DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin III, but I've got a box of tissues and another cold… This makes cold number what, 23?

Hey, again!

Sorry once again that this is so late, but we're up to home repairs around here again, and as stated above, I've got a cold… For what it's worth, though, this chapter's a little longer than usual. I've gotten a lot of great feedback and really good ideas so far, so thanks to everyone for the support. I couldn't have come out with all 109 chapters (and counting) if it weren't for friends and readers' support.

Fun fact of Boredom: There might be a few questions about Toshiro and his somewhat creepy love for birds… This is a reference to early volumes of the first Lupin III manga… There are several references to Goemon and birds made throughout the series.

'You'd better run for your life if you can, little girl,
Hide your head in the sand, little girl.'

The Beatles, 'Run For Your Life'

Chapter Nine: Come Sail Away

Jerusalem:

"Oh, my head," Leo moaned as he turned in bed. "What happened to me last night?"

"Some creep passed you a roofie," Max yawned as he rose from the floor.

"What?" Leo blinked a few times with surprise, "Someone spiked my drink?"

"You bet," Max stretched and yawned once again. He looked in a mirror and rubbed his eyes; Leo noticed the left eye slightly blackened.

"What happened to you?" Leo gasped.

"I kicked the crap out of him," Max answered as he seated himself next to Leo on the bed. "How's your head? Still hurt? I think that's what they landed on when they threw us out, and—Yeouch…" Max retracted his arm as he felt a shooting pain in his shoulder, and Leo immediately went into nurse mode. "I knew I'd be feeling that today…"

"What's wrong?" Leo asked worriedly.

"I landed on my shoulder… My ribs are sore, too…" Max muttered quietly, "I'll be okay…"

"Here," Leo began to unbutton Max shirt. Zenigata immediately backed away, a little surprised by Leo's action, "I need to see how the bruises are forming…" Leo explained as he continued to unbutton the dress shirt and set it aside. "Oh, ouch… Zenigata, you didn't have to do this for me! What did he do, punch you?"

"Hit me with a chair leg in the ribs," Max replied.

"We need to get you to a hospital! You could've broken a rib, and it could be floating, and you could end up puncturing a lung or something!" Leo said worriedly. "Oh, Max… Jeeze, man… Why'd you go and do that for me?"

"Because you're the only friend I have, and you're the co-father of my daughter," Max replied as he sucked in another painful breath.

Leo sighed and shook his head, and walked into the small bathroom, "Come on in here, Zenigata…" Leo instructed. Max rose steadily and hobbled into the bathroom. "Come here and sit down…" Leo ordered. Max obeyed, and seated himself upon the toilet seat lid. Leo removed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some cotton balls from the cabinet and went to cleaning the wound on Max's right shoulder and the area of his ribcage.

"Hey, watch it! That thing's cold!" snapped Max.

"I'm sorry, but the skin's scraped… It could get infected…. And… What in the hell is that?" Leo muttered, "Did you land on your ass somewhere? What's that black thing on your back?"

"That's nothing," Max rose too quickly, and let out a long groan. He seated himself on the cover again and gripped onto his pained shoulder.

"You've got a tattoo, Zenigata!" Leo laughed wildly as he viewed the black Japanese writing on Max's back, "Isn't that against your religion?"

"Just finish already!" snapped Max angrily.

"Isn't that usually a spot where women get them?" asked Leo with a laugh. "What's the Inu Gang, anyway?"

"It's the name of the gang I belonged to…." Max grumbled, "Would you just finish up?"

"Do your parents know about this?" asked Leo.

"No! And they're not going to find out, either!" said Max in a threatening tone.

"Heh, all I have to do is catch you in the shower at the right time, snap a picture with a digital camera, and—"

"Unlike you, I don't like posting pictures like that of myself on the Internet," said Max with a snap.

"Hee hee…" Leo laughed shyly as he went to apply the Neosporin to Max's wounds, "My father was never so proud to have me as a son when he found that…."

"Hm, yeah…" Max said with a small sigh, "Hey, what did he think when you…. Back in Hawaii….?"

"He's still a little freaked over it," admitted Leo. "I've got to do your bandages now…."

"And what about your mom?" inquired Max.

"She doesn't know…" Leo responded.

"What would she think though? I mean, hypothetically speaking…"

"Why are you asking me all of these questions, Zenigata?" Leo implored.

Max cleared his throat, "I… I want to take you out…"

"Take me out? Like as in kill?"

"No!" Max snapped, "Like…. Um… In a different sense from how we've gone out before…"

"Different how?"

"Uh… Like a date…." Max replied slowly.

"You… You're asking me out?" Leo blinked a few times. LeBlanc apparently was dumbstruck by this, "I… I thought you didn't…."

"It was stupid, I know… Sorry…" Max rose and hobbled out of the bathroom, "I'm sorry, Leo…. Thanks for the bandages…."

"Okay…"

"Yeah, I—Wha?"

"I'll go out with you, but I'm not sure if I want a date…." Leo said as he rose from his kneeling position in the bathroom, "After all, what am I supposed to say, Zenigata? You're all banged up, and you've got a hit out for you! I might as well make your week a little better…"

"Yeah… You did, don't worry about that…" Max smirked, and waited until Leo left for the kitchen, closing the door behind himself, to let out a cheer. He didn't care if it was a pity date, Leo still said yes!

Hawaii:

"So, we go in, and steal the deed through this window!" Fuji explained as she went over her blueprints with the two twin Rat Clan members.

"You know, when she starts thinking with her pants, she becomes really motivated…" muttered Ryo, who was clearly impressed by this. Ryo looked over her shoulder, and watched as Toshiro and Yukiko walked into one of the bathrooms of the beach house; she was perplexed by their strange expressions. The doorbell rang, and she looked down at one bracelet upon her right arm which also doubled as a watch. "Mail, this time of night?"

She strode to the front door, and drew out her gun. She kicked the door open, and came face-to-face with a horrified delivery boy.

"Um… From a secret admirer!" choked the young boy, who bounded down the stairs, away from the crazy woman with the pistol. Ryo stared down at the porch, and at the two-dozen white roses, with one red one in the center.

"For me?" she muttered, and picked it up. She opened the card and scanned over it, reading aloud, "Ryoko…. In honor of White Day…. Love, hopefully you don't know who… Huh… Who the hell sent me flowers?"

"Ryoko, who are those from?" asked Odori as she walked into the hall.

"I… I don't know…" Ryo shrugged. As she lifted up the basket, she caught a glint in it, and gasped as she laid eyes upon the gold bracelet tied to one of the roses. "Ari… It could only be Ari…"

Meanwhile, Yukiko had shut the bathroom door, and looked over the results while Toshiro stared onward pensively. She studied the box, the white test strip, and the box once again. She let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the wall, "Thank God… False alarm…." she said gratefully.

"Does this mean another banishment from the bedroom for me?" inquired Toshiro as he rose from the lip of the tub and looked down at the results himself.

"Nah," Yukiko shook her head. "It would've been as much my fault as yours… Jeeze, the last thing I would've wanted right now is a freakin' kid!"

"I guess this means we aren't getting married then, huh?" Toshiro sighed, "Well, I guess some people just can't…"

"When would you set the date?" asked Yukiko as she tossed away the results.

"Well, not until fall, at least! If it's this year, at all!" Toshiro shrugged.

"Fall, huh?" Yukiko rubbed her chin and stared in the mirror, "That's almost half a year away, isn't it?"

"Yeah… You're getting really weird all of a sudden…" said Toshiro.

"Nah, nothing," Yukiko shook her head and walked back out into the living room. "We'll talk later!"

"About what?" Toshiro rose and began to pursue her, "Yukiko what—" he was disrupted by the sudden appearance of Heiji, who leaned against the doorframe, preventing an escape, "Heiji, I—"

"Am in debt to you and going to pay it off, right? I can swear that's what you look like you want to say…" Heiji finished.

"Um… Sure…. What the hell ever… I just—"

"I need you to help me," said Heiji in a business tone.

"With what?" Toshiro asked anxiously as he watched Yukiko disappear from sight, "…Crap… There she goes… Listen, Heij, this is nice and all, but—"

"I want to know who he is…" Heiji whispered.

"Who? Would you quit talkin' like a friggin' bridge troll and just tell me?" Toshiro asked with annoyance.

"I found a letter from Dori… It's addressed to her kid's father," said Heiji, handing Toshiro the envelope, "She didn't mention the guy's name or anything…"

"And what the hell am I supposed to do to help?"

"Use your clan influence to find out which clan this guy is from… He's from some clan, I know, she mentions that… Just not which one it is," Heiji added, "I'm the second son of a clan everyone hates… You're from two clans that everybody hates, but you're the first born son of each clan—And that gives you power…"

"None that I asked for!" Toshiro hissed.

"But you've got it, and if I'm going to let Polly Pervert in there go out with me, you're going to use it!" snapped Heiji.

"I… Dammit, all right! I need to make some phone calls, though… And none of this to Yukiko… She's been kind of annoyed with my biological mom since she was poisoned by her…"

"Do whatever you've gotta do, but do it," said Heiji. Heiji walked away from his brother, leaving Toshiro angry, annoyed, and with a splitting headache.

"I go from playing a puppet on stage to being Heiji's…" muttered Toshiro darkly. "He's more manipulative than Fujiko, sometimes!"

Jerusalem:

Leo had sent Max out for lunch, giving him the perfect opportunity to make his phone call while he had the house to himself. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the familiar number. It wasn't long before someone picked up, "Hello?" Fujiko inquired.

"Mom?" Leo inquired.

"Ari!" Fujiko gasped in surprise, "What… What are you up to, Mister?"

"Oh, nothing much… Trying to catch my sister… Trying not to get killed… Trying convince the world that I'm not Mrs. Zenigata…. The usual…" Leo replied dully, "I'm in the middle of knitting you a sweater… It's teal…"

Fujiko gave a pained moan, but tried her best to conceal this. An entire part of her closet was now dedicated to sweaters which her son had made for her over the years… And to think, this was all her fault.

"Mom, you're the one who tried to break me of that habit I had of moving my hands nervously whenever I got stressed by giving me those knitting needles, so the only one you have to blame is yourself…." said Leo lightly.

"I'm starting to think I should've given you a yo-yo…"

"Hm, sure… I'm so uncoordinated, I'd probably lose an eye… How's Dakota?"

"She's terrific! She's out with your father right now… He took her horseback riding… He's also teaching her archery…"

"Greeattt…" Leo sighed, "That's the last thing she needs to know; how to use an arrow…"

"And how are her two fathers doing?" inquired Fujiko.

"Eh, we're okay…" Leo muttered, "Can't complain… Max just kicked someone's ass for me, last night…."

"Why'd he do that?"

"Some guy at a club passed me a roofie…" Leo said with a pang of remembrance.

"A guy? What kind of club did he take you to?"

"One that only someone like Max would love… I haven't seen so many guys in leather since that biker convention I broke into…" Leo shuddered.

"I never took Max for the violent type," Fujiko admitted.

"Yeah, Zenigata's a complicated guy… That's part of the reason why I called… I need some info on the Inu Gang… They've got a branch in San Francisco… I was hoping I could talk to Dad about it, but maybe you have some information about them…"

"Who do you know in that gang?" Fujiko wondered aloud.

"Well… Zenigata's got this tattoo on his back… Apparently he ran with them…"

"…Holy crap…. A Zenigata ran with those bastards?"

"…I'm guessing they're more than a juevy gang, huh?..."

"Um, try the Triad Juniors… That's their nickname… There hasn't been a single kid who has graduated from there that hasn't become an assassin, murderer…. Even your Dad hates them… They offered him a job years ago, and he flat-out told them to kiss his ass and then he stole the treasure himself!"

"Well, Max got out, thankfully… Wait, did you say some were assassins now?"

"Yeah…" Fujiko gasped, "That hit! You're thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you, Ari?"

"Scarily enough, yes," Leo replied. "Someone from that gang's so pissed at Max they jumped at the chance to kill him… Holy crap, I sent him out to get breakfast! This would be one of the first places they check! Thank Dad for his great hideout, Mom…"

"All right… You go find him, Arsène… I love you…"

"Yeah, love you, too… Bye, Mom!" Leo hung up his phone and rushed out, carrying a small suitcase with him. He would have to do the job on the way to find Max…

A Small Restaurant:

Max paced back and forth and looked down at his watch again; how long did it take to make sandwiches, anyway? He let out another heavy sigh and seated himself in an old white metal chair, and resigned himself to staring at the ceiling fan.

"Mind if I sit here?" he heard, and looked upward with surprise to see a brunette woman staring back downward at him.

"Eh, sure…" Max smirked, straightened himself up in his seat. "May I ask your name, Ma'am?"

"My name? It's Amy…" she answered.

"Hey, that was my grandmother's name, too!" Max laughed with disbelief, "You aren't from around here, are you, Amy?"

"Not really…" Amy smirked and fished through her purse, eventually falling upon her compact. She opened it and began to apply more powder while Max studied her quietly. She caught him out of the corner of her eye, and smirked, "See something you like?"

"Uh, well…"

"Hm…" she shut her compact and smiled at Max, "I think your order's done…"

"Huh?" Max shot to attention and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, what do you know? You're right!"

Amy opened her compact again and looked at the reflection over her shoulder… She was right… It was a Japanese man with a gun. She strategically rose and moved in front of Max as he turned away from the counter. She grabbed onto Zenigata's shoulders, and Max was puzzled by this strange action.

"Wow… You're kinda tall…" Max muttered.

"Shut up if you want to live," Amy whispered. "There's a man with a gun there, and he wants to blow your brains out…"

"What?" Max gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"I was hoping if I came in disguise they wouldn't recognize me… So much for that plan…" Amy muttered.

"Wait, who are you?" asked Max.

"Just wait here until I say the coast is clear…" said Amy quietly. She quietly walked out of the restaurant, and looked to her left. There was the assassin. She smirked, and walked towards him, "Hey, you're Asian, aren't you? Hm… Nice…"

"Sorry, Lady, I'm a little busy," said the assassin regrettably.

"Yeah, you better watch out for that club…" Amy said as she put a hand upon his back.

"What club—Gya!" he fell back with a loud thud, and Amy took a few steps back.

"Whoopsy… Mister, please don't bleed on my shoes!" Amy said in a small voice as she stepped away from the assassin, "Mommy should have told you not to play with the pros…"

She poked her head back into the restaurant and called to Zenigata, "Come on, we'll take my car!"

"Wait… This is my car…" Max said in confusion as he laid eyes upon the rental.

"Hop in!" Amy ordered.

"Who the hell are you? What'd you do to Leo?" snapped Max.

"Your partner's fine, but these heels are killing him!" Amy's voice suddenly changed into a much more familiar tone.

"…L-Leo?" Max gulped.

"Get in before he wakes up, Zenigata!" Leo ordered once again, jumping into the driver's side. Max also buckled himself in and held on as Leo sped out of the restaurant.

"Your disguise is in the back, Zenigata," Leo explained.

"Could you please explain what's going on, LeBlanc? Why in the hell are you dressed like a woman?" snapped Max.

"No one recognized me, did they?" Leo countered, "Thought not…"

"Could you please explain what's going on?" snapped Max.

"The Inu Gang is the one working on your hit…" explained Leo, "And I did some more research, and you have no idea who else is getting involved with them…"

"Surprise me," said Max as he opened the suitcase and applied the black wig in it.

"Fuji…" said Leo. "She's helping two kids from a rival clan keep their estate… The Inu Gang's in on it… Those stupid kids think that they're going to build a department store on top of it… But in fact there's a treasure hidden beneath that old rotting monument! The Inu Gang wants it… I can't believe my sister's getting involved in a turf war… What an idiot… It's hard to believe I shared a womb with that moron sometimes… I think I got more oxygen than she did…"

"What?" Max shrieked, "We've got to get the hell out of here!"

"Definitely… I forged two passports, so we'll get out of the country without anyone knowing… I sent a letter to Joshua, explaining everything…"

Max nodded, and continued to disguise himself while Leo drove to the airport.

Hawaii, in the nighttime:

"A little lower," whispered Fuji through the microphone. She was suspended by a single rope from the ceiling. Toshiro had cut out the opening, and now stood guard with Yukiko in the front of the building. Ally was in charge of lowering her down. Ryo waited for the group in the car, which was behind the tall building. Heiji was still in the process of disabling security while Fuji continued to be lowered down by the tense Ally.

"Okay, all clear," Heiji said through his own headset.

"Odori, your turn," said Fuji.

"Got it," Odori answered through her headset. A few moments later, Odori came soaring down from her own rope, and cut open the safe in which the documents were held. Fuji smiled widely, and reached inward.

"Come to mommy, babies… You've all been bad, so she has to take you away from all of your fun…" Fuji chuckled.

"Just hurry it up already… It's hot as hell out here," Yukiko moaned.

"Hey, just give me a second here, snowdrift…" grumbled Fuji.

"Snowdrift?" Yukiko muttered, "…Snowdrift?"

Fuji gave a small grumble, and reached into the safe. She was more than surprise when she found she couldn't pull her hands back out of the safe, "…Uh-oh…"

"Fuji, what's 'uh-oh'?" asked Heiji with worry.

"Hee hee… My hands are caught…" Fuji explained sheepishly.

"I knew you were putting on weight, but this is ridiculous, Fuji!" sighed Ryo.

"Listen, I'm really caught in these! Would someone just gimme my hands?" Fuji moaned.

"Try to pick the lock, bakaro (you idiot)…" said Odori.

"There is no lock… I don't know what this is… Dori, I've got a flashlight in my belt… Pick that up and shine it into here… I've got to see what I'm working with…" said Fuji quietly.

Odori nodded, and removed the flashlight from Fuji's belt, and shone it in the small opening. Both let out a long yell as the ball python which had wrapped itself about Fuji's wrists looked back at the two and flicked its tongue out at the young women. Odori quickly unsheathed her sword, and make a few close strokes. Fuji gave a heavy sigh as the disassembled snake fell to the ground.

"Okay… Now let's check and see exactly what we've got here…" Fuji muttered as she moved deeper into the safe. "Ohgreat…"

"What now?" sighed Odori.

"There's a guy here, pointing a gun at me…" said Fuji.

"WHAT?" Yukiko, Heiji, Toshiro, Ryo, Ally and Odori all shrieked in unison.

"Hee hee… Hi, Mister… We're just hanging around…" said Fuji with a nervous chuckle as she stared down the barrel of the gun.

"You two bitches wanna get your faces blown off?" snapped the sharpshooter on the other side.

"Bitches?" Odori snarled, and drew her sword, "I'll show you who the real dog is here!" Before she could strike, however, Ally hurriedly yanked her rope up, before Odori could do anything stupid. The gunman tried to fire, but it was impossible to hit her from the angle or his small cubby hole. While he concentrated upon Odori, Fuji took this opportunity to grab the paperwork and shimmy her way up. She met Ally and Odori on the roof of the building. She also met the men holding the two at gunpoint on the roof. She glanced downward, and saw Ryo and Heiji, both with their hands up. The car had been surrounded. Yukiko and Toshiro had also been ambushed, and although they had tried to fight, it had been in vain. Both had been handcuffed by the hands and feet, and their weapons commandeered. Yukiko kneed one man as he attempted to remove her fedora from her hand, and Toshiro gave a small laugh. He quit laughing, however, when he saw James and Kara, the two Rat Clan members.

"What the hell?" Yukiko wondered aloud. "Why aren't you two receiving the royal treatment, too? Heh, isn't it past your bedtimes, anyway?"

James growled, and slapped Yukiko across the face.

"Listen, you little bastard, I don't care how you're related to me! That's my girlfriend and you're going to treat her with some Goddamn respect!" yelled Toshiro angrily.

Kara smirked, and placed a hand upon Toshiro's face, "Hm… Thank God we really aren't related, because you're kind of cute…"

"What? What do you mean?" asked Toshiro.

"Well, we're from a Clan, but not the one you think," James explained. "We're actually members of the Inu Gang… Well, it's a Clan, technically, but we're always recruiting… We've even got a celebrity in our group! Well, he used to run with us… You might know Max Zenigata…"

"Max was… Oh my God, this just keeps getting worse and worse…" grumbled Toshiro.

"Hey, your uncle is officially off of my Christmas card list," snapped Yukiko as she looked over at Toshiro with annoyance.

"Here are the others," said several other gang members as they led Ryo and Heiji and then Ally, Fuji and Odori over to James and Kara. "What are we going to do with them?"

"Send one with a message…" said James with a smirk, "But who?"

"Odori," Fuji said quickly. "She's got a baby…"

"Fujiko, no, I—"

"Odori," Fuji looked at Odori seriously. "I know you just want to protect me, but if you don't save your baby, you're just being selfish… You're parents were thoughtful enough to give you to a rich family, so why don't you follow their example?"

Odori looked downward a long, long while… Everyone had a lot to lose… What if someone were killed while she were away? She had sworn to protect all of them; it was part of her strict samurai code. What if they were all were… She wouldn't think about it… Fuji was right… As scary as that sounded…

"All right, I'll go," Odori nodded. "What's your message?"

"Zenigata and LeBlanc are flying here as we speak," said Kara, passing Odori a letter. "Give that to them… With their relatives hostage, I don't see how they'll be able to refuse…"

"You did this grand set up just to get back at Zenigata? Jeeze, his life sucks already! You think you'd be doing justice if you killed him?" Fuji laughed wildly, "He'd probably give you a freakin' medal!"

"Shut up, or we'll turn you into sushi!" hissed Kara. She turned to James, "How long do you give her before we start killing them?"

"Eh, I say sunrise… Which one you want to kill first?" asked James with a tone of normal conversation.

"How about that little freak with the big nose and the mop top haircut?" asked Kara, pointing back to Ally.

"No, not him…" said Toshiro quickly, "He's got a fiancée. What about me?"

"Hey, you've got a freakin' fiancée, too!" snapped Yukiko to Toshiro.

"Would you two quit squawking?" James asked, covering his ears, "How can you two stand one another?"

"We don't; that's why we get along so well!" Yukiko answered with a snap.

"Exactly!... Um, what was that about the fiancée part?" asked Toshiro.

"Would you just shut up?" James lifted the butt of his gun to Yukiko's face, and was about to come down when Ally kicked the gun out of his hand. James growled, picked up the gun, and instead pistol-whipped the Jigen boy across the chin. Ally fell down with a thud.

"ALLY!" Yukiko and Ryo yelled in unison.

Ally slowly rose, clutching onto his bloody chin and glaring at James and Kara, "You lying, backstabbing…"

"Save it," snapped James. "Let's get them back inside… We'll wait until then…."

About an Hour Before Sunrise:

Odori waited pensively for the two inspectors as she paced back and forth in the airport terminal. The stress had caused her to down an entire foot-long sub from the deli and half a two-liter while she waited for Leo and Max. Her tension heightened as she watched their plane filter out, and became more and more anxious as the passengers lessened and lessened, until there were none left. She looked around frantically, and peered inside the tunnel connecting the plane to the building, "LeBlanc, Zenigata? Anyone…"

"Odori!" Odori swung about in surprise as a black-haired white man growled and pointed to her. Next to him stood a suspiciously tall woman in a purple dress, "You're under arrest…."

"Zenigata?" Odori gasped.

"You bet your ass!" growled Max, revealing his handcuffs to her.

"Great way to keep a low profile, Max…" muttered Leo.

"LeBlanc?" Odori choked with shock.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so… Odori, where are the others?" asked Leo.

"Like she'd tell us!" Max snorted.

"They're being held hostage," Odori explained.

"How do we know you're not just tricking us?" snapped Max, pointing accusingly to Odori.

Odori frowned; she was not in the mood to be accused of lying, "I'm not behind it; it's a group of friends of yours called the Inu Gang…"

"The Inu Gang?" Max choked.

"They sent this letter. I'll explain in the transportation which you pay for," responded Odori.

"Um, sure…" Max picked up the luggage for himself and Leo, and they met Odori outside by the cab. Odori seated herself in between the two, and the cabdriver was a little more than surprised when Leo and Max shed their disguises and returned to their normal states. Odori looked down at Leo's jacket pocket with interest.

"Are those salted peanuts?" she inquired.

Leo sighed, and removed them from his jacket pocket, "Anything for an expectant mother…"

The cab driver followed Odori's directions, and Max nearly suffered from a stroke when he had to fish out forty American dollars, plus tip, to the driver. Leo instructed the cabbie to driver to Heiji's beach house and drop their luggage off there, which set him back about fifty.

"I feel like I was just robbed…" muttered Max as he walked up the steps with Leo. Leo looked to his partner, and could tell that he was troubled, and not from having to pay so much for a cab ride. There had been something in that message.

Odori knocked upon the door, and an Inu Gang member led her in. The member and Max's eyes met briefly, and then Max averted his eyes to the ground and the three followed the lackey into the large office where the Lupin IV members had all been tied to chairs.

Max looked down in shock at Ally, who was still bleeding from the wound he had received, "Okay, you've got what you wanted…" said Max to Kara and James, "Now let them go…"

"We're afraid we can't do that," Kara gave a villainous chuckle. "Why don't you three have a seat?"

Two armed gang lackeys went to grab Max, but he quickly turned and punched one in the face, elbowing the other as he drew back his arm. Leo also attempted to fight off the masses of guards, while Odori concentrated upon the ropes which bound her companions, "Ryoko!" she called, and threw Zantetsu. The blade cut through Ryo's bindings, and Jigen caught the handle of it, and went to untying the others. One gang member went to grab Ryo, but Toshiro, the person whom was next undone, quickly took care of the man by throwing him over his shoulder.

"I think it's a good time to get outta here!" shouted Fuji as she was set free, "Heiji, no offense, but Hawaii sucks!" Fuji then proceeded to toss the blade back to Odori, and shouted for the samurai to seek some sort of cover.

"Gah!" Max gave a yell as James grabbed him by the arm and subdued him. He drew a sword, and held it to Zenigata's throat.

"Hey!" James shouted, "I hope I have everyone's attention now… You all win… You're free to go… But this one stays with us… He'll see what happens to people who desert our gang."

"Why not take me, instead?" Max's eyes quickly shifted to Leo.

"LeBlanc?" Max shouted, "What the hell are you—"

"It'd be the most logical choice, on your part," Leo explained to James as he polished his glasses and adjusted his tie.

"And how's that?" snapped James.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Leo laughed, "Max is in love with me!"

"…I'm gonna throw up…" Ally muttered under his breath.

"Oh, so now you're a sociopath and a homophobe?" Toshiro said to Ally with interest, "Wow, you're circle of people who you like is ever-tightening, isn't it?"

"It's not that…. It's just… I used to double-date with that guy, and now he's… It's weird…" Ally admitted.

"I'm what?" Max responded flatly.

"….You're kidding…" James gaped a little at this, as did Kara.

"We've even got a daughter!" Leo continued, "She's adorable, too… Max is the mother, is case you're wondering…"

"Okay, I know you're trying to save me, but you're crossing the line, Leo!" shouted Max.

Leo took a few more steps towards Kara and James, "Wouldn't it make more sense to have him suffer, knowing that he was responsible for my death? Why, he'd probably kill himself, and you two would be national heroes! You'll be the people who killed Lupin the Fourth…"

"What in the hell is that idiot doing?" Ryo said under her breath.

"I don't know, but even I'm stumped…" replied Fuji.

"You're Lupin the Fourth?" Kara laughed, "You can't be serious…"

"Well, is this more convincing?" Leo dropped his mousy tone and spoke in his naturally nasally, Lupin III-like voice. He also removed his glasses, and gave a look of arrogance which only his father would normally wear. "See… You'd win big-time if you listened to me…"

Kara gave a long pause, and turned to James, "He's right… We'd be rich and famous, and have our revenge…"

James sighed, "Well, you are five minutes older, Kara, so I'll agree… Fine, Lupin…"

"Good, now I'll walk over to you, and you let Zenigata go," Leo instructed.

"Wait," James held out a hand, stopping Leo in his tracks. "Disarm yourself, first…"

"All I've got is a set of knitting needles," Leo smirked and held up his finished scarf. "What do you think of it? I think I should've used a different technique…"

"Give that to me," Kara instructed, holding out her opened hand.

"Well, okay," Leo shrugged, and passed it to Kara.

"This is the most bizarre material I've ever felt…" Kara mumbled as she graced her hands over the material, "What is it?"

"A rare cashmere…" Leo explained, "Um, could I have one last request? Well, two, actually…."

"Why not… But hurry it up…" James grumbled. He released Zenigata at this time, and Max scrambled towards Leo, putting a hand on LeBlanc's shoulder with obvious worry. "What do you want?"

"A glass of water would be nice…" Leo said. A few moments later, this was provided, and Leo gave his second request, "Please throw away that knitting project…"

"What, that's it? You're kidding… That's stupid!" James laughed, "All right… Kara, you heard the man…"

Kara nodded, and tossed the knitting project away into the trashcan. "I drank as much as I could of the water…" Leo said, handing the cup to Kara. Leo leaned inward to Max, "When she throws it in, cover your ears…"

"…Why?" Max asked worriedly.

"Just…. Do it…" replied Leo slowly as he watched Kara toss in the cup, which still contained some water. A loud, loud explosion occurred seconds later.

"Run!" Leo shouted.

"My freakin' ears!" Yukiko moaned. The Lupin gang and the inspectors took off running, out of the building, which was beginning to crumble from the force of the blast.

"You destroyed a national monument!" Max shrieked at Fuji.

"Me?" Fuji yelled as she watched the Inu Gang work its way out of the wreckage, "That was all your boyfriend's doing!"

"Could we finish this later, guys? They're coming fast!" Heiji yelled.

"Yeah," Fuji nodded in response. "But how… They cut the tires on the car and—Ryo-san, you ever drive a yacht before?"

"No, but I'm always willing to try!" Ryo answered. She dove into the water and began to swim quickly towards the yacht, and Fuji still followed. Heiji carried Odori upon his back as he swam (for he was an extremely strong swimmer) and Toshiro carried the wounded Ally.

"We'll go back to my place," Heiji announced as he lifted Odori upon the yacht and then himself. The Inu Gang had taken to the water, and was now in pursuit of the yacht, and quickly catching up to the stationary ship.

"Where the hell's the captain?" Fuji wondered aloud as she looked about the ship.

"He's here!" Toshiro pulled out a frightened man from beneath table.

"Sir, I'll pay you five thousand American to get us out of here," Fuji said calmly to the man. The man nodded, and quickly took off.

"Glad I've got some more of this with me…" Leo muttered as he removed an air-tight pouch with a white substance in it from his pocket.

"What in the hell is that?" Max wondered.

"Pure sodium… Explodes in water…" Leo explained, "It's the only damn thing I ever learned in chemistry… I laced my scarf with the stuff, too. That's why it felt funny."

"Brilliant…" Max muttered, and watched as Leo opened the packet and flung it in the direction of the gang, who was soon subject to another loud explosion.

"I hope this didn't hurt the baby," Odori said as she laid a hand over her stomach.

"You were behind a wall when the explosion happened, so you ought to be all right," Ryo replied.

"How's he doing?" Yukiko asked as Toshiro sat Ally down upon the floor of the yacht.

"He ought to be all right, but it's going to leave a scar," Toshiro answered as he took a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and began to clean Ally's face with this.

"Great… A scar for my wedding picture…" Ally grumbled.

"Well, you could always grow a beard out," Toshiro suggested. Ally looked upward at him, wondered if Ishikawa was joking, but it was clear he wasn't.

"Hell, I don't know… I think I'll look into plastic surgery first," Ally responded tiredly.

While Ally and Toshiro held their first civil discussion in years, much to the shock of Yukiko, and while Ryo found something for the still-stressed Odori to eat, Fuji met Heiji upon the roof of the control room, where there was a guard rail and set of table and chairs.

"Hey, it's sunrise!" Fuji chirped, "It's a new day—A whole day! And I did my work, Heiji-chan… Now it's your turn," she gave a wide, goofy, Lupin-like smile at the thought of this.

"You know, you're just like your dad, Fuji," sighed Heiji sadly.

"Huh? I don't get it…"

"I said twenty-four hours… I stipulated neither when, nor where, nor did I say that they'd be consecutive," Heiji explained.

Fuji gaped, "W-What? You tricked me?"

"That's putting it crudely, but, yeah," Heiji chuckled.

"You... You… Fujiko!" Fuji yelled angrily.

"Hey, wherever there's a Lupin, there's a Zenigata on the chase and a schemer in the wings… Enjoy the sunrise, Princess," Heiji gave a smile before climbing down the stairs and disappearing.

"I ought to strangle him!" Fuji fumed. "Uh… Wait… Speaking of Zenigata…"

"Yes, speaking of Zenigata…" she spun back about to the guard rail, where Max now sat, Leo LeBlanc standing beside him on solid ground.

"Jeeze, Blondie, how the hell did you get up there so fast? Did they teach you that in the gang?" Fuji inquired.

"My past is none of your business, Lupin!" growled Zenigata.

"Well, since we're forgetting pasts, can we forget mine?" Fuji gave a hopeful smile.

"Like hell! I'm—We're—Taking you in!"

"Hey, I've got a question—At your guy's wedding, who's going to be the one wearing the garter?" asked Fuji.

"Why you little," Max began to run after Fuji as she shimmied down the stairs, but found he was held to the guardrail by none other than his own set of handcuffs. "How does she do that?"

"Does it really matter right now?" Leo sighed heavily, "Here, let me help you get out of those…"

"Hey everybody, look, Leo and Max are holding hands and watching the sun rise!" Fuji shouted.

"Would you just SHUT UP?" Max shrieked.

"You know, swimming home with sharks doesn't sound that bad right now…" Yukiko confided to Toshiro as they continued to sail along.