Thorns in the Ruins

Ririko followed Jerome to the amusement park outside the Castle.

The abandoned rides lay lifeless in the park, speckled with rust and covered in fallen leaves and bird droppings.

Ririko asked Jerome, "Where do we start our date?"

Jerome walked ahead, still moving his arm and leg on the same side together, like a poorly wound puppet struggling to move forward.

He stopped in front of a carousel.

Jerome turned around and pointed at a horse with peeling paint. "Sit here."

Ririko looked at the dilapidated carousel. "It doesn't even move. What's the point of sitting on it?"

Jerome tilted his head and patiently explained, "People always ride carousels on dates on TV."

Ririko sighed, chose a little pony, and sat on it sidesaddle.

The tulle of her pink princess dress puffed up as she sat down, like a weightless pink bubble.

She rested her hand on the horse's painted neck, ready for a carousel she knew wouldn't start.

Jerome chose a black wooden horse and sat down.

Despite its peeling paint, he looked perfectly at home on it. His slender frame looked especially upright on the horse's back, his legs hanging down on either side of its belly like a knight ready to ride into battle.

Several members of the Clown Army strained beside them, pushing the carousel into motion.

The platform began to turn slowly. Ririko rose and fell with the little pony, the breeze brushing her cheeks. Her long hair streamed behind her, and her tulle skirt swayed gently.

She looked at Jerome sitting on that tall black horse, and for a moment, she thought the man before her actually looked rather appealing.

He wasn't a gentleman like Bruce, born and bred in privilege. He was a thorn bush that had grown wild through a crack in the ruins, somehow miraculously sprouting a little flower bud.

Heartless and cruel, yet strangely captivating.

Her gaze fell on his left hand holding the wooden horse. The skin was wrinkled, like flesh that had healed after a burn.

"What happened to your hand?" she asked Jerome casually.

Jerome looked down at his hand, as though he, too, had only just noticed the scars on it.

Then a smile of "sudden realization" appeared on his face, and he curled his lips as he said, "It happened when I was little, living with my uncle. He was making soup."

Ririko asked, "Did he accidentally spill soup on your hand?"

Jerome kept smiling, but his eyes briefly turned cold.

"He used my hand to make soup."

The carousel kept turning, but the air seemed to drop several degrees.

They really were birds of a feather.

After quietly listening to his childhood story, Ririko said flatly, "That soup must have tasted awful."

Jerome started chuckling again.

"It did." He spoke in a breathy whisper, like a mischievous child sharing a secret. "Because I made soup out of him, too."

Ririko could imagine that pot of soup being cooked until even the bones dissolved, with a layer of black char burnt onto the bottom.

The carousel stopped.

The members of the Clown Army were drenched in sweat. Only when Jerome was satisfied did they finally stop pushing.

Ririko slid off the little pony, wondering whether Selina had rescued the hostage yet.

She needed to buy her more time.

She turned around and said to Jerome, "We... could ride the Ferris wheel."

Jerome's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Ririko to invite him onto the Ferris wheel.

[Current Infatuation Value: 35/100]

His lips moved, a little uncertain. "The Ferris wheel..."

Ririko gave him a sidelong look. "Is there a problem?"

Jerome quickly shook his head. "No, no."

They walked toward the Ferris wheel.

They climbed into a Ferris wheel cabin with a broken window.

Miraculously, the Ferris wheel still had power. A member of the Clown Army pushed up the red switch lever.

A sharp grinding noise came from the joint between the chain and the suspension arm, and then the wheel shakily began inching upward.

Jerome sat opposite Ririko, shifting his backside around on the seat as though everything felt new to him.

"You've never ridden a Ferris wheel?"

Ririko asked him.

"Never."

"Why?" Even when she hadn't had much money, she had still gone to amusement parks. One admission ticket let you go on all the rides, making it the most affordable form of entertainment.

"Ferris wheels aren't exciting," Jerome said, as though recalling something from long ago. "Mom said they were for girls, too."

Ririko asked, "Did your mother take you to amusement parks?"

"She brought me along when she went on dates with other men." A hint of pride crept into his voice. "You get a discount if you bring a kid."

Seeing how unconcerned he seemed about being used, Ririko ventured a question:

"Did you make soup out of your mother's boyfriend, too?"

Jerome's expression instantly shifted from reminiscing about his broken childhood to a crazed grin.

"I tied him to the roller coaster tracks, and then the roller coaster here broke." He could barely contain his delighted grin. "Otherwise, we could've ridden it tonight."

Ririko decided she really shouldn't ask about his past.

His stories always started as tragedies and ended as horror films, without any transition in between. They were utterly tiresome.

The Ferris wheel continued its slow rotation. When their cabin reached the highest point, Gotham's night sky came into view.

As terrible as the city was, from up here, its spread of lights was as enchanting as a jewelry box.

She turned back, her gaze meeting Jerome's amber eyes. They stared at each other in that confined space, just like a real couple on a date.

[Current Infatuation Value: 40/100]

Ririko's heart lurched.

She shifted in her seat, moving her gaze from his face to the gray sky outside the window.

"Do you have any happy stories to share... ones where nobody dies?"

Jerome's dewy eyes never left her face.

"Happy stories... they're all about you."

This is bad, Ririko thought.

That damn redhead has really fallen for me.

Although Jerome had a deeply wounded air when he was docile, he truly went insane when he snapped, wanting to play murder games every day.

This wasn't the life she wanted. She didn't want to spend her whole life surrounded by bombs and corpses.

Unless... he could stay this rational and clearheaded all the time... with those looks thrown in, he'd be quite the catch.

The Ferris wheel completed a full rotation and stopped at the bottom. A member of the Clown Army pulled their door open from outside.

Ririko's heels landed on the rusty metal platform, and Jerome followed behind her.

"There's a fun ride over there." Jerome pointed toward an open area not far away.

Ririko looked at the pirate ship. Presumably, he would make the Clown Army line up and push it, too.

Imagining that ridiculous scene, Ririko couldn't muster much enthusiasm.

She was about to suggest finding somewhere to sit and talk when a member of the Clown Army approached Jerome and whispered a few words into his ear.

Ririko pricked up her ears, faintly catching "Mr. E" and "coming over"...

Jerome frowned.

He glanced at Ririko and pulled a handgun from his pocket.

"Can't you see I'm on a date?"

He raised his hand and shot the man dead.

Two other members of the Clown Army approached without expression. One took the arms and the other the feet, efficiently dragging the still-twitching body away.

"Why don't you go take care of things first? We can carry on with our date afterward."

She thought that would let her stall for a little longer.

Jerome shoved the gun back into his pocket and said coldly, "He just wants to kill Bruce... but I'm not done playing yet."

Ririko's heart gave a violent thump in her chest.

Fortunately, she'd asked. Otherwise, her and Selina's plan to rescue the hostage would have been exposed.