Parenting, Batman-style

Aside from his usual playboy act in high society to conceal his identity, this was the first time Bruce had faced a sweet, delicate little girl who wheedled and pouted, all on his own.

Yes, he knew perfectly well that Miaomiao only looked fragile. A girl who could dismantle a Batsuit with her bare hands could hardly be called "weak and helpless." Her appearance was simply so deceptive that it made people instinctively overlook her tremendous strength.

Fortunately, Batman's will was firm enough that appearances would not easily fool him.

"All right, just this once. You may be very strong, but that doesn't mean everything is safe. You need to learn how to protect yourself."

"Okay, I'll remember." The girl nodded obediently. "Then will you teach me?"

"...It would be my pleasure."

If anyone else from Wayne Manor had seen Bruce like this, they would certainly have doubted their own eyes-

What the hell? Since when had the stubborn, bad-tempered Old Bat become so accommodating?

Ahem. This specifically referred to Bruce's unfortunate children.

In defending his city, Batman might have been excessively obsessive and uncompromising. But a man who gave up his life of extravagant indulgence as the city's richest man to protect others, spending his days amid danger and darkness and enduring no shortage of slander, surely had a soft heart deep down.

On this deserted island, forced to set aside all his burdens, Bruce simply could not maintain his usual demeanor in front of this little mermaid, so powerful yet so innocent, who trusted him completely.

Neither the frivolous, womanizing fool of a billionaire who threw money around nor the dark, unyielding bat monster who embodied fear.

Bruce sighed.

Oh, well. She's still a child. After going through something so terrible, she survived and still managed to remain innocent, cheerful, sweet, and sensible, without a trace of gloom. That's already an extraordinary thing. What's wrong with letting her wheedle a little?

Bruce set the firewood he had gathered beside the campfire and sat down near Miaomiao. The orange-red flames reflected in his steel-blue eyes, lending a touch of warmth to their rather cold color.

"Miaomiao." Bruce considered his phrasing, trying to find words that would be as unlikely as possible to stir up memories of what she had endured. "Do you have any memories of living in the outside world?"

"The outside world?" Miaomiao blinked, asking freely when she did not understand. "Do you mean human society?"

"Yes," Bruce confirmed. "Do you remember anything? Your parents or family, for example?"

"No, I've never really had any contact with human society. Everything I know about it came from the elders. As for parents, we were all raised together by the elders. We don't have parents."

Merfolk lived communally, and their race did not reproduce easily. After birth, little merfolk were raised and taught together by designated caretakers. They had no concept of birth parents.

But to Bruce, those words meant something entirely different.

Just as I thought. Miaomiao was the product of human embryo experiments in an illegal laboratory. She's never seen actual human society and doesn't even have basic everyday knowledge. Any child a few years old knows touching fire will hurt, but Miaomiao doesn't even know that.

Elders...

Is that what those demons in human skin call themselves? A way to deceive these innocent lives who know nothing?

Bruce felt still more compassion for the girl.

"Miaomiao, look."

Bruce picked up a burning branch from the fire, carefully keeping it at a safe distance from the girl.

"This is fire." Bruce spoke gently and patiently, as though teaching a young child who knew no better. "Fire is both useful and dangerous. It's very hot, so it can provide heat to warm our bodies and help us cook, making food tastier and its nutrients easier to absorb. But if we don't control it properly, fire can also hurt us and cause disasters..."

"Tasty food?"

Miaomiao's eyes lit up. That was the only part she had heard.

Before Bruce could say anything else, Miaomiao slapped her tail against the ground and plunged into the sea. When she emerged a short while later, she held two fish that were still writhing desperately.

"Bruce!"

Miaomiao held the fish out to Bruce. Though she said nothing more, her eyes brimmed with longing for delicious food.

Batman, so decisive and ruthless in battle, fell silent for a moment. Finally, he sighed and wordlessly fished a palm-sized shell from his shirt pocket. He had found it while gathering firewood. It was hard enough, with sharp edges, and a little grinding would allow it to serve as a makeshift knife.

Bruce gutted the fish, scraped off its scales, removed its gills, and skewered it on a relatively straight branch before setting it beside the campfire to roast.

Of course, he had not forgotten what he had been doing. He skewered the other fish on a branch as well and tossed it straight into the fire.

After a burst of crackling, Bruce used a branch to rake the fish out of the fire and held it out to Miaomiao.

"See?" Bruce pointed at the blackened fish. "This is what happens if you get too close to fire. Burns are very painful and dangerous."

Miaomiao stared at the pitch-black fish, which smelled bitter and burnt and was shedding charred flakes. She swallowed and nodded repeatedly. "I'll remember! I'll be good, and I absolutely won't go near the fire! I swear!"

Only after Bruce was certain he saw genuine seriousness in the girl's eyes did he relax.

Because Miaomiao had been in a hurry this time, the fish she had caught were not particularly large. Bruce turned the roasting fish every so often, and soon it was cooked.

"Here, give it a try. Be careful, it's hot."

"Mm-hmm."

With her eyes fixed on the roasted fish, Miaomiao answered absently, then eagerly reached out with her "hungriest" hand.

"Hiss-"

As expected, Miaomiao, who had never eaten hot food before, burned her little paw on the freshly roasted fish. Tears instantly welled in her eyes as she blew on her fingers.

Bruce frowned, his voice turning a little cold. "You were too impatient. You forgot my warning."

The moment the words left his mouth, Bruce regretted them a little.

All his experience with children came from his own, but their circumstances were rather unusual. Four children currently lived in the Wayne Family's ancestral manor. Aside from his youngest son, Damian Wayne, who was his biological child, the other three were adopted sons. They were not merely the children of Bruce Wayne, Gotham's richest man, but also the assistants of Batman, the Dark Knight.

And as everyone knew, darling Bruce could utter the sweetest, most moving words of love in the world, while the obsessive Batman could produce only cold prohibitions and thoroughly intimidating threats.

None of the four children had been particularly young when they came to Bruce, and their personalities had already taken shape. They could be described as...

Distinctive, each in his own way.

Faced with their old man's uncompromising commands and criticism, they generally either gave in reluctantly and resentfully or argued back, meeting him head-on.

So, although the members of the Bat Family unquestionably loved their family, as for those parent-child and sibling relationships...

Heh heh. ㄟ(▔ -▔)ㄏ

And now, with years of habit having become second nature, Bruce had unconsciously launched into his "Batman-style lecture" at Miaomiao, whom he had only recently met.