The Black Snow
By Icha
Rated: K+
Summary:
A drug ring in Gotham has brought Batman and Wonder Woman to join forces with Dr. Light II and Katana in Japan. In doing so, they have to convince a former Yakuza godfather to help them.
Disclaimer:
All heroes and heroines belong to DC Comics. All Japanese characters with the exceptions of Dr. Light II, Katana, Yasu and Imako are from my imagination. Thanks to Djinn for the Karthene. Many thanks to Kyoko Kasshu Minamino and Athena Phoenix for beta reading, and to Lamont Mallory for input re: Dr. Light, Katana and Yakuza. I have tried to capture the beauty of Zen, meditation and Japan in this story. Nonetheless, I apologize if I made any mistakes or if my attempts have bored you with the rather slow pace of the first chapters. I promise more action in Chapter 5 and the rest. In continuation with 'Roses of Paradise', 'A Whale of a Tale', and 'Beneath the Gotham Moon'.
Chapter 1. The Hut of SimplicityThe sound of a giant bell spread through the stillness of the morning at Junboku no koya – The Hut of Simplicity. A bald monk firmly held a log and struck the bell steadily seven times, each strike sending a wave of harmony through the entire meditation complex. Seven o'clock in the morning. A little blue butterfly that had been hovering around the monk flew away to a magnolia tree, flapping its wings happily. A moment later it continued its journey from the white magnolia heading to a small crystal river, towards a small hut along the river.
Diana of Themyscira closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight touching her face. She smiled to the blue butterfly, still flapping the wings in the morning excitement. She raised her hands above her head, preparing for Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Sun, her silver vambraces glowing in the morning sun. She felt the exotic fabric of the salwar (traditional Indian clothes for women) she wore, lightly flowing in the morning breeze. As she arched her body to greet Surya, she felt peace entering her body. She folded her body, fingers touching the ground. She then bent her knees, forming Adho Mukha Shvanasana, the Downward Dog position, and continued touching the ground with her whole body, greeting Prativi – the Earth.
She continued her movement, each time feeling the deep gratitude flowing in her body, in her veins. Though at the moment she was practicing Yoga, an ancient Indian tradition, she did not feel parted from her roots. In fact, as she greeted Surya, she felt that she also addressed Apollo. As she kissed Prativi, she also touched Mother Gaea, the Earth herself. Everything is connected.
She had been staying at Junboku no koya for almost three days. She arrived after lunch last Friday, flying directly from New York. Something had come up at the Embassy that required her immediate attention. Yet to her relief, Rachel and Jonah were able to handle the problems without her further intervention, so she managed to leave by lunchtime, a few hours later than she had planned. Her staff didn't ask her about her vacation plans when she told them that she had planned to take a few days off. They just assumed that she went away with none other than Bruce Wayne.
Diana smiled as she realized that Bruce had entered her mind silently (as always). She didn't do anything, just watching the thoughts of him coming and leaving her alone. Not even he could interrupt her yoga session!
There was nothing wrong with him, or them, actually. The past two months had been very interesting for both of them. After their night together in Paradise Island, she and Bruce had revisited their previous 'we should stay friends' agreement. To both of their relief, they had agreed that life was too short to spend alone (yes, she was immortal, but that hadn't meant that she couldn't be killed).
Thus they started a weird but beautiful relationship. Weird, as she had to be careful not to expose Bruce's secret ID to the public. Also weird, as the public had noticed, that an intelligent ambassador like her would waste her time with a notorious playboy like Bruce Wayne. Or – to the superhero community – it was weird that a Wonder Woman who always spoke the truth was now often seen with the Batman, the World's Greatest Detective who always hid in the shadows, cloaked in secrecy.
But to her relief, their relationship was not that awkward for close friends who knew them both. Martian Manhunter understood completely when Diana explained their present commitment to him. J'onn J'onnz was a very dear teammate and friend; Diana felt that it was important for J'onn to know the truth. She knew that J'onn already knew about her and Bruce when the Martian contacted them during their weekend in Bali a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, she was relieved that he not only didn't mind, he actually also blessed them.
"Not everyone can touch the deepest side of him, Diana. I would support any woman that is able to see the true Bruce, and give him more light and hope he actually needs. And my happiness is doubled, my friend, as you are actually the one."
J'onn peaceful tone and sincere smile beamed in Diana's mind. What a dear friend. She stretched her arms and legs to start Virabadhrasana, the Warrior Pose. Pictures of J'onn slowly drifted away from her mind.
J'onn was not the only one happy for them. Alfred Pennyworth was very, very pleased. Despite his strict demeanor of a trained English butler, he could not hide his enthusiasm. When Diana visited the Manor for dinner after the weekend in Bali, he already knew something had happened between his Master Bruce and Miss Diana. He was not surprised at all that Diana did not make any attempt to leave, long after the pecan pie was gone and the herbal tea cups were empty. When Bruce finally rose from his chair and left for his room, his hand holding Diana's, Alfred just murmured that some 'Martha' white roses were already in Bruce's room. Yet he could not refrain from whispering to Diana.
"Mrs. Wayne would be very happy to see you tonight with her son." Then, as nothing happened, the English butler just strolled back to the kitchen.
Alfred... dear Alfred. Diana smiled again, sending a warm wave of love to Bruce's surrogate father.
"I'm so happy for you, Miss Diana," he had said to her in the morning after breakfast.
"I'm very happy too, Alfred. For him." Diana gestured to Bruce who was reading the Gotham Morning Herald.
"Ah, then we are even, Miss. Then I shall be making you more wild berry pancakes the next time you have breakfast here."
Both of them had exchanged warm smiles. And then grinned in conspiracy as Bruce rose his head and asked, "What?..." absent-mindedly.
Diana switched to Garudasana, the Eagle Pose. Enough thinking about Bruce, or anyone related to him. Now, it's just me. So she ignored the flashes of Superman, Nightwing, Barbara Gordon, and even Lois Lane. Nothing was important right now.
Well, not really. In spite of J'onn, Alfred, Nightwing, and Barbara Gordon, not everyone understood why the ex-Princess of Themyscira would ever date the brooding Dark Knight. Superman was worried, and Diana understood why. Clark was afraid that Bruce would hurt Diana, his best friend. The same could not be said for Lois, though. In fact, the smart reporter was pretty happy for Diana. It was not of a real wonder anyway; Diana had had a hard time convincing Lois that she and Kal was nothing but true friends. The fact that Diana dated another guy actually relieved the reporter.
Other friends were cautious too. Aquaman looked a bit alarmed every time she met him during the League meetings. He had seen Batman and Wonder Woman together in an odd whale-stranding event in Bali. But unlike Cascade (the heroine from Indonesia) who was also there and seemed to be happy for them, Orin didn't look so happy. Zatanna already kept an eye on Diana as well, as if trying to say something. In addition, Black Canary beckoned her a few days ago to have a moment of girl talk. The topic was 'The Danger of Dating a Billionaire-Playboy-Hero' – with Dinah's own endless story with Green Arrow as the case study. Even Kara Zor-El called her from Paradise Island, asking bluntly if the gossips she had heard about Batman and Wonder Woman was true. Great. Now I only have to wait for Artemis and Cassie questioning my private life.
So, both Diana and Bruce decided to minimize their personal interactions in front of the public for a while, just until the hero communities were more acclimated to their relationship, and Bruce were ready for a public acknowledgement of him dating the Amazon.
In fact Diana didn't care if many heroes talked about them (Wonder Woman vs. the Batman), but she was not a woman who would promote her personal relationship to every one either. In addition, Batman never liked PDA (public display of affections), so it was easy to maintain professionalism with the Caped Crusader. And although both of them were accustomed to gossip about their personal lives, Diana knew that they should be careful not to expose their relationship to everyone so soon. Bruce had many close friends to protect, such as Alfred, Leslie Thompson, and the entire Batclan. Diana had never wanted to cause trouble to those dear people, thus any link between Bruce Wayne and the Batman through Wonder Woman had better been avoided. Until both she and Bruce were ready for the consequences.
It was true that her girlish soul longed for a normal date with Bruce, out of the camera flashes of the Gotham reporters, out of the usual cave and League business. Just normal dates: dinner, walking in the park together, watching DVDs on the weekend, watching movies in the city. She had wanted to drag Bruce to watch 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith', eating the ferrero rocher gelato ice cream together at the Napoli Gelatissimo, and other little nice things normal couples do. But she could not do that yet. Their short weekend in Bali was an exception; not many people know of Bruce Wayne in Indonesia, and they were not suspicious to see Batman and Wonder Woman together in Bali. But Gotham and New York were different. Both cities required patience.
So, despite her aching heart, she maintained her neutral camaraderie with the Batman. She debated him for 20 minutes at the Justice League meeting two weeks ago, about whether or not they should intervene with an increasing crisis in the Balkans. He criticized her for her decreasing attendance on monitor duties (Hello...? There were some emergencies in my Embassy!). She threw him hard during their last Aikido session, and he in turn locked her arms so tight she had to bang the floor in resignation.
But afterwards, after making sure no one was watching, they kissed. And made love. In her quarters at the Watchtower. In the Manor, after his nocturnal patrol. At the balcony of her suite at the Embassy, after she fought a hideous monster that had escaped from Tartarus.
So, yes... weird, but also beautiful. Dysfunctional duo, Clark commented. Diana treasured their very limited time together, and she knew Bruce did too. Sometimes she caught him just staring at her during dinners at the Manor. He then just shrugged and said, "...nothing! What?..." But she also caught him watching her sleeping – as sometimes she just awakened in the middle of the night. She also loved watching him sleeping. Studying his rugged jaw line lit by the moonlight. Tracing his numerous wounds with her fingers, and kissing them gently.
But she also treasured her time alone. She knew Bruce did too, as there were times he just needed to work alone undisturbed. She didn't mind. She recalled a very beautiful line by Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese poet that lived in the early 20th century. Let there be spaces in your togetherness. For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Indeed. In their love, they also needed space to be alone. And that's why she wasn't disappointed when Bruce refused to come with her to Japan. Bruce had a meeting with the Wayne Enterprise last Friday. Plus, the Batman was busy as well. She didn't quite know what happened. She only knew it had things to do with drugs (typically Gotham). She also knew that the Outsiders and the Titans had asked for his help for something. He didn't elaborate on those; it wasn't his habit, and he didn't have time. Diana didn't mind. She had a bunch of diplomatic paperwork she had to finish before taking her leave. She was tempted to go and help him, but Batman just rejected her offer.
"It's okay, we have plenty of men here," he explained through the communicator. "The work requires stealth, and we have not finished your uniform yet." Diana and Bruce had agreed to make a special uniform for her so that she could help him at nighttime in Gotham. "Just finish your homework and enjoy Japan."
So here she was, in a remote place in Japan. Junboku no koya was a nice and serene meditation complex at the foot of Fujiyama, a few miles away from the closest and highest village in the mountain. She heard about this place from her friend at the Japan AIDS Foundation. Once a year Diana had a habit of visiting remote places to retreat into herself. She loved her home island, the Paradise Island. But she also loved to learn about new cultures and methods of self-exploration outside of her own culture. The last time she had gone on retreat, she had visited the monastery in Ladakh, in northern India (suggested by J'onn, the jolly green Buddha). Two years ago, she had visited a remote yoga center in New Zealand. This year she picked Japan.
So far she had learned to do yoga and tai chi (the latter taught by Batman). Now in Japan she wanted to learn more about Zen meditation. Upon opening herself to ancient Eastern traditions, she found that those traditions also appreciated Nature in a similar way to her ancient Greek tradition. By regarding humans as a small part of nature, the Eastern ways believed that instead of being the ruler of nature, human was actually very dependent on Nature herself, and thus should not taint the harmony and balance.
However, she also found that the basic beliefs of the Eastern traditions could also be very different from her beliefs. The ancient Greek believed that mankind was ruled by the Gods and Goddesses. In return, the decreased beliefs of humans in her deities had also decreased their power in this plane of reality.
In contrast, the Eastern belief regarded that the humanity has the power of choice. Humans can either maintain their limited understanding of nature, or even degrade into self-destructive creatures, or raise their awareness to embrace the Nature and expand the compassion that was always stored within their heart. That was Zen. It was everything, including the Life itself. It was basically the body and mind game. Overcome the body, ignore the mind, and you will rise above them. You will understand your true connection with the Nature.
Strangely, Diana could understand this. She had not made definite connections between Zen and her Hellenistic beliefs, but she had blurred pictures that slowly became clearer and clearer every time she joined the morning and evening meditation. Everything is connected. The stillness and peaceful feeling she experienced during her Zen sessions were the same as the sensations she felt every time she stood still by herself, and spoke to Mother Gaea. Gaea was there then; and the same Gaea was here as well.
Diana shifted into Utkatasana, the Chair Pose. Striving to tone her hamstrings, she realized that Bruce had slipped into her mind again. She trusted everything was all right with Batman. Her remote location would not hinder the JLA communication relay, and Alfred would've also called her if something went wrong. Not to worry, Mother Gaea is protecting him.
She straightened her back, finishing the Chair Pose. Then she raised her right leg, bringing its sole to the top inside of her left thigh, and brought her palms together in front of her chest. Vrikasana, the Tree Pose. She loved this particular pose – making her serene and steady, and sometimes...bringing the feeling of a nymph enjoying the Apollo's sun.
She had just enjoyed a few moments of silence when she heard some footsteps from behind her. She was practicing at the backyard of her hut, facing the small crystal river that ran behind the hut. In her current position, she could not see her guest, but the slow, light, and steady steps were recognizable.
"Shizuka-san, ohayo gozaimasu."
A nun walked past and turned to face her. Shizuka was a nun in her 40's. She was wearing a grey Zen robe, her head was bald as other nuns and monks that took care of Junboku no koya. Her demeanor was as calm as her name. Shizuka means 'quiet' or 'peaceful'. She was not of striking beauty, but there was something inside her that made her face seem to beam all the time. Her eyes were serene, her smile was joyful.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Diana-san." Speaking in Japanese, she bowed to Diana. "Enjoying the yoga?"
"Yes, I am." Diana smiled, replying in Japanese as well. She didn't change her posture. Diana met Shizuka in her first evening here. At that time, she was also doing her yoga session. As she saw the nun for the first time, Diana immediately changed her posture and bowed to Shizuka. But the older woman just waved her hand to dismiss; saying that yoga was an attempt to achieve stillness, and her mere presence should not hinder Diana's effort. "This is a very peaceful morning." Diana continued, shifting her weight to maintain the tree pose.
"Yes, indeed." Shizuka's smile was enigmatic. "And will be very interesting, too. I've bought you a guest."
Diana raised her eyebrow. She wasn't expecting any companion. "Who would that be, Shizuka-san?"
Shizuka raised her hand to cover her laugh. "Ah, Diana-san! You are not going to believe who came to see you. It is Burusu-san!" She gestured to someone that apparently had been standing behind Diana for a while.
Maintaining her tree pose, Diana struggled to turn her head to see 'Burusu-san'. Her mouth dropped in disbelief. Behind her, stood Bruce Wayne, grinning at her.
"Hi, Princess!" the man approached her. "Glad to see me?"
Diana's foot dropped to the ground, her tree tumbling down.
Author's note:
Okay... you will yell now, as I inserted too many Sanskrit words about yoga, and also lots of Zen philosophy. I guess this is what happened if a Pagan-New Age-Eastern tradition girl like me writing about Diana, who is also a Pagan and a New Ager. J'onn would fit much better in the story doing yoga, but hey... I'm writing Diana, not my dear Martian. So, again, I apologize for this. And perhaps some of you will question Kara's presence in Paradise Island. As far as I know, she has been staying in Diana's Island since her introduction to the superhero community (Superman/Batman: Supergirl), and seems to enjoy her stay there with the Amazons. Kara does have a grudge with Batman, though, as the Dark Knight and Superman keep 'spying' on the teen Kryptonian.