Well I'm still alive. Let me tell you college is STRESSFUL. However I can't help but feel accomplished.

Replies:

DarkDust27: Daddy Bats is love, Daddy Bats is life. Man I can't thank you enough, you've been here since I posted my first chapter. I really appreciate your reviews by dude.

Amelia Loves Anime: No, thank you so much for reading this and putting up with my slow updates. QwQ

Mep101: I'm glad you're enjoying it! Don't worry it'll take the end of the world for me from writing this.

piperw142: Thank you so much, new chapters might be updated within a shorter time frame.

LifeRox3: You'll like the next chapter. ((/cackling))

Artemis Archer: Wow... I'm honored... I really wanted to show something other than Japanese high schools or things you usually see in anime.

theonlyredarrow: Thank you! ^^

Anyways this will be the end of the Japan Vacation Arc, don't worry to those who like Tsubasa. He'll be dropping in from time to time. Well, after this chapter it'll be back to the DC timeline. I have a little treat for you guys at the end. I'm thinking of making this thing a regular item in the end other than the boring old notes.

Disclaimer:

I DO NOT own any DC related elements in this story, be it characters, places and fictional brands created by DC.
I DO own Amaya, her mother and any upcoming original characters within this story.

(松尾大社) Matsunoo-taisha "Matsunoo Grand Shrine", Kyoto, Japan

26 March 2005

1810 Hours

A small hand with in the grasp of a larger one. The owner of the small hand looked up towards the taller figure next to her. Her father. The little girl was Amaya Wayne; daughter of Bruce Wayne, The Batman, CEO of Wayne Enterprise, the orphan Prince of Gotham, and may more titles towards his multiple public identities.

She wondered, why she was going to this place without a guide like the last time. Looking around the little girl noticed people leaving the temple. Was it closing? It probably was. Tilting her head with confusion, she added that observation to her mental list of questions she would later ask. Looking back at her father's expressionless face, then back towards the path in front of her, she started swinging her hand which was held.

This got the older man's attention for a moment. He took a quick glance and saw that the girl was idly doing the actions subconsciously. Letting out a little smile, he went back on focusing on what to ask the priests he was about to meet. He did not know how Tsubasa got this information, however it was safe to assume that it was through a secure source. The Kuzuryu family has the biggest influence and power in Kyoto, and their name demanded respect from others; supernatural or otherwise. Bruce was still curious if he would be able to speak with the priests regarding Amaya's situation. Taking another quick glance of Amaya; the girl who so quickly wormed into his heart — his daughter — Bruce was starting to feel like a proper parent. This feeling of unease whenever she is out of sight, heightened paranoia, or just an overall constant worry all towards his little girl. It wasn't something he felt before, though there were similar instances when he was wearing the suit, but those were still different. His mind wandered to the thoughts of his parents, and their feelings and behaviours towards him; were they just like him? They had to be, why else did they—

"Mister Wayne?" an unsure voice with a heavy accent called out for the man. Bruce's attention turned to the source. It was an old priestess, donned in the traditional attire. Her hair already white, wrinkles already apparent on her face, however she was still very beautiful.

"Yes?" He replied, in his usual polite voice.

"Ahh…" The woman's face changed to a more relived expression. There was something about her that gave of an unearthly aura, the billionaire decided to ignore it. It was after hours, and Kyoto was a hotspot for the supernatural. It would be safe to assume this woman was not human — or at least one with a supernatural ability. She continued speaking in incredibly fluent English. "I shall inform the head priest. If you don't mind waiting, Mister Wayne."

"It's not a problem," The man felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down, the little girl was glancing at the front grounds wanting to walk around. "Is it alright if we look around the shrine?"

The woman studied the little girl with kind eyes. She could see a power. Something she has only seen once in her life. It felt familiar. Giving the pair a warm smile, she spoke. "Yes, please. I apologize for making the two of you wait."

The pair watched as the woman practically glided towards a building where the head priest of the temple could be found. Her head not bobbing as she showed no movements of making steps. It was jarring. The Waynes gave each other a look that asked; "did that just happen?" Recovering from that incident, Amaya tugged her father towards the main building. A rather grand sight that overlooks a simple court yard.

It was a wonderful sight. The last rays of twilight gave the grey pavement a red hue. The building looked like it was painted with a pastel shade of coral as well. The tranquility, due to the absence of people made the area such a wonderful place to relax. It was like the earth was winding down and inviting others to do the same.

"This place is really pretty…" Amaya breathed. In fact, Japan was such a wonderful place. No littler or grime in sight, unlike Gotham. She believes the people here must really care about their public spaces and helped to maintain it.

"Yes, it is." Her father replied, admiring the subtle beauty of the scene in front of him.

Suddenly something caught the girl's attention. Bruce didn't notice. She walked towards the area where this strange thing was hiding. It looked like it was glowing? She was not sure. Little Amaya needed to find out what was that thing. This urge was unnatural to her. Almost like something has bewitched her to separate herself from her father. It was slightly scary.

She needed to go closer.

Even more.

Closer.

The next thing you knew, the girl was out of sight.

…

Beautiful

A soft glow illuminated the path the figure walked. Was it from the full moon that had finally shown itself? Maybe, maybe not. Could it be from the one using the path? No one can tell.

The scene almost looked dreamlike. The vegetation edging the little road were practically luminescent. Fireflies then began to gather. Making it seem like little stars shooting around. Twinkling, just like the real things. It felt like the world was being seen through a blue lens. Everything had such a cool hue. The night now had the spotlight. Tranquil, quiet, and most of all enchanting.

The most peculiar — and incidentally the most beautiful — part of this scene was in fact, the mysterious figure. Facing this small altar at the end of the path, their back was facing anyone who would be walking on it. Long white hair, freely running all the way down their back. Their attire was similar to that of what Amaya saw on Tsubasa that night. This encounter was eerily similar. However there was a huge difference, it felt far more unearthly.

If Tsubasa felt like an angel gracing the earth with his presence; this being was far above one. Almost like a god. It made sense. The ethereal glow of their clothes and hair hinted at that. But, gods weren't capable of setting foot on earth. That was what Tsubasa mentioned.

Maybe, there were exceptions.

The girl needed to get closer. She can't really see the figure's details. Something made her want to look closer, was it her need to study every detail, or maybe it's something else. There was this subtle pull she could feel. Though she was not alarmed by it. It felt safe.

As she came closer the mass of white hair began to show their individual strands. It looked like crystals. Almost transparent save for the white glow it seemed to emit. Amaya held her breath, she needed to be quiet. She didn't want to scare the poor person, like she did to Tsubasa.

If only she could get a good look at their fac—

SNAP

The whole world around her seemed to be frozen. The ambient sounds of the night ceased. The twinkling of the fireflies was gone. All what's left was her, the moon, and this person in front of her.

They didn't respond.

Not at first.

Slowly, excruciatingly so, they turned towards the little girl. They knew she was frozen in place. Amaya can't find the energy to move, or even twitch. Their movements were… inhuman.

The girl closed her eyes prepared for something, anything to happen. Will her journey end here? Will she finally see Mommy? But how will Papa feel? Many other questions raced through her mind as she braced for impact. But.

Nothing.

Letting out a shaking breath, the girl cracked one eye open. The image was blurry, mainly because of the tears that formed while she was practically having flashbacks of the short time she had on this land. The figure was just standing in front of her. This made her fully open both of her eyes.

The sight was incredibly hard to describe in words. This person was in the most impressive armor and clothing the child could ever think up. Their height was that of some higher being, practically looking down upon mortals. Most importantly was their face, more specifically, the mask they wore.

Such beautiful details carved and painted upon this fox like mask. The red accents, paired beautifully with the black markings that indicated it's features. The mouth was closed, painted to show a more calm expression. As the light from the moon was periodically blocked for brief moments, she could see the indentations of the many intricate carvings that add to the mask.

Amaya looked into the eyeholes of the mask. Her eyes were met with the person's own. Red. Glowing like everything else. However, it wasn't as intimidating as one would assume. Not like this whole situation was very intimidating to the poor child. There were hints of gold as light bounced off their irises. It was fascinating.

Whilst the girl was taking in the sight, she notice the person moving. They were deliberately moving slowly, as if to show that they meant no harm. Gracefully reaching in one of the large sleeves the person fished out something.

A mask.

Particularly something rather similar to their own.

They bend down, and gently took one of Amaya's hands and positioned it as if she was receiving something. Her eyes were not leaving the person's face — eyes to be exact. The only thing that took her attention away was a weight being applied on her outstretched hand. Looking down she could see that the details of her mask was vastly different from what the person had. Yet she could see it was made by the same person. Like a drawing style, to put things in layman's terms.

"雨粒" [Amatsubu]

The voice was baritone and smooth, shocking Amaya. She tilted her head, not understanding what he just said.

Before she could say anything she heard her father's calls from a distance. Turning towards the source, she could see the temple lights at the end of the rather small path. She turned back, wanting to say thank you for the mask. However, there was one major problem.

The man was gone.

Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, surely the man was not far from her. But alas, she could not see past the vegetation nor was she brave enough to look for him. Sighing, she turned towards the temple lights and started her small trek back.

…

"Amaya!" Worry was evident in the man's voice. "Where did you ran off to?" The billionaire crouched down to inspect his daughter for any injuries, or something out of the ordinary. Ignoring the priests and priestesses that followed him. His daughter somehow emerged from the oldest part of the temple, the first shrine.

The girl was confused why her father was so worried. However she did feel bad, he looked scared. Remembering the pretty mask she was given she smiled as she showed it off to her father and the others trailing behind him.

"Look, look! It's really pretty huh?" She excitedly chirped.

"Amaya, where did you find it?" Bruce asked still incredibly worried, this time he was on high alert of anything suspicious.

"Umm…" The girl's brows furrowed as she tried to put her interaction to words. "There was this really pretty man with white hair. He gave me this mask, which was also looked like the one he had on. Oh! And he was glowing too! It was really pretty." The girl was still rather gleeful in her tone.

The reaction was the opposite of what she expected.

Soft gasps were heard from the small crowd behind her father. Rushed Japanese murmuring soon followed. Bruce could only pick up bits and pieces of the multiple hushed conversations the staff were having. One word kept resurfacing; 'blessing'.

As the conversations died down, all eyes turned to the girl and her mask. The air was tense, Bruce was ready to fight like hell to keep his daughter safe. However, there wasn't any aversion in the group's eyes. As the head priest walked up towards the pair his eyes shifted towards the floor as if he were shying away from Amaya's gaze. Stopping 5 meters aways from the girl, he then made the deepest bow and stayed in that position. The others followed in suit.

After an awkward moment, from Amaya's part, the group of priests and priestesses straightened to their full heights. The Waynes shared a look that was both confused and somewhat flattered.

"Mister Wayne," The head priest spoke, his voice deep yet slightly raspy due to age. There was awe and a sense of fear as he spoke. "Your daughter is indeed special."

"I beg your pardon?" The billionaire was still reeling from the whole situation. A groomed eyebrow was raised, the man had certainly seen strange things — and definitely heard far more — however, he was not following at all. This whole situation felt like utter nonsense.

"Your daughter has divine potential. She will develop affinity and abilities in the divine arts." The priest explained, "Rest assured, her body and spirit are far capable to handle such a power. If not she would not be with us right now. Her power and spiritual presence will intensify as she age. Mister Wayne, it is best to train her from young to prepare her for the full force of her gift."

The billionaire was speechless. Amaya is a meta-human. Many scenarios of her with superhuman abilities played through his head. But one stood up the most; he might not be able to help her understand and guide her through coping her powers. The man might not even be part of her new life should she be required to stay in the country. Bruce felt a wave of helplessness as he realized the possibility.

"Your daughter need not be separated from you." The priest assured, as if reading his mind. He gave the pair a warm smile whilst continuing. "I assure you, the gods smiled down upon your daughter. They will provide."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, for she is 月子." [Tsukiko]

Notes:

松尾大社 = Matsunoo-taisha, "Matsunoo Grand Shrine". This shrine is dedicated to the moon deity Tsukuyomi No Mikoto. It is one of the oldest shrines within the Kyoto region.

The other characters will be translated in the future. It has special significance to the story.

Until next time!

Here's a preview of the next chapter:

Two years have gone by since she first came to Gotham, the girl easily adapted to the high life Bruce as the daughter of the most eligible bachelor.

...

"Papa, can we go to the circus after dinner?"

...

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls for coming for our one night only show in Gotham City! I hope you've enjoyed yourselves for our whole show so far, but I'm sad to say we have come to out last and final act... I present to you, the world renowned, Flying Graysons!"

...

"Enjoy the show, kid."

...

"I'll be okay…"