บท 13: Because There's a Ghost at Home
Although Stephanie stayed in, she could still communicate with Jason. She had been putting in a lot of effort to learn various things, hoping to be able to help him sooner rather than later. Stephanie: "Batman has a sidekick, how can Red Hood not have one?!"
But for now, everything was still in its initial stages. She needed to arm herself with knowledge first. Jason mentioned that he had someone make some weapons for her according to her preferences, and she would be able to get them soon.
Stephanie couldn't help but feel extremely grateful to Jason. How could he be so good?!
Back to the present, Stephanie kept an eye on the communication channel. Jason would occasionally say something to her, but most of the time, the channel remained quiet.
Her gaze fell on the figure outside the window, and she nervously swallowed. No matter how many times she looked, she still felt anxious. Even though Jason assured her that she could be defeated, she still couldn't shake off her unease.
Cinderella stood outside the window, silently staring at her with lifeless eyes, without repeating the glass-scratching incident to attract attention.
Jason had mentioned that this entity might know something about her past before she lost her memory, which was why she wanted to get close to her. She wanted to know what her life was like before, whether it was good or bad, whether she had many enemies, etc. Mainly, she didn't want to cause trouble for Jason.
"I'll let you in later, but you can't scare me," Stephanie said, cautiously moving to the window, her eyes filled with hesitation and unease.
If Jason were here, he would definitely not agree to Stephanie's dangerous behavior. Even though he knew that the ghost had come for Stephanie, he couldn't be 100% sure that the ghost wouldn't harm her.
Cinderella slowly nodded, which eased Stephanie's unease a little.
She opened the window from the inside, making sure it was secure, then swiftly moved to the couch in the next moment, exposing only her eyes as she observed Cinderella.
Cinderella slowly climbed in, her speed nowhere near as fast as when she was being chased by Jason or when she was killing. It seemed as if she thought that moving slowly would ease the girl's fear.
Gently landing on the ground, she stayed by the window without further movement, just staring at Stephanie. She seemed to want to comfort the girl with some expression, but her stiff facial features didn't cooperate as she expected.
Stephanie trembled and scooted further behind the couch, her voice trembling as she couldn't help but speak up, "Can you stop staring at me?"
The girl's pitiful voice made Cinderella avert her gaze, seemingly puzzled by the fact that she always scared her. She seemed like she wanted to say something, emitting a hoarse sound before closing her mouth.
No longer being stared at directly, Stephanie relaxed a little and explained why she had been waiting for her for so long and then invited her in, "Jason said that ghosts always look scary, so I thought... I thought maybe you could change your appearance a bit. Then maybe I wouldn't be afraid of you."
Cinderella tilted her head, not understanding what she was saying.
Stephanie cautiously took out the things she had prepared earlier, holding a comb in one hand and various hair ties in the other, but she didn't approach her. "Look, would it be better if I did your hair?"
The comb and hair ties were all newly bought. Stephanie had saved up a little pocket money to buy them after thinking about it. She didn't use her own money in case the other party didn't like them.
Cinderella: ...
She didn't refuse, so Stephanie slowly, step by step, moved closer to her. Her heart was pounding rapidly, knowing that she needed to take this step. She couldn't keep being afraid like this; she knew what she was doing. If she wanted to be Jason's sidekick, how could she be afraid of ghosts?!
Yet, when she saw her up close again, Stephanie's heartbeat slowed for a moment. She turned her head, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, then hesitantly opened one eye and stretched out her hand, trying to control her trembling, reaching out to her. The other party obediently didn't move.
Just as the comb was about to touch her hair, she suddenly raised her head, completely losing the previous slow pace. In that instant, her fierce appearance was revealed.
Stephanie froze in place, tears welling up in her eyes. She had promised not to scare her.
The next moment, she felt like the other entity had plenty of time to harm her, but she didn't. So—Stephanie slowly followed Cinderella's gaze and turned her head, her eyes widening.
In the corner of the safe house, there was a pale, translucent-eyed, malicious-looking boy. In the quiet environment, there seemed to be an eerie aura emanating from him, making Stephanie unsure of when he had appeared.
She tried to suppress her trembling body. He was just a little boy, nothing to be afraid of. She tried to reassure herself. But Cinderella didn't see it that way.
She was like a fierce beast whose territory had been invaded, emitting a hoarse threatening sound from her throat.
Stephanie couldn't understand what she was saying, but the boy, also a ghost, seemed to understand. Before Cinderella could rush out, he disappeared. Stephanie thought he ran away because he couldn't defeat her.
Cinderella turned and growled at Stephanie a few times before leaping out of the window.
Stephanie: ...Wait! Don't leave me alone! I'm scared!
She thought about telling Jason, but she knew he was probably busy. As a child who wanted to make adults worry less, she wouldn't disturb him at a time like this.
But... Stephanie glanced at the corner where the boy had appeared, confirming that the front door was intact. She nervously swallowed. He probably wouldn't come back—
Suddenly, a chilling sensation came from her right hand. Stephanie stiffened and turned her head, as if she could hear her neck making a cracking sound. The boy she thought had left was standing beside her, staring at her with strange dark circles under his eyes.
Stephanie: ?!
With a whoosh, she jumped out of the window.
...
Jumping out the window was easy and effortless for Stephanie. After landing lightly, she looked up at the window on the third floor, where the ghostly boy was staring at her.
Stephanie: ...
Running away was impossible. She assessed the direction and lifted her legs to run.
After running far away, Stephanie's fear subsided, and her intelligence took over. Since the boy was still there and hadn't left, why did Cinderella leave? It seemed like she was still angry?
Why did the boy want to find her? Stephanie didn't believe he was coincidentally like Cinderella. Such coincidences didn't exist in the world.
After stopping, Stephanie looked around warily. Not seeing the eerie figure, she relaxed slightly.
Meanwhile, the boy who had caught her attention didn't immediately chase after her. Instead, he entered other houses. This feeling was novel to him. He stood in the corner, and everyone he encountered let out frightened screams without exception.
After scaring everyone in the vicinity, the boy left satisfied.
"Ahh! A ghost!"
"Ahh! What is that?!"
Countless terrified voices rang out in the dead of night, gradually getting closer to Stephanie. Her keen hearing couldn't ignore these unusual noises, and her expression was tense.
She didn't understand the reason for the screams and curses, but her intuition told her it was the boy. Only children were so mischievous. Cinderella had appeared several times but never disturbed other people's homes. Perhaps this was what adults... or ghosts, were like—more stable.
Gotham at midnight seemed perfect for ghosts in Stephanie's eyes, even though she was unwilling to encounter such things.
She took a few steps back, intending to leave, but bumped into something. Turning her head, she saw a person in uniform. Looking up, she saw someone wearing a helmet, who was looking down at her.
His eyes were blocked by something white, and Stephanie couldn't see his expression, but from the tightness of his lips, she could tell he was serious.
Batman: ...
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Batman's throaty voice softened as much as possible. Facing a child, he didn't want to appear too serious.
He squatted down, trying to meet the girl's eyes. Despite the dim light, Stephanie's Asian features were still clear, and her white hair was very eye-catching. He took out a lollipop from his utility belt as an apology.
The girl, with tears in her eyes, looked at him warily, then at the candy in his hand, then at the smile on his lips.
Stephanie had seen Batman after turning into a bird. Most of the time, he was chasing after Jason and fighting him, which made him seem fierce and despicable. She didn't have much affection for this guy.
But he didn't know her and gave her candy.
Stephanie cautiously took it and said softly, "Thank you."
The soft, trembling childish voice with a hint of vulnerability melted Batman's heart. The girl was still clad in her home clothes, with slippers on her feet. This was the East District; how could a little girl be wandering around alone at night? She seemed nervous and somewhat frightened.
"What's keeping you from going home? Where are your family?" Batman inquired.
Stephanie remained expressionless, but her eyes betrayed her nervousness. "He's out working. I'm alone at home," she replied.
Gently, Batman reached out and touched her head, causing her to flinch. She was still afraid. "Don't be scared. I won't hurt you. Do you know who I am?" he comforted.
With a mouthful of sweet candy, Stephanie's nervousness had somewhat subsided. She nodded faintly and replied in a soft voice, "Batman."
"So, can I take you home?" he asked.
Stephanie thought of the ghost that appeared at her house and shook her head abruptly. "No, no," she insisted.
"Why not?" Batman inquired.
"Because..." Stephanie nervously interjected, "...there's a ghost at home."
Batman: ???
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