DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin III, but I do own a copy of When Harry Met Sally, which I will watch at least seven times on Valentine's Day…
Hiiii! Hope you didn't miss me!
Sorry this update's taken a while, as well, but someone's come down with a flu bug, it seems… A flu bug that's totally kicked their ass in recent days… I'm feeling much more up to par now, however, and that is why this newest chapter is now coming to you all, which I was able to compile while preparing for 'Paul Day' (Superbowl Sunday—Paul freakin' McCartney!) Well, as always, please enjoy, and please review and give your critiques and opinions!
Fun Fact of Boredom: In honor of Valentine's Day…. The most popular couple in this fanfic is Yukiko and Toshiro, followed by Max and Leo, Ally and Carmen, Heiji and Fuji, Ari and Ryo, and Odori and Musashi. Some of the least favorite are Toshiro and Julia and Leo and Cecilia.
'Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the girls around her say she's got it coming
But she gets it while she can.
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back,'
—The Beatles, 'Get Back'
Chapter Four
A Little While Later: Think of Me
"Great! Reinforcements!" said Toshiro happily as he looked out the window, "Yukiko, look!"
"All right!" Yukiko smiled widely.
"You two did this?" they both looked back and saw Fuji standing in the doorway.
"Yeah!" Toshiro answered, but as he viewed Fuji's expression, he quickly regretted taking part in the action.
"How'd you do it?" Fuji inquired.
"I wrote it on a letter, and we tied it to a bird," responded Yukiko.
"That's great…." Fuji muttered, "Thank you both for getting all of our asses in hot water, you friggin' morons!" she added in a shout. "Do you have any idea what they're going to do? They're going to friggin' slaughter us along with Sara!"
"Who's Sara?" asked Toshiro after a brief pause.
"It… It doesn't matter," Fuji turned away in disgust. "We've got to get out of here…"
"Lupin," Sara Von Idle approached the same doorway which Fuji had stood in only moments before, "what have you done?"
"It wasn't me," said Fuji with a shake of the head.
"They're going to kill us all…" said Sara as she looked out the window, "You've got to get out of here…"
"Yeah, we—Wait, me?" Fuji looked at Von Idle questioningly.
"Someone must be there to deal with these pests," said Von Idle with obvious contempt for the soldiers.
"They'll kill you!" Fuji shouted.
Sara shrugged, "But I'll die as I've always wished…"
"Like a pig-headed idiot?"
"No; saving a beautiful damsel in distress…. I suppose I'm just an old romantic in that sense," she smiled wryly and closed her eyes in thought. "You better get out of here… Go through the tunnels… I'll give you a map. You'll be able to drive through the tunnels you'll be going through. Gather your team—Hurry, there isn't much time to waste!"
"Wait, I—" Fuji reached outward to grab hold of Sara, but the baroness vanished before Fuji could talk some sense into her, "Dammit…"
"What now?" Yukiko asked Fuji.
Fuji stared at the door a few moments, and then looked back at Yukiko and Toshiro, "Pack up… We've movin' out…"
It wasn't long before the group had gathered and gone down the tunnels. Ryo was at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo, Leo was at the wheel of the police cruiser, and Toshiro was at the handles of his Vespa.
"Listen, I talked to Leo, and you can ride in his and Zenigata's cruiser… It's all set," said Fuji as she looked upward at Von Idle, who stood at the side of their getaway vehicle.
"I told you before, I'm not going," said Sara flatly.
"There's like a million of them! You're committing suicide!" snapped Fuji.
Von Idle smirked, reached downward, and grabbed onto Fuji's hand. She kissed it, and smiled at Fuji, "You take care now, Princess of Thieves."
"Baroness, the soldiers have made their way into the tunnels!" a frantic guard announced to Von Idle.
"Get going!" shouted Sara.
"Don't needa tell me twice," Ryo mumbled.
"Fujiko, take this, please," Sara tossed Fuji a small package, and moments later Ryo stepped upon the gas, and the Vespa and cruiser soon followed afterward down the long tunnels.
Sara smiled as she turned back to the soldiers, and she drew her sword and shouted, "Come on, you bastards, you want to fight? I'll give you one to remember!" And then she vanished into the mass of soldiers.
Meanwhile, the three vehicles swerved and out through the tunnels, Ryo leading the way. They all came out to a mountainside, where Ryo stopped her vehicle. Toshiro and Leo soon followed, and all looked out at the masses of soldiers.
"We really screwed that up…" Toshiro gulped dryly.
"Somehow, I think she likes the battles," Ryo admitted.
"Don't feel bad… I'm the one who called," Leo said suddenly.
"How the hell did you do that?" Fuji yelped.
"I bribed one of the guards," Leo smiled wryly. "You ought to know better than anyone that everyone's got a price attached to them, Fujiko."
Fuji paused, "I think this is the part where you tell me I'm under arrest, Officer LeBlanc."
"You've already sealed your fate to this kind of a life… I'm starting to wonder if I should bother," said Leo tiredly. "Fuji, I'm tired… I don't want to talk about this… I probably just led someone else to their death…"
"It'd be a first," Fuji snapped. She gasped as she realized what she said, and Leo shot his head up questioningly. Fuji turned away from Leo, and looked downward at the ground.
"Ryo, start the car…" Fuji ordered.
"Yeah," Ryo nodded.
"Fuji, what'd you mean?" Leo asked with confusion, "Fuji, what'd you mean?" he shouted, but it was too later; Fuji and the others were now zooming down the road.
"You want to go after them?" asked Max.
"Well, we're not on payroll for nothing…" Leo responded with a sigh. He hopped back into his vehicle, and the Leo began his usual chase of his old friends. He could not help but wonder, however, what exactly Fuji had meant.
Fuji was giving a blank look at the package which now laid on her lap. She wondered what it was, but still she didn't touch the package.
"Well, this was officially a bust…" Ally muttered tiredly, "Some story I'm gonna have for Carmen… No treasure, almost dead, and you, Heiji, Max and Ari walking in on me in the bathroom… I haven't had anything this depressing happen to me since the hockey lockout."
"Ally, I've got to ask another favor of you…" Fuji said suddenly.
"What?" Ally choked, "But you promised—"
"Yeah, I know, but this is important…" Fuji responded.
"What's the gig, Fuji? I'm in no matter what, you know that," Ryo replied.
"Ari might not have killed anyone after all," Fuji answered after a pause. She paid little attention to Ryo's stunned expression, but instead now went to unwrapping the package. It was a photograph of the original Arséne Lupin along with the first Baron Von Idol, along with a note. Fuji opened the note, and skimmed through it, and a small smile came upon her face.
"Yeah… You too, Sara," she said quietly to herself.
One Week Later, Paris, France:
"I can't believe we went all the way from Germany to Madagascar for crap…" Max grumbled as he and Leo trudged up the eight flights of stairs to Leo's apartment.
"Well, at least the weather was nice…" Leo shrugged, "And no one tried to kill us there, either!" He placed the key in the doorway, and abruptly stopped to a halt.
"What's wrong?" Max whispered.
"Someone's… Cooking…" Leo answered in a whisper. Both quietly drew out their guns, and Leo slowly opened their door, and both slid through as small a crack as possible, and crept trough the living room.
"Freeze! Police!" Max shouted.
"Arrêtet! Les inspecteurs d'Interpol!" shouted Leo.
Dakota let out a scream of surprise, and dropped the bowl of pancake batter which she held in her hands. She glared at the two severely as she realized who it was, and went to go fetch a mop while the two puzzled inspectors stood stunned in position.
"Dakota?" Leo gulped in surprise, "What are you…"
"I'm on vacation…" Dakota explained as she retrieved a mop from the closet, "I was trying to surprise you idiots…"
"How'd you know when we were getting back?" Max demanded.
"Blog," Dakota shrugged. "I made coffee already, guys… And omelets… Zenigata, I don't know how kosher you go, so yours is vegetarian… No meat and dairy together, and no pork, right? There's also that thing about no shellfish, but if I'm not mistaken, there's some frozen shrimp in the freezer…"
"How'd you know what kosher is?" Max inquired as he put away his gun.
"I called your mom to find out. She's on speed dial," Dakota answered. "She said she wasn't sure, either, but that you hated dairy products regardless…."
"Wait, Dakota, your Dad let you stay here with us?" Leo asked questioningly, bending down to become eye-level with the young girl.
"Um… Well… Not really, per se…" Dakota looked off innocently.
"You forged the tickets, didn't you, you little urchin?" Max concluded.
"More like corrected the changes my dad made…" Dakota responded.
"So, you're a forger…" Max smirked, "This means we could arrest you…"
"Not if I destroyed all evidence and knew my dad would lie for me," Dakota answered, sticking her tongue out at Max in response.
"You've got to go home," Leo said quickly. "You can't stay here, Dakota. It's not safe, and we can't leave you alone…"
"Well, how long are you two staying?" Dakota inquired.
"Too long…" Max replied with the twitch of a smile.
"I knew you'd be happy to see me, Zenigata…" Dakota sighed, "And after I clean out your guys' apartment…"
Max looked about the apartment and sure enough the household was extremely clean. "Well, um… Good job…"
"I even cleaned your room…" Dakota smiled, "Hey, Leo, did you know Max has a crush on Jude Law? He has posters!"
"You little—"
"Both of you shut up! I'm on the phone!" shouted Leo angrily. Both shot daggers at one another, and stood in a silent showdown until a very serious-looking Leo called Max out.
He led Zenigata into his bedroom, and closed and locked the door behind him, "Um… Wow…."
"What's the problem, LeBlanc?" asked Max worriedly.
"Um… I got in touch with Daniel's lawyer…" Leo responded after a few moments' silence.
"And? Oh, no, he's not in jail, is he?" Max asked with horror.
"No…"
"Oh thank G-d…."
"They don't know where Daniel is…" Leo answered.
"What?" Max choked, "What about his family?"
"None of them talk to him or her," shrugged Leo.
"What do we do with her, then?" asked Max worriedly.
"Well, her mom's still in a coma… And her dad's missing… And none of her family wants her…"
"So we're sending her back, right?" Max concluded cheerily.
"What? Zenigata, no!" snapped Leo, "She's staying with us!"
"What?" Max moaned, "Leo, no! You saw her before—She can take care of herself just fine!"
"She can't live on her own, Zenigata… We don't go off for three more days, by that time we'll have figured out what to do with her."
"Couldn't she stay with your parents?" Max asked.
"Nah—Dad took Mom on a cruise for Valentine's Day…"
"Who's wearing the dress?"
"Don't make me beat you, Zenigata, because I will," snapped Leo in response quickly.
"Well, you're on your own tonight, LeBlanc… I have important errands to run…"
"What? You didn't mention anything before…" Leo frowned in confusion.
"Well, I…"
"What's the errand, Max?" asked Leo suspiciously.
"I… Um…"
"You've got a date!" Leo pointed a finger accusingly at Max. "Who's it with, Zenigata?"
"I never said anything about a date!"
"Oh, you didn't have to—You've got that face…" sighed Leo tiredly.
"And which face would that be?" asked Max angrily.
Leo gasped, "It's with that Chinese guy, isn't it? I knew it was weird when he approached you today after we got to the offices!"
"I'll cancel…" Max sighed grimly. "But I'm doing this for you, not that little brat out there!"
"I can hear you!" snapped Dakota from the other side of the door.
"What'd your parents tell you about eavesdropping, you little brat?" growled Max as he swung open the door wide and glared down at Dakota.
Dakota sneered at Zenigata, "How could you just cheat on Leo like that? And how could you let him walk all over you, Leo! You don't have to be his bitch!"
"I've about had it with you…" Max gritted his teeth together and ground them in rage.
Leo shook his head, "I've got to go and study…. I'm learning Hindi right now, so I'll need a few hours to myself…"
"What? You're leaving me alone with that?" Max shouted, pointing at Dakota.
Leo smiled and picked up a thick book as he exited the room, "I'm going to be researching Indian mythology… Don't call me unless you're both bleeding to death."
"That little creep…." said Max, balling his fists and gritting his teeth, "I hope he gets the paper-cut from hell…"
"Dating intellectuals must be hard on you, Zenigata…." Dakota said with a tone of sympathy.
"We're not dating…" Max replied, snapping his head in Dakota's direction.
"Oh, sucks to be you then, huh?" Dakota said with a shrug, "I'm gonna go watch cartoons in French…"
"Whatever… Just don't set the damn apartment on fire…" Max muttered absently.
Leo, meanwhile, had gone into the laundry room to study, shutting the door behind him and locking it. He sat at the small table with the telephone at his side and a book opened. He scrawled Hindi letters upon a sheet of paper, looked over his handiwork, and compared it to the illustrations, "I suck at this… What the hell's the matter with me today?" The phone rang, and Leo quickly picked it up, "Allo? L'apartement de M. Zenigata et M. LeBlanc… C'est Léo…
"I know who it is," Leo gasped at the sound of the voice.
"Ryoko? Where are you?" asked Leo, turning away from his books and leaning upon his table.
"I'm outside of your apartment. Come on out."
"But, I… If I come out there, it's with handcuffs…"
"Ha ha…" Ryo said dully, "Just get out here already…"
Leo hung up his phone, and opened the door to the laundry room. He was quick to avoid Dakota and Max as he made his way to the front door, and opened it, and sure enough, saw Ryo standing in front of him.
"Are you here with anyone else?" Leo asked suspiciously as he closed the door behind himself and looked left and right.
"Nice trick," Ryo smirked. "I came here alone, at my own will, without anyone coming along, much less knowing, where I am."
"Why are you here, Ryo?" asked Leo tiredly.
"Here," Ryo removed a small box from her purse and handed it to Leo. "You know there Japanese custom—Girl gives boy chocolate on Valentine's Day."
"Are these the obligatory chocolates or the chocolates for someone you like?" Leo asked questioningly as he took the box and shook it.
"Hm… Well, if they don't make you gag, I suppose they're for a person I like," Ryo answered with a smirk.
"You…. You came all this way to give me a box of chocolates?"
"…And?"
"Well, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised," said Leo with a shake of the head. "Thanks, Ryoko."
"Can I come in? It's tad rude not to invite someone into your house…." Ryo added after a pause.
"My… Roommate wouldn't l-like that very much," Leo grew reasonably nervous upon this request, and turned away from Ryo.
"Your roommate?" Ryo frowned. She smiled and nudged him, "You met a girl, didn't you?"
"Um… Not exactly…" Leo scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat, "I… I better be going now…"
"All right…. But you better get me something for White Day, Leo LeBlanc, and nothing cheap, either. I'm talking Godiva here…"
"LeBlanc, where the hell are you?" Ryo gasped in surprise as she heard Max's voice on the other side of the Leo, and Leo gave her a quick nervous glance and then slunk back into his apartment.
"Max… Is his roommate…. I need a drink…" Ryo shook her head, and walked down the flights of stairs to the premiere étage (this would be considered the first floor to Americans, but in France, the first floor in reality was the second floor. The first floor was more of a lobby).
"Fuji's going to be quite angry when she finds out I took the Romeo to Paris… Especially considering she's in Monaco… Hope she has enough money to catch a cab home…"
Monaco:
"Come on, Mommy needs a Saks Fifth Avenue a shopping spree…." Fuji said as she rolled her dice upon the table, "Damn it!" she growled angrily, "I'm out! This is a rip-off! They're bigger thieves than I am!" She turned away from the table, and found Yukiko sitting at the bar with Toshiro, "Yuki-chan, there's a Chippendale's performance tonight—You want to tag along?"
"Eh, that's absolutely disgusting, Fuji…." Yukiko grimaced.
"Besides, we've already got plans," Toshiro reminded Yukiko with a smirk.
"Ah, I see… Hee hee… Have fun, kids! Jeeze… I'll see what Dori's up to, then…" a dejected Fuji turned away from them and stormed away. She found Odori at a buffet, sitting with Heiji, who shook his head in amazement at what Odori had upon her plate.
"That baby must really love potato salad…" Heiji said as he glanced down at his watch and then back up at Odori.
"Immensely…" Odori replied as she finished off another plate, "And he also enjoys the gelatin here…"
"Which flavor?"
"All of them…" Odori rose, and walked back to the buffet. She picked up a bowl, and began to mix the flavors of Jell-O together, smiling while she did so.
"Hiya, Heiji-chan!" Fuji smiled as she seated herself next to Heiji, "What are you doing here?"
"Reminding Odori to breath in between meals, apparently…" Heiji answered, "She keeps herself on such a strict workout that she can all of this crap… That and she has the metabolism from hell, apparently… I look at a pie and I gain five pounds… Why couldn't I have come from Korean rice farmers?"
"Well, we all can't be as blessed," Fuji chuckled. "So, do you have any plans after this?"
"After this I'm probably going to watch Yukiko and Toshiro stumble up to their hotel room drunkenly, then watch Ally bitch and sulk for three solid hours, and then maybe I'll see what's on HBO…"
"Where is Ally-chan?"
"Up in his room sulking… All of the flights to Italy are booked, it seems," Heiji answered.
"Well, it is a romantic getaway," Fuji shrugged.
"That and Carmen had a political matter to attend to, so even if he had made it he wouldn't have gotten to spend that much time with her," Heiji added, taking a sip of his diet soda and looking back at Fuji. "Let me guess… Everyone else is busy, you're feeling lonely, so you want to go do something, right?"
"Hee hee… All the male escort services are booked this time of year…" Fuji answered with a small degree of embarrassment.
"Well, I guess the old saying rings true if even the great Lupin the Fourth can't get a date…"
"…That saying being?"
"You can have all the money in the world and still be a dateless reject…"
"….I don't think I like that saying…."
"I didn't think you would…"
"There is a saying I do like, however…"
"And that saying is…?"
"Heiji'll go on a pity date with me if I agree to pay for everything and also find him an X-Box?" Fuji said with a hopeful smile.
Heiji snorted, "Do you have any idea how many people you'll have to screw to get an X-Box?"
"I'm desperate, man… And it's not like something like that's stopped me before!"
"Well… Okay, but only if you throw in a video game…"
"Sure thing!" Fuji smiled widely, "All right!"
It was about this time that Odori returned with a bowl of multi-colored Jell-O and wordlessly seated herself at the table, and then went to eating the jiggling mass.
"Maybe we should get going…" said Fuji with a pause.
"Good idea…" Heiji nodded, and quietly slid out of the booth after Fuji.
"Oh, sure, leave the pregnant lady alone…" Odori grumbled and she dug into her gelatin bitterly.
Meanwhile, over towards the bar, Yukiko and Toshiro watched as Fuji walked out with Heiji, and both placed their bets as to when Heiji would storm back angrily, threatening to never speak to Fuji again for some heinous act which she had manage to perform while they were out.
"We should really go out and do something together…" said Toshiro suddenly.
"We're both out drinking together," Yukiko responded, raising her shot glass and smiling.
"Eh… You're not exactly the most romantic individual, are you?" Toshiro sighed heavily.
"Hey, it didn't come in the package, Buster…"
"Does your individual product come with add-ons, then?" Toshiro inquired with hope.
"Ha ha… Yeah, extra rounds of ammo and extra packets of smokes…" Yukiko answered with a laugh.
"I'd like you to quit those," Toshiro said suddenly, taking a cigarette from Yukiko's hand as she went to light it. "Could you make it a gift? From you to me? Please?"
"What?" Yukiko snapped, "Me? Why the hell do you want that?"
"Because I'm sick of making out with an ashtray…" Toshiro responded.
"Well, you don't have to do anything with this ashtray, if you feel that way…" snapped Yukiko.
"Come on, Yuki… Your dad did it for you…. Could you please?"
Yukiko paused, "…. What's in it for me?"
"Um… Tickets to Phantom of the Opera?" Toshiro suggested.
"Front row."
"Front—What the hell do you take me—"
"Dinner before that. Someplace where you don't talk into a speaker to order dinner."
"Four-star hotel afterward?"
"Nice try, cheapskate."
"Jeeze… I think my wallet just went to go kill itself…"
"Quit your bitching… You know as well as I do that you still have an ass-load of money in the bank."
"How do you know?"
"I check your accounts every once in a while… It's what any good friend would do…"
Toshiro sighed heavily, "Fine… I'll take care of all of it… Anything else?"
"Yep," Yukiko smiled reached over, and retrieved Toshiro's wallet. "I'm gonna go buy myself somethin' nice for the occasion…"
"You're a woman, as hard as you try to hide it…"
"Only when it's to my advantage…" Yukiko answered with a smile. She drew out a few bills, the larger ones, to Toshiro's chagrin, and tossed him the wallet.
"Damn her for knowing I'm nowhere near broke…" Toshiro grumbled, hiding his wallet once again.
Later that Night, Paris:
"You're so lucky the French hate this play…" Toshiro said to Yukiko as he led her out of the limo she had had him rent for the night.
"Go figure…" Yukiko shrugged and laughed, "I can't believe you actually came through with everything!"
"I can't believe you spent four digits on your dress…! I can't believe you wore a dress…"
"Hey, I figured you were going to wear close-toed shoes, so I might as well…" Yukiko shrugged in response.
"Hey… Is that who I think it is?" Toshiro stopped dead in shock as he viewed who else was entering the theater.
"Fuji and Heiji?" Yukiko choked.
An apartment in Paris:
"Tell me again why we've been locked out of our own kitchen, LeBlanc?" Max inquired as he tried to turn the doorknob but was only greeted by Dakota's yells of protest.
"Because she's doing something special…" Leo answered vaguely.
"Can't you bust in through the doorway with your like…. Lupin-like skills?"
"Nah, I think this is cute…"
"Cute… She's probably making a concoction to kill me…."
"Anyone ever tell you you're seriously paranoid?" sighed Leo tiredly.
The kitchen door swung open, and Dakota looked up at the two sternly, "You guys aren't wearing that, are you?"
"Um… What?" Leo inquired, looking down at his attire.
"This is what I usually wear, you little creep!" snapped Max.
"Leo, the only way you could look worse would be if you were wearing brown shoes. Max… You look like a reject from a sequel to Oh God!..."
"I don't look like John Denver!" Max shouted angrily.
"Well, um, actually…" Leo started, but then decided this argument was not worth it today.
"You two dress up a little nicer, and then you both get dinner. And not until then!" Dakota yelled. "And if you don't wash your hands, God help both of you!"
"Hee hee… Okay, Dakota…" Leo laughed lightly, "Ah, kids these days… C'mon, Max…."
"She… She just insulted you!" Max shouted, "Are you going to ignore that?"
"Yes. Life's a lot happier when you just ignore the little things that bother you…"
"Huh? What'd you say again?"
"Ha ha… Shuddup…" Leo left into his room, and opened his closet. He picked out a purple turtleneck he had knit himself a while back and then exchanged his black jeans for a pair of looser slacks. As he caught himself in the mirror, he decided to wear his glasses and also give a little attention to his hair, which would need to be cut soon once again.
Max, on the other hand, opted for his contacts that night. He did little but complain as he readied himself for dinner, "Little brat… Comes in and knocks our lives off kilter… Snot-nosed kid… Ouch!" he blinked a few times uncomfortably, and then after his eyes adjusted to the contact,s he walked toward his closet. He exchanged his usual brown suit for a hunter green button-up shirt and a pair of khakis, and he joined Leo out at the dining room table.
"Eh, you look…. Civilian…" Max commented as he seated himself across from Leo, "Nice sweater…"
"…I made it myself…"
"Oh… That's cool…" Max stared down at his salad and forked through it a little, "Where's the flying monkey?"
"Dakota? She said she's brining out drinks…" as Leo spoke, Dakota walked through the doors, holding a glass pitcher, which she set down in between the two. She then poured the dark red liquid into two juice glasses and left.
"How cute… She's acting like it's wine!" Leo chuckled.
Max sipped his drink and gave a small shudder, "It is…"
"….I don't keep wine…"
"I do," Max responded quickly. "It's a 1924 red wine… I paid seventy euros for it…"
"And we're drinking it in juice glasses… C'est le vie…"
"There anything you find fishy in any of this, LeBlanc?" Max inquired as he watched Dakota come out with a main dish.
"Aw, what'd you make, Sweetie?" Leo asked with amusement.
"Macaroni and cheese and tomatoes and fish..."
"All which go well with red wine," Max muttered to himself, much to Leo's chagrin.
"Thank you, Dakota!" Leo called. "You really should be nicer, Max… She'd like you if you gave her the chance!"
"I don't want the chance… I don't even like children! I don't want any!" snapped Max.
"Then what are you going to do when I have some?" Leo inquired.
"That'd involve you getting a girlfriend first, and that could take a lot of therapy, so I'm not holding my breath…" Max mumbled in response, "Kids don't like me and I don't like them! It's a mutual agreement!"
Leo shook his head, "You're someone's stereotypical cranky Uncle Max…."
"Oh, no…. I am a stereotypical cranky Uncle Max…." Max mumbled, shaking his head in realization.
"Well, there's a way to cure that, ya know," Leo smiled and turned his head to a side.
"And that is?" Max inquired.
Leo looked down at a piece of his cut up tomato, and before Max knew it, Leo had thrown it at him, and it made impact with his face, "What the hell'd you do that for?" Max wondered aloud.
"You need to loosen up, Zenigata!" Leo laughed in response.
"Yeah? I'll show you 'loosen up'…" Max picked up a glass of the wine, and Leo's smile fell.
"No, Max… No no no no no…" Leo warned sternly as he rose out of his seat and backed away from Zenigata quickly.
"Hey, you're the one who just threw tomato at me!" Max replied, "Now fair's fair, so bottom's up, LeBlanc…"
"Na-ah…. That's not fair!" Leo ran back into the living room, and Max followed him. Leo backed away from Max until he found he could no longer back into anywhere, and he fell into a corner chair. Max rested one of his knees upon the arm of the chair and smiled, and craned his neck down to Leo's level.
Leo wished he could find an escape route as he met eye contact with Max briefly; he really wanted out of his situation about then. This train of thought though was interrupted by the pouring of cold red wine upon the top of his head.
"Max, you jerk!" Leo cried angrily.
"Fair's fair!" Max laughed.
"Not funny…" Leo grumbled, wiping his face as the wine trickled down it.
"Aw… Now who's got the bent out of shape personality?" Max chuckled.
"I'm gonna go change…" Leo rose, and walked out of the room. Max waited a few moments before turning around and sitting in the same chair, and he looked to Leo's door with thought while he sat there quietly.
"I guess you're not coming back to dinner then, eh?" Dakota sighed heavily as she poked her head out of the hall and spoke to Max.
"Hrm? Eh, no… Thanks, though…" Max replied numbly.
The Paris Opera House:
"What are you doing here?" Toshiro asked as he stood in front of Heiji and Fuji in the lobby of the theater.
"Visiting a friend. And I wanted Heiji-chan to come with me!" Fuji answered.
"Who are you meet….?" Yukiko stopped as she looked at who hobbled toward them. She was a familiar blonde, wearing an arm brace and sporting a cast upon her leg.
"Pleasure to see you here, Lupin," Sara said with a smirk as she leaned upon her cane. "I'm glad we could arrange this…"
"You're lucky; I hate the opera, but for you, I made an exception…" Fuji replied.
"With Heiji Ishikawa as well, I see," she added with a smirk. "He's quite lucky…."
"How're you coping, Sara?" asked Fuji.
"Well, I found an apartment…" Von Idle answered, "Starting from scratch isn't the easiest, and I'm only now learning how to do my own laundry… But I'm much happier… Thank you…"
"Wait, what happened to the treasure, then?" asked Heiji quickly.
"Eh he he he… That's between us girls," Fuji chuckled in response and nudged Heiji.
"Here's my address," said Sara, handing Fuji a slip of paper. "You may know it…"
"This is below Max and Leo's!" Fuji gasped.
"So I can keep track…. Well, I must be off now… Important date..."
"You have a date?" Fuji squealed.
"No—You do, I see…" Sara laughed, and turned back and out the revolving glass doors, leaving Fuji slightly amused by this.