DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin, but I'm sure if I did I'd be working on a much better computer…

Hey!

Sorry this is so late coming—No, this story isn't over yet, but I'm thinking that by January I'll have but everything I need to into this story (this doesn't mean the end of my writing, however… It doesn't even mean the end of Fuji and the gang, either, hint, hint)…. I've been very, very busy lately, hence my lack of input. I will continue, however, and I'll never end a story without first warning you guys… Thanks for all of the reviews, by the way! See you guys around!

Chapter Twenty Nine

A Few Weeks Later: Chicago

'Words are flowing out,

like endless rain inside a

letterbox,'

—The Beatles, 'Across the Universe'

Chicago, Illinois:

"The night Chicago died…. I heard my momma pray the night Chicago died…" Ryo sang as she turned a hard left, causing everyone to shift in the car and also making Toshiro more aware of his surroundings. She had nearly run the samurai, Yukiko, and his Vespa with her sharp turning. Fuji fell out of her seat, and landed on the floor panel of the vehicle.

"You don't have to get so into a song, Ryo-san…" Fuji moaned as she pulled herself up from the floor and buckled her safety belt.

"I'm regretting installing a CD player in this thing!" Heiji moaned, "Ally, why'd you have to put your ice skates back here? Ow…"

"At least you just didn't get his bony ass on your lap…" Odori muttered.

"Hey, it's not that bony!" snapped Ally.

"Your weight probably doubles when you but on your hockey padding…" Heiji chuckled.

"And I end up weighing as much as you do…" Ally retorted. Heiji put his abrupt stop to his laughter, and shot a glare at a smiling Ally.

"Woah, hey, Ryoko, watch it!" Toshiro called as Ryo drifted over towards him and Yukiko once again.

"Whoops, sorry!" Ryo smiled and waved apologetically to Toshiro, "I guess I'm just happy about seeing Mom and Dad and Martha…"

"I still say you should've left me at the airport…"Heiji grumbled.

"Oh, Sachiko's improving all of the time, Heiji-chan! Don't worry!" Fuji smiled as she looked back at Heiji.

"I'm sorry, am I the only one who remembers me getting shot?" Heiji wondered aloud sarcastically, "This is a bad idea, Fujiko…"

"Hey, that's my line! I'm the one who tells her she's an idiot!" Ryo said as she switched lanes. Toshiro followed along side her, and they exited off a highway and headed towards a smaller town, where a small bookstore blended in with the rest of the nondescript buildings as they pulled up. All exited, and walked into the bookstore.

"Daisuke Jigen, this is the FBI! The gig's up!" Fuji shouted. Jigen, who had been seated at the front desk, dropped the coffee mug he had been quietly drinking from, and grabbed a handgun from beneath the desk. He gaped in surprise as he laid eyes at who it was, but them grumbled with annoyance as he placed his gun back in its safe box.

"Dammit, Fujiko!" Jigen growled, "You could've had yourself friggin' killed! What the hell would you have done if I had shot you, huh!?"

"I knew you wouldn't," Fuji shrugged.

"Hi, Daddy!" Ryo smiled as she walked over to her father and embraced him, "How are you?"

"Extremely stressed, now," Jigen muttered as he returned Ryo's embrace and then greeted Yukiko and Ally similarly.

"Hey, I hate to break this up, but I've got to pick someone up from the airport," said Ally as he looked down at his watch.

"You've made friends?" Jigen inquired with genuine interest.

"Yeah… Just wait, Dad… You'll love my guest! Absolutely love them!" said Ally cheerily as he backed towards the shop door.

"I'll go with you, Ally…" said Odori, "The idea of you having any friends peaks my interest, plus you aren't safe to be left to drive alone."

"Hey, take me, too!" Heiji added, "Please don't leave me, Odori…" he whispered. As he shuffled out of the shop, he looked in the corner of his eye and saw a familiar dark haired-woman stocking books. Heiji and Sachiko shared a cold stare, and Heiji then commenced to kick Odori in the behind in order to get her to move faster towards the car. Odori turned and growled, and Heiji quickly ran towards the Alfa Romeo.

"Some things never change…" Jigen chuckled.

"Hey, Dad… You got any books on John Dillinger?" Yukiko whispered confidentially to her father.

"Oh, yeah…. I've got lots of books on him… Big books, small ones… Concealable ones…" said Jigen with a chuckle.

"You got semi-automatic?" Yukiko inquired.

"Now what do you want with a semi-automatic gun, ur, book?" Jigen asked, "What's wrong with the Magnum?"

"Nothing… If I'm Clyde Barrow…." replied Yukiko with a sigh, "I want it as a back up…. Just in case my other 'book' jams…. Any police books would be great…."

"Okay, okay…" Jigen sighed, "Anything else?"

"Something with a seeker, perhaps?"

"What in the hell are you planning to do while you're here, anyway!?" Jigen asked with an annoyed snap.

"A little side business I'm working on…" replied Yukiko with a cough, "People think I'm very good with books, here, and they pay me big bucks to deliver books to other people…"

"Why can't you just say gun?" inquired Toshiro.

Jigen coughed, and began to tap on the wooden table, 'Because the place may be bugged' he tapped onto the counter in Morse code. Toshiro nodded in understanding, and turned back to the book selection. Ryoko and Yukiko continued to speak with their father excitedly while Toshiro wandered through the aisles. Fuji went downstairs and past a secret door where the John Dillinger 'books' (guns) were kept.

"So, Dad, you have any idea what Mom's having, yet?" Yukiko inquired.

"That's where she is right now… Finding out…" replied Jigen, his tone apparently nervous.

"I hope it's a girl… Dad always spoils girls…." Ryo smiled and said with a chuckle to her sister.

"Yeah… Even though he pretends to hate women!" Yukiko added, nudging her father, who was less than amused by their talk of him, "He treated Ally like a prince too, though," Yukiko added.

"Cute… You smart asses want to give your old man a hand, here?" Jigen sighed and he jumped over the counter and walked up a flight of wooden stairs to a second story in the bookstore.

"What's up, Dad?" asked Ryo worriedly as she watched Jigen's expression change to worry.

"It's…. I'll tell you later… Your mom's back," Jigen replied as he watched the door to the shop open, "Hey, you owe me fifty bucks, now, right!?" he smiled as he surveyed Ming's expression, "I told you it was a boy!"

"You're so dead," Ming said with a glare, looking upward at shaking her head at Jigen critically.

"A boy!? Wow! Told ya!" Jigen laughed.

Ming picked up a nearby dictionary, and threw it at Jigen's head, where it made impact, "Twin girls, you son of a bitch! What the hell is wrong with you, anyway!? Twin girls, at thirty-nine!? Do you want to friggin' kill me?"

"Girls… T-twins?" Jigen gulped dryly.

"Um… Dad… You… You okay?" Yukiko wondered aloud, laying a hand upon her shoulder shakily.

"Congratulations, Jigen!" Toshiro said with a wide smile, oblivious to any of Ming's ranting. Yukiko sighed heavily, and slapped a hand over her face. The New Yorker could be so very clueless, at times….

A Local Airport:

"That must be Ally's friend…." said Odori to Toshiro as they watched Ally run over to what looked to be a boy about his age in a blue windbreaker, jeans, sneakers and red baseball cap.

"They must be close…" said Heiji as he watched the two embrace tightly.

"Very…" Odori noted as Ally leaned inward and kissed his blonde guest. Ally smiled, and walked over to the duo, an arm about his friend's waist.

"I know it looks weird, but this isn't who you think it is," Ally chuckled as he looked over at his friend. It took a few moments to register, and Heiji was the first to realize who it actually was.

"How'd you…" Heiji wondered aloud.

"My mother told me it was all right to do so…" Carmen replied, "I decided to travel incognito, in order to avoid the press… She still doesn't know about my new haircut, however…" she added with a chuckle, running a hand behind her head, where her hair had been cut short.

"Wow… Carmen, long time, no see!" said Heiji happily.

"You've been planning this a while, Ally?" Odori inquired with a smirk.

"Yeah… Pretty sneaky, but I just had to see her for a little bit!" said Ally with a tone of deep justification for his actions, "I can't wait to have you meet my parents! They ought to love you!"

"I would very much like to go out into the city with you, as well, if time permits," added Carmen as the four walked over to luggage return. Heiji begrudgingly ended up with Carmen's suitcase, and followed behind the others as they walked out of the airport.

"Even Sgt. Sociopath can find someone…." Heiji grumbled as he began to trail a little from the group, "I work my ass off for the group, and about the only time Fuji talks to me is when she wants something…. Makes me wonder how her dad survives her mom, sometimes! If her parents had any sense, they would have never let that girl around men… It's always the techies who get beat on… Everyone thinks we're lazy, but without us, there'd be nothing!"

"You say something, Heiji?" Odori wondered as she stopped and hopped into the passenger seat of the car. Heiji shook his head, stuffed Carmen's suitcase into the trunk, and seated himself next to her. Ally got into the driver's side of the car, and Carmen filled up the passenger seat.

"Nothing, Dori," Heiji grumbled darkly, folding his arms and slumping into his seat, looking a great deal like a small child.

"My parents are going to love you," said Ally as he shifted the gears on the car and backed out of the parking lot and drove out onto the highway, "My mom's a terrific cook! And my dad's…. My dad's…"

"A good conversationalist?" Heiji suggested.

Ally snorted, "Yeah… That's like saying I always solve an argument in an adult manner…"

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to visit them without interruption," said Carmen with a smile as she reached over and placed a hand over Ally's. Jigen flushed, and smiled… Odori watched the scenery go by, and Heiji glowered.

Interpol HQ, Paris, France:

Max and Leo had been called back to Paris in order to meet their new boss. Both had complained that they had a lead on Lupin in Chicago, but they were still forced to travel back to their offices to report. Leo had taken this opportunity to clean out his office, which had grown dusty. Another desk had been added since he had last been in there, and Max had been in earlier to set it up. Leo was nearly finished cleaning out his paperwork, dusting his shelving, restocking his mini-fridge, and doing other small tasks about the office. While he did this, he thought back to a few weeks ago, right before Max had forced him to hide his identity once again.

'I… I can help but to wonder if he's really… No, he had had a rough night!' Leo convinced himself as he briefly paused his dusting motion. He went back to his dusting, but there was never a pause in his thinking, 'Thank God he can't remember any of it! He'd probably slit his wrists if he found out he told me what he did…'

"LeBlanc, quit with the wenchwork a second! The boss wants to see us…. The new boss…" said Max, sticking his head in the doorway of their office. Max retracted his head out of the office, glaring his nameplate as he did so. L. LeBlanc and K. Zenigata. Someone had used his father's old nameplate for the office, "Cheap bastards…" he grumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets and stormed down the hall. He could hear Leo not far behind him, trotting along behind. The duo walked down to the commissioner's office, Leo's hands full of paperwork on the case. When Max opened the door, he found a red-headed woman at the desk, sorting through files.

"Hello there, Ma'am, you must be the secretary…Um, could you tell me when the commissioner will be back?" Max inquired with a smile.

"Max…" Leo whispered, nudging his friend.

"Not now, LeBlanc," Max brushed his friend's warnings off, "Do you think we could leave a number with you, at least? Here, I'll write it down for you and everything…"

"Max, she is the commissioner!" Leo whispered desperately, being sure to conceal his face from her with his stack of paperwork.

"Oh… Oh! My apologies!" Max laughed heartily, "Yes, what do you know… Hee hee… Commissioner's name is 'Cecilia'…. Hee hee… Must, must need new glasses…."

"Leo LeBlanc and Koichi Zenigata, I presume…" she sighed tiredly.

"Actually," Max started, "it's—"

"I was told about both of you… More rather, I was warned… By all of your peers and thensome… You, Mister Zenigata, are the son of the notorious inspector…. And you, Mister LeBlanc, who seems to have come from nowhere…. Mister LeBlanc, could I see your face, please?"

"Um… Y-yeah…. Sorry," Leo replied shyly, lifting his head above the paperwork.

"You may set that down on my desk…. I'll look through it later…" she replied, "Mister LeBlanc, you worked here as a translator, first…. How'd you get promoted?"

"I took online courses," replied Leo.

She gave a long pause, but did not give her emotions away by her facial expressions, but her mouth slightly twitched upon this news, "I'll go over the paperwork myself…Mister Zenigata, you are dismissed… I must have a word with Mister LeBlanc, however…"

'Oh, crap! I'm sunk!' thought Leo worriedly as he watched Max exit, a look of confusion and worry upon his face.

Cecilia stood, and walked over to Leo, "You can lay the paperwork over there, thank you."

"Uh, sure," Leo nodded, and set the large pile onto the table. He then turned and gave a weak and nervous smile to the commissioner, "Well, I guess I'll be going, now…. Hee hee… Nice to meet you, Commissioner— Uh, I didn't catch your last name, and my reading glasses are in my office…"

"It doesn't matter…" she replied, "So, the Lupin case must leave you incredibly busy…"

"Oh, you bet! I go in between thinking I'm married to my work and married to Max!" Leo chuckled.

"You two are an item?" she inquired, turning to Leo.

"No!" Leo yelped, "Um… Everyone thinks that, b-but we aren't…"

"Oh, I see," she stepped closer to Leo, "When do you leave next?"

"Hrm? Um… Tomorrow…"

"How about dinner tonight, then?" she asked.

"Um… You… And me?"

She nodded, "My treat, even! I suppose you'd consider me a little unethical in that sense…"

"No, I love the idea of it!" Leo smiled sheepishly, "My finances aren't looking that great, as of recent… I let Max balance out my account—Big mistake. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but he can't count if he keeps his shoes on…"

"Well, perhaps we could work on pooling together some funding, so that you two can continue to search for Lupin," said Cecilia with a smile which unnerved Leo.

The Next Day, Three A.M., Max and Leo's apartment:

"Five minutes, and I go look for him…" Max said aloud as another minute was overtaken on the cable box of their television, "Where is he? He's never stayed out this later before…. I hope something didn't happen to him…. W-What if he's dead in a ditch somewhere-- And I have that guilt!? Where the hell is my coat?" he wondered to himself as he rose and frantically began to search for his jacket. Just as he located it (in the kitchen) he heard the door open, and he quietly drew his gun, and slowly walked out into the living room. Leo gave a yell of surprise, as did Max, when Max rushed out.

"Leo! Where the hell have you been!?" snapped Max, "Do you have any idea how worried I've—Where were you!?"

"Dinner turned into a lot more, and…. Um, let's just say that we're getting a lot of funding to continue chasing the Lupin gang…" replied Leo with a cough.

"Did you….?"

"Listen, I'm really drunk, right now… So I'm going to go lie down…." he muttered, tripping over his shoes as he stumbled into his room and crashed down onto his bed. He was nearly asleep when he heard someone walk into his bedroom. He lifted his head, and saw Max in his room, holding what looked to be a cup of fresh coffee.

"I hear it stops headaches caused by hangovers… I read it in a medical journal somewhere," Max explained as he passed the cup of coffee to a bewildered Leo, "Have a good night, Pal. Rest up—We've got a long, long flight tomorrow morning…"

"Um, thanks, Zenigata…." said Leo slowly, sipping and cringing at the bitterness of the coffee. It wasn't a bad kind of bitter, like he was accustomed to—More rather, it was the best coffee he had ever tasted…. Thank God Max could at least cook, thought Leo as he watched Zenigata exit the bedroom, shutting the door as he left.

"Poor little creep… Can't help but feel sorry for him, sometimes…" Max mumbled as he shut his own bedroom door and went to undoing his necktie, "I mean, he has to be drunk to go out with someone and not freak out… I wonder what the hell happened to him, sometimes…" He finished preparing for bed, and laid down upon his mattress, hoping for a restful night's sleep. He found this was not meant to be as he heard his door open, and he looked upward to see Leo standing in front of him, looking as sheepish as ever.

"Um… This'll sound really juvenile, but… I had this really, really bad dream… Again…" Leo explained, scratching the back of his head and looking downward at the ground. Max heaved a breath heavily, pulled back the covers, turned on a light, and put his glasses on.

"You pick out a movie… I'll make some popcorn… We can sleep on the flight there…" Max muttered tiredly as he shuffled out to the kitchen.

"Thanks again, Max…"

"Eh, no problem…" Max yawned as he flipped on the kitchen light switch and went to preparing food for their movie.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, the Jigen residence:

"Hey, Mom, where are Ryo, Yuki, Fuji and the bastard—er, Toshiro?" asked Ally with a smirk as he stood next to his mother, who was baking in the kitchen of the residence, "I want them to meet my friend…"

"They're in the basement… Your dad went into town with 'Chiko to buy something for dinner," answered Ming as she removed a cake from the oven and sat it down on a metal grating, in order to cool it, "You want something, Ally? Cakes, muffins, cookies….?"

"Um, not now, Mom," replied Ally, who secretly disliked such sweets but refrained from telling his mother so. He smiled, and walked back out into the living room, where Carmen was sitting upon a couch. Heiji and Odori were bickering as usual, this time over a movie that the two had found on cable.

"Come on, they're downstairs…" Ally said excitedly, taking her by the hand and leading her down into the basement. Carmen let out a gasp, and Ally's face flushed as they entered the den. Ryo, Fuji and Toshiro sat around a wooden table, a board game in the center. All were in different states of undress as they played the game.

"What in the world are you three doing!?" Ally yelped.

"Well, we couldn't find cards for a game of poker, so we opted for strip Candyland," replied Fuji.

"Ryo, you agreed to it!?" Ally yelped.

Ryo shrugged, "What have I got to lose? I grew up with these guys, anyway…"

"I was just tricked into playing this…" Toshiro replied solemnly.

"We had him under the impression that Yukiko'd be playing, too," Fuji chuckled as she moved her piece a few places. Toshiro glared at Fuji from across the table, but made no protest to Fuji's claims.

"Is that Carmen?" Ryo gasped.

"Yeah…" Ally replied through a gritted-tooth smile.

"Hey!" Fuji waved back to Carmen, "You two want in?"

"Um, no thank you… But thank you for the generous offer," replied Carmen with a nervous smile.

"How about you, Ally?" asked Fuji.

"No, thanks… I'm going to show her around the place, actually… Hey, where's Yukiko?" Ally inquired, looking around the den for his sister.

"Probably out shooting something, is my guess," Ryo shrugged, "Okay, Fuji… Your loss… And those high heels are looking nice…"

"Let's get out of here before you suffer from any more trauma, shall we?" Ally suggested.

"Sounds wonderful. Well, let's be off, then!" said Carmen with a beaming smile.

Ally breathed a sigh of relief, and walked with her at his side back up the stairs and into the first story of the home. "Come on, I'll show you my room!" he said, leading her up another flight. There were numerous doors down the long hall of the home, and there was no question as to whose room was whose. Ryo's room was filled with old western memorabilia, Yukiko's was filled with different sorts of guns shown off on the walls, and Ally's carried a great deal of hockey-related objects.

"My goodness!" Carmen laughed as she looked about the room, "We'll have to assemble a hockey league back home! Hm, just think… A royal who assembled Europe's first serious hockey team…"

"Heh, it could work," Ally shrugged, seating himself on his bed and looking upward at her, "I wonder if Prince Charles likes hockey…"

"He isn't very fond of it, actually," Carmen replied.

"How do you know that?" asked Ally.

"Mother and I had dinner with him a few nights ago," Carmen answered.

"Well, well, well… You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Ally chuckled, stopping and placing his hands on her waist, and then leaning down to kiss her.

"Awww…. That's so sweet!" Fuji cooed as she glanced out of the basement window. She turned back to Ryo and Toshiro, who were putting away the board game—Odori had come down after Ally and Carmen and threatened to chop off each of their heads if they didn't knock off the sick game they were playing, "Well, I'm heading upstairs, to talk to Ming…"

"Hey, Fuji, could you talk with my dad later? He was acting a little weird earlier…" said Ryo.

"He lives with Sachiko! Who wouldn't act weird!?" Fuji chuckled as she began to climb up the stairs. She looked up at the top of the flight, and saw Sachiko staring down at her with an icy glare. Jigen stood behind Sachiko, and he nervously turned from Fuji and his daughter and pushed his fedora over his eyes, and whistled shrilly as he turned away from the duo.

"Hee hee… Sachi-chan…… How are you? Good, I hope?" said Fuji with a wide smile.

"I'm going to go get some bread!" Sachiko called to her parents. She shot Fuji one last cold glare, which sent chills down Lupin's spine, and then vanished.

"Idiot!" Ryo yelled.

"Whaddya think you were doin'!?" Toshiro shrieked in a thicker-than usual Brooklyn accent. Ryo walked over to Fuji, and smacked her upside the head. Fuji moaned, and rubbed the sore area.

"Ow! You don't have to be so mean!" Fuji whined.

"Do you ever think without opening your mouth first!?" Ryo asked angrily.

"Well…"

"Her brain's been saturated with Chanel No. 5… There aren't enough cells left to maintain life and thinking ability at the same time…" Toshiro mumbled.

"You sounded a lot like your dad just then, did you know that?" Fuji said after a pause.

"Up stairs, Fuji… Before you get Toshiro made at you, too," sighed Ryo tiredly, "I'm never having children…. I'm already raising one!"

"Amen to that…" grumbled Toshiro as he watched Fuji scale the flight of stairs, all the time rubbing her sore head.

Later that night, after an especially tense dinner (without Yukiko, who had gone missing), Fuji pulled Jigen aside, and began her interrogation of the former gunman.

"I got this in a magazine a few weeks back…" replied Jigen, retrieving an article from underneath his fedora.

"Yeah… An Egyptian mask… Big deal is?" Fuji shrugged.

"Here," Jigen took the article from her, and walked into the den with her, "Ming actually spotted this… My vision isn't that great anymore, you know…" he walked her over to a white machine in a corner that looked like an oversized microscope with a screen. He flipped a light on, and placed the paper on the flat surface. The same article appeared on the screen, but much, much larger.

"What in the world is this thing?" Fuji inquired.

"It helps people whose vision isn't the best to read small print," replied Jigen.

"Have you gotten any more surgeries lined up, Old Man?" asked Fuji.

"Two… If the first one works, I'll have some vision restored to my blind eye…. I'm only doing it because I actually want to see my kids, and my grandkids… This'll be my seventeenth surgery…" he sighed tiredly, "Your dad's great, though, Fuj… He found some of the best doctors on the planet to help me… And, as much as I hate to admit this…. Your mom helped out, too…. She's the one who found this doctor… Anyway, here's what I wanted to show you—I thought this might interest you…"

"That looks like my dad!" Fuji gasped as she squinted to see someone who looked nearly exact to her father, "B-but it's not him! That guy's too young! And Uncle Remy's too old too! When was this taken?"

"A few months ago…" replied Jigen.

"Then it couldn't be Ari! And Victor was in Indonesia during that time…" Fuji muttered, "Who in the world is that?"

"I've talked with Goemon, Lupin, and Amaya… Amaya says that this definitely isn't doctored, and your dad's freaked out over it," said Jigen as he glanced at the screen, "We're pretty sure there's only two explanations…"

"Which are?"

"One, it's some guy who looks up to your dad and has gone as far as modeling his looks after Lupin… Or two, you and Ari have a little brother who's carrying out the family business. Neither would surprise me, honestly, as many fans as your dad's made and as much as he's screwed around…" Jigen muttered.

"What do you mean by carrying on the family business?" asked Fuji.

"This article's about how this mask went missing exactly seven hours after this photo shoot," Jigen answered, "The thief left part of a page on the pedestal where it stood. I retrieved a real-size copy of the page, but I can't find any matching pages in my collection, the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress or Google!" sighed Jigen.

"What about my dad? He ought to know about this stuff!" said Fuji, taking the page from Jigen.

"Well, I… I don't think that's very smart, Fuji… But then again, your family's never been really big on common sense… You see what he does… I have a fax machine down at the far end…" said Jigen, waving Fuji off and exiting the room. Fuji smirked, walked over to the fax machine, and dialed her home's number. It went through, and Fuji whistled as she waited for a response. The nearby telephone rang a few moments later.

"Jigen, what kind of a sicko are you!?" Lupin shrieked into the receiver.

"Um… Dad, it's me…" Fuji cleared her throat, and tried to quell the ringing in her ear as she did so.

"Oh, hey, Fuji! Is Jigen there...? After all of these years, his still as mean as ever…" Lupin muttered annoyedly.

"Did you get my fax?" inquired Fuji.

"Y-you sent that?" Lupin choked.

"Yep!" Fuji replied, "Well, do you know what it says?"

"Honey, baby, sweetheart, I love you and you know I'd do anything to help you… Except help you with this," replied Lupin.

"W-Why?" asked Fuji.

"Listen, it's a long story and it's very humiliating so Jigen ought to have a ball telling you!" said Lupin, "I've got to go now, Fuji… Your mom's dragging me to a play… The New York cast of CATS… I'm surprised Toshiro's not in it…"

"He was in the traveling cast five years ago," explained Fuji, "Dad, please, I'm begging you!"

"Good bye, Fuji…" and then silence.

"Grr…. You'll see what happens when a spoiled brat doesn't get her way!" growled Fuji as she slammed the phone down, "Apparently he forgets that I'm a princess… And I always get my way…. Come hell or high water…" She swiveled about, and walked out into hall, where she could get a good view of the living room. Ally and Carmen were downstairs, on the couch, watching the television and speaking with one another quietly.

"At least one of us isn't alone at the end of the day," she said with a smirk, "Hey, Romeo—Get the gang together, okay?!"

"I still can't find Yukiko, though!" replied Ally, "No one's seen her all day!"

"We'll worry about her later… As of now, we've got some very tricky business on our hands…" replied Fuji with a smirk.