DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin III or other assorted characters. Get over it already.
Hello,
Another long-awaited chapter, I know, I know… But school owns the majority of my life right now. I'm very happy to see that the people who've been reading for months are still hanging on. I've got a couple of more chapters left in this story, guys, and then it's on to part three! I know a lot of you don't want this long-running series to come to an end, but in order for the third part to come along, I'll have to wind this up, first. Anyone have any ideas for the third series? I'm opened to all options. AT THE MOST this series will probably run to fifty chapters—That's a lot for a fanfic, you have to admit. That's a hell of a lot to write, and a hell of a lot to read. So my special thanks to the readers, once again, who prove over and over to be invaluable sources of inspiration and motivation.
Chapter 40
The Following Day: Centerfold
'It's been a hard day's night,
and I've been working,
like a dog,
It's been a hard day's night,
I should be sleepin' like a log,
But when I get home to you,
I find the things that you do,
Will make me feel all right,'
—The Beatles, 'A Hard Day's Night
New York City, New York:
A small robed figure silently opened the door to his hotel room which he shared with his ward, being sure to remove his sandals before he proceeded anymore. He smiled in self-satisfaction as he remembered the proceedings of the night. A wealthy and corrupt policeman, a large vault, its only entryway a small opening. But not too small for a young and double-jointed boy. A widow with twins living downstairs would find close to ten thousand dollars in a bag taped to her window, tomorrow. The rest of the money had gone to a local orphanage, where Toshiro had made a few select friends who did not care that he looked like a girl. He had taught some of the smaller children at the orphanage to defend themselves against the larger bullies, much to Julia's chagrin.
He slowly crept into the bedroom, and saw a figure under the sheets of a bed. He gave a small smile, and his shoulders slumped a little. He set his sandals down at the door, and had nearly lied down on his straw mat when a bright light flickered on. He glared at the oncoming light, and looked upward at the frowning Julia in surprise.
"Got up to get some water…." Toshiro coughed.
"Yeah-huh," Julia nodded skeptically as she stood over him with her hands on her hips, "Nice story—Where were you really?"
"What are we—Married?" Toshiro yawned a favorite phrase from his friend back halfway across the world.
"Where the hell were you, Toshiro?" asked Julia worried.
"You know that one guy—That crook of a cop everyone's always talking about?" Toshiro smirked.
"I—" Julia stopped, and her eyes were wide, "Did you steal from him?" she asked accusingly.
Toshiro smiled, and folded back one side of his shirt, where there was still a small sum of money, as well as the small tools he used to pick open the air vent to the vault.
"You could've been killed! He could've shot you!" Julia gasped in horror, "That guy kills cats for fun!"
"I know," Toshiro nodded, "But it's in my blood," he shrugged.
Julia got down on her knees, and sat there in front of him, contemplating. She could've lost her only friend in seconds, due to the fact that he was a do-gooding idiot. She sighed, leaned forward, and embraced him, "Stay safe, okay? I'm not going to tell you no, because it'd pretty much be like telling a bird not to sing—You can scream and scream at it, but it'll still freakin' sing no matter what. It's just how birds are."
"Uh… Thanks…" Toshiro nodded, and patted her on the back, "Um…. Julie… You can let go of me, now…. I can't breath…"
"Oh!" Julia leaned back, and smiled nervously, "Sorry. I just don't have that many friends, so I guess I kind of smother the ones I have… But hey, you oughta be glad a full-figured young woman is hugging you like that! Most boys kill for that!" she laughed.
Toshiro's face turned slightly red, "Get some sleep…" he said, lying back on his mat.
"Yeah…. G'night, kid," Julia laughed as she walked back to her bed and lied back on it, "Get some rest…"
Israel:
"Hey, Amaya, did you grab the morning paper?" asked Lupin as he stood over the shoulder of the computer tech.
"Yes," Amaya nodded in a mumble.
"Well, where is it?" asked Lupin as he began to search through the hotel room, a cup of strong coffee in one hand.
"I'm not sure, look for it," Amaya snapped irritably in response.
Lupin paused, looked over at her questioningly a few moments, and then went back to finding the paper. Jigen wandered into the room, a smug smile still on his face. He leaned over the dining room table Lupin was searching under, and tapped him on his head. Lupin shot up a little too quickly out of surprise alone and slammed his head against the table.
"Ow! Dammit, Jigen, what was so important!?" Lupin snapped. He and Jigen shared a moment of silence between themselves, and Lupin sighed tiredly, "As smug as you get every time, you'd think you never get laid…" Lupin grumbled as he resumed to search for the newspaper.
"Can you two keep it down?" Amaya snapped.
"What's up with you?" Jigen inquired.
"It's—Dammit, it doesn't matter," Amaya grumbled, slammed her laptop shut, and stormed out of the hotel room.
"Follow her?" Lupin inquired.
"Follow her," Jigen nodded. Lupin rose from beneath the table, and walked out of his hotel room to Amaya. He knocked on the door of her hotel room first, but after he heard no reply, he opened it.
"What do you need, Lupin?" Amaya asked tiredly.
"I need to know what's up with you…" Lupin replied, "I've never known you to be this, well, bitchy… Ever!"
Amaya exhaled and looked at Lupin tiredly a few moments. She then rose and retrieved something from between the mattresses of her unused bed. She tossed it to Lupin, who caught it easily, "A swimsuit issue!? Hey, I have this one! I picked it up while I was in Germany a few years ago!"
"Open page twenty-seven," she commanded.
"Aye-aye-aye… Girl of my dreams…" Lupin said laughingly as he looked the girl over. But then something struck him…. She had long hair, a round face, dark eyes, and was of Asian nationality, "Oh my God! Amaya, it's—"
Amaya quickly sprung over and put one of her hands to his face, "Don't scream it!" she hissed. She then let go of Lupin, and took a few steps back, "I found it on my doorstep this morning… Along with a note saying if I didn't suddenly go back to France, they'd let Goemon know all about it… And my Daddy, too!"
"Why did you, though?" Lupin inquired.
"I was in college, I was strapped for cash… Some men saw me on a beach and offered me a well-paying job. All I had to do was sit there and look pretty…" Amaya said remorsefully.
Lupin folded the magazine in half, and waved it in front of Amaya as he spoke, "Don't worry, I won't let that happen to you," he unfolded it once more, and studied the cover, "Now, why do you think they would do this? Did you find any information about them?"
"Yeah," Amaya nodded, "The serial number on the plane… It was registered in Italy to a Mr. Yoshi Fujita…"
"A Japanese guy, in Italy?" Lupin wondered out loud.
"Well, if an Italian guy can exile himself to Japan…" Amaya muttered with a 'why not' shrug.
"You know anything about Fujita?" asked Lupin.
"Very little. He's a little off his rocker though, I can tell you. He worked with weapons intelligence, before he suffered a mental breakdown and fled to Sicily."
"I want some more information on Fujita—I don't care what you have to do to get it. I'll pass it on to the others, too."
"And you won't tell Goemon or my dad, right?" Amaya nodded.
Lupin smirked, "Your secret's safe with me. But, do you mind if I keep this?"
"As long as you tear out my page," Amaya sighed.
"Oh, but you're the best looking one in there!" Lupin laughed in response. Amaya smirked tiredly and rolled her eyes, and opened her laptop.
"If Goemon were here, he'd be dead for a comment like that…" Amaya said to herself in an amused tone.
Meanwhile, Jigen had lost interest in whatever Amaya and Lupin had gone off to speak about, and went back into his own room, where he found Ming cleaning out her gun and whistling to herself. She looked up at him briefly, and then went back to work on her gun. Jigen noticed she was unusually quiet, and slowly made his way over to the minibar, and poured himself a drink, all while never removing his eyes from the Chinese girl.
"Hey, what's up with you, anyway?" asked Jigen, leaning on the table and looking downward at Ming.
Ming stopped cleaning her gun, and set it down. She rose from her seat at the table, never removing her eyes from her hands, "You didn't tell me about the cataracts…"
"What?" Jigen drew his head back in surprise, "What do you mean, about the—"
"Don't play stupid—Don't," Ming hissed, "I got the bill today…. It's your name, Jigen…" she looked upward at him, "Are you going blind, and you don't want to say anything?"
"You're crazy," Jigen sighed, "I'm not going—"
"You're lying!" Ming yelled, slamming a fist down on the table, "Dammit, quit being so secretive with me! I know I'm not as good as your other girlfriends, but I deserve some respect, too!"
"Hey, you think I don't!? You're the one who 'forgot' to tell me that you've banged half of the major mob leaders!" Jigen yelled in response. He was stunned as Ming reached over and slapped him. He looked down at her icily, and glared at her a few moments silently, "I'm leaving…"
"Fine!" Ming yelled as Jigen stormed towards his door.
"Sometimes I wonder if I rushed this whole thing," Jigen growled under his breath as he began to open the door. Ming felt a hurtful feeling sweep over her, and she seated herself in her chair, and laid her head down on the table.
Goemon, Fujiko, and Yukiko had returned with groceries when they sited Jigen storming down the hall of the hotel. Goemon turned to Jigen as he began to pass him, "Jigen, what's—"
"Leave me alone," Jigen said through gritted teeth as he began to make the walk down the stairs.
"What was that all about?" asked Fujiko. All looked over as they heard crying from behind Ming's door, and Yukiko took a step forward. Goemon stopped her, however, and Fujiko decided to venture into the room. She found Ming there, still crying, and closed the door behind her.
"Why don't we go put my groceries first, and then I'll get some ice cream?" asked Goemon.
"Sounds good," Yukiko nodded, and followed her 'mentor' into his room, "They scare me when they get emotional…"
"Ming, what just happened? Was Jigen being a jerk?" asked Fujiko as she hovered over Ming.
"Yeah," Ming nodded, and raised her head up.
"He's pretty good at that when he puts his mind to it. You want me to go kick his ass?" asked Fujiko with a wicked smile.
"That's okay," Ming laughed, "I'm fine, really—I think I pushed him a little, too, but, I—Just some things really hurt, you know…"
"Don't worry, if I know Jigen like I know I do, he's regretting it already," Fujiko said as she rose, "It'll be okay, and, hey, if it's not, I'd love an excuse to punch him."
"Hey, leave the physical abuse to me," Ming laughed, "You have Lupin to beat around."
"True," Fujiko nodded, "Well, I'm going to go see if I can steal anything else from that gorgeous marketplace, and maybe study a little."
"Yeah, how's the psychiatry degree going, anyway?" asked Ming.
"Oh, you know—A little here, a little there—Lupin's a perfect little guinea pig."
"I'm so sure," Ming laughed, "I just hope Jigen gets home before sundown. It always scares me when he's out at night."
Jerusalem:
"Damn… I shouldn't have said that… I mean, it's none of her business, looking through my bills—But I know why she did it… But still, my business is my business…. Bringing up the fact that she screwed Luciano and Remy was a low blow, though, I'll admit—And she could've thrown some punches back at me if she wanted… Lord knows I've done enough screwy things in my lifetime," Jigen said to himself as he wandered aimlessly through the streets of Jerusalem. Some natives stared in curiosity at the crazy foreigner muttering to himself, but most avoided Jigen.
Jigen came to a stop in front of a well-guarded domed structure, and sighed heavily in realization, "She was worried about me, and I go and freakin' say that to her… She gave up everything she had to be with me and… Damn…." He removed his hat briefly, and slicked his hair back, "I suppose I should go… Apologize…" he said the last word with a shudder of disgust, and turned back to head for the hotel, "Wonder if there's a place where I can find gun holsters and flowers… She'd like both…" Then, it dawned on him.
It was nearly sundown, he had forgotten his cane and phone, and he had no idea where the hell he was.
"God damn it…" Jigen grumbled, and tried his best to retrace his steps to the hotel complex. He was somewhat suspicious of an unusual amount of Italians in the area, but placed less importance on that fact, and more on the fact that he was becoming more and more lost by the second.
"Well, they speak English in here…" he muttered, entering a bar on the right on the street that boasted an English sign. Jigen found a solitary seat in crowded room, and noted that there was not one word of Hebrew spoken in the entire small and dingy room—It was all Sicilian. The elderly barkeep walked over to Jigen, and seated herself next to him.
"Are you one of those men, too?" she asked in English.
"I'm not with them—Never seen 'um before," Jigen admitted.
She nodded, "I thought so. You don't seem like it. Your eyes, they seem different."
Jigen grew understandably defensive with this comment, "Hey, just because I'm part—"
"I don't mean that; sorry for the bad usage," she said, lifting her hands up in a gesture of honesty, "I mean your eyes are not like theirs in spirit." Jigen looked at the woman suspiciously, and she laughed, "You think I'm crazy… You're the skeptical type… Well, maybe you are like them—But you certainly aren't here for what they are…"
"Which is?" Jigen asked.
"Why, whatever is in that dome," she replied, "You know… They say, Lupin the Third is also after the treasure within the domed structure…"
"You don't say?" Jigen smirked, "Well, more than likely, Lupin will beat them to it."
"Not a sliver of a doubt in my mind…" she replied, "I hope he enjoys the strength of his empire while it lasts…"
"Huh?" Jigen leaned forward in interest, "What do you mean?"
"Hm… Nothing… Nothing at all," she gave a small, strange smile, "All of the Lupin members have children now, correct?"
"From what I've heard," Jigen answered.
"You know, my mother used to tell me that we came from a family of Gypsies…." she said, "Does the Lupin Clan mean anything to you?"
"You're the psychic," Jigen smirked, "You tell me."
"Ah, a true Sicilian, in all respects," she sighed, "Here—Give me the hand you write with."
"Wha—Well, okay, but I'm not paying for this," said Jigen sternly as he presented his hand. The woman looked it over, with great interest, and hummed and hawed it over for a little, "Well, what do you see? Impress me…"
"Well, for a moment I believed you didn't have a love line, but it's there, all right. You're just not very good with emotions, apparently," She looked upward at him, somewhat sadly, "I see retirement within the next ten years…."
"Why? Is someone going to whack me?" Jigen asked with a condescending smile.
"No—Something will happen to a friend to make you quit, and you yourself will be incapable of pursuing your work any longer."
"What?" Jigen sat straight up in his seat, "What do you mean?"
"Well, there's a possibility of your vision worsening a great deal," she said.
Jigen sat straight up, and drew his hand away, "The possibility?"
She nodded, "The outcome is hazy, Sir," she admitted. She looked up at him, "Tell me, does a woman in a white hat signify anything?"
"No," Jigen shook his head.
"Ah, I suppose it's a little early," she muttered to herself. She looked up at Jigen, "Well, enough of that—Would you care for a drink, Sir?"
"No, thanks," Jigen shook his head, and rose, "I've got to get going."
"Are you sure?" she asked with an eerie smile. She's looking right through me, Jigen thought. He had to leave now, he decided.
"Yeah," he nodded, "Well, I'll see you around." He turned back to the woman, "Say, could you give me directions to the Avi Hotel?"
"Certainly," she nodded, "I'll go draw you a map." She turned to leave, but Jigen stopped her.
"How about you just tell me?" asked Jigen with a weak smile.
"All right. I'll be right back," she said, and exited into her storeroom.
"What a creepy old broad…" Jigen said to himself. There's someone watching me, and I don't mean God, popped into Jigen's mind after a few moments of waiting idly for the old barkeep. He realized the entire room had fallen silent, and he turned towards the other patrons. They were all staring at him with a stare he knew well—
They wanted to kill him.
Jigen slowly backed up to the door, and shuddered as he backed into what he could make out as being a large guard by the door. He turned around, and looked upward at the large man looking back down at him. Jigen backed up from the large man, and heard the chairs of the patrons squeak across the tile floor as they stood.
"Lovely evening, gentlemen," Jigen said as he reached for his gun. A single shot was fired, dangerously close to his hand, "Okay, bad idea…" he said to himself, and raised his hands up over his head. A few Italians went to circle around him, and Jigen looked around for an escape. His salvation came in the sound of a shotgun firing. The men all disassembled at the noise, and Jigen turned to see the barkeep there with a gun.
"Run! Go!" she yelled.
And Jigen did just that.
He ran out onto the street, and immediately bumped into the blurry figure of a fruit vendor. Jigen fell over the kiosk, and the various fruits toppled onto him. As he tried to worm his way out, he felt a familiar hand reach out and pull him up.
"Jigen, it's me," said Goemon.
"How'd you find me!?" asked Jigen.
"I followed the scent of cheap liquor," Goemon answered, "C'mon!" he shouted to his friend as he broke into a run with Jigen. The two were pursued for some time until Goemon jumped into a nearby building.
"Woah, that was a close one," Jigen panted as he leaned against a tiled wall. "Say, where the hell are we, anyway? I can't see a damned thing… Uh, Goemon?" he turned to his friend, who he could slightly see in the dim room. Goemon was standing statuesque, frozen in position, "Say, what's gotten into—"
"I see you gentlemen were interested in my ladies," said a thickly accented voice.
"Your ladies?" Jigen drew his head back in surprise, "You mean this is—" He turned to Goemon, and grabbed the samurai by the collar, "You ran into a BROTHEL!?"
"Is something the matter, gentlemen?" asked the mystery woman.
"Yeah—We're married," Jigen answered.
"Oh," she nodded, "I see… Well, we do have a couple's rate, as well as some male—"
"Not like that," Jigen answered, and pulled Goemon out of the building, "Come on! Jesus—Out of all of the places!"
"I—I'm sorry," Goemon responded in a stutter, "I—"
"Nevermind," Jigen sighed, "Let's get back home."
"Right," Goemon nodded, and helped lead Jigen back towards the hotel.
Later that Night:
"Long night, Dad?" asked Yukiko as her obviously weary father entered the room.
"You don't know the half of it, Yuki," Jigen replied, "I ran into this creepy old lady, and then these big guys armed to the teeth tried to kill me, and— I'll finish up tomorrow…"
"Yeah, I'm going to go visit Zenigata and Natasha. I think you need the alone time—Well, actually, Fujiko does, but I'm only helping," Yukiko said as she rose from her place on the floor of the hotel room's living room. She picked up a drawing pad she had been working with, and Jigen tilted his head to a side as he looked at it.
"Say, what's that you're working on?" asked Jigen as he looked down at drawing pad.
"My version of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre," Yukiko responded in an even tone. She passed Jigen the drawing pad, and he looked down it a few moments, became highly disturbed, cleared his throat, and passed it back to her.
"Uh, very nice, Yuki… Now, why don't you go show Pops what you're working on, huh?" asked Jigen with a smile.
"You think he'll like it?" asked Yukiko.
"The old bat'll be absolutely speechless," Jigen answered. Yukiko smirked, shrugged, and walked out of the hotel room. Jigen exhaled heavily, and walked towards his bedroom. He slowly twisted the handle and opened the door, in case of any flying objects. Ming was there, cleaning another gun, and watching television. She looked up at him briefly, then went back to work on the gun.
"Hey…"
"Hey…" Jigen looked downward. He put a hand on the top of his hat, ground his teeth together briefly, and looked out from under the brim of his hat at her, "Listen… I… I'm sorry, okay?… Just take that and run with it—I'm not very good with apologies."
"I know," Ming nodded, and set the gun down, "I just want to know if you'll need help. I know you've had only yourself to count on for years, but you have me, too. And your friends. I heard all about Lupin dragging you to the doctor's."
"Yeah—I guess I could," Jigen admitted, "I—I'm going to get some sleep."
"Sounds good," Ming smiled, and set the gun aside on her dresser.
Goemon and Amaya's Room:
"What are you doing?" asked Amaya as she watched Goemon type slowly at her computer.
"Toshiro stole from a corrupt police man," Goemon said with a tone of pride, "I am writing back to him."
"Oh, really?" Amaya looked over his shoulder, at the screen.
Toshiro—
Good job.
Dad
"I—I think we need to have a little talk…" said Amaya.
"About what?" Goemon inquired.
"Talking…" Amaya replied.
