and with his other hand he pointed at her. "The police suck!"

"Eric!" His father reprimanded.

"The police can't do anything!" Eric continued unabashed. "That's why you guys should quit and just leave it up to the Batman!"

Konomi's eyes widened. "Even kids his age know about him?"

The boy's father smacked him in the back of his head. "That's enough!" He looked up at her apologetically. "I'm very sorry for my son's behavior."

"No..." She shook her head solemnly. "It's fine."

"He's been hung on Batman ever since last month."

"Last month?"

"Yes. You see... Well, perhaps I shouldn't be telling a cop this but... I used to be a small-time thug. I never did anything major, I was always just guarding hideouts and stuff. One day, something infiltrated a hideout I was guarding. It was him – the Batman. I tried to fight him but long story short, I ended up with a broken leg and two teeth knocked out of my mouth. That was an eye-opener. It told me that I needed to take care of things. To take control of my life and stop trudging around shady terrain and do things right. I realized I had to take more responsibility of this little bugger here." He ruffled his son's hair, annoying him slightly. "As weird as it sounds... the Batman scared me onto the right path. Oh, damn! I'm sorry... I didn't mean to take up so much of your time. I'm sure you have more important things to do. If you'll excuse us."

The man and his son continued on their way, leaving Konomi even more confused. Walking a few more blocks, Konomi pondered on everything. Her train of thought was interrupted by a situation that was taking place in an alley. A man was attacking a woman, pressing her up against the wall of a bakery. Konomi pulled out her gun but before she could intervene, the baker from the shop came out the back door with a pipe. He hit the guy in the leg and then hit him again in the neck, causing him to crumble on the ground.

"Get outta here, scum! I don't take kindly to rapists!"

Konomi ran forward. "I'll take it from here!" She pulled hand-cuffs from behind her jacket. She glanced up at the girl. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yes..." She turned to the baker, a look of relief and gratitude washing over her and could be expressively seen in your face. "Thank you, sir. You saved me!"

The baker scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It was nothing, really. When you watch the news and hear about a guy saving babies from burning buildings, you have to step in when you see something wrong. Otherwise, how can you even consider yourself a human being for letting someone else set a good example while you sit back and let shit run through the streets?"

"Are you talking about Batman?" Konomi asked.

"Yeah, I've heard he's pretty crazy but... all I could think about was what would that crazy guy do in a situation like this. If us 'normal' people can't at least rise up to the occasion when needed, then we're the crazy ones, not the guy who dresses like a bat. If it even is a man..."

Konomi was speechless, before her face become resolved and solemn. She sighed, smiling with her eyes closed. "He is a man... and he is very brave. Thank you..."

"Huh? For what?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "I'll have this man taken to prison. As an officer of the city, I commend your bravery. Please, have a nice day." She turned and took the man away, leaving the baker and the other woman confused.

In the dead of the night, Batman swung through the buildings of Tobioka. For the last four hours, he had left robbers, thieves, muggers and murderers hanging from roofs and lampposts. Just now, he had squeezed information from a drug dealer about some deal he made involving an XM-25, the grenade launcher the shrouded purple haired was using. It was bought off the black market using a man known as Hogiki Momo as a contact.

Batman landed on the windowsill of his apartment, peeking inside. Seeing no one, he opened it and entered the apartment. With his cape around him, Batman moved through the darkness of the room until he made it to the bedroom. He narrowed his eyes, seeing blood on the sheets with the help of his night vision implemented in his cowl. He followed its trail into the closet to have his eyes meet the corpse of the man himself. Batman knelt down, inspecting the body.

"This body has been here for almost a week. His neck was slit and he was left here to bleed out." Batman narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Someone anticipated that I or someone else would find out about this deal. These people, whoever they are, cover their tracks well." Batman looked around the room and saw a laptop under the bed. He pulled out, connecting a cord to the USB port. Using the mini-computer, he scanned the man's accounts, looking through his messages. One particular message caught his eye:

'Did ya manage to sell it?'

'That grenade launcher? Yeah, I sold it to some group calling themselves 'Syringe' or some shit. I don't really know the details but they paid a fuckload for it, I swear. Best deal I ever had. They some secretive sons of bitches too, threatening that if I told anyone about their deal they'd have me killed. Hah! Now that's some funny shit if I ever heard it.'

Batman turned off the laptop, pondering the name. "Syringe? An underground rogue organization with their own aims and unknown objectives." Batman's thoughts were interrupted by a ring going off in his cowl. His cellphone was linked to the receiver in his comm-link, allowing him to take calls wherever he is.

"Hello?" He answered in his normal voice.

'Ryu?'

Batman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Konomi?"

'Are you busy?'

He glanced at the body in the closet. "You could say that."

'I need to talk to you. In person, if you can make it.'

"Where?"

'The rooftop of the tallest building in Tobioka City – the Grand Pillar Skyscraper.'

"Alright. See you there."

After hanging up with her, Batman pressed a few buttons on his mini-computer and anonymously called the police. "I have to be careful. She either wants to talk to me or entrap me."

The wind was light but cold, blowing through and bringing goosebumps to the skin of anyone it touched. The moon wasn't out tonight, opting instead to hide in the shadows, afraid of shining its beautiful and divine light onto the forsaken city of Tobioka. The Grand Pillar Skyscraper, built in the center of the city, was the third tallest building in the world. It was created as a trading center with backing from the Prime Minister himself. On the roof of the Grand Pillar Skyscraper, with wind blowing through the bangs of her red hair, was Konomi Suzue.

Konomi looked down at the city and she shuddered. Down below, from her high vantage point, was hell. A literal hell, built not in fire but with bricks and stone. The demons and monsters were the ones who fed on the inhabitants of this hell with misery and suffering. The police did nothing but encourage it. Even she knew this. The inhabitants of this city were at the prey of the demons, with the Devil himself being the center of it all. Hearing a flutter, Konomi turned to her right and saw him gliding towards. The Dark Angel himself, the one she wholeheartedly believed would change this corrupted city for the better. She sincerely believed that he would find the Devil himself and remove him from this city.

Batman landed on the roof, having scouted the area beforehand from afar. Konomi smiled upon seeing him.

"I'm glad you came... Ryu."

Batman removed his mask, his blue eyes shimmering with the lunar rays. "I'm surprised you wanted to see me again, Konomi."

"I'm actually a bit surprised myself. I spent the entire day thinking of what I should do, what my duty was. I was thinking about what I needed to protect, what I needed to follow. In doing this, I opened my eyes for the first time and saw the change taking place in this city. I realized that the law wasn't some omnipotent figure that needed to be obeyed... that the laws in this city need to be bent, broken even. Because... what good is a law if it doesn't protect people?"

Bruce was pleasantly surprised at her disposition. "She's changed. Her entire outlook has evolved in the span of one day..."

"If I can't protect anyone using the law, then like any other weapon, it's useless! I need to do something else, to promote change on another level. So... I'll place my faith in you, Ryu. I won't turn you in. I'll believe in what you're doing and I'll stand by you hand in hand, no matter what happens."

Bruce shook his head. "You don't have to do this, Konomi. There's nothing bounding you to me. You don't have to put everything you earned, everything you are, on the line for me."

"I'm not." She walked up to him, tapping the symbol on his chest. "I'm putting it on the line for this. I'm putting my faith in this."

Bruce gave a small smile. "I see."

"Besides... I'm more of a computer geek anyway, so... I'm pretty sure I could help you with stuff like that."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, his interest peaked. "Well, actually..."

"Wow!" Konomi was inspecting the computer like an excited addict hooked on cocaine. She went over all the hardware of Bruce's Batcomputer, practically drooling at the immensity of it. Bruce stood a few steps back, a thin trickle of nervous sweat going down his forehead.

"Konomi..."

"Oh, my God! This has got to be just a smidge more advanced than the Columbia Supercomputer! Did you build this by yourself?!"

Bruce hesitantly nodded. He didn't even see her move, when all of a sudden her arms were around his neck and a near insane glint was in her eye. "Then... you're a genius... right?"

"Maybe... this was a bad idea... after all..."

A.N. Hope you guys are enjoying the story ladies and gents! Let me know your thoughts with a review and remember to follow and fav! Also, don't forget to leave suggestions for the harem as there is no limit. See ya next chapter.

Green out.