Chapter 2

Richard Grayson was often told he had a one track mind. His father figure predicted he would become a workaholic. No one had to think too hard to know where he'd pick that habit up from, or from whom. After his parent's death and resulting adoption by the famous millionaire, Bruce Wayne, Richard had taken to following in his footsteps. Discovering Bruce's secret job had inspired him to become a defender of the people and enforcer of justice; a detective. Granted, the term 'detective', while accurate, didn't properly portray the typical actions Bruce would take while on an 'investigation'. The way he so closely skirted around the law without actually breaking it was much more reminiscent of a vigilante he used to read about in books and comics. Regardless, a sharp mind and deduction skills were absolutely imperative to succeed in this line of work. With his mind made up he decided the best way to begin was to focus completely on his school work so he could get as much of an edge as possible once he got into college. Friends and hobbies quickly became a distraction in his mind. Admittedly, that wasn't his only motivation. He had a bit of a problem with paranoia. Richard wanted to fully commit his time into the profession he worked towards, so even at this relatively early stage he made plans and backup plans for every situation he could imagine. Naturally, some of the scenarios he thought up involved betrayal or even just a loose end he wouldn't be able to afford. The only logical way to get around this was to work alone.

However, one of the most important skills of someone who planned on being in potentially dangerous situations was to be able to make decisions quickly, even if they were different from the initial plan. That's why, as he walked up to the school for the second day of his final year, he figured he should reconsider his stance on being a loner. When he saw Gar struggling with the lock the previous day, Richard realized that detective work wouldn't be enough for him; he wanted to stop the crime before it even happened. Obviously, struggling with a lock combination was far from a crime, and it wasn't the only thing that led to his changing decision, but it made him aware of how he didn't like to see others struggling when he could do something about it. Maybe making some friends would help him make connections that would benefit him in his quest. That's why he accepted Gar's invitation to sit with them at lunch. Well, ok maybe not completely. He was still on the fence until he saw the new student, Kori, would be joining them as well. Something about her bubbly personality called to him. He found it odd, since he found cheerful, extroverted people generally annoying. Maybe this would be his first personal encounter with the phrase, 'opposites attract'.

As he passed the front office on his way to his locker he noticed the principle inside. Mr. Blood was standing next to the window with another student who was facing away from it. Richard frowned. He never trusted this guy; there was this aura of plotting and …evil? Whatever it was, Richard's naturally intuitive senses were immediately suspicious the first day he met him. Rumors weren't something he ever pursued in high school, but something told him these particular ones had an uncomfortable amount of probability in them. He even brought it up with Bruce, who had already met the man, and Bruce agreed that he had a bad feeling about him. However, there wasn't any evidence of any crime being done. That didn't mean Richard couldn't keep an eye out, especially when there was another student with him…one receiving an expression he'd never seen on Blood before. It was mostly expressionless and professional, but it had a strange underlying tone of sinister amusement. Richard's frown deepened. He couldn't see the student's face, but the body language suggested this person wasn't intimidated, something of note when dealing with Blood.

Their conversation seemed to draw to a conclusion as Blood went to his private office and the student started to leave. When they turned and exited through the door Richard could see that it was a girl under the jacket. He could spot shoulder length, black hair under the hood she was wearing. He had lots of practice being able to meld into crowds and not being seen when he didn't want to be, earning him a negative reputation for unintentionally scaring students and faculty. So it was a strange, unwelcome feeling when the girl immediately turned her head and looked directly at him in the sea of people he was in. Her face held no expression, but her piercing violet eyes told him she knew he had been watching. They stared at each other for what felt like a minute, but was really only a few seconds, before she abruptly turned and walked down the hall, disappearing into the crowd. How'd she know he was there? Maybe his sunglasses stood out a bit too much. He mentally filed the strange encounter into his memory and continued to his locker.

Walking into his first class was a bit louder than yesterday. Usually, he's one of the first ones in. He guessed it was because he got stuck in a staring match with that girl from earlier. As he was headed to the back of the classroom his steps were interrupted by a voice. "Yo, Richard! Over here!" Richard looked toward the voice and spotted Gar and Vic at the front, probably wanting to talk before the class started. He sighed as he walked over to them. He's going to have to get used to socializing with his sudden change in plans. He fought off a blush as he remembered the redhead from yesterday. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, though, if Kori stuck around.

—

Kori's heart soared as she practically skipped down the hall to her first class. Yesterday had not started very well and made her fear the entire year would be like that. The fact that her sister, Koma, was here had only driven her spirits lower. Even though her sister was older, she had been held back due to being put in juvie for a year. Now the two were stuck in the same grade and Koma was, predictably, taking her problems out on her younger sister. It had only been the first day and Koma had already found a group of girls that obeyed her every whim. They wasted no time in singling out Kori, who had yet to grasp the new language or adopt the country's usual mannerisms as easily as her older sister.

Hearing Gar mention her accent made her worry he was about to make fun of it too, but instead he accepted her as a friend, and even introduced her to two other boys. Now she has three friends! That's three more than she's ever had whenever her sister was around. Hopefully Koma won't notice them and steal her newest friends away like so many times before. She seemed to relish making Kori alone and would never forget to remind her (and anyone listening) how much people preferred her over the 'failure' of the family. At the end of the day, she was dreading her walk back to their new home her sister would be leaving to, surely waiting on her to continue the torment, but she had been invited, once again, by her new friends to join them in their games and the 'hanging out'. She hadn't had too much time to talk to Richard yet, but he seemed nice enough. Perhaps he too would join them in their games.

Kori hummed to herself, looking forward to spending the day with her new companions. Before she reached her class, however, she saw something, or rather someone, and lost her smile. Koma and her goons were waiting for her. Kori wasn't sure how she knew her schedule. She probably broke into her room again to snoop. She slowed down, suddenly feeling nervous and self conscious. Years of living with her older sister had taught her exactly how this encounter was going to go. She mentally prepared herself for the verbal assault.

"Look who it is. I'm surprised you were able to find your rooms in such a timely manner, given how slow you are. And by slow, I mean in multiple ways," Koma laughed. Her laugh signaled the rest to join in. "I saw you with three boys yesterday. You move quickly don't you? Tell me, was it one at a time or an orgy?" The laughing grew louder as Kori's cheeks blazed red. Koma walked closer and leaned in. "You sure seemed to be happy a few moments ago. I wonder why that is. If I didn't know any better, I would think you're starting to believe you're not as worthless as you really are," She practically snarled. "This may be your first year here, but don't think for a second that those little classmates of yours will ever choose to keep you after they're done with you. Soon enough, those little boys you ate with will drop you just like everyone else does once they see who the superior one is." She smirked at Kori's silence and opened her mouth to continue.

Kori was doing her best to not react to her words. She hated how much of a grasp her sister had on her; how she was able to turn her normally happy and confident self into a self conscious child by simply being in the same room. As Koma was about to make her day worse, however, Kori sees her eyes suddenly shift to look behind her. Her expression changes from cruelly amused to slightly annoyed before changing, again, to a grin. "I don't remember seeing you here last year," she said to whoever was out of Kori's field of view. "Be careful not to get too close to this one, she's very contag-" "Are you going to let me through or not?" Koma blinked, not used to being interrupted. She glanced behind her and saw her group was still blocking the door. She signaled them to stay still. As she turned back to her sister and the stranger, she spoke in a more airy tone. "I just wanted to warn you against getting to know the girl between us. As much as it embarrasses me to admit it, she's my sister. I know her better than anyone and I can promise you that nothing good will come out of talking to her. If you have a boyfriend she'll take him away just because it makes her feel better about herself. And that's just one of many reasons you'd want to avoid her," she finished with a mocking expression of disappointment. If Kori's mind wasn't blank with anxiety, she may have found the voice to call out the self projection in the accusation.

Koma, along with everyone else, waited for her to respond. After a moment they hear her monotone, gravelly voice again, "Get out of my way." Kori started turning her head to look at the girl with a sad, yet surprised, expression before deciding against it. Better not break eye contact with her aggressor. The girl's unusual responses were enough to replace the negative emotions she felt with confusion. Koma must have felt the same, and judging by the annoyed expression, she didn't like it. People normally trip over themselves for Koma's approval. Despite her criminal history, she was skilled in using charisma to get everything she wanted. People only ever spoke to her out of awe and excitement or, in her sister's case, meekness. This girl did neither and acted like simply looking at her was a chore. Her annoyance finally got the better of her, as she found a new target to hate. "Oh? I didn't realize my little sister secured her relationships with other girls as well as boys. My my, you get around don't you, Kori?" Koma reveled in Kori's distressed expression, but was really looking for a reaction from the other girl. "Are you deaf or stupid? Move." Maybe it was just in her head, but Kori could have sworn the air got a bit colder as the girl got closer. Koma's minions seem to grow more uneasy the closer she gets and start to move to the side.

At this point the girl had passed the sisters and Kori could only see the other girl's back. "Oh, I see! You're the experiment, huh?" The insult was kind of weak, even to Kori's ears, but the stranger stopped and without looking at her replied, "What exactly are you expecting? For me to grovel at your feet?" The silence following the question seemed to ring louder than the bells signaling the start of class. "You act like you're above everyone when you're just as insignificant and uninteresting as your loser followers. Now piss off." She didn't even have to force her way into the room as Koma's henchmen had already scampered out of her way like rats. Kori quickly chose that moment to follow, hoping the teacher wouldn't be too mad at her for being a bit late. She pretended not to see her sister's shocked expression as she passed her.

Upon entering the classroom, she noticed the only open seat was right next to the stranger in the back. She sure moves quickly. With determination in her chest she bravely strolled to the seat and sat down, silently thanking the teacher for barely acknowledging her tardiness. The class started and Kori listened to a few sentences about their lesson before shyly glancing at her neighbor. Now that they were closer and she wasn't distracted by Koma, Kori finally got a better look at her. She was of average height. Her clothes were very casual: a blue jacket, gray t-shirt, and black jeans. She wore black combat boots that went up to five inches below the knee. The few things about her that stood out were very subtle, but once noticing them it felt like that's all you could see. Once she looked past the black hair that almost seemed to have a purple shine to it, Kori studied the other girl's eyes, taking in the intense violet in them. 'What a nice color,' She thought to herself. The girl gave off an extremely unapproachable aura. It may be caused by the hood she was still wearing and her hands stuffed deep in her jacket pockets. The very image of someone not wanting anybody to talk to them. Kori tried to angle herself to see the girl a bit better, since she could only see the side view, but couldn't do so without being too obvious.

She decided to ignore the warning around the girl and whispered to her, "Um…thank you for earlier…for getting her to stop harassing me…and helping me get into the classroom." The other girl didn't respond, nor did she glance her way. "My name is Kori, what is yours?" Still no answer. She decided not to push it too much. Kori had already thanked her and could always try again next time they met. Besides, she was still reeling from Koma's comments, so she wasn't at the highest level of self confidence at the moment.

The walk to gym class was pretty peaceful for Gar. He'd already had a quick bathroom break and he had plenty of time to reach his destination. Today they'll actually be doing workouts. He knew he'd have to be careful not to push himself too much. That was kinda difficult when he wanted to compete with his friends, all of which seemed very healthy. The only thing preventing Gar from sticking out like a sore thumb was Vic, who wasn't allowed to play dodgeball, baseball, or anything where he played against someone else. He had to do a one person exercise drill while the others played the sport. Gar tried to prevent his mind from traveling to a more bitter place when he finally reached the gym. He walked into the locker room and joined Vic and Richard, who got there before him.

"Hey," Richard spoke, "Did you see Kori on the way here?" Gar almost rolled his eyes. Geez, it's only been one day and he's already whipped. "Nope." "Hm, I guess he wouldn't know then," Vic muttered. Gar looked at both of them, "Huh? Did something happen?" Richard looked deep in thought so Vic filled him in, "She got here when we did. Kinda looked down about something, but wouldn't tell us what." "It wasn't just that she looked sad. She looked shaken," Richard argued. Gar frowned, "Uh…well if she's sad about something then it's our job to cheer her up!" Vic smiled, "Damn right. We can ask her what happened when she feels better. For now, just do what we did yesterday. She seemed happy then." The three agreed on the plan, got dressed, and headed out onto the court.

Kori was already waiting outside and offered a shy smile when she saw the group. "Morning, Kori!" Gars smiled. Her smile became more confident at the greeting. "It is good to see you all again. I look forward to building our strength together." The gym teacher chose that moment to address the students. "Alright, everybody, let's start the day off with stretches! Pick a partner and line up against the wall!" The four looked at each other before Richard cleared his throat nervously. "Kori, you want to partner up?" He asked. She nodded with a smile and looked at Gar and Vic. "Are you two stretching together?" "Yep," Vic said, "Don't worry, I'll try not to break him." "Dude! I'm not fragile!" Gar glared at Vic's smirk. The whistle blew and the class began.

The four gathered for lunch with a bit of awkwardness around them. "Don't worry, Kori, it wasn't your fault," Richard tried to comfort her. "Yeah, I did the same thing when I got back from recovery," Vic hesitantly added. He really didn't like talking about his accident, but he was willing to if it meant cheering Kori up. "The coach will probably have us sit together or do the one person drill, huh?" "Maybe you two can compete against each other!" Gar said far more enthusiastically. Vic paused, suddenly feeling an old wave of excitement at the idea. "You know what? Even if the coach doesn't, I'd actually like to do that outside of school…if you're interested I mean!" Kori had been mortified when she had accidentally hurt Richard the previous period. The intense guilt she felt made her think that she'd be alone again for sure. She wasn't really expecting immediate forgiveness or reassurance, and so was surprised when she received both from all three. She smiled, slowly allowing herself to feel relieved. "I will try to make it up to you, Richard." "Don't worry about it. If anything, it made me realize that I really need to get in better shape. Besides, I'm glad you're strong enough to protect yourself," He smiled. "Hey, that's another reason we should get together!" Gar nearly yelled, "Vic has a huge gym where we can play sports and exercise!" He looked to Vic, hoping he didn't just put him on the spot. Vic just looked more excited at the thought of finally being able to use that gym. "Sure, I think it'll be fun!" The uncomfortable aura from earlier was gone and everybody began eating with smiles.

"Kori, if you don't mind me asking, why were you so down earlier?" Richard asked after swallowing a bite out of his burger. Kori hesitated, but finally decided she could confide in her new friends. "My sister…is not very nice." "Sister?" Gar said, surprised. Kori nodded and continued, "Her name is Koma. She has been here longer than I have." "Whoa, hold up a minute. Koma is your sister?" Vic remembered her before his accident. When he got back he heard she went to juvie for theft and resisting arrest. Koma was one of the names he would always hear being thrown around. "I don't remember her ever mentioning that she has a little sister." Kori looked at the table in shame. "It is because I am the lesser sister. My existence is an embarrassment to her." Before she could say anything else Richard firmly interrupted. "That's not true. I've met Koma before. She tried to talk to me, but I saw how she treated classmates that she viewed as less than herself. So I know I want nothing to do with her." "B-but she's the superior one and all of you would end up wanting to be friends with her instead of me and she-" "Are you the one saying that or is it your sister?" He interrupted again. Gar decided to pitch in, "We may not have known you for long, but I think we all can agree that we're happy to call you a friend. And if someone upsets you, it doesn't matter who it is, they'd have us to deal with!" "That's right!" Vic agreed. "Besides, I don't want to be friends with someone who bullies their own little sister."

Hearing the support from her friends brought a tear to Kori's eyes. "I cannot express how much your words mean to me. This is the first time anyone has chosen me over Koma." "That sounds pretty rough," Richard said. "I don't have any siblings, but I think I understand how much it would suck not being able to rely on your own flesh and blood." "This is really the first time anyone has stood up for you?" Gar asked with a mixture of shock and disappointment. "Yes," Kori said sadly. "..although, there was something interesting that happened before my first class today." "Ooh, let's hear it," Vic said with a grin. Kori thought back to the incident in the hallway, her expression becoming focused as the memory played out in her mind. "My sister tried to stop me before I could walk into class so that she could mock me. She had a group of other girls with her that blocked the door. She said some very unkind things to me." Kori frowned at the unpleasant memory. "But then another girl came up and told them to get away from the door. She did not necessarily defend me, however, she did not behave in a way that either of us expected." "Maybe she was too nervous to outright defend you, but still wanted to help," Gar suggested. Kori shook her head, "No, I do not believe that is the case. Her words to Koma were very…straight forward. If she said it to me I am fairly certain it would have hurt my feelings. I do not know if Koma felt the same, but she started treating her badly in response. The other girl did not seem to care, though, and made her way into the classroom." Vic made a humming noise as he thought out loud, "Well, I guess now you have another friend that can defend you the next time Koma comes around." "Not quite," Kori replied, "She did not want to speak to anyone. I thanked her and introduced myself to her, but she did not give me her name." "You did what you could, no need to fret over it," Richard reassured her. "It must have felt good, though, to see your sister get shut down like that," Gar laughed. Kori thought back to Koma's bewildered expression when the girl had passed her and couldn't stop the small grin forming on her face.