Gotham Tournament [Batman x King of Fighters Harem]

CH2: Little runaway Ninja (prt 5)

The interior of Dante's was pretty much like what one would expect from a five star restaurant. Surrounded by other occupied tables and the chatter of patrons, was seated Bruce and Chizuru, the former having surprisingly arrived on time.

Chizuru discovered Dante's the previous night when she arrived in Gotham and she found the classy ambiance and food much to her liking, preferring it to the restaurants at the Iceberg Grande where she was currently staying. Bruce learned all this from the conversation he had engaged with her since the two of them were seated, much to her chagrin; they were supposed to be talking business, not idle chit chat.

"I gotta ask Chizuru, Why did you insist on a meeting with me personally? Wasn't Lucius acting on my behalf enough?" Bruce finally asked.

She's still annoyed that he used her name so freely but figured it was too late to correct him. Instead, she let out a breath and looked him directly in the eye.

"I sensed you would ask me this but I suppose it's a fair enough question."

She then took a sip of her drink before continuing.

"Like yourself, I come from a powerful and influential family but that alone isn't enough in the ruthless male-dominated business world. I don't expect you of all people to understand, but I believe a ship is only as strong as the person at the helm. My firm wouldn't be what it is if not for my inner strength, foresight and my abilities to read people. Meeting you was our way of truly knowing if Wayne Industries is an ally worth having."

She expected him to be offended and outraged by her words but he wasn't. He leaned forward and interlocked his fingers as his blue eyes locked with her charcoal ones. Though she didn't show it, Chizuru felt a little nervous. It seemed like he was trying to gauge her as much as she was trying to do the same with him.

"What exactly do you mean by 'reading people'?"

Chizuru was caught a little off guard by the question, not expecting him to inquire about that of all things.

"It is as I said. Identifying who to should be allied or defeated is key to building an empire. I judge every person I meet by their being, their nature and their path. Be they client or partner, I prefer to avoid doing business with those who are weak or have sinister natures."

"And you wanted to judge and see if I was any one of those things...through just one meeting?" he asked with an amused smile.

She frowned and wasn't pleased with how he took her lightly.

"One meeting is enough. Our ways are steeped in traditions, You wouldn't understand with your western mind-set."

Bruce nonchalantly took a bite of his food and swallowed before speaking.

"What wouldn't I understand? That you're a miko from the fabled Yata clan?"

Chizuru's eyes immediately widened and her jaw dropped.

"How did you know about that!?"

"I did my homework." He said with a coy smile before taking a sip of water.

When Bruce had first heard that the King of Fighters Tournament was going to hosted in Gotham, he made it a point to find everything about it's history and the reason behind Cobblepot's sudden interest. The information wasn't obtained easily but he had acquainted himself with the background of various fighters as well as particularly the late Rugal Bernstein and the NESTS cartel. It was through this research that he had stumbled upon the legend of Orochi and the three clans who defeated and sealed it away. But honestly, that's all he thought it was: a legend.