DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin III, and I'm doubting ownership of my own sanity right now.
Hi, remember me?
Sorry about the long, long wait, but I have had a hell of a month… I mean a HELL of a month…. Anyway, I'll spare the details, but let's just say I thank God that I have the free time I do now to finish everything up. Thanks to all of the reviews and support—Trust me, it really brings a little ray of sunshine into my life. Anyway, please enjoy the following chapter, and sorry about the wait!
Chapter Thirty Six
A Short Period After Fuji's Great Escape: Brother, Brother
Fun Fact of Boredom: There's only one character in the trilogy who's been in every chapter—Yukiko Jigen.
'You say yes,
I say no,
You say stop,
But I say no, no, no'
—The Beatles, 'Hello Goodbye'
"He tried to WHAT?!" Leo shrieked.
"Yeah-huh… And I stopped them… Aren't you proud of me? All by myself, too… And I didn't even break a nail!" Fuji said with a chuckle, showing Leo one of her hands in pantomime, "No Ryo, no Heiji…"
"Jeeze, I can't believe you actually pulled off something without the left and right halves of your brain…" Leo muttered in disbelief.
"Ha ha…. And yet quite true… So, I suppose I'll be taking my payment now?"
"I told you I don't want to!"
"You go, or I tell Blondie you've got a huge crush on him… I'll write out love letters, and you know I can forge your handwriting…."
"Yeah; I remember the love letter 'I' sent to Goemon…" Leo said with annoyance.
"It was either you of Yukiko, and she was off in Russia with her family, shooting up a bunch of crap, as usual," said Fuji with a shrug, "The old man still kinda avoids you, doesn't he?"
"Considering you even put perfume on the note, I can't blame him," Leo replied, "I'll see what I can do… Now get out of my window before I smash in your pretty little fingers… And you know I'd do that…"
"Yeah, you've done that before…. I also recall you slamming my skirt into a window just to get back at me," Fuji said darkly as Leo approached the window. The door of the hotel room began to open, and Leo quickly shut the window. Fuji, unprepared for the quick slamming of the window, went flying off of the sill, and was only saved from falling to her doom at five stories by quickly gaining control of her grabbling hook.
"That little jerk…. Ah, well, I still love him," Fuji said as she rolled up her grappling hook, "Why I still bother with him still sometimes, though, I'll never really know…" She continued to mutter to herself as she strolled back to her car and hopped in, "Okay, someone's going to go home and spoil herself on Haagan Das… Just because she's been such a damn saint to certain ingrates… But, no matter…. He's going to that Christmas gathering, even if I have to steal him to get him there…"
The Next Morning:
"How's Toshiro's training going?" Ryo inquired as she sat herself next to Yukiko upon a park bench, where Jigen had been watching the two train for some time.
Both watched as Toshiro went flying through the air, and into a patch of shrubbery.
"Ally's handing his ass to him… And loving it…" Yukiko replied in a monotone voice.
"C'mon at me again!" Ally ordered, waving Toshiro over and smiling.
"It's good to see the boys bonding…" said Ryo as Toshiro went flying across the opened park area once again.
"Heh, he's gonna get killed," said Ally a he walked over to his sisters and wiped a bit of blood away from the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, Toshiro, if you get one clean hit, Yukiko will unbutton her shirt!" Ryo shouted.
"What!? I will not!" Yukiko snapped, flushing.
"He probably wouldn't see anything, anyway," Ryo replied with a small chuckle.
"At least I'm not the one who had the afro when she was little!"
"It wasn't an afro… My hair was just puffy!" snapped Ryo in response.
"I'll go out with you if you win, how about that, Toshiro?" Yukiko suggested as the samurai struggled to rise and hobbled out of the bushes.
"You mean that?" Toshiro asked, "Because I could be hearing things… I thought I heard Fuji laughing a little while ago…"
"That's because that is Fuji laughing…" Ryo replied, raising an eyebrow as Fuji waved goodbye to a duo of Taiwanese boys and strode over to the others in the park.
"I heard you all were going to be here, so here I am!" said Fuji happily.
"And where were you all night, young missy?" asked Ryo.
"Running an errand," Fuji replied, sticking out her tongue, "For your dear little love…"
"Ari?" Ryo gasped, "What'd he need?"
"Me to stalk Zeni-chan and his boyfriend," replied Fuji.
"Boyfriend?" Yukiko recoiled.
"Yeah, turns out Zenigata swings like a pendulum…" replied Fuji faintly, "And Leo thinks this guy's nothing but trouble… Trouble that's kind of cute, but all the same, trouble! I wish I could get trouble like that guy sometime… But noooo…. It's always someone wanting to decapitate me or hang me or something… It' just not fair!"
"Well, what'd you find out about him?" asked Ryo.
Fuji perked up, and smiled widely, "He's not afraid to ask for a homerun on the first date!"
"Um… Maybe we should get back to work…" said Toshiro to Ally.
"Agreed," Ally nodded, and delivered a swift kick to the back of Toshiro's head. Toshiro growled, and began to pursue Ally, who proved too agile for him.
"How'd you find that out, Fuji?" Ryo inquired, "Fujiko Lupin, look at me… How'd you find that out?"
"I… Watched them from a place in the restaurant they were in…" Fuji replied innocently.
"Since when have you helped out Ari?" Yukiko asked.
"Since I'm blackmailing him into spending Christmas with us!" Fuji replied.
"Great… The whole gang… Us… Ari…. Max… I'm gonna go hit a bar…" Yukiko said, shaking her head tiredly.
"It's not even ten!" Ryo gaped.
Yukiko turned to her sister, and smiled, "Well, my watch is dead, and it's set on five 'o clock… So it's always five in the evening somewhere for me!"
"She makes my head hurt, sometimes," Ryo mumbled, rising and joining her sister, "I'm going with you, but I'm sticking to martinis… I don't do hard liquor before noon… It's tacky…"
"I'm staying here… I like to watch…" Fuji said with a wink. Yukiko moaned and covered her face with a hand, and Ryo shook her head and walked off with Yukiko to the nearest bar. Fuji failed to notice Heiji approaching as she watched, and failed to notice his presence until he seated himself next to her.
"Heiji-chan! I thought you hated sunlight!" Fuji gasped with delight.
"Yeah… A lot… But you looked lonely, and my files are taking forever to download…" Heiji replied with a shrug, "Plus, I make sure to venture out into the real world by my own will at least once a year… Watching them go at it?"
"Yeah-huh!" Fuji said with a wide smile, "This is one of the rewards of working in groups, I guess…."
"Eh, yeah… Sure… Watching Ally beat the crap out of my brother and—Wait, that is kinda cool…" Heiji chuckled with admittance.
"Yeah, but he's doing it for a good cause…" Fuji admitted, "I can't help but wonder what it's like sometimes… Not to be, a, a…. What are the words I'm looking for?"
"Selfish bitch?"
"Yeah! That's it!" Fuji said, snapping her fingers and smiling, "Can't help but wonder… Then I read the paper and see something really cool I want to steal and everything that was depressing me is out the window! On a lighter note… How's what's-her-name?"
"Veronica? Oh, we decided to keep it at just friends," Heiji said with a shrug, "She wasn't ready for a relationship…"
"Oh, I'm sorry! Hey, there all always more computer-geeks in the sea, Heiji!"
"….Thanks…. I just always seem to fall in love with unavailable women," Heiji said with a sigh.
"Oh! That must've stung!" Fuji grimaced as Toshiro gave a loud yell; the source of the yell being Ally's fist once again.
"Yeah… Ah, a couple of ice packs and he ought to be okay…" Heiji said indifferently, "Hey, I want you to walk with me, okay?"
"Um, okay, sure!" Fuji smirked, rose from the bench, and followed Heiji into a densely-planted area. There was a wooden bridge over a lake, and Heiji stopped, and looked down in the water. He had calculated the risk factor to about a million to one, the one being the one chance he had.
"Wow, look at the size of these fish!" Fuji gasped, leaning over the bridge.
"Fuji, I want to talk to you, okay?"
"Okay, what's up?" Fuji asked, smiling and leaning against the railing. Heiji perched himself up on the opposite railing, and paused before speaking. He looked back, and was shocked to see several men had stopped. He did not know the source of their looks, but turned once again to the leaning Fuji in her short skirt. He quickly pulled Fuji away from the railing over the bridge, and the men all glared in disappointment.
"Your dad chased your mom around a lot, you know," said Heiji, clearing his throat.
"….Yeah… I know… Only thing that made Mom stop was the fact that Dad got her pregnant," Fuji responded.
"What?! I, I mean, you don't plan on that happening, do you?"
"What, me, get pregnant? Please! I intend to do this until someone kills me or I die," Fuji replied with a small chuckle, "I'm sorry, but I honestly can't see myself settling down in the French countryside anytime soon… That place bored me enough growing up!"
"You're really serious, aren't you?" Heiji muttered, stunned.
"Yeah," Fuji nodded, "Although if I ever do retire, I'm going to Hawaii!"
"Hawaii? Why Hawaii?"
"I like pineapples," Fuji replied with another warm laugh, "Heiji-chan, I already know where you're going with all of this, and you're a really sweet boy—Meaning you need to find a sweet girl—Meaning not me."
"Huh?" Heiji flushed, and blinked a few times in surprise. How had she known?
"I'm not very bright when it comes to computers, but I'm no dummy," she explained, "I saw something you had written on the computer, and I got curious… It was a letter to me… Listen, I like to steal things, but not something like that… I don't like to steal hearts of people whom I know are good people…"
"Hey, watch it!" a bicyclist called, but Heiji was still too stunned to hear him. The bicyclist flew by, hit Heiji in the knees, and sent the Ishikawa child into the lake.
"Oh my God, Heiji, are you okay!?" Fuji gasped, running down the bridge and cautiously wading out to help Heiji rise from the knee-deep water.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay," Heiji coughed, and spat out a tiny bit of lake water, "Great… I'm probably going to catch something, now… I'm freezing… Damn it…"
"Here," Fuji removed her blue jacket, and placed it over his shoulders, and helped him onto the dry land, "Let's get you home… How are you feeling?"
"I've been better," Heiji admitted with a hacking cough from the excess water.
Later that Night:
"How's your other hand?" Yukiko asked as she continued to bandage Toshiro's elbow on the opposite arm.
"Moveable…" Toshiro replied numbly, "How the hell did your brother get that vicious?"
"I dunno… Too many muffins from Mom?" Yukiko suggested with a hopeful smirk.
"I did get a kick, though…" Toshiro said with a smile.
"Okay, kicking him in his ass when his back's turned as he's walking away sort of counts," Yukiko said with a roll of the eyes, "Jeeze… He got you good…"
"I need to get that guy back…" Toshiro said in a whisper.
"And then what? It won't bring anyone back or anything…."
"Philosophy's wasted upon someone who kills for a living," Toshiro quipped.
"Listen, I just don't want you getting hurt out there… I know that you know can hand-to-hand, but that's limited… These guys have probably been trained since they were in diapers!"
"I was, too! I have to try! I have an opportunity, and I've got to take it…"
"Well, you're diligent, I'll give you that… But you're still an idiot… Hey, did I tell you I had a dream where everything was a musical? Everyone broke out into song!"
"That's called Saturday, when everyone goes out partying."
"Hm, good point…" Yukiko nodded.
"Ow!" Toshiro moaned as she poured a clear liquid upon one of his wounds.
"Stop moaning, you big baby… I was shot when I was eight years old and I didn't bitch this much!" Yukiko chuckled.
"Hey, I wanted to ask you…"
"Hrm?"
"About before…. When I was getting ready for the kabuki performance…"
"Oh, that… Um, I slipped…"
"I know that! I mean, when we fell…. You looked at me strangely, like you wanted to—"
"Fuji, I'm not doing it!" Heiji shouted from the next room, "You can only get me to play dress up once a heist, tops!"
"Oh, come on, Heiji-chan… Please do it for me?" Fuji asked sweetly with a smile as she and Heiji walked through the room Yukiko and Toshiro sat in, a common room which connected their two hotel rooms.
"What's goin' on?" asked Yukiko.
"I want to know what exactly Blondie and Bro are up to in Taiwan…" said Fuji, "And I happened to notice something…"
"What?" Toshiro ventured to ask.
"Look!" Fuji threw a blonde wig upon Heiji's head from behind, and then changed his black framed glasses for wire rims.
"Woah…" Yukiko blinked a few times in surprise.
"I wonder which Zenigata looked like that…. You look scarily like Max! You two must share some similar genes…!" said Toshiro, "In the face, though… I guess I never noticed it because of Dad's hair—And those thick glasses do detract from your looks…"
"Hey, I don't go around insulting people!" snapped Heiji, "Fuji, I'm not doing this!"
"Please, Heiji-chan? Please?" asked Fuji sweetly.
Odori stepped into the hotel room quietly, paused a moment, and looked over at Heiji, "Who the hell invited Zenigata?"
"I'm not Zenigata!" Heiji shrieked, slamming a foot down upon the floor.
Later, Leo, Max and Jake's Hotel Room:
"Hey, where's Jake, Max?" Leo inquired as 'Max' strode through the door, looking his usual soured self.
"Um… He went down to go get a drink of coffee," replied Max as he reached for a handkerchief in his pocket with his right hand and wiped his glasses. Leo's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he smirked devilishly.
"It's good he's gone…" Leo started, "He's really been cutting into our alone time…"
"Yeah, I—Wha?" the imposter stopped polishing his glasses, and placed them on his face, "I… I'm going to check out the bathroom… I left something in there…."
"Okay, hurry back…" Leo said lightly. As 'Max' closed the door, Leo began to set his plan into motion, "All right, Fuji, you want to play tough, I'll play tough…" he said as he tossed aside his purple sports jacket and quickly undid his tie.
"What in the hell was that all about?" Heiji wondered as he looked about the bathroom; in the cabinets, in the trash can, "First she shoots me down, then I'm thrown into a lake… Now I'm sorting through garbage dressed up as that wound-too-tight uncle of mine… And to add insult to injury, they dress me in a baggier suit because they say I'm pudgy!"
"Max, are you done?" Leo inquired in a strange voice, wrapping upon the door.
"Eh, yeah, I am…" Heiji replied, fixing the bathroom to its original condition and stumbling out of the bathroom on an old towel upon the floor. He felt a set of arms catch him, and he slowly looked upward at the smiling Leo.
"Dumb blonde…" Leo chuckled, lifting Heiji onto his feet, "Hey, what's with the face? I called Jake on his cell, and he's going to get us some new batteries for our walkie-talkies…."
"That's great…. Um, where's your jacket?"
"I was thinking that maybe I could order us something… Wine, maybe?"
"Um, I really could go for some soda…. Soda's nice… Keeps ya sober… Wouldn't want to do anything stupid, now, would we?"
"Why not? That's how it all started, anyway…" said Leo with a sigh of remembrance, "It was such a beautiful evening in Portugal… The stars were shining so brightly, and there was a slight breeze…. A seagull passed upon the ever-brightening horizon, and a band could be heard in the background…"
"What are you on!?" Heiji sputtered wildly.
"Max, could you please tell me what you said when you told me you loved me?" Leo asked pleadingly, grabbing onto Heiji's hands and smiling.
"What!? When I told you I—Wha—Oh, words, right… Um… Could you refresh me… Eh hee hee?"
"LeBlanc, put down the damn knitting needles and do something usual for a change…" Leo sighed, looking off ward into space.
"Um… Oh, yeah, how could I forget?"
"Apparently you did… It's okay, though, I still like you, Zenigata…."
"Good to know… Um… How about we watch TV?"
"Not yet… Not before this…" Leo leaned inward, and Heiji leaned back, and kept taking steps in the backward direction until he tripped and fell onto the couch. Leo smiled and leaned over Heiji.
It was then the door opened, and both swung their heads about to see a stunned Max and Jake, "What the hell are you doing!? Who the hell is that, and why the hell does he look like me!? And why the hell are you two on the couch!?"
"Max!" Leo yelped, stood straight upward, and began to button the top three buttons of his shirt once again.
"I've gotta go!" Heiji yelped.
"Wait a damn second! You aren't going anywhere!" Max growled.
"Like hell I'm not! I'm not gonna be the bitch of anyone who knits!" Heiji yelped.
Max paused, "…Heiji?"
"I'm going!" Heiji made a mad dash to the window, and the three men all ran to the window. They watched in horror as he jumped out, but all were secretly relieved as he threw out a grappling hook and caught on to the third floor. He managed to climb the rest of the way down, and it was a quick run from there.
"What just happened?" asked Jake.
"Did you think he was me?" Max asked Leo with horror.
"No! I knew it was him all along!"
"Why didn't you just arrest him, then!?" Max shouted with anger, "Why'd you have to let me come in and see you near making out with someone dressed up as me!?"
"Believe me, it wasn't the easiest thing to do!" snapped Leo.
"You guys want me to leave you alone?" asked Jake.
"No, thanks. I'm going out, now… You two have fun…" Leo said darkly, storming away from the two and out into the hallway, his jacket and tie in hand. Max followed him out, and slammed the hotel door behind himself in the process.
"What in the hell are you doing?" asked Max angrily.
Leo stopped, and hissed venomously, "I'm looking at someone whom I had respect for until I found out he was easy!"
"Easy?" Max blinked in confusion, "Who said I was--"
"Don't you dare play stupid with me, Zenigata! It doesn't work with me, okay?" snapped Leo.
"…How in the hell did you know?" asked Max quietly.
"I have sources, all right?" Leo said, turning away from Max and beginning to walk down the hall.
"You know, you out of all people ought to know that some things ought to be kept secret… It wasn't any of your business, Leo… Stay out of my damn personal life, all right!? It's none of your business!" Max fumed. Leo shook his head, and quietly continued to saunter down the hall.
"Damn idiot…" Max grumbled.
"He was just trying to watch out for you…" Max looked towards the now-open hotel door and saw Jake standing in doorway, "Maybe it was a bad idea… I was just really happy to see you…"
"No, it's okay… He's just got to learn to grow up," replied Max, approaching Jake and closing the hotel room door.
Late that Night:
"I tell you, Fuji, he isn't gonna be ready… He's gonna freakin' kill himself out there…" Ally said darkly to Fuji, who sat listening, and nodded every once in a while, "Is Heiji still in the shower? How long until he gets out?" Ally said in a slight change of subject as he heard the water from the shower pound upon the wall.
"Until he quits feeling dirty, as he said," replied Fuji with some question, "Apparently my brother attempted to seduce him while he was dressed as Max…"
"How's Ryo taking it?"
"I haven't seen her in hours…" Fuji admitted with some worry, "Yuki is watching TV with Toshiro… And they're in separate chairs, so don't worry… And Odori's polishing Zantetsuken… She wanted to throw a party because she finally got it, but I think it's turned into a once person party, because she's looking a little drunk."
"Hey, I want to talk to you about something while you have a minute…" Ally started.
"Sorry, I don't!" Fuji said with a smile, "Got a date!"
"With who?" asked Ally.
"Um… Some actor guy, not sure of his name," said Fuji absently, "But you can bet that he's cute!"
"Oi… You never change…" Ally said with frustration as Fuji departed from the hotel. Odori stepped out, moments later, walking in a slight stumble.
"Hey, what are you so sad about?" asked Odori, collapsing into a chair and staring upward at the ceiling.
"Fuji won't listen to me…" replied Ally angrily, "She's just being delusional again!"
"Hey, it doesn't matter… She's going in a few weeks, anyway!"
"What'd you say?"
"Yep… She's gonna ditch us! I overheard it from Ryo… I kind of fell asleep in the closet, and I woke up hearing that!"
"That hypocritical bitch!" Ally growled, slamming his fist down on the chair arm angrily.
A Taiwan Bridge:
Leo had been walking for hours. His feet were killing him, but he didn't seem to care. He stopped and looked at the striking panorama of the scenery—All brightly lit and reflecting off of the water. The bridge was too small for a car, but perfect for people. Leo saw someone in the distance, and gaped as the female figure climbed over the bridge and sat upon the rail, and looked into the water.
"Wait, Ma'am, don't!" Leo shrieked, running to her. He grabbed her by the waist as she went to throw herself off of it, and fell to the concrete with her landing atop.
"Leave me alone! I knew I should've just driven my car into the lake!" she yelled, slapping Leo away, her numerous bracelets gleaming in the light's reflection.
"Ryo?" Leo gasped.
"A-Ari?" Ryo blinked a few times in surprise. She reached forward, and embraced him, "It is you!"
"What are you doing!?" Leo wondered aloud with horror.
"I can't take this anymore… I haven't been the same since you left…" replied Ryo, breaking away from Leo and placing her folded arms upon her knees, "I figured since Fuji's leaving anyway, I won't have anything to do… So I might as well, right?"
"Fuji? Leaving?" Leo said with surprise.
"Yeah…. I found a note in her jacket…" replied Ryo, "She's leaving, and Ally wants to leave… I have no clue what I'll do… I can't exactly go and stay with you now, can I? Especially since… Ari, do you like Max?"
"W-what!? …Oh…. Heiji… I—I did that just, just to scare him…" Leo admitted.
"I want to walk with you… I don't want to be Ryo and Leo… I want to be Ryoko and Arsene, like the old times," said Ryo.
"It can't be like that! R-Ryo, I'm sorry you're upset, but the past, the past is… Well, t-the past!" Leo said nervously as he helped her to stand. He jumped in surprise as Ryo leaned in and kissed him, and Ryo drew back and smiled.
"Now, why are you here alone, without Zenigata?"
"We… We got into a fight…" Leo admitted.
"Well, do you have somewhere to stay?"
"Um, well, I—"
"I'm just saying, maybe I could find us somewhere…"
"U-us?"
"Yeah-huh," Ryo nodded, "What do you say, huh? Zenigata won't miss you, he has his own problems…"
"Ryo, you know I-I can't! Please don't make me chose, o-okay?" Leo said nervously, "You… You know I'd love to, if… If I could… B-but I can't!"
"There are few people who understand you in the world, Lupin the Fourth, and I'm one of them," said Ryo.
"You may understand Lupin, but you don't understand Leo LeBlanc… You don't know anything about him!" snapped Leo angrily.
"Then I want to… I just want back what we had… Even if it's once, I want that, okay? It's not asking that much…"
"I'm taking you in!" snapped Leo, "You're a lawbreaker, and you need to learn what's right!"
Ryo leaned forward and slapped him across the face, "I may need to learn what's right, but you need to know where your loyalties lie! I'm the one who worried about you when you were gone, who took care of you when you were injured, and I guess that doesn't mean crap to you anymore! Well, fine! I guess I wasted a good eight years of my life dating you! You're just as bad as your dad—No, you're worse when it comes to women! You actually had me believe that we could have a relationship together! You know, you may think Zenigata's your friend now, but you can only live a double life for so long before he finds out the truth about you! And do you think he'll still like you afterwards!?"
"Ryoko…"
"Bye, Leo…." she strode off of the bridge, leaving Leo alone upon it
"Ryo…" Leo sighed, and removed his glasses, "She can't understand that Ari's dead… I killed him right after I killed that innocent man… She can't understand, and Fuji wouldn't, either…. And where's she running off to now, anyway? That girl should've been locked up and kept away from boys and every other dangerous thing when she became a teenager! Ryo's got a point about Zenigata, though… I can't keep lying to him… All things are eventual… I'm going to have to tell him, I just have to decide a good time…."
"You're officer LeBlanc, correct?" Leo spun around, and saw a man who did not immediately strike him as being familiar, but Leo soon recognized. It was the Israeli man whom he had seen a photo of; he had stolen Jacob's Torah, "I understand that the Lupin gang is something after mine…. I need your help…. I have no idea why they're after the stupid thing; it's just a keepsake from an old friend."
"How close a friend?" Leo inquired.
"Close enough," replied the Israeli, "I need your help."
"Why?" snapped Leo.
"Because your partner is two close to Jake, and I think there's a few things you need to know about him…" said the Israeli, "First being that he's a liar. He's only using your friend."
"I knew it!" Leo yelled angrily, pounding his fist upon the bridge rail, "What's Lupin got to do with all of this?"
"He needed an excuse to get to her, and when he heard his ex was on the Lupin case, the wheels start turning. He figured he'd use me as another pawn in his scheme. He remembered when we broke up that he had left a Torah..."
"If the Torah doesn't mean that much, why do you want my help?" Leo asked.
"I want you to protect me from Jake," replied the Israeli, "He's dangerous… I'm not worried about your partner, he can hold his own."
"But you're a martial artist!" Leo yelped, taking a step back, "There's something in your story that doesn't add up, Sir…"
Leo watched as a jackknife flipped open and glinted under the moonlight, and he took another couple of steps back. He broke into a run, and went to jump over the bridge, but was caught by the jacket, and pulled back up to the concrete. He slid out of his purple sports coat, and tried to fight off the Israeli, but was soon defeated with a strong blow to the head. Leo fell unconscious, and his limp body was carried by the Israeli fighter off of the bridge. Only his sports coat and a small amount of blood remained from the struggle.
It was about this time another set of footsteps could be heard running back to the bridge.
"I just can't let him off like that…." Ryo said angrily as she bounded back for the bridge, "Ari, I— Ari?" she kneeled down, and lifted up his purple jacket, and then felt the warm blood upon the concrete with a chill of absolute horror, "Oh God…."
Zenigata and LeBlanc's Hotel:
"Someone knocked on the door," said Jake quietly. He and Max were seated on the couch watching a movie; Zenigata had been leaning on Jake somewhat while they watched the film.
"He probably forgot his key…" sighed Max, rising and bounding for the door. There was another rabid pounding, an Max called, "I'm coming, Leo!"
He was shocked to see a sobbing Ryo standing in the doorway, Leo's jacket in her shaking hands.