DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin the Third or any of the Monkey Punch Characters…
Welcome to the yearly Christmas-special spectacular! Can I get some lights?
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! Went to go see the Rockettes yesterday—Awesome show. But no little samurais saving an actress afterwards. Not that I'm aware of, anyway :). Everyone rest well during the vacation, and here's hoping everyone's holidays are safe and great.
Chapter Thirty Four
Christmas Eve: White Christmas
'Come together right now over me,
Come together'
--The Beatles, 'Come together'
Amaya had been smiling the entire morning, and whistled as she helped to prepare breakfast. Naturally, all were curious, and wondered what her secret was. But even Goemon could not pry it out of her. Nor could Zenigata or Himichi.
Fujiko had finally realized who Ryoko's guest was. She and her mother had had a shaky beginning, but were slowly getting accustomed to one another. Goemon and Toshiro were on much better terms, and the two had gone out the previous morning to get a Christmas tree. Amaya had been giving Goemon lessons in improving his driving. Yukiko was a better driver than Goemon.
Jigen and Lupin were in the living room, putting the finishing touches on their plans for the night. Both sat at a wooden table, many papers in front of them. Papers of maps, locations, and other various necessities for the night. Ming walked into the living room, and leaned over Jigen's shoulders and looked over the plans. Jigen tried to pay no attention to her as she read over the directions. Lupin looked up at Ming briefly, smirked, and highlighted across one of his papers.
Ming rested one of her elbows on Jigen's hat, but he continued to ignore her. Perhaps if he ignored her, she would catch on to the fact that he was much too busy to be bothered. Ming stood back as she realized nothing was working, and thought a few moments. Lupin stopped highlighting, and waited for Ming's next move. Ming pulled Jigen's chair back, and sat down on his lap. Jigen looked upward in surprise, and Lupin burst into laughing. Jigen saw a bright flash, and looked to his right. There was Maria, holding a camera and laughing.
"You!" Jigen yelled.
"Thanks, Ming," Maria laughed, and put her camera away in a side pocket of her wheelchair, "You both looked so cute!" she continued as she wheeled away from them, "I'm going to see what's for lunch."
"Sometimes I wish I actually knew someone mature," Jigen muttered as he put his hat over his eyes.
"Oh, come on! Where's your holiday spirit!?" Ming asked as she lifted his hat out from over his eyes.
"Yeah, Jigen…. Why are you such a grinch?" asked Lupin, "Even Goemon's cracked a smile in the past day or so! Each time his mom leaves to go get something from a store, he's practically beaming!"
"Can you please get off? I can't feel my legs," Jigen said, "And if my mother comes in and sees this…"
"You're so uptight," Ming said in a heavy sigh as she stood, "You've got to learn to loosen up!"
"I've been telling him that for years," Lupin said as he went back to highlighting.
"Shut up and keep working!" Jigen snapped, "Do you have a plan on getting that illusionist out of our hair, yet?"
"Yep," Lupin nodded, "Let him work with us."
"What!?" Jigen nearly fell out of his chair at this news, "What do you mean!? You can't be serious!"
"I am," Lupin nodded, "This guy likes me, right? So, if I offer to let him tag along, he's bound to go bananas over the idea of it! We'll let Jean-Paul whoever see how a pro does it."
"Are you sure he'll agree to it?"
"Nearly positive."
"Nearly?"
"The amount of money they're offering this man is astounding."
"Then double it!"
"And take the easy way out? Jigen, sometimes I wonder if you really know me or not!"
"Yeah… Sometimes I wonder if I know you or not, too," Jigen admitted.
Later That Night:
Goemon and Zenigata had been trying to put the same bike together for half an hour, without little success. The two bickered about which piece went where, and when it should be placed on the bike, and whether it was all right or not to end up with seventeen leftover parts. Fujiko had left with Lupin a short time ago, in hopes of talking to the illusionist about his act, and the changed Lupin had in store for it.
"Where is part G-9?" asked Goemon.
"There is no G-9," Zenigata replied, "That's C-4. You're reading it wrong."
"Your eyes fail you. It's G-9!" Goemon answered.
"No, there is no G-9!" said Zenigata a little more defensively, "Get it through your skull already! Theses eyes are still as good as when I ask your age! Say, didn't you hit thirty recently?"
Goemon unsheathed his sword, and glared at Zenigata, "Do not mention my turning thirty, ever…"
"Jeeze, sorry. And I thought mob boy was having a hard time accepting he's turning forty…"
Goemon cracked a smile, "Jigen's turning forty!?" Goemon burst out laughing—A sort of laughter that frightened Zenigata. Then again, Goemon laughing had always frightened the officer. It either meant he found something genuinely funny (which was truly a rare thing) or he planned on killing something.
Zenigata growled angrily as he came across another zip tie holding a few pieces together, "Here. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"Yet another useless object, yet another useless day…" Goemon sighed bitterly as he sliced through the zip tie and sheathed his sword once more.
"Still can't believe they left you here to wrap Christmas gifts?" Zenigata inquired.
"Bastards…"
"So, what are they up to, anyway?" Zenigata asked, "They can't really be doing last minute shopping… Lupin's not like that…"
"Fujiko. You know how women are," replied Goemon, "Can I get piece E-3?"
"Here," Zenigata passed him the piece.
"What is this?" Goemon wondered out loud as he looked down at the oddly shaped piece of metal.
Downstairs:
"If there is a God, He'll save me…" Amaya said tiredly to herself as she looked down into her eggnog. How many had she had? One… two…. Eight? Eight. She had been cheery the entire morning as a result of it. She had been singing a Japanese pop song from the 60's, as well. Had seen been singing Sukiyaki? Maybe? Hell, she didn't know! She rose and stumbled towards where the eggnog was. She was as goofy as her father when she was drunk.
"Amaya…. Are… You okay?" Natasha asked.
"Hai," Amaya nodded drunkenly, "Watashi kekkoh!" she laughed.
Natasha paused, "Honey…. I think you've had too much eggnog."
Natasha walked forward and took the eggnog glass from Amaya, "Iie!" Amaya snapped.
"Can I get a translator?" Natasha begged.
Keiko, Mrs. Ishikawa, Ryoko, and Himichi had all been playing cards in a corner of the room.
"She said 'no'," they all replied dully as Mrs. Ishikawa dealt the cards out. Ryoko lit a cigarette, took a drag of it, and passed it over to Keiko.
"You girls want one?" asked Ryoko, holding up her cigarettes.
"Sure," Mrs. Ishikawa murmured as she looked down at her cards. Ryoko passed her one, and put the cigarettes away after Himichi declined.
"So, getting back to the conversation—What did you say when you found out your son was a wanted felon, Hiroko?" Ryoko asked Mrs. Ishikawa.
"You have a first name!?" Natasha wondered out loud, "Oh, Lord! Amaya, are you going to throw up!? Crap! C'mon…" she drug Amaya away to the nearest bathroom, and slammed the door behind her and the ill girl.
"I was rather disappointed. I was hoping he would at least get married, first," Hiroko answered, "How about you, Ryoko?"
"I wanted Daisuke to be an English teacher so bad," Ryoko answered with a shake of her head, "What about you, Keiko? What do you think about Fujiko being thief?"
"There's worse. She could always be an accountant," Keiko replied with a shrug. All looked upward towards the second story as they heard yelling, and Ryoko took another drag of her cigarette, "What was that?"
"Probably Ryoko's son," Himichi sighed as she laid another card down onto the table.
Upstairs:
"No way!" Jigen yelled in response.
"Come on, please?" Ming asked sweetly.
"We have enough on our plate now. I let you have the dog, all right? This is where I draw the line!"
"C'mon!" Ming sat down on the bed next to him, "It'll be my Christmas gift!"
"I already spent enough on your Christmas gift—It's no time for you to be asking for something like this!" Jigen answered, and rose from the bed, "We're busy enough! What would we do with another one!?"
"Well, I figured you could stay home and take care of things…." Ming said quietly.
"WHAT!?" Jigen slammed his fist down on their dresser, "Are you kidding?"
"You can barely see half of the time. Why not?" Ming shrugged.
"I don't want another baby, and that's that!" Jigen snapped.
"Another baby?" he heard a tiny voice whisper in surprise. Jigen shot his head up, and turned around. He opened his bedroom door, and watched Yukiko and Toshiro tumbled into the room.
"Uh… We'll be going now," Yukiko said in a nervous chuckle. She and Toshiro ran away before Jigen could grab onto them and talk to the two. He sighed heavily, closed the door, and banged his head against it a few times. He looked back at Ming, who was smiling.
"Daisuke Jigen the second?" Ming asked, "There's a little bit of a ring to it, don't you think?"
Jigen sat down on the bed, and then fell back onto it. He put his hands over his eyes and counted backwards from ten, "I wonder who Goemon's doing with the bikes…."
"CHEAP CHINESE PIECE OF CRAP!" he heard from downstairs.
"Okay… Either it's not going so well or he found out I had his last bowl of miso soup…" Ming said after a pause.
"Do you think he'll be able to get through at least one bike without chopping anything into tiny bits?"
"More than likely… Not… So," Ming rolled onto her stomach, and faced him, "What do you say? You love Yukiko, and you love Ryoko, too! Who's to say you can't love another little girl… Or boy?"
"Boy, hopefully," Jigen said.
"Wait. Does that mean yes?" asked Ming.
"I was speaking hypothetically," Jigen snapped. He looked over at Ming, and sat up on his elbows, "Why is it that every time you pout over something I end up succumbing to it?"
"Because you're used to succumbing to Lupin's pouting," Ming replied.
"You really want another one? So soon? I don't even know how bad I've screwed up Ryoko, yet!"
"She'll be fine. As fine as any kid out of this family can be, anyway. And we don't want them to be too apart in age, do we?" Ming asked with a smile.
"I…. Fine… I give up. God—I hate changing diapers already. Do you have any idea how hard it is to potty-train a boy?"
"Hey, it could be a girl."
"No. It couldn't. No way in hell, after a third time, would I end up with another girl. That's friggin' impossible!" Jigen answered. He rose off the bed and put his jacket on, "Let's get down there. I'm sure they're all missing us…" They both walked downstairs, and found Ryoko, Himichi, Mrs. Ishikawa, and Keiko playing cards together. Uncle Heiji, Maria, Natasha's mother, and Grandfather Ishikawa had found a football game to watch. Maria was taking bets on the winner. They could hear vomiting coming from the nearest bathroom. The babies were in a crib next to the poker-playing grandmothers, and Yukiko and Toshiro were nowhere in sight. Nor was Martha, whom Jigen had started to like a little more. Zenigata and Goemon's arguing could be heard from downstairs.
Ming turned to Jigen, "Maybe we, uh, should go back upstairs, and wait until Lupin gets back…"
"Good idea," Jigen replied, and followed her back up the stairs, "I hope Lupin's having a good time…"
The Ritz-Carltin Hotel:
"Uh, Mr. Renoir… You can stop hugging me, now…. My back problem's gone," Lupin said in a nervous laugh.
"Oh! Pardon me!" Jean-Paul Renoir backed away from Lupin and smiled widely, "I just can't believe that I and the great thief Lupin the Third will be working to make the same object vanish! You've been my hero since I was a young boy!"
"Hey, I'm not that old," Lupin snapped in response.
Fujiko spoke up, "So you'll help us, Monsieur?"
"Oh, of course, Ms. Lupin!" Jean-Paul answered, "This is the best Christmas present, ever! My Mama would be so proud!"
"Uh… huh…" Lupin looked at the happy Jean-Paul with a sense of worry. Jean-Paul was almost too happy, even for his liking.
"Monsieur Jigen and Ishikawa will be there?" asked Jean-Paul.
"Hopefully," Lupin responded, "If Monsieur Ishikawa can ever finish assembling bikes with Monsieur Zenigata."
"Zenigata!?" Jean-Paul yelped, "He is with you!?"
"He's Goemon's father-in-law," Fujiko answered.
"Now how did I miss that!?" Jean-Paul wondered.
"I dunno. It was a pretty popular running joke for a while," Lupin answered with a shrug, "So you'll call them, Monsieur Renoir?"
"Please, call me Jean-Paul!" Jean-Paul replied.
"Oh, of course, Jean-Paul," Lupin nodded, and rose, "We'll see you tomorrow night, Monsieur, ur, Jean-Paul. C'mon Fujicakes!"
"Father would be so proud!" Jean-Paul said in a near-tears manner.
Lupin closed the door behind him and Fujiko, and turned to his wife, "Uh, am I the only one who thought he was too happy?"
"He'd be a good friend for Collin," Fujiko said with a smirk as she began to walk down the hotel hall.
"What?" Lupin shot his head towards her, "There's no way he's—"
"Bet me," Fujiko snorted.
"Are you positive?" Lupin asked.
"As sure as my mother's probably playing poker right now," Fujiko responded as she walked out of the hotel with Lupin behind, "Now let's get going. I want to get the babies' Christmas Eve pictures."
"Lord," Lupin rolled his eyes, "Fujiko, those are the types of pictures that people hate!"
"So, does that mean you have a bunch lying around?" asked Fujiko slyly.
"Wha—I—Of course not!" Lupin snapped.
"So, these pictures of you trying to beat up Santa when you were seven are all fake?" Fujiko inquired, removing a picture of a little boy standing over a black-eyed Santa from her purse.
"Hey!" Lupin lunged for the picture, but missed, and fell into a nearby shrub. He groaned in pain as Fujiko helped him out of the shrub, "I think I sat on a crack pipe…" he moaned.
"If you start seeing things we'll know," Fujiko answered as she helped him shuffle down the concrete sidewalk.
The House, Later That Night:
"So, Renoir decided to help?" Jigen asked Lupin as both sat there drinking.
"The man kissed me. Three times," Lupin answered.
"Happy little guy, huh?" Jigen chuckled.
"I know that you meant something by that, and I'm sure if I were a little sober, I'd get it," Lupin said.
"Nothing," both looked towards the direction of the kitchen as Zenigata and Goemon walked back up, "Hey, you guys done down there?"
"Finally," said Goemon.
"I'm telling you. For two bikes, we should not have forty two extra pieces," Zenigata warned.
"Anyone seen Amaya?" asked Goemon.
"She's got her head in the toilet again," Jigen said calmly.
"Again? That girl and eggnog do not mix," Goemon said, "I'll go check on her."
"Yeah. Natasha's been watching over her," Jigen added as Goemon walked towards the bathroom, "Hey, anyone seen Toshiro or Yukiko lately?"
A Chimney On Top of the House:
"You cannot behead Santa," Yukiko sighed tiredly. She looked upward at Toshiro, "He's not a clawed man, like Lupin said. He was saying that to scare you. Santa's the guy who brings you crap if you've been good."
"Are you positive?" Toshiro asked reluctantly.
"Double positive. Now can we get in? I have no ass left to freeze off," Yukiko grumbled. Toshiro nodded, stood from the chimney, and helped her down the roof. They climbed down at tree onto the snow-covered ground. Toshiro took a few steps forward, and admired the night scenery. He soon felt a cold snowball make impact with his head, and he turned around, and saw a laughing Yukiko.
"What can I say? My name means snow! Your name means 'life will end in a vat of boiling oil'," Yukiko chortled.
"Not funny!" Toshiro replied. He looked back out, where he could see buildings in the background. Julia was somewhere out there. Did she have any family to go home to for Christmas?
"Hey, what's up with you?" asked Yukiko worriedly, "You okay? It's Christmas, Toshiro! You're supposed to be happy!"
"I like it here," Toshiro said. He turned to Yukiko, "I think I'd like to live here…"
"That'd be cool. But I don't think there's a high demand for samurai warriors here, Toshiro. But maybe you could drive a cab," she nudged him, "Come on. It's cold out here."
"Okay," Toshiro nodded, and looked back out at the scenery once more before going back into the house, where it was much brighter and warmer.
Christmas Day:
"She's almost too pretty to be a subway worker," one New Yorker lamented to another as they watched a woman in a blue jumpsuit run down the stairway of a subway system.
"That other guy with her, though!" the other New Yorker laughed. His friend joined in, and they sipped their coffee.
"No, no, no!" a director shouted to his bearded cameraman as they stood with a Chinese figure skater on the edge of an ice skating rink.
"Excuse me, what are you doing, Sir?" asked a newscaster curiously.
"This, is Ling Na Nong, the Republic of China's most famous figure skater! Are you blind, or just not worldly enough to appreciate true talent!?" screamed the director through a microphone, "We are filming a CAR COMMERCIAL here, if you do not mind!"
The newscaster paused, "She's very famous, ne?"
"Yes! Did you not hear!?" he screamed in a French accent.
"I, uh…" she sputtered, and looked back at her own camera crew. She leaned inward and spoke into her mouthpiece, "Hey, you remember the story about the orphans, the ones who made Christmas ornaments out of plastic beads, so they could afford Christmas dinner? Yeah. Can it—We've got a celebrity in our midst. Maybe it'll make up for Renoir canceling last minute!" She turned her attention back to the director, "Sir, would you allow us to tape and interview Miss Nong?"
"I will speak for Miss Nong. And, yes, you may tape us," the director, "Skippy, you have that?" he asked the cameraman.
"Skippy!?" the cameraman shrieked, "I, uh, sure, Boss…" He ducked behind his camera, and smiled.
"Are we on?" asked the newscaster. The cameramen smiled, and both gave a thumbs up. She cleared her throat, and began to speak.
Below the Ground:
"Are you sure there's a hollow space down here?" Fujiko muttered as she looked downward at her map.
"Lupin said so, so I'll have to take his word for it," Goemon replied as he unsheathed his sword and cut out a large hole in the concrete. He sheathed the sword, and both he and Fujiko watched as a circular block of cement fell onto the ground. There was a slight shaking of the ground above, but no one minded it. It was New York City, after all. "Yet another worthless object."
"Hey, it's a living," Fujiko shrugged as she jumped through the hole and looked above the ground, "Okay, you know what to do?"
"Yeah," Goemon nodded, and lifted Fujiko up. He walked around in a circle with her on his shoulders while she made an outline in chalk. When she had finished, Goemon took her down from his shoulders, and looked upward. Fujiko removed some cables from a crate she had brought down, and laid them strategically on the ground. When she had finished, she stood back, and watched anxiously. Goemon gave a few practice swings before breaking into a run and wedging Zantetsu into the concrete.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the camera crews were eating up the brilliant Chinese figure skater, who looked unusually cold in her leotard, "Wonderful, darling! Kia will love this!" shouted the director. He glanced down at his watch, and looked over at the cameraman, and gave a small hand signal. The cameraman nodded, and skated onto the ice. The newscaster watched in confusion as the director joined the cameraman and figure skater on the ice. There was a loud crash all of a sudden, and the Prometheus statue ducked out of sight. All watched in stunned silence as a large chopper suddenly flew down in between the skyscrapers, and the figure skater, cameraman, and director all skated over to the large hole.
Goemon and Fujiko were throwing cables up to the chopper, and Toshiro, who was perched precariously below the chopper, would grab onto them and hook them onto the needed spots. Amaya looked downward from the front window of the chopper, and watched nervously as Goemon and Fujiko tossed the cables upward. She had an icepack over her head as a result of a massive hangover she now suffered.
Some tried to shoot at the chopper, but these sots were retracted by another gunman, or, gunwoman, rather. Yukiko smirked and tilted her fedora, and looked downward at Ming, Jigen, and Lupin. She briefly left her post by her M-24 rifle, and tossed down a ladder. The three climbed up, and seated themselves next to Yukiko. Toshiro grabbed hold of the ladder, and climbed into the chopper.
"Amaya! Go!" Lupin shouted. Amaya nodded tiredly, and pushed the stick of the large chopper forward. The statue began to rise, and Goemon took Fujiko around the waist, and then grabbed onto the ladder. They climbed into the helicopter, and Goemon rolled the ladder behind himself.
"Merry Christmas, Remy!" Lupin shouted at the top of his lungs as he waved at the cameras now fixed upon them.
The chopped quickly fled, losing news crews and police helicopters along the way. When they reached their point of destination, all sighed in relief and relaxed in the helicopter briefly.
"I'm so freezing!" Ming grumbled as she rubbed her arms in order to get some warmth. She moved close to Jigen, and leaned against him. The others could tell Jigen was slightly uncomfortable with this, but Lupin decided to change the subject.
"What's Zenigata going to say?" Lupin wondered out loud.
At the House:
"I KNEW IT!!!" Zenigata yelled at the top of his lungs as he pointed accusingly at the screen.
"Is that man all right?" asked Goemon's grandfather as he sat eating breakfast with Mrs. Ishikawa, "Someone should commit him, for his own good. He's crazy."
Suddenly, on the television, Jean-Paul came on the television, "Ladies and gentlemen! I'd like to present you with an astounding showcase! Along with the help of the great thief Lupin the Third, I have kidnapped the Gold Prometheus Statue! It shall be returned to you midnight exactly New Year's Eve! I hope my absence yesterday did not upset you too much, everyone! Merry Christmas!"
"Uh… Thank you…. Mr. Renoir…" said the obviously confused newscaster, "Uh, back to you two in the studio!"
"See, Koichi, it was just a trick!" said Natasha happily, "A holiday trick! He'll return it!"
"That little creep," Zenigata grumbled as he sat back in his recliner, "That's what he's been up to!"
"Have a candy cane," Natasha said with a smile, taking a candy cane and passing it to him, "It'll be okay. Come on. You're retired, remember? Just learn to have fun! You can't go freaking out like this every time something bad happens. It's bad for your health."
The Lupin gang returned later that afternoon. Natasha slipped Zenigata a mild sedative in order to keep him from killing Lupin on a holiday. Martha greeted the group immediately as they entered, and tackled Ming down.
"Martha! You're not going to be able to do that much more, girl!" Ming laughed.
"Why not?" Lupin asked as he pulled an excited Martha away from Ming.
"Well," Ming smiled, and stood, and leaned against a wall tiredly, "I'll tell you guys later."
"What's up, Ming? Are you sick?" Fujiko asked.
"No…" Amaya shook her head, "But I am…" she ran towards the bathroom, and slammed the door behind herself. Goemon shuddered as he her the ill Amaya on the other side of the door.
"I'm going to go get a drink," Jigen grumbled, and exited the living room. Lupin followed him in.
"Hey, what's up with you?" Lupin inquired as he sat on the kitchen table. He watched as Jigen removed a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and closed the door behind himself, "You're acting weird. And by weird I mean weirder than usual."
"I…" Jigen opened the beer bottle, and looked downward into it, "I've been thinking and… Well… Here…" he reached forward and stuck a piece of paper in Lupin's jacket pocket. Lupin looked down, confused, and opened up the letter.
"Jigen? What is this?" Lupin asked.
"It's my retirement. I found a place in Chicago. It's a pretty nice place."
"Does Yuki know?"
"Not yet."
"Ming wants another baby," said Jigen with a sigh and a smile, "I care barely handle doing this and handling two kids. Three?"
"We'll talk about this later," said Lupin as he exited the kitchen.
"You can't keep putting this off!" Jigen yelled angrily, "We have to talk about this!"
"Fine! Do whatever the hell you want!" Lupin snapped, "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get some plum pudding."
"Lupin. I'm sorry," Jigen said quietly.
Lupin smirked, "Come on out and have some turkey."
"I don't even like turkey that much."
"Then eat it to humor me," Lupin answered, and led Jigen out to the kitchen.
"Hey, Lupin."
"Yeah, Jigen? What now?" Lupin inquired.
"Merry Christmas."
"Uh, yeah… You, too," Lupin laughed.
"Hey, you two are under the mistletoe!" Yukiko laughed as she pointed over their heads.
"Huh?" both looked upward, and saw the mistletoe hanging over their heads.
"You've got to be kidding me," said Lupin.
"Oh, I'll take care of that," Fujiko said as she came forward.
"Well, thanks. I don't really like kissing anyone with five 'o clock shadow," Lupin said with a wide smile.
Fujiko leaned forward, and kissed Jigen on the cheek, "There. Merry Christmas, guys."
"Wha—What the hell!? Fujiko, you little witch, c'mere!" Lupin shouted, and began to run after Fujiko. She ran into her bedroom, and locked the door behind Lupin.
Lupin began to bang on the door, "Fujiko! Open up!"
"Yeah, your old man's still got it, Yukiko," said Jigen with a smug smile.
"Naw, it's a genetic thing," Yukiko replied.
"What does that mean?" Jigen inquired innocently.
Toshiro had finished his cake, and was taking his plate to the kitchen, when suddenly Yukiko grabbed him and kissed him. Jigen turned pale in shock as he saw the two, and Toshiro smiled in mild confusion as Yukiko let him go, and barely made it into the kitchen without stumbling at least once.
"You're not dating until you're sixteen," Jigen told her.
"I'm almost sixteen," Yukiko responded.
"You'll be sixteen in eight years!" Jigen answered.
"Dad, don't worry. You just freak out too easy," Yukiko said to her father. She hugged him briefly, "Merry Christmas, Daddy."
"Uh… Thanks, Yuki. Merry Christmas to you, too," Jigen replied.
"And don't worry. If I am yours, after all, I probably won't date until I'm at least twenty-five," Yukiko added.
"Sounds like a plan to me."
