DISCLAIMER: Do not own Lupin the Third… Wait! That disclaimer is not good grammar…
Anyong!
Hey, check out my profile if you get a chance, okay, guys? There are some really nice pictures that an equally nice person drew for me. I'm sure you all would like them—She's quite talented, you see. Special thanks to 'Internet buddy' Kat! On a different note, I've decided on the gender of the next Jigen kid, but it's going to a remain a secret until I write it into an upcoming chapter :). And on yet another note, I saw some screenshots from the second Lupin manga, thanks again to Kat. Very pretty pictures… But they're in Japanese, and my skills in that language are remedial, at best…. Oh, well, it'll be over he soon, hopefully! Talk to you all later!
Chapter Thirty Nine
The Next Day: Heart of the Country
'Ah- Here comes the Sun king,
Ev'rybody's laughing,
Ev'rybody's happy.
Here comes the Sun King,
Quando paramucho mi amore defelice corazon,
Mundo pararazzi mi amore chicka ferdy parasol,
Cuesto obrigado tanta mucho que can eat it carouse.l'
--The Beatles, 'Sun King'
"You could afford your own jet if you wanted, Lupin. So why do you insist of flying on commercial?" asked a tired and cranky Ming as she picked up her luggage from the terminal.
"In order to get a feel for the local flavor," Lupin explained, "And to learn the accent quickly," he added in a lower, Israeli accented voice.
Jigen came storming over to the group, and grabbed his luggage off of the terminal, and slammed it onto the ground, "I swear to God—Guy has a beard and a complexion and he's a terrorist! Christ! If I get stopped one more time because of how I look, heads will roll!"
"Have fun, I take it?" asked Lupin with a smirk.
"Shuddup," Jigen grumbled, "God I'd kill for a smoke right now…" he added under his breath.
"I think 'kill' is the last word you should be saying about now," Goemon instructed as he picked up his luggage and walked with the others out of the airport. Two cars awaited the group. The Ishikawas and the Zenigatas rode in a 1941 Packard, while the Lupins and the Jigens drove a 1944 Nash. Jigen pulled out of the parking lot first, with Amaya close at hand.
They drove to an upscale hotel, and Natasha did the talking for the group at the front desk. They were supposedly at family reunion. What a group of Japanese, Chinese, French, and Italian people were doing n Jerusalem for a family reunion was beyond the understanding of the clerk at the desk, but they paid well for the four finest rooms in the hotel.
"He stayed in places like this for years while he worked on stealing things, and I slept in my car while trying to figure out how to catch his happy ass…" Zenigata grumbled, and shook his head, "I swear—The cards in life you're handed sometimes just don't make a lick of sense… Like how my daughter could end up with captain personality over here…"
"Old man, I hope you know you still amuse me, even after all of these years," Lupin chuckled as they came to the hotel rooms. He gave each family a key to their hotel room, and then they split up into their four rooms, and then met again to plan their latest caper. All except the former inspector, of course.
New York City, New York:
"Let's go over that one more time, Toshiro," Kome said in her usually serene manner as she made a note to herself on a set of sheet music, "Are you ready?"
"My voice hurts a little, actually," Toshiro responded, "Can I take a break?"
"Certainly," Kome nodded, and set her music aside. Toshiro took a seat to Kome's left on Julia's couch.
"Your sister ought to be back in a little while now with my groceries…" Kome said.
"She isn't my sister," Toshiro replied, "I'm just staying with her for a while."
"Where are your parents?" asked Kome.
"They travel a lot. They thought this would be a good experience for me…" Toshiro answered, "What about you? Do you have kids?"
"I have a child, but she lives with her father," Kome answered with a weak smile, "I couldn't take care of her—Being sick and all."
"What do you have?" asked Toshiro.
"I have cancer," Kome answered.
"Hey, that's what Yuki's mom died of!" Toshiro gasped in realization.
"Who's Yuki?" asked Kome.
"My friend back in France."
"Now what were you doing in France?" asked Kome.
"I—" Toshiro stopped, "My parents and I lived there," Toshiro answered after a moment, "She kind of took me in when I moved away from Japan. I really miss her sometimes. She was really brave—Almost to a point where it was scary."
"How so?"
"Well," Toshiro leaned inward, "One time, she took me driving. In a Mini Cooper."
"What!?" Kome nearly fell off of the couch, "What did her father say!?"
"Oh, Jigen doesn't know," Toshiro laughed.
"Jigen?" Kome raised an eyebrow, "I'm familiar with that name—Isn't he in the news?"
"Uh, no…" Toshiro sputtered.
"Don't try to lie—I can spot a liar from a million miles away," Kome said with a vicious smirk, "Now, come on—Isn't he in the news? He's Lupin's accomplice."
"Well…" Toshiro tugged on his sleeve, "I really can't say anything else…"
"You can tell me—I have nothing to lose, really," said Kome, "You're Goemon's child, huh? You look just like—"
"Don't tell me that! I get that all of the time!" Toshiro snapped, "I look like him, but I'm not him!"
"Well, seems as though you have some personal issues to work out, ne?" Kome smirked.
"Let's get back to the music lesson already…" Toshiro grumbled, and picked up the sheet music.
"Do you hate your father, Toshiro?" asked Kome.
"No, I don't!" Toshiro answered, "But I'm not going to be as good as him."
"Well, you're only a child," Kome shrugged.
"But Yuki shoots the same time as her dad!" Toshiro answered.
"She does?" Kome's eyebrows lifted at this statement.
"Yeah!" Toshiro answered.
"Well, perhaps she refrains from droning upon her faults and instead just works upon her God given gifts," Kome said.
"Speak English—Or Japanese, at least! Or even Italian!" Toshiro sighed.
Kome looked up from her sheet music, "Maybe you're not as good as him because you bitch too much about not being good."
Toshiro drew his head back in surprise, "I…"
"Let's get back to the music now, shall we?" asked Kome with a smile.
"You and Yukiko would get along great, Lady," said Toshiro with a shake of his head.
"I'm sure we would," Kome responded.
Back in Israel:
"Okay, so once more—Where the would the sun shine through the darkness of Jerusalem?" Lupin wondered out loud.
"Guess it's time to put my pilot's license to use," Jigen said.
"Good idea," Lupin nodded, "Maybe it's some place that can be seen only at an aerial level…."
Natasha turned to Jigen, "I can get you into a military base. But you let me do the talking for us."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I was never one for talking," Jigen said with a smirk as he rose and began to flip through costumes that were set up in a corner of the hotel room.
"If anyway asks, you're my cousin," Natasha said.
"Hey, great! I like your family, anyway," Jigen said while wearing the same smarmy smile.
"Anything we can do, Lupin?" asked Fujiko.
"Well, you guys could start checking out local religious houses and tourist spots. That'll take all four of you."
"What about you?" asked Goemon.
"I'm going with the old man and the kid," Lupin replied, "Both will come in handy, I think…"
"I'm not going with you!" Zenigata growled.
"Oh, so you'll leave me with a small child? You can't do that, Pops! Your conscience would weigh too heavily!"
Zenigata paused, "You're a lousy son of a bitch…"
"Well, it makes sense—Considering how bitchy my old man is!" Lupin cackled.
Zenigata spun around briefly, glared at Lupin, and then turned back around and went to retrieve his hat.
"What are we going to do, Lupin?" asked Yukiko.
"Oh, you'll see, sweetie," Lupin answered, patting the young girl on the head.
Later, about 3,000 feet up:
"Who taught you how to fly a plane, anyway!?" asked Natasha., "You're good, but you can tell you're not military."
"Spent the summer at an uncle's farm. He was a crop-duster. Taught me an' Maria," Jigen responded as he continued to scan down over the city.
"Hey, could that be—Oh my G-d, WATCH OUT!" Natasha shrieked.
"Huh?" Jigen looked upward, and barely ducked out of the way of an oncoming airplane. He got out of the way by quickly turning the plane on its side. The already nervous Natasha gripped onto her seat, and looked back at the plane as Jigen straightened it out.
"What a rush, huh!?" Jigen laughed.
"You jerk!" Natasha screamed, taking his hat and hitting him with it a few times.
"Ow! Hey, what's that for!?" Jigen snapped.
"I'm pregnant! A little more respect for my condition!" Natasha yelled.
"Jeeze—Okay, I'll let the plane ram into us next time," Jigen sighed, "But I really wouldn't worry—Any kid you and Zenigata have will probably have a thick skull!"
"At least my kid won't have an Italian nose," Natasha countered.
Both silently seethed and loathed one another in their quiet ways after this, and could hear only the sound of the engine rumbling. But soon, there was also another sound. Both knew what this sound was, and looked at one another in horror—The plane was circling back.
"Goddammit!" Jigen yelled, and began to drop the plane down. Natasha clasped onto the co-pilot handles, and looked over at the countering plane. It followed the two, and circled low down until it was right onto top of Natasha and Jigen's plane. The other airplane actually bumped the two a few times, sending them both jarring.
Jigen continued to nosedive down, and saw that the plane was continuing to follow them, "Hey, while you're praying, do you think you could put one in for me!?"
"Sure," Natasha answered with a nod. Jigen pulled downward harder, and his hat fell off of his head. Natasha quickly grabbed it and shoved it back on the gunman's head, and Jigen glanced over at her and smirked.
"Thanks!" Jigen shouted over the rumbling engine of his own aircraft.
"What are you doing!?" Natasha asked in a booming voice.
"You'll see!" Jigen replied as the distant features of the once tiny landscape became clear. Natasha could almost make out the details of a few patches of moss on the rocky hills before Jigen pulled upward again.
The other plane did not have time to. Natasha looked back and saw it had burst into a flaming ball of mass. She put a hand to her mouth, and looked back at Jigen, "You know that this plane had guns, right?" she asked quietly as she sat back in her seat.
"What!?" Jigen snapped, "Why didn't you say anything!?"
"I thought you knew!" Natasha answered, "But it seems as though you didn't need the guns, afterall. Good job, Jigen…"
"Thanks," Jigen snapped. He found a place to land the plane, and the two then hiked up to the area where the other plane had met its unfortunate demise.
"It was Italian," Natasha murmured.
"I hope it was at least someone I hated…." Jigen said as he scratched his head under his hat and looked down at the piece of shrapnel which bore the Italian flag.
Inner City Jerusalem:
"What are we looking for, anyway?" asked Yukiko as she, Zenigata, and Lupin all walked down the crowded Israeli street.
"I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure…" Lupin muttered vaguely as he strutted down the street, his hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans, "Sun… shine… darkness… Jerusalem…" He sighed and leaned against a brick wall, "We've been looking around for hours, and not a damn clue!" He looked over at the equally tired Zenigata, "Any ideas, Pops?"
"Why would I help you?" Zenigata snapped in response, "I just want to make sure you don't end up getting that kid hurt!"
"Pops, she fires a gun just as well as a skilled marksman. She'd be okay around me," Lupin reassured him, "You just didn't want to get left out… But, what are you going to do? You can't go to INTERPOL, or the cops. If they knew about you hanging around me for months, well, damn! I hate to think about it!" Lupin leaned forward, inches away from the older man's face, "You're here because you have nowhere else to be, Zenigata! Face it—We're your family, and we're all you have now. You're married to the mob…"
"I could easily go back to INTERPOL!" Zenigata snapped in response, "I just—"
"It's okay to admit you'd be lonely, Zenigata. And you'd miss me, you know. We've both known one another far too long to separate now."
"Can we find that thingy already!?" Yukiko moaned, "Look at the time!" The young girl pointed upward to a large clock a few blocks away form the current location of the thief, his 'father', and his 'niece'.
Lupin glanced upward at the clock, and then at his own watch, "Yeah, it's—" he stopped dead, and looked upward at the clock once more. He smirked, and picked up the little girl, and kissed her on the forehead, "Yukiko, your Uncle Lupin's going to steal you the best gun you've ever seen when we get home!"
"Can I have a Magnum?" asked a hopeful Yukiko.
"Sweety, you've got it!" Lupin replied, and set her back down on the earthen ground, "Now c'mon, guys! We've got a little bit of treasure hunting to do!"
"Why do I already not have a good feeling about this?" Zenigata muttered as he and Yukiko followed a running Lupin.
A Different Area of Jerusalem, in a Marketplace:
Fujiko smiled, and viewed her own reflection from a set of real ruby earrings. They were beautiful, they were expensive, and they were soon to be hers. She had almost slipped them into her purse when she felt a pointed blade to her back, "Put it back. We are not here for that," Goemon said.
"If it were Amaya you'd let it out of your sight," said Fujiko in a pout as she set the earrings back on the hook they had come from.
"We don't have time for petty theft," Goemon answered as he sheathed his blade and glanced over at Ming and Amaya. He saw that they, too, were not above stealing priceless stones and metals. He sighed in defeat as he heard Fujiko drop the ruby earrings into her purse, and followed the three women out of the marketplace.
"Well, that wasn't productive, but it sure as hell was fun!" Ming laughed.
"I have to agree with you there," Amaya nodded, and leaned inward to Goemon, "I found something matches the pink number I bought at that mall we went to a few weeks back."
Goemon stopped, and his face turned bright red. Fujiko and Ming looked questioningly, and Amaya chuckled, and took him by the arm, "Come on. We'll look around until dusk, and then we'll talk more about it when we get home…"
"…" Goemon looked downward, nodded, and followed the others down the street.
A Clocktower in a Different Part of the City:
The three stood at the top of the clocktower, overlooking the city of Jerusalem.
"The darkness of Jerusalem…" Lupin muttered.
"What, you have it?" Zenigata inquired.
"Yep," Lupin nodded, and looked down at his watch, "Cover your ears, guys—"
Yukiko did so obediently, but Zenigata, in true form to his nature, questioned Lupin's motive, "Why would I—" The clocktower then sounded, and Zenigata ended up with a splitting headache after the chiming discontinued.
"You should really listen to me sometimes, Pops," Lupin sighed. "Hey, there!" he pointed into the city, and both watched in amazement as a ray of light in the shape of a sun landed upon a domed building. The dome of the painting was solid black, with a mural of a nighttime scene painted on it. Where the sun fell on it, one of the eyes of the painted moon glinted. It contained a coin identical to the one Lupin held in his position.
"I'll be damned," Zenigata murmured.
"Where the sun shines on the darkness of Jerusalem," Lupin smiled, and rose from where he had been sitting on the clocktower, "Gentleman, lady—Shall we?"
"That we shall," Yukiko added with a cocky smile.
Back with Goemon, Ming, Fujiko, and Amaya:
"Those men—They've been following us for quite some time," Amaya whispered to Goemon.
"I know," Goemon nodded in response, "You three just keep walking."
"What if they try to attack us?" asked Ming.
"Then we fight back," Fujiko smirked, and patted her purse, where she hid her tiny gun.
The four turned into a corner, and the gang of four large muscular European men followed then. They all stopped dead as they realized it was a dead end, and they looked back at the stalkers.
"We believe you all are looking for the same thing as us," said one of the men in a deep voice, "Perhaps you could help us?"
"And perhaps you can put down that blade you have behind your back and come and fight me like a man," Goemon countered. The man grew enraged, and ran for Goemon. He lay dead at the samurai's feet moments later, and Zantetsu was painted in the blood of the would-be attacker. The other three men went to attack, but Amaya and Goemon managed to fight them back with their sword work. One of the men grabbed onto Amaya's neck at one point, and lifted her off the ground. She kicked him in the jaw in return and jumped out of his hold. He went to grab Amaya again, but was shot through the head before he could reach her.
Fujiko smiled and blew off the smoke from her gun, and watched as another one of the attackers was shot down by a gun-wielding Ming.
"That the best you can do!?" Ming laughed. She then screamed and barely missed a trashcan that had been meant for Goemon.
"No, I think they can do much better, Ming," Fujiko snapped as she looked downward at the crouched down Chinese girl.
"Well, sorry!" Ming answered as she rose and dusted herself off. The three women watched as Goemon finished off the last villain, piercing him through the side. The ground seemed to shake as he tumbled to the ground.
"Well, I suppose that's typical…." Goemon sighed as he sheathed his sword.
"For us, hell yes," Ming replied.
Back at the Dome Tower:
"Renovations!?" Lupin, Yukiko, and Zenigata yelped in unison.
"Yes," the guard at the front door of the building nodded.
"Are guns necessary for renovations?" Yukiko asked as she glanced downward at the guard's Barak.
"Curiosity is not the best quality one can possess, girl," said the guard in a low voice, bending down to come face to face with Yukiko, "It can get you killed…."
"Why, you!" Zenigata nearly pounced on the guard, "You can't talk to a kid like that! Who the hell do you think you—"
"Come on, Yuki, Pops…" Lupin said, placing an arm in front of Zenigata.
The three turned away from the guard, but not before Zenigata had his last say. He turned back to the guard, "If I were still at INTERPOL, I'd have your ass in handcuffs!"
"A temper is not a good thing to have, either," the guard warned, "Things like that can get you hurt, you know…"
"Lupin, why did you let him talk to us like that!?" Yukiko asked Lupin.
"Because there's someone else looking for whatever we are…" Lupin answered in a tone that said he was in the middle of deep thought, "Who, though? I didn't think anyone else would even know, much less care, about it…"
That night, when the group met up in their hotel rooms, all shared their strange stories of the day, and concluded that they could not possibly be the only ones searching after the mysterious treasure Lupin the first had let out of his grasp so many years ago. They also concluded that Italy played some important role in the matter, but what, they were not sure. One thing was certain, however—They would all have to watch one another's asses carefully until they made it out of Israel.
When night had set in, Natasha suggested that she and Zenigata perhaps go to a synagogue, and perhaps find an idea on what to name the baby. It was decided that the child would have a Hebrew first name, due to the fact that his last name would be Japanese. On Natasha's request, Amaya also joined the two, to form a sort of twisted family outing.
Lupin ran off on an important mission, this time with Goemon, whom had been feeling left out lately and had quietly sulked in his own way as a result of it, and Fujiko, whom could not be trusted in a strange world of enormous treasure. Yukiko had fallen asleep in Goemon and Amaya's room, leaving Jigen and Ming to their own devices.
"Well, it certainly isn't the most romantic spot for an anniversary, but, hey, what the hell?" Ming sighed to herself, and looked over at Jigen, who was on the couch. She was looking out at the scenery—The large and lit city. She had only realized that morning that it had been two years since she had met Jigen for the first time in the department store parking lot. And he had seemed to have forgotten all about it. She wasn't quite bitter at him, not as bitter as she was disappointed.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky that he can at least remember my full name…" Ming sighed as she slammed the window of the hotel room down. She jumped suddenly as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around to see Jigen looking back at her. At least she thought he was looking at her; his hat was over his eyes, as usual.
"You thought I forgot, huh?" Jigen smirked, "Makes me wonder how much faith you have in me exactly."
"I—" Ming stopped, "You didn't forget?"
"It's hard for me to forget anything," Jigen replied, "Even if I almost lost my ass today to a fighter plane. Yuki remembered, too—She volunteered to have a sleepover at Goemon and Amaya's, with their permission, of course."
"Did you pay the others off to leave us alone, too?" asked Ming, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Nah, didn't have to," Jigen answered, "I figured something would come up between then and now. Come on, I picked up a bottle of gin for me and some grape juice for you."
"Did you even splurge and buy candles?" Ming laughed as she walked over to the couch and seated herself. Jigen pulled out a plain white candle in a glass tube with a picture of Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, on it.
"Sorry—I'm a pathetic romantic," Jigen admitted in a heavy sigh, "But I try my best."
"It's terrific, don't worry," Ming laughed, and kissed him. Jigen glanced over at her slyly, and then his eyes traveled back to the candle with Saint Jude. It appeared to be staring at him, "Here." Ming reached over, and turned the candle away from them, "Feel better now?"
"Much," Jigen admitted, "Sinners aren't meant to be seen the presence of Saints, as my father used to say whenever I stole candy from the local grocery store…."
