Author Notes:
This story is sort of like the manga and anime blended together. And even though I usually don't put ages to the characters, I did for this story. So this are how old they are:
Goemon: 16
Fujiko: 18
Lupin: 23
Jigen: 27
Zenigata: 34
This story will be slow in updating. Sorry. ^^;
Chapter 1
The ticking of the grandfather clock echoed through the darkened room. The large behemoth towered over the contents of the den, as if staying true to it's name and watching over all in the large space.
Through the window came a figure, dressed head to toe in black. The scrawny form took a second to evaluate their surroundings before racing forward.
The person stood in front of the clock and stared up at it. Reaching up, they removed the mask they wore, revealing a young man with short cut black hair, his brown eyes piercing with a look of strong determination.
His lips curled into a smirk, wiggling his fingers as he preceded to open the front panel of the clock, exposing the safe inside.
Pressing an ear to the cold steel, the man turned the dial slowly, listening for the slightest sounds of the mechanism unlocking. Getting three of these sounds he stepped back, admiring his work.
Wasting enough time he opened the heavy thick door, reaching in to a snap and a very painful feeling to his hand, pulling it out to see a mouse trap secured tightly on his fingers.
From behind him came a female cackle, the man yanking the trap off and spinning around, staring at the shadow in the corner.
"Looks like you were slow again, Lupin," the female taunted him as she walked out from the shadows.
"You," Lupin gasped, staring at her beautiful figure, the skin tight outfit she was wearing making it very easy to see her every curve.
"Maybe next time, huh?" she teased, tossing him the gaudy statue that the safe had held, the item not worth much and too ugly for her to keep.
Lupin caught the statue with tender fingers, careful not to drop it. When he looked up the woman was gone, not seconds after a high pitched alarm filled the air.
Lupin gasped, looking back as the door burst open and the lights came on. With no where else to go to escape the spray of bullets Lupin dove out the open window he had entered from, happy he didn't have to suffer injuries from jumping through a pane of glass.
Bullets peppering the ground around him, Lupin ran as fast as he could, using a large tree to get over the wall surrounding the estate.
'That woman...' he thought as he ran away from the sounds of yelling and gunshots.
In the wooded area surrounding the estates large acreage stood two men. One was dressed in a western style suit, his face containing a neatly trimmed beard and the fedora on his head concealing his eyes in shadow. The other man was Japanese and dressed in traditional samurai attire. In his left hand he held a sheathed sword.
Both stood by a black sports car, the Japanese man with his eyes closed while the other would occasionally glance around him.
"So..." the bearded man said as he attempted once again to start up some kind of conversation. It was his third such attempt and he had been unsuccessful every time.
The Japanese man said nothing, keeping his eyes closed and his body still.
The bearded man sighed, pulling a cigarette from the pack in his inside jacket pocket and sticking it between his lips.
He struck a match on a nearby rock and brought it to the end of the cigarette when he froze.
The Japanese man suddenly let out a quick yell, unsheathing his sword and waving it quickly in front of him. At his feet fell what was left of a grasshopper, it's back leg twitching as the man sheathed his sword and resumed his position.
"That... was fucking disturbing," the bearded man said, staring at the carcass as he lit his cigarette.
"I find it more disturbing your smoking habits, Jigen," the Japanese man said as he opened his eyes and glared towards the other man.
The man addressed as Jigen scoffed as he blew out a puff of smoke. "Funny, coming from a man in a dress," he muttered.
"What did you say?" the samurai demanded.
"I said you wear a dress," Jigen yelled, grinning as the Japanese man stepped up and got in his face.
"He's helpful, Goemon," Lupin said as he walked out of the trees and into the clearing. "Don't kill him."
Goemon, the samurai, glared at Lupin and stepped back.
"And you," Lupin said as he glanced at Jigen. "Stop antagonizing him."
"Not my fault," Jigen shrugged. "I already told you I don't babysit."
He smirked at Goemon, who stiffened up and gripped his sword tighter.
"So, what'd you get?" Jigen asked Lupin, who was already in the car.
Jigen took the passenger seat while Goemon got stuck sitting in the back.
"Nothing," Lupin said with a smile. "The safe was empty."
Jigen stared at him suspiciously. "I've worked with you for years. Long enough to know you're hiding something."
Lupin shrugged and sighed, slumping in the seat and staring off in front of him. "Someone beat me to it. All I got was some cheap ass statue."
"Someone beat you to the safe?" Jigen laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
Lupin rolled his eyes over at Jigen. "It was that woman again."
"What woman?" Jigen asked.
"The one who beat me to museum job and the bank job and kept me from stealing every damn thing I've had my sights on this whole damn month," Lupin spat. "Who the hell do you think I'm referring to?"
"Okay," Jigen said, backing off.
"She's good," Lupin sighed. "And she's beautiful."
"Fuck," Jigen mumbled.
"I want to know her better. Hey guys, what do you think of her joining our team?"
"No women," Jigen answered.
"I agree with Jigen," Goemon answered. "She will only slow us down."
"Not this woman," Lupin said with a grin as he revved the engine and sped off.
A richly dressed man sat alone at a table, delicately cutting up his rare steak into bite size pieces, popping one piece in his mouth and chewing it thoroughly until washing it down with a sip of wine.
He glanced up when one of the waiters walked towards him.
"An Inspector Zenigata here to see you, sir," the waiter whispered into the man's ear.
"Yes, bring him over."
"Yes, sir."
The waiter rushed off, out of sight for a few seconds before leading the Inspector to the table.
"Please, Inspector. Sit down." The man motioned to the chair across from him.
Inspector Zenigata, dressed in a dark brown suit with a tan trench coat over that and a brown fedora on his head, looked down at the chair. Removing his hat, he pulled out the chair and sat down, placing his hat on his lap as he stared across the table at the man.
"Can I get you something to eat?" the man asked.
"I'm just hear to listen to your problem," Zenigata answered, strict protocol not allowing him to enjoy a nice meal while on the job.
'Such professionalism,' the man mused. He cleared his throat, reaching inside of his jacket with his right hand and pulling out a small scrap of paper, setting it on the table and sliding it towards the inspector.
Zenigata watched the paper carefully, grabbing it once the man had removed his hand. "What is this?" he asked as he read what was on the note.
"I would call it a threat," the man said as he straightened out, clenching the last bite of steak in his teeth and pulling it gently off the fork.
Zenigata ignored the man as he chewed his dinner. "Mine Fujiko," he muttered, knowing that name well. "You have nothing to worry about," he told the man as he set the note down. "Your possessions will be safe under my watch."
"I am pleased to hear that, Inspector," the man said as he looked up as Zenigata stood.
Zenigata nodded to the man before hurrying off.
"Ready?" Lupin asked as he looked at his partners.
Both said nothing, replying only with a quick nod.
A smirk crept across Lupin's face as he slapped his hands together. "Let's get inside and grab that painting."
Lupin ran off and jumped up towards the tall brick wall, grasping the top and pulling himself over.
Jigen followed, doing the same as Lupin while Goemon was more agile and was able to clear the wall.
The three ran in the shadows towards the large mansion, the ominous structure looming over them as they got closer.
Pressing their backs against the mansions walls, Lupin motioned Goemon ahead.
Goemon nodded, jumping into the air and slicing a large hole into the side of the mansion, able to avoid the large pieces of stucco, wood and drywall and sheath his sword before his feet once again touched the dampened ground.
"Show off," Jigen muttered under his breath as the three made their way through the hole.
The interior of the mansion was dark and silent, Lupin fitting on a pair of night vision goggles and leading the others down the maze of hallways.
"This is it," Lupin whispered as he stood in front of a large and heavy wood door, his hand slowly moving towards the knob when a clicking sound from above made the three freeze and look up as a large metal cage fell down on top of them.
"What the hell is this?" Jigen spat in anger.
Lupin shrugged as he gripped firmly the bars in his hands.
A laughter from the darkness echoed throughout the hallway, the three watching as a figure made it's way towards them.
Zenigata got to the cage, his laughter stopping as he stared at the men inside the cage. "Who the hell are you?" he yelled in anger.
"I tire of this," Goemon said, pulling out his sword and cutting the cage to pieces.
"See?" Lupin said with a grin to Jigen. "Told you he was useful." He patted the man on the shoulder as he passed him.
"Hey, wait a second!" Zenigata yelled as the three started to walk off. "Stop right there!"
"As if we're going to listen to you, you annoying old man," Lupin said with a roll of his eyes.
Zenigata growled at the defiance, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a pair of handcuffs, flinging them at Lupin.
Acting with no hesitation, Jigen reached back and grabbed his gun, blasting the cuffs in half, the loud gunshot causing the mansions alarm to enact.
"Nice way to use your head," Goemon said, not very amused at the gunman's move.
"Yeah, well I didn't see you doing anything," Jigen said in return.
"This isn't the time!" Lupin yelled, glancing down the hall to see figures running towards them. "Come on!" He reached in his jacket and pulled out some smoke bombs, throwing them down and obscuring them in a white fog.
The cops rushing them stopped and blocked their face from the smoke, closing their eyes as they coughed out what they couldn't help but inhale.
"Hey, Lupin," Jigen said as the three ran down dark halls. "You know that guy?"
"The cop? Never seen him before," Lupin shrugged. "Goemon?"
Goemon shook his head, the other two having to guess what his answer was.
"Speak up, Goe- Oof!" Lupin fell to the ground, rubbing his chest as he looked across from him, a figure struggling to get to their feet as they moaned.
"Watch where you're going!" the person yelled.
"It's you," Lupin said in shock, standing and staring at the woman who continued to ruin his plans.
"Lupin?" The woman looked at him and laughed. "Well, I guess I should thank you for distracting the cops, giving me enough time to steal this painting. I hope you don't mind too much if I take it?"
Jigen and Goemon glared at the woman as she smiled at them and ran off. "Behind you," she called out.
Jigen and Goemon glanced behind them, a small group of cops closing in on them.
"Damn it..." Lupin mumbled, leading the way as the three ran from their pursuers.
A close escape and a quiet car ride later, the three were back at the old apartment building they used for their hideout.
Goemon had gone to bed after hours of meditation, Jigen having passed out on the couch after a bottle of scotch.
Lupin was the still awake, however, standing on the balcony with a lit cigarette hanging gently from his lips as his eyes gazed off at the stars above.
His mind only thought of that woman. Who was she? What was her name? Where was she right now? Lupin knew that he had to get the answers, that he had to get closer to her. "Somehow... I'll find you."
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the woman laid in bed, her head turned towards the window as her eyes gazed off into the distance. The city lights twinkled and danced as her mind wandered. "Lupin... may we meet again," she smiled, blowing a kiss towards the window before closing her eyes and letting sleep take over.