Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

Bat-Manga! Standalone Special

    Natalie walks down the bright school hallway of Gotham Academy, a brown bookbag in hand. Other students walk the hallways, as class starts in twenty minutes.

A shorter boy wearing the school uniform runs up to her, limping and hobbling along the way, "Good morning, Natalie-kohai!"

She smiles, and bows, "Good morning, Oswald-senpai."

She slows down her pace so that Oswald can keep up with her. It's so thoughtful of an upperclassman like Oswald to notice her, even if everyone else thinks he's kind of weird.

"Kohai...you know, a new ramen place opened up downtown. Maybe you and I-"

"Nat-chan!" Ed waves to her from their classroom.

"Talk to you later, senpai!" Natalie gives Oswald a little pat on the shoulder before walking off.

Frustrated, Oswald clenches his fists and grinds his teeth, "I will have my kohai..."

"Nat-chan, talking with Oswald-senpai again?" Ed asks, as they sit down in their seats, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are dating."

She shakes her head, "No, that's ridiculous. Senpai is just...well...my senpai. He's an upperclassman I admire, and I'm very grateful we're friends, but it's nothing more than that, believe me."

Just then, a group of girls burst through the classroom door, sparkles in their eyes and their mouths in a constant state of a watermelon-shaped smile.

"Edward-san!" the girls sing in unison as they surround him.

Natalie sits back and crosses her arms as the girls swarm him, almost climbing over one another to get to him.

"I see the Edward Fanclub has gotten to him early today," Renee comments from her chair behind Natalie.

Natalie chuckles, "Yeah, but I have to admit, even though Ed-sama is my friend, I see the appeal. After all, he is the prince of Gotham Academy. Top of the class, tall, quiet, mysterious, that's what they see in him. Me, all I see is the weird Ed I've known since childhood. Although I have to admit: it's quite funny that traits that make you weird and undesirable in one culture make you attractive in another."

"Which begs the question: why haven't you two gone out yet?" Barbara chimes in, leaning forward, her school skirt cut suspiciously short.

"He and I are just friends, it's what I tell him about Oswald-senpai," Natalie clarifies.

Barbara and Renee's expressions go dark, with thick black lines pulling down their heads, "Oswald-san...oh yeah...that weirdo."

In chibi form, Natalie acts oblivious to Barbara and Renee's comment, clapping along to an unknown rhythm, "Oswald-senpai's so nice."

During lunch, Barbara, Renee, Natalie, Crispus, and Ed all eat at the same table.

"I always invite Oswald-senpai to eat with us, but he never wants to. I just...don't know why," Natalie sighs.

"He's just kind of strange like that, I guess," Crispus figures, before going back to eating his lunch.

Natalie takes out a bento box wrapped in a blue gift wrap with umbrellas on them, "Well, I thought I'd surprise him today by making him lunch. Be right back."

She gets up and starts walking out of the school courtyard where the majority of the students eat lunch. She goes into the school building and finds the library. Sliding the door open, Natalie peeks her head in.

"Afternoon, Oswald-senpai," she greets, knowing he'd be the only one in the room.

Oswald looks up from his book, and smiles, "Natalie-kohai!"