Chapter 1 Part 2: Perverse Act of Robin Fall
Robin entered Nagi's house and took off his steel-toed boots. He sat down at the table in the kitchen.
"You want some tea?" Nagi asked.
"Sure," he accepted and she prepared some tea for him.
"So what happened to the missing girls at Shinyo?" Robin asked.
"They were killed by the Manticore. It was hiding in our school and ate some of the students here."
"How were you involved?"
"My friend Naoko Kamikshiro asked me to look for the Manticore."
"That's Greek for "Maneater."
"It ate Naoko."
"I'm sorry."
"We can't even give her a proper burial, she'll always be missing according to the adults."
"Is the Manticore still at school?"
"No, Shirou Tanaka killed it."
"Why didn't you fight it? You were there."
"Hard to fight an alien when you get your throat slit," Nagi glanced at him.
"Was it the Manticore?"
"No, it was a classmate, Masami Saotome, I mentioned it earlier."
"Was he behind the disappearance of the students?"
"Probably, it didn't hit me until later that he was too eager when it came to wanting to help me find them."
Nagi clenched her fist, "All my father's books on psychology and I couldn't see the monster standing right next to me."
"That's the thing about psychopaths, they're very good at hiding."
"You died, didn't you?" Robin sipped the tea.
"Yes."
"I suspected that much, you lost too much blood, there's no way you're surviving that. But you're still here," Robin's gaze was solemn.
"Yes, I am, because Echoes gave me part of his life when he transmitted himself back to wherever he came from. You don't act surprised."
"I saw my arch-nemesis come back to life after falling into a pit of lava. Resurrection happens in my line of work."
"I see. Since your investigation is over, are you going back to America? I've given you the answers you were looking for."
"No, I'm going to stay around for a bit. A change of scenery is good for me, Titans East is in Jump City and there's still some things I want to look into."
"Care to tell me what that is?"
"Would you consider working with me?"
"No, I work better alone."
"Just looking into some things, not anything you need to worry about, the police already found the perp."
"Then why are you looking into it?"
"It doesn't sit right with me, the murders, some of them don't match his modus operandi that's all."
Nagi nodded, "I see."
"You must be busy, thank you for the tea," he finished the cup and got up to leave.
Nagi watched him go, he wasn't a normal person and he'd caught her interest. But she didn't like that he was snooping around. Still, she found him to be fascinating. She was going to have to keep an eye on him.
"…Fear me!"
"I told you to fear me! Scream! Cry! Beg like a pathetic worm! Panic!" Makiko shrieked.
Nagi Kirima heard her former doctor rage as she continued to kick her in the gut.
The Fear Ghoul, the notorious serial killer that had terrorized girls in the city, was someone that she knew.
"Oh, right…I didn't tell you about Masanori Sasaki yet, did I?"
"You may not have known it, but…he wasn't human. He was like me. Well, he was a little different, technically, but the same kind of thing. His real name was Mo Murder. His employer ordered him to investigate me and to kill me if circumstances called for it. You see? He was an assassin. He's killed dozens of people. Ha ha ha! You can't judge people by their appearances. Especially when they aren't even people!"
"You think I'm lying? Aw, too bad. It's all true. That man was using you, but I was one step ahead of him. Because you stuck your nose out, I was able to polish off a powerful enemy. I owe you one."
"I'm going to turn Sasaki Masanori-san into the serial killer. Instead of me, of course. Pigeon already placed all the evidence needed in his house while he was out looking for me! Ha ha, he was an assassin, after all. It won't hurt him any to add a few of my murders to his list."
"You may think you're some sort of hero, but you were played like a piano by a killer. How pathetic! Everything you tried to protect was an illusion. There is only one absolute in this world—fear."
Makiko was so angry that she couldn't break Nagi Kirima. She wanted to break the would-be superhero and destroy her, she would relish removing Nagi's brain while the teenager was still alive, just like the five other girls she had murdered.
"…Not…"
"Eh? What?" Makiko stepped closer.
"…Not that I'm not scared. I'm just…"
"What? I can't hear you."
"I'm just…worried."
"Worried? About what?"
"…That it'll fail." Her voice was very weak.
"Fail? What will fail?"
"Well…this attack!" Nagi roared.
Nagi stabbed the water with her electric baton.
Makiko Kisugi, the Fear Ghoul, the consumer of fear, the serial killer that had plagued the city, felt absolute terror. Her former patient, Nagi Kirima had overcome her fear and now she was attacking.
Nagi had modified the baton and removed all the limiters and stabbing the electric baton into the water, she electrocuted the synthetic human to a crisp.
"Why?! How did…!" Doctor Kisugi screamed, "…Why…?!"
Nagi Kirima grabbed Doctor Kisugi, tackling her into the water, putting her into an armbar, and pulling her arm back as far as it could go. Suddenly, it fell off and the serial killer started running away.
Nagi's thigh injury prevented her from pursuing Doctor Kisugi.
"I'm surprised," it said.
"…?!"
"I did not expect you to escape that danger on your own. I took too long catching up with you, but it appears to have turned out well enough."
It was a strange voice, like a boy' s, like a girl's, like both at once.
"Wh-who are you?!" Nagi called out. But the person was gone.
"Leave the rest to me," it said, and then there was only silence.
Nagi Kirima sat up in her bed, That dream again.
Five years ago, when she'd taken down the Fear Ghoul, it was a time in her life she didn't want to talk about.
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It was only luck that she'd been able to escape that night. Only luck that the electric stun baton hadn't shorted out when she'd lost her weapon bag in the water.
Taking down the serial killer that terrified Tokyo should have brought her some joy, instead, it made her angry.
Was she so unfocused that she was adrift without a paddle? She remembered her father's writings.
"Humans do not possess a single, focused will. In their hearts, they have countless bugs, buzzing in all directions. There are times when all these bugs pounce on the same food, but when they are focused on different desires, people take actions that can only be described as incoherent."
No, Nagi was distracted, the arrival of Dick Grayson had caused a stir in the entire school. Shinyo Academy was honored to have the son of Bruce Wayne attend their school, it had even made the newspapers and local TV.
Richard Grayson. The world-famous foreigner, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Why would he come to Shinyo Academy? It didn't make sense to her, he wasn't Japanese, and he should be off in some expensive, private American high school.
Nagi put the foreigner out of her mind and turned on the news.
"Shinyo Academy student Juro Kawaguchi was found murdered, along with another student, Michi Nakasone. They were found not too far away from the city's popular love hotel. Both were brutally murdered, and stabbed to death. Police are investigating this crime and will stop at nothing to catch the perpetrator. The male victim was wearing the costume of Tokyo's hero, Robin."
"What are the odds that the moment you show up at my school shit hits the fan," Nagi scowled.
Such things had happened before, her father Seiichi Kirima had written an excellent paper about a man who had been under the delusion that he was Batman, the man had dressed up in a costume, and he'd attacked an acquitted murderer. The murderer had killed the man and walked free again, pleading self-defense.
The situation was different, but why Robin? People in Japan loved to cosplay, there were conventions dedicated to it, dressing up as popular anime and manga characters, along with many superheroes including the Justice League.
She'd have to investigate, should she bother getting herself suspended again? Her education could be paid for, she didn't give a crap about her transcripts.
Screw it, she was going to get suspended again, she'd dealt with a serial killer before, and Nagi had a bad feeling this was only going to get worse. Besides, she needed to confirm her hunch, that the killer was obsessed with Robin.
Juro Kawaguchi couldn't wait to get out of Shinyo Academy. He and his girlfriend were heading out to the nearest love hotel and they were going to have some fun.
It was a game of theirs to have him dress up in the Robin costume. A lot of male students weren't ever going to admit it out loud, but many of them saw Robin, the hero of Tokyo as a power fantasy.
Who wouldn't want to be Robin? Strong, handsome, highly skilled in martial arts, had a beautiful girlfriend, and defeated evil criminals regularly. Who wouldn't want to be the Teen Wonder? That life was so much more exciting than the inevitable daily grind waiting for him after college.
He and his girlfriend made their way into the Shinyo Academy cafeteria and sat next to the new transfer student Dick Grayson.
"You look like you want to ask me something, Kawaguchi-san," Dick looked at him with interest.
"Since you used to live in Gotham City, did you ever meet Robin?"
"No, can't say that I have," Dick told him, it was true, in a roundabout way, nobody had ever seen them together.
"Too bad, why do you think he does it? Put on the costume, fight criminals, all that?" Juro asked.
"We should be asking Suema-senpai that question," Michi Nakasone said. She beckoned her over.
Kazuko Suema came over to the table and placed down her lunch.
"What is it, Michi-san?" Suema asked, wondering why they'd called her over.
"We want you to profile Robin, we'd like to know what kind of person you think he is."
"Well, all I know is what I've seen in interviews and the Internet," Suema looked at them, "so I can't say how accurate I'll be."
"It'd be interesting, let's hear it," Dick smiled at her.
"Robin is someone who experienced some sort of trauma involving criminals. He's a loner despite being the leader of the Teen Titans. He is focused, serious, and determined. He's not anti-social but he feels he has to carry everything on his own."
Dick kept his face neutral but in his mind, he was in awe. Kazuko Suema was very impressive and she'd read psychology books. He stared at her in surprise, Suema had nailed Robin's psychological profile and if he wasn't careful, she could uncover his secret identity.
Then again, she wouldn't suspect that the person she was profiling was sitting across from her.
"I heard he retired," Suema said.
"But why? He has a life that tons of us dream of," Juro was confused. "I bet Robin gets all the girls. The costume's fun."
"What do you mean by that?" Dick raised an eyebrow.
"Well, let's just say it's a popular item at a certain hotel, a lot of people fantasize about being or being with Robin," Machi explained.
"Why do you think he retired?" Suema asked.
"At times, desperate desires lead people to irreversible places. This is true even for the desire to help others."
Dick saw Suema stare at him in surprise, "I didn't know you read Seiichi Kirima."
"His essays helped me understand why Tony Zucco killed my parents, I think that if Robin were here he'd feel the same way."
"It seems all the interesting and extraordinary people read Seiichi Kirima's books," Kazuko said. "I love his books, he just explains everything so well."
Dick didn't tell Suema that he'd had all the Titans, including Beast Boy read Seiichi Kirima's psychology books. Raven had even started reading some of his fiction books and lamented that they didn't sell as well since she enjoyed them.
"Well, it's time for class," Juro said, getting up, "We'll see you around Richard-senpai."
"Yes, see you around."
It was just a night of fun, a few hours at the most popular Karaoke bar. A few more hours at a love hotel, it was just some meaningless fun before they had to go back to their boring reality. On a whim, Juro decided to keep the Robin costume.
They were headed down an alleyway when he saw a man standing in front of him.
"Robin," the man's voice growled the name.
"I'm not Robin, who are you?"
"You have to be him, you're wearing his costume."
"We're not Robin and Starfire," Michi Nakasone said nervously.
"You have to be him," the man snarled.
He pulled out a knife and charged the teenagers.
Juro tried to fight, punching at the man, and shoving him against the wall. He tried to execute the moves he'd seen in many Japanese martial arts movies, and even some action films from America, but the man knew martial arts and deflected his blows as he continued stabbing him everywhere.
Juro Kawaguchi tried desperately to protect his girlfriend, but he couldn't the man was faster and stronger and despite being in a few street brawls, he didn't have much martial arts skill.
He'd been stabbed, but the least he could do was call out to his girlfriend, to tell her to run away.
But the words died in his throat as he gurgled in his blood.
The man was already stabbing Michi Nakasone viciously. It was the last thing Juro Kawaguchi saw before he closed his eyes and didn't move again.
Two students lay dead at the killer's feet. His hands were covered in blood. He was shaking with rage. It was not the boy. But he'd fought so hard, he'd been wearing the boy's outfit. But he had none of the boy's skills.
It infuriated him that anyone would imitate that hero, the "hero" who had taken everything from him.
"Not the boy," the man whispered obsessively, "not the boy," the man snarled as he fled the scene.
His career had been a series of missed "opportunities". Five years before he'd been a detective in this area of Tokyo. His attempt to capture the local serial killer had turned up nothing.
He was the one who discovered Masanori Sasaki's lifeless body, and he was enraged that he didn't get the credit for finding the notorious serial killer. Another officer was the one who discovered the evidence in the man's house.
He was furious that he hadn't been able to catch the killer alive. His chance at fame and glory had been snatched away from him. Unable to handle his "failure", he'd transferred to to a different police department in Tokyo.
In his new job, he'd been competent, but then he'd captured the notorious criminal, "Brushogun" and his life had changed, instead of announcing Brushogun's capture, he'd forced Brushogun to make monsters for him, and he'd unleashed them on Tokyo. Then the man had "protected" Tokyo from the monsters, gaining notoriety. Fame and glory, they were all his…Until the boy had shown up with his friends investigating Brushogun.
He'd done everything to keep the boy away from the truth, even framing him for murder. But Robin had defeated him, exposing him for the fraud he was, and had put him in jail. He'd escaped, but because of so many things going on in the world, mainly involving superheroes, he was barely mentioned in the Japanese newspaper.
Uehara Daizo would have his revenge against Robin, the former police commander would find and kill the hero, even if he had to go all the way to America to do it. He stalked off into the night, angry at another failure.
Dick Grayson woke up the next day, wandering into the kitchen he made himself an American breakfast and turned on the local news.
Dick stared in horror at the television. They didn't show the body, but he heard the reporter's voice.
"Shinyo Academy student Juro Kawaguchi was found murdered, along with another student, Michi Nakasone. They were found not too far away from the city's popular love hotel. Both were brutally murdered, and stabbed to death. Police are investigating this crime and will stop at nothing to catch the perpetrator. The male victim was wearing the costume of Tokyo's hero, Robin."
Dick was very troubled, not even a day into his stay and there was a murder that involved him in a roundabout way.
Those were his classmates, he'd just talked to them yesterday. He was going to find the criminal who did this and bring them to justice.
Dick immediately headed home and changed into his uniform. Dick's house was very "special", it was a custom-made house. He had a hidden lair below the floor where he kept all his Robin gear and a secret garage where he hid his motorcycle. Bruce had contracted fellow heroes holding companies so that it could be made without too much interest by officials in Japan.
He drove his motorcycle to the crime scene, surprising the officer.
"Officer Yamamoto," Robin said as he appeared before him.
"Robin-san, I did not know you were in the country," the policeman said, startled.
"I was hoping to keep a low profile, but this is too important. Can I examine the crime scene?"
"Of course," the officer said.
Robin examined the bodies. It was brutal. There was certainly an obsession with him; the Robin outfit had been shredded. He heard someone behind him.
"Is it just a coincidence that you show up and then shit hits the fan?" Nagi asked, standing behind him. She was clad in black leather, a custom-made combat outfit.
"Kirima-san, I know you want to help but this is something that I can deal with."
"They were my classmates, let me handle this," Nagi glared at him.
"You're skilled, but this is my problem."
"I stalemated you, I've dealt with these sorts of people before."
"I'd prefer to work with you rather than let you work alone," Robin said.
So she's dealt with serial killers, Robin thought. There was also that incident five years ago, with the serial killer that murdered five girls and left them in different places.
Robin remembered the incidents because they'd made international news. After all, the girls' brains had been sucked out by something while they were still alive. What did Nagi mean by, dealing with these sorts of people? He'd have to look into it.
"More people just complicate things, I should work alone, but since you're the center of this incident you should just keep a low profile and leave everything to me."
"Sorry, no can do," Robin said. "But I won't let you go after the murderer alone."
"I can deal with this myself."
"Really? Do you know who he is?" Robin asked.
Nagi Kirima stared at him in surprise," You know who it is? Just by looking at the crime scene?"
"Yes."
"Well, spill it, who is he?" Nagi asked.
"Uehara Daizo, former commander of the Tokyo Troopers. He's the only man in this country who would want to murder me."
Nagi remembered the man, he'd always been on the news. Her father Seiichi Kirima said he was the embodiment of a glory hound.
"All that from one crime scene, you are incredible," Nagi admitted. "At least I have a place to start."
"You should let me help you."
"I'll humor you and leave you alone for now," Nagi warned, "But next time we meet, I will put you out of commission for at least six months, that way you will stay out of my business."
"I do look forward to knocking some sense into you," Robin turned and walked away.
"I'm gonna kill you."
"Lots of people have tried," Robin shot back.
Nagi Kirma stalked off, it was time to start searching for Uehara Daizo and since her late father was very influential she could probably get a hold of the case file for the Shinyo Academy students without too much trouble.