Chapter 3 Return of Diasuke Jigen
That same night, Lupin and Goemon sat at their table at their hideout in Tokyo, reminiscing about their old friend.
"Remember the time I had been drugged in that castle by those girls, and you and Jigen had to come rescue me?" Lupin remembered that time well. "Don't pay him any attention, it's just his time of the month." When Lupin had said that, Jigen had gotten royally pissed and walked out. It was so easy to be sorry for all the things he had done against him now that he was dead. "Twenty-twenty hindsight," Lupin muttered beneath his breath.
"Do you remember when he almost shot Lealah right before we had to rescue you from jail? It was funny, because earlier that day she had posed to be Jigens' daughter. You should have seen his face when she kneed Zenigata." Jigen arrived at the apartment at right that time, muddy and wet because it was raining, and weak from loss of blood. When he heard his friends talking about him, he decided to see what they had to say. You only got a chance like this once in a lifetime, maybe never. So he stood just outside the door with his ear pressed against it. "Speaking of Lealah, how is she doing? I haven't seen her since the funeral." Remembering how she had acted before he "died" he listened closely.
"Well, I slipped her some Valium in a soda, so right now she's asleep. She's taking it very hard. She thinks it's her fault. And after running into Pops, she feels worse than ever. Even he took his hat off." Goemon nodded.
"I don't blame her. Wouldn't you take it this hard if you were in her position?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have long since had a suspicion that Lealah Lupin III had a crush on Jigen. That's why she is taking it so hard. Not to mention the fact that he died in her arms." Jigens' mouth fell open. Lealah had a crush on him? He couldn't believe it. She never showed anything that would suggest.
"What the hell do you mean she had a crush on Jigen?"
"Haven't you noticed that she cherished that hat he gave her, even before he died? And that time he almost shot her, if that had been you or me that almost killed her, she would have stayed afraid of us. She has told me as much. I even found some archives she made about our jobs. They are filled with all of us, yes, but one name stands out. On her last paper she wrote 'I think I like Jigen. He has been so kind to me, almost like a father, and from what Arsène tells me, he's not much of a fatherfigure. I don't know, but I think I really like him.'" By the time Goemon had finished his explanation, both Lupin and Jigens' eyes were as wide and as round as tennis balls. Someone actually has a crush on me? Jigen thought. She's 21 years younger than me, what the hell's she thinking? Just before he walked in the door, He heard Lupin say,
"It's almost like she's a schoolgirl that has a crush on a teacher. But now that she's going into high school, she can't see him anymore. Poor, poor Lealah." With that, Jigen grabbed the doorknob and flung it open. He had never been one for dramatic entrances, but even he had to love the lightning that flashed behind him just a few seconds before a crash of thunder sounded.
"Who the he-JIGEN!" Lupin had been sitting at the table facing to the door, so he was the first to see his presumably dead friend.
"You are hallucinating my friend, Jigen is dead." Goemon was facing away from the door, so he had not seen who had walked in.
"The hell I am, Goemon." Goemon turned his head to the door in disbelief, trying to see if this was his friend.
"Jigen! Is that really you?" Jigen had to sit through twenty minutes of being poked and pulled before he could finally convince the two it was really him. Lupin was absolutely astonished.
"How did you survive? Did you shoot your way out of the coffin?" Then he realized something. "Buddy, how long were you at that door before you actually came in?"
"The whole time," he said quietly. "And as for your questions, I was going to tell all of you at once." Lupin nodded and sat down.
"She's in her room, and don't bother, we'll drill it out of her." As Jigen entered her room, he noticed she had fallen asleep holding his fedora. He could tell it was his and not hers because hers was tattered and folded from being put in her pocket. Plus, hers had a hole through it, courtesy of Inspector Zenigata. He sat beside her on the bed and shook her awake.
"Wha." As soon as she saw Jigen, Lealahs' eyes brightened and then dimmed.
"What's the matter? I thought you'd be a little happier to see me," he said casually. She smiled up at him sadly.
"I would, if this wasn't just all a dream. I knew that soda tasted funny. What'd Lupin put in it?"
"Valium, but this isn't a dream. Pinch yourself. Hell, pinch me! Do what it takes to convince yourself it's really me and this isn't a dream." Confused, Lealah punched herself in the arm.
"Hey, that hurt! JIGEN!" She grabbed him into a hug to see if he was real. He winced in pain. She gave him a furtive look and the noticed the blood on his jacket. "You still haven't patched yourself up? Hang on." She went into the bathroom that was connected to her room. "Take off your shirt." Jigen was shocked. Man, she did have a crush on him.
"What? Why?" When she came out she was holding a bundle of ace bandages.
"Well, would you like me to wrap your shirt and jacket to you for however long it takes for that gunshot to heal?"
"Oh, uh, no." He quickly slid out of his jacket and shirt.
"Let's see, it'll have to go over your right shoulder or it won't wrap right."
"No offense, but can't Lupin wrap a bandage?" She rolled her eyes at his question.
"Oh please. Sure, around a leg or arm, but anything bigger than that and he's lost. Once when I was five, I busted my chin while playing baseball. It took the doctors twenty minutes to resuscitate me from suffocation. No joke. If you bring it up, Lupin will get mad at me though. So Jigen, how did you survive? I mean that bullet hit you in the heart, and neither Pops or I felt your pulse." He winced again as she pulled the bandage tight.
"Well, I wear this suit for more than just blending in. The material it's made of helps stop bullets, but not very well. I guess it didn't hit my heart. But you said my heart stopped?"
"I didn't feel it, and neither did Inspector I'm-Gonna-Catch-You- Lupin." He thought for a minute.
"Can you live if your heart beats only a few times a minute? Roger said the bullets poison you so your heart and breathing stop. You pulled it out of me before it could work correctly, so it just stopped it some of the time. Lucky me, huh? I still want to know how they found me." Lealah got a sour look on her face.
"I'm done. We found this in Rogers pocket." She handed him the piece of paper. It read: Dear Roger,
Hi there, lover. Long time no see. I have a job for you, and you'll get money out of it. Diasuke Jigen will be at the Church of Holy Saints at 3:00 am on the 28th. I will give you double what your Mafia boss gives you to shoot and kill him with the bullet I have enclosed. I know you have been looking for him for a while so this will be good for both of us. He has been getting in my way too much lately. Meet me at 182 Kokomo Street at 12:00 p.m. on the 30th for your pay off. Love, Fujiko Mine P.S. Make it slow and painful.
As he finished reading, his face turned stark white and the red.
"That traitorous little bitch. Does Lupin know?"
"Yeah. He is coming up with a plan to get her back. His exact words were 'I don't care how many times she betrays me, but now she's gone too far.'"
"Tell that friggen brother of yours that this is my battle and to stay the hell away. I don't trust him when Fujiko's involved." He stood up to leave.
"At least stay here the night. You were shot and you lost a lot of blood." He realized how weak he felt.
"Fine, but after tonight, I'm going to find her! I'll get that bitch!" With that Jigen stalked off to his room without one word to either Lupin or Goemon.
"Wow, he's pissed," Lupin said amazed.
"Yes, but he is taking it better than I thought he would," Goemon returned.
That same night, Lupin and Goemon sat at their table at their hideout in Tokyo, reminiscing about their old friend.
"Remember the time I had been drugged in that castle by those girls, and you and Jigen had to come rescue me?" Lupin remembered that time well. "Don't pay him any attention, it's just his time of the month." When Lupin had said that, Jigen had gotten royally pissed and walked out. It was so easy to be sorry for all the things he had done against him now that he was dead. "Twenty-twenty hindsight," Lupin muttered beneath his breath.
"Do you remember when he almost shot Lealah right before we had to rescue you from jail? It was funny, because earlier that day she had posed to be Jigens' daughter. You should have seen his face when she kneed Zenigata." Jigen arrived at the apartment at right that time, muddy and wet because it was raining, and weak from loss of blood. When he heard his friends talking about him, he decided to see what they had to say. You only got a chance like this once in a lifetime, maybe never. So he stood just outside the door with his ear pressed against it. "Speaking of Lealah, how is she doing? I haven't seen her since the funeral." Remembering how she had acted before he "died" he listened closely.
"Well, I slipped her some Valium in a soda, so right now she's asleep. She's taking it very hard. She thinks it's her fault. And after running into Pops, she feels worse than ever. Even he took his hat off." Goemon nodded.
"I don't blame her. Wouldn't you take it this hard if you were in her position?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have long since had a suspicion that Lealah Lupin III had a crush on Jigen. That's why she is taking it so hard. Not to mention the fact that he died in her arms." Jigens' mouth fell open. Lealah had a crush on him? He couldn't believe it. She never showed anything that would suggest.
"What the hell do you mean she had a crush on Jigen?"
"Haven't you noticed that she cherished that hat he gave her, even before he died? And that time he almost shot her, if that had been you or me that almost killed her, she would have stayed afraid of us. She has told me as much. I even found some archives she made about our jobs. They are filled with all of us, yes, but one name stands out. On her last paper she wrote 'I think I like Jigen. He has been so kind to me, almost like a father, and from what Arsène tells me, he's not much of a fatherfigure. I don't know, but I think I really like him.'" By the time Goemon had finished his explanation, both Lupin and Jigens' eyes were as wide and as round as tennis balls. Someone actually has a crush on me? Jigen thought. She's 21 years younger than me, what the hell's she thinking? Just before he walked in the door, He heard Lupin say,
"It's almost like she's a schoolgirl that has a crush on a teacher. But now that she's going into high school, she can't see him anymore. Poor, poor Lealah." With that, Jigen grabbed the doorknob and flung it open. He had never been one for dramatic entrances, but even he had to love the lightning that flashed behind him just a few seconds before a crash of thunder sounded.
"Who the he-JIGEN!" Lupin had been sitting at the table facing to the door, so he was the first to see his presumably dead friend.
"You are hallucinating my friend, Jigen is dead." Goemon was facing away from the door, so he had not seen who had walked in.
"The hell I am, Goemon." Goemon turned his head to the door in disbelief, trying to see if this was his friend.
"Jigen! Is that really you?" Jigen had to sit through twenty minutes of being poked and pulled before he could finally convince the two it was really him. Lupin was absolutely astonished.
"How did you survive? Did you shoot your way out of the coffin?" Then he realized something. "Buddy, how long were you at that door before you actually came in?"
"The whole time," he said quietly. "And as for your questions, I was going to tell all of you at once." Lupin nodded and sat down.
"She's in her room, and don't bother, we'll drill it out of her." As Jigen entered her room, he noticed she had fallen asleep holding his fedora. He could tell it was his and not hers because hers was tattered and folded from being put in her pocket. Plus, hers had a hole through it, courtesy of Inspector Zenigata. He sat beside her on the bed and shook her awake.
"Wha." As soon as she saw Jigen, Lealahs' eyes brightened and then dimmed.
"What's the matter? I thought you'd be a little happier to see me," he said casually. She smiled up at him sadly.
"I would, if this wasn't just all a dream. I knew that soda tasted funny. What'd Lupin put in it?"
"Valium, but this isn't a dream. Pinch yourself. Hell, pinch me! Do what it takes to convince yourself it's really me and this isn't a dream." Confused, Lealah punched herself in the arm.
"Hey, that hurt! JIGEN!" She grabbed him into a hug to see if he was real. He winced in pain. She gave him a furtive look and the noticed the blood on his jacket. "You still haven't patched yourself up? Hang on." She went into the bathroom that was connected to her room. "Take off your shirt." Jigen was shocked. Man, she did have a crush on him.
"What? Why?" When she came out she was holding a bundle of ace bandages.
"Well, would you like me to wrap your shirt and jacket to you for however long it takes for that gunshot to heal?"
"Oh, uh, no." He quickly slid out of his jacket and shirt.
"Let's see, it'll have to go over your right shoulder or it won't wrap right."
"No offense, but can't Lupin wrap a bandage?" She rolled her eyes at his question.
"Oh please. Sure, around a leg or arm, but anything bigger than that and he's lost. Once when I was five, I busted my chin while playing baseball. It took the doctors twenty minutes to resuscitate me from suffocation. No joke. If you bring it up, Lupin will get mad at me though. So Jigen, how did you survive? I mean that bullet hit you in the heart, and neither Pops or I felt your pulse." He winced again as she pulled the bandage tight.
"Well, I wear this suit for more than just blending in. The material it's made of helps stop bullets, but not very well. I guess it didn't hit my heart. But you said my heart stopped?"
"I didn't feel it, and neither did Inspector I'm-Gonna-Catch-You- Lupin." He thought for a minute.
"Can you live if your heart beats only a few times a minute? Roger said the bullets poison you so your heart and breathing stop. You pulled it out of me before it could work correctly, so it just stopped it some of the time. Lucky me, huh? I still want to know how they found me." Lealah got a sour look on her face.
"I'm done. We found this in Rogers pocket." She handed him the piece of paper. It read: Dear Roger,
Hi there, lover. Long time no see. I have a job for you, and you'll get money out of it. Diasuke Jigen will be at the Church of Holy Saints at 3:00 am on the 28th. I will give you double what your Mafia boss gives you to shoot and kill him with the bullet I have enclosed. I know you have been looking for him for a while so this will be good for both of us. He has been getting in my way too much lately. Meet me at 182 Kokomo Street at 12:00 p.m. on the 30th for your pay off. Love, Fujiko Mine P.S. Make it slow and painful.
As he finished reading, his face turned stark white and the red.
"That traitorous little bitch. Does Lupin know?"
"Yeah. He is coming up with a plan to get her back. His exact words were 'I don't care how many times she betrays me, but now she's gone too far.'"
"Tell that friggen brother of yours that this is my battle and to stay the hell away. I don't trust him when Fujiko's involved." He stood up to leave.
"At least stay here the night. You were shot and you lost a lot of blood." He realized how weak he felt.
"Fine, but after tonight, I'm going to find her! I'll get that bitch!" With that Jigen stalked off to his room without one word to either Lupin or Goemon.
"Wow, he's pissed," Lupin said amazed.
"Yes, but he is taking it better than I thought he would," Goemon returned.