Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story besides my own original characters (that was kind of redundant).
Hi!
I hope you guys liked the last chapter, and I hope you take the time to review it. Things might be going a little slower than usual with my usually speedy updating, because things are about to get a lot busier for me. But I won't quit writing—No way! You might just have to wait a little longer than usual for my updates. Sorry, guys, and, sigh, I know the name sounds like the Harry Potter book title, but it's actually a cultural reference to Japan. A dragon represents the Japanese Emperor, and the Empress is represented by a phoenix traditionally. I'll probably go back and change it. Oh, and I'm glad you like the Beatles references—I'm usually listening to them while I write this. And I do promise I'll read Lupin Meets A soon. It looks like a good read.
Chapter Two
Day Two: Miami 2017
'The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away,
Waiting to take to take you away,
Take you today,'
--The Beatles, 'The Magical Mystery Tour'
Jigen worked silently as he began to clean out his closet, currently grabbing his hats from the top shelf and setting them on the bed. The cleanup of the entire residence had given him an excuse to finally clean out his closet, and also keep his mind off of the attack the night before, and the look still-shaken Yukiko wore. Fujiko and Amaya had taken her out that day, in hopes of drawing her attention away from her worries.
He cringed as he came across a white hat, which matched a white suit he had found in his closet earlier that same day. He had probably been drunk during the purchase of the suit. He walked over to his bed, picked up the suit, and went over to his wastebasket, "I hope you're not planning on tossing that out!" Jigen heard suddenly. He jumped, turned, and saw Lupin standing the doorway, "Personally, I think a pale color would do you wonders. Besides, you want to fit in when we go to Miami, don't you?"
"What?" Jigen snapped his head upwards, "Miami!?"
"Yep," Lupin nodded, "Maybe you can get a little color on you. You look like a wax dummy, Jigen, old pal."
"Screw you!" Jigen said crassly, "I'm not going anywhere right now! I have to take care of Yukiko."
"She's coming, too. I actually let her pick out the destination, and she told me Miami. Why, I don't know. But, I can't blame her tastes…." Lupin said with a blissful smile, "Those bikini clad college co-eds, drinking, dancing, sunshine, and the bikini clad college co-eds."
"You're getting married, for God's sakes!" Jigen snapped.
Lupin crossed his arms, "Fujicakes told me I can look all I want as long as I don't touch. Hey, I was reading one of her books, and guess what gains three pounds total during the pregnancy!?" he sat down on Jigen's bed and looked upward at him intently.
"I don't know and I don't care," Jigen replied as he lifted up the sheet of his bed, causing Lupin to roll off and his wardrobe to fall on top of the thief. Lupin sat up, and pulled the clothes off from on top of him. He stopped, dug into one of the pockets, and found a cigarette.
"Hey, you want this?" Lupin inquired, holding up the cigarette.
"Jesus, that's disgusting…" Jigen muttered.
"What, it's not like you have some kind of contagious disease. The closest thing you have to a disease is your sparkling personality, which I think is more of a plague… You think about ever seeing a doctor about that? I'm sure he can put you on some kind of a pill that'll make you happy."
"My family and friends were used as clay pigeons last night, and now, today, I found out that we're packing our asses halfway across the world to Miami! I don't even speak good American-Spanish! All I know is Spain's version of the language, which is nothing like the other kind!"
"Jesus… I didn't think it was possible for guys to get PMS, but I think you're proving me wrong, Jigen," Lupin said with a smirk. Jigen growled, and threw a box from his closet in Lupin's direction. Lupin caught the box, laughed, and started to open it, "What's in here? Pictures of ex-girlfriends? If so, mind if I borrow?"
"You're impossible," Jigen muttered as he continued to clean out his closet.
Lupin finished opening the box, and found it mainly consisted of old paperback books, "I didn't even know you read, Jigen…." Lupin said as he searched through the box, "What the?" Lupin picked up a book, and began to laugh, "I had no clue you were into Harlequin Romance novels. So this is your outlet for all of your repression."
"Huh?" Jigen turned his head, and walked over to Lupin, and quickly snatched the book from his hands, "That isn't mine! I probably accidentally picked it up in a book sale! And what the hell do you mean by 'repressed'!?"
"Please, Jigen," Lupin rolled his eyes, "I know you've had girlfriends, but you haven't have one in years!"
"The last one I had tried to kill me!" Jigen responded.
"That Spanish girl wasn't your girlfriend," Lupin stood and walked over to Jigen, "You were—Pardon the expression—blinded, by a pretty girl. But that only happens every once in a while. Hell, even Goemon's found someone!"
"No, she found him," Jigen corrected, "She liked him, first."
"Aw…. You want the girl to make the first move?" Lupin inquired.
"No!" Jigen yelled in response, "The last thing I want is some kind of pushy bitch. Although you really like to seem that, but, anyway…. I have someone to watch over, Lupin. She's only seven, and she needs me more than I need some hussy."
"Don't you think she'd like a mom?" Lupin asked, leaning against Jigen's dresser and folding his arms.
Jigen grew irate at this, "She did, but she's gone now! I have to be mother and father!"
"Yeah, you're being a real mother, all right, but not the type that makes you cookies," Lupin said irritably.
Jigen stopped, and looked upward from his hat, "Sorry, okay? I just… They could've killed my kid, Lupin. Don't you feel like that with Fujiko? Both she and your kid could've been offed last night."
"Yeah, I'm pissed, don't get me wrong," Lupin replied, "But I'm in a good mood because it didn't happen. You see, that's the difference between you and me. You see the glass as half empty, while I see it as half full. You're a total foil of me. You're a literary device! So, you going to pack up for Miami?"
"I suppose…" Jigen said reluctantly. He picked up his white hat and took a deep breath, "Oh, boy…. A few days back home in the U.S.."
"More like three weeks in the U.S.," Lupin corrected, "I let everyone pick out a place they wanted to go. Anywhere you wanted to hit?"
"Chicago," Jigen answered after a pause. Lupin cringed a little, but nodded. Jigen turned to Lupin, and looked at him with a little suspicion, "What's up with you?"
"What do you mean?" Lupin inquired.
"This is really sudden; a little erratic for you, even…." Jigen added.
"Jigen, did anyone ever tell you that you probably would frisk your mother if you thought she had a gun on her?" Lupin retorted.
"I'm just saying—I've known you for years, Lupin, and this is really strange. A trip with nothing attached to it? Please, I'm not stupid," Jigen responded, "What's up that you're not letting me in on?"
"Nothing, Jigen," Lupin replied, shaking his head, "Just quit worrying your pretty little head off, and get packed. The others know already, I just wanted to keep some space from you for a little while this morning, understandably."
"Okay," Jigen nodded, and gave a somewhat plastic smile. Lupin returned the plastic smile, and walked out, whistling to himself as he went. Jigen looked at him a little strangely, but then went back to his work. He found the cheap romance novel, picked up his mattress, and threw it under.
Later That Night, a Nondescript Loading Dock:
"I really should've told him what was going on; I really could've used a sharpshooter right now… But he would've thought this was too fantastic to be true!" Lupin muttered as he paced back and forth along the pier. He suddenly became aware of a set of eyes watching him, and he quickly drew his gun.
"Calm down, it's just me," a voice said to Lupin. Lupin continued to hold onto his gun, "I see… Still don't trust me? I wouldn't, either."
"Why the hell did you go shooting up my home last night!? How'd you find out where I live!?" Lupin demanded.
"Jesus, calm yourself! You didn't like my early wedding gift to you and that little snobby bitch of yours?" the other voice.
"I'm not going there with you. Just watch out for the next couple of days, all right?" Lupin said with a smile.
"Always the cocky little bastard…" the voice muttered, "Well, you all have a nice vacation; I'll keep in touch."
"Yeah, I'll send you a friggin' post card," Lupin snapped in response as he began to walk away from the other voice, still somewhat shaken. How had that son of a bitch known about the vacation? Probably deductive reasoning, Lupin thought to himself.
He got into his car, and drove back to the home, "I hate keeping secrets from those guys, but… There's no way they would understand everything…." He said to himself. As he opened the front door, he found most had already packed their bags, and all were watching a movie in the living room. Jigen sat in a recliner with Yukiko on his lap, Amaya and Goemon sat on one end of the couch, and Fujiko sat on the other. Lupin smiled widely, and sat next to Fujiko on the couch. Jigen looked over at him briefly, and Lupin tried to make out what Jigen's expression meant. It looked like a combination of suspicion, jealousy, and weariness.
"Where were you?" Fujiko inquired.
"Huh?" Lupin turned to her, "Oh, I was out checking the tickets again. They called me and had me check them over again. There was a tiny little glitch in the seating, but I straightened it all out."
"Oh," Fujiko nodded, "I don't believe it! Miami! This'll be great, huh?"
"If you don't mind getting skin cancer," Jigen muttered.
"Do you realize the irony in that statement when it comes from a chain smoker?" Lupin inquired. As he finished his sentence, he saw that Jigen had already lit a cigarette.
Jigen took a drag of the cigarette and looked up at Lupin, "You say something?"
"No, not me…" Lupin replied. He looked down at his watch, "Come on, guys. It's almost time for the flight."
"Why are we flying at night?" Yukiko asked Lupin as Fujiko rose and stopped the movie.
Lupin looked down at smiled at Yukiko, "So you can see all of the pretty lights, Yuki!"
"Okay," Yukiko said with a cheery smile. Lupin smiled back up at her, and as he rose, he caught Jigen staring at him suspiciously. Jigen knew all about secrets, so he must know when people are keeping them, Lupin thought to himself. Lupin shot a smile back at the frowning gunman, and went to his bags.
"I wish my dad could've come along… He could've used the vacation. I'm worried about his blood pressure," said Amaya as she checked over her bags once more.
Goemon looked upward at Amaya, "He probably would've tried to arrest us."
"I don't think he knows what he wants anymore," Amaya replied with a tired sigh as she strung her laptop case over her shoulder and looked back at the living room once more.
Interpol Headquarters:
"Are you working late, Zenigata?" Remy asked, sitting down on the inspector's desk. Zenigata snapped out of the trance he had been in while filling out his paperwork and looked upward at Remy.
"No, I always put in a few extra hours," Zenigata replied, followed by a tired yawn. He reached over and picked up a lukewarm bowl of Ramen noodles, and began to eat his dinner quietly.
"Don't you have any family to go home to?" Remy inquired.
"That isn't workplace business," Zenigata answered coolly.
"Then, who is this? Girlfriend or something?" Remy asked, picking up a photo of Amaya from Zenigata's desk, "Quite a catch you got there, Sir…"
"Put that down!" Zenigata growled. Remy looked at Zenigata in surprise, and put the picture back down on the desk, "That's my daughter, but she doesn't live with me."
"She have a boyfriend?" Remy asked casually, sitting back a little more on the desk.
"That's none of your Goddamned business!" Zenigata snapped, slamming his cup of noodles down. Remy looked around to see if this outburst had affected anyone else in the office, but they all carried on as if this were not unusual for Zenigata. Remy then turned his attention back to Zenigata's rant, "For your information, she does have a boyfriend, and he could kick your ass in seconds!" Zenigata yelled.
"Sounds like a real charmer," Remy muttered, "See you around, Inspector Zenigata…." Remy stood, and waved his good-byes to Zenigata as he exited the building.
"Stupid son of a bitch…" Zenigata murmured as he sat back down in his chair and went back to his paperwork, "I'd rather have a con dating my daughter than that annoying bastard any day."
A Few Thousand Feet above Ground:
"Can I get some more peanuts?" Yukiko asked Jigen, looking upward at him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I need another scotch, anyway," Jigen said, calling the flight attendant to him. She handed him the scotch and peanuts, and Jigen passed the bag to Yukiko while starting to down his drink, "Damn, this stuff is pure crap…"
"Why do you smoke?" Yukiko inquired as she tried in vain to open the bag of peanuts with her teeth.
"I—I just started it early, I guess," Jigen replied with a shrug, "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know," Yukiko shrugged in response, "I was just wondering. Would you be mad if I started to smoke?"
"I'd be pissed," Jigen answered as he drank a little more. "Here, you need some help with that, Yuki?"
"Sure," Yukiko passed him the bag, and Jigen began to try to open it, but this was in vain.
"Excuse me, I couldn't help but seeing that you were having a bit of difficulty," Jigen heard. He shot his head up, and saw an Indian man looking back at him, "May I try my luck with it?" he asked, reaching his hand out. Jigen passed him the bag, and the man studied the bag, and then opened it slowly.
"Damn, you're pretty good, Pal!" Jigen said with a smirk. The Indian man nodded, and Jigen turned to Yukiko, "What do you say, Yuki?"
"Thank you!" Yukiko replied with a smile.
"You are very welcome," the Indian man answered. A woman next to him stood, and began to walk to the restroom in the back. She was dressed in a blue burka, which, strangely enough, matched her eyes. Jigen and she made eye contact a few moments before she turned and averted her eyes from his.
Meanwhile, in the seat behind Jigen's, Amaya was still typing away at her computer while Goemon sat looking straight ahead in his seat. Amaya looked over at him, smirked, and then went back to typing. Goemon caught this, and looked over at Amaya briefly, and then did a double take.
"What are you doing?" Goemon asked, leaning over towards the computer screen.
"Trying out a new program," Amaya muttered as she scrolled her mouse along the website and clicked into her own program.
"Whose page is that?" asked Goemon.
"You know the stock market?" Amaya inquired.
"Uh… Yes…." Goemon said slowly.
"Well…." Amaya trailed off, and began to type once more, "I'm seeing how everything's going to go tomorrow, and it's not looking that great…."
"Isn't that cheating?" Goemon inquired.
"No honor among thieves," Amaya replied. She turned to Goemon, "Besides, I do it just for fun. I really don't make any money off of it, unless someone pays me for the program. Then, that's where I make my money."
"What does your father think?" asked Goemon.
"Oh, I haven't told him that part yet," Amaya replied, "He's still upset that I have a tattoo on my—"
"Is that why you were defending chicks with tattoos!?" Lupin asked, sticking his head in between their seats, "Where is it?"
"No where you'll get to see anytime soon," Amaya snapped back, and pushed his head back. She had grown accustomed to the physical and verbal abuse of the group, and, in tradition of the Zenigata clan, adjusted to this way of life quickly.
"Good job," Goemon admitted with a smile, looking over at Amaya again.
"Thank you," Amaya smirked, and leaned in to kiss Goemon briefly. When she sat back, she went back to the computer. She felt a tap on she shoulder, and looked over at Goemon again, "What's up, Ishikawa?" she asked, tilting her head to a side.
"I love you, too," Goemon said after a pause.
Amaya smiled, "Thanks."
"Aaawww…" both heard, and turned to see Lupin's head in between the seats.
"Lupin!" both hissed, and pushed him back into his own seat.
Lupin grumbled to himself, placed a hand over his aching nose, and turned to Fujiko, "I'm just glad you only slap me in the face," Lupin said to her. He looked down at her stomach, and noticed it was bulging a little, "How's the oven doing, Mom?" Lupin asked, looking upward at Fujiko again.
Fujiko smirked, and put a hand on her stomach, "Yeah, I think it's starting to kick, now. I'm probably going to have a soccer star for a daughter someday."
"Or a son!" Lupin corrected.
Fujiko sighed and lied her head back on the head cushion, "All, I'm sick of all of these arguments. I want to find a doctor who can tell us the gender right now. I want to go by furniture, and I want to know what color it should be."
"But you can't tell at two and a half months," Lupin responded.
"About that…" Fujiko looked downward and cleared her throat, and held up four fingers.
"What?" Lupin jerked his head back, "Fo—Four? But how?"
"As much as we…. I'm surprised I didn't get pregnant earlier!" Fujiko replied.
"Five months…." Lupin muttered in shock, "And then… Dammit, I just realized that we'll have to get a new car, and childproof the house, and—"
"Lupin, calm down. You get over-excited about everything," said Fujiko with a laugh, "You've really been reading up on this crap, haven't you? I think you'll be a better mother than me!"
"According to Jigen, I'm the best mother there ever was," Lupin grumbled, folding his arms and sitting back in his chair. He leaned over and looked out the window, "Water, water, everywhere…."
"Mr. Lupin?" Lupin heard, and turned to see a flight attendant standing over him.
"Yes?" Lupin inquired with a suave smile.
"This is for you," she said, handing him a slip of paper. Lupin smiled as she exited, and reached for the attendant. She turned around, and glared at him evilly, and slapped Lupin across the face, "And that is for that, you French jackass." She hissed, and continued to walk down the aisle. Jigen, Yukiko, Amaya, and Goemon all looked back at Lupin, and all were smiling at him.
Lupin sank back in his chair, and opened the letter. As he read through it, his blood ran cold.
Dear Lupin,
You and your friends and your kid (good job) have fun in Miami. Just watch your ass, because we're going to be everywhere you and your friends go during this stupid excuse for running from us that you like to call a vacation. And you don't want anything to happen to your kid or girlfriend, do you? You know we don't mind getting a little brat out of the way if we need to—But you already know that.
Au revior,
Anonymous
Lupin crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the ground, and turned off his overhead light, "I'm going to lay down a little while."
"Are you all right, Lupin?" Fujiko inquired.
"Yeah, great…" Lupin answered, turning away from her in his seat, "Just great…."
