I do not own the Fate Series or Lupin the Third.
The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air of the seedy bar as Daisuke Jigen against the wall of a small lounge where there were three long sofas and one single leather couch. In the three sofas sat grinning and giggling Chinese gangsters, dressed in tacky suits though rather than their clothes it was the scars and tattoos on their faces and necks that made them really stand out. In the leather sofa was a bald old Chinese man in his late fifties dressed in eye catching purple robes. Both his hands had a gold ring on every finger, though his right was occupied and squeezing the buttocks of the young twenty-something woman on his lap petting his head. His left was holding a cigar. The same jazz music played for what seemed like the fiftieth time, but despite all this Jigen remained calm by taking yet another sip of his scotch and a few puffs of his cigarette.
If one got too nervous at this job, they would get killed.
"Celebrate boys! Today has been a good day for us!" The boss of the Chinese mob of Los Angeles, Lin Chin-Chin, boasted with a hearty laugh. His voice was coarse, evident of his heavy smoking, drinking, eating, and sleeping around. He sounded like a gorilla. "Those Italian bastards didn't even know what hit 'em! We iced three of their best guys and closed down a huge portion of their gambling operations, which makes me a very happy man!"
Jigen sighed just a bit at that. The reason the operation had been such a success was because the old boss was dead, and the mob was still reeling from the loss. Different members of the Italian Mob were still clawing for control, and all of them wanted a piece of Jigen. Especially since he joined the other side after he supposedly killed said boss.
Though in spite of everyone's assumptions, he hadn't killed the boss.
The Italian Boss' wife, Ciccolina, Jigen's lover, killed him instead.
It was an accident, as far as Jigen could tell. The guy probably found out about their affair, and wanted to kill Jigen. Jigen wouldn't have blamed him. Knowing that your significant other was sleeping around with another person would incite anyone. Not that he would've let the boss kill him of course...
There had been a struggle and Ciccolina shot her husband by accident. If the others saw her holding the smoking .357 Magnum, she would've been shot up on the spot. So maybe out of love, maybe not wanting to see any woman getting hurt, or maybe out of pride, Jigen took the gun and took the rap. Escaped and ran to the only group that would take him in: The Chinese. His actions only further contributed to the belief that he killed the boss.
But that was fine.
To this day, he still hadn't heard from Ciccolina. Not a word, not an anonymous call, not even a letter to tell him that she was okay or that she was worried about him...
Still, it was fine.
"Hey! Bodyguard!"
Jigen opened his right eye and tilted his head to Lin, who was fondling the girl he was with.
"How does it feel to finally be on the winnin' side?" The mafia boss grinned while the girl giggled. "To finally win and be on the fast track to the good life?"
Lin Chin-Chin was scum, a pig in every sense of the word. Still, this pig was his boss, and thus needed to be answered immediately. "I like to stay out of these kind of things. I'm just paid to be your bodyguard, nothing more. You can worry about the difficult stuff. I just shoot things."
Lin hacked out a laugh, smoke bellowing out of his throat as he placed the cigar back in his mouth. "Yeah right! Why else would ya whack your old boss and come crawlin' to me?"
Jigen narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man. A part of him, a part of him before he got into the organized crime business as a bodyguard, wanted to just shoot the guy in the face.
But that wouldn't be smart, or practical.
It would make the situation with him and the Italian Mob seem more muddled in mystery, and heads might turn to Ciccolina...
"Tch. Believe what you want."
"Hrm. Whatever ya say bodyguard guy." Lin Chin-Chin took a puff of his cigar and snapped his fingers. "Come in, girlie!"
Jigen's eyes went to the door to the right side of the bar, revealing a new occupant.
A woman.
A young woman, probably early twenties or late teens from the looks of things, walked in. The various punks whistled and grinned in approval at her appearance. A short yet tight white tank-top that showed off her modest breasts, but over that was a black trench-coat that seemed to offset both the shirt and her pale skin. Her pants were a simple pair of jeans, and on her feet were black combat boots. Her hair was grey, almost silvery white, and her cold blue eyes seemed to gaze right at Jigen specifically.
A small, almost playful smirk seemed to appear on her face.
"Bodyguard guy, this is Natalia Kaminski. She's new to our organization, and I paid a good sum of dough for her to be here." Lin Chin-Chin chuckled. "I want ya to teach her the ropes. Take good care of her. She's gonna be your partner."
Jigen gave a low growl. Not audible of course, and not even angry. Just annoyed. "Babysitting little girls ain't part of my job description."
"What's the matter Mr. Bodyguard? Afraid that I'll be too much for you to handle?" Natalia asked, and Jigen simply tipped his hat to hide his face.
Last thing he wanted her to see was his embarrassment at the statement.
"That's too bad." Lin chuckled out. "Ya see, you still gotta prove yer loyalty to me. Can't be too careful in our line of work. So consider this your last task. Unless ya wanna say somethin' about it..."
Jigen clicked his tongue in annoyance. Shrewd as he may be, Lin Chin-Chin wasn't stupid. Of course the Chinese mob boss wouldn't wholeheartedly trust him just because he killed his rival and joined up immediately after. It made sense for him to be cautious after the stunt he pulled. Still, if this at least got suspicious eyes off of his back...
"Fine. Whatever."
"Well, I'm sure we'll be having tons of fun together, Mr. Bodyguard." Natalia commented as she brought a cigarette to her pale lips, small yet soft-looking, and then took out a lighter. She lit it, taking in a breath as the other members of the mob howled with laughter.
The music seemed to get louder and louder as she took the cancer stick out, and breathed out the smoke, smirking at Jigen.
That was how the two of them first met...
xxXXxx
The alarm clocked blared, and Daisuke Jigen's eyes widened before he coughed. He sat up, still hacking away as his right hand hit the snooze button before fumbling for the cigarette box next to it. He grabbed onto it, as well as the lighter on top. Bringing the box in front of him, Jigen opened it and took out a cancer stick before lighting it and breathing in the sweet smoke.
"You're getting old, Jigen..." Jigen thought to himself as he breathed out the smoke, placing the lighter and the box back on the counter.
The hotel thankfully had a few rooms that allowed for smoking, but it was still pretty seedy. The wood was old and the bed creaked and Jigen had to kill a few bugs himself. Not to mention one of the cleaning ladies stole his wallet. So aside from a few bucks he was completely broke.
"Having dreams like that… remembering stuff that happened so long ago…"
Jigen thought such dreams were another result of his old age. It was also probably Lupin's fault too. Jigen remembered Natalia after all these years thanks to Lupin showing him that Emiya Kiritsugu was involved in the conflict. Emiya Kiritsugu, Natalia's apprentice…
"Only you would say a kid would willingly choose the life we took." Jigen took another puff of his cigarette before staring at it. To this day, he could not believe that he got Natalia hooked on the same brand that he regularly smoked.
Jigen shook his head as he reached for the TV remote. "Damn it Jigen, stop thinking about that woman. Remembering the past is no fun at all…"
The TV then turned on, showing the morning news.
"Shocking news today in Fuyuki! Is the copycat of the notorious Lupin the Third dead? More on the ongoing report in…"
Jigen then shut off the TV, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"Man... what a load of crap. Just what are you up to, you shady bastard?"
The Guy Called Jigen
Jigen was always the sort to have rotten mornings. Wake up coughing, have a smoke, and then cough some more. Then he would brush his teeth, shave a bit, straighten out some crumpled up shirt he threw into his suitcase, and then put on his jacket and hat. Pretty standard stuff to start a rather dreary day.
"Now to take a look from across the ocean, here's an old but good Western Song!" The room's alarm radio announced as Jigen put on his hat. "Hey Mister Sandman~! I'm so alone~! Ain't got no body-"
"My life doesn't need a soundtrack." Jigen grumbled as he pulled the plug of the alarm clock. Last thing he wanted was to hear a sad little old song to put a cap on this already bad day of his. Looking at the thousand yen note he had on his person, Jigen sighed. "Well, guess it's time to go get breakfast."
Turns out the weather was mirroring how he felt as well.
"Good Morning, Fuyuki." Jigen blandly thought to himself as he stepped outside of the hotel building, putting his hands into his pockets as he walked into the light rain pouring down.
"Hello Jigen Daisuke."
He walked on the sidewalk, the other occupants giving him only one look before giving him a wide berth.
"How are you today Fuyuki?" Jigen had already gotten used to this. There was no hiding his past, even if a person could not recognize his identity.
"Oh you know, raining on people. Raining on you. Making everyone collectively feel a tiny bit shittier and wetter. You?"
After all, Jigen's past was written right on his face. Might as well put a sign on him that said in bright red words all capitalized 'KILLER'.
"Not much. Breakfast time. Going to try and get myself a cheap piece of soba bread and then see if maybe I can try and find out where that bastard Lupin is really hiding out to see if he can give me some money for a train."
Oh yes, Jigen had serious doubts that Lupin was actually dead. Last time he died, Jigen felt a pit in his stomach and a sense of emptiness. Not depression, Jigen was kind of numb nowadays to that particular feeling. But anyways, he wasn't feeling it now, so nine out of ten Lupin was very much alive.
"Good idea, Jigen Daisuke."
Jigen then took out another cigarette and lit it.
"Thank you, Fuyuki."
When one doesn't have anyone else to talk to, they find other ways to occupy their minds.
Seeing a small vendor with an open door, Jigen walked into it and perused the wares. The store clerk was lazily flipping through a newspaper titled 'Fuyuki Bank in Hot Water! Millions Lost Forever For Lack of Insurance!'
Oh yes, that made Jigen smirk. Turned out that Lupin was so good with stealing things that insurance companies made a specific Lupin Insurance, something entirely different from liability and whatnot. Either way it was an insurance most places holding large sums of money or riches had to pay should Lupin decide to come rolling in, or one of his copycats, if they wished to get reimbursed.
Seems like with Lupin being dead and all his copycats being gone, the bank decided not to get the insurance. Meaning all that money was gone for good. Also meaning whoever Lupin stole from was not going to be happy. And when rich people weren't happy, they often sued whoever was even remotely responsible.
"You gonna stare all day or are you going to order something?" The clerk lazily asked before flipping to the next page. "And no smoking here."
"Tch." Jigen clicked his tongue as he spat the cigarette to the ground and put it out with his shoe. He then walked in, lazily grabbing a piece of soba bread from the side and putting on the counter. "One soba."
The clerk put down his newspaper, and when he got a full look at Jigen he stiffened, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "A thousand five hundred yen."
"You're kidding me. That's a total rip-off."
"You wanna start something about it, pal?" The clerk asked as he began to reach for the phone. Jigen was about to say something…
"Here." A coin flipped in the air and landed on the counter, giving the clerk exact change. Jigen looked to his side to see a man in his early twenties, shaved head wearing a black suit and shades. Also his right hand had its index finger out, slightly twitching as if ready to act.
Yakuza.
"…Come again." The clerk spoke before opening his paper again. Jigen took his soba bread in hand before turning around and walking past the Yakuza, the gang member doing the same.
As soon as they were outside, Jigen noticed that parked right outside the store was a black van with tinted windows, and a man with spiked black hair smoking a cigarette sitting on the hood.
"What's this about?" Jigen asked as he turned his eyes to the yakuza man behind him. Already, his hand was beginning to move to his trusty magnum. Just in case.
"Our boss, Fujimura, wants to talk with you." The man replied simply. "Now."
Seemed urgent, but Jigen was no fool. "I'm not really interested in getting involved with theYakuza's crap. Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed I'm retired."
"I must insist."
Jigen's eyes narrowed even more under his hat. "You sure you want to pick a fight with me, kid? You know who I am right?"
"Yeah, well my boss thought you wouldn't want to cause a scene. So either get in the van or this will become a scene, Jigen-san." Jigen looked to the other Yakuza member, who had gotten up from the hood and now seemed to begin to reach for his gun.
Well, the punk had a point. Last thing Jigen wanted was police attention, even if it had relaxed a bit since Lupin's heist. With Zenigata around, it would be easy for the old inspector to find out where he was and arrest him. And Jigen wasn't as skilled as Lupin was when it came to escaping a cell.
"…Fine. But is this something about trying to kill me or Lupin or…?"
"No, just a job. Boss also said that if he tried to kill you, you would probably get out of it and kill him. Said that so that you know this is all cool."
"Tch." Jigen took out his box of cigarettes and looked in. Damn, his last pack was already half gone. Taking one out, he put it into his mouth and lit it again. Breathing in the cancerous smoke and letting it out in a puff Jigen said, "Fine. I'll hear him out. But I ain't going to be taking a job."
The Yakuza didn't say anything, but relaxed a bit. Probably weren't looking forward to getting killed anyways. The bald one opened the door while the second one went to the driver's seat. Getting in, Jigen sat on the leather seat and took another puff before closing his eyes once more…
xxXXxx
Several days had passed since Natalia joined the mob.
Jigen sighed as he took another sip of scotch, the bar being practically empty save for the bored looking bartender who Jigen knew had closed ears. After all, most of Lin Chin-Chin's men went here to drink. At least, any of the men who actually had any taste in alcohol. So it was literally just Jigen and five other guys.
Today was another day of 'training' Natalia, at least that's what the official duty was. In reality, Jigen just taught her how to shoot and where to go or not go.
And she had the shooting part mostly down.
In fact, she was almost mechanical with it. Take out the gun, and shoot the target. All soldier-like… nothing original with it. No goal in mind other than killing the target. Not that it was a bad thing, at least in their line of work. Just eerie. The way he shot was like it was either his target or Jigen himself, both pride and life gone forever.
The way Natalia shot was more like she just needed to kill her target, that's it.
"Why do women need to be so complicated?" Jigen grumbled to himself as he took another sip.
"We're only complicated if you don't stick around us too often to hear what we say."
Jigen looked to his right to see Natalia getting onto the bar stool next to him. Looking at the bartender she ordered, "Vodka straight up, no ice." The man nodded and then turned his back onto the two. "I always found those who added ice to vodka have no sense of taste."
"Oh really?" Jigen grumbled out as he took another sip. He still preferred scotch. The bartender handed Natalia her drink in a small cup, and out of consideration just left the bottle. "How'd you find this place?"
"I followed you." Natalia replied before taking a swift swig of the glass, emptying it in one gulp. "I didn't have much to do and it wasn't my shift guarding the boss, so I decided to see what you do when you slunk off after our meetings and before you go back to being the plain-old Mr. Bodyguard." Natalia gave that same small smirk with her pale lips and chuckled a bit. "Have to say, this place suits you. Fairly new, but looks old."
"Tch." Jigen clicked his tongue as he took another sip of his scotch. Natalia also had this habit of poking fun at him for some reason.
"Have to say, your lessons are rubbing off on me a bit." Natalia stuck out her right index and thumb to form a gun. "Was able to nail two Italians trying to get the jump on me. Right in the center of the forehead all clean like. Used to screw up and shoot them through the eye."
"Hrm. Still not completely off from killing someone off." The Italian mob was trying to move in on the rookies. Which meant that they must've gotten a new leader. Only a matter of time before they got organized enough to try and bump him off. Keyword try. "Still, it looked like you had some training of your own already."
Again, Natalia chuckled. It was a light, playful chuckle. Sensual in a sense… "Well, you could say I've been in a few fights before."
"In a warzone?"
After all, people who grew up in bad neighborhoods acted a tad bit different.
"You could say that." Natalia poured herself another glass of vodka. "What about you?"
"Hm?"
"What makes the best hitman in the Italian Mob suddenly decide to ice his boss and go over to the Chinese?" Natalia raised an eyebrow as Jigen remained silent. "Some of the others say you got paid immensely by Lin to do it. Others say you were banging the boss' wife…"
Jigen gripped his glass even harder. Memories went flooding back. About his old boss, Ciccolina, their passion together…
"My reasons for doing what I did ain't any of your damn business."
"Hm, sorry if I hit a sore spot, Mr. Bodyguard." Natalia sipped her drink, while Jigen calmed himself down. It was an ordinary question to ask in their line of work, and there wasn't much else to talk about right now. After all, Natalia would want to know more about her teacher so this would've come up sooner or later. "Say, you have a cigarette to spare?"
Jigen fished out his box of Pall Mall and handed Natalia one.
"Pall Mall? You actually smoke that crap?"
Jigen raised an eyebrow. A cigarette was a cigarette to him, even if he had some brand loyalty. "Were you expecting something else?"
"Honestly, weed is better compared to that."
"You do drugs."
"I've experimented with acid and ecstasy during my rebellious teenage years, but no I'm not into that. Trust me. Once was enough for both." Natalia then pointed to the cancer stick. "But I know crap cigarettes."
"Do you want the damn cigarette or not?"
"Fine, fine. But the stuff they put in these kills the flavor." Natalia then took it, placed it between her pale lips, and lit it. After breathing in and out, she sighed. "Not the same as Dragon Smoke… taste almost just a bad however." Then let out another chuckle. "But they suit someone like you, Mr. Bodyguard." Then she took another puff. "In fact, I might get hooked on them."
Jigen said nothing and instead ordered another drink. The two stayed in the bar smoking, drinking, and talking for the rest of the night. Not like either of them had anything better to do…
xxXXxx
"We're here."
Jigen opened his eyes and looked down between his legs to see a small pile of ash, and a small inch-long remainder of a cigarette held between his lips. He simply opened the door of the car and flicked it out, looking at his destination.
Fairly traditional Japanese house, sliding doors and all. Huge yard littered with koi ponds and a small bridge that led to the entrance. "Definitely a boss' place."
The bald Yakuza got out of the passenger seat and motioned Jigen forward. "This way." With a nod, Jigen followed the gang member down the path and watched as two men in suits slid open the door to reveal two rows of men all dressed in black suits, kneeling. And in between them, sitting on a chair with grey hair and a hard face wearing a kimono with a strange tiger striped design on it.
"That's Boss Fujimura. Show some respect."
In response, Jigen took out a cigarette and lit it.
"You son of a…" The yakuza was about to pull out his weapon, but Fujimura raised his hand.
"It's all right, Takashi." The yakuza boss then chuckled before saying, "Sorry for dragging you here Jigen Daisuke. The name's Fujimura Raiga, and I welcome you to my house."
"Thanks. But can I leave now?" All the members save for Raiga then tensed in anger. "I'm an old man retired from this line of work, and I would like to stay that way."
"I understand. I myself would like to retire eventually. But…" Raiga's face grew grim as he clenched his hands into fists. "This isn't a time for such luxuries on my end." He then unclenched them, as if he were trying to calm himself down. "Recently, the Russian Mob has been moving into my territory. Trying to make everything that I have into theirs. They've killed at least a quarter of my men in raids."
"Mob warfare huh?" Not surprising. Every criminal enterprise wants to expand their businesses. "So what has this got to do with me?"
"Well, I'm sure their boss' name will ring a few bells in your head Jigen Daisuke." Raiga then reached into his pocket and held up the ace of spades card. "His name is Pycal."
Jigen almost dropped the cigarette out of his mouth. "Pycal?"
Pycal used to be perhaps the scariest underworld hitman around. Codenamed 'The Magician', due to his preferred execution techniques seeming like magic, and bullets never being able to put him down. If you were Pycal's target, you might as well be already dead… which was why he was pissed when Fujiko came running to them. Apparently, she seduced Pycal and stole blueprints to his secret techniques. He took it poorly to say the least, and because Jigen and Lupin were protecting Fujiko they were on Pycal's hit list too. Lupin, the smart bastard that he was, figured out Pycal's tricks and turned them against him and even figured out the guy's magic formula which made him impervious to harm (Although Lupin lost it soon after, on purpose if Jigen had to put money on it), and burned Pycal alive before the man dropped himself down a waterfall.
Jigen had always assumed that Pycal died from the fall, and if not that from his injuries, but now it seemed that the bastard had survived and had crawled pretty high up in the underworld.
"You must understand how serious my situation is." Raiga said with a sigh. "My boys are good, but they aren't fully prepared for an all-out mob war. And neither is my family. Which is why I want to hire you for a job."
Jigen was silent for a second before he answered. "Let's say I were interested, what is the job?"
"To guard my granddaughter, Taiga." Raiga replied before showing a picture of a young girl whose brown hair was tied back. "The Russians might go after her to use against me as leverage. She's a young girl and isn't really familiar with my business. I don't want her to be."
Kids. Always had to be kids, and women at that. "And what makes you think I'll take the job?"
"I've heard that you are a bit short on cash Jigen Daisuke." One of the suits then brought forward a black briefcase and showed numerous yen notes inside. "Five million yen for you ensuring my granddaughter's safety in these troubling times."
Jigen thought for a moment. It was true that he needed money… but was it worth it to go back into this life? Even as a last job besides what he was doing with Lupin?
But if he didn't do it… that Taiga kid might as well already be…
"Fine."
xxXXxx
Days turned into weeks.
Jigen honestly hated this. He was now at a club, and he hated clubs. Lin Chin-Chin wanted to party with his latest mistress, and Jigen along with several other suckers had the unfortunate duty of guarding both their stupid asses.
"Don't you think you should smile more?" Natalia commented, reminding Jigen why the situation was barely tolerable. She leaned onto the bar table next to him. "Honestly, it's a club. At least pretend to have a little fun."
"Clubs aren't my thing." Reminded too much of him about his first 'date' with Ciccolina. "Shouldn't you be with the boss?"
"My shift being next to him is over thank you very much. Honestly, any girl can stand to be hit on only so many times."
"Yeah, he does seem to have a way with women." Jigen replied before a new couple entered the club. They seemed to be scanning the area…
Hitmen.
"You see them too, don't you?" Natalia whispered to Jigen, who nodded. "What say we get the drop on them now?"
"We need them to pull their guns out first, just to be sure."
After all, Jigen couldn't really stomach shooting innocents by accident.
But Natalia could, if it meant she got her paycheck.
After all, he had seen her gun down the teenage son of a low-level mob boss who watched his dad get shot up by her, and picked up a gun in some bull-headed attempt at getting revenge. He didn't chew her out, he just commented on it a bit bluntly about how unnecessary it was. Then she replied that it didn't matter what method she used. She just had to ensure her own survival.
Jigen wasn't going to argue with that logic, but it did show a much colder side of Natalia.
Not that he hadn't gotten a better picture of his 'student'. Like she was willing to take on any job Lin Chin-Chin gave her so long as she was paid. Killing troublemakers, organizing some hits on the Italian Mob… hell, she even once slept with their slob of a boss after he raised her pay.
But she did give him some consolation in that he was horrible in the sack, and she faked it the entire way.
Again, women were so damn complicated.
"Then let's dance a bit, and keep an eye on them." Natalia grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor.
"H-Hey!"
"Come on Jigen, don't be such a square." Natalia said coyly as they got into the groove. Jigen thought that if he was here, he might as well play along. But he didn't keep his eyes off the couple. "You know, the more I'm with you the more I find out about you."
"Really? Like what?"
"You're a walking contradiction." Natalia commented as she also looked at the couple. "You're young, but you act like an old man. You're gruff, but you're also pretty nice sometimes. A bit hard-assed, but you seem to care about others. You're a bodyguard for a mobster, but you only shoot when you need to and not whenever it is convenient."
Jigen said nothing. Not like he could deny anything she said. He did care for her, if Jigen really thought about it. Though perhaps he would care less if she wasn't so damn close to his body…
"I honestly find that fascinating."
The couple then moved, reaching inside their clothes and showing a flash of metal. Jigen and Natalia acted quicker. In a second, one shot and then two. Two bodies hit the floor in heaps. A scream from the unknowing patrons, crimson red oozing out of the two would-be assassins while Natalia and Jigen held their guns. Jigen in his right hand, and Natalia in her left.
"Well, looks like another successful workday." Natalia then smirked as she patted his left hand. "Never knew you were so forward, Jigen."
Jigen looked down at his left hand and saw it had snaked around Natalia's waist, possibly to protect her. To keep her close…
"Damn."
Jigen let go and put his gun away, before walking to the bar.
"Where are you going?" Natalia asked while Jigen put a cigarette in his mouth.
"To get a drink, what else?"
Natalia said nothing and instead looked back at the corpses. What the hell was he doing? He was acting like he had never touched a woman before! Was it because in some weird way, Natalia reminded him of Ciccolina? There's sure to be some weird word for it, even if the guy talked out of his ass most of the time.
Still, when Natalia joined him at the bar a couple moments later, he didn't try to make her go away.
xxXXxx
The school bell woke Jigen up from his small power-nap, and caused him to shake his body a bit.
"What is up with me today?"
Though it wasn't hard to guess why he was having all these dreams. With Lupin coming back and whatnot, the past was crawling right out from the hole he kept it in. The spout was broken, letting everything out.
Even the bad parts.
Pycal. That was a name Jigen didn't want to hear ever again, but he did. Jigen should have known, should have expected it. All these years… he had never seen Pycal's body burn to a crisp with his own eyes. Never saw him get crushed by the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall, never watched his windpipe and head become a bloody pulp, never saw his lifeless body wash up on the bank of the river… He never saw the body.
And in this line of work, if you don't see the body, then there's always the chance that all the rotten stuff would eventually just come back.
If only he learned that little lesson sooner. Maybe he would have made sure Pycal would be dead. Maybe he would have put a bullet in Okuzaki Yael's skull instead of crippling his ability to shoot...
"Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn."
It was an old quote Jigen remembered and a good summary for most of his life.
At least the old man sweetened the deal by giving Jigen an old black 1970 Dodge Challenger to ride around in.
Jigen watched as all the students came pouring out of Homurahara High, dressed in their uniforms. Talking with friends, running to their parents' cars, walking home…
Then he spotted her, Taiga. Dressed in a blue sweatshirt with two vertical lines and a pair of bloomers, with a shinai with a tiger stripe on the handle with a grin on her face as she waved away at her friends.
"Time to get to work." Jigen grumbled to himself as he placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. That one action caused all the students to immediately keep their distance.
It also seemed to signal to Taiga that he was there for her.
She pouted and walked over to him. "Can't grandpa just let me walk around by myself?"
"Goes straight at the source huh?" Jigen thought to himself as he stared at the young girl. "Not my idea. In all honesty I would prefer doing anything else. But this is just how it is." Jigen then thumbed to the passenger seat and said, "Get in."
With a huff, Taiga did as she was told and opened the door before climbing in. Jigen did the same and got into the driver's seat before driving away from the school.
Now it was just a matter of bringing Taiga to her grandfather's place so that she could have some extra security.
"I don't understand it." Taiga whined in her seat as she kicked her feet a bit. "Grandpa has never been so… so strict! He always has creepy guys like you-"
Creepy? Sure, he wasn't the picture of an upstanding civil servant, but creepy? Jigen actually felt a little insulted at being described like that.
"-to bring me home! He almost never lets me hang out with my friends anymore!" Taiga then raised her right hand to her face and pushed up a set of imaginary glasses. "And my dad is all like 'Taiga-chan, this is serious. When you're done with practice you need to head straight home! Don't let anything distract you.' And he said this would only happen for a few days! I can't handle this!"
"Can you stop whining? It's distracting." Jigen grumbled out as he headed through the shopping district. Man, this girl can ramble on…
Then, Taiga coughed a bit before covering her nose. "Can you not smoke around me? I'm a minor you know! At least open a window!"
Grumbling to himself, Jigen opened his window to let out the smoke.
"I mean, I don't get why you old-timers smoke so much. Don't you guys know it's bad for your health?"
"I worry about my health. Though smoking is an entirely different matter." Jigen said, getting a confused look from Taiga at his words. Jigen ignored her, tapping his cigarette in the ash tray full of other used cancer sticks. He was glad some of the Yakuza guys were willing to give up their boxes for him. Wasn't Pall Mall, but Jigen would take what he got. "I'm more focused on important grown up stuff to worry about what smoking could do to me, Tiger…"
Suddenly, a fire flashed in Taiga's eyes. She grabbed the Shinai in the back and clocked Jigen on the top of his head. "What the hell!?" Jigen shouted as his skull hurt and he attempted to keep from swerving on the road. What kind of strength did this little girl have!?
"DON'T CALL ME TIGER!" Taiga roared out as she raised her shinai, ready to strike again…
"Do you want me to crash this car, you crazy brat!?" Jigen yelled, and the fire in Taiga's eyes immediately disappeared. Seems like she at least had some sense in her hotheaded skull.
With a huff, Taiga dropped the Shinai back and crossed her arms. "Not like I wanted to be here anyway just because of grandpa's stupid business."
Jigen then stopped the car on the side.
"Look, I'm not here to coddle or amuse you, or to keep you happy." Jigen growled as he puffed his cigarette and looked directly at Taiga. "Do you want to know who I am? I'm your bodyguard, because some dangerous men who would very much want to hurt your grandfather in any way possible might come after you. Why? Because he's in the very same business they are in. I'm not your dad, I'm not your playmate, I'm just an old man who your old man dragged out of retirement to keep you safe. Because this world isn't all high school clubs and friends, and some people need to get their hands dirty while most of you kids live in blissful ignorance. So stop acting like I'm an inconvenience to your happy little life and let me do my damn job woman!"
Taiga was silent for a moment, and then she started to sniffle a bit. "Damn it…" Jigen didn't want the kid to cry, he was just pissed from all the memories and his past coming back… okay the brat whining and hitting him over the head might have helped a bit. Sighing, Jigen gave Taiga a thousand yen. "There's an ice cream place there." Jigen pointed to the shop across from the car. "Go there, get a caramel or a cone or something, then come back. I'm driving you home."
Nodding, Taiga took the money and got out of the car. As she went into the store, Jigen sighed and put out the used cigarette before fishing out another one. Despite what he said, Taiga seemed like a good kid if a bit hot headed. Seemed a lot better than most of the women he had met in his life…
Jigen then lit his cigarette, and let his mind wander…
xxXXxx
Weeks turned into months.
"Damn…" Jigen hissed to himself as he stepped forward, a trail of blood forming on the apartment complex's hallway carpet coming straight from his gut. It hurt like hell, felt like his belly was on fire. He had got it because in a stupid lapse of judgement in the aftermath of a firefight made he let his guard down. And it turned out one of the guys Jigen thought he killed wasn't quite so dead and shot him. He killed the bastard soon after, but still the wound remained.
"Four-o-four…" Jigen muttered as he stopped at the door in front of him and knocked hard. In a few minutes, the door opened to show Natalia in a white tank-top and jeans smoking a cigarette.
"Yeah, yeah what do yo-" Natalia's eyes widened and the cigarette dropped out of her mouth. "Jigen?"
"D-Didn't know where else to…" Jigen couldn't finish his sentence, and then just dropped forward. Natalia caught him in her arms, and that's the point where he blacked out.
"Mhmmm… mhmmm…. mhmmm…. mhmhmhm… mmhmm…"
A soft humming melody greeted Jigen when he came too, he opened his eyes to see himself in a bed minus a blanket. The sheets under him were white, and stained with blood. Not soaking with it, just a few stains. His abdomen was covered in bandages, and when he looked to his right he saw on it next to his hat a small table was a tray that had on it a red glass of water with bullet shards inside of it, and a pair of medical tweezers.
"Oh, you're awake."
Jigen looked in front of him to see Natalia sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, her white tank-top stained with blood and a cigarette held between her right hand's fingers.
"I was honestly expecting you to stay out for a couple more hours." Natalia admitted before bringing the cigarette to her lips. "Don't worry about the mess you made outside, called in a few favors to clean it up."
"Sorry about this." Jigen then sat up to get a better view… and was shocked when he didn't feel any pain from his abdomen. "What the hell did you put me on?"
"…Let's just say I fixed you up and leave it at that. Don't take off those bandages for another day, by the way." Natalia replied before tapping her cigarette into the ash tray next to her. "What happened to you Jigen?"
"Mistakes, and let's leave it at that." Despite saying that, Jigen was much more shaken up than he seemed. He almost died because of a stupid mistake, and the first thought he had was getting to Natalia's place. He knew it ever since he had to bring in an especially drunk Natalia after a night of drinking together, but he also knew the boss' place and a doctor who was on the pay. So why did he head here first?
"Wouldn't expect the best shot I've ever known to make a mistake like that." Natalia commented blandly as she took another puff.
"Why did you fix me up?" Jigen asked with a raised eyebrow. "You could have called a doctor and saved yourself the trouble."
"I couldn't stand to see you die on me." It was a simple answer, but it said so much more to Jigen. Did she… really consider him that close to her?
"…You wanted to know why I came over to this mob." Jigen whispered, and Natalia froze in place. "I'll tell you. You can keep a secret right?"
Maybe it was the shock talking, possibly just a confession any low-life would make after almost dying but instead of God Jigen was talking to Natalia, or he just felt like this would be payment for saving his life. But he spilled his guts to Natalia, about his old boss, about the affair he had with Ciccolina, and especially about how he took the fall for her…
When he was done, Natalia had put out her cigarette, and her legs were now uncrossed and her eyes were staring straight at Jigen. For some reason, he felt… better. Was it because he finally told this to someone?
Or maybe was it because he told it to her?
"Jigen, I…" Natalia stopped herself for a second before shaking her head. "I don't know how to tell you this, but a rumor is floating around that the wife of the boss you killed… is now running the family."
Jigen's eyes widened, and a small part of his heart felt like it was breaking. Ciccolina was now running the Italian Mob? Why? Wouldn't she want to get out? Who in their right mind would stay if they weren't truly involved with the business? Or was it because… did she use him?
Did she use him just so that she could take over?
"Damn it…" Jigen muttered, ripping his hands into fists and his eyes tightening shut.
"Jigen…" Natalia then looked out the window, and her normally cold and mirthful eyes turned soft and were filled with sorrow. "Jigen, I've done terrible things too. Things that I'll never be able to take back, and maybe some things that I regret." Natalia then got up from her chair and sat down on his side of the bed. "And maybe things that I know I should regret, but take joy and pride in doing."
"Natalia…" Jigen muttered as she placed her right hand on his left cheek.
"I may not be her, but maybe…" Natalia's face grew closer and closer with each second, before their lips were only an inch away. "…Maybe I can help you forget, at least for a moment."
Then, she kissed him.
Jigen's eyes widened in shock, but they softened before closing as he returned her kiss. She was now on top of him, and her tong went into his mouth and met his.
The night was filled with quiet moans, shivers of ecstasy, and soft sweet mutterings.
xxXXxx
"Hello there!"
A loud booming voice made Jigen break away from his thoughts, and look out the window to see a large foreigner with red hair and a beard grinning at him.
"Would you happen to be Jigen Daisuke?"
That question made Jigen's eyes widen and his hand begin inching toward his magnum. This guy knew who he was. "What's it to you?"
"Rider! Stop!" A new, whiny voice spoke in English as a teenager attempted to push the giant away. "I told you that we weren't supposed to draw any attention to ourselves!"
Okay, Rider. One of the classes of Servants that was supposed to be Lupin's opponents. Which meant that the kid was Waver Velvet, the Servant's master.
"Come now, boy!" Rider then slapped Waver on the back, making the kid gasp and end his attempts at stopping the Servant. "You were the one who was so curious about this stranger!"
"I was talking to myself! To myself!"
"Then that is a bad habit you must break!"
"Can you quit the comedy show?" Jigen asked with a raised eyebrow. These two had a weird dynamic. "What do you want?"
Grinning, Rider responded while picking up Waver by his collar. "This boy was wondering if you were truly Jigen Daisuke, famous partner of the legendary Lupin the Third!"
"No I wasn't!" Waver shouted as he flailed about, glaring at the giant. "And put me down!"
Rider did so, while Jigen just took another puff of his cigarette. "What makes you say that I am?"
"Come now, very few people would dress in an attire similar to him, or wear the same cap at the same tilt." Rider's face then turned dead serious as he said, "Also, it is not that hard to spot the face of a killer."
Jigen looked up at Rider, and saw that the giant did not say that in an insulting way. In fact, now that his face was serious, Jigen could see the same stony expression, the same cold calculating eyes.
No doubt about it. The Servant was a killer as well. You couldn't be Alexander the Great without killing many people, and having it show at times.
"…What my face shows shouldn't be any of your damn business." Jigen muttered coldly at the two before turning his head to look in the shop. Seems like Taiga was still stuck in line. "Now move along if you know what is good for you."
"So, you are on a mission right now." Jigen could not help but be impressed with the man's observation skills. "But do know this, Jigen Daisuke." Rider then lowered his head to the window and muttered, "You'll remain alone only if you choose to have it that way."
Jigen's face grew hard. "I'm alone because I choose to be."
"If you say so."
"And kid." Waver perked up at being mentioned, and Jigen glared in the shadow of his hat. "If you aren't prepared to get your hands dirty, take my advice: Get yourself out of the business you are in as quickly as possible. If you don't, you'll get yourself killed."
Waver was about to say something, but Rider just pat him on the back with a grin. "Thank you for the advice, Jigen Daisuke! Hopefully, we shall meet again at more appropriate circumstances." With that, the two walked away.
Jigen got out of the car and disposed of the old cigarette he was smoking. Fishing out a new one, he lit it and watched Taiga while sitting on the hood.
xxXXxx
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
"I want you all to meet our newest member!"
Jigen leaned on the wall to the right of Lin Chin-Chin, with Natalia leaning on the opposite side. She smirked at him with the cigarette in her mouth, while Jigen said nothing and let out a breath of smoke from the side of his mouth.
Their relationship… was a bit complicated. They weren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, their line of work doesn't allow for something that serious or cheesy. They slept with one another almost every night, but they weren't friends with benefits since the stuff they mutter to one another wasn't language friends used. Were they lovers? Well, Jigen supposed so… he may have the same warm feelings as he had for Ciccolina.
But, was it safe to have those feelings?
And did Natalia feel the same way as him?
Damn, now he was thinking as if he were in some cheesy romance novel.
The door then opened in the back of the room, and in a green suit walked in an Italian man with short brown hair and brown eyes wearing a dark green suit. He looked almost like a teenager, but Jigen knew you couldn't get into the family unless you were at least twenty. Even a bastard like Lin Chin-Chin had some standards.
"His name is Firo Borgia. Got him right off the boat from England before the Italian bastards, no offense, got to him." Firo simply shrugged at Lin's comment with a sheepish smile. "He's going to be our head interrogator from now on! Treat him with the respect he deserves."
"Nice ta meet you all." Firo greeted the others with a grin. "I'll work hard, and I promise I'll make anybody you bring to me squeal in less than half an hour. Trust me, I got creative methods."
Jigen sighed as the other members laughed and clapped their hands. Kid seemed nice, but of course you can't be completely green if you're an interrogator. Friendly though, which was rare in their line of work. Maybe he'll offer the guy a drink or something later.
But then Jigen noticed something. Natalia was staring at Firo, and instead of showing her usual aloofness… her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Like a hunter who just found their prey.
xxXXxx
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Fine." Jigen replied as Taiga exited the door, holding a vanilla and chocolate cone. "That all you got?"
"All I could afford with the money you gave me." Taiga responded while giving her ice cream a lick. "Would have gotten five more scoops if I had the money on me."
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"Growing girl."
"Hm." Jigen muttered as he took another puff of his cigarette. Girl seemed to be doing okay didn't look like she was about to cry. That was relieving for him.
"…I've been thinking a bit, about what you said and all that." Taiga said while looking down. "It's true, the world doesn't really revolve around me or my life. I don't really understand grandpa's business… but I want to learn more." Taiga's face hardened to show a somewhat cute little determined look. "I want to learn more, and see the world. Maybe teach others what I know… maybe guide them…"
While that little speech seemed to be cute, Jigen's eyes wandered. He noticed three guys in sunglasses wearing black tracksuits with their hands in their pockets beginning to walk towards them.
Too suspicious.
Suddenly, Jigen pulled Taiga close.
"Hey, what are you…"
"Stick close to me, and don't leave my side." Jigen whispered to her, keeping his eyes on the three men. He quickly rushed her to the car and opened the door before shoving her inside.
"Bro! You both come with us, bro."
Their Japanese was thick with a Russian accent, and it kind of showed in the pronunciation that these guys didn't know the language well.
Definitely mob.
"Not interested." Jigen replied as he quickly rushed to the driver's seat.
"It not request, bro." Then, a rustle of clothes. The pulling out of something cold, black, and metallic…
But Jigen was faster.
Quickly, before anyone could blink, he drew out his magnum and aimed before firing three times. Two landed in between two Russians' eyes, making them fall to the ground. The third however shot off the third Russian's ear. Making him scream in pain at the wound and a now ruptured eardrum.
"Damn it, Jigen…"
Damn him for getting old, getting rusty…
Screams came from the shoppers, and Taiga just stared in mute horror at the dead bodies. But he ignored them. He just got into the car and reloaded the three spent bullets. He then started the car.
"You killed them." Taiga whispered, and a part of Jigen felt sorry for the kid.
But this wasn't the time to feel sorry.
"GET THAT BRO, BROS!" The injured mafioso yelled in pain, and Jigen then noticed how there seemed to be four identical dark blue Alfa Romeo Giulia's parked on the street. Each having two men dressed in the same tracksuits, all of them starting their engines.
"Shit."
Not wasting another second, Jigen stepped on the gas while steering out of his parking space. Cars honked as he zoomed down the street, but he steered out of the way and kept going.
The four cars attempting to keep up with him were of greater concern.
Jigen then noticed that one of the passengers was leaning out of the window, aiming a semi-automatic rifle at them.
It was a damn shame that he had to ruin the car, but…
Jigen took his magnum in his right hand and bent his arm back. He glanced at the rearview mirror, took aim, and fired.
The mafioso's head reared back from the impact, and his body jerked back. The rifle fired from the dead man's grip suddenly tightening right at the Giulia's front left tire. The car swerved to the side of the road and crashed into a parked car, but the others kept up their pursuit.
"Damn…!"
"What's happening!?" Taiga screamed as Jigen took a sharp turn at the corner. One of the cars were about to follow suit.
"Duck your head!"
Almost instantly, Taiga followed his order. He aimed through the car's bottom right window and fired twice. Both driver and passenger were now dead, and but the car continued forward. People on the sidewalk jumped out of the way, and the car crashed into a pastry shop. He swerved the car side to side as two guys in the remaining mafia cars fired at him. The Challenger was a sturdy car,, and didn't seem to mind getting a few bullets in the back.
"I-I don't… what is…? Why are they…?"
Great, now the girl was going into shock. And he only had three more bullets. Perfect.
"These are the guys who want to hurt your grandpa bad." Jigen told her, making a hard left through a traffic light while dodging oncoming cars, whose drivers honked angrily at him as he cut through the intersection. "I'm the one who'll make sure that doesn't happen."
Jigen fired once at the traffic light overhead. What attached the heavy three-lamp device to the pipe it hung onto was shot off and the heavy mass of metal fell immediately… right on the hood of a pursing Giulia. The car flipped forward, skidding onto the street by the roof.
But the last car was still on them, swerving to the right to avoid crashing into their comrade's car and then back onto the lane behind Jigen. And he had only one bullet left.
Jigen watched from the rearview mirror as the two mafioso's smirked, and the one in the passenger's seat clocked his rifle.
Jigen looked in front to see a truck, honking its horn.
"Watch out!" Taiga cried out while covering her eyes. It was coming closer and closer. Just twenty five feet away…
…Perfect.
Jigen swerved to the right, and watched as the two mafioso's faces morph into horror before they crashed into the truck. Lucky. He was no Lupin when it came to car chases. But when he got behind the wheel, he got the job…
Suddenly, force lurched his body to the right. He felt something, originating from the bottom right of the car. The Challenger swerved down the street, and Jigen caught sight of a SWAT car…
He hit the brake pedal, and the car slowly but surely screeched to a halt. That's when Jigen's head hit the glass window of his door so hard that it cracked, and he blacked out.
xxXXxx
Time then seemed to stop.
Jigen stared at the scene in mute shock.
In front of him, on the ground littered with bullets, was the body of Firo. His blood draining from his body and creating a duffle of crimson on the wooden floor of his apartment.
Standing over him, holding a book titled 'Research Progress', next to a trashcan with fire coming out of it, was Natalia. In her coat, holding the smoking gun.
He had originally come to deliver a message from Lin about two more guys being captured and needing him right away. For some reason, the new interrogator didn't have a phone. Then when Jigen was walking up the steps, he heard gunfire, and then silence.
Now he knew why.
Jigen took out his magnum and aimed it at Natalia. "What the hell is this, Natalia?"
"Jigen…"
"Answer me, damn it!" Jigen shouted, his eyes narrowing in anger.
Natalia was silent for a moment before saying, "I was completing my job."
"You're working for someone else?" Now it was starting to make sense. She was working for someone else, but not the Italian Mob. Otherwise he would be dead already. "You're a mercenary!?"
"Yes." Natalia pointed at Firo's corpse. "I got word that he made an arrangement to come over to this mob because of an arrangement he made with Lin. So I joined up and waited."
Jigen's teeth grinded against one another. She was never with the family to begin with. It was just a convenient cover for her! "Tell me why! What did this kid do that was so bad that you would… you would…?"
He wanted to say 'lie to me'. Why lie to him for all this time? To keep up a charade?
"…Trust me Jigen, he was no saint. I can tell you that much." Natalia answered softly. "As for why and who, I can't tell you. There are some things… there are some things that you can't know about this world. Stuff that you can never know."
Jigen wanted to call her on that bullshit. To demand answers, maybe shoot her if she didn't give him a straight answer.
But for some reason, something was stopping him. Something in his mind was refusing to go through with the action.
Memories, feelings, her soft lips and cold eyes…
Jigen lowered his magnum. "Go."
She blinked in surprise.
"Get out of here. Now."
His voice was full of betrayal and heartbreak.
Her lips started to move, as if she wanted to say something. But then Natalia bit her lip and instead walked forward, going past Jigen…
"But… If I ever see you again…" Jigen glared at her. "I will kill you. Do you understand me?"
Natalia closed her eyes, nodded, and then walked away.
When her footsteps weren't heard anymore, Jigen aimed at the window and emptied his gun at it, silent as a grave.
Women… all of them took you in and then tossed you to the dirt. They manipulated you, wrung your feelings onto their little finger and then flicked you off at a whim.
He learned that much from this experience.
Especially beautiful women.
xxXXxx
"Bodyguard! Bodyguard!"
Jigen's eyes opened blearily to see Taiga, her window shattered and scratches all over her face and legs. Her sweater was even torn a bit. Fear was in her eyes… fear and confusion.
"Please wake up! I-I don't think those are policemen!"
Jigen could see that. Two guys in shades in police uniforms, clocking their handguns and holding it in their hands. The way they walked was not professional… sloppy. The SWAT setting up a barrier and holding up the crowd were openly yelling at the crowd to back off. It was to keep up the illusion that they were officers, and no one was to interfere or call the cops since they were 'already there'.
"In the glove compartment… there are some extra bullets." Jigen tossed his magnum to Taiga. "There's a button on the side of my gun that should open the ammunition compartment. Reload it."
"I-I…"
"Do it or these guys will kill me and then take you away."
Now was not the time to coddle the kid. It was do or die time.
Taiga nodded swiftly and opened the glove compartment. It showed a box labeled 'ammunition'. She opened it with shaking hands and it was full of magnum rounds. She then opened the gun's ammunition compartment and began putting them in one by one.
"Hurry up!" Jigen shouted as the two 'cops' were only twenty feet away.
"I-I'm trying!" Taiga shouted as she accidentally dropped a bullet. She only had three more to go…
"Now kid!" Jigen shouted as they were now bringing up their guns.
Taiga was now crying. She couldn't handle this! This was all kinds of messed up! One minute she was at school, and now she was loading a gun!
At that moment, she had put in the last bullet.
"Here!" Taiga yelled as she pushed the hunk of metal into Jigen's right hand. He snapped the thing shut, and aimed at the 'cop' to his left and fired once. While blood flew from the exit wound and the man's head began to snap back, Jigen aimed at the second disguised mafioso and did the same thing. He then slammed his foot down on the gas, and the car shot forward.
"Hang on!" He yelled, and honked his horn causing the crowd to scatter. He crashed through a wooden barrier, and drove down an almost empty street while the 'SWAT', fired at him, destroying the windshield further. Luckily, neither of them were hurt. Jigen pulled Taiga's head down and kept his own low. However one bullet did graze the brim of his hat…
"Need to get out of the city…" Jigen thought to himself while gritting his teeth. "Those phony cops are keeping the real ones away… probably saying the magic words 'national security'." One of the little phrases that stops people from worrying about what you're doing, where you're going, who you're killing…
Either way, no cop was coming to stop it anytime soon. He needed to leave, bring Taiga to Raiga and…
That's when he noticed it. The rumble of a motorcycle engine. He looked forward and saw a white-haired, red eyed woman in a suit riding a black BMW R1100RT, her right hand raised with a handgun in it.
"Women, always women." Jigen thought blandly before raising his arm and firing twice at the front tire…
But before they hit, the woman jumped off, landing on the hood of a parked car. She then fired her gun at the hood. Six times. The engine sputtered and the car began to speed up a bit. "Shit!" The bullets he fired hit the tire, causing the motorcycle to swerve before slipping on its side at high speeds towards Jigen and Taiga. He swerved to avoid it going through the windshield…
And then hit the parked cars on the side, crashing and everything went dark for Jigen once more.
xxXXxx
Years passed by.
Jigen watched as he stood over Natalia, her hand on her gut as blood dripped out where he shot her. This was just supposed to be another job with Lupin, stealing some historic crap for an eccentric rich European dude with your usual something deeper happening behind the scenes.
The last thing he expected was to see his old lover trying to assassinate the client.
They shot at each other for a bit, but despite all her training and improvement Jigen was still the better of the two. He avoided all her shots, shot at the bullets that got too close for comfort, and then nailed one right in her gut.
Natalia looked like she hadn't aged a day.
"Y-You're still as good as ever, Jigen." Natalia wheezed out softly, smirking just a bit as sweat formed at her brow from pain. "Never expected to beat you anyway."
"Then why did you even try?" Jigen asked, not moving either. He would not shoot unless she made a move. That was what he had promised himself.
"You know me Jigen, try to accomplish the mission at all costs. Get the money and go."
Her lips and those cold yet warm eyes were still the same.
"That the reason why you shot a rookie punk like Firo?"
Natalia sighed, looking to the side just a bit. "There was honestly more to it than that, Jigen."
"Just tell me why." Jigen growled out while tightening his grip on the gun. "Why did you…."
Part of him wanted to ask why she left him.
Why Natalia threw away what they had with each other.
At least give him the chance to understand, even if he couldn't.
Natalia sighed, a sad one, a longing one. "You know, once I wouldn't have minded if you found me. If we ran into each other like this. I wouldn't have really minded if you killed me. In fact… part of me would have been grateful if it was you doing the deed."
Jigen's eyes narrowed. Did she… did she have the same death wish as Ciccolina did? Waited years upon years to find the right opportunity to meet him again, just so that he could kill her? Out of love?
"But… I can't afford to die now. Not when someone's relying on me." Natalia's right hand moved, and threw something at Jigen. He shot it, and smoke erupted out. Jigen coughed as he waved the stuff away, but he saw Natalia's outline get up and turn around.
"Goodbye, Jigen."
"Wait!" Jigen rushed forward as it disappeared. But he had to stop himself, before he ran off the edge of the building he was on. Nothing. He looked down, and saw that the blood trail from Natalia's wound ended right at the edge. "Natalia…"
Jigen sighed. Gone. Gone again. Probably went off to save that kid from Lupin or something. Perhaps he was the reason why she could continue on in this life.
Putting his gun back, Jigen took out a cigarette and lit it, looking up into the sky. No use chasing after her. She was gone. Just like every other woman in his life.
Probably gone forever.
"Goodbye, Natalia."
xxXXxx
"Bro, don't be dead yet bro!"
Jigen groggily opened his eyes, his vision going in and out as well as his hearing. Everything hurt, he was pretty sure he had a concussion. Oh, and he could barely move his body, but that wasn't a problem since he seemed to be being dragged by two people. One for each arm. The heavily Russian-accented Japanese was being spoken by a Russian mobster in a police uniform in front of him, smirking victoriously.
"Bro, that was bad crash yeah? You lucky that it didn't mess you up bad, bro."
Jigen looked further up to see the white-haired woman that was on the motorcycle tying up Taiga, above and below the ankles and her hands behind her back. Duct tape over her mouth for good measure. Taiga looked to be cut and bleeding all over, weakly struggling in her bonds. Still in better shape that he was. Lucky, so lucky…
"You or little bitch. It very good operation bro! We need you alive!"
That was never a good sign.
Jigen was thrown into the van, and before he could comprehend it the white-haired woman was already restraining him. "Bro, you gonna be messed up real bad. You have no idea bro. But that not my job."
The not-cop raised his right foot.
"Messing you up's Boss Pycal's job, bro."
He then stomped down, and that's when Jigen finally blacked out.
To Be Continued…
Note: Hey everyone! It's been a while! Thanks goes to Kiiam and Sir Godot for making this happen so soon!
I am honestly glad I was able to get this chapter out, but most of the credit goes to the release of the Lupin OVA Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone for me getting a quick review in Jigen's character and what made him so awesome. I actually used this chapter to experiment more with the Noir genre, since Jigen's a character that fits the genre perfectly. As does Natalia as this chapter's feme-fatale. It was also me melding more of the Lupin lore with the Nasuverse.
No songs of note to be placed here... well, except for the scene where Jigen and Natalia connect before sleeping with one another. There, play The Woman Called Fujiko Mine OST: Elegy 2. Just seems to click to me.
Also, be sure to read and review A Different Kind of Truth! I'm working hard on that fic for it to be a celebration of everything I love about the characters and the series' involved, and I want more insight to see where I can improve and do well!
Anyway, please check out the TV Tropes page and add whatever you find appropriate.
Please leave constructive criticism.
