DISCLAIMER: Don't own Lupin III. Not mine, no own… I think after over sixty chapters, total, that everyone would get the picture by now….
Welcome,
To the next-to-last chapter of this story! (Well, the last real one, anyway. The next chapter's an epilogue). Now, you can tell if you've been writing something a while if you're so used to it you break down and start crying and slamming your head on the computer keyboard. (Don't worry, I didn't really do that…. Well, maybe once, twice…. Eight times.… This week alone…) Ahem, anyway… I'm, going to write this, and then make a cup of Ramen, listen to some Barry Manilow records, and quietly cry in a lonely corner….
Have a nice day! : )
Chapter Forty Nine
A Few Months Later: Comin' Up
'I would like you to do,
Birthday,
Take a cha-cha-cha chance,
Birthday,'
--The Beatles, 'Birthday'
"Staying?" Yukiko choked, "How—How long?"
"I don't know," Toshiro admitted, "Yuki, I'm sorry, but—"
"I know, I know—You're happy, and there are people there that need you. Namely a lot of poor people who need a Robin Hood, and Julia, too," Yukiko sighed on her end of the phone, "You take your time… I'll wait for you…"
"Yeah," Toshiro answered awkwardly, "Well, keep up the good work stealing stuff. I guess I better hang up now… Julie needs to make a call."
"Uh-huh, but don't hang up before saying good-bye," Yukiko replied quickly.
"Good-bye for now, Yukiko," said Toshiro quietly, "I'll see you soon."
"Good-bye for now, Toshiro…"
"…Daisuki…"
"You're too young to say that."
"You don't have to be young to know."
"You'll regret saying that to me, someday when I'm holding it against you," Yukiko laughed quietly.
"Probably. But it felt right for the moment," he admitted, "Bye, Yukiko. Say hi to my brother and sister for me, okay? Watch after them, and let them know I'll be home soon."
"Okay. Bye, Toshiro. Have fun," Yukiko said in a whisper, and slowly laid the phone back down on its cradle. She remained there a few moments, her hand on the phone and head tilted downward towards the floor. She looked upward as she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder, and saw it was her father.
"Hey, Kid, you wanna talk about it a little?" asked Jigen, a tone of sincere concern in his voice, "I think I know a little bit about what you're goin' through."
"Nah, it's okay, Dad. He's just being pig-headed. It's nothing new to him," Yukiko sighed in response, "It's a family thing."
"Are you gonna be all right, Yukiko?"
"Yeah, eventually… I always jump back up, you know that!"
"You remind me so much of myself—You have no idea how much that scares me sometimes."
"Hell, it scares me, Daddy," Yukiko admitted, "I just hope he gets all of this out of his system, and then comes back."
"Come on. We're taking Ryo and Daisuke out to the park. Me and your Mom want you to come along."
"Be right there," Yukiko replied, and walked up the stairs to her room. She ran back down the stairs a few moments later, now wearing a white fedora that was a tad large for her. Jigen smirked good-humoredly, and both exited the kitchen, and met with the rest of their family in the living room.
"Come home soon, Toshiro… I miss you, you idiot…" Yukiko whispered quietly as she felt the souvenir dagger under her jacket that he had given her when he had first decided to stay in America.
Five Years Later, a Ship on the Mediterranean, Nighttime:
"Oh, come on, Lupin! Please!?" a teenaged girl in a white pair of dress pants, a black button-up shirt, and a white fedora begged her uncle, "Sing it."
"I… All right, all right…" Lupin rolled his eyes, "Bon anneversaire a tu, bon anneversaire a tu, bon anneversaire, chere Yuki, a bon anneversaire, a tu… There you go—Happy birthday, in French. Jeeze, a girl turns thirteen and she starts to walk all over a man!"
"Thank you!" Yukiko embraced him, and then turned back to the large table, where a square sheet cake laid in front of her. It read 'Happy 13th Birthday, Yukiko. Love, Your Family'.
"Here, Kid, I thought you might like this. I saw where you highlighted it in a magazine. Saved it for a special occasion," Jigen said, handing her a brightly-wrapped box with a bow atop it. Yukiko, tall enough to where top of her head reached Jigen's nose by now, took the box cautiously, and slowly opened it. Her eyes brightened as she saw exactly what it was.
"A Glock! It's the one I saw in the magazine!" she gasped in pure delight as she removed the gun from the box, and examined it. Out of instinct, the Lupin group ducked under the table, and waited until Yukiko had put the gun back in its box to rise back into their seats.
"She scares me," Heiji mumbled to Fuji. Heiji had grown to look much like his mother, while Fuji was starting to show signs that she would grow up to be as beautiful as her mother.
"Me, too," Fuji confided. She felt someone poking her from behind, and gutted her brother, and looked at him coldly, "Ari, stop! Daddy, Ari's poking me! Make him stop, now!"
"I'm not—The lobster is," Ari answered, revealing a large red lobster from under the tablecloth.
"Ari! Where the hell did you get a lobster!?" Lupin yelled in horror.
"I liberated it, Pop. Someone was gonna eat it, so I saved it! I'm gonna throw it back into the ocean, so it can go home to its lobster family!" Ari answered.
"He gets it from your side of family," Fujiko whispered.
"It's sad, but it's true," Lupin mumbled, putting a hand over his eyes and wishing he had two Tylenol in his pocket.
"Odori, don't pick at your food, honey," Amaya instructed the little girl with pigtails softly.
"Here, like this, Odori," Heiji took her hands, which fumbled with a fork and knife, and showed her how to cut her chicken. The young boy pushed up his plastic glasses, and watched as Odori tried to copy her older brother.
"You'll get better with blades, Odori. Give it time," said Goemon reassuringly.
"You think, Papa?" asked Odori hopefully.
"I know," Goemon answered, "Your father is very knowledgeable in many things."
"Bet you couldn't tell a megabyte from a gigabyte," Heiji retorted.
Goemon paused, "Many things, put not everything." Heiji took many of his mother's traits. Goemon turned to Amaya, "How is your father?"
"I got an e-mail from him today, and I talked to Max," Amaya answered.
"How are they liking San Francisco?" Goemon inquired.
"Daddy loves it, and Natasha, too. There's a large enough Jewish population for her, and a large enough Asian population for him. They both feel at home there, and Daddy's met a great psychologist. And Max is doing very well in school. They're talking about moving him to third grade already!"
"Brains must run in your family," Goemon concluded.
"I think it skipped me, though," Amaya admitted, "All I got were the good looks."
"And that skipped your father's generation," Goemon retorted in his usual deadpan. "Sorry, it was too easy to not say."
"It's all right. I'll make you pay later tonight," Amaya replied.
"No banging from your and Mommy's room, tonight?" asked Heiji. Goemon, who had taken a sip of his drink, spat it out at this comment, and looked downward at Heiji in embarrassment.
"You hear that, too?" Ryo gasped, "I hear that all the time! How about you, Ally?"
"Uh-huh," Daisuke 'Ally' Jigen replied (he hated the name 'Daisuke', and refused to be called by it, and instead insisted on being called by his middle name).
"What do you two do in there, anyway?" Ryo asked her mother.
"I never hear any banging," Ari started. Lupin quickly covered the young boy's mouth with his hand, and laughed nervously.
"Hee hee… Kids today, eh!?" Lupin laughed.
"Yeah," Jigen smirked, and sipped his Sangria with a smug smile.
"Why don't you and everyone else go release that lobster you liberated, Ari?" Lupin suggested.
"'Kay," Ari jumped out of his chair, and waved for the others to come, "Yukiko, are you coming, too?"
"Nah, it's all right, Kiddo. I'll catch up with you," Yukiko replied, scruffing his hair. Ari laughed, and ran off with his small gang, to go release their lobster hostage, "No banging, Lupin?"
"None of your business for about five more years, Yukiko," Fujiko smiled with a wink.
"Which is about twenty more years in Jigen years," Yukiko finished, "Hey, I'm going to go out and look out at the view, okay? I'll be back in a little bit," she said quietly, and excused herself from the large table.
"I think it's time to give her that other present, Jigen," Lupin whispered to his friend. Jigen nodded, rose, and unfolded his white and red cane. He walked out of the room, and onto the wooden deck. He could see the dim image of Yukiko in the equally dim light, and came to stand next to her.
"You're a little sad to be turning thirteen," Jigen commented, "You're a teenager, now—So you can officially hate me for no apparent reason whatsoever!"
"Can you see the full moon, Dad?" Yukiko asked.
"Sorta," Jigen answered, "Now what's bothering you, Kid? Is it because you wanted him to come to this thing?"
"I—Yeah, I guess," Yukiko nodded, "I don't even think he misses me, anymore…. I mean, he's so busy now… I actually see him in the newspaper sometimes. Well, not him, but blurry pictures of him…. He's doing a lot of good over there, and he wouldn't be doing nearly as much if he was still here. It'd be selfish on my part to guilt him into staying, although I know I could."
"Well… You know how some things are… They don't exactly turn out how you planned them to," Jigen paused, and took her hands. Yukiko looked upward in confusion, and laughed as she realized her father was trying to dance with her.
"What are you dancing to, anyway?" asked Yukiko in a laugh, "The own music that plays in your head? Is that what you see when you dream? You sleep enough!"
"Listen carefully, and you can hear it," Jigen replied. Yukiko listened carefully, and, sure enough, there was music being played towards the other end of the ship.
Yukiko looked upward at her father in surprise, "How did you hear—"
"Your other senses get better when one gets shot to hell," Jigen explained, "It's kind of good, in the sense I can tell when your mom's calling me something under her breath, although I don't exactly know what it is she's calling me. I haven't quite mastered Chinese, yet." He heard another set of footsteps behind him, and stopped, "I think there's someone who wants to cut in on our dance."
"Huh?" Yukiko looked behind her father, and smiled widely as she saw who it was, "Toshiro!" She yelled happily, and ran towards him.
"Hey, Yukiko!" Toshiro replied in a happy laugh as she embraced him.
"How… How…" she looked back, at her father, who was now preparing to walk back to the others, "Thanks, Dad," she whispered, walking over to her father and embracing him tightly.
"Hey, anything for any of my little monsters—You know that," Jigen answered, "You two have a lot to catch up on, so I'll leave you to your own devices."
"Hey, Jigen!" Lupin shouted, "Get in here, quick! Goemon's drunk as an Irishman and we've got the karaoke machine hooked up! You know what that means!"
"If I have to listen to one more drunken rendition of My Way in Japanese I'm going to shove that microphone down his throat," Jigen grumbled as he worked his way towards the room where they were holding the party.
"Your dad's the same, eh?" Toshiro laughed.
"Yeah…" Yukiko's eyes fell down to the ground, "His vision's getting worse, but he won't admit it. He doesn't want to scare me, but I know someday that I'm going to have to take over being the sharpshooter for the group. I get worried about him a lot, but I guess it's natural. Especially with someone as reckless as he is. I'm probably going to have to teach Ryo and Ally how to shoot…" she turned to Toshiro, "I came out to watch him practice shooting a month ago… He's not nearly as good as he was when I came to him. He actually… He missed four out of ten targets."
Toshiro breathed a deep sigh, "How about your mom?"
A small smile appeared on her face, "She tries to be a good mom, she really does. She hasn't given up on the jewelry yet, though. Still has all of her bracelets… If not more…. And Ryo and Ally are a sly duo, to say the least. They think it's funny to stick live frogs in their big sister's fedora…. I love them, but sometimes I want to kill 'um." She looked up from her hat at Toshiro, "How about you? What have you been up to, huh, Mister New York, New York?"
"A little here, a little there…" Toshiro replied absently.
"You still have that crush on your roommate?" asked Yukiko. Toshiro snapped his head towards her in shock, and Yukiko laughed and poked him in the ribs, "I know you have one. You're a teenaged boy, or, as Fujiko likes to call them, a dog in heat."
"Eh… Beautiful weather, don't you think?" Toshiro inquired, looking upward at the night sky. Yukiko laughed, and punched him in the shoulder.
"Same blockhead! Except a lot taller!" she added, noting Toshiro's height of 5'6—Three inches shy of his father's height, and two inches taller than his stepmother, "Figures you'd be tall! You always live with your head in the clouds!"
"Ha, ha… Stop punching me, already," Toshiro grumbled, swatting her away.
"Or what, huh? Gonna slice me into deli meat?" Yukiko laughed.
"Cute. You're a laugh a minute, Jigen," Toshiro sighed heavily.
"And you're the same serious Goemon," Yukiko shot back, "When are you heading back. At least stay for a few days, okay? It's my birthday, so you have to."
"I do what you say regardless of the day. Why, I have no clue," Toshiro replied, rolling his eyes.
"It's because you still like me," Yukiko answered, "Remember? 'Daisuki'?"
"Huh? Oh, God, you do remember that!" Toshiro groaned, slapping his forehead.
"Told you I would," Yukiko answered.
Toshiro grew serious, and glanced down into the ocean, "I leave in two days. Until then, I'm staying here, catching up with everyone… I've actually got to go find my little brother and sister. They'll be thrilled to see me, I'm sure."
"Yeah, they miss you. You better go see them now," Yukiko answered. Toshiro turned to leave, but stopped, and looked back at Yukiko sideways.
"Hey… You didn't, did you?" Toshiro asked.
"Didn't what?"
"Get married."
"What the hell do you think?" Yukiko retorted, holding up a ringless left hand, "I have a feeling this finger's going to be cold for a while."
"Why do you say that?" asked Toshiro.
"Because you like Julia too much," Yukiko smiled in response.
"She's a friend, and a roommate! That's it!" Toshiro snapped in defense.
"Yeah-huh… And I'm John Dillinger," Yukiko replied, putting her hands on her hips.
"Hey, Dillinger, put a sock in it, 'kay?" Toshiro answered.
"Wha—Why should—" Toshiro leaned inward, and briefly kissed her. Yukiko looked upward at him in surprise, and then this turned into a laugh, "You'll do anything to get me to shut up, won't you, miso-for-brains?"
"Almost," answered Toshiro as he turned away, and went to go find his brother and sister, "She didn't even get it… She's still a kid, under it all."
Yukiko smiled as she watched Toshiro walk away, but this faded as she heard someone shuffle in the background. It was Ming.
"You can only take so much of samurai karaoke hour," Ming replied, "Hey, did I just see what I thought I saw, Yukiko?"
"I… He did it, not me. It's just a game we have, nothing more," Yukiko replied sternly.
"Yeah, you know, I thought that about one guy, too."
"Yeah? Well, what happened to you two?" Yukiko inquired.
"I married him and had two kids, and gained a step-daughter in the process," Ming answered.
Yukiko snorted skeptically, "Yeah, right… I don't see it…. I mean, I know he's a great friend, but he's too great a friend for anything like that. A relationship would just make us hate one another."
"Well, times change. I mean, I never set out to get married, especially to the pride and joy of the Capone Clan."
"I'm sorry, but what in God's earth did you see in my dad?" asked Yukiko.
"He was a gentleman," Ming answered.
"You're kidding."
"'Fraid not. Well, I'm going back in. You coming yet?"
"Not before I talk to her for a little," Lupin answered. Both turned, and saw he was in the doorway of the party room. Ming nodded, and turned back towards the party room, and made her way past the thief and the Mafia princess in to the festivities. Lupin took a few steps forward, and put his hands in his pockets.
"You having a good birthday?" asked Lupin.
"It's terrific!" Yukiko answered, "I haven't had a party this good since the one you gave me to welcome me home! Remember?"
"Yep, I remember," Lupin nodded solemnly, "Over seven years ago."
"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you so serious, suddenly? Is something the matter?" Yukiko asked.
"I was talking to your dad," Lupin answered, "You've been noticing it, too. I know you have. His vision's getting worse. He isn't going to be able to do this much longer."
"What are we going to do about it?" asked Yukiko.
"He wants you to take over his spot for our next job, to see how you do in his place," Lupin answered. Yukiko looked at Lupin with pure shock—Her father, volunteer to sit a job out?
"But, but… Why?" Yukiko gulped.
"He thinks you're old enough to branch out a little bit. Goemon and Fujiko are a little worried about the whole thing…"
"What about you?"
"Well, the last time you got shot, I ended up getting the crap beat out of me—So I'm hoping there aren't any other incidents; at least for a while," Lupin replied with a smile. "Jeeze, I knew it'd happen someday, but I never thought this early."
"Well, you are getting close to forty," Yukiko shrugged.
"Hey, I can take back the present I got you, so watch it," Lupin reminded her, "Well, are you in, Yukiko?"
"Yeah," Yukiko nodded, "I'll do it, only if you think I can."
"I have no doubts in my mind, Yukiko," Lupin answered with a smile, "You're a Jigen, of course you'll do well."
"I'm glad you think so," Yukiko mumbled.
"Nah—I know so," Lupin replied, "Now, why don't you go find your boyfriend, eh? Last I saw him, he was meeting with the rest of the team, trying to stop Ari from tormenting his sister with a lobster."
"He isn't my boyfriend!" Yukiko laughed, "He's… I dunno…"
"A good friend?" Lupin finished, "Yeah-huh. Heard that one enough. All right… Well, you get inside soon, Kid. We're having a ball, but it's nothing without the entire family there."
"Yeah… The entire family…" Yukiko whispered, "We're all one family…"
"Huh? You say something?" Lupin inquired.
"Hm? Oh, me—No, no… I'll be in in a second. I just need some more fresh air," said Yukiko quietly.
"Well, okay… Come in soon, though, okay?" Lupin smiled, patted her on the shoulder, and exited back into the party room.
Yukiko looked outward at the full moon, and smiled under her fedora, which she wore over her eyes most of the time, much in the fashion of her father. She raised the brim up from over her eyes, and thought back to the first time she came to the Lupin gang in need of their help. She had been just a little kid, then. She had never in a million years thought about what would she eventually become once she passed through the hotel room doors.
She had come a long way, and she had a feeling that the road ahead was going to be even longer and stranger than the one she had already traveled.
