Light Hawk, Dark Knight

*Batman and any associated characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics, 
part of Warner Bros., part of Time Warner, now part of AOL or something (sigh).  
**Tenchi Universe and all associated characters are trademark and copyright AIC 
* Pioneer LDC.  I know I did not create these characters, I'm simply not that 
brilliant.  This work was not done for profit, only for fun, a cheap thrill, and 
to see whether or not I possess any writing talent at all.

Note:  Two slashes will surround a character's thoughts, a solid line indicates 
a scene or setting change. 

"Part 1 - Encounter"

Batman ran and jumped through the woods, navigating his way with a skill and 
coordination that only he could manage.  Though basically a human being, most 
would be shocked to see how fast he was making his way, considering he was 
moving not on the ground but through the trees.  \\I'm closing in on the source 
of that reading//, he thought, \\less than 200 meters now.//  

Little did the Batman know that he was not alone in those woods.  Katsuhito 
Masaki had been on his way to the Masaki house from the family shrine and had 
decided to take a rather roundabout route, when he sensed him coming.  Using 
centuries of training, Katsuhito was able to keep himself concealed as the 
Batman passed him within fifty feet of his position.  He only caught a brief 
glimpse of Batman, but what he saw immediately put him on guard.  \\Some sort of 
demon, from the looks of it//, he thought.  Due to the lack of light and 
Batman's cape, he was unable to see the part of the Dark Knight's face that is 
visible below his cowl.  He did not think any human could move in such a way 
anyway.  And then there was the fact that it was headed in the direction of his 
family's house.

Katsuhito quickly set off himself, travelling on the ground at as fast a pace as 
he could.  He was very familiar with these woods, and knew, or at least hoped, 
he could cut off this being before it got to the house, assuming it would divert 
its path around the lake.  If it could fly, it probably would have just flown 
over the woods.  The Batman would no doubt have been impressed with Katsuhito's 
quick thinking and reasoning.  Soon, however, he would find himself impressed by 
the man's fighting skill as well.

Presently, Batman was only 80 or so meters from the house, and only 30 from the 
edge of the woods.  He soon began to make out the lake at the woods' edge, and 
the large tree growing out of it.  \\Have to divert course a bit, shorter around 
to the left.//  This was exactly the direction Katsuhito knew he would take.

Having gone on a steeply diagonal path and detouring around the lake, Batman 
came to a stop in a tree about 5 meters before the woods gave way to the open 
field.  He could clearly see the house from here, and thought he could hear 
shouting voices drifting out from it.  \\Interesting,// he thought, checking the 
device he had been using to track the energy reading,\\unless my instrument is 
malfunctioning, that house is very close to the source of the energy disturbance 
I detected.//

Mere seconds after Batman had stopped in the tree close to the edge of the 
woods, Katsuhito had come racing up on his own path.  He just spotted the 
irregular shape in the trees about thirty feet in front of him and came to a 
sudden stop.  \\That was close, if I'd have kept going I no doubt would have 
lost the element of surprise.//  From his angle, the elderly-looking warrior 
could not see what Batman was doing.  \\I almost cannot believe it got here 
before me, if it had not stopped it would have gotten to the house before I 
could warn anyone.  Whatever it is, it must be incredibly fast.//  Soon he would 
learn just how fast the Batman was.  That did not, however, halt his resolve to 
confront the creature before it reached the house.  Slowly, and as quietly as he 
could manage, he advanced towards the creature in the tree ahead of him.

It was good for Katsuhito that he did not take his eyes off of the Batman even 
once, for Batman had sensed his approach and would have used that opportunity to 
get the drop on him.  As skilled a fighter as he was, Katsuhito would not have 
lasted very long had Batman been able to attack from an unseen quarter.  
\\Whoever it is, they're good,// thought the Batman as he feigned not noticing 
Katsuhito's approach, \\almost didn't pick up their approach.//  The Batman 
remained hunched in the tree, but every muscle was poised for when it would be 
the right moment to strike.  \\Almost.,// thought both of them, nearly 
simultaneously, as the horizontal distance between them closed to twelve feet.

Batman was perched on branch about nine feet off of the ground.  Katsuhito drew 
his wooden practice-sword as silently as possible, preparing to make a leaping 
strike.  When he had closed to within 10 feet he tensed for the attack, assuming 
(or hoping) that the creature in the tree had not yet detected. 

Katsuhito stealthily sprinted forward, deciding against a battle cry.  When he 
was just six feet away he sprang forwards and upwards, bringing his weapon 
around for a strike.  Strangely, the creature had stilled not moved.  Then, 
suddenly, it did, and his foe moved so quickly that he temporarily left 
Katsuhito's field of vision.  \\I see serious problems ahead,// he thought while 
still in midair.  Regaining his composure, the Juraian warrior landed and 
quickly whirled to face his opponent.

When the Batman sensed the time was right, he had sprung upwards and backwards 
off of the branch, flipping over in midair and landing on his feet deftly.  He 
had managed to arc up over his attacker's weapon-strike.  It had been close, 
however.  \\I could be in for a battle,// he thought to himself.  Though it 
appeared his enemy was a man of approximately sixty, the Batman was wise enough 
not to let appearances be deceiving.  He had no idea who this man was or why he 
had attacked him.  \\From the look in his eyes, I can tell he's determined to 
stop me from getting to that house.//  \\It may be his home, in which case I 
could forgive his aggressiveness; or it could be that he's trying to keep me 
from investigating whatever is going on out here.//

For his part, Katsuhito could still not make out the part of Batman's face 
visible under his mask due to the relative lack of light, shadows from the 
trees, and Batman's cape.  A demon could easily disguise itself and pass for 
human, so it may not have mattered anyway.  What he could not be expected to 
take into account was a man who disguised himself as a demon.   

There were no questions, no words at all passed between the two as they stared 
each other down.  The eerie white slits of the Batman's face and the steel-like 
gaze of Katsuhito Masaki from behind the frames of his spectacles.  For several 
seconds, neither moved.  Then, almost simultaneously, both moved with lightning 
speed channeled into vicious offense against the other.  

_______________________________________________________________________


Tenchi Masaki suddenly sat bolt upright in his chair.  He seemed sure of what he 
had just sensed, somehow, in his mind.  \\Grampa?  Is he in trouble?//  "What's 
wrong Tenchi?" asked a small girl with blue hair who looked to be about seven 
years old.  "Sasami, I. I think my grandfather may be in danger!" he replied.  
"Huh?  How?" she asked, slightly puzzled.  "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure 
he's nearby, and he's in some sort of struggle!  Quick, we have to try and round 
up the others and help him!"  "O-Okay, Tenchi," she replied, and took off, 
yelling out different people's names.  Tenchi looked down for a moment at the 
game they had been playing, then his head snapped up and he thought fiercely, 
\\don't worry Grampa; we're coming to help.//  \\If you've been hurt then 
whoever is responsible is going to pay!//

________________________________________________________________________

Their battle had carried them very close to the edge of the woods.  Batman, 
slightly winded after just the first three minutes, thought, \\he's good all 
right.//  \\I've never seen this style of fighting before.//
	
Katsuhito was significantly winded, and was thinking much the same thing.  He 
knew he was not going to win, but was determined to try his best to prevent this 
intruder from hurting his family.  He rushed forward with his stick, feinted, 
then quickly hopped to the left and swung low.  The Batman, however, was ready, 
and leapt over the strike while simultaneously sending a kick at his opponent.  
Katsuhito got his other arm up, but was still hit hard and knocked back 
slightly.  He came forward again, this time appearing to go low again, then 
suddenly thrusting his weapon upwards towards his enemy's chin.  Batman moved 
back slightly and started to bring his arm down, intending to deliver a chop to 
his foe's neck in an attempt to hit the pressure point.  Just before impact, 
though, Katsuhito swiftly shifted his wooden sword and thrust forward, bring the 
heavier side into the Dark Knight's mid-section as hard as he could.  
Unfortunately for Katsuhito, while this prevented Batman's chop from landing, he 
quickly recovered and took the 
opportunity to grab the stick and pull Katsuhito forward.  Before he could let 
go of the 
stick, Batman used his opponent's own momentum against him and drove his elbow 
and forearm into the side of Katsuhito's head.  The older man crumpled to the 
ground.  \\I'm sorry, old-timer,// thought the Batman as he knelt next to the 
man, \\but somehow I think you'll recover alright, you proved yourself to be 
tougher than that.//  He checked the man's pulse and breathing and was relieved 
to find them normal - for an unconscious person at least - and stood.  
	
Suddenly, Batman noticed that he was standing just outside the tree line, at the 
edge of the field that led up to the house he had seen earlier.  Before he turn 
to look at the house, though, he heard a young voice call out.
	
"Whoever or whatever you are, you'd better hope my Grandfather is okay, or we'll 
be glad to do worse harm to you!"  When Batman had fully turned, he found 
himself looking at one of the strangest groups of people he had ever seen in his 
life.

End Part One

Coming up in Part Two:  

The inevitable, generic throw down between the crossover characters.  Does 
Batman have a chance against Tenchi and crew (well he did beat 5 of those aliens 
who 
were as powerful as Superman that one time, but I digress), or will he go down 
for the 
count and end up stuck in a lab or something (hint, hint)?  More importantly, 
what the 
heck is he doing there anyway?  These questions will be (hopefully) answered in 
Part 
Two: Explanations.  I have a feeling that it will be significantly longer than 
Part One.  
Feel free to send comments to mcw2879@students.ssu.edu.  Please DO NOT send 
angry 
letters or viruses if Katsuhito is your favorite character.  He's one of my 
favorite 
characters on the show, but if he had KO'd Batman then what the hell would've 
happened after that?  Anyway, if I screwed anything up with the Tenchi side of 
things, 
then tell me since not as familiar with that group as I am with Bats.