DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin, but I do own Spellcheck… And I should make more use of it, no?
Hey!
Yes, yes, I did make mistakes. I'll admit… A lot of long-time readers especially know that those happen with me often… My brain tends to do this funny thing, where it stops dead sometimes… But it's okay to point it out—If I screw up, let me know… I'll also admit that's a heck of a lot of responses I got on Max… After thirty-three chapters of wondering, it was time to come clean with the little guy… And I'm glad that there's a happy consensus… Well, I don't do chapter dedications very often, but this one goes to my father…
Chapter Thirty-Four
A Little While Later: My Boyfriend's Back
Fun Fact of Boredom: Yukiko's suit color was chosen because of her name, which translates into 'snow'.
'Whatever happened to
the life that we once knew?
Can we really live without each other?
Where did we lose the touch,
That seemed to mean so much?'
—The Beatles, 'Free as a Bird'
San Francisco, California, about three years ago:
"You're kidding… That's a Rabbi?" muttered one young man to another as he laid eyes upon the yellow-haired Asian with a somewhat nervous look upon his face, "…Oh, this is going to be fun, hee hee…"
The two approached the blond boy, and chuckled as they looked him over. He was somewhat disheveled in appearance, with a pair of round glasses accenting his face. It was fall, and he wore a dark denim jacket, black turtleneck and dark-colored jeans.
"Hey, how do you do…?" one sniggering boy inquired.
"Fine, thanks… I'm Max," said Max with a weak smile. He stuck out his hand to shake, but watched in horror and shock as the boy instead bowed. Max cringed… He already knew the direction of this conversation…
"So… What are you, Chinese?" inquired one boy.
"Japanese and English-Israeli," replied Max.
"Well, could you answer a question for me, then?"
Max sighed, "…Sure… What?"
"Is sushi kosher!?" he laughed wildly; the other soon joined in the laughter, but this discontinued as Max watched them fly through the air. Max remained in a stunned state as he watched them land in a nearby fountain, and saw a smiling boy in their place.
"Sounded like they were bothering you…" said the boy with an Eastern-European accent, "I'm Jacob…"
"Max… Max Zenigata…" replied Max coyly.
"Nice to meet you, Max!" Jacob said happily, "Hey, you're not related to Natasha Zenigata, are you!?"
"She's my mom…"
"She teaches my little sister self-defense!" Jacob continued with a laugh, "She taught me how to do that move you saw back there…"
"…I though that looked familiar…."
"Come on, we'll go get something to eat… What do you say?"
"Not sushi, right?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of Italian," Jacob responded, placing a hand upon one of Max's shoulders and laughing, "We'll take my car, okay? You don't even look like you're old enough to ride a bike! How old are you—Fifteen, sixteen?"
"I'm turning seventeen in a few weeks…" Max answered as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Well, you really are precise, huh!? You should be a detective or something!" Jacob added.
"Eh… No, thanks…." Max responded, "So, you really want to be a Rabbi?"
"Well… My family wants me to… How about you?"
"It was this or the military academy, and I didn't want anyone shaving my head or ending up as someone's bitch anytime soon."
Jacob nodded understandingly, "Yeah… You'd be better looking if you kept it long like that… Hey, Sushi Boy, what's with the weird look? Come on, let's get going!"
Better looking? Max cleared his throat, and followed Jacob into the school parking lot, and into Jacob's vehicle.
Present Time, a Romanian Hotel Room:
"… And then…?" Leo inquired intently as Max took a long pause.
"And then!?" Zenigata exclaimed, "And then what!?"
"Well… What happened?" Leo asked, "There must've been more if your parents hated this guy so much that they got you out of that school and away from him!"
"You're a freakin' pervert! I told you before, I don't like to talk about this… And why I'm telling you all of this, anyway!? I should've just kept my mouth shut and let this die!"
"No way—This is like some kind of independent film I used to sneak in to see as a kid in France! You know… Those really weird ones about the artists and soldiers and whatever…" Leo protested, "Boy meets boy at a synagogue...."
"Listen, it wasn't that simple!" snapped Max, "Jake was the first person in my whole damn life who bothered to stand up for me! I thought I could get protection from being in a gang of hoods, but they were almost as mean to me as those punks… There was only one other person like that who protected me, but I was just a little kid, then! And he's gone, anyway!"
"Jeeze, Zenigata… I never knew you had it that rough…"
"There's a lot you don't know… And there's a lot you should have never known…" Max said darkly.
"Why haven't you ever told anyone about that?" inquired Leo.
"What would you do if you did something bad…. If you could see my juvenile record, your jaw would hit the damn floor… Wouldn't you try to hide a past like that?" Max asked passionately.
"…Yeah, I guess so…" Leo nodded, "Well, let's get back to work…"
"What are we doing here, anyway? Aren't we supposed to be watching Lupin—Who's still in Chicago!?" Max asked irritably.
"Some big business guy… He said we were the only ones for the job…" replied Leo, "He said he'd sue Interpol for everything they had if he didn't get his way…"
"I'm guessing he was drunk when he filed the report, then…" Max quipped. Leo looked back, and glared.
"He'll be here any minute, so I'd pretty yourself up…" said Leo.
"Why bother? Probably just some confused fat-cat who's become deluded with wealth and power… Ah, to live the good life…" Max sighed.
"Here he is…" Leo said as he peered out of the window and then walked to the door, "Could you at least put your ashtray away? It's not really professional…"
"Screw it… Since when have we been professional?" Max laughed as he rose out of his chair straightened his tie. The door opened, but Max refrained from looking at who was standing in the doorway.
"Er, step right in, Sir… And please pardon my partner's rudeness…" Leo said with annoyance as he shut the door.
"Oh, it's no problem… Sushi boy and me go way back, anyway…" Max shot his head in the direction of the voice, and gaped.
"Jake…?" Max choked.
"Jake!?" Leo shrieked in surprise.
Chicago:
"Mom, why is Carmen doing dishes in the kitchen?" Ally inquired as he walked over to his mother, who was mindlessly flipping through television channels.
"She wanted to… Apparently, she's never done dishes before… So I let her! I was going to get your father to do it, anyway…" replied Ming breezily.
"Hey!" Jigen shouted from upstairs, "I'm already working!"
"You're helping Goemon with a crossword… Well, on second thought, that is harder work…" Ming said with thought.
"All finished, Li Yan!" said Carmen happily.
"Terrific, Honey! How about you let Mom show you how to sweep, now?" Ming said with a tone of excitement in her voice.
"I've never done that, either…" Carmen said with a pause.
"Well, there's a first time for everything, right? And plus, I'm sure you and Ally will be spending a whole lot of time here when you two get married!" said Ming, chuckling innocently as she laid eyes upon Ally's expression of disdain, "You'll be able to help me out with these things while I help you with the grandkids!"
"Grandkids!?" Jigen shouted, "Daisuke Allen, is there something you wanted to friggin' let me know ahead of time!?"
"Wha—I… I didn't…. I, I would never!..." Ally sputtered.
"One call… One call, and you freak out!" Yukiko shouted as Toshiro pursued her through the living room.
"Oh thank God, they're at it now!" Ally said under his breath with great relief.
"One call--And lunch, too!" Toshiro snapped, "When were you going to tell me!?"
"When it started to be your damn business, which it hasn't!" Yukiko shouted in return.
"He gave you his phone number!"
"He wanted tips on how to handle his daughter!"
"Yeah, and maybe also some on how to get you into his room, as well!" Toshiro snapped bitterly.
"You'd just be jealous that it wasn't you…" Yukiko hissed.
"You're damn right!" Toshiro replied. Yukiko looked at Toshiro with great contempt while the samurai's expression turned to horror when he realized what he had said, and she began to lift up a Chinese vase and aim it for Toshiro's head when Ryo and Fuji grabbed her from behind.
"Just the skull… Wouldn't be like I was hurting anything, considering he thinks with his pants half the time!" Yukiko shouted as Fuji and Ryo struggled to hold her back.
"I'm going to go train…" Toshiro said, storming towards the back yard.
"Yeah, you go do that! I hope you fall into that pool and drown your red-headed ass, ya damn tomato!"
"Tomato! My, aren't we clever…?" Toshiro said dryly as he slammed the door to the back yard.
"Yukiko, what happened?" Ryo asked as she let go of the hold on her sister.
"I'm out at lunch, and I all of a sudden I see him from across the street! So, naturally, like any good friend would do, I go over and slam his head with the nearest trashcan lid!" Yukiko replied, gritting her teeth together, "He starts bitching that I put him into a concussion, and then Daniel comes over and--"
"Woah, woah… Backup… Daniel? Like Dakota's dad, Daniel?" Ryo said with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah—What's the big damn deal with that?" Yukiko asked, "It was just lunch!"
"And Hector was just taking you out for drinks…" Fuji snorted.
"Hey, I can go out, too, you know!"
"But usually… When people ask you out… People get hurt…" said Ryo uncomfortably, "I've never known you to have a safe date in your life…"
"Jesus! I'm goin' upstairs!" Yukiko announced, stomping up the stairs and nearly running over Heiji and Veronica, who was still staying with the family.
Yukiko opened her door, and slammed it, and fell back into her seat. She glanced out the window, and noticed Toshiro was practicing with his swords, "Oh… Trying to prove you're a man with your swords, huh? Hee hee… You're no different than any other man… You act like it, but you're not." She continued to watch him, and glared, "Damn son of a… How could he… I mean, really!? How could he do that.…? Spy on me like that! Oh, there goes the shirt… Must be really pissed, eh, Toshi-chan? You're probably pretending that that tree's anyone who's ever been interested in me, right? My dad's going to kill you for chopping up his apple trees…"
She continued spying on him, and eventually leaned back in her chair, in a more relaxed position, while offering her own commentary, "Why are you walking around now, hm? Must be looking for something small and helpless to kill so you can feel like the big strong man again, huh? Yeah, you'll probably cook it too, huh?"
"Yuki, why are you talking to yourself? I thought you got over that stage…" Yukiko nearly fell out of her seat as Ming stood in the doorway, but regained her balance by grabbing onto a desk and setting the chair on all four of its wooden legs.
"Um… No reason…" Yukiko replied, clearing her throat.
"What are you looking at, then?" Ming closed the door, and looked out Yukiko's window. Ming whistled, "Wow… He's really built, huh? I always heard dancers were pretty good looking, but I had no idea!"
"Ew! You used to baby-sit him!" Yukiko moaned in disgust.
"Yeah, well, that was a baby… This is something completely different!" Ming moved away from the window, and chuckled, "I heard all about your little scuffle with him…"
"Yeah, and?" Yukiko snapped, "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked as Ming removed her fedora and laid it aside on the bed. The Chinese woman then picked up a brush, and began to run it through Yukiko's long hair, tossing the hair band that held it together aside aimlessly.
"Remember when I used to dress you up?" Ming said dreamily.
"Yeah… I always looked like the child bride of a Yakuza lord… Ouch!" Yukiko yelped as Ming swiftly tapped her on the head with the wooden brush.
"I want to do that again… I never get to, anymore, with you girls out of the house! And Sachiko doesn't exactly fully trust me and your father, right now… So I guess it's good thing I'm having a couple of others! Even though your dad's a little more than freaked out…" Ming sighed as she opened a dresser drawer and pulled out bobby pins from a small container, "We're going to make you look adorable!"
"I'm a bodyguard… We don't look 'adorable'… We look tough… We look discreet…" Yukiko replied.
"Uh-huh… You must have your father's vision, then, because last time I checked, white wasn't exactly a stealthy color… Now hold still while I do this!"
"Hm…" Yukiko grumbled as Ming tugged at her long hair, and continued to watch from out of her window at the still-practicing Toshiro, who now removed both of his swords from their sheathes and swung them about in an almost dance-like fashion. He was more graceful than she had realized, she thought as she watched him. He rarely looked like that, as a matter of fact, she also realized. This was definitely the country boy with the love for Elvis… This was someone who was nearly thirty, had nearly started a family, and had become the closest to normalcy out of any of them. And he was also in love with her, she added with an outward shudder.
If he had enjoyed that normal life once, why would he not want to return to it? This was what she was afraid of… She had never known a normal life—Oddity was the norm in her world. How could she ever live a normal life in a house, settling down and starting a family or getting a job?
But perhaps he enjoyed the stranger life of a thief… He had gone back to it, after all… And if he didn't mind living on the road, then… Well, he did look exactly like his father, and Goemon had been exceptionally attractive at Toshiro's age… Many girls wanted Toshiro, this was no secret… But he rarely strayed away from Yukiko (with the exceptions of Lisa and Julia).
'Did he still feel that way when he was with Julie?' Yukiko thought with a wide-eyed chill of horror.
"All done!" Ming said cheerily.
"Hm? What…?" Yukiko had been too deep within her thoughts to pay attention to Ming. She looked over at herself in the mirror, and sighed… She had a traditional Chinese pulled-back hairstyle, showing her otherwise oblivious widow's peak which all of the Jigen children possessed, "Uh… Very nice… Thanks, Mom… Eh hee hee… I'll get going now…"
"Glad you like it! Well, see you around, Yuki!" Ming waved her off, and Yukiko let out a heavy sigh as she began exit, but quickly stopped dead as her father's presence darkened the doorway.
"We've got to talk…" Jigen said sternly. "Ming, why don't you check on Carmen and Ally? I heard a pretty loud crash early, and that worries me…"
"I'm on it!" Ming saluted, and exited out of the bedroom. Jigen closed the door behind her, and leaned against it.
"Okay…" Jigen started, "You're basically the female mirror of me, so I know already that you're going to be difficult to talk to…"
"What is it, Dad?" Yukiko rolled her eyes tiredly, "If this is one thing about Toshiro, I'm gonna—"
"Lupin's inviting everyone over for Christmas…" Jigen said with a gulp.
"Everyone?"
"Everyone," Jigen repeated sternly, "The new Lupin gang, the Ishikawa—tribe, the Zenigatas—including Max! Us, and even Ari!"
"Is Goemon and his family going to show?" asked Yukiko worriedly.
"Are you kidding!? Amaya, not having to cook for nine alone for once…! They've already bought their damn tickets!" Jigen shouted, "This reeks of trouble…"
"Tell me about it…" Yukiko said with a shake of the head.
Both looked at one another hopelessly, "What in the friggin' hell are we gonna do!?"
Romania:
"I… I heard you were still in California!" Max sputtered.
"I do a lot of business here…" Jake replied, "I've seen you and Mister LeBlanc in the papers… There isn't that much good about you two, but, hey, I know you're still the same good ole' Max! Ha ha…. Hey, Inspector, is he still the same little hothead!?"
"You bet!" Leo smirked in return, "I'm going to go out for a smoke…"
"But you don't—" Max started as Leo grabbed Max's cigarettes from the nightstand and placed one in his mouth.
"Hey, you should know better than anyone that there's a first time for everything, Max… I'll see you guys later… Have fun playing catch-up!" and with those words spoken and a cold glare exchanged, Leo exited the hotel room, leaving Max and Jacob together.
"So… I hear you're married now…" Max began as he made himself look busy amongst his files.
"Yeah… She's really great…. And it looks like you've got yourself someone, too!" Jacob added, "He seems like a real sweetheart…"
"He's… We're just friends…"
"Really? Well, that's a damn shame! He's a nice looking guy…. And you always liked brunettes, too!"
"I know," Max nodded, "Jake, let's cut to the chase… Why are you here?" he asked tiredly, sitting down on the bed and looking upward at Jacob.
"Because I need help, basically, and you're the only one I know who's good at this sort of stuff! You don't get on the Lupin IV case by being a complete idiot!"
"Er… Yeah… So, what's the job?"
"I had something stolen…" Jacob started, "It's very important… It's a Torah that belonged to my family… It was headed down through the centuries… I have no idea where it is…"
"You have no leads at all?" Max choked.
"No, but I have a good idea on how to get it…" Jacob started, seating himself next to Max and smiling, "You're going to think I'm crazy, Pal, but trust me on this, okay? I've never let you down before!"
"No, you haven't… Now, what's your plan?"
"We have Lupin try to steal it…"
"What!?"
"Now, bear with me… We put out an article in a prominent paper talking about how valuable it is… She becomes intrigued, you follow her lead to the source, and we take it back that way! She does the research, you get your men, and I walk away with what's mine…."
"That's playing so many backwards cards… Hey, you've still got it!" Max chirped happily, "Okay… I'll run it by Leo… I hope he likes it…"
"He doesn't usually like your ideas?"
"Well, I've come up with some pretty crazy ones, I'll admit… But this idea seems as though it'll really work!"
"I've still got it, all right…" Jacob chuckled, "And how about you, huh?"
"What's that mean?" Max asked, blinking naively a few times. Jacob leaned inward, and immediately Max's face reddened. Jake laughed as he retracted his face from Zenigata's, and patted Max on the back.
"Yep—Still the same ole' Zenigata!" Jake said with a smile, "I'm happy, you know, but sometimes I can't help but think what a pity it was that I didn't know you had a thing for me until it was too late… What happened to you after your mom caught us, anyway?"
"I… I have to get to work on writing that article…" Max whispered, and rose from the bed, "You can stay, if you want… There's coffee over there, and Pringles somewhere in this sty…"
"Coffee and Pringles… And I thought that Ramen and Snapple was gross…" Jacob said with a dry smile, "I'll go try and find it… You just stay put, Sushi Boy… Took me long enough to find you again, hee hee…."
The Jigen Household:
"What's this ribbon for?" Carmen inquired as she peered into the shadowbox picture frame in the hall.
"Dance competition…" Ally replied, "Ryo and Dad…. Ryoko was about fifteen when she won… Ming broke her foot about that time…. So Ryo went with Dad…. They weren't half bad, either!"
"Did your father teach you to dance as well?" Carmen asked with amusement.
"…Um, maybe…" Ally coughed, and Carmen gave a small giggle in return.
"I'd love to live here someday…" Carmen said with a smile as she continued to walk down the hall.
"What? And give up the palace?" Ally inquired as though she were mad, "But aren't you your mom's only kid? What'll happen to the country? What'll happen to your mom?"
"I don't know," Carmen's voice cracked, "That's the part that confuses me… If I make you move to Cagliostro, I know you'll be miserable! But there's no one else to run the country… I have to…"
Ally's mouth twitched; she was right, it would mean giving up a lot on his part… He wouldn't be able to go out with the Lupin gang anymore if he was settled down, and he certainly would have no luck with hockey there; few villagers had heard of the sport, and, growing up, hockey (and then, following close behind, martial arts) had been his life. And he would also be many, many hours from his family and friends…. Heiji, Ryo, Yuki, Dori, Fuji… Even Toshiro, he would miss. He couldn't even read the native language of the country… It would be like dropping him in the middle of Panama with nothing for supplies except a worn jackknife and a box of matches.
"I'll go," said Ally with a pause.
"What?" Carmen spun around in surprise.
"The only time I'm miserable is when I'm not with you… I know that sounded extremely mushy, but I meant every damn word of it…"
"What about Fujiko?"
"She'll hate me, but she'll have to get over herself…" Ally replied, "I'll try to talk to her later… My dad's going to be upset, I know… He'll just think it's a mistake guided by young love… And, who the heck knows… Maybe he's right… But he could always be wrong!"
"We can talk about things like that later…" Carmen sighed, "But right now, I think that you would be making a mistake in giving up everything, especially when you have so much going for you! I'll always have a palace, and I'll always have that title looming over me… You only have today to enjoy… I'm sort of jealous that you don't have a high title hanging over your head…"
"What, are you kidding me!? My name's Daisuke Jigen—That's quite a title, too!" Ally laughed, "Everyone immediately thinks I'm the gunman of the group, but that's undoubtedly Yukiko… Just like people distrust Ryo a little more because she looks so much like mom! Sometimes I think I only have this haircut because it makes it a little harder for people to see the similarity between me and my old man…"
Carmen reached upward, and pulled his bangs back. Both she and Ally eyed the photo of Jigen's father, hatless in this particular photo, and Ally's reflection upon the glass of it, and Carmen blinked a few times in shock; Ally was exactly like Jigen, minus the beard. A smile grew upon her face, and she laughed.
"It's quite all right, Allen… I look exactly like my mother!" Carmen chuckled.
"Yeah, but your mom doesn't look like a less-masculine version of the Wicked Witch of the West…" Ally sighed, brushing his bangs down over his eyes and studying the picture a little more before Carmen continued to walk down the hall.
They heard the clinking of bottles, and both stopped dead, "Who's in the wine cellar?" Ally inquired, peaking his head in to the dimly-lit wine cellar.
"Now you talk about your childhood wishes… You can even eat the dishes! Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream? Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream? The Candyman… The Candyman can… The Candyman can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good!" Odori sang drunkenly as she sat upon the floor, several emptied wine bottles lying about her. She looked upward, and let out a long, long stream of laughter, and slumped back onto the floor, "Hey hee hee hee… Ally, you wanna come have a drink?"
Ally whistled, "Well, she's out of it…"
"How much did you drink, Miss Odori?" Carmen inquired worriedly.
"Er… This many… Hee hee… This is four, right?" she asked with a giggle, holding up six fingers.
Ally slapped his forehead and grumbled, "C'mon… What possessed you to do this, anyway?"
"What can I say…? If it's 38' Chardonnay, I'm a sucker…" replied Odori, "And since that was such a good year, I thought I'd try the Bourbon… And then about four others whose names I can't quite remember… I'm pretty sure this isn't wine, though, hee hee… I think I drank your mom's Pinesol, again, ha ha HA!"
"Well, let's hope they won't have to pump your stomach, like last time," Ally grumbled, bending down and beginning to lift her, "Could you help me get her to her room, before she starts singing Irish drinking songs…"
"She'll do that?"
"Eventually," said Ally with a roll of the eyes, picking Odori up like a small child (which was not hard, for the samurai only stood slightly over five feet) and carrying her up the stairs, "Hey, lookin' a little green there, Dori… You gonna be okay?"
"Sure… I… Oh God… I hate boats… I always get seasick…" Odori said sickly.
Later:
"I am so sorry, Carmen," said Ally once again as he and his girlfriend stood in the bathroom.
"It's all right… There's first time for everything, I suppose… Doing dishes… Sweeping… Being vomited on by a drunk…" Carmen said with her best attitude as she continued to clean her blouse off with the towel Ally had provided.
"I'll try to find you something to wear…" Ally said, "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere!" he added, exiting the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom and walking out into his mother and father's room. Ming was the closest to Carmen in matching size… What disturbed him was that he found nothing non-whorish that would fit in his mother's closest, but found a rather conservative young woman's blouse and skirt in his father's closet.
"Must be from your days disguising yourself, Dad… I hope…." Ally said with a shudder, "I wonder if he's got a garter and—Never mind! I don't wanna know!" he shook his head wildly, and trekked back to his room, where he found Carmen sitting upon his bed in a hockey jersey. Ally had never really seen her legs, and his face reddened, and he handed her the outfit while looking away, towards the television, which played an episode of Astroboy
"The tape was in your player…" Carmen said with a tone of concern.
"Um, yeah… Dad taught us Japanese by getting us all videos of Japanese cartoons… Mom taught us Chinese by yelling at Dad…" Ally replied.
"I'd love to learn it sometime," Carmen admitted.
"Okay… Um… Here's a word… Daisuki…"
"And what's that mean?"
"I love you," Ally answered.
"Well, you are clever… I will be right out," Carmen announced, taking the outfit and walking to the bathroom. Ally let out a long breath of air, and fell back on the bed.
"Jeeze… Gets harder all of the time…" he said to himself tiredly, rubbing his hands over his eyes. He turned as he heard the bathroom door open, and Carmen walked out in the pink short-sleeved blouse and matching blue skirt. It was about that time that Jigen entered, already having told Ryo of the happy news, and stared at her in horror a few moments, as if immediately placing where the outfit had come from.
"There something you need, Dad?" Ally inquired.
"Huh?" Jigen snapped out of his trance and turned to his son, "Me, I'm okay… I just came to check on you two, actually… Um… Nice dress, Carmen…"
"Thank you… It's tad broad in the shoulders, but besides that it's quite comfortable…" Carmen admitted.
"If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain…" the three heard drunkenly in a sudden burst of noise.
"Crap! I thought I had locked that door!" Ally mumbled, "I'll be right back… Odori! Get that lampshade off of your head, NOW!"
"Hrm… He's playing policeman, I guess…" Jigen said absently. He turned back to Carmen, and smirked, "Sorry that I couldn't see you with both eyes, Miss Cagliostro…"
"Allen told me about how you had difficulties with your vision…" Carmen said quietly, "It's quite a shame, considering how you used to be one of the best gunmen on the planet…"
"Yep, and I switched over to best stay-at-home dad on the planet, after that," said Jigen with a bittersweet chuckle, "It was rough seeing everyone go out on heists, and being stuck with the kids… But I got used to it… It was even harder seeing my fourteen-year-old turning into a pro sniper… Sometimes I still wonder if what I did was right… But, hey, I won't bring you down! You should enjoy your time with Ally… From what I understand Fuji's got something up her sleeve…"
"What?" Carmen choked.
"Yeah… I'm guessing you and Ally haven't heard yet, then… Crap…" Jigen said with a shudder, "I… I think I hear Ming calling me… Bye!"
"…Good bye…" Carmen said with a low voice as Jigen left her to sit alone on the bed in Ally's room.
Yukiko's Room:
"What was that?" Yukiko muttered as she looked toward the wall, where the noise had sounded from.
"If I wasn't mistaken, it was that Piña Colada song…." Ryo muttered, "Anyway, like I was saying…"
"Hey, Ryo-san, we've got an emergency!" Fuji announced, "I need you here, ASAP!"
"Sorry, Yuki… We'll finish up later…" Ryo said to her sister, rising from the desk and exiting with Fuji. In her stead, Toshiro walked in, holding his swords in one hand and his shirt in the other. Yukiko glared at him coldly a few moments, and then turned her attention back to a blank wall which possessed little more than furniture and a large poster of Al Capone.
"You don't have to give me the cold shoulder, you know… I came to apologize…" Toshiro said, throwing his swords upon the ground and sitting on the floor in front of her. He continued to speak as he pulled on his shirt, "Perhaps I was stalking… But I only wanted to make sure that you were all right! I don't think I deserved to be assaulted with a trash can lid, of all undignified things…"
"You deserved it… I never stalked you!" snapped Yukiko.
"You never stalked me when you thought I would notice…" Toshiro corrected, "But I did—And many times!"
Yukiko paused, "I was just protecting you…"
"What the hell do you think I was doing!?" Toshiro yelled in response, "Finally, a little clarity here!"
"Could we just forget it happened?" Yukiko said, rubbing her forehead.
"Yukiko… I just want to know why you're afraid of being anything more than a friend… You know I'd do anything for you, and you settle for people whose wives are in a comatose state or men who want to kill you… Please, for your own sake, if you find someone, make sure he's a decent person… I don't care if it's me… I'd love to have you as a girlfriend anytime, but above that, I want to see you happy… And if you're happy with someone else, I'll be happy for you… It won't be easy to watch, but I'll be happy… Just be wiser in your selection of companionship, I beg you… I have to go, now… Heiji informed me that Odori's trying to go to battle with a potted plant…"
He rose, and began to walk out of the room when he felt himself being held in place by something, or, someone, more rather. It was Yukiko, and she was keeping him in place by keeping a hand upon his shoulder. He looked downward in confusion, and she smiled.
"Listen, thanks…" Yukiko said with a smile, "It does mean a lot to know I've got a friend who cares about that crap…"
"It's no problem… After all, what are friends for?" Toshiro smirked. He closed the door, and leaned against it in the hallway, "Freakin' hell… My day can't possibly get much worse…"
"Oh, I'll bet it could, Toshiro…" Heiji said with a deep sigh, "I'll bet our days can get twenty times worse…"
"How? How in the freakin' hell could my Goddamn day get any damned worse than it is!? Odori's drunk, I'm depressed… How could it get worse, Heiji?"
"Fuji's having us pack our bags and head to Taiwan…" replied Heiji.
"And?"
"There's a martial arts convention in the same town we'll be staying in…"
"So?"
"There'll be guest judges there…"
"Where are you going with this, Heiji? Spit it out already!"
"Dad's been invited, and he's going… He's going to see his son, the six and a half foot red-head on the yellow Vespa with the American accent…."
"That's why Dori's drunk….Who the hell was I in a past life to deserve this?"
"Lupin the Second?" Heiji shrugged, "Well, you have fun visiting!"
"Why aren't you worried!?" Toshiro snapped.
"They knew I was going be a screw-up… Hey, wait, on second thought, maybe he won't be surprised at all!" Heiji said with a smirk, "And maybe while you're there, he'll forgive you for not being there when he needed you the most!"
"Heiji—" but it was too late. Heiji had slammed the door to his room, leaving Toshiro with even heavier thoughts than before, "Damn it, Heiji!" Toshiro growled, "That little bastard! I'm sure mom and dad will love to hear about some of your little exploits, too..."
"I heard that!" Heiji called, opening the door once more, "And for what it's worth, I think this'll help you out in a way…"
"What are you doing back here!?" Toshiro growled, "I don't want to talk to you right now!"
"There's a guy from the Rat Clan competing; I heard it on a web board… Supposedly this guy's a top assassin… And he claims to have some connection with the Ishikawa clan…."
"And what connection would that be?" Toshiro inquired with a snap. He watched as Heiji's expression hardened, and his younger brother closed his bedroom door, walked over to Toshiro, and whispered.
"Bad news is, Dad will be watching… Good news is, this guy claims to be the exact man who killed Julia…" said Heiji quietly. Toshiro's blood ran cold, and he stared at Heiji in disbelief, "Thought I'd let you know that, too, before you wanted to kill me anymore than you do… I don't hate you; you're just a disappointment as a big brother."
"I…"
"See you later, Toshiro…." Heiji said quietly with a seldom-heard solemn-ness, entering once again into his room, leaving Toshiro alone in the suddenly lonelier and darker hall.