DISCLAIMER: Don't own 'um. Get the picture?

Hello!

I'm glad you guys like the idea of Zenigata getting someone finally. Got a lot of good responses on that. I'm really tired, so I really don't have anything witty or factual to put in here… I mean, I'm tired to the point where if I saw a flaming plate come down from the heavens carrying the head of Prince who was reciting from the book of Revelations backwards while an ABBA record played in the background, I would not be surprised. Look, there's something whitty right there. Doesn't make much sense, but the visual is a hoot, no? Oh, hey, by the way, I have some of my original fiction up on fictionpress.com, if anyone's really, really got nothing to do today. There's a link to it on my profile. Okay, that's all for now. Hope you guys like the next chapter.

Chapter Twenty Five

A Few Days Later: Mama told me Not to Come

'I left you far behind,

The ruins of the life that you had in mind'

--The Beatles, 'Think for Yourself'

A trio of familiar old cars pulled up to an even more familiar French mansion in the early morning. Lupin and Fujiko stepped out first, led afterward by Amaya and Goemon, who held a still-sleeping Toshiro, and finally Ming and Jigen, who carried a still-sleeping Yukiko in his arms.

Natasha heard the door open first. Training in the Israeli army had made her a light sleeper over the years, "Koichi!" she hissed as she jumped out of bed and began to dress, "Koichi! They're home!"

"Huh?" Zenigata mumbled.

"Get the hell up!" Natasha snapped hurriedly as she finished putting her sandals on and ran into the bathroom. Zenigata nodded, rose, and dressed while Natasha ran out of the room to greet the homeowners. She slammed the door too loudly, however, and sent Ari and Fuji into a crying fit. She walked back into the bedroom, where they had moved the crib to stay close to the children. Zenigata murmured something to himself and trudged into the bathroom while Natasha sang to the babies in order to quiet them.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little—" Natasha stopped, and put a hand on her forehead, "How the hell does it go?" she wondered out loud.

"Star. Little star," she jumped, and turned. There was Lupin and Fujiko, both now standing in the doorway, "Natasha, you've gotta learn your nursery rhymes," Lupin chuckled as he picked up his son and rocked him back and forth.

"Poor Fuji. Did you miss your Mommy?" Fujiko asked her daughter as she lifted her out of the crib and cradled her. Natasha smiled nervously as she watched both parents rocked their children, but was snapped out of this by the opening of the bathroom door. Zenigata walked out, now a little more awake, but not by far.

"How were they?" Lupin inquired.

"Just like their parents—They never shut up," Zenigata responded.

"Ha-ha," Lupin laughed sarcastically and set Ari down, "How are you two doing?"

"Fine, fine," Natasha and Zenigata murmured in uneasy unison.

"What were you two doing, would be a better question," Fujiko laughed. Natasha and Zenigata both paled, and looked at one another, and then back at the parents. Fuji began to cry, and Fujiko sighed, "Guess she's hungry. Let me go feed them…" she said as she took Ari from Lupin and exited the guestroom.

"I hope you two didn't permanently scar my kids with whatever the hell you guys did," Lupin laughed breezily as he leaned back on the dresser.

"Now you—" Zenigata took a step forward, but Natasha stopped him, and took one of his arms.

"It's not worth it," Natasha said with a smile, "He's just a little jealous."

"Huh?" Lupin and Zenigata looked at Natasha in equal unison.

Natasha walked over to Lupin, and whispered something to him. Lupin's smile faded, and he looked over at Zenigata in disbelief, and then back at Natasha. Natasha nodded, and Lupin shuddered, "Jesus! You are serious! What the hell!?" he rose, and threw his arms up in the air and then over his head, "I'm going to be having nightmares for a month now! Thanks a' Goddamned lot! Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go down a gallon of drain cleaner in hopes of forgetting that!" he grumbled as he exited, slamming the door behind himself.

"What'd you say to the little jerk?" Zenigata asked.

"That's for me to know," Natasha answered.

Meanwhile, outside, Jigen immediately spotted his friend, and noticed something wrong with him, "What the hell's up with you?"

"Natasha's with Zenigata," Lupin said.

"What, downstairs?" Jigen asked as he took a sip of a beer he had gotten from the kitchen.

"No… Together… Like… You know…" Lupin made a few hand gestures to convey his message.

"Oh, Jesus…" Jigen shook his, "And didn't you and Natasha—"

"Yep."

"Holy crap. If I weren't so disturbed I'd be laughing my ass off," Jigen muttered, sipping his beer, "Hey, did you ask her who she thought was better?"

"Go to hell!" Lupin snapped.

Jigen chuckled, "Now, that made me laugh…" he patted Lupin on the back as he walked into his bedroom, leaving the thief to his own thoughts.

"Oh, well… Guess I could get to work on the formula…." Lupin sighed, and began to walk down towards the cellar. Along the way, he was nearly run down by Toshiro and Yukiko, who were soon followed by a running Amaya.

"Amaya! You shouldn't be running in your condition!" Goemon yelled as he struggled to keep up with them with his still aching leg.

"Condition?" Lupin wondered out loud, and turned to Goemon as the samurai caught up to them, "What condition? Goemon?"

"Amaya…. She's…" Goemon coughed uneasily, "We're having a child."

"Good God," Lupin put a hand to him forehead, "Natasha and Zenigata… Goemon's got a kid…. Jigen!?" Lupin called upward.

"Yeah!?" Jigen answered.

"We have anything else to drink!?" Lupin asked.

"I dunno! Go look!" Jigen snapped in response. Lupin sighed heavily, loosened his tie, and walked towards the refrigerator.

"I can't wait until I see the big Amaya-Zenigata confession-a-thon…" Lupin muttered as he walked over to the refrigerator, opened the door, and found a beer, "I really shouldn't be working with chemicals while I'm drunk but, hey, what the hell?" he sighed as he opened the beer and went down into the cellar.

"Can we go to the park!?" Toshiro asked his brother as Goemon met Toshiro, Yukiko, and Amaya on the back porch. Amaya was swinging Yukiko back and forth while the little girl laughed.

"All right, but if any strangers go to talk to you, punch them," Goemon advised as he led them to the park. Toshiro and Yukiko played with one another along the way while Amaya and Goemon walked together.

"Lupin found out about your baby," said Goemon.

"Really?" Amaya drew back in surprise, "What did he say?"

"Nothing, really. Just asked Jigen where he could find a beer…" Goemon answered. Amaya laughed, and Goemon cracked a small smile, "We still have to tell Zenigata, however."

"Jesus, how am I going to tell Dad?" Amaya thought to herself as they found a bench and let Toshiro and Yukiko go to play with the other children.

"Very slowly, and while he's sitting," Goemon retorted as he sat down next to Amaya and watched over the children.

Meanwhile, Yukiko and Toshiro had found themselves playing with a group of children around their age, and Yukiko had been speaking to one boy in particular. Toshiro noted this, and quietly kept an eye over Yukiko and this boy while he played on the playground equipment with some of the other children.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Yukiko inquired as she climbed up a set of bars to Toshiro, who was sitting on the topmost part of the playground, his legs crossed and his sword in his lap, "You look more pissed off than your brother!"

"That boy you've been talking to. He's bad news," Toshiro replied coolly.

"What? Do you know him?" asked Yukiko.

"No. But I know his type," Toshiro responded.

Yukiko raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh… Are you freakin' jealous?"

"No," Toshiro snapped in response.

"What? I'm your friend, too, Toshiro!" Yukiko said with a reassuring smile, "You're my best friend, okay? I promise. Hey, when I start dating for real, you won't be able to get in a bitchy mood every time I bring someone home!" She laughed, and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll catch you later!" she said, and climbed back down.

"You don't have to bring someone home," Toshiro muttered as he rose, "Just like a woman. Sees only ahead, never what's in front of her…" he muttered bitterly, and scaled down the playground.

"Huh," Amaya murmured quietly as she watched Toshiro walk away from the playground and towards a small pond.

"What is it?" asked Goemon.

"Toshiro. Something seems off with him. He's acting a little too much like you," Amaya replied, "Perhaps you should go speak with him?"

"About what?" asked Goemon.

"I don't know! Perhaps what's making him seem so depressed?" Amaya answered.

"Fine," Goemon replied after a pause, and left to speak to his brother. He seated himself next to Toshiro, who was looking out at the water from a large boulder. Neither said anything for some time, until Goemon cleared his throat and turned to Toshiro, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Toshiro responded bitterly.

"All right. Well, I suppose that was simple enough… It doesn't explain why you seem so depressed, though," Goemon looked back, and saw Yukiko playing tag with the boy she had been spending the afternoon with. He looked back downward at Toshiro, and drew his own conclusions, "Oh. That?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that your language skills suck?" Toshiro snapped.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you pout like a little girl instead of doing something about it when someone you like is paying their attentions to someone else?" Goemon retorted.

"Okay. Maybe too many words isn't the best thing for you," Toshiro replied after a pause, "I don't like her like that. That boy just looks like an idiot."

"You can't judge a person by his looks…"

"Lupin looks like an idiot."

Goemon paused, "Well, perhaps sometimes, on rare occasion, you can. But not most of the time. You know, when it all boils down to it, Yukiko's best friend is you. Don't worry if she talks to other boys. It's probably not that serious."

"So, you shouldn't get jealous if Amaya starts talking to some techie guy?" asked Toshiro.

"No, I shouldn't."

"Good, because that's what she's doing," Toshiro replied, pointing over towards Amaya.

Goemon looked back, and glared, "Well, I shouldn't get jealous, but no one's perfect," he said as he rose and put a hand over his sword handle.

Toshiro sighed, and leaned over into the pond. He looked so much like his brother. He looked upward again, and saw Goemon speaking harshly to the techie boy. He saw Goemon's sword down at his side, and then looked at his own, in deep thought.

Back at the House:

"Have you seen Lupin around?" Fujiko asked Jigen and Ming as the duo watched television in the living room.

"No. Have you?" asked Ming to Jigen.

Jigen shook his head, and looked back at Fujiko, "No clue, Fujiko. Last time I saw him, he was getting a beer…."

"Wow… I'm going to go look around for him a little more. But it really concerns me when he's out of my sight…"

"Yeah, we'll help you look for him," Jigen said, and stood from the couch, "If I knew he hadn't taken it, I'd swear he'd be trying that alchemy formula out."

Ming yelped, and ran down into the basement quickly, "Holy crap!" she slammed the door behind the others, and ran down the stairway to Lupin, who was going through the formula with the help of an extensive collection of chemicals, "Are you drunk!?" Ming shrieked as she ran to Lupin.

"Uh… No… I haven't even touched my beer," Lupin replied slowly and uneasily, "You really shouldn't jump up on me like that. I'm working with pure sodium and water! Do you know what that stuff does together?" Ming shook her head, and Lupin made the gesture of an explosion.

"You're kidding…" she muttered, "But, anyway, I wanted to make sure you weren't going to kill us. They were all wondering where you ran off to."

"I'm right here. Just make sure Jigen doesn't find out about this, or he'll have my head," Lupin muttered as he continued to concentrate on the formula, "Now…. Slowly…" he said to himself as he carefully held an eyedropper of sodium over the water. Ming took shelter behind the stairwell, and both held their breaths.

Suddenly came a loud slamming of the door opening and shutting, and Lupin jerked to attention at the sound of screaming, while accidentally allowing several drops of sodium in the water solution. He quickly ducked under the lab table.

There was a loud booming sound from downstairs, and all stood silently in their positions a few moments. Soon, Zenigata and Natasha came running downstairs, and the others ran down into the basement.

Luckily, the other chemicals were locked away in tight safes, so none of the other chemicals set off a chain reaction. Fujiko pulled Ming out while Jigen carried Lupin out, and Amaya and Yukiko went to looking them over for any injuries. Goemon, Natasha, and Zenigata went to putting out the fire, and Toshiro tried to help them out as well, but was only turned away.

"Toshiro! Get out of here! It's too dangerous!" Goemon yelled to his brother.

"No! I can do it!" Toshiro protested.

"No, you can't!" Goemon snapped, "Now go upstairs and help Amaya and Yukiko."

Toshiro glared at Goemon, and spoke softly, "I hate you…." He said, and walked up stairs to Amaya and Yukiko.

Goemon stood there a few moments, stunned, until Natasha grabbed him by one of his shoulders and signaled that they still needed his help. He continued to help out the two numbly, until the fire had finally been put out. The three walked up the stairs tiredly, and gratefully accepted offers of water from Fujiko.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Ming and Lupin had both come to, and were currently being berated by an extremely angry Jigen.

"What the hell do you think you were doing!?" Jigen screamed, "I told you no, Lupin! Do you know what the hell could've happened if we hadn't been here?! And Ming, dammit! Li Yan, you knew about this all along!? How the hell could you do that!? You could've been hurt! You or the baby!"

"Listen, I'm sorry. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, and—" Ming muttered quietly, averting her eyes from Jigen.

"You thought wrong!" Jigen responded in an angry snap.

"Maybe we should go," Zenigata said to Natasha quietly as they watched this spectacle from the kitchen.

"Good idea," Natasha replied, grasping onto his hand, "We really need to talk, anyway."

"About what?" Zenigata inquired.

"I," Natasha sighed heavily, "when we get to the apartment. This isn't the right place."

"Okay," Zenigata nodded, and turned to Amaya, who had poured herself a cup of juice and was watching the argument placidly with Fujiko at one side and Yukiko at the other, "Amaya, we have to go. Hopefully we can talk again, on better circumstances."

"Yeah. I have to talk to you too, Dad," replied Amaya as she embraced her father. Zenigata only now noticed Amaya had taken on an exceptional amount of weight, especially in her stomach. He did not say anything, however, in order to not hurt her feelings. Too many feelings were getting hurt right now.

And, upstairs, Toshiro sat quietly on his bed while Goemon sat cross-legged in a chair. Both were silent a long time. Toshiro looked upward at Goemon, and the older brother spoke "Do you want to go home to Mother?" Goemon inquired.

"No," Toshiro replied, shaking his head, "I'm just tired of being treated like I'm a little child! I can go into sword fights, but you become frightened if I leave the house without your knowing!"

"I know you can handle yourself in battle. But anything else, I'm never quite sure of. You know nothing of this kind of environment. Mother put me in charge of you, and I have a responsibility to watch after you," Goemon replied, "Toshiro, what's really wrong with you? Is it Yukiko?"

"Did you see the boy she liked?" asked Toshiro.

"Yes. Average boy," Goemon nodded.

"Yes. He was average. He didn't look like he came out of a martial arts movie," Toshiro said bitterly, "I never saw anything wrong with the way I looked until I saw everyone around me… I stick out too much…"

"You… You want to look the same as them?" Goemon replied in as surprised a tone as he could manage.

"Yes," Toshiro nodded. He looked up at Goemon, "It was never a problem for you. You grew up in Japan. I doubt you knew the workings of a microwave before you met Lupin. I'm not you, though," he stood, and walked towards the door. He stopped as he put his hand on the doorknob, "Please understand. You found Amaya, and she's just like you, and that's great. But I won't meet anyone like me here." He opened the door and then closed it behind himself, leaving a stunned Goemon. Amaya walked into the bedroom as Toshiro exited, with a tired and understanding smile. She seated herself across from Goemon, and waited.

"You heard all of that?" Goemon asked after a pause.

"Yes," Amaya nodded, "It's not that, Goemon. That may be part of it, but that's not all of it," she explained, "Who do you think Toshiro sees when he looks in a mirror? His older brother, father, grandfather…. You've got a name handed down to you, so you know what's expected of you. I still think Toshiro's trying to figure out who he wants to be."

"So, what am I to do?" Goemon asked.

"Let him see what he likes," Amaya suggested, "I'm sure you didn't always appreciate having to live up twelve other Goemon Ishikawas."

"I knew nothing else," Goemon responded.

"They were good role models for you, you know," Amaya said as she rose from her seat, "But whom does Toshiro have?"
"Tell me… Did you think all of that?" Goemon inquired.

"With a little help of our amateur psychologist," Amaya replied, "Fujiko's getting rather good, you know." She leaned downward to Goemon, and kissed him on the forehead, "I have to go check out the situation downstairs. I'll speak with you later."

"All right," Goemon nodded, and watched as Amaya left. He looked over at an opened window, and watched as a bird perched itself on the window sill and studied him in curiosity, "Sometimes I wonder if leaving Japan was the best thing for my family," he confided to the bird before it flew off once more.

Amaya walked down the hallway, and could hear arguing from Jigen and Ming's room. She sighed and shook her head tiredly as she continued to walk down the hallway.

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay!?" Ming shouted to a still quiet Jigen, "Jesus, you're acting just like my dad! Just because you're old enough to be my father doesn't mean you have to act like it! I'm an adult! I'm married, with a family to look over, okay!?"

"You weren't exactly living up to that by lying to me," Jigen responded quietly. The father line had gone through him like a knife, and now he was struggling to retain his composure, "Listen, perhaps your intentions were good, but you put everyone if danger, including yourself and the baby."

Ming put a hand on her stomach, which had grown out reasonably in the past months. Only a little more time before…

"We, we haven't even picked out a name," Ming muttered.

"You're changing the Goddamned subject," Jigen accused.

"It's true, though! And we only have a little more time, you know!" Ming snapped, "For all we know, I could go into contractions right now, and—" she stopped dead, and turned ashen, "Woah… Wait… It's still a couple of weeks early…." She muttered as she sat back in a chair.

"Ming?" Jigen choked, leaning inward to inspect her worriedly.

Later, an Area Hospital:

"You okay!?" Jigen asked worriedly as he wheeled Ming down the hospital corridors.

"I—I don't know what's going on. This isn't right. It shouldn't be this early!" Ming answered, followed by another pained moan, "Oh, God! Oh my God! Allen, we don't even have a name!"

"Don't frickin' call me that!" Jigen yelled in response as he led her down another hallway.

Jigen and she checked into the hospital, where Ming was led into a maternity room, and Jigen followed soon afterward. The others followed soon afterward, all feeling a sense of familiarity with the delivery room by now.

"What's going on!?" Yukiko demanded as she looked upward at Lupin, who was peeking in through the glass windows of the delivery room.

"Here!" Lupin lifted her up, and Yukiko peaked into the window. She could not see her father amongst the many people in green scrubs. She could see Ming, however. She looked to be in a great deal of pain.

"I never want children," Yukiko admitted to Lupin.

"I'm sure your dad will be glad to hear that," Lupin answered.

"What put her into contractions, anyway? Isn't it a little early?" Amaya asked suspiciously.

"The explosion, and Jigen's yelling afterward. Too much stress can make that happen sometimes," Fujiko answered.

"Really?" Amaya gaped in surprise.

"Great. Good thing you and Amaya don't get into many fights anyway, Goemon," Lupin chuckled, and then frowned as he read Zenigata's face.

Zenigata turned to Amaya, and she shrugged and looked downward shyly, "Surprise, Dad. I really wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how you would react."

"Toshiko, I… Wow… Boy or a girl? Do you know yet?" Zenigata inquired.

"I do, but I haven't told anyone else yet," Amaya replied quietly. Goemon looked over at Amaya, and waited in great apprehension, "It's a boy." Goemon breathed a sigh of relief, and Zenigata embraced his daughter, his cheerful yelling causing some of the on-duty nurses to peak their heads into the private waiting room.

"What!? You've never seen a happy guy before!?" Lupin snapped to the nurses. They quickly retracted their heads back and went back to their duties. Lupin turned back to the door, but an opening door quickly blew him and Yukiko, who was still in Lupin's arms, back. Jigen looked down, stunned, at Lupin and Yukiko, who were both on the ground, sporting red marks on their foreheads.

"Lupin! Yukiko!" Fujiko yelled, running towards them and falling down to them, "Are you two all right!?"

"Nothing that can't be healed by a kiss, Fujicakes," Lupin replied dramatically. Yukiko lightly slapped him on the head from where she lay, and stood up uneasily, with the help of her father.

"Daddy, how's the baby!?" Yukiko asked excitedly.

"Yeah, Jigen, what's up?" inquired Lupin as he sat up on the white tiled floor.

"How's Yukiko's little brother?" asked Fujiko.

"Little sister," Jigen answered as he removed the green cap and took his fedora from where it lay on a waiting room chair. He placed it on his head, and looked downward at Yukiko, "I know you wanted a little brother, but there's only so much I can do."

"No, that's great!" Yukiko answered, "I have Ari and Toshiro around! Now Fuji and I have another girl, and Amaya's going to have a boy!"

"And God knows what Zenigata will hatch," Lupin answered in a chuckle. Amaya growled, and retrieved a floppy disk from her kimono sleeve, which she promptly flung at Lupin's head. It made direct contact, and Lupin turned around, and glared, "What is it with you people and hitting me in my head!?"

"We know nothing will get hurt in there," Goemon replied.

"You're having a kid?" Jigen inquired.

"Uh… Yeah…" Goemon answered, "So, what's the baby's name?"

Jigen shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and cleared his throat.

"Well, what is it?" Natasha asked.

"She thought it would be nice if… I didn't even know she did it, really…" Jigen muttered.

"What the hell's the kid's name, Jigen?" Lupin asked.

"Ryoko," Jigen responded, "After my mother."

"So, no Daisuke Jigen the second, huh?" Lupin smirked.

"Hey. I did the world a favor. They didn't need another one of me," Jigen replied.

"So, when can we see her!?" Yukiko asked excitedly.

"In a little. She's a little underweight, so they're going to try to get her up to a normal weight," Jigen said, "I need to go see Ming, okay, guys? I'll be back in a little."

"Hey, Jigen," Lupin called as Jigen turned to leave.

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations," Lupin said. Jigen nodded, smirked, and walked back in to speak to Ming and check of the condition of both her and the baby.