DISCLAIMER:
Uh…. Hi…
I didn't think that you guys would take Jigen leaving so hard…. Jeeze, you guys didn't think I would let it end this quick, did you!? IT'S NOT OVER!!! He he…. You really thought you wouldn't see Lupin and Goemon's weddings? That's an offer too good to pass up. Anyway, there will be one change, and that'll be that we won't exactly be going in days anymore. We'll be skipping around in time a little, guys, okay? But I'm not letting Jigen get off that easy—Plus, I did tell you I didn't know when this was going to be over, right? : ) Enjoy, and don't worry! I'll let you know when we're winding down…..
'Get back, get back,get back to where you
once belonged,
Get back, get back,
Get back to where you once belonged,
Get back Jojo,
Go home,'
--The Beatles, 'Get Back'
Chapter Twelve
A few weeks after day eleven: I'm Still Standing
A white tuxedo lay on Lupin's bed, intended for the wedding next week. The thief himself was at his desk, concentrating on a large map of the U.S. He flipped through the medical guides he had borrowed from the library, looking for a hospital that would specialize in a special type of nerve repair. He was down to the last few pages, and had only one entry so far. A hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He heard the bedroom door open, and turned.
Fujiko walked over to him, and leaned on the back of his chair, "Hey, you. How's it going on the manhunt?"
"I've got three more hospitals…." Lupin answered tiredly.
"Pops' award ceremony is today at three," said Fujiko, "We going?"
"Probably. I know Amaya is, so that means Goemon must be…."
"What about Yukiko?" asked Fujiko.
Lupin frowned, "I don't know about her…. She's just been sulking for the past few weeks…. She won't study, she won't eat…. I know Jigen thought he was doing the best for her when he left, but it's killing her. And I can't blame her, either… I know what it's like to lose someone suddenly—I'm just finding out now that I had two brothers and three sisters, and Remy killed all of them! I never even had a chance to meet them…. There… I'm done…" he closed the book, "And not only is Jigen here, so is his little sister."
"Sister?" Fujiko jerked her head back a little in surprise.
"Yeah…Maria… She's Jigen's half-sister," Lupin explained, "He slipped up and mentioned her a few times…"
"Jesus, you guys and your families!" Fujiko put a hand to her forehead, "Just when you think you've found them all, one more pops up! Are we going to put the wedding off?" she asked more solemnly.
"Nah, don't worry, Fujicakes… I've got it figured…." Lupin replied.
"You always do!" Fujiko threw her arms up in defeat, "Okay, I'll trust you on this, Lupin, but I don't know how you're going to pull this off. I'm going to get ready."
"What, are you going to see Zenigata?" inquired Lupin.
"Why not?" Fujiko shrugged, "It's not like there's much else to do. Everything's set for the wedding, and Goemon and Amaya are all done, too. There's nothing to do but wait, really."
"Our wedding won't be complete until both best men are here," Lupin said as he rose, "Okay, have fun, Fuji, but remember—We're packing our bags when we get back…."
All arrived at INTERPOL headquarters at two-thirty, and Amaya found them all seats in the front of the stage. She had had brought her camcorder with her, and smiled excitedly as she walked around the stage area with the video camera. She stopped dead as she came across a pair of familiar heels, and the camera traveled upward until she came face to face with the blonde Israeli Natasha.
"What are you doing here?" Amaya inquired, removing the camcorder from her face and resting it on her shoulder.
"I'm here to support your father," Natasha answered, "We—"
"Dad!? Where is he, anyway?" Amaya asked, looking around the area for the familiar brown trench coat.
"I don't know," Natasha shrugged, "I've been looking around for him, too. I was hoping you would know…"
"I hope he shows…" Amaya muttered worriedly.
Meanwhile, Lupin had gone over to a small bar across from the Interpol offices, and now sat down at the bar, "Monsieur, donni moi une bourbon, s'il vous plait…"
"Oui. D'accord, Monsieur," the bartender nodded, turning towards the drinks and reaching for a bottle of bourbon.
Lupin looked over to his right, and nearly fell out of his chair as he saw none other than Li Yan Ming sat next to him at the bar, sipping away bitterly at a cocktail, "M-Ming!"
"I thought you'd show," Ming said quietly, looking down into his glass, "Have you heard anything from Daisuke?"
"No," Lupin shook his head. He suddenly became angered by the Chinese girl's presence as he thought back to everything she had done, "And why should you care!? Are you going to break his heart again?"
"No," Ming answered quickly, "I quit the Dragon and Phoenix, although it really pissed some people off that I did… Look," she turned around, and Lupin saw that the large tattoo on her back had been removed, replaced by a still reddish mark "If you're wondering if it hurt, it did… But I did it to prove that I quit…. I changed, I really did."
"Yeah, you sure as hell did, didn't you?" Lupin snapped, "How—How could you do that!? I've sunk pretty low before, but even I have standards, as few as they are…."
"I didn't mean to!" Ming protested, "I—I didn't mean for it to go that far… Really, but… He was nice—So much nicer than Remy… Nicer than anyone I had ever met, really. Plus, there was just something, you know?"
"You really love him?" asked Lupin.
"Yeah," Ming nodded.
Lupin smirked, and tapped the counter with his fingers a few times, "All right." He rose from the bar, "Come on. But, if you doublecross us again, I'll throw my renowned gentleman-like behavior out the window all you'll be sorry you ever crossed paths with Lupin the Third." Ming nodded, and the two began to exit.
"Monsieur!" the barkeep called.
"Nah, you can have it," Lupin said with a wide smile, and exited with Ming following behind him. When they came back to the Interpol offices, Lupin had to keep Amaya and Goemon from attacking the ex-Mafia girl. Yukiko stood in front of Ming, looking at her sternly.
"What are you doing here?" Yukiko asked quietly, "Haven't you done enough?"
"No. I want to make up for what I did. I just want five minutes to talk to Jigen after I find him," Ming replied, "Yuki, I'm sorry."
"He loved you!" Yukiko screamed, "He told me!" Ming looked at her in surprise, as did everyone else.
"Did he really?" Ming muttered.
"Hey, where's Pops?" asked Lupin suddenly.
"Natasha and I have been looking for him," said Amaya.
"Natasha's here, too!?" Fujiko gasped.
"I found him," Natasha came walking towards them, Zenigata shuffling next to her, "He was in a corner of that bar that you came out of, Lupin. Seems he's got cold feet… What are you doing here, Ming?"
"I could ask you the same?" Ming inquired, looking downward at Natasha's hand, which held onto one of Zenigata's. Natasha looked downward as well, and quickly shoved her hands in her pockets.
"Well, it's a party, and I like parties, so…" Natasha shrugged.
"Congratulations, Pops," Lupin said, slapping Zenigata on the back.
"Listen, this is all just to make INTERPOL look good… I'm only doing this so I can get my pension. I barely did anything," Zenigata answered.
"No, you saved me," Yukiko answered, shaking her head, "Thanks again, Zenigata!"
"Yeah, thanks again--But that's not what I'm talking about!" said Lupin with a smile, "Congratulations on landing a blonde!"
"What?" Zenigata blinked in confusion, "Oh, you little—"
"Koichi Zenigata!? Are you here, Inspector Zenigata!?" someone called. Zenigata turned, and walked towards the voice.
"I'll see you later," Zenigata hissed to Lupin as he scaled up the stage they had made. Amaya followed close behind, her camera in front of her face.
"Good for old Pops," said Lupin as he put his hands in his pockets, "I guess that's one thing Zenigata and I have in common… Goemon, you've been pretty quiet! What's eating you, huh!?" he continued, putting a hand on Goemon's shoulder, "You're just so serious-looking!"
"Lupin, your humor is not wanted right now," Goemon replied.
"Oh, when is it ever?" Lupin retorted, "Come on, what's up?"
"Zantetsu," Goemon replied, "There's a shadow over it…."
"Ah, it's probably just some dirt! Here!" Lupin removed a handkerchief from his pocket, "Use this."
"No, thank you," Goemon turned from him, "It has never lied before. Something is happening…."
"Do you think it's Jigen?" Ming inquired.
"It's a bunch of mumbo-jumbo," Lupin responded, "You and that sword… You know what they say about guys like that—The weapon's just compensation."
"For what?" asked Yukiko.
"Jesus, this kid's going to have a mind just like you if you keep it up!" Fujiko hissed angrily.
"Hey, they're starting!" Lupin said with a smile as everyone began to filter to their seats. The head of INTERPOL spoke to the crowds in English, while two translators spoke in French and Japanese, "Damn this is boring…" Lupin grumbled, shifting in his seat a little, "I hope Remy's having a good time in the slammer…."
"Can we go walk, then?" asked Yukiko. Lupin looked downward at her in surprise, and nodded. This was the first request the young girl had made in weeks. She had been upset with Lupin for letting her father escape, and had all but ignored him. The two rose, and began to walk down the French streets, "He didn't want me after all, did he? He probably hated me…" Yukiko muttered.
"Yukiko! Jigen loved you! He left because he thought he was helping you! I'm going to find him for you, I promise! I found your daddy once before, and I'll do it again!" said Lupin reassuringly, "Listen, we're going tonight to find him, right after Zenigata's done with all of this policeman crap. Pops has even offered to help me out, believe it or not! He gave me your dad's record, to see if it would help me. Turns out they knew a lot more about all of us than they were letting on."
"Like what?" Yukiko inquired.
"Stuff that you'll know about someday, but not right now," Lupin explained.
Later that Night, a Paris Airport:
"Pops, you sure you don't want to come along?" Lupin asked as he, Amaya, Fujiko, Ming, Goemon and Yukiko all stood by the departing gate.
"Positive," Zenigata quickly responded, "I have some things to take care of back at the apartment."
"What, helping Natasha move in?" Lupin smirked.
"Now listen, you little pain in the ass—" Zenigata started, but was cut off by Amaya.
"Bye, Dad. We'll see you at the wedding in Tokyo," said Amaya quickly, embracing her father and then walking into the plane with Goemon. Fujiko, Ming, and Yukiko soon followed, leaving only Zenigata and Lupin in the airport.
"So, I guess this is it for a while, huh? I'll really miss you following me around, Zenigata. It just makes a guy feel old knowing that another chapter in his life's come to a close…" Lupin smiled.
"Don't worry, Lupin. If I get bored enough I'll come out of retirement and find someone else to arrest," Zenigata answered, "Hey, when you find Jigen, deck the bastard for me. I can understand he thought he was doing something good, but he really hurt his daughter. I know I wish someone would've knocked some sense into me a long, long time ago. But now it's a little late for that—My daughter's getting married… Jesus Christ…. I'm going to be a grandfather soon, I'll bet…."
"Yeah…. But who knows, maybe you're one already? Fujiko didn't know she was pregnant for a while, as weird as that sounds," said Lupin.
Zenigata growled, "If Goemon—"
"Pops, I'm just joking. No way would something like that happen to them. Having a child out of wedlock is a Lupin and a Jigen thing, but not an Ishikawa thing," Lupin waved goodbye to Zenigata, and boarded the flight. He found a seat next to Fujiko, who was already flipping through the pages of another psychology magazine. Ever since finding a copy of a shrink monthly in another airport, the brunette had been doing extensive reading on the subject. The way she figured it, Lupin had ADHD, Goemon had SAD, Jigen was sexually repressed and Amaya had OCD. But this news was nothing new to anyone.
Lupin sighed in defeat as he found Fujiko was more interested in the magazine than in him, and picked up a leftover newspaper from the pocket of the seat in front of him. Zenigata's award ceremony had made front page. Lupin smirked as he scanned over the article, and found a related article on page three, "A movie?" he muttered, "In the States? About us? Damn, that's a death wish in the making…. I hope they at least give me a cool car…."
Due to the properties of time zones, it was still morning when they arrived in Philadelphia when it was still in the afternoon. They all suffered from mild jetlag as they walked off of the plane and claimed their baggage. Lupin begrudgingly rented a minivan for the group, and they took off to the hotel. They arrived at the esteemed boardinghouse and dropped off their luggage, and soon Goemon and Lupin were off again to a destination unknown to Goemon.
"What is this place, Lupin? Whose house is this?" asked Goemon as Lupin parked the car in the driveway of a small white and red brick house in suburban Philadelphia. Lupin wordlessly stepped out of the car and walked up the ramp of the home, Goemon following close behind. Lupin knocked on the door, and both waited patiently in front of the oak doorway.
"I'm coming!" a female voice called from inside, "I'm coming! Wait one second!" the door opened, and a dark-haired woman in her thirties looked up at the duo from her wheelchair, "Oh my God. Are you those guys who want me to switch my religion? I told you already, I'm Catholic and happy! You both look cold, though. Do you want to come in for some tea?"
"Are, are you Mrs. Maria Guccinci?" asked Lupin.
"Yeah," Maria stopped and cocked her head to a side, "Who are you?"
"Your big brother's friends…" Lupin answered as Goemon closed the door behind them.
"Really? What name does he go by, then?" Maria snapped.
"Daisuke Jigen," Lupin replied, "I'm his friend, Arsene Lupin, and this is Goemon Ishikawa."
"A pleasure to meet you," she muttered, "Lupin's in prison."
"No, that's my jerk of a brother, Remy Lupin. It's just your average government conspiracy," Lupin answered.
Maria raised an eyebrow, "Okay, sure… I'll bite… With the stories that Daisuke has told me, I'd believe anything… Clones, zombies, beautiful women bent on killing all men… Yeah, wasn't that the time you—"
"Listen, that isn't important right now," Lupin interjected, "We're trying to find him. His daughter's worried sick about him—We all are."
"Daughter?" Maria gasped, "I'm an aunt!?"
"Yeah. She's seven and a half. Her name's Yukiko…." Lupin replied.
"Thank you God, he's not a fairy, after all!" Maria crossed herself and clasped her hands together briefly, "Who's the lucky girl?"
"Her name was Sakura," Goemon responded.
"Was?" Maria frowned.
"She died a little while ago," Lupin answered solemnly.
Marie exhaled, "Things never really were easy for him…. I'll get you guys some tea…" she rolled out of the living room and into her kitchen.
"Lupin," Goemon leaned inward as Maria was in the kitchen, "She's…. She's white…"
"Aren't we the perceptive one?" Lupin smirked, "She's Italian, to be exact."
"I thought Jigen was full Japanese…."
"With a complexion like his!? Please, Goemon. He's half Italian. He and Maria had the same dad, like me and Remy. Oh, don't tell me you're a bigot!"
"I'm not!" Goemon snapped, "I'm just surprised… I never figured…"
"Oh, yeah…. The suits and the whole Mafia look—Would've never guessed he was in the Italian mob… Just didn't see that coming…"
"Back!" Maria now carried a tray that was supported by her armrests, and on the tray was three cups of steaming hot tea, along with such things as cream and sugar, "I'm not sure how you guys took it, so I just brought everything out." She set the tray down in front of them and rested her hands on her lap, "So you're looking for Jigen… I heard he was in a local hospital here, a new one that just opened up. I've been thinking about going there to get therapy—The doctors at the other hospital are total money-sucking bastards…"
"How did that happen, anyway?" Lupin inquired, looking at Maria's legs.
"Our father," Maria replied darkly, "That was the only time Daisuke didn't take the fall for me, because Dad wouldn't let him. He took the beatings every other time, though. He hated his mother for years over it…. You know, come to think of it, the only time I saw him and my father get along was when he was about eleven… I was only five at the time, but I could see them from a distance. It was winter, and Dad was showing him how to shoot off a gun. He couldn't fire it straight, so Dad took his fedora off of his head and put it on Daisuke's. I still remember what he said…. 'Okay, you little son of a bitch, now what you're going to do is line up the brim of that hat with the target and shoot….'And Daisuke shot. Straight into the heart of the dummy. Dad was really happy—Honestly proud of my brother…. He let him keep the hat, and before I knew it he had Daisuke in suits, just like him…. Don't get me wrong, our father could be a wonderful man… It's just…. When stress got to him, he drank, and when he drank, he got mean, and when he got mean, well… Just look for yourselves…" she laughed and looked down at her legs, "I'm pretty much used to this by now… Why's Daisuke in the hospital, anyway? Did he get shot again?"
"I wish," Lupin replied, "He has some trouble with his vision, and he went here to correct it…"
"Oh, my…" Maria shook her head sadly, "Well, here's the address of the new hospital. They sent out flyers at my local church," she reached over and grabbed a bright blue flyer from a stack of papers on the coffee table, and handed it to Lupin, "When you see him, tell him to come and visit. He's still welcome here."
"Don't worry, we will. Thanks again for the tea," said Lupin as he and Goemon rose and walked out of the small house, "Jesus Christ, I had no idea it was that bad…" Lupin muttered as he closed the door behind himself, "Poor Jigen…"
"Lupin, did you notice who one of the doctors at the new hospital is?" Goemon inquired as he looked over the flyer once more.
"No. Surprise me," Lupin answered as they walked down the ramp to his car.
"Doctor Ravi Patel," Goemon said.
Lupin stopped dead, and looked back at Goemon, "You're kidding me…" he muttered.
"Nope. Look at it again," Lupin scanned over the paper, and sure enough Ravi's name was one of the many names on the list.
"I'll be damned… Well, this'll be of some use to us," Lupin said with a wide smile as the two hopped into the minivan and drove back to the hotel, where they picked up the others with little explanation as to where they were going. They came to the hospital, Lupin leading the way to the receptionist's desk.
"Excuse me, do you have a patient under the name Daisuke Jigen?" Lupin inquired.
The woman looked down at the list, and back at Lupin, "Sorry, Sir. There is no one here with that name…"
"Okay…" Lupin looked upward into space, and began to name off Jigen's aliases, none of which were on the list, "All right, there's one more I can think of…." Lupin leaned inward onto the table, "Do you have anyone listed under Capone?" The receptionist looked at Lupin skeptically. She had long since tired of his guessing games, "Please, just look…" Lupin begged.
"Why, yes…. Level four, optometry," she answered in disbelief.
"Capone?" Fujiko raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah. Three guesses on who Jigen's grandpa was…" Lupin said dryly.
"I'm afraid you all can't go in, though. It's policy," the receptionist added.
"Forget policy…. If they must see him, so be it. I owe them the favor," all looked to their left and saw Ravi Patel, now dressed in a white coat and holding a clipboard in one hand, "Come with me this way. I knew Mister Jigen's face right when he came in the door, and I was wondering when you would come to retrieve him."
"Has he had the surgery yet? How'd it go? Is he all right!?" Lupin asked frantically as they all walked quickly down the hallway and into an elevator.
"Well, his vision is restored, but I am sorry to say there is nothing we can do about the night blindness…. It is a permanent side-effect," Ravi said uneasily as they went up in the elevator. The doors opened as they reached the third floor, and they ran out, Yukiko and Lupin leading the way.
It did not take them long to find Jigen. The marksman was in the hallway, leaning against an IV pole as he trudged down the hall, still likely dazed by the pain pills they had had him on for the past few days since his operation. Jigen blinked a few times in disbelief as he saw all of his friends in the hallway. He looked downward, and saw his daughter, "Yu—Yukiko?" he muttered in disbelief, believing them all to be effects of the pills.
"Daddy!" Yukiko screamed happily, and embraced her father. Jigen knew this was no dream. All showed that they were happy to see him—Even Goemon, who bowed slightly in front of him and then embraced him. Lupin was near tears as he embraced Jigen, and the gunman had to pry Lupin off of himself.
"What… What the hell are you guys doing here!?" Jigen asked, leaning against the IV stand and wobbling back and forth uneasily.
"You think we'd let you get away that easily, Capone?" Ming smirked out of the side of her mouth. She had remained hidden until then, and Jigen was extremely surprised and somewhat angered to see her presence among his friends.
"Jigen, she came here all this way to talk to you!" Lupin said as he jumped in front of his friend before Jigen could go in to attack Ming, "Please, just give her five minutes!"
"Fine… But can we find somewhere to sit?" Jigen inquired. Ming nodded and led him back to his room. Jigen uneasily climbed back into his bed, and Ming seated herself on the edge of one of the sides of the bed.
"It didn't hurt too bad, did it?" asked Ming as she put a hand on Jigen's face.
"Nothing popping a couple of pills can't take care of," Jigen answered quietly. He looked back in the mirror, and noted Ming's back, "What happened to your…."
"I told them to go sit on it, because I had had enough," Ming replied.
"Did that hurt?" Jigen inquired.
"Nothing forgiveness can't take care of," Ming answered hopefully.
"Fine… You're forgiven…." Jigen murmured, "But nothing like that again, okay?"
"You'll have to trust me not to. You have to trust me," Ming said sternly, "I know you don't trust many people, but I want you to at least trust me. I don't know who broke your heart or whatever all those years ago, and made you the way you did, but I'm not them. I need a chance of my own. I probably don't deserve it, but if Yukiko's right, then you'll give me one more chance to prove that I'm for real."
Jigen gave a stunned look in return. This was surprisingly deep for her, he noted, "Well… I… I guess…" he said quietly, and looked downward. Ming lifted his face up again, and smiled.
"Thanks, Dillinger."
"No problem, you back-stabbing bitch…." Jigen answered with a smile.
"It's amazing what people use as terms of endearment now. You should hear what Fujiko calls me!" both looked over and saw Lupin leaning against the doorway of the hospital room, "Don't let me stop you…." He said, waving briefly before he exited, shutting the door of the room behind him.
"How's it going?" Amaya asked as Lupin closed the door.
"Well, at the rate they're going, I wouldn't open the door anytime soon…" Lupin replied.
"That bad?" Fujiko sighed, crestfallen.
"No… That good! God only knows what's going to go down in there in the next hour!" Lupin laughed in response.
"LUPIN!" all yelled angrily. Dr. Ravi Patel gave a small smile, and shook his head good-humoredly as he began to make the hospital rounds once more.
After Ming had exited, Yukiko was the next to come in, and came along with Goemon. The young girl jumped onto the bed and embraced her father again, "Don't leave me again, all right?" she begged in a choked-up voice.
"I won't," Jigen answered, "Don't worry, okay? Was Goemon good to you?"
"He and Amaya were terrific," Yukiko replied, "But I missed you…."
"I'm not going anywhere for a long time, from the looks of it…" Jigen muttered.
Goemon gave way to a rare smile, "Because if you do, I'll hunt you down and kill you, Jigen."
And although the marksman was smiling, Jigen became somewhat disturbed, because he knew this to be no lie.
