A/N: Here we go! Another confidant chapter, this one focusing on another member of the Gotham Knights. Without further ado, let's begin.

I'm surprised I was able to get this one out so soon. Be advised, it will be shorter than my last chapter, by a lot.

I do not own Persona 5 or Batman Beyond. They are works of Atlus and Warner Brothers Animation.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Die you costumed freaks!" The gunman shouted as bullets went flying from his duel automatic guns all around the bank he and his now unconscious crew were attempting to rob.

Said freaks were currently dodging the bullets shot their way, one struggling more than the others. Red Hood, being the least acrobatic among them, was barely able to roll out of the way of the bullets, some even managed to graze him, but thanks to his body armor, they proved to do little damage. He dived behind the reception desk for shelter.

He then pulled out his guns and switched their settings to Batarang mode. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before he realized he wasn't alone behind the desk. A cute, blonde receptionist lady also sought the space behind her desk for safety, and currently she was looking up at the masked man in awe.

Under his mask, the vigilante blushed at how hot this woman was, and the way she was looking at him, but his helmet kept her from seeing, which he was thankful for. "Don't worry ma'am!" He assured her. "As long as I'm here, that dreg won't go anywhere near-"

"Red Hood!" Batman called over the comm so the gunman wouldn't hear him. "Get ready! We're doing Alpha 5!"

"Alpha 5? You mean Chicken Little?! Nice!" Red Hood exclaimed in excitement. Alpha 5, or Chicken Little as he called it, was his favorite team-up tactic to use, mainly because it brought to mind one of his mom's favorite movies from when she was younger. He then turned back to the hot receptionist lady. "Sorry ma'am! Gotta save the day!" He said as he got ready.

He looked up to see his fellow Knights move into position, most likely hearing Batman's orders as they moved out of sight. Batman remained alone as he flew around the inside of the bank, trying to get the gunman into position.

When Red Hood saw that Batman did indeed lure him into the trap, he sprang into action. Shooting out from his cover, he switched his left gun to freeze setting and fired off at the man's foot. The bullet hit and icicles formed on the man's feet, keeping him trapped.

"Hey dreg, guess what? The sky is falling!" Red Hood taunted him then aimed his right gun at a chandelier above the gunman and fired off a Batarang from the gun.

The Batarang cut the chain holding the hanging mass as gravity took its course and it fell down onto the man who looked up. "Oh s-"

CRASH!

The chandelier hitting his head cut him off and he fell unconscious. The other Knights came out of hiding as they moved to surround the unconscious man.

"Shoulda listened to Chicken Little." Red Hood said with a smirk.

"But there was no little chicken. You were the one who warned him." Nightwing pointed out, clearly missing the reference. "And besides, you were inaccurate in your warning. The sky was not falling, it was the chandelier."

Red Hood looked over at Nightwing with a raised eyebrow. "Have you not seen that movie?"

"What movie?"

Red Hood groaned.

"Hey guys, I think that's our cue." Robin spoke up as he pointed out the door to the gathering police cars.

"Right. Gotham Knights! Let's disappear!" Batman ordered as they all pulled out their grapples and fired off towards the ceiling. They began to ascend one by one, Red Hood being the last as he gave a wink to the hot receptionist as he ascended up with the others, missing the eye roll Catwoman gave him.

Soon enough, all five Gotham Knights sat in the Batmobile, which had been modified to house all of them as they flew back to the cave.

"Man I can't wait to hear what Gramps has to say about how Schway we did tonight." Red Hood said as he stretched his arms then rested his head on them. "I think he's gonna have a lot of praise to give us."

The Batcave

"That was completely irresponsible and reckless!" Bruce yelled in anger at the Knights, but mostly Ren.

"But we managed to stop the robbers and save the hostages." Ren pointed out.

"Yes, after putting them in danger when you all recklessly charged in, giving away the element of surprise!"

"But that dreg was threatening to shoot the hot receptionist chick!" Ryuji cried out, once again, missing the stink eye Ann gave him. "Were we supposed to just sit around and let him shoot her?!"

"No." Bruce said. "But you shouldn't have rushed in head first without a plan or getting a full idea of the situation. Going in blind like that could get yourselves, or worse the hostages, killed." He then looked directly at Ren as he said his next sentence. "Reckless action like that is what got you arrested in the first place."

His words caused the others to look in shock! To think Bruce would sink that low to try and get his point across.

"Why you old geezer!" Ryuji cried in rage toward the insult to his friend, and he was about to charge the old man, but Ren held out his hand to stop him, shocking his friend. "Dude! What are you-"

He stopped talking when he noticed Ren was clenching his fist so hard his hands would bleed if he wasn't wearing gloves. Ren looked Bruce straight in the eyes. Both the Dark Knight of Yesterday and Tomorrow glaring at each other, refusing to back down.

Finally, Ren let out a defeated sigh. "I'll make sure to learn from this." He said.

"Good." Bruce said as he moved to sit at the Batcomputer. "Better learn it soon, before innocent people die on your watch."

An awkward silence soon enveloped the Batcave, nothing could be heard except the flapping wings and screeching of the bats flying around them. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Uhh, I'm gonna go. I have a modeling gig early in the morning, and I don't want to show up looking like a vampire sucked my blood dry." Ann said as she moved up the stairs to the mansion.

"I also should leave. I must act on the inspiration I received from tonight's outing before it leaves my mind." Yusuke said as follows after her.

Morgana said nothing as he followed after them, Ace coming up to walk beside him.

Ren and Ryuji just stood there for a long moment, the latter waiting to see what the former would do. Finally, Ren let out another sigh as he finally relaxed his grip and moved to follow the others, Ryuji following after him.

"Dude, what the slag?!" Ryuji said in a whisper, once he was sure they were out of Bruce's ear shot. "How could he go so low as to bring up your arrest like that!? That's not schway at all!"

"He's not wrong." Ren said in a low voice.

"Are you actually defending that old geezer!?" Ryuji cried in hushed disbelief. "You're not at all bothered by what he said?!"

"More than you ever know Ryuji." The blonde backed up slightly at the tone Ren used. He was acting much like Ryuji was whenever he heard how great Kamoshida was, barely able to keep in his anger.

"Of course I'm pissed he brought that up! So much that I actually want to punch him!" Ren said truthfully. "But we both know he would wipe the floor with me in a matter of seconds. Even less with you."

As much as Ryuji wanted to argue, he was right. Despite being an old man with a cane, he was Batman, the Batman. As in the guy who manages to go toe-to-toe with some of the top killers and fighters in the world, and still come out on top. Ren had seen a glimpse of his skills when they took on that Jokerz gang together, but Ren was sure Bruce could have handled them easily without him.

"But still he's right." Ren admitted, his anger calming down. "I still would have helped that woman, but if I was smarter, knew who I was up against and was prepared, then I wouldn't have been arrested with false charges of assault."

Ryuji could see his friend was now upset. Talking about his arrest always made Ren feel down and depressed. And by the looks of it, Ren looked like he was gonna be down for the next week. Thinking of a way to cheer him up, an idea popped into Ryuji's head.

He then threw his arm around Ren's shoulder and pulled him closer to his face. "Ah don't sweat it Renren! You can save that for tomorrow!"

"Huh?" Was all Ren could say.

The Next Day - Shujin Academy After Class

Ryuji and Ren heaved large gasps of air as their hands went to their knees. Both of them were wearing track suits, though Ryuji was without the jacket. They were covered in sweat.

"It's times like this…" Ryuji gasped, trying to fill his lungs up with oxygen. "When we don't have much to do… we have to prepare for our next outing." He said as he stood up straight.

"Wh-What about… studying and stuff…?" Ren asked, still trying to find oxygen. Being Batman was already exhausting enough with Bruce's training regime. Now having to follow the same training Ryuji did when he was still on track on top of that was a bit much.

"Well get to that." Ryuji assured, but Ren knew better. "Besides, this is my secret spot." He revealed as he took a look around the area they were at. "Since my track days, I'd come to train here on my own. Now that my leg is feeling better thanks to that painful thing you guys had me use, I'm itching to see how much of my former strength is in me."

"The slag you are doing Sakamoto!?" A voice from the side shouted.

Ren turned to the side to see two other boys in track uniforms walking over to them, with a look of anger on their faces.

"Oh… hey guys." Ryuji said, his tone awkward and uncomfortable.

"Come out with it, what's this crap about you not being done with track?" One of the boys, wearing a headband, demanded to know.

"Shut up! I was just…" Ryuji trailed off, not sure what to say. Ren looked between them and Ryuji, what was going on?

"Just get the slag out of here." The headband boy, identified as Takeishi, demanded. "There's a new track team now! And nobody invited you!"

Ryuji's eyes widened in surprise. "There's a new team? Are you serious?!" The boys looked away from him, refusing to answer. The other boy looked over at Ren.

"Hey you're that transfer kid, aren't ya?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nakaoka!" Takeishi spoke up, already turning his back toward the two. "Forget these losers. Come on." The two then walked away.

"You alright." Ren asked his friend.

Ryuji gasped, forgetting Ren was even here. He then looked away in shame. "It's got nothing to do with me." He tried to convince Ren. "Just forget it. Come on, let's get this sweat off of us."

Ren and Ryuji walked over to where a hose was waiting for them. Since using the school showers meant running into the track team members, Ryuji had suggested they use the hose to clean themselves off.

Ryuji had finished first, stepping out of the way to let Ren wash himself off. The boy had taken off his shirt and allowed the water to soak on his upper body.

"Here are the budget reports from our club you asked for Madame President." A student said handing the reports over.

"Thank you very much." Makoto said as the two students bowed before they moved to walk away from each other. Once the other student was out of earshot, Makoto sighed.

'This is getting more and more exhausting' She moaned. 'With all my Student Council President duties, its been getting harder and harder to follow Ren. I wonder what he's doing right now?'

As she made her way back to the Student Council room, she happened to walk through a hallway that overlooked a part of the courtyard of the school. Taking a glance out the window she was surprised when she saw the boy she was just thinking about outside by the hose.

She was about to question why he was there when he began to take his shirt off.

Makoto's eyes widened and her face started heating up. Those muscles, those abs! How in the world was a body like that possible?! They seemed in perfect balance with each other. No muscle seemed to be more defined than the rest of them, and that made them all the more alluring. And the sweat mixed with the water running down his body made it harder for her to look away. Even though she probably should

He finally raised his head and brushed a part of his hair back, allowing Makoto to get a full view of his frontal chest and upper body. Causing her face to become even more red. It got even more red when he began looking right at her.

As Ren raised himself from the water, believing he got himself cleaned of the sweat, he happened to look ahead of him and noticed a familiar figure. He squinted his eyes to try and get a better look.

"Makoto…?"

Makoto then ran towards the Student Council room at the speed of light, forgetting all the rules about no running in the halls.

Ren was sure he saw Makoto peeking on him through the window, but he quickly brushed that idea aside. There was no way Makoto would do something so shameless. She was the Student Council President.

Though if it was her, he wouldn't mind it too much.

Quickly shaking those thoughts out of his mind, he then focused back on Ryuji. Ren had wanted to help Ryuji, but to do that, he needed more information.

And he knew just who to ask.

Night - Leblanc

"I was surprised when I got your call." Ms. Kawakami said as she sat in a booth of Leblanc, taking a sip of Ren's coffee, it tasted much better than her last cup from him. "I know I said it's okay to call me, since I gave you my number, but I didn't expect you wanted to revisit the times I was a maid for you."

"It's not that." Ren said, sitting across from her, having taken his glasses off so he could talk to her as his true self. He then told her the reason why he called her there.

"I see, so you want to know about the track team, huh?" She said as she took another sip of coffee.

"The way Ryuji told it, he held off and slugged Kamoshida, pushing the team like crazy." Ren said, recounting what Ryuji told him of his history with Kamoshida. "It's just that, Ryuji feels guilty for the burden on his mom. If I had to guess, I'd say Kamoshida provoked him by talking about her."

"Is that so?" Ms. Kawakami said, looking away from her student. "I wouldn't really know. However," Ren looked up at her. "It must be hard with one parent. And I can see how Sakamato, or anyone, would feel furious hearing those words."

"I wouldn't really know." Ren admitted as he looked down, remembering that he didn't have any parents.

Kawakami looked at him in pity. She had heard that he was an orphan who cycled through many adoption homes. Some of which weren't pleasant. "It's all just generalizing, of course." Ms. Kawakami said, trying to pull Ren out of his depressing thoughts, which seemed to work.

"Ryuji did take a swing at Kamoshida, but not just because of his knee injury." He quickly added the last part. "Kamoshida was mocking his mom. He endured all that hazen for his teammates, but… he just couldn't bear it anymore."

Kawakami took another sip before she spoke. "I really couldn't say." She admitted. "Except that if you're right, it means one thing." Ren's ears perked up, interested in what she had to say. "That Sakamoto gets angry really easily, and loses his temper often. But he holds back for the sake of others. I admit, I never would have thought that given his attitude problems and his anger. I think I understand that now."

Ren was in awe of Ms. Kawakami. It seems her new goal of doing everything she could for her students extends to those whom she thought was nothing but troublemakers. It really amazed him how much a person could grow.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Ms. Kawakami said as she rose from her seat, placing her finished coffee down on the table. "I have to go now. You should probably think more carefully when calling me out late at night. We don't want any more rumors spreading about you that could get you in trouble."

"One last thing," Ren spoke up, stopping the teacher in her tracks. "I heard the track team is reforming?"

"Then it seems you heard right." Ms. Kawakami confirmed. "Yes, Mr. Yamauchi is the new advisor." She then stopped and her eyes widened as if she realized something. "Yamauchi, he was the closest to Kamoshida."

Tsukishima

After hearing what Kawakami told him about the new track team advisor, Ren had decided to do some research on Yamauchi. Apparently the man knew next to nothing about track, so it was already suspicious as to why he would be named the new advisor. Which meant he must've had an ulterior motive.

So that's why Ren decided to follow the man to see if he could overhear anything about the reason why he became the advisor. And he wasn't alone.

"Hey man look." Ryuji began as he and Ren watched Yamauchi enter a restaurant. "I'm glad you took the time to look into it and everything." Ryuji said honestly. "But… why?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ren asked, as if the answer to Ryuji's question should be obvious. "Plus, having you moping around when it should be me who's moping made me jealous. Don't take my sympathy from me."

Ryuji just looked at Ren in awe and disbelief. He never had anyone besides his mom who went this far to help him out with a problem before, not even before the original tack team got disbanded.

"One problem though." Ryuji said, trying to change the subject. "Yamauchi knows my face. So I can't go in there."

"I will." Ren said without hesitation, shocking Ryuji once again. "Once we figure out his ulterior motive, we can plan out our next move. It's important, right?"

Ryuji nodded in agreement. "Still though, how are you gonna get him to spill the beans. It's not like any other members of the team are gonna believe us."

"You should know the answer to that better than anyone, Ryuji. After all, you keep saying it." Ren said with a devious smirk as he reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of clothing with a familiar blood red bat on the chest.

"I'm the Batman."

Ren had entered the restaurant, dressed in heavy winter clothes, covered from head to toe. When the receptionist asked why he was dressed like that, considering it was almost summer, Ren replied that he got cold too easily.

That was a lie.

In reality, he was wearing his Batsuit underneath all these heavy clothes. The surveillance and recording technology on the suit would make it easy for him to overhear and record Yamauchi's conversation.

He could've used the cloaking system of the suit to avoid wearing such hot clothes. But he didn't want to run the risk of some accidentally bumping into him and deactivating the cloaking. The last thing he needed was for Batman to be hunted for public disturbances.

He sat down in a booth a ways away from Yamauchi, but thanks to his high tech suit, that wouldn't be a problem. As he activated the enhanced surveillance functions of the suit, he began to hear all the various conversations happening around the restaurant all at once. It was giving him a headache. It took him a minute but he was able to hone in specifically on Yamauchi and began recording.

"We just gotta abandon the Volleyball team." Yamauchi's drunk voice entered Ren's ear through a pair of headphones connected to the suit's surveillance system. Anyone else watching would think Ren was just a teenager listening to some music.

"There's no other option. We gotta bring Shujin back into the limelight. There's no better way." Yamauchi said. So it seemed like he was one of those glory hounds that sought to bring fame to the school, much like the Principal.

"And you really think the track team could do that?" Yamauchi's drinking companion asked.

"Of course!" Yamauchi said with complete confidence. "After everything those poor boys suffered they need a caring advisor to lift them back up again. The only thing the public loves more than a fall is a comeback story!" It may sound like he had the team's best interest at heart, but with that last sentence, he showed that he only wanted to get on the public's good side.

"You're a downright genius!" His drinking buddy praised. "All we gotta do is make sure those troublemakers on the team don't ruin it! Especially that Nakaoka brat." Ren's ears perked at that name. What did he have to do with this?

"Nakaoka…" Yamauchi began, as if he was trying to remember some important detail before he finally remembered. "Ah, he's the dumb dreg that tried to bring back the old coach from before. Not to worry, I already handled him." Ren focused on that last part, what did he mean 'handled' him.

"Ohhh" His partner said with a devious laugh.

"I may have let slip a couple of things towards his team members. A few things Kamoshida mentioned to me." He then shared the details, and Ren gasped at what he heard.

Shujin Academy - The Next Day

Ren and Ryuji overlooked the track team members cornering Nakaoka. Ren had told Ryuji of what he overheard yesterday, and Ryuji quickly decided that he had to do something about it. Though he was confused as to why Ryuji didn't want to hear the recording he had of Yamauchi.

"Ryuji," Ren began as he turned to his friend. "Are you sure?" He tried to imagine how painful this must be for Ryuji. After all, confronting things and people from your past was never easy, especially if you were ashamed of such events.

"Yeah." Ryuji gave a firm nod as he walked over to the track team with Ren following after him.

"Nakaoka! So is it true?" Takeishi asked, accusatory. "You told Kamoshida secrets just so you could avoid his hazing?!" Nakaoka looking away from Takeishi in shame only confirmed the accusation. "Coward! How dare you show your face-"

"Hey!" Ryuji cut him off as the track team turned to face him. "There's something you guys need to hear."

Evening

The sun had begun to go down by the time Ryuji finished explaining what happened.

"He's playing you." Ryuji summarized. "Yamauchi's trying to pit you all against each other."

"You got proof? Why should we trust you?" Takeishi asked.

At that moment, Ren reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and play the recording, but Ryuji spoke first, and what he said caused him to stop in awe.

"Ren's word is my proof! It's all the proof I need."

Ren gasped in awe. Ryuji believed him? Seeing someone so fiercely declare that he trusted his words without any other form of proof touched Ren. It was so different compared to when he was arrested. No one believed him just on his word alone, they always asked for some other form of proof that he was telling the truth, and that hurt him. So to see someone believe his words so strongly just on them alone, touched Ren deeply.

Takeishi growled. "What's his word mean to us?" He asked. Ryuji didn't have an answer to give as he and the other track team members looked toward Nakaoka in anger. "Doesn't change the fact that you're a traitor!" He then looked back to Ryuji. "And you're one of the victims too! Get out of here!"

Ryuji gritted his teeth as he back away slightly, allowing Takeishi the chance to continue.

"This rat! This traitor is the guy who went snitching to Kamoshida all about your mother!" Ren gasped at the revelation. If there was something that always made Ryuji go off, it was when someone brought up his mother in a negative light. He was almost afraid of what his friend would do to Nakaoka now that he knew the truth of where Kamoshida got all the information.

There was a tense silence that was felt all around the surrounding area for a long moment as they all waited to see what Ryuji's reaction would be. They all had a pretty good idea of what would happen next.

Or at least, they thought they did.

"So what?" Ryuji said with a smile as he looked at the track team, who, along with Ren, was baffled by the tone and words Ryuji just said. "Look man, it doesn't matter anymore. All that stuff with Kamoshida is over and done with."

Takeishi had no idea how to react at all. Was this the same Ryuji Sakamoto he knew? "Aren't you angry?" He asked in disbelief.

"It's about time you guys let it go too." Ryuji advised them. "Form the new team, but it should be just you guys. Don't trust that dreg Yamauchi. Okay?"

"Sakamoto. I…" Nakaoka began, looking down in shame.

Takeishi clenched his fist in anger. "Forget it! Never! I'll never be an ace runner! Not as long as the traitor is still around!" He declared as he pointed at Nakaoka. "It would never stop eating away at me. I can't give in, not while my dad is so proud of me."

"Who are you really living for? Is it your dad? Your teachers? Society?" His question caused Takeishi to widen his eyes. "You gotta stop looking at them and start looking at you. Are you cool? Are you proud of yourself?"

"Just shut up!" Takeishi said while gritting his teeth, not wanting to hear any of it.

"If you're not then you're doing it all wrong!" Ryuji declared.

Takeishi kept gritting his teeth in anger.

"I'm not proud." Nakaoka spoke up. "I was scared of losing a place I belong. It's why I did what he told me."

"I know." Ryuji said understanding. And truthfully he did know. He knew what it was like to all of a sudden lose the place where you feel like you belong. "But it's not so scary, losing the place you belong." His words caused the member to look at him again. "But turning into a coward! Lying to yourself without even realizing it! What I'm scared of is turning into that kind of person!"

He then scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "But I got the club disbanded so I probably shouldn't talk." An idea then suddenly came to mind. "I bet you all want to hit me don't you. Well I'm right here!" He declared, holding his arms out wide. "Well take a swing."

Some of the track team members didn't know what to do. True, they did at times want to hit Ryuji, but would he truly stand idly by and let them hit him.

"Fair enough." Nakaoka said as he walked towards Ryuji.

"If you're offering." Takeishi said, cracking his knuckles along with Nakaoka.

Ryuji's eyes widened and he began to sweat nervously. "Wait, you guys are serious?" It was at that moment that he realized his mistake.

"Yeah. We're serious." Takeishis said with no amount of sarcasm to his voice.

"Wait guys! Maybe we can talk this out!" Seeing that they couldn't talk it out, Ryuji then turned to his best friend, his eyes closed with a pleading expression. "Renren, would you lend your bestie a hand please?"

He got no response.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Ren was gone. Vanished, without a trace.

"Man I hate it when he does that." Was the last thing Ryuji said before the first punch was swung.

BAM!

POW!

WOW!

The beating had lasted for a few minutes before the members of the track team felt satisfied.

"There. Now we're even." Takeishi said as he and Nakaoka stood over Ryuji's bruised and fallen form. "No hard feelings." He said as he and the others walked away.

"Thanks for that Sakamoto." Nakaoka said as he followed after the others.

"Lots of pain?" Ryuji cried in a high-pitched pained tone. "When I offered I meant one punch!" He then looked up to see a hand outstretched to help him up. He frowned as he recognized who it belonged to. "Why the slag did you disappear like that man?!"

"Hey, it was your problem. You said you had wanted to fix it your way." Ren reminded him with a seemingly innocent smile as Ryuji took his hand and he helped the blonde to his feet. "Tell you what. I'll buy you some ramen as a way to make up for it."

At the words 'buying' and 'ramen', Ryuji easily forgot his earlier animosity. "Deal! But you're paying for the whole thing, even if I order extras!"

Ren laughed as he helped him walk, the pain causing him some slight problems.

Soon enough, the two of them were at Ryuji's favorite ramen restaurant. And true to his word Ren paid for everything, and Ryuji took full advantage of it. Ren was almost slightly regretting his decision when Ryuji kept ordering his food.

After eating nearly three bowls, Ryuji decided to take a breather, it was at that moment that Ren asked. "Why didn't you just show them the recording?" He was curious about that. With the recording, they could have easily exposed Yamauchi without all the drama and intense atmosphere. So Ren was confused as to why he didn't use it.

"Two reasons." Ryuji said after he took a moment to let his stomach settle. "The first is because I needed to face them head on. The track team I mean. For so long, I've honestly been afraid of confronting them. Afraid of explaining myself. Worried that no matter what I said, it wouldn't change anything." Ren had a look of understanding on his face. He knew that fear well.

"So when I finally decided to do it, I didn't want to rely on some recording or slag to prove myself. I wanted to do it with my own words and actions. It wouldn't mean as much if I did convince them using the recording. And since I was able to convince them myself, I feel a whole lot better."

"And the second reason." Ren asked, taking a sip out of his ramen.

"The second reason… was because I trusted you man." His words caused Ren to stop eating and look at him with wide eyes. "I don't need some piece of evidence or someone else to tell me your telling the truth. I trust you! One Hundred and Fifty percent!"

Ryuji stopped smiling when he noticed tears began to fall down Ren's cheeks. Fearing he might've hurt his feelings, Ryuji quickly asked if he was okay.

"It's fine. I'm fine Ryuji. This ramen is so good. It's moving me to tears." Ren lied. He wasn't good at this. Expressing emotion like this wasn't his strong suit. He was Batman. Cool, collected, brooding. Not teary eyed and emotional.

"By the way," Ren began, trying to change the subject before Ryuji said anything else. "Are you planning on rejoining the track team?"

At Ren's question, Ryuji looked up and began thinking, for one of the rare moments of his life. After a long moment, he gave his answer. "No. I don't think so." At Ren's puzzled expression, he explained. "I mean, now that me and the guys are cool, and my leg's feeling better, it would be nice to be back on the team. But, I'm already on a team… with my best friend!"

Ren's eyes widened at his statement. He heard Ryuji call him such before, but those times were either joking or superficial in his eyes. But his tone, his words, and his expression as he said it now, meant he truly thought of Ren as his best friend, and that caused Ren to smile.

"Wouldn't want to do this without you Ryuji."

Before either of them could say anything, Ren's phone rang. Seeing that the caller ID was Bruce, he answered. "What's up?"

"We have a possible kidnapping over at 5th. Take whose closest to you and scout it out." Bruce ordered.

"Got it. I have Ryuji with me now. We'll check it out." Ren said as he ended the call. He then turned to Ryuji, taking his glasses off and quickly switching into his Batman persona. "Let's go!"

"But… my ramen." Ryuji begged, pointing at his bowl of food. However, one glare from Ren, and Ryuji sighed as he stood up from his seat.

After changing into their uniforms, Batman and Red Hood leaped across rooftops as they made their way quickly to where the kidnapping was happening.

Soon enough, they arrived above the alley, where indeed a kidnapping was taking place. A young woman was being forced into the van by a pair of men.

"Those sick dregs." Red Hood spit out as he pulled out his guns, ready to fire off some shock rounds to scare them. However, Batman stopped him.

"Wait!" He told his friend and comrade.

"Dude! What the slag?!" Red Hood cried in hushed disbelief. "We got a couple of sickos down there roughing up a lady, and you want us to wait?!"

"It's just… something seems off about this." Batman admitted. "Didn't we come across a scene like this not too long ago? The same van, same type of victim?"

At his question, Red Hood thought back to other kidnappings. To be honest, all of them looked pretty much the same to him. A bunch of guys took people against their will, they showed up, beat the living crap out of them, same old same old. But now as he got a good look at the victim, and the van these guys were driving, it did seem familiar to one kidnapping in particular.

"What do you think it means?" He asked.

"I think these aren't just random kidnappings." Batman theorized. "I think they might be a part of something bigger. Maybe a whole ring of kidnappings set around a specific target."

"Okay, so why aren't we rushing down there and stopping it?" Red Hood asked, clearly missing the point.

"If we save this woman, we save her, but lose the chance to help the other probably thousands of others that have been kidnapped along with her." Batman explained. "But if we let them take her, then follow them to their hideout, we can take out this whole operation in one fell swoop, and keep more girls from getting hurt."

"And are you okay with this?" Red Hood asked. "Just sitting here waiting and watching it happen?"

The stiffness in his body and tightly clenched fist gave him his answer before Batman said it himself. "No. I'm not okay with this. I hate just sitting and waiting while someone needs my help now." Memories of the night when he rushed to help that woman flashed to his mind. Like then, he now felt a burning desire to leap down and stop those men and save the girl. However…

He then took a deep breath to calm himself. "If sitting and waiting can make sure we stop this from happening to anybody else, then I'll do it. Even if I hate it."

Red Hood could tell his friend was serious about how much he hated doing nothing. But he also saw the logic in his idea. And he too, did want to make sure this didn't happen to anybody else.

"Alright." Red Hood said, hearing the van doors shut as the victim and kidnappers entered the car. "If that's the plan, then this might help." He then aimed his gun and fired just as the van was about to pull away. Batman briefly worried he was gonna give them away, but he stopped when he noticed how small the projectile he fired was.

"It's a tracker." Red Hood revealed. "We should be able to keep track of where the bus is going in case we lose track of it with our eyes."

Batman looked at Red Hood, clearly impressed with his way of thinking. He gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Nice thinking Ryuji. Maybe there's hope for you yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He cried, clearly offended. Batman chuckled as he moved to stand on the ledge.

"Come on! Let's go catch some big fish." Batman said as he jumped off the building extending his wings and flew after the bus. Red Hood followed suit as he switched his gun to grapple mode and began swinging after the culprits.

Later - The Batcave

"So let me get this straight." Bruce began as Ren and Ryuji stood in front of him, both still wearing their uniforms, just no masks. "You two let a girl get dragged off halfway across the city, knowing full well the dangers that could come if you happened to lose her…"

Ren and Ryuji tensed up at his words. The two had managed to follow the white van to a hideout in the Narrows, the slums of Nippon-Gotham. After confirming that it was the main meeting place, the two got to work and completely took down the whole kidnapping ring by themselves, saving the hostages.

But now they were here getting grilled by Bruce, most likely for their reckless actions in letting the kidnappers take the girl instead of outright stopping them.

"...And you managed to find out the mastermind behind this whole kidnapping spree. Saving the other hostages and preventing any more victims." Bruce then had an impressive smirk on his face. "It seems you are capable of learning from your mistakes."

Both boys seemed surprised at his words.

"You were able to act rationally and calmly, assess the situation and find a connection to previous kidnappings, which led you to theorize a whole kidnapping ring. You then acted appropriately and followed the van to the main location where those girls were being held. You then saved them all and disassembled a kidnapping operation that's been plaguing the city for who knows how long" Bruce explained. "Do you now see the benefits of taking the time and gathering the facts before recklessly charging in."

Both of them were slightly irritated that Bruce used this as a way to get his point across, but even they couldn't deny the benefits of slowing down.

"Yes, we understand it." Ren admitted before looking down. "Doesn't mean we have to like it."

"No, you don't. In fact, you shouldn't like it all." Bruce said, surprising Ren and Ryuji. "If you like risking someone's life like that then something is seriously wrong with you. But if it means you can keep more people from getting hurt, then you grit your teeth and try to get over it. Even if you hate yourself for it."

Both boys could tell Bruce was speaking from experience. That could only lead them to wonder how many times he had to stand down and be patient as he watched an innocent person be harmed so he could ensure many more could be saved, and how much it pained him to do so.

"Thanks for the advice. I'll try to remember it." Ren said, seeing Bruce in a new light.

"Yeah me too." Said Ryuji, feeling the same way as the former Dark Knight.

"Good." Bruce said as he turned back to the computer. "You can take the rest of the night off. You did okay work tonight. But expect to work even harder tomorrow."

Taking this rare opportunity to actually go to sleep earlier, Ren and Ryuji quickly made their way to the stairs leading up to the mansion.

"Hey. Was that his way of saying 'good job'?" Ryuji asked in a hush whisper.

Ren shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if he's even capable of saying those words."

"You think we should go ask some of his other partners?"

"Sure, if you know who they are." Ren fired back.

"Fair point." Ryuji said as he and Ren disappeared up the staircase.

As he watched the boys finally retreat up the stairs, Bruce let out a tired sigh. Part of him hated having to test Ren and the others like this. But he had to. He needed to be sure that they were ready for what darkness this city had at its core.

But most importantly, he had to know without a doubt that Ren was different from him.

A/N: And there we have it. Hope you all were satisfied with this chapter, even though it wasn't as long as the others.

I'm gonna try to get out as many chapters as I can, because I plan to go on hiatus from writing/reading fanfiction for two years around mid-March, after the new Batman movie. And before I do go on hiatus, there's these two chapters I really want to get to before I stop writing for a while.

Anyway here's a preview of the next chapter, featuring another Strikers villain; you may know him by the title.

Prince of Knightmares:

As the Knights try to track down the source of a drug cartel running rampant through the city, their investigation leads them to (supposed) award winning novelist, Ango Natsume.