DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin, or the other guys… But, hey, maybe someday I'll find a copy of Cagliostro…..
Hello….
Wow, you guys really want to see Natasha pregnant, huh? Tee hee…. We'll see, okay? Who knows—Like Zenigata said, as long as there's a Lupin, Zenigata will be on the case. But, hey, maybe the Zenigata in question will also celebrate Hanukah…. Any ideas about the future of the Lupin gang? Should I go for it, and showcase a fullgrown Ari and Fujiko Lupin, Toshiro Ishikawa, and Ryoko and Yukiko Jigen (and perhaps some others—Hint, hint). Well, enjoy the next chapter. And remember, if you like, hate it—whatever—Don't hesitate to place your reviews in.
Chapter Twenty Seven
A Few Days after the first Appearance of Ryoko Diana Jigen (By the way, Jigen hated the middle name): On the Road Again
'Baby you can drive my car,
Yes I'm gonna be a star,
Baby you can drive my car,
And baby I love you,'
--The Beatles, 'You can Drive My Car'
"Mom! I was wondering when you would get in!" Jigen said as the original Ryoko Jigen walked out of an airline terminal. He stood there with his friends, and in his arms was a small bundle in a green blanket. Only six pounds, with a full head of dark hair, an olive complexion, and a predominant widow's peak. Ryoko, or, Ryo, as she was simply called, looked a great deal like Yukiko as a baby.
Next to Jigen was Ming, who held onto Yukiko's hand. Ryoko greeted each of the adults, and then each of the children. She was quite surprised by Toshiro's presence, and smiled widely as she laid eyes on the young boy, "Yukiko, is this your boyfriend?"
"Nah," Yukiko smirked, and nudged Toshiro, "This is Toshiro Ishikawa."
"Goemon? You had a son?" Ryoko inquired in great surprise, "He looks just like you!"
"He's not… He's my brother," Goemon responded.
"Oh, excuse me, then," Ryoko said good humoredly, "It's almost like looking in a mirror, though!"
"We've heard," Goemon and Toshiro answered blandly.
"And Amaya, you're expecting, hum?" Ryoko inquired. She looked around at the others and smiled, "What, did everyone get drunk at once and forget protection or something?"
"Well, for some of us," Amaya responded with a nervous chuckle.
"Don't worry. Whoops babies are just as good as those who are planned," Ryoko said as she patted Jigen on the shoulder.
"Well," Jigen eyed Lupin briefly, but then shook his head, "Nah. Nevermind. C'mon, Mom. We'll take you back to the house."
"Is your sister coming?" asked Ryoko.
"Not right now. She will in a few weeks. It's just harder for her and her husband to make plans," Jigen answered as he picked up her bags and walked with the others to the parking garage, "They own a small business in Philly."
"Really? What sort?"
"Yeah, why don't you tell her, Jigen?" Lupin chuckled.
Jigen paused, sighed, and rolled his eyes, "It's a religious book store." Lupin burst into laughter, and Jigen whacked Lupin on the back of the head with one of his mother's hard suitcases, "Show a little respect, you godless heathen!"
"Hey, I'm not a heathen!" Lupin snapped in response, "I get plenty of exercise!" he added in an angry mutter.
"Someone get him a dictionary," Jigen grumbled as they came to the now three cars the group used. Jigen loaded his mother's luggage into the Alfa Romeo, which he now mainly used, while Lupin and Fujiko buckled the babies back into an old Mercedes from the 30's. Amaya unlocked the doors of her Chrysler, which was also a model from the 30's, and she, Toshiro, and Goemon got into their car. It was any car fan's dream as they pulled out and drove towards the house.
They returned home, and Ryo began to cry as Ming unbuckled her. Ari and Fuji took the initiative, and began to wail as well.
"Oh, crap. Not you, too," Lupin sighed as he held a wailing Ari, "Please don't cry, Ari! Please?!"
"Sing something from Frank Sinatra. It always worked for Daisuke," Ryoko said absently as she took some of her luggage.
Lupin stopped, frowned, and turned to Jigen, "Did you sleep with Fujiko and get her pregnant?" he inquired.
"No. Once is enough," Jigen answered as he took out two of his mother's suitcases from the trunk of the car and went to put them away in the house.
"Woah! Wait! What!?" Lupin shrieked, running towards Jigen. He looked back at Fujiko, "Did you—And him—"
"Relax. It was seven years ago," Fujiko answered as she retrieved her purse. She walked up to Lupin, and adjusted Fuji in her arms, "What? He looked sad. So I gave him a few drinks and a good time. You deserved it, anyway. You were acting like a total bastard at the time. Should you really be surprised, anyway?"
"I—I guess not…. How much did you give him to get him drunk?" Lupin wondered.
"An entire bottle of scotch and three shots of vodka," Fujiko answered, "And I remember he was still high-strung then, so I replaced his cigarette with a tinsy bit of marijuana…"
"You gave him a frickin' joint!? Where the hell did you get that!? Jesus. It makes me wonder if he has any blood at all left in his alcohol system," Lupin muttered. He frowned, "It also makes me wonder if you did anything with Goemon. You, uh, didn't, did you, Fujicakes?" he asked nervously, stepping in front of her, "I, uh, mean, you wouldn't be that mean, would you?"
"Yes she would," Goemon replied quickly as he walked up the white steps with Amaya and Toshiro.
"You bastards!" Lupin shouted to his friends angrily, "How could you!? Ming, doesn't that bother you in the least!? How about you, Amaya?"
"No," Amaya shrugged as she walked up the stairs to her room, "If he had really liked it, he would've stayed with her."
"I guess…" Lupin sighed. A thought came to him, however, and turned to Fujiko, "Wait, you didn't do anything with Zenigata, did you!?"
"Hell, no!" Fujiko replied, "But I really know I don't want to ask about Natasha."
"Oh, please! I was drunk! But not high!" Lupin snapped in response. Fujiko shrugged, and began to walk up the stairs, "Hey, are you listening to me!? Get back here, dammit! You! I'm going to—Oh, you better watch it!"
Ming, Yukiko, Ryo, and Ryoko still stood out in front of the house. Ming turned to Ryoko, and clasped her hands together, "So! Ryoko! Let me show you around the place!"
"Uh… Yes… Thank you," Ryoko nodded, and followed Ming out back. Ming took Ryo with her, leaving Lupin and Yukiko out on the porch alone. Lupin turned as he noted Yukiko, and seated himself on the porch steps. Yukiko smirked, and seated herself next to Lupin.
She put a hand on his back, and turned to him. Lupin looked downward at her tiredly, and Yukiko spoke, "You look like hell."
"Thanks," Lupin muttered, resting his head in his hands, "You look just as great…"
Later that night:
"I can't believe they left us with the babies and Zenigata," Yukiko muttered as she watched a single van drive off towards its destination, a French restaurant.
"Hey, you kids want to play a board game?" Zenigata asked, sticking his head out of the front door.
"Good God…" Toshiro muttered to Yukiko. Both sighed in defeat, and walked back into the house. Natasha was on the floor, playing with the three babies. She held Ryo in one arm while Fuji and Ari crawled across a blanket she had laid out on the wooden floor.
"So, you guys wanna watch a movie?" Zenigata asked in a smirk, bending down to their level.
"Scarface?" Yukiko asked.
"Yojimbo?" Toshiro asked hopefully.
"Uh…. How about, uh… The Little Mermaid?" Zenigata suggested, slightly confused by the children's choice of films. They were going to be bigger deviants than their parents, he realized, much to his chagrin.
"Uh… I have to polish my sword…" Toshiro said slowly, looking over to Yukiko for help.
"I have to go clean my gun!" Yukiko answered, and ran up the stairs with Toshiro. Zenigata heard a door slam, sighed, and threw the DVD down on the couch.
"Hey, I'll watch it with you," Natasha replied, picking up the DVD, "You can put it on, if you want…"
"Don't see why not," Zenigata shrugged, and put the movie into the DVD player, "I've never seen this one… Never been a big Disney fan."
"Me either. But I'm sure they like it," Natasha laughed as she held Ryo up and smiled. She laid Ryo down onto the blanket, and picked Ari up. He had begun to stray from the blanket. She soon had to move Fuji back to the blanket as well, and sighed in defeat as they both began to move away from the blanket, "I give up…" She smiled, and picked up Ryo. She sat down on the couch next to Zenigata, and watched the two babies carefully as they slowly crawled around the living room floor.
"She's cute, huh?" Natasha said as she cradled Ryo.
"Uh… Yeah…" Zenigata nodded vaguely. He quickly turned his attention back to the movie, "Wow! Would you look at the artwork! Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I was stranded out at sea for a week!?"
"You think I want one, don't you?" Natasha asked, eyeing Zenigata suspiciously.
"Why would you think that!?" Zenigata laughed uneasily.
"You're getting flustered," Natasha answered. She looked down at Ryo, "I mean, I know we're both older, but there's nothing wrong with that!"
"I'm going to be a grandfather," Zenigata added, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Um… No," Natasha responded, shaking her head, "Listen, it'll be fun! You were complaining about how bored you were, anyway! What better to keep you busy, right!?"
"I… Suppose…" Zenigata said slowly, "We'd have to get a bigger apartment."
"No problem. I made friends with a realtor down at the market. She'll help us out," Natasha replied, and put a hand on Zenigata's arm, "Thanks, Koichi."
"No problem," Zenigata answered in a heavy sigh.
Upstairs:
"You sunk my friggin' battleship!" Yukiko yelled in distaste as Toshiro again proved victorious over the pegged seas. She sighed in defeat, and leaned back on her elbows, "How'd you get so damned good!?"
"My Uncle Heiji," Toshiro replied, "He loved all sorts of strategy games. I learned a lot from him over the years. He was as close to a father as I ever got."
"What about Goemon?"
"What about him?" Toshiro snapped irritably.
"Why don't you two get along?" Yukiko asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Toshiro answered.
"Oh… Okay. You wanna play video games?"
"Sounds good to me," Toshiro replied.
A Uptown French Restaurant:
"So, he wasn't really a clone?" Ryoko asked as she ate her meal while listening to the tales of her son and his friends.
"Well, yeah, he was!" Lupin answered.
"But you said you thought he—Oh, nevermind," Ryoko laughed, and shook her head, "How did Mr. Zenigata get back on the case if he had quit?"
"Declared temporary insanity," Lupin replied, "But, if you ask me, there's nothing temporary about Pops' insanity."
"My father's just dedicated," Amaya replied defensively.
"Daisuke, I brought some things for you!" Ryoko said suddenly.
"Really?" Jigen turned to her questioningly, "What?"
"I found Mrs. Yazuki, Sakura's mother—Yukiko's grandmother. Well, actually, I had a private detective track her down. I had a friendly conversation with her—Well, actually, I threatened to sue her ass off… But I got her to hand over some things to me," Ryoko answered.
"What?" Jigen blinked in surprise, and went to lift his hat up out of surprise, but then remembered that it lay on his lap.
"Here," Ryoko picked up her large purse from her side, and unzipped it. She removed four videos from the purse, three cassettes, a large stack of photographs, and a bag full of personal objects of Sakura's, "I'm quite the little thief, too. But I find ways within the legal system," said Ryoko with a smile. Jigen looked down at the pile in wordless surprise, as did the others.
"Jigen, your Mom's Goddamned awesome!" Lupin said, apparently impressed.
"As tight-fisted as Sakura's mother was…" Jigen said to himself, "Uh, thanks, Mom…"
"Yukiko should know where she comes from. That's why I brought some photos of our family, too. The good ones, though," Ryoko added, removing another stack of photos. The one on top showed a young teenaged Japanese girl and a dark-haired baby. As Lupin looked over Ryoko's shoulder, he noticed that the girl looked young enough to be the baby's older sister.
"Who is that?" Lupin asked.
"Daisuke-chan and myself," Ryoko answered.
"Wow! You were pretty friggin' young!" Lupin gaped.
"Fourteen," Ryoko answered as she shuffled through the photos.
Lupin made her stop on one, and gaped in shock, "Who's that!?"
"Oh, that was a good friend of mine," Ryoko replied, "Keiko," she added.
"Keiko?" Fujiko shot her head towards Ryoko, "Keiko what?"
"I don't know anymore," Ryoko shrugged, "I used to work in Shinjuku with her. She moved to Ise with me. She ended up getting married, though. A nice rich man. She was always looking to marry a nice rich man. A, uh, doctor, I believe…"
"I don't remember her," Jigen admitted.
"You should. You hated her. You wouldn't call her anything except 'bitch'," Ryoko responded.
"Well, Jigen's first word was 'vodka'," Goemon said.
"How did you know?" asked Ryoko. Goemon's slight smile fell, replaced with a disturbed glance towards Jigen.
"Ryoko, what was the doctor's name?" Fujiko asked.
"Uh… Akira… Akira Mine," Ryoko answered.
"THAT'S why I can't stand you!" Jigen shouted, jumping out of his chair and pointing to Fujiko. The rest of the restaurant silenced, and looked towards the table. Amaya and Goemon instinctively picked up their menus and covered their faces, and Lupin fell back in his chair. Fujiko looked absolutely stunned. She had known barely anything about her father, and her mother had always kept her past hidden.
"Sorry. I just had trouble putting my finger on it," Jigen muttered with a shrug as he picked up his hat and seated himself.
"I see where you get your promiscuous habits, now…" Lupin said with a smug smile.
"Oh, shut up, already!" Fujiko yelled, smacking him on the back of the head.
"Ouch. Damn," Lupin grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.
"I thought I recognized you," Ryoko nodded, "Well, you know how the big city girls are… We stuck together… I can't say that in the present tense, because I quit that a long time ago…"
"Jigen, I thought you only hated Fujiko because she continually led Lupin down a path of destruction," Goemon said.
"Nah. It was hate at first sight," Jigen answered, "Well, you know, Keiko and my mom were like sisters, Fujiko. I guess that kind of makes us cousins."
"LIKE HELL I'M RELATED TO YOU!" Fujiko snapped in response, rising from her chair and leaning inward to Jigen. All in the restaurant silenced, and turned. Amaya and Goemon put their menus up over their faces again.
Back at the house:
"Did you hear something?" Toshiro asked Yukiko as the two sat watching an old musical in the young girl's bedroom.
"No. You?" asked Yukiko.
"Nah," Toshiro replied, shaking his head. Toshiro sat on the floor of the bedroom on a pink carpet while Yukiko lied down on her bed.
"I'm kinda bored, how about you?" Yukiko asked, turning in bed and looking downward at Toshiro.
"Well, what do you want to do?" asked Toshiro.
"Let's go take one of the cars out for a spin," Yukiko suggested.
"Are you sure we're allowed to do that?" asked Toshiro.
"Sure. How the hell hard can it be?" Yukiko responded, and jumped off her bed, "It'll be fun. I've seen my dad do it plenty of times, anyway!"
Later, the Garage:
"Let's see now…." Yukiko stood on a stool, a screwdriver in the broken lock that once protected the many sets of car keys, "Chevelle? Chrysler?"
"What year Chrysler?" asked Toshiro.
"Uh… 45'," Yukiko answered.
"Nah," Toshiro shook his head.
"Alfa Romeo? Mercedes? La France? Austin-Cooper?" Yukiko read off on the tags on the car keys.
"Austin-Cooper? They make the Mini Cooper?" Toshiro asked.
"Duh," Yukiko rolled her eyes.
"What color is it?" asked Toshiro.
Yukiko noted that the tags on the keys were also color-coded, and looked at each of the colors on the tags, "Red…"
Toshiro paused, "Go with it."
"Big Italian Job fan?" Yukiko sighed as she took the key off and walked out of the tool storage room with Toshiro. She looked down at the number on the tag, "It's space number forty."
"Hey! This is it, here!" Toshiro said.
"You still have the books and rope?" asked Yukiko.
"Yeah," Toshiro nodded, and tied a block to the gas and a block to the brake. He also put several books on the seat, and Yukiko hopped on. Toshiro climbed into the passenger seat. Yukiko smiled briefly, and put the key in the ignition.
Inside the House:
"Have you seen Yukiko or Toshiro lately?" asked Natasha suddenly.
"No," Zenigata shook his head, and rose from the couch. "I'll go check on them."
He was halfway to the stairs when Ryo, who was still in Natasha's arms, vomited on her. Natasha let out a yell of disgust, and Zenigata turned back around. He walked over to her, and took Ryo while Natasha rose and walked over to the kitchen sink. Zenigata set Ryo in a crib with a sleeping Fuji and Ari, and ran over to Natasha.
"Here, let me help you," Zenigata said, taking a paper towel from the rack and walking over to Natasha.
The same time, on the road:
"Huh, is that guy friggin' drunk?" Lupin asked, glaring into the black night at the car in front of him, "The jerk has his high beams on!"
"Yeah. Even I can see it," Jigen replied, putting a hand in front of his eyes.
"Watch it, you jerk!" Lupin screamed as the Mini Cooper sped past him, "Jesus…" he muttered as he sat back in the seat, "Can't wait to get home."
"Yeah. Yukiko will love the pictures, and the videos," Jigen added.
Back at the House:
"Here. Just. Dammit, hold still," Zenigata sighed heavily as he tried to help Natasha clean up.
"Fine. You know what—I'll just borrow something from Fujiko's room," Natasha grumbled as she removed her blouse and threw it in the sink full of hot water.
"What about the kids!?" Zenigata yelled frantically as he chased after her.
"There're probably watching a movie," Natasha answered as she walked into the living room, "They haven't been out for over an hour, what makes you think they'll come out now?"
The door suddenly opened, and Lupin walked in first. He did a double take and stared in shock at the sight of Natasha and Zenigata. Natasha yelped, and jumped behind Zenigata.
"What the…" Jigen trailed off, and raised his hat above his eyes.
"It's a long story!" Zenigata snapped, and walked up the stairs with Natasha.
Back in the Parking Garage:
"Oh, crap, there's their car!" Yukiko whispered as she and a very shaken Toshiro pulled into the parking garage. She parked the car, turned it off, and ran out with a pale and shaking samurai following close behind, "Good, he forgot to put the keys away!" she said, placing the keys back in the lock box and kicking the stool away afterwards, "We'll get the blocks out later! Hey, what's up with you?"
Toshiro grabbed her by the shirt collar suddenly, and spoke to her in a deep, even tone, "You are not taking me driving, ever again. Not until you get your license!"
"You're no fun," Yukiko laughed, and pushed him in good humor, "C'mon. We'll have to climb the tree out front to get to the second story!"
"Soka (Okay)…" Toshiro nodded, and ran out with her to the front yard. When they got to the tree, Toshiro boosted Yukiko up, and then climbed upward after her. Yukiko climbed up first, and waited for Toshiro.
"They haven't come in, yet," Yukiko said in relief, "I'll open the window, all right? Gimme you dagger."
"Yeah," Toshiro removed his dagger from his pocket, and handed it to her. Yukiko picked the lock, and passed Toshiro his knife back. She was about to open it when she felt Toshiro tap her on the shoulder.
"What!?" she hissed, "They'll be in any second, and—"
Toshiro pulled her inward, and kissed her briefly. Yukiko stayed in there in a crouched position for a few moments, and smirked, "Bakaro (you idiot)." She shook her head, and climbed into the room. Toshiro followed soon afterward, and closed the window behind himself. Just as he turned back around, the door opened, and Fujiko walked in.
"Hey. What have you two been up to?" Fujiko asked.
"Nothing," the two answered placidly as they went to go play another round of Battleship.
"Huh…" Fujiko looked over at the window, and noted a sneaker print on it. She said nothing however, and slowly exited the bedroom as she heard Fuji and Ari crying, "Coming!" she said tiredly. As she turned, she briefly ran into Natasha, who was now dressed in one of her blouses. Fujiko and she stood awkwardly in front of one another a moment, before Fujiko quickly walked down the stairs to the babies.
"Hey, cous', my niece and nephew are cryin'," Jigen said with a smirk as he leaned against the living room wall. Fujiko growled, and grabbed him by the beard and pulled him down to her level.
"I am not your cousin. We are not related in any way," Fujiko said, and let go of him.
"Damn! Don't you usually save physical abuse for Lupin!?" Jigen snapped.
"There's an exception to every rule," Fujiko answered as she picked up Ari and Fuji and stormed out of the living room. Jigen watched as she left and Zenigata tiredly scaled down the steps of the home. Jigen smirked as he made eye contact, and Zenigata leered at him.
"What the hell are you looking at?" he demanded.
"I hope you didn't turn my daughter into a lesbian after witnessing whatever you and Natasha were up to…" Jigen answered.
"Shuddup," Zenigata grumbled as he walked out of the house and waited for Natasha out by the porch.
Down in the Garage:
Lupin had forgotten to put his keys back in the lock case in the garage, something he rarely forgot to do. He stopped a moment at space forty, and frowned. Who had parked the Mini Cooper crooked? He shrugged, and continued down the aisle to the lock box. He stopped dead as he viewed the lock box through the pane of bulletproof glass separating the room from the cars.
He ran in, and saw that someone had unlocked it with a screwdriver. After checking over the inventory, he was relieved to find none of the cars had been stolen. But who had opened it, and why? He could think of one possible reason, but it was a little farfetched, even for him. But then again, he had fought zombies, and, to an even more unbelievable extent, had gotten married.
"Well, if what I think happened, did happen, at least they didn't get themselves or the car damaged…" Lupin said as he locked the door. "I'll just have to change this in the morning…" he said to himself, and turned off the light of the garage as he exited. "Yeah, these kids may prove themselves worthy to be the next generation of the Lupin gang, yet."
