Chapter Two: "Still Fighting Your Destiny, Aren't You?"

Rei and her cousin were nearly identical. If it weren't for the eye colors and hair, most people wouldn't know the difference. The other key difference were the speech patterns and personality.

When Rei peeked into her cousin's room, she nearly peed on herself, seeing Kagome Higurashi dressed like a lawyer ready to do some damage in the courtroom. Neatly folded behind her was a priestess garb, and the way that her cousin was smiling, it was clearly for her.

"So there's a guy here that I need your help with..." Kagome looked like a sneaky cat behind her pretty smile. Her soft brown eyes looked serious and as fiery as they'd always been. Despite being dressed like a lawyer, her cousin looked as gentle as a summer breeze and as beautiful as a flower in full bloom. Her soft brown eyed gaze looked like a doe compared the menacing violet eyed lawyer, who always looked ready to attack at any given moment.

Rei frowned. She'd left the Shinto priesthood years ago and followed Jerome into the dark world of law. Her grandfather had been staunchly against her and used every bit of his power to try to convince her otherwise, always saying that "she was fighting destiny." Before he died, she once asked him why he hated the idea of her working with her boss so much, wanting to know the reason why he would go so far to threaten to cut ties with his own granddaughter.

"Silly child, you're still fighting your destiny." Rei could remember his smiling face as he squeezed her hands tightly with the last of his strength. "Would you want your diamond to be sold for the price of plastic bottle caps?"

Kagome sat down in a chair, crossing her legs and mirrored the lawyer's facial expression. "This man seems to know you well... he said that your latent talent and the people you know are a large reason that he needs you." She could tell by her bewildered expression that the lawyer was trying to figure out who the mysterious guy could be. By the time Rei was fourteen, it was clear that she and her cousin were walking different paths; Kagome met a monk named Miroku, who, despite being lecherous, was quite spiritual and encouraged her to keep her focus, but Rei became enamored by a rebel named Jerome.

At that time, Rei made it a point to not let anyone know about her psychic powers. She wanted to be normal, and after so long of not talking about her mystical powers, it seemed that the only people who knew about it were her father and certain family members. Kagome was sure that her cousin wasn't the type just letting anybody in the public know about her extra sensory perception. In time, it seemed that most of the community not only forgot about her strange abilities, but many seemed unaware of who she was. It was like Rei Hino had become a myth that had long been forgotten.

Even their grandfather refused to speak of her name.

"Who is he?" Despite the nondescript demeanor, Rei's fiery expression in her eyes showed a sudden interest. "What does he mean by my 'latent talent?'"

Kagome smiled and leaned forward. "He also called your talent: 'a power coming from the gods.'" By her cousin's frowning lips, she could tell that Rei was disturbed but her arms were no longer crossed and she was no longer standing at the door, but was pacing back and forth in the threshold of the room.

Kagome didn't know when nor did she care to find out how but in the half second that she looked away to look at her phone, Rei had already thrown on the priestess garments and looked ready to get shit done. Her face slightly red, hair still in a tight bun, those violet eyes almost appeared excited; it was an expression she hadn't seen on her in quite awhile.

Relieved, Kagome sighed. "I wasn't sure if you'd actually come and help me out with your busy schedule."

Taking a deep breath, Rei exhaled. A smile escaped her lips as she looked in the mirror while Kagome came from behind her and released her cousin's hair from its tight bun.

The long, dark locks fell past her shoulders and in the light, her hair seemed to glow the same color as her eyes. Kagome brushed Rei's hair quickly, each stroke as purposeful as the last.

Before Kagome could finish, Rei stood up, suddenly feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time. Sweat beaded her forehead and her voice caught in her throat, her hands felt clammy but her eyes steeled like a watchdog. Walking over to the dresser near the bed, Rei opened a drawer and grabbed a few anti-evil scrolls. Even if it were just her paranoia, Rei felt safer with an oduda on hand.

Glancing at the reflection of the old clock in the room, she saw Kagome's expression darken.

It was only then that she noticed that her cousin had her signature bow and arrows behind her. Rei wondered if she'd felt the same thing and how long she'd known about the aura before the latter even felt a gist of that horrible power.

Standing up, she dusted invisible dust off her clothes, Rei put on a professional smile then walked out to see a man she never thought she'd see again: Ra's Al Ghul.

Of course, only he could emit such an horrifying aura. It wasn't shocking that Kagome would have no clue to his identity. He'd owned a cult many years ago, one that was obsessed with an idea that there was another world, one where they lived different lives. Rei and Jerome had the police shut down the place and sued Ra's for all he was worth; the stint was supposed to land him in prison for the rest of his life. His claims to his followers was that only by killing the body can one's soul attain the life they once had. Ra's travelled from country to country, visiting villages after village, seeing poor townspeople to the rich and brainwashed them into sacrificing themselves for his purpose.

One of the Veleska and Hino associates client's children went missing during that time. Rei remembered the day the child had been found like it was yesterday; this poor teenage girl had been raped and beheaded near one of the temples where he held his sermons. Where her head was found, there was a treasure chest that held it with pictures of the events that led to her death in her mouth. The subdued lass's eyes were still in their terrified state that she must've been before she crossed the great divide.

Written in blood on the inside of chest was: "أنا بحبَك," which Jerome translated as saying, "I love you," claiming that it must've been written by a female. Later, that was confirmed when the mother recognized her daughter's writing when shown a picture. They were an immigrant family from Lebanon, and they'd come to Gotham City, believing that they'd be given opportunities that weren't available in their home country.

Instead of denying his involvement with the daughter's death, Ra's only smiled and said, "She was getting in the way of returning to the other world. She had to be stopped." Rei could remember the darkness she felt as he spoke, how her soul shook, the way that she felt more fear from her partner than of Ra's Al Ghul as Jerome laughed at his words like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

Rei always convinced herself that it was Ra's influenced that was able to affect even her partner in such a way. At that time, Bruce got wind of the situation and hired Rei on behalf of the child's mother to take down the Al Ghul family. Just yesterday, Mr. Wayne called to let their common associate had been let out and because of his connections, he was able to get the courts to undo his sentence.

It was strange to see Ra's Al Ghul in conventional clothing that the masses would typically be wearing, very different from the gaudy man she met and had placed in prison. He looked tired and ragged; the correctional facility had obviously had affected him more than he'd probably like to say. "Lovely to see you, Counsellor... Or should I say 'Goddess of War,' Miss Rei Hino?"

Rei glared and watched him tersely. "I would be lying if I said the same. Why are you here?"

"I come in peace. I wanted to thank you for what you've done to me before. Even immortals, such as I, can learn a lesson or two."

Rei sighed and held her forehead in annoyance. "Why are you here?" She repeated.

"As I've said, I come in peace... No need to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Rei threw an ofuda at the wall behind him and another on his hand that was firmly placed on the ground in front of him. "Why did you bring four ninjas inside this temple then if you're here for peace?"

A man fell from the wall where the anti-evil scroll struck as he began to seize and scream out as a dark energy escaped his body.

"Even now, you have not changed," Ra's Al Ghul smilingly said through the pain. She could see where the ofuda had begun burning his hand immediately.

Rei's eyebrow lifted in curiosity.

"Your godfather in the real world, that other world that you don't believe in..." Ra's paused for dramatic effect then continued once he caught her attention, "He would be proud of you." He ripped the ofuda off his hand and scowled. "I come as a friend to warn you of your business partner."

Rei's eyes steeled at hearing those words.

"I no longer wish to return to our previous world as this one is suitable for me as it is. Gotham no longer needs the cleansing it once needed, but it will soon if Jerome or his twin brother awaken."

"His twin brother? Jerome is an only child."

Ra's chuckled. "No, no, my dear... That, you are wrong." He lifted his eyes and bored his into her violet colored eyes. "Jerome never talked about his mother or brother to you, did he?"

Rei involuntarily grabbed at her priestess garb, holding it for comfort. "I've known him for a long time..." Her response was supposed to come out strong and with vigor, but it sounded meek and like she was trying to convince herself that his words meant nothing.

"This world and the other will soon fall to ruin with his awakening, and there will come a darkness like no other upon this land. My spiritual heir and the light of this world must choose between wāqiʻ or taṣawwur."

Rei looked away from him. For the first time since she met him, the lawyer understood how people were able to follow, how they were willing to die for him. His words were full of conviction and seemingly sincere.

"Who is your heir and the light of this world?" She asked under her breath, hoping to not give him the idea that she was listening.

Ra's Al Ghul frowned. "My memories can only remember so much and besides, Counsellor... This wouldn't be fun if you don't solve the mystery, yourself."

It was Rei's turn to have an upturned smile.

He chuckled. "Because I am coming to you about them, you will either meet them soon or you've already met them and not realize it yet."

Kagome walked into the room as soon as he said that. She was smiling. "Rei-chan, you've always said that you felt like your destiny was calling for you, but you couldn't hear what it was saying."

Rei turned to her cousin, her eyes softening at hearing those words.

"Maybe... Maybe... We can stop running from our destiny today. It's possible that his words will lead us on a path towards the future we were always meant to be on."

Rei scowled, got up, then walked into Kagome's room and changed immediately back into her work clothes. "You're both a fucking mess," she mumbled as she started towards the door.

"Still running from your destiny, eh, daughter of the God of War?"

Hearing those words, Rei's heart raced as she ran out and kept going until she could no longer feel any muscle in her body and her breath became hoarse. With the adrenaline pumping, she hadn't even realized that she'd left without even throwing on her shoes. Rei had stepped on glass and hadn't even felt it until she finally stopped and saw her foot had been bleeding.

She squatted down to try to get the shards out but was stopped when a young female with blue hair suddenly came up to her.

"You should probably get that cleaned, Miss."

"And you are?"

The woman's face turned slightly red at the question. She smiled sweetly, her face model-thin with intelligent blue eyes hidden behind large glasses. "My name is Mizuno Ami. I'm a doctor nearby; let me take a look at your foot." She paused then giggled, "I promise I won't charge you."

Before Rei could reject the offer, Miss Ami Mizuno was already looking her over. "Please sit down. There looks to be some swelling."

Ami kneeled down and started bandaging it, talking but Rei wasn't listening. She looked up, and their eyes met.

Rei felt a jolt throughout her entire body. A memory flashed through her mind of this girl and her in another time, having milkshakes with a group of friends.

"Have we met before?" In unison, they asked the other.

-xx-xx- in another world, we don't belong -xx-xx-

The dog who thought she was a queen, and the cat who reminded her of who and what she is.

Usagi loved her husband's deep blue eyes; they reminded her of Earth's vast ocean. Even when he didn't speak, his eyes spoke wonders far deeper than she would ever understand. His deep voice always put her in a trance, a dreamlike state that she didn't want to wake up from. Still, it was his eyes that had her soul entrapped in a cage that she never wanted to escape.

Frankly, Usagi loved everything about Bruce Wayne, but his parents were a different story. She was sure they felt the same. His mother made that clear; Martha Wayne made it a life goal to make sure that Usagi knew that Bruce would be better off without her in his life.

"My boy was much happier before you came into his life." Martha pointed to a picture of a twelve year old Bruce coming from a picture show, as the old woman still called the movie theatre. I could've sworn that Bruce told me he was eight when he went to see Zorro with his parents, Usagi thought to herself while staring at the picture, realizing that the man she loved and the woman she abhorred had the same shade of blue eyes.

Martha pointed over to herself, keeping her finger at the pearl necklace, "My boy just begged me to wear these. He was so sad that I lost them... who'da known that would traumatize him so much that he would hate going to the picture shows." In a dramatic display of emotion, she grabbed a box of tissues and began dabbing away at nonexistent tears.

Usagi questioned her husband's judgement whenever he talked about the ever so kind Martha, who supposedly made it her life mission to care for orphaned children and doing fundraisers like a crackheads did crack. That kind woman who made me feel like shit when I lost my first child. The blonde-haired Japanese woman sat up, her big blue eyes watching the older woman list off reasons why Usagi was a dog brought into a castle, sitting in the queen's seat in her absence.

"Honestly, you can't even provide him with a suitable offspring. With your luck," she clicked her tongue and bit her lip, her face disgusted as she turned to the Japanese woman. "The child would end up taking after you."

Usagi remembered her dream the night before, seeing two children, one resembling each parent. She wouldn't mind having a smaller version of herself running around or maybe even a little Bruce scheming up his next big adventure.

"I don't think that's how Bruce thinks..."

Martha snapped her head back so fast at Usagi's words, it was shocking that she hadn't snapped it. "I've known him longer..."

"But I know my husband better..." Usagi interjected as she smiled and grabbed the picture of Baby Bruce off the table. "He took me away from Japan, just as the war started, saving me from the nuclear zone its become." A tear came down her face as she thought about her family that she left behind.

"Yes, my good boy has a great heart-he took after me, as you can see."

"Bruce hates to see people in pain, and I think that my pain is what attracted him. He wanted to heal me, grapple away the darkness... Just as I wanted to save him."

Martha stood in silence as Usagi spoke.

"Bruce would be happy to adopt if he saw that it could bring us closer... And as much as I want a child, I know he's afraid of failing them." Usagi looked away but giggled to keep from getting emotional in front of this woman. "He would be the greatest father in the world whether its a child brilliant and handsome or if she came out sensitive and a crybaby and looking like me... He would love them both the same."

Martha sighed. "They were right about you." She smiled, a dark laugh escaped her lips.

"About what?"

"I told them that they were wrong... But they wouldn't listen."

Usagi stood up, her eyes cautious but her heart beating fast.

"You really are like a dog, sitting at the queen's throne. My throne. You're no queen, you're barely a Wayne outside of name. Usagi Tsukino Wayne, you don't have much to stand on. Soon, you'll be out this house, and my son will return to his happy self."

Alfred walked in as Martha walked out. The older man waited for the senior citizen to take her leave before walking over to Usagi.

"Master Usagi... Please do not take the Misses words to heart. She has not been herself for awhile."

Usagi nodded as she felt tears cascade down her cheeks. She had to wonder if she really was the reason for Bruce's unhappiness.

Alfred removed his handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped the tears off her face. "Now, now, young Misses, I need you to smile for Bruce when he sees you. He has a surprise for you tonight."

Usagi smiled between sobs. "I had a dream we were going to a show that would change our lives tomorrow night."

Alfred nodded. "If that's true, I hope it'll be for the better, Young Misses Master Usagi."

Usagi laughed and pat him way too hard on the back. "That's too long of a title to use for a friend."

-xx-xx- in another world, we don't belong -xx-xx-

Author's Note: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I was planning three scenes but didn't calculate how long the opening scene would be.

Hopefully, I don't take as long to update again.

Thanks for taking time to read. Please review. Here's a burnt cookie as a gift.