DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, but if it were to come up on E-bay, you can bet sure as hell it'd bid on it…

Howdy-ho!

You know, sometimes I'll do a dedication, and this one's no exception… This one's a little broader than the others in the past, though. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all of the people I've met on here over the years through my writing. I love all of your all who support me, and make me smile, humor my sick sense of humor, and keep me working on not only this story, but my original ideas as well. You guys are great, most of you better than I could be. I might not own Lupin III, I might not get paid a lick to do this, but what I have gotten out of it is just about as good. Okay, enough with the Hallmark card stuff---Thanks as always for reviews, they're much appreciated!! Hope I can do even better in future chapters for all of you.

Fun Fact of Boredom: Mamoru's character came up basically because I needed a new villain. Still looking for more—And taking ideas! hint, hint

Chapter nine: His Latest Flame

Tennessee:

"She's still a little spooked…" Ally muttered as he stood in the hallway opposite of Fuji. "She wants me to stay with her… You okay?"

"I know he won't hurt her, but I'm wondering where he'd take her…" Fuji mumbled, her eyes not leaving the carpet as she spoke to Ally.

"Do we know it was him for sure?"

"The remnants of where there'd been a fire around the window is my only clue, Ally-chan, but I think it's a pretty damn good one."

"Fuji, I…"

"I wish it'd been you or Heiji," she muttered, looking to the side of the hall with the tall window. "….You guys, you… This would've been so much easier…"

"We'll get her back, Fuji," Ally placed a hand on her cheek and leaned forward, embracing her. "I've got to stay here and take care of Carmen…. She… I can't leave her."

"I know… You can't," she smiled and shook her head. "You've got a really good girl, you deserve her."

"No I don't. That's why I stay; I'm hoping she doesn't figure it out anytime soon," Ally shrugged, and Fuji smiled, and shook her head.

"…Heh, the one heart I never had the heart to steal," Fuji laughed, and patted him on the back. "Watch out if things don't work out with me and Heiji-chan!"

"Good luck getting through my wife," Ally returned this smile, and then gave a small sigh. "Usually when you're this happy it means you're gonna go kick ass."

"I'm gonna string him up like a Christmas ornament," Fuji replied with a wide smile, patting the leg where she kept her gun, and Ally shook his head.

"You be careful… Or at least wait for everyone to get back."

"This is my fight…"

"Nothing's just 'your' fight, Fuji. We're family. A screwy family who likes to make each others' lives a living hell, but we're family."

"Thanks, Ally-chan… But it's still just my fight," Fuji reached forward and kissed him gently, to which Ally gave a slightly embarrassed smirk, and she turned away from him, and headed down the hall. "I'm taking the gun with me… I think Elvis would've loved nothing more than shooting a J-pop musician… And Mamoru's got nothing on Robert Goulet."

"Jeeze, Fuji… Good luck getting yourself killed, ya idiot…" Ally scratched his head, and then turned his attention back to Carmen, who remained laying down in their bed.

"I love you, too, Ally-chan," Fuji said quietly, turning around and winking at him. Ally's head jerked back slightly, but this grew into a relaxed smile, and he nodded.

The home of Victor Lupin:

Victor sighed apathetically, took another spoonful of ice cream from the pint of Chunky Monkey ice cream, and flipped the channel. His stories were on.

"What in the heck are you doing now?" Emily raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the screen of the television from her own spot in the doorway of his room. "The View? Again?"

"I keep waiting to see if the biggest one devours the others… Three days, and nothing," he mumbled, setting aside the ice cream and reaching over the dresser for his newspaper and reading glasses. "I don't recall it being lunch time yet, so I'm curious as to why I'm being cursed with your presence at this hour."

"…How'd you end up with Ryo again?"

"Jealous? She's got a sister whom I'm almost sure is a lesbian… I could introduce you two," he said without looking up from the paper, although he regretted looking up once he did. Emily was staring back down at him, an angered expression all over her features. Not one to usually back down, Victor couldn't help but to fold his paper and slide down his seat a bit.

"I'm not gay…. What I am is related to you by blood, unfortunately. I'd probably take being gay over knowing that we share the same genetic makeup any day."

"Where're you off to now?" Victor inquired as she turned on her heel and headed out the door.

"To watch TV… And to make a list of why I shouldn't kill you…"

Victor paused for a moment, then shook his head and folded the paper out once more, "For someone who I doubt even has a uterus when she gets PMS it's every man for himself…" he muttered, pushing up his glasses and only looking up from his article when the phone rang. "The phone's ringing! …Emily? …Damn it, I could've hired better help than this…"

Victor reached over and decided to pick up for the number, although he didn't recognize it, "Allo?"

"…Crap…" was Leo's only answer from his end, and he immediately cleared his throat and nervously rambled off in Romanian.

"…I know it's you, don't take me for an idiot…. Your Romanian accent's awful," Victor snapped, removing his glasses, and switching the television to mute. "And the answer is yes, you really do sleep with a man, it's not a nightmare. How is your cripple doing, by the way?"

"…I was looking for Ryo…" Leo answered plainly.

"Ah… Well, she's off currently, playing cowboy with your twit sister. I'd ask if you wanted me to leave a message, but I'm not a secretary, so…"

"Do you know when I can try back?" Leo said in a near groan, and Victor was quick to respond.

"Whenever they get those damned things from Graceland…"

"Heh, I'm with you there… Beatles man, myself."

"And no one figured out you were gay because of why?"

"…Get better soon, Victor, but not too soon. And tell Ryo to call me if I don't arrest her, first."

"Can do…" Victor shifted a bit in his bed, and paused. "So…. How are things?"

"…Excuse me?"

"All I've had to talk to for the past three days is this harpy."

"I get it… Hehehe, you're lonely, aren't you, Vicky?"

"And you take it like a prison bitch," Victor returned.

"Mm, but I've never been desperate enough to start up a conversation with you, Vic… Why don't you take up a hobby? Max did when he was in recovery."

"Which would be…?"

"This stitch right?" Victor heard Max ask in the background, followed by a gentle laugh from Leo.

"He's learning to crochet," replied Leo. "And he does model planes with Jared to help with his patience and anger management issues…"

"…There's no way in hell," Victor muttered, and then hung up the phone, and thought for a few moments. "EMILY!"

"Goddamnit…. What do you need, Victor?" she grumbled as she rushed down the hall and then remained in the doorway, watching as he pulled out his wallet from the dresser and tossed several large-number bills at her.

"Buy me whatever models you can… Preferably cars… And yarn and those stick things you use to make the yarn into things with…. And about two more pints of this ice cream—Chunky Monkey. Phish Food'll do, but you bring Cherry Garcia and I'm going to make your life more hell. And maybe something pretty for yourself… Like a skirt, or something…"

"Uh-huh… You know, I can't wait until you have kids, Victor…" snapped Emily, bending down and picking up the bills and shoving them in her pant pocket. "Your life's going to be hell."

"Mm… Only if I find out that they're Ari's," Victor murmured, sinking down in his bed and tossing the comforter over himself. "Or if they act like my father. First sign of that, the local orphanage will have another Asian child to contend with…"

"…You better hope that they have Ben and Jerry's in hell, Vic," Emily brushed back a few strands of hair out of her eyes, and turning away from him and down the hall. "…I cannot wait until she tells you…"

U.S. Airspace:

"What in the hell was that about?" Max raised an eyebrow, and Leo merely looked to him and shrugged.

"Victor's lonely, I guess…" Leo answered. "I haven't heard anyone sound so needy since you had your back injury…."

"It wasn't an 'injury'. I was about two centimeters away from being a paraplegic," snapped Max, and Leo merely leaned back and tilted his head to one side, allowing it to rest on Max's shoulder. Much of the plane was either asleep as well, or simply did not care about this gesture. But Max gave a small smile at this gesture, and took placed a hand atop Leo's. "Heh, what's the occasion?"

"Can't a guy think every once in a while? I don't get time to do that much anymore," Leo muttered, and Max only gave a chuckle at this, and glanced out the window. "I've just got one of those funny feelings, like something bad happened, and that it's gonna mean hell for us…"

"As long as we come home to a clean house and with all our limbs in tact, I'm fine," Max answered.

Paris, France:

"Jared, give it back!" Dako shouted as she chased Jared through the home, while he laughed and dodged her. Avery tried his best to chase after his two siblings, while his hands moved quickly to form the many words he knew already.

'Yeah, Jared! We'll get in trouble!' Avery signed with a worried expression upon his face, but Jared chuckled, waved the diary at Dako, and then pulled it out of her grasp, while the red-faced girl continued to storm after him. A couple of the five cats in the home went sailing away from the scene as they journeyed into the study, where Leo kept many of his books and Max usually kept out of.

None of the three noticed the knock on the door, and they disregarded it opening, but the visitor certainly heard the series' of crashes and clangs from the study, followed by a moan from all three children, even the usually-mute Avery. Lupin the Third and Fujiko Mine-Lupin went rushing in after them, Fujiko with her mouth covered as she saw where one shelf had collapsed, lending itself into a domino affect, and the entire study had been destroyed with one fail slamming of Jared against the shelving.

"Oops…." Jared murmured as the three stood in the center of the room, and they cringed a bit, expecting their grandparents to begin yelling, but all looking puzzled onward as Fujiko broke into a chuckle and Lupin into a full-blown laugh.

"See?! You can get all the degrees you want, Fujiko-chan, but there's no way you can convince me that these three aren't going to raise some hell when they're older!"

"Are you three all right?" Fujiko kneeled down and looked over the three, and Dako pulled away, and pushed Jared roughly back onto a pile of books.

"I told you to quit!" she shrieked, and stormed out past her grandfather, and almost plowed into the other visiting couple, who had entered during Lupin and Fujiko's own discovery.

"…What the hell?" Zenigata mumbled as Dako stormed down the hall and slammed her door, and Fujiko peered out, not at all surprised at the sight of the ex-inspector and his wife at this point.

"Did we miss the party?" Natasha inquired, folding her arms and glancing into the wrecked study.

"Mm, but you're here just in time for the cleanup," Fujiko replied. "Want to go talk to her while the boys take care of this?"

"Jeeze, I dunno… I'm kinda thinking cleanup duty is better than trying to calm down a preteen," Natasha sighed.

"What are you doing here?" Zenigata snarled, poking a finger into Lupin's back until the equally-puzzled thief turned around.

"I told Ari we'd look after the kids… What're you doing here, Pops, seeing if they were up to eight kids now?"

"…You know, on second thought, you probably could use some support," Natasha surmised, and Fujiko nodded, climbing over a pile of books and heading down the hallway.

"…I'm so dead," Jared muttered, and Avery looked to him tiredly, and then the youngest child smacked his brother on the shoulder with as much frustrated energy as he could muster. "Ow! Not you, too! Ugh…"

"Well, we might as well try to help out here…" Lupin sighed, and stepped into the cesspool of knowledge while Zenigata did the same, gripping onto one of the thief's shoulders for balance. "First we'll have to take care of these shelves…"

Zenigata bent down and started to pick up several books, nodding in gratitude as Avery stumbled over and handed him the heaviest stack the child could carry.

"He's gonna kill me… They both are…" Jared muttered.

"Not if we can hide this well enough…" Lupin replied, looking over the area and then bending down to pick up one of the books.

"What, like lie?"

"Eh, family means a bunch of people who save your ass time after time… Right, Pops?"

"You should have to learn your lesson, though, like a good, structured individual," Zenigata added, purposefully eyeing Lupin as he said this.

"Pops, look around at these books. And it's not just books… They own scrolls, for God's sake. This is gonna be enough punishment," Lupin replied, tossing the book he held in his hand to Jared and picking up a much heavier and older one, "Karma…" he muttered, making out only the first word in the Indian text, and then flipping it open, "Holy crap! Hehehe, I think there's something to this reading stuff! …Is this even possible?"

Zenigata leaned over and nodded affirmingly, "Yeah, it's possible."

"I wanna see," Jared chirped, reaching up in an attempt to see the illustration for himself.

"When you're older!" both men shouting at once. Lupin slammed the book shut, and Zenigata's face took on a light tint, and the old man cleared his throat.

"C'mon, let's get this taken of," Zenigata mumbled, shuffling to a different area of the study.

Memphis:

"Hehe, that was awesome when you thought Jordan was that guard! I thought you were going to stab him!" Heiji said with a laugh as he, Odori, Jordan, Toshiro, and Yukiko approached the door of the main hotel room of operation, and Odori looked to Jordan plainly.

"I might have," she muttered, and Jordan merely tossed his hands up in the air and then said nothing afterward; he knew just about anything would probably be wrong to her at that moment.

"…Hey, you wanna go talk about this?" Yukiko whispered, breaking away from Toshiro and placing a hand on Jordan's arm.

"I need a drink, and I don't say that a lot," Jordan replied quietly, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, how about we go get some drinks?" she looked over to Toshiro and called out, "We'll be back in a little bit."

Toshiro gave a nod, while Odori merely huffed and coldly turned her head away from the two.

"Yeahhhh let's hurry outta here," Yukiko muttered, pushing Jordan along and down the hall, and to the stairwell.

Heiji sighed and silently reached for his keys, but found the door ajar. He looked back to Odori and Toshiro, and both nodded, each drawing a sword and Heiji shifting his laptop case protectively in front of him.

"Fuji?" he called, and jumped in surprise as a tired-looking Ally exited one of the bedrooms.

"She ain't here, and she said not to go look for her," Ally explained.

"Where's my daughter?" Odori snapped, looking about the living area for Namiko.

"She's fine," Ally held up his hands and sighed. "She's with Ryo…Fuji sent them away…. And she went looking for Hikari."

"What's wrong with Hikari?" Heiji demanded, and Ally found himself backing against the wall as both Odori and Heiji approached him, the same determined looks on their faces.

"Woah, woah, listen! Okay? Don't go killing the messenger! Fuji went to go look for Hikari… She was kidnapped…"

"Oh, is that all?" Heiji snorted. "If that were your kid out there, Ally, you'd be just as pissed off."

"Heiji, she ain't even your kid!" Ally snapped, and Toshiro raised an eyebrow, and Odori merely turned and looked over at Heiji.

"Blood is relative," Odori replied through the silence. "Now where's the child?"

"With her birthfather, we think," Ally answered.

"Which is…?"

"Damn it if you'd quit interrupting me I'd tell you, instead of both you hotheads flying off the handle at me! I've got feelings too!" Ally growled. "It's Mamoru! Mamoru Pycal!"

"What?! He's dead!" Heiji snapped.

"Harry Houdini is dead! Captain America is dead—Mamoru ain't dead!" Ally snapped.

"We have to go after him as well," Odori concluded, sheathing her sword, and Heiji nodded.

"I'll get my bow…" he muttered, heading to his bedroom. He looked to his left and saw Toshiro, who had remained quiet for the duration of their conversation. "You all right?"

"Yeah…. Fine…." he nodded as he looked down at the ground at the sight before him. Jordan was standing close in front of Yukiko, adjusting her fedora and then placing a hand on her cheek. He turned to Heiji, and also drew his sword back in his holster after clenching onto it tightly as he watched the two, "Now let's go get Hikari back…"

"But she said not to go after her," Ally reminded them, and Odori looked over her shoulder at him dully.

"Who had the baby, you or your wife? Get your weapons," Odori snapped, and Heiji drew his head back, as did Ally.

"I'm glad she's adopted, 'cause that was kinda hot," Heiji chuckled, and then headed to the bedroom.

"Ugh…" Ally gave a shudder. "Shouldn't we get Yukiko and Jordan, too?"

"They'll be fine. She has her phone on her," Toshiro answered. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Jordan turned Yukiko's head to the other side, while she continued to wince in pain, "How in the hell does someone short as you hit their head on the way out?"

"I didn't see the damn pole, all right?!" she growled, and shooed him away. "Jeeze, the one time I try to do something nice for someone…"

"You'll be fine, it's just your nose…. Makes you look a little more like your dad," Jordan chuckled, and Yukiko removed her fedora and smacked him on the arm with it. "What?! Hey, at least you've got someone who'll love you for it…"

"Yeah… And you do, too, even if you look like your dad, too," Yukiko adjusted her fedora once more, pushed up her glasses, and opened the door to the run-down hillbilly-ridden bar. "Surfer and a mobster—You think we stand out?"

"Heh, just order me something hard…" Jordan murmured as he took a seat on one of the barstools, and Yukiko did the same. There was an old man at the edge of the bar, with shaggy gray hair over his eyes and a worn brown coat over his shoulders. He looked tiredly to the duo, and took another sip of his drink.

"They just get weirder and weirder…." he muttered, and Yukiko's mouth drew into a smile.

"I'm buyin' his drinks, too…" she chuckled in the direction of the bartender as she pointed to the old man.

A Memphis Airport:

"Should I break out my ten-gallon hat now?" Max muttered as they boarded off of the plane into the bustling airport, which had more than a few dozen people dressed up in flannel shirts and boots.

"I've never felt more straight," he added, and Leo nudged him and gave him a glare. "What!? I'm just saying…."

"Let's just get our luggage without any trouble?" Leo smiled hopefully, and Max nodded.

"Hey, you think we can get a guy dressed up as Elvis to marry us here?"

"I already married you twice," Leo murmured, and their headed over to baggage claim.

"You're kinda grumpy since we got off the flight… I thought I was the resident tight ass," Max looked over the numerous bags and watched as each one passed by them.

"I just… I've still got that feeling," Leo shook his head. "I just can't explain it, but…. I feel like I'm going to get my ass kicked…"

"You're gay, a bookworm, French, and Asian… And a cop. I don't know of at least one group who wouldn't want to kick your ass," Max said, looking upward to him and then picking up his bag and heaving it over his shoulder.

"You sure you've got that?" Leo asked worriedly, leaning over and attempting to take the suitcase.

"I'm fine," Max sighed. "It'll be too heavy for you…"

"Nah, I'm fine!" Leo chuckled, and took the suitcase, immediately fell to the ground, with the suitcase still in both hands. "What in the hell did you pack in here?!"

"It doesn't matter, are you okay? We don't need both of our backs broken!" Max muttered, and Leo shook his head, and attempted to lift up the suitcase.

"I—Uh-ohoh crap!" Leo yelped, and Max's eye widened as his partner began to walk backward quickly, against the fast speed of rotating luggage.

"Leo?!" Max yelped, and began to chase after him.

"My jacket's caught on it!" Leo yelped, and fell back onto the conveyer be;t, and soon after vanished through the thick black plastic curtain while Max watched in a combination of horror and embarrassment.

One of the workers had seen this unfold, and after some yelling into a walkie-talkie, the luggage came to a halt, just as Leo made his way full circle, clutching onto a black suitcase now, "….I got my bag…."

"Oi vey…" Max muttered, slapping his forehead and doing his best to ignore the chuckling.

"Max! Leo! Detectives Lupin and Zenigata!" they heard, and both turned their heads in curiosity to see Ryo Lupin waving to them.

"Ryoko!" Max growled, and drew out his handcuffs, but Leo slipped out of his jacket and placed a hand over Max's and shook his head as he saw the children with her.

"What the…" Max muttered as she ran forward, a little girl at either side and Dai in his stroller.

"Fuji's in trouble," she panted. "Ally called me… Someone stole Hikari, and she went to go find him…"

"Someone stole her?!" Leo yelped, jumping forward with his suitcase at his side.

"With weird hair!" Saiyuri added, and Namiko nodded.

"Over one eye!" Namiko mimicked this by covering her own eye, and Leo sighed, and stood.

"We've got a problem…" he muttered, turning to Max. "I know we swore to bring Fuji in for stealing…"

"But we're on the same page with her as always, aren't we?" Max sighed in defeat. "Have we ever thought about joining up with her? We could make a hell of a lot more doing it…"

"You're too much of a good guy to be a thief, Zenigata, even if I still think you're a bit of an idiot," Ryo smirked, and Max's cheeks went red, and he balled a fist.

"Now, now, let's just relax…" Leo chuckled, stepping in between the duo and nervously glancing in between Ryo's 'bring it on' look and Max's anger. "First thing's first… We've got to find Fuji…"

"I say Zenigata takes the kids and we go find her…" Ryo suggested, and Leo nodded.

"Wait, this is my case, too!" Max snapped, taking a step forward and frowning. "I'm just as capable!"

"Max, if it's who I think it is, we'll need one of our strongest players to look after these kids," Leo said sternly to his partner. "It's nothing personal against you… We're playing with fire… Literally."

"I…" Max looked down at the children, and took a step forward, shuddering on the inside as Saiyuri took a step back at the sight of his crutch.

"Don't worry… I use it to beat the bad guys with," Max reassured her with a smile. "And idiots… Much like your aunt Fuji… What do you say the taller one pushes the baby, and I'll get you guys something to eat?"

"I'm kinda hungry…" Saiyuri admitted, and Namiko nodded, taking hold of Dai's stroller.

Max looked over to Ryo and frowned, "If he gets hurt, it'll be your head…"

"He still doesn't like you, after all these years," Leo muttered as Max walked down to the cafeteria with the children.

"Gee, I wonder why," Ryo rolled her eyes and nodded. "C'mon, we've got to find her…"

"I'll drive," Leo smiled, and passed her his suitcase. "So where could she be?"

"That's the thing… No one's got a clue… Heiji's been trying to keep a tracker on her for years…"

"I guess nothing was a better tracker than me," Leo hurried out to the sports car with Ryo, hopping into the front seat while Ryo tossed his suitcase in the back and then climbed in the passenger's side.

"Hey, you're always welcome to come back," Ryo smiled, and buckled her safety belt while Leo sped off from the airport. "Now, use your great detective skills to figure out where she might be…."

"She just stole something from Graceland, right?"

"Am I on the record here?"

"Ryoko…."

"Yeah, yeah, she did. A gun," Ryo heaved a sigh, and looked over to him. "And Heiji and the others stole a ring of some kind… I doubt Mamoru's interested in it…"

"She might try a tradeoff… Either that or her life… I know I'd do that for any of my kids," Leo said with a smirk, removing his glasses at a red light and then starting the car back up as it turned green. "We'll try Graceland, see if that gives us any luck…"

"And if not?"

"Then we'll ask around as quick as possible… Either way, time's of the essence. There ought to be an alarm in my suitcase. You think you can reach back there?"

"Yeah, just don't go making any sharp turns," Ryo muttered, turning around and bending over the seat to fish in his suitcase. Leo looked over to her briefly, clearing his throat at the rather good view and then turning his attention back to the street ahead.

"Ummmm Ari?"

"Did one of my cats get in a suitcase again?"

"No, but…" she turned back around, holding a red negligee in both her hands. "I'm kinda curious as to what you and Max do in your spare time…"

"….Well, crap…." Leo heaved a sigh. "My best jackets were in there…"

"They're all your best jackets, because they're all the same," Ryo muttered, and glanced at the tag. "Hey, this is my size!"

"I… Urm…" Leo's face turned bright red, and he nearly missed his turn onto an exit.

Graceland:

Fuji looked over the well-lit building, and brought the Alfa Romeo to a halt, parking it in the grass and not really caring at the moment. She opened the door, and skulked out, looking left and right, and immediately noting the lack of guards or even a token gardener on the property.

"Place like this would be packed with security…" she murmured as she loaded her gun and approached the door. She heard the rustling of leaves, and spun about, frowning as she found nothing, and then turned back around, and tumbled down the stairs of the porch from shock. She groaned after taking a particularly hard landing on her rear, and looked upward, and saw him. It was as if nothing had changed—Mamoru looked exactly the way she had seen him last. Well, before the fire. And he stood there, looking down at her as jovially as he had when they had first met.

He stepped down a few of the stairs, only stopping when Fuji drew her gun and glared at him, "Things are different now…"

"Apparently…" he said in a low tone. "Fuji…. You won't shoot me… Lupins are notorious for not killing."

Fuji fired a shot, grazing his shoulder and lodging the bullet in the door, "I'm not my dad… Now, you have something of mine, and I've come back for it…"

Mamoru started with a chuckle, and then this broke into a full-blown laugh, "You thieves… I heard you're sensitive when someone tricks you with your own tricks! Now, how's the blond woman doing? She's not a bad fighter at all…"

"She'll live," Fuji snapped, keeping the gun close to her as he continued to walk down the steps.

"Well, I'm sure you're thinking that's a shame…" he chuckled, and eyed her. "You always were strange when it came to men… I know you loved me… But you also loved two other men at the same time… You're an indecisive girl…"

"I want… My daughter… Now…" Fuji demanded through gritted teeth, and he laughed again.

"Go ahead and shoot me," he reached out to touch her, and Fuji fired, but the bullet only sailed through him. Mamoru laughed as though the bullet tickled, and Fuji glared as the image faded out.

"Damn it! I should've known…" she sighed, looking around for him. She heard the squealing of tires behind her, and she snapped her head in the direction of the gates, where Leo was zooming in with Ryo in the passenger seat.

"Hey, Fuji!" Leo called, and waved, then fell dead silent. There was a loud BANG and then the car began to spin out onto the grass, landing inches for the fountain. "...She shot at us!"

"She's distraught," Ryo explained, climbing out of the car and taking the suitcase with her. "Come on, we can help her…"

"Yeah, if she doesn't try to freakin' kill us, first," Leo muttered, hopping out of the car and taking his badge along with him. "Fujiko Lupin the Second, this is Detective Leo Lupin!"

"And what, I'm under arrest!?" Fuji snapped, and Leo shook his head.

"We're here as your backup!" Leo called, stopping in front of her.

"I don't need help, even though I appreciate it…" she muttered, looking away from them, and Ryo sighed, taking Fuji's chin and forcing her to face her friend.

"We didn't ask you if we could help. We're helping you," Ryo said sternly. "The others should be here soon…"

Fuji continued with her hardened look for a moment, until this subsided into a smile, "I… Thanks, Ryo-san…"

"Someone needs to keep you in line," Ryo answered with a chuckle, and patted her shoulder.

"There they are…" Leo sighed with relief as Heiji, Odori, Ally, and Toshiro pulled up. "…Where's Yuki and Jordan?"

"That's what I want to know," Ryo blinked as they hopped out, Toshiro with a dark look drawn over his face. "Please tell me they took another car…"

"Where's Yukiko and Toshiro?" Leo wondered as they hopped out and along with their weapons.

"Woah, you said they were fine…" Heiji muttered, looking over to his brother.

"We'll talk about that later. Let's go into plan beta alpha," Fuji removed her gun, and smiled dutifully. "Toshiro-chan, you and Dori-chan and Leo-kun keep your eyes on the downstairs… Ryo-san, you, Heiji-chan, and Ally-chan and I'll take the top floor. I'm going to the bedroom."

"Why do you think he's in there?"

"Because it's the most protected room…"

"Hey, we got into it with no problem," Ally said as he followed Fuji in, and Heiji only looked over the two in confusion.

"I'll check in there… Everyone else split up," Fuji ordered, and received nothing but a silent nod of agreement as everyone took their places.

A Memphis Bar:

"Excuse me…" Yukiko felt a tug at her jacket sleeve, and snapped her head to a side to see the old man she had been buying drinks for standing there, with a weak, aged smile on his face. "I was hoping I could ask you one more favor…"

"Urm… Sure, Pops, what do you need?" Yukiko made sure to glance at her gun, as well as to Jordan, while she spoke to him.

"I… I have no money for a ride home, I was wondering if I could perhaps get one from you?" he inquired, and Jordan leaned forward, looking past Yukiko to him.

"Sure, old man… Just get whatever you need, we'll get you home safe."

"Thank you," he nodded, and hobbled to the front door.

"Are you nuts?!" Yukiko hissed, pulling on Jordan's shirt sleeve.

"What? I'm pretty sure I could take him, Yukiko…"

"If he has a gun, or a knife, it doesn't matter how the hell tall you are! I think you've been working out too much, or eating too much of Odori's cooking, 'cause you're gion' friggin' brain dead!"

"Well, hey, it's a Jigen's job to look after the Lupin family, anyway," he slid off of his seat and grabbed his jacket. "Just sit in the back seat, and keep an eye on him. We'll be fine."

"Last time it was your dad who said that to me, and I ended up taking a fall from a theater catwalk," Yukiko grumbled, pushing down her fedora and throwing her money on the bar table on the way out.

Graceland:

"God help me…" Toshiro muttered as he peered in the glass cases full of Elvis memorabilia and pictures.

"Praying?" Leo asked as he pulled back a curtain and inspected it for any signs of life. "I never got why you liked Elvis so much…"

"When the workers built the dojo that my family owned in the 50's, they brought a record player and some records with them… A lot of them had worked on bases, so they were American records. They left them after construction, and I found them years later," Toshiro explained, and looked over his shoulder to Leo. "They were the only part of the outside world I had…"

"Well, you had to have gone to school," Leo cautiously turned a corner, only to find nothing.

"My mother taught me what I needed to know," Toshiro also made the turn, and became aware of a rustling behind one of the thick curtains. He motioned for Leo to move back, and Leo nodded, stepping back while Toshiro cut through one of the curtains. The curtain fell to the ground, along with about a foot of black hair, cut at an angle. Odori spun around, her eyes wide, and looked upward at the ceiling, then to her brother. Leo and Toshiro led her away before she could see the hair spread on the ground.

"Did you find anything?" Ryo was on the stairs, her gun in hand, and both men shook their heads.

"Nothing…" Odori added, turning her head and showing off her new shorter hairstyle. Ryo's eyes went wide, and she began to say something, but Leo lunged for her, placing a hand over her mouth.

"We know, she doesn't," he whispered, and removed his hand.

"Where's Heiji?" Odori inquired, sheathing her sword and turning to Ryo.

"He, um… Went to check on the security tapes…." Ryo answered as best as she could while not breaking into a laugh, which was more than a little tempting for her. "Why… Why don't we look out in the backyard?"

"What's she so upset over?" Odori whispered as Toshiro passed her, and her older brother merely shrugged.

Heiji at that very moment sat in front of all of the security cameras, typing in the necessary codes to break through or illuminate different areas of the property. Other times, he would have kept the place in complete darkness, but Mamoru already knew where they were. He had been expecting them, and they were probably right where they wanted.

"You're looking at the wrong day," Heiji jumped in his seat, and spun around, and all that he could see was a hand stretching out of the shadow, holding a disk. "This is the day you want…"

"No, I think I'm on the right day…" Heiji eyed the security camera for the room to see if there was a better shot of who exactly it was, or if he held any weapons, but there was no one, only himself. "How the…"

"Why don't you… Just put in the disk…?" the voice attached to the arm stepped back into the shadow, and Heiji lunged after him, only to run into one of the large computers face-first.

"Ow… How the… How the hell did he do that?" Heiji groaned and fell back in his seat, picking up the disk after nursing his pain and studying it.

Fuji was in the master bedroom again, looking about with her gun drawn but with all available lights shut off, as to hide her in the shadows as well. She took another step, this one toward a closet door, and gasped as she heard crying. "Hikari?!" she gasped, and reached for the handle, opening it with perhaps too much ease. There sat the baby in the middle of the walk-in closet, on a blanket, wailing. Fuji ran to her, scooping down and lifting her into her arms. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered into the infant as she back out, and then began to look over the baby. "If he hurt you…"

"I wouldn't hurt my own child," Mamoru said from the bed, where he sat, looking as calm and collected as ever. "And I wouldn't hurt you… I could have easily made that doorknob electrified, and fried you, Fuji, but I wouldn't do that to you…"

"No, you'd just almost kill my friends!" Fuji snapped, holding the baby close to her while keeping her gun pointed at Mamoru.

"This is really me, Fuji," Mamoru explained, standing and approaching her. "If you shoot me, I'll bleed, and I'll probably die from it."

"Good!"

"Fuji…" Mamoru held out his hands, and sighed. "I made a mistake. I… I love you… I want to have a family with you."

"I don't believe you," Fuji snarled, and backed away from him. "I don't want to see you again. I want you to stay away from me, my daughter, and my family…"

Mamoru's arms fell to his sides, and he tilted his head downward. "Fine… Then we'll do this the hard way…"

"This is fine…" the old man coughed a bit, and pointed to the metal gates. Jordan frowned and looked over to the mansion, then over to the old man.

"Hey, um, this is Graceland…"

"I know," he nodded. "I am—"

"Hey, ain't that Ryo's sportscar? And the Alfa Romeo? And the SSK?" Yukiko asked, looking out onto the front of the property.

"Hell, yes!" Jordan snapped. "They left without us!"

"Well, he's gotta go here anyway, so he'll have no problem with us joining them," Jordan muttered darkly, making a sharp turn into the mansion's gardens. The old man smiled.

They zoomed to the front doors, both ignoring the sound of sirens in the distance, "Why the hell did they leave without us?" Yukiko wondered, and Jordan turned around to call to their guest, but found him gone.

"Where the hell did he run off to?" Jordan asked, and quickly grabbed Yukiko and fell to the ground with her as a bright white flash came from the second floor of the house.

"No time to wonder…" Yukiko rose and drew her gun, then pushed up her glasses. "We've got to take care of a few small things, first."

"Agreed," he nodded, and both ran off into the home.