The Black Snow

By Icha

Rated: K+

Chapter 3. For the Love of Akoya

Bruce looked back at her. "It wasn't easy to find out, but I have my theories and connections."

"Tell me. I have a few hours to listen to you." Diana lay down on the mat, hands supporting her head.

Bruce also adjusted his position. He had finished his meal, and now was feeling sleepy.

"Masahiro was a very famous Yakuza leader. He started his career almost forty years ago, when he was merely twenty years old. He was a very good gunfighter, but he was also a very talented swordsman. He started his carrier by killing twenty gunmen with only one gun and his katana – mostly using the sword. He also had a good sense of business, thus he could build his own empire smoothly.

He has only two children, Suijiro and his daughter, Akoya. His wife died when Akoya was born. It was no secret that he treasured Akoya and established many measures to ensure her safety. Of the two children, people always wondered if Masahiro would choose Akoya over Suijiro, not only because she was his 'precious'; but she was also smarter than her brother.

Then something came up: three years ago, a mob incident happened in the middle of Tokyo. There, Akoya was killed. Apparently, Masahiro couldn't take it. He punished his men for failing to protect his daughter. But mostly, he blamed himself for his daughter's death. Soon after Akoya's burial, no one saw Masahiro anymore. It seemed that the godfather was taken by the Earth itself."

Silence. Diana just stared at the bamboo ceilings. "Tragic," she said finally. "Similar to the Godfather movie."

"Only here, the godfather himself was missing."

Diana shifted to her side to face Bruce, one hand propping her head. "How do you know that Fugen is Masahiro?"

"I had some friends during my stay in Japan years ago. Most of them are swordsman or martial art practitioners. I have contacted them these few days, trying to learn if they heard of Masahiro somewhere. Dr. Light already checked the Japan immigration office, in case the godfather had left the country under any disguise. I also checked the U.S. immigration. Apparently Masahiro is still in Japan somewhere."

"So some of your friends knew that Masahiro had changed his identity and hid in the mountains here."

"No, not changing his ID at all." Bruce sat on his knees with hisback straight. "He had left his old world and began a new life as a Buddhist priest. His new name, Fugen, means 'universal compassion'."

Diana blinked. "Why would he become a priest if not to hide from his true identity?"

"My guess is that he regretted his past life, and wanted to start all over again. So, yes, he drew back from the Yakuza business and all worldly life, but not because he wanted to hide."

"Your informants told you this?"

"Some of my old friends had become interested in spirituality themselves. They mentioned that they had met once or twice a 60-year-old man that had just became a monk, and wandered around Japan. To wander around Japan in these days as a non-allied monk, you either need to be very fit, or pretty rich to support yourself."

"Presuming that you are correct, how would you persuade Masahiro, I mean... Fugen to stop his son?" Staring at the ceiling, Diana bit her nails absent-mindedly. "He had left the Yakuza without closing the business down, so he would not have any intention to do that now. Plus, he wouldn't hand his own son to the government like that, would he?"

Bruce leaned back, scratching his chin. "I suppose he still has some sense of responsibility. Even solitary monks have their responsibilities to the world and would do anything in their capacity to make it a better place to live. I hope that Fugen could give us more information about the underground activities. Katana also hoped he would testify against Suijiro in front of the court," He leaned over to Diana, "That's why I need your help."

"You want me to talk to Fugen? But I've never met him before."

"But you are a diplomat, and – dare I say it - the spirit of truth. You can talk heart to heart and make him voluntarily help us, better than me. And to help you get to know him..." Bruce looked for his backpack, opened it and pulled out a paper case from inside, "...these are his files. Study it before our teatime with him. You can find stories of Akoya in there." Bruce stood up, stretched and walked into the bedroom. "May I sleep in your room?"

"Go ahead," Diana rose and joined him. "This is a new age meditation complex; they allow both married and unmarried couples to stay together, as long as the couple is really in love and has good spiritual intentions."

"Can they really tell that? Just by looking at the couples?" Bruce sat down at the mattress on the floor, ready to sleep.

"I suppose so. I understand that most of the western young couples that came here were either not married or just married, and usually seeking a blessing," She suddenly blushed. "What did you tell Shizuka? I mean, what of...us?"

Bruce looked at Diana. "I told her the truth," he finally answered. "That we are a couple."

Diana still blushed. "I...thought that you would say that we're just...friends."

Bruce smiled, reaching for her hands. "Why would I lie, Princess? They are monks and nuns; had I told them that I'm your business partner, they would have known the truth soon enough."

She beamed back at him. "Yet, I don't think that you would tell Fugen the whole truth? That you are the Batman from the Justice League seeking for his help?"

"No. I would say that I am Bruce Wayne from Gotham City who is very concerned about the increasing underground drug trade there, and had come to seek his help. And you are Wonder Woman of the Justice League who will help me in this mission. Does this work for you?"

"Yes, it works for me." She raised her hands, tracing Bruce's tired face. "Now, sleep. I will wake you up later."

Bruce took Diana's hand and kissed its back. He had missed Diana so much, yet something in this place made him wanted to show his love in more compassionate ways than kissing her lips (though he truly wanted to do so during his flight to Japan). He turned to the mattress, lay down, and drifted to sleep in five minutes.

Diana returned to the front room, examining Bruce's paperwork. She spent the rest of the morning reading Masahiro's files, trying to understand the man that used to be the top Yakuza leader.

Apparently, Masahiro used to be a ruthless Yakuza. His business used to range from casino, drug, legal and illegal weaponry as well as prostitution of children and women. When he was young, he could eliminate his enemies (both other Yakuza gang or policemen) in ways ranging from sending common threats, poisoning (via food, gas or other means), or killing them directly in front of the public. More than once he blew up offices just to get rid of one or two people inside. But he was also a clever man with lots of connections; he always managed to get away from custody and trials. The only trial he went through was when one of his men was arrested by the police and was offered asylum if he could testify against Masahiro. Masahiro escaped after the case was suddenly dropped due to 'lack of evidence'. His former man was found dead, and had hung himself two days after Masahiro's case was dropped.

Then Masahiro got married, and gradually his life changed. He still conducted dirty business, but not including children or women anymore. Apparently, his wife had played a major rule in his shift of behavior. Ayame was a gentle painter, and no one knew how she could fall in love with such a ruthless man like Masahiro. Yet for some reasons their love sustained. Ayame even gave birth to the rascal Suijiro and the lovely Akoya. She died two hours after her daughter was born.

Both of their children had inherited their talents in their own ways. Suijiro, mischievous as ever, had always showed interest in fighting and winning. He soon mastered the art of two swords when he was still very young. He also had a good sense of business and even politics. Akoya, on the other hand, was the blueprint of her mother. She joined the culture club in high school and continued to study classical and modern art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Soon, she proved herself as a talented painter, even more than Ayame herself. She was more interested in doing her own exhibitions rather than helping her father's 'business'.

The files mentioned that Masahiro purposely did not tell Akoya about his business . Thus, she grew into a young woman who adored her father who, outside of his Yakuza business, had been a good father indeed. Akoya had only found out about Masahiro's true color five years ago. Ever since then, she distanced herself from her father, after her attempts on dragging him out of illegal business had failed.

Although Akoya had already moved out of their mansion in the nice rural area near Tokyo, Masahiro still made sure that his daughter was safe from his enemies. Until one afternoon three years ago, when a brutal open fire incident between his Iwamura Yakuza and another gang took place in Shinjuku. Unknown to Masahiro, Akoya was in the vicinity, finishing shopping with her friends. Her two friends were shot and wounded. However, Akoya was the worst victim; one gunshot in her chest and one near her left kidney.

Masahiro was enraged; he flew directly from Yokohama where he had a meeting to Tokyo, only to find Akoya unconscious in the hospital bedroom. The doctors had given up on her, and were merely standing in fear of Masahiro's wrath. Akoya barely managed to open her eyes upon her father's arrival. She smiled, feeling Masahiro's sweaty hand holding hers, whispering, "...I'm sorry..." and passed away.

Masahiro's men never saw him as angry as that afternoon. He did not kill any of his men, only fired some of them. The files Diana read were a translation from the Tokyo police files, one of them describing the conviction of one of his former men (the police caught him later on the charge of killing civilians). Among others, this guy described what happened that day in the hospital; how he saw fire burning in Masahiro's eyes, a fire he had never seen in him before.

Diana could only conclude that Masahiro's 'fire' was more of hatred and anger towards himself. The godfather was completely silent a few days afterward, not even speaking to his son, Suijiro. He did not even speak during his daughter's funeral. A week later, no one saw him again in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan.

Diana sighed, arching her back to release the strain. Massaging her neck, she pulled out another file. Some photographs were of the young Masahiro himself (full of pride and cruelty) and the older Masahiro (very athletic in his 50's by the time the picture was taken). There were pictures of Suijiro, who was more arrogant and prideful than his father. Ayame; a small graceful woman with a hint of sadness in her eyes, and Akoya, a classical oriental beauty, taller than her mother, with long straight raven hair and bright eyes. The picture was taken during one of her painting exhibitions. She was so bright and full of life; with no resemblance of the daughter of a godfather. And now she was dead while her father was here with us.

Diana felt very strange about this. She understood that the godfather must had been so sad upon Akoya's death that he chose to leave his business to Suijiro and vanish into the air. But why did he not just go to jail if he was sorry? If the intention was to fix the right from wrong, why not turn himself in? If Bruce knew that Masahiro was here, why didn't he just attempt to put the godfather into jail himself or at least inform the policemen?

She decided not to worry about it. Putting the files away, she walked outside the hut, and continued the yoga that was interrupted when Bruce arrived. Then she practiced Karthene, her ancient Greek form of tai chi. She concentrated her movements for an hour, sweating as she finished her yoga and karthene. Then she went to the bathroom, decidedly in need of another shower. She spent the rest of her morning reading her new book. Totto-chan: A Little Girl by the Window. The story of a rascal little girl and her kind and gentle headmaster during the World War II was a very nice story taken from personal experience of the writer; bringing a totally different feeling than Akoya's story.

At noon, another nun came bringing a tray of food for lunch. Diana had cancelled her morning and afternoon meditation schedules, as Bruce's case had drawn her attention. About the same time, Bruce woke up. With messy hair, he walked out of the bedroom, bowing to the nun. The nun smiled in return, and left.

"Do you want to take a shower first, or eat now?" Diana gestured to the meals at the table.

"Eat. I'm hungry again," Bruce grinned, walked to the bathroom to wash his face, and returned to Diana. Despite the pressures of the Black Snow case, he was relaxed. Must have been the sleep. Or Diana. Or both. He usually felt secure and at peace every time she was around, and he had grown accustomed to the feeling.

The vegetarian food was delicious. Vegetable tempura, shiitake and cucumber rolls, sauté of hijiki seaweed and hot rice. They talked of other things during the meal. Of Alfred, Dick and Barbara, of Ferdinand, the Minotaur, of both of their Cassandras; Cassie Sandsmark the Wonder Girl II and Cassandra Cain, the second Batgirl; of both of their doctor Leslies; Leslie Thompson of Gotham and Leslie Anderson of Dallas, of Wayne Enterprises and Themysciran Embassy and of the Justice League and the Batclan. But they did not voice any of their feelings. Only their eyes spoke to each other.

After lunch, Bruce excused himself for bath. He emerged from the bathroom in fresh mind, body and spirit; finding that the table was clean (Diana had taken away the plates to the kitchen), and that Diana was meditating in the corner. He smiled, and walked to the bedroom. He opened his laptop, put it on the table beside the bed, activated his comm. link, and started talking in a low voice with Katana in Tokyo. He felt a bit guilty in tainting the tranquility of this place with his activities, in dragging Diana into the Iwamura crime business. He had meant to leave Diana out of this, only contacting her if he really needed her presence, but then he found out that Masahiro had been visiting Junboku no koya, as the wandering monk Fugen. By mere chances, Diana was in the same place with Fugen. She was known for her diplomatic approaches and sincere understanding, so she would be able to help him. And he, the Batman, also missed her. So here he was, entering various pieces of information into his laptop, talking with Tatsu while another part of him was aware of Diana's silent presence. He was grateful of it.

Diana entered the room half an hour later. Sitting across the table, she supported her chin with one fist, watching Bruce typing.

"There's something weird about Akoya's death," she blurted out later on. "I'm sure you've noticed."

Bruce didn't stop typing. "Which one? About Suijiro?"

Diana nodded. "What happened to Suijiro the day Akoya died? As her brother, he should have known of her schedule – especially because Masahiro still kept many guards to watch over Akoya. How come Suijiro did not know of this, and let the gunfire incident happen?"

This time, Bruce stopped typing. He raised his hands, his fingers tracing his hair. "In the past, incidents like that did happen, even with Masahiro and Suijiro in the middle of it. From this point, it was not so strange that an incident happened at the same place where Akoya was shopping. But – why was Akoya the only one killed? Her friends were wounded, but not as badly as she was. Yes, there is something fishy about this. And I bet Masahiro spotted this, too."

"You think that... Suijiro planned the incident to kill Akoya?" Diana slowly said, disbelieving her deduction. "But why would he kill his own sister?"

"If he is Akoya's real brother, yes. Why would he?"

"You're saying that he is not Akoya's brother? Then who is he?" Diana stopped, thinking. "Was Suijiro an illegitimate son of Masahiro?"

Bruce grimaced. "I found this out just now from Katana. She traced back Masahiro's old records. Apparently, before he met and married Ayame, Masahiro dated another woman, from whom Suijiro was born. This woman..." Bruce looked back to his laptop, "... Kayo, was disappointed that Masahiro did not want to marry her. She then dropped the baby Suijiro to an orphanage and killed herself. Later, when Masahiro married Ayame, his wife found out about this, and asked Masahiro to take Suijiro from the orphanage and acknowledge him as his heir."

"What a woman," Diana whispered. "So then she became Suijiro's official mother. But what is the reason of him hating Akoya then? I don't see Ayame as an unfair mother, based on Katana's findings."

"This is only my guess," Bruce stretched his back and sighed. "But perhaps Masahiro did not really love Kayo, nor Suijiro when he was born. Ayame was the only woman he loved, so he took Suijiro merely upon her request. His love of his son might have grown later. But Masahiro's love of Akoya was more than his love of Suijiro, though he never mistreated his son."

"You are usually right in your theories," Diana commented, drumming her nails on the table. "But Akoya was not interested in the whole Iwamura business. She should not be a threat to Suijiro. Why kill her?"

Bruce shrugged. "It might not be a 100 attempt for murder. He could use the situation to hurt Akoya. What I don't understand is why Masahiro did not punish Suijiro, or at least conduct any investigations if he suspected his son."

Biting her thumb, Diana replied, "Perhaps Masahiro, or Fugen, is the only one who can answer that."

A red light in Bruce's communicator blinked several times. He activated the device, finding Dr. Light in the other end. The Japanese astronomer-doctor greeted him in English briefly, and began talking with the Batman. Apparently she had found out that some packages of Black Snow would be dispatched tonight, and thought that this would be a good time to trap Iwamura Suijiro. Acknowledging her findings, Bruce also told Kimiyo the latest news from Katana.

"That bastard!" cried Kimiyo. "I bet he planned the gunfire incident and killed her sister intentionally! I saw Akoya years ago during one of her exhibitions. She was such a nice woman. She did not deserve this."

"It's just our guess, we have no evidence. Only Masahiro can confirm that," Bruce replied in his Batman voice.

"I don't think that he would. Hiding behind a monk's robe; sounds cowardly to me!" Kimiyo lowered her tone. "I also have other news, well, not really about the Black Snow. But it's bad for me."

"Tell me."

"It's my daughter, Imako." Kimiyo continued. "There was this flu spreading among her friends at school. She could not stop coughing and sneezing since last night, and her temperature is pretty high now. I might not be able to accompany you tonight if she has not recovered. But I will try my best."

"Don't worry, you have done your best. We will still keep you informed, even if you cannot make it."

"I will still try to come, Batman." Kimiyo stopped to speak with Yasu, her son, in Japanese. "And I have to go now. Yasu needs me. Don't forget the info; Suijiro is moving tonight."

"I will talk to Katana; we'll stand by. Good luck. Batman out."

Diana smiled. "Such a good mother. It must be hard to fight justice and look after two young children."

"She managed," Bruce shrugged, then looked into Diana's eyes. "You will manage."

She blushed, replying, "I know," in a girlish way. "I guess it's time to prepare ourselves for tea time. I presume you brought a proper outfit?"

Bruce arched his eyebrow. "Princess, I had stayed in Japan long enough when you were still playing with your pets in Themyscira." He dug his backpack, retrieving a set of Japanese clothes. He changed, wearing a set of bone white kimono, a deep blue hakama (Japanese large pleated trousers) and a deep blue jinbaori (Japanese vest). He even put a pair of tabi socks to wear with his tatami sandals.

He turned back to see Diana had also changed her salwar into a nice yukata (summer kimono). Her yukata was made of fine cotton sateen, sea blue color with embroided baby pink lotus and fresh green lotus leaves. She also wore an ivory obi (Japanese sash) with lotus patterns of the same color. She was so breezy and innocent in the garment that Bruce's jaw just dropped in awe for a while.

"What?" Looking at his expression, Diana could not help laughing. She tied her long raven hair into a ponytail and commented, "Never seen me in Japanese clothes before?" She actually wore dogi (Japanese short kimono for martial practices) a couple of times during her Aikido sessions with Bruce.

"Not in a formal kimono," Bruce blushed a bit, as he just realized that he must have looked so stupid, looking at Diana like that. The color of her yukata matched her eyes.

"I've never seen you in formal Japanese clothes either, outside of your Aikido uniform," Diana commented. "You should add a bat clan crest in your vest and a pair of swords." Particularly in the olden days, mon, or the Japanese family crest, is usually sewn at the back of any Japanese outwears.

Bruce grinned. Actually, he wore a set of dogi (Japanese uniform for martial artists) and a hakama for Aikido sessions. But he never wore a formal clothing set, complete with the jinbaori. "I left my katana and wakizashi inside the Batwing. And I actually was very tempted to order the Bat mon. But I'm not foolish enough to reveal my secret identity here."

Diana laughed. "That would be very foolish, indeed. And I do have to say that you look exotic in that hakama."

Silence. Bruce reached for Diana's hands, bringing them to his lips. Kissing her slender fingers, he whispered, "Don't steal my line, Princess. I was the one who supposed to tell you that you look absolutely exotic in that kimono."

"I know," Diana simply smiled. She loved the exotic feeling of the kimono, and she knew that Bruce also thought the same. "And when are you going to tell me the other reason you came here?"

Bruce grinned. Can't fool her, can I? "Right now, actually." He looked deep into Diana's azure eyes. "I missed you."

"Likewise," Diana whispered, bringing her lips to Bruce's. They kissed, slowly and gently, enjoying the peaceful tendrils creeping on their bodies. Their kisses grew deeper, threatening their actual agenda that afternoon, until some footsteps were heard from outside.

"Shizuka," Diana let go, sighing, and then smiling. "We should continue sometime."

Bruce did not answer, just smirking and his eyes were sparkling. Diana checked her kimono, still tidy and intact (Bruce had been known to occasionally damage any clothing she wore during their 'activities'). Walking to the door, she checked her long ponytail and smiled to Shizuka who had just arrived at the door.

"Konnichiwa, Diana-san, Burusu-san," greeted the gentle nun. "I shall take you to the tea house now. Are you ready for the tea ceremony?"

"Yes, we are ready," Diana grabbed two pairs of sandals (hers and Bruce's) and walked out of the hut, followed by the uncanny Samurai-like Bruce Wayne.

Author's note:

In this chapter you would have found a more relaxed Bruce than the usual stoic version of the Batman. I took the liberty to write him as such, as Bruce had grown accustomed to being around Diana, and thus lightened up a bit. Actually his behaviour like this was not solely my imagination. Some DC writers had depicted a more relaxed and considerate Bruce when he was around Diana, especially in the JLA arcs (Obsidian Age, Golden Perfect TPB, Rules of Engagement TPB, JLA#90) and old issues of Wonder Woman (Gods of Gotham, Who Was Donna Troy, etc)

Nonetheless, there are scenes in Chapter 4 and the rest that draw Bruce back to his stoic manners. I just hope I will blend the character appropriately with the rest of the story.