DISCLAIMER: Taunting sharp-clawed cats is never a good idea (especially when you can't find the peroxide)… And, oh, yeah, I don't own Lupin III…

Hi!

Gasp! I actually had time to write a chapter! I don't believe it! Well, all sarcasm aside, we're continuing to wind down our final chapters, and I sort of feel like I'm abandoning my own child. I've clung onto it long enough. As always, I'm grateful for all positive reviews, and I'm sorry to anyone who's ever stayed up all night in order to read all of the chapters. Thanks, and… Sleep… For God's sakes, sleep—I'll be here when you get back, really. And, like always, I'm open to any ideas that anyone has. I've got a couple running around right now, but I just have to organize, now… Ah, hee hee… Me, organized? Yeah, right… Well, see you all around! Bye for now!

Chapter Forty Seven

Some Time Later: Someone's Coming

'I think I'm gonna be sad,

I think it's today,

The girl who's driving me mad,

Is going away,

She's got a ticket to ride,

She's got a ticket to ride,

She's got a ticket to ride,

And she don't care,'

--The Beatles, 'Ticket to Ride'

The Lupin Mansion, France:

"You're positive about this, Jigen?" the still aching Lupin inquired as he watched his friend pack the last few items his last suitcase. Jigen closed the suitcase, and Lupin followed him down the stairs and down to the front door.

"Yep. It's been fun, Pal. We'll keep in touch, don't worry!" Jigen said reassuringly.

"You know, I feel like I'm losing my mom all over again," Lupin admitted as Jigen turned to leave, "I'm serious. You and Goemon are my best friends. Not to mention the fact that you're the best bodyguard a guy could ever have, even though you drink a lot, used to smoke like a chimney, and offer almost nothing except for sarcastic comments." The gunman stopped, and looked back at Lupin briefly.

"C'mon, don't give me that! We'll come back for the holidays, plus I gave you my address! And with some of the free time you'll be having now, because you're cutting back on those bonehead missions, you oughta have time to visit," Jigen sighed, "Well, I'll see you around. Yukiko, Ming, you guys ready?"

"Yeah," Ming nodded as she held the squirming Ryo in her one arm and the leash of an anxious Martha in the other.

"Let's get goin', then," Jigen said as he began to scale down the steps.

"Bye, Lupin," Yukiko said as she embraced the thief, "I'll miss eating breakfast with you all of the time."

"Don't worry, Yukiko. You know your dad," Lupin whispered.

"Yeah, I do," Yukiko nodded, "Bye."

"See you," Lupin waved, and followed the group down the stairs, "Hey, Jigen!" Lupin called. The gunman turned, and caught a set of keys as he did. Jigen looked downward at the keys in confusion, and then silently back upward at Lupin, "I told you the Alfa Romeo was yours, didn't I?"

"But…. A car that expensive?"

"Ah, don't worry," Lupin shrugged, "You've more than earned it over the years. Consider it my retirement gift to you. It's sure going to stick out in the neighborhood, though!"

"I—Thanks, Lupin," Jigen smiled under his fedora, and watched as Yukiko said her good-byes to Fujiko, Zenigata, Natasha, Amaya, and Goemon. Saying good-bye to Goemon seemed to be especially hard for the young girl, who wanted to cling onto him, but decided in the end to keep a stiff upper lip over the ordeal. It was no secret that the samurai and the little girl had a special bond between them, one which Jigen would never fully understand himself.

Jigen got into the car first, in the driver's seat, followed by Ming, who held onto Ryo in the passenger's. Martha jumped on top of Jigen and climbed over him in order to jump into the backseat. Yukiko was the last to enter the car, and did it glumly.

"Yukiko, don't worry! There'll be plenty of friends to make in Chicago!" Jigen reassured her.

"Just like all the ones you had who pointed out every five seconds that you were a mutt?" Yukiko shot back in sarcastic response. She sighed heavily, "Sorry, Daddy. It's just…"

"I know. It's hard starting all over again. But sometimes you've just got to go with it, Kid. Trust me—Your old man knows what he's doin'," said Jigen. He continued to drive along the country road quietly, and could but help notice the farther and farther he drove out, the more both Yukiko and Ming, and perhaps even Ryo and Martha, became depressed.

"What the hell am I doing?" Jigen wondered out loud as he began to spin the wheel around and make a full turn down the gravel path. "What the hell am I doing? I'm an idiot… I know it… But I just can't… This is worse than cigarettes!"

"Jigen, what's up?" Ming wondered out loud.

"We aren't going to Cicero," Jigen answered firmly.

"What?" Ming cocked her head in surprise.

"Yukiko would be miserable there, and you would, too. And let's face it, what am I going to do with all of that free time? Get fat and get drunk every Friday night with a bunch of poker-playing Italians who try to relive the glory days."

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yukiko yelled happily, and embraced her father from behind. Jigen let out a few small chokes to signal that breathing was difficult with her grappling his neck, and Yukiko finally got the picture after her father's olive-colored skin began to show bluish tones.

When Jigen pulled up, he found all were still standing there. He noted Lupin holding a sports timer, which he stopped when the car came to a halt, "Wow, six minutes! For a second, I thought you were really gone, Jigen!"

"You were timing me!?" Jigen growled.

"Yeah," Lupin smirked as he placed the stopwatch in his pocket, "Here, I'll help you get the suitcases out of your car. Good thing I never called the shipping company, otherwise your furniture would be halfway across the Atlantic by now!"

"Where is our furniture, then?" Ming inquired.

"In crates in the basement. Sorry, but I was going for realism," Lupin answered with his trademark charming smile.

"It's okay. You can help lift them back up," Ming smirked, "Well, come on, Yukiko, let's go home."

"You got it, Mom," Yukiko replied as she looked onward happily at the white mansion.

"Well, we have to be going. There's only a little bit of time left before we make room for another person in our apartment," said Natasha, who had also been standing out waiting for the Jigen family, along with Zenigata, Amaya, Fujiko, and Goemon.

"You think of a name yet, Pops?" Lupin inquired.

Zenigata paused a moment, "Max."

"Max?" all wondered out loud.

"How'd you think of that one?" Lupin asked.

"He's the only relative of hers I can stand to be around more than five minutes. Personally, I think the guy should get a medal for that simple fact," Zenigata answered.

"My Uncle Max was head of the Israeli police force when I was little," Natasha explained, "So, therefore, he and Koichi get along like a couple of old friends."

"Max Zenigata…. Oi," Lupin rolled his eyes, "Hey—I'm not one to judge names. Congrats, Pops. And good friggin' luck!"

"Thanks—Something's telling me I'll need all of it," Zenigata admitted.

A Few Days Later:

Jigen and Yukiko had gone to once again unpacking their final belongings, while Goemon and Amaya took an excursion to a local orphanage. Fujiko had gone to a local bank, her purposes unknown. Ming also busied herself with a doctor appointment of Ryo's. Lupin was left in charge of Fuji and Ari—Heiji had gone with his parents to the adoption agency.

He sat with the two children, bouncing Arsene the Fourth on his knee while allowing Fujiko, Jr. to play quietly with one of her numerous dolls. He shuddered as the news came on, and he found himself in it. This was not any news which he preferred to be part in.

"And, in other news, the renown thief Lupin the Third and his two well-known comrades, Jigen Daisuke and Goemon Ishikawa XIII, were caught on video camera a few days ago in what proved to be a rather interesting heist. It proved a nasty surprise for the gentleman thief, who is usually on top of his game," said the newscaster cheerily. The tape then began to roll.

"Kids, unless you want to see the shame of the century brought upon your family, cover your eyes…" Lupin mumbled. Fuji playfully covered her eyes, but opened two fingers in order to peek. Ari stood straight ahead at the television.

It had been a simple art heist at an auction house—Nothing big. But it had gone terribly wrong when Lupin went to draw his gun. Instead of drawing his Walther P-38, he drew out one of Fuji's dolls. He had been playing with her earlier that day, and had forgotten to put his gun back in his holster. Had it not been for Jigen and Goemon, the three would have been sunk.

"Well, Diane, perhaps he's losing his touch!" the male newscaster laughed.

"Perhaps he's losing his touch—He he he… Yuck it up, you bastards. Your camera equipment's gone, come Monday," the gentleman thief grumbled, and switched off the television.

Fuji simply laughed at her father's exploit, but Ari looked upward at his father in seriousness, "Daddy… You bad?" Ari inquired.

Lupin gawked at his young son, "Ari… Well…." He sighed, and looked downward. After a few silent moments, he suddenly removed a coin from his pocket. Ari watched intently as his father closed both his hands, and held them in front of the young boy. "Pick one," said Lupin.

Ari picked the right hand, where his father had hidden the coin—Or so he thought. He blinked in confusion as his father revealed an empty hand. Growing wise quickly, the child tapped on his father's left hand, knowing that the small treasure was hidden away in it. It had to be. He grew even more puzzled as this hand also turned up empty.

"Huh, what's that?" Lupin frowned, tilting his head to one side.

"Wha?" Ari inquired.

"Look, you've got something here," said Lupin with a smirk as he reached behind Ari's ear, and pulled out the coin. Ari gasped in delight, as did Fuji, who had also been watching her father's magic show silently by his side.

"Wow!" both gasped, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, how do ya like that, huh?" Lupin smirked, "Yeah… You liked that?"

"You know the magic tricks won't work forever," he heard suddenly, and looked upward to see Jigen haunting yet another corner of the mansion, "You can only use smoke and mirrors for so long before they see through all of that."

"I thought you were unpacking," said Lupin.

"Finished—And I've got the slipped disks to prove it," Jigen replied as he leaned back a little, and heard a few popping noises in his back, "Ah, the joys of knowing you're at the top of the hill, and it's a fast roll down from there."

"Don't talk like that; you know it depresses me," Lupin said as Jigen seated himself from across the thief, "Guess you're going to be sticking around for a long time to come, huh?"

"Yeah, I couldn't help it. I tried to run, but I just came back in the end. It's like when I got that letter from you, after five years. I was excited when I got it—I really missed working with you and Goemon—"

"And Fujiko?"

"I… Suppose… But anyhow, it was a lot harder to leave this time than it was the last couple."

"You leave, and I worry about you like a mother hen."

"You sure don't show it," Jigen snorted.

"Fujiko can tell you how many phone books I went through to find the hospital you were in when you decided to leave after our encounter with Remy!" Lupin snapped in defense, "Your ass is never fun to track down…"

"What about Goemon? He leaves all of the time, and you don't seem to worry about him!"

"Because I know he'll come back in the end. You've seen Goemon's family—The only thing he has to go back to is his crazy family and a rotting temple."

"Oh, and I have more to go home to, besides my mom's shop in rural Ise, or my sister's bible store in Philly?"

"You're always in demand at the mob, from what I hear."

"Yeah—They want my head on a skewer," Jigen laughed, "I always seem to make friends, no matter which country I'm in!"

"Wife's home."

"Who? Mine?" Jigen inquired, turning around towards a window. He watched Ming walk out of the parking garage, Ryo in hand. Ming had recently taken Ryo to get a haircut, with disastrous results. They had cut the toddler's hair much too short for her father's liking, and her bangs refused to flat down on her face, which would have given her a bowl-like haircut, much like the Lupin twins both had. Instead, they simply laid back with the rest of her hair, revealing a very obvious widow's peak. It was no guess whom she had gotten this from. Jigen had ended up making not-so-empty threats to the barber when he laid eyes on his daughter after her first haircut.

"How'd everything go? The doctor wasn't mean, was he? You want me to take care of him, if he was?" Jigen asked Ming hopefully as she walked into the house. Ming looked up at Jigen tiredly, and passed the child off to him.

"She threw up, everywhere," Ming said tiredly, "I'm going to take a shower. You deal with it."

"I—Uh, my day was good, too…" Jigen said unsurely as he looked over towards Ming, who was climbing up the stairs tiredly.

"That's great," Ming grumbled tiredly.

"You guys sure are going to a have a cheery brood, aren't you?" mumbled Lupin as he looked upward at the door Ming had slammed moments before.

"I still have those airline tickets," Jigen reminded himself.

"Oh, you might as well use those to help kindle your firewood. You'll never use them," Lupin answered.

"I might someday!" snapped Jigen.

"Yeah, right…" Lupin snorted.

New York, New York:

"Do I want to know the story behind these?" Toshiro inquired as he looked down into the brown package and gazed at the gold coins.

"It's… Nothing…" Julia said with a nervous smirk. "C'mon, kid, let's get going, okay? We've got to stock up the fridge! We've been gone so long, there's hardly anything in there except rice and vanilla ice cream."

"It's not even strawberry… Wow, that is pathetic," Toshiro mumbled as he grabbed a light coat and slipped it over his gi, "Did you check on Kome?"

"She's all right, just a little bummed out," Julia answered as they walked out of the hotel room with Toshiro and followed him to the elevator. "I can't blame her. Jeeze, she's really Yukiko's—Wow! Makes me wonder if your mom's around here somewhere!"

"Probably not," Toshiro admitted quietly, "More than likely, she still lives in Japan, with the Rat Clan."

"Yeah, you're half from there, right?" Julia recollected as they stepped into the elevator and Toshiro pressed the button for the ground floor. The elevators had only recently begun to work again in the hotel.

"It's confusing," Toshiro admitted. They waited patiently until the elevator came to a halt, and the doors creakily opened. The two stepped out into the lobby, and then walked down to the local market, which was located next to the local pawnshop. Julia excused herself while Toshiro went grocery shopping, and Toshiro watched as she ran into the pawn store. He stood there a few moments in curiosity before shrugging and returning to pick out eggs for that evening's dinner. Julia returned ten minutes later, with a mysterious box now in hand.

"What'd you buy?" Toshiro asked.

"It's a secret, for now," Julia smirked slyly in response, "You'll know soon, though! I got it for Kome!"

"Is it a car?" Toshiro asked in mock excitement.

"Ha-ha—I wish. The Vespa does need work, though," Julia admitted, "It needs a new paint job, desperately."

"How about yellow?"

"Yellow!? What are you on?" Julia inquired.

"It'd be neat, you'd be just like Haruko, from FLCL!" Toshiro suggested.

"Toshiro, I don't waste my time, my effort, or my money on anime. I have more important things to spend it on," Julia answered. She paused, and looked downward at him, "You really think it'd look neat if I painted it yellow?"

"Uh-huh," Toshiro answered.

"All right! Yellow it is!" Julia said triumphantly as she walked to the checkout with Toshiro.

"Thanks," Toshiro nodded, "Hey, can I get a Mars bar?"

"You and chocolate bars… Well, okay," Julia muttered, "You help to pay the bills, anyway. I can't deny you treats every once in a while. Just don't get any cavities, or your dad'll kill me!"

"Yeah," Toshiro nodded, "Domo arigato."

"You'll have to teach me that language someday," Julia sighed tiredly, "Between you and Kome… Yeesh."

A Few Nights Later, France:

It was near one when the phone rang in the Lupin household. The others, reluctant to awake and answer it, decided to wait out and see who would answer first. It was Lupin who answered eventually, after about the 20th ring. He sat up groggily in bed, and glanced at the digital clock, and then groaned, "Hello?"

"Lupin?" the voice was unmistakable. Zenigata. A very stressed-sounding Zenigata.

"Pops? Hey, what's up?" Lupin inquired, "You do realize it's the dead of night, don't you?"

"I know, I know… I'm at the hospital, and—"

"What!? Why? What happened?" Lupin demanded.

"Natasha. She—"

"We'll be right there!" Lupin yelled, and slammed down the phone.

"Lupin? What's wrong?" Fujiko wondered out loud tiredly as she raised her head from her pillow, "Something going on?"

"I think the Zenigata kid's hatching," Lupin answered.

"Really?" she sat up in bed, wide-eyed, "I'll go get Amaya, and then get dressed! You get the kids!"

"Me? Aw, c'mon, Fujiko! Neither of them like to be woken up! Ari hits me in the nose each time I do! That kid hits almost as hard as you do! I swear, he should teach boxing!" Lupin groaned. His whining fell on deaf ears, however. Fujiko was already nearly dressed, and was running out the door to Amaya and Goemon's room. Soon enough, Jigen and his family were also awoken, and the usual three cars made their procession down the darkened Paris streets to the largest hospital in the area, where Lupin sprinted in first, and found that indeed Zenigata had checked in a little while ago.

The group, who was stopped only once on their trip to the waiting room, managed to make it up together in less than five minutes. All found Zenigata waiting nervously in the sitting room when they arrived. He looked upward at them, and his worried expression became the usual solemn one as he rose to greet them.

"How long has she been in there?" Lupin inquired.

"About forty minutes," Zenigata answered, "I would've called sooner, but—"

"Yeah, I get the picture," Lupin nodded, "How much longer, you think?"

"Not sure," Zenigata shrugged, "But she's threatened to shoot up the entire hospital if they don't give her more drugs… I had to leave, because she kept trying to put her hands around my neck to strangle me."

"What scares me is the fact that she would do it," Lupin chuckled in an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere of the room. It did little to help the situation.

The small children all managed to toddle their way into the center of the room while waiting for their newest 'gang' member. Yukiko acted like a herd dog as she watched over them; turning one around when he or she began to go the wrong way. While she did this, the adults waited silently, Amaya trying to help her obviously nervous father by doing her best to reassure him that everything would turn out all right in the end. But Zenigata, like it or not, was a natural worrier by heart, and had difficulty relaxing in the hospital waiting room.

It was an hour later before they heard a cry break the tense silence in the room. All snapped their heads in the direction of the door, even Jigen, whom had fallen asleep and had been leaning on a pained-looking Lupin during the duration of the time. He had fallen asleep in order to take his mind off of the fact that he, too, soon enough, would be going through the same thing once again in a few weeks.

"Do you think that was…?" Amaya started.

"Yeah," her father nodded quietly. Zenigata rose as the head doctor exited the swinging doors, holding a white bundle of squirming sheets.

"Why is this all sort of surreal?" Amaya wondered as she watched her father walk over to the bundle and draw it back a little. Zenigata's face showed signs of obvious confusion as he looked down at the baby.

Lupin looked downward at his small 'step-brother', cocked his head, and then looked up at Zenigata, "I… Guess that's mom's natural hair color, after all. Ming, you owe me eight dollars."

"Crap, and I was thinking there was no way that was natural," Ming grumbled tiredly as she laid her had over her eyes, "I'll pay you on Thursday. Jigen goes swimming, then, and he leaves his wallet in the house."

"Hey!" Jigen snapped, "So that's where that forty bucks went last week!"

"Well you should really take it with you when you go," said Ming slyly.

"I can't trust anything around you, you spoiled brat," Jigen grumbled.

"Yeah, well whose fault is it that I'm so spoiled, eh?" Ming snapped. Jigen remained silent as a form of response.

"Let see!" Ari said cheerily to his father, followed by a swift kick in Lupin's shin. Ari did not mean to hurt his father, but this was just his method of getting his attention. It was not the first time Ari had done such a thing. But it was always to Lupin, never to Fujiko. It was successful, but rarely appreciated.

"Ari…. We've got to refine your people skills, son," Lupin said with a shudder of pain as he lifted Ari up to see the new baby. The new baby with a round face, Asian features, and blond hair, and a skin tone a few shades lighter than his father's.

"Jewish and Asian…. That kid's going to be one hell of an accountant," Jigen muttered.

"We'll have to get him to do our taxes," Goemon said with a smirk.

"Oh, us pay taxes—You're funny today, Goemon," said Jigen.

"I try every once in a while," Goemon admitted, "Usually when I'm exhausted…."

"And I don't know about you, but I'm friggin' exhausted," Jigen yawned.

"Oh, I couldn't tell, because you were too busy snoring in my ear," Lupin said trough gritted teeth as he looked over at Jigen annoyedly, "Hey, there Max, I'm your big brother Lupin!"

"Big—" Zenigata started.

"He's being sentimental—Just go with it, Dad," Amaya said quietly to her father, "I think it's the medication he's on, from that plane crash," she continued in a whisper. Zenigata nodded quietly in agreement as he watched Lupin wave his hand over the small baby.

"Orange duck, Max!" Ari said cheerily.

Lupin looked back at Fujiko, and both let out small groans of discontent. Lupin looked back at Ari, and began to speak, but then decided it would be better to let such a thing go for now.

"Tee-hee… Orange duck," Jigen chuckled smugly to himself.

"Aunt Ji Ji, vodka!" Ari continued, looking back at Jigen excitedly and pointing to the baby.

"Aunt Ji Ji?" Jigen frowned, "Wha—No, Uncle Ji Ji."

"No, I think he hit the head on the nail, Jigen," said Lupin with a sly smile.

"You shut up!" Jigen growled, rising out of his chair towards Lupin. Max began to wail uncontrollably from Jigen's shouting, and Zenigata spun his head around, and leered at Jigen.

"Sorry—Yeesh. Don't look at me like that, Pops, your kid started it," Jigen muttered as he composed himself in his seat.

"I'm going to stop it in three seconds," Zenigata mumbled as he took Max in hand, "Now if you'll all excuse me…"

"I'll go in with you, all right, Daddy?" Amaya smiled as she looked downward at her new half-brother, "I want to check on Natasha, too. I can look at the size of that kid and tell what she went through wasn't exactly fun…." Zenigata nodded, and walked back into the emergency room with Amaya at his side, and Max in his arms.

"I can already tell, that kid's going to act a lot like his dad," said Lupin as he sat down in his uncomfortable plastic seat.

"How can you tell?" asked Fujiko.

"Because when that kid looked at me, he looked pissed. Don't ask me how I know, but that's going to be one hell of a cop someday. It's in his blood," Lupin replied.