Episode Eight

By Margarite Estella

A/N: I've decided to stop naming my chapters. However, hopefully the story will be the same quality as it has been. I do not own Lupin III. 'Nuf said. On with the ficcy.

Clothes lay thrown in all directions around the center in bed where the two lay. Both lay there in utter peace, one with his arm wrapped around the other, who, in turn, had her entire body wrapped around his. He opened his eyes in a hooded sort of manner and smiled down at the beautiful sight that was entangled around him. He wrapped the remaining arm around her and held her tightly in his embrace. 'God, I could stay like this forever,' he thought, 'Just holding her like this. I remember when I used to hold Fujiko-chan like this all the time.'

He gave another sigh, this time, a depressed one, 'God, I wish I could still hold her like this. But, oh, well. You can't take back the past. Fujiko's already through with me, anyway." He thought for a moment. There could still be problems and he was going to have to tell Yuma sometime. Lupin had a problem with commitment. It wasn't that he didn't love Yuma. It was just that there were also so many other women out there, and he had a hard time not chasing them. It was a habit he'd come across when he was a young punk, and it had never completely left him. Of course, that wasn't the reason why Fujiko had left him, either. Fujiko had left him because 'a woman's gotta take care of herself, Lupin,' she'd stated, and 'I can't count on you for everything.' Boy, had she been right! The life he'd lead, well, it was no life for a lady. He wished that he could give Yuma more, but currently, until he got her on her own two feet, he didn't really have a choice. Once he got her working, though, nothing would be able to stop her. And if she still wanted to live with him, great! He'd enjoy a lady's company.

Yuma stirred and curled her head up into his neck. Lupin put his hand up to her head and stroked her hair. "So how are you feeling, babe?"

"I'm doing okay," she murmured, "Got a pretty good sleep. Lupin?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you feel that most of this day has been wasted?"

"Wasted? No, I don't, Yuma," he smiled, "I spent it with a woman I love. Uh, look, Yuma?"

"Hmm?"

"We gotta talk about somethin'."

"So shoot," she said, "What is it?"

"Well, it's about our relationship," he said hesitantly, "and about the kind of person I am."

"What do you mean?" she said warilly, putting her guard up again.

Lupin could see that she was getting tense. 'No need to spoil a perfect moment,' he thought, 'Best talk about this later, at a better time. Look how she'd put her guard up like that. She's been hurt by someone, I can tell, though the question is, who? How I would love to find out. Then I could tell her that I'm not like him, that I won't hurt her. I just want her to be okay. That's all.' "Nevermind, baby," he concluded openly, "We'll talk about it another time, okay? Right now, this is time just for the two of us. Just you and me, okay?"

"Yeah," she murmured happilly, "Just the two of us." Yuma curled up next to the warmth of his body. 'So warm,' she thought, 'So welcoming. I could stay here forever. This is a place where I'll never be unwelcome, where I'll never be hurt. They can't hurt me as long as I'm in his arms. He'll always protect me, never hurt me. I'll never want to leave this place. His embrace is so warm, so comforting, so loving. Yes, I could stay here forever. Forever and always.' She gave a content purr as his hand ran up along her back.

"Yuma?"

"Yes?"

"About that guy we're going to see, the one that could help us," said Lupin, "I just want to let you in on what's going on."

"Okay."

"Well, it's like this. This guy's a cyber-punk. He's not a android, himself, but he knows a hell of a lot about computers. It's going to cost me a lot of money, but I think that I might be able to talk him into teaching you how to download things. Then, you could download stuff off of his computer, and hack, if you need to. That is, if you contain the appropriate hardware. If not, then we don't have to worry about anything, because you can still hack."

"But won't the check up cost more?"

"Yes, but I'll be willing to shell out the money."

"I don't know, Lupin," she said almost gingerly, "Sounds too good to be true to me. What if we can't trust this guy? What then? What will he do to me?"

"Well, you're kind of right about that, I mean, Ice is kind of a computer over-enthusiast, and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't want anything happening to my organic body, either. What are we going to do about that, Lupin? Do you promise that you'll watch him for me to make sure that he's not doing anything he shouldn't be?"

"I would, but how do I do that, Yuma?" he looked down at her, puzzled.

"Question every move he makes in his analysis, and whatever else he's going to do to me."

"There's a good idea," said Lupin cautiously, "but it could piss him off. He doesn't like me to question him."

"Lupin, I'm not asking you to go against your friend's wishes, but this is my body we're talking about. He screws up my equipment, and I could either end up his slave, or die."

"Slave?" Lupin looked shocked, "Ice wouldn't go that far."

"Other people have tried," she said quickly, then, more calmly, "Look Lupin, tell him I mean no offense, but ... just look into it for me, okay? In any other situation, I would say yes, but by doing this, we're putting a lot to his advantage here, and well, I just want to stay safe, okay? I'm kinda worried."

"I don't blame you there," said Lupin gently, "Alright, I'll think about it. But if I say 'no,' I mean no, got it?"

"Got it," she sighed, "I sure hope that this Ice person is someone you can trust, Lupin, because if he isn't, our plan could back-fire on us in an instant."

"I know. Look, you don't need to worry if I'm there. The moment I think something is going wrong, all you need to do is tell me, and I'll tell him to back off."

"Just make sure he has the monitor on when he's doing the check-ups, alright? At least that, for sure, Lupin?"

"At least that," he said firmly, "I promise you, Yuma, I won't let anything bad happen to you. You don't need to worry."

"Okay," she curled up to him again, giving a content sigh, "Whatever you say."

"Don't worry, Yuma," he murmured, "I love you and nothing's going to happen to you."

"Alright," she yawned. She gave out a little mew and nuzzled against him.

After a while of Lupin stroking Yuma's hair and cuddling, Lupin suggested softly, "Hey, Yuma? Why don't we go get a shower?"

Yuma rose up from his chest, supporting herself on her arms, and smiled at him. The two got up and walked into the bathroom.

"Yuma? I'm going to go and get dressed, okay?"

"Alright, Lupin," said Yuma, smiling. 'He's so wonderful,' she thought, visibly glowing.

She heard a woman's voice outside mingling with Lupin's. "I wonder who that could be?" she thought aloud. She wrapped a towel around herself, and walked out.

All it took were five words: "Who the hell are you!?"

Fujiko turned around, "Excuse me?"

"Lupin, who is this?"

"Ah, Yuma, this is Fujiko. Fujiko, this is Yuma-"

"Why is she here!"

"I could say the same for you!" said Fujiko.

"Lupin, explain," said Yuma as calmly as she could. She looked like she was pretty pissed, "On second thought, I'll leave you two alone." She walked to her room.
'This guy, Ice,' she thought angrilly as she packed for a few days, 'I'll talk to him myself. I find out myself, and let Lupin settle things among himself and Fujiko, and when they're done, maybe I'll think about going back. Otherwise, from now on, I'm just an ordinary gang member. Lucky for you, Lupin, you already told me where he lives.' Little did Yuma know what a grave mistake she was making.