This chapter was going to have a back story on the school, but I decided to cut it out, as it seemed to screw up the flow of things. I've been too busy wasting my time with games and crap to watch Haunted, which makes me sad, and also leaves me with no inspiration for this story, so hopefully this chapter, along with the last one, fits together with the first two chapters, mainly the first. And the ending skips around a lot, but it was one of those "I know what I want to write, but don't know how to write it" things. xP
My iced tea smells that that marshmallow fish bait. =| ... I miss fishing.
Chapter Four - Darkness
Lupin pushed himself to continue on, a slight smile forming on his lips as he found the stairs to the first floor. Grabbing the rail he began to pull his way up.
It wasn't long before he became light headed. On the fifth step he fainted, falling back and tumbling down the stairs.
Isabelle appeared before him, standing and staring down at his worn and beaten body. With an impish giggle she faded.
...
Goemon walked quickly down the dark halls, determined to find his friend.
He only had positive thoughts, pushing all the negative ones away. Although the fact that he had given up on Lupin still bothered him.
"I will find both of them," he said as he glared off in front of him.
The faint laughter of children made him stop.
"Hello?" he said loudly, looking around as the grip on his sword tightened.
"Hi," an excited child said as she appeared right next to him.
Goemon jumped and yelled out, backing away and getting in a fighting position.
"You're funny," she laughed before running off.
"Whu-wait," he yelled out, chasing her as she ran through a door.
He ended up in an empty classroom, stopping in the center of it and glancing around.
"Over here," the girl said excitedly, appearing in another doorway and waving to Goemon.
Goemon stared at her, not knowing if he was being led into a trap or if she was really trying to help him.
With no other choice and desperate to find his friends and escape he followed.
She laughed as she ran through a doorway, the door lying on the floor rotted and in pieces, but the girls feet causing no noise as she trampled over it.
Goemon wasn't so silent, however, the wood cracking and splintering under his feet and he cautiously walked through the doorway.
It led him through a short corridor and turned to the left, a narrow set of stairs leading to the basement standing before him.
"Lupin," he muttered, staring down at the familiar figure on the floor below. "Lupin!"
No longer did he care if the steps were safe, rushing down them and to Lupin.
"Lupin," he said as he nudged him, Lupin still breathing but not waking up.
Relieved he was still alive, Goemon grabbed him and carried him up the stairs.
"Jigen," Lupin said weakly, the name barely audible as it escaped his lips.
"Don't talk," Goemon told him. "I'm getting you out of here."
"Jigen," Lupin said once again before he passed out.
Goemon glanced in worry at him, but continued on, his only thought being getting Lupin out of there.
He decided he'd figure out what to do about Jigen once Lupin was safe.
His plans were thwarted, however, as Jigen walked out of a room and stood before Goemon in the hallway.
"Jigen," Goemon gasped, happy to see him still alive.
"You can't leave here," Jigen said as he glared up at Goemon.
"Your eyes," Goemon said, Jigen's face appearing normal.
Jigen laughed. "That was just an illusion. Only a fool would fall for something like that," he sneered.
Goemon stared at Jigen suspiciously. "Who are you?" he asked as he set Lupin on the floor and grabbed his sword.
"Funny coming from someone who isn't even clear as to what he is."
"Where is Jigen?"
"He's gone," Jigen smirked. "He's long gone."
Goemon stood and trembled in rage. "No," he said through clenched teeth. "No," he then screamed, rushing towards Jigen.
Jigen laughed and held out his right hand, a burst of energy shooting from it and flinging Goemon backwards to the floor, his body landing near Lupin, both now unconscious.
...
"What do we do with them?" a female voice asked.
"I won't let them go," a male voice answered.
Lupin was barely able to open his eyes, the figures in the room with them just blurry forms. Their voices, once heard clearly, now came and went as he slipped in and out of consciousness.
"... they'll die," the male voice said.
"But, why can't... figure it... please."
"Do something," Lupin muttered as he struggled as best he could with the rope that tied his hands.
The male figure turned towards him and laughed. "Don't worry. We will."
Lupin stared in fright as the figure laughed, his face contorted, half of it consisting of a mouth with jagged teeth. His eyes were large black circles, as if his eyes had been removed from the sockets.
The man took two steps towards Lupin before Lupin passed out again.
...
Goemon opened his eyes, his arms cramped from the tied up position he was in. Looking around he got a better of idea what was going on, he and Lupin tied back to back, both sitting on the floor of a classroom.
The sounds of something trickling to the floor made him look towards the noise.
"Jigen," he yelled.
Jigen stood there with a vacant look, one hand held over his head as he slowly poured the oil from an old lantern over himself.
"What... what are you doing?" Goemon asked as he struggled to get out of the rope.
Jigen said nothing as he continued to drench himself in the oil.
"Lupin," Goemon shouted as he nudged him. "Lupin, wake up!"
Lupin moaned as he slowly lifted his head. "What's that smell?" he asked weakly, opening his eyes and looking around.
"We have to get out of here," Goemon said. "Can you get out of these ropes?"
Lupin didn't answer as he stared at Jigen, who stood and stared at the wall beyond the two. "Jigen?"
"Can you get out of these ropes?" Goemon yelled as he struggled more frantic, the oil in the lantern getting close to running out.
"Jigen," Lupin said, confused by what he was watching. "What are you doing?"
"Lupin, please!" Goemon yelled.
The lantern shattered as it was dropped to the floor.
The two stared in fright as Jigen pulled out a match and lit it, standing and holding it as the flame crept closer to his fingers.
Jigen then grinned evilly. "You'll never escape," he said.
Darius quickly left Jigen's body, the sudden loss of energy weakening Jigen and making him drop the match.
"No," Lupin yelled as the gas ignited.
"Jigen," Goemon yelled, the flames starting to consume Jigen as he screamed and fought to put them out.
Seeing his friend in pain caused Lupin's own pain to disappear, Lupin dislocating his wrist and escaping the ropes.
His freedom made it easy for Goemon to slip out of his binds, both jumping up and rushing towards Jigen as he continued to scream in pain as the flames consumed him.
Lupin took off his jacket and threw it and himself on top of Jigen as Goemon removed his kimono and did the same, the flames stronger than they thought as they slowly started to be consumed by them.
Lupin looked up as Darius and Isabelle stared down at them. He gave Isabelle a saddened and pained look, silently pleading for her to do something.
She looked away from him and stared at the floor with a sorrowful expression before fading off.
Darius continued to stare with an evil grin.
Goemon closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face as his skin continued to burn.
Lupin then let out a desperate scream, that being the last thing Goemon heard before he passed out.
...
Fujiko stood outside the building, wisps of smoke wafting from the recently extinguished flames.
Around her stood a small group of firemen, all staring at the building.
Fujiko watched as two firemen exited the old school, each holding an end of a gurney as they carried a body out.
"Lupin," she gasped, running up as he was carried towards the waiting ambulance.
His clothes were burnt, burns and black smudges on his skin. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but no words came out.
"What are you-," she started to say, fear causing her words to be spoken quickly. "What's wrong with him?" she asked one of the firemen. "Is he okay? Is he gonna live? Please say he's gonna live."
"Hey, calm down, miss," one of the firemen said as he comforted her.
Fujiko stared worriedly up at him as he smiled at her, the man never giving her an answer and she never asking another question.
...
The three had been pulled from the burning room shortly after the flames started to spread. Fujiko, worried for their safety, ran to find anyone who would be willing to help. She had gotten to the fire station when the call came in of the fire.
As bad as the scene looked, the firemen were shocked that the three fared as well as they did, under those circumstances all expecting them to be burnt beyond recognition.
After a quick and very temporary fix at the scene the three were loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital.
While healing from their first round of surgery they were questioned separately. The cops were satisfied with the answers they had received, but kept them to themselves, giving the media completely different accounts of what had happened so the people would not be frightened by the truth.
...
Fujiko quickly stood when Lupin opened his eyes. She rushed to his bedside and stared down at him.
"She... she helped us..." he whispered.
"Who did?" she wondered, tears filling her eyes as she stared down at his bandaged arms and chest.
"The girl," Lupin answered as he smiled. "She isn't... isn't trapped... anymore..."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Lupin only smiled at her before he passed out.
"Lupin. Lupin! What do you mean?" Fujiko slowly stepped backwards to the chair, sitting down in it and sobbing.
...
"I'm leaving," Goemon said as he and Lupin stood at Jigen's bed.
Almost a month had passed, Lupin and Goemon's wounds close to being healed, the two able to leave the hospital.
Lupin got rooms for the three of them at a nearby hotel, the rooms rarely used as they almost lived at the hospital to be with Jigen.
"Where are you going?" Lupin asked, no emotion in his voice and no expression on his face.
"I don't know."
Lupin didn't answer as his eyes stared down at Jigen while he slept.
"I don't want you to find me," Goemon said. "When I'm ready, I'll find you."
"I understand," Lupin said as he slowly nodded.
Goemon gave Lupin and Jigen one last look before leaving the room.
"Good luck," Lupin said.
...
It would be two months later until Jigen was well enough to be released, the work from his last surgery still bandaged, but healing.
On that day Lupin drove he and Fujiko to the airport, the three leaving on a flight to New York. When they arrived Fujiko went her own way. Lupin and Jigen headed to the nearest bar.
"He's trying to forget," Lupin scoffed.
Jigen said nothing as he took a drink of his scotch.
"Do you think he ever will?"
Jigen continued to stay silent, his eyes staring off into the distance.
"Yeah," Lupin sighed.
"It's not your fault," Jigen said, his first words spoken since they arrived at the place.
"We both know that isn't true."
"I'm just saying I don't blame you."
"Well, thanks," Lupin said before downing the rest of his drink. He stood and placed some money on the bar. "Not that it matters," he muttered as he walked off.
Jigen glanced over his shoulder as Lupin left the bar. He turned back and ordered another drink.
...
The four would never work as a group again, the experience hitting Jigen and Goemon especially hard.
After a three year break, Lupin returned to his thieving ways.
Fujiko always declined his invitations to join in on the heists, but she used his offer as a way to visit him.
Neither ever talked about their experience in the old school.
Jigen drank more than he ever did, the high consumation of alcohol surprisingly never hindering his work as he had gone back to being a gun for hire.
He found that killing helped relieve some of his anger.
Goemon continued his quest for enlightenment. On his many journeys he sought answers to the questions that had plagued him since the school incident.
Nobody gave him the answer he wanted to hear.
In the end he never found Lupin. Or the answers he was looking for.
The End
And Zenigata is still stuffing his face and angering everyone on the ship (it's a very long cruise...), not knowing that his purpose in life is no more. Until he realizes that cruises, buffets and shuffleboard combined is like being in heaven. And then the roles will have been reversed, Zenigata living the high life while the others live on in misery or something.
As with the school back story, told very quickly, it was a popular music school that caught on fire in an unknown and suspicious way and some of the kids died and one of them, Darius, was evil and used the others to do his bidding.
And why am I still drinking this tea? D:(
