DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin III, but I do have a headache (moans, grabs ice pack, places over head)… Enjoy…

Hey, how in the heck are ya'll!

Hee hee… I know it's been a while… I'll go beat myself outback for not updating sooner… I've just had trouble with this college, and anyway who's ever graduated from high school knows the stress I'm going through right now --'. Anyway, here's the next installment… For the non-French speakers, it translates into 'I have two loves'…. The reason why I chose an old Josephine Baker hit will become apparent soon… Anyway, thanks again for reading, and thank you all so much for being patient with me.

Fun Fact of Boredom: Remember wayyy back, the Jigen and Ming dance scene from Dragons & Phoenixes? That was inspired by the Robert DeNiro movie Scent of a Woman, in which an older blind man shares a really impressive dance scene with a young woman. I'm a DeNiro fan…

'I've loved you from the moment I saw you,
You looked at me that's all you had to,
I feel it now I hope you feel it too.'

—The Beatles, 'For You Blue'

Chapter Ten: J'ai Duex Amours

Paris, France:

"Well, I'm glad that's all out of the way now…" Max sighed as he opened the door to his and Leo's apartment and threw down his suitcases.

"Dad's bringing Dakota by in an hour or so…" Leo added while laying his own luggage by the front door and closing the door behind himself. "Hm…"

"What?" Max inquired, turning back and looking at Leo.

"There's something different about the place…" Leo said quietly.

"Heh, yeah, there's life in it…" responded Max quickly.

"Na-ah," Leo shook his head, and slowly drew his gun. "I'll check the bedrooms; you look around here, Zenigata…"

"Aye-aye, Captain," Max saluted sarcastically, and went to looking about the kitchen.

Leo first noticed the door to Max's room ajar. He slowly opened it with the front of his pistol, and nearly shot as a letter fell down in front of his face. It read:

Dear Leo,

I'm pretty sure that you'll be the one reading this because you more than likely are checking this part of the apartment. My friends and I made a few small changes while you were out, to accommodate your new, larger family.

Cheers!

Dako's Auntie L

"Fuji…" Leo grumbled, and ripped the note off, and then proceeded to look about Max's room. There certainly were changes—Instead of the one large bed, there were two smaller ones with a nightstand in between the two. Another desk and bookshelves, not to mention a closet, had also been added, to the left side of the room. "These are my books…" said Leo aloud as he read through the titles. He moved to the closet, and opened this, and found his clothes had been moved there, "Hey, Max!"

"What, Le—What the…?" was Max's reaction.

"Well, I guess you and I are a little closer now…" Leo said lightly. "My life is continually an allusion to The Odd Couple…." Although he said this out loud, in reality his life was more and more like The Birdcage.

"What happened to your room, then?" asked Max.

"Don't know… Hey, a Jude Law poster!" Leo laughed, pointing at the movie poster for Law's Alfieremake. Max flushed, let out a small curse under his breath, and quickly hid this with a large stack of legal books. "Well, let's see what my sister did next door…"

"Your sister did this?" Max shouted. "How in the hell did she get in?"

"Yeah, so I'd check your sock drawer to see if all that money is still in there," said Leo.

"How'd you know about that money?" Max asked quickly as he followed Leo out of their room.

"Well, you know, every once in a while a guy needs coffee money, and… Don't give me that look, Max, I always put back what I take with interest… You just suck at math too much to notice… I must've added at least fifteen Euros…."

"I'll count it later… Right now I want to see what she did with your room," Max opened the door to Leo's room, and both were shocked to see it had been painted pink.

"Yep, my landlord is going to freakin' kill me," Leo said with reassurance in his voice. He looked about the room, and noticed its other furnishings. It was a room perfect for a little girl. Max opened the closet—All new clothes. There was a note attached to the vanity mirror.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Zenigata… Ha ha… Very funny… I know I usually like to take credit for these things, but I will firmly deny ever doing this for you two. I hope my niece likes her room. Love, Dako's Auntie L," Leo sighed, smiled, and rolled his eyes, "Hee hee…. I guess Fuji likes having a little niece…"

"Hello? Your door was opened!" Lupin called as he entered Leo and Max's apartment.

"Guys, I'm home!" shouted Dako.

"Hey, come in here, we've got a surprise for you!" Leo called to Dako.

"Really, what's up?" Dako inquired, walking into the bedroom and dropping her suitcase as she laid eyes upon the room, "Wow! It's terrific!"

"You like it?" Max asked hopefully.

"I love it!" Dako embraced both about the waist, and laughed happily, "It's beautiful!" She broke off from the two and continued to investigate while Lupin and Fujiko watched from the doorway.

"I'm guessing your sister had a hand in this," Lupin said, followed by his usual laughter.

"Fujiko, look at these outfits! Oh my God, this is from the GAP! And this is from Macy's! They're all American stores!" Dako gasped with delight. "Wha—These are Converse shoes! Oh my God!"

"Fuji likes any excuse to blow money," Leo said with a chuckle.

"Well, at least she's constructive," Lupin sighed.

"I'm gonna try this on!" Dako flew past Max and Leo, nearly knocking the two down as she ran to the bathroom and slammed the door behind herself.

"Well, it looks like your sister likes the idea of having a little niece, Ari," Fuji smiled and placed a hand upon his back.

"Hey, we've got that thing tonight," Max reminded Leo quietly.

"What thing?" asked Leo.

"That thing you promised," responded Max.

"Ohhh… That thing… Maybe we should reschedule, with Dako home and all…"

"I made those reservations back in Jerusalem!" Max snapped. "There was a month-long wait to get in there! Do you know whose parole I had to screw with to get in there?"

"Um, something we could help with, guys?" asked Lupin.

"Nothing," Max grumbled, and turned away from Leo. "I'm going to go get the paper, Leo! I'll be right back!"

"What the hell got into him?" Lupin asked.

"We were supposed to go out tonight," Leo sighed, putting a hand over his head tiredly. "…And I completely forgot…"

"Out out?... Hey, Dako!" Lupin shouted, and Dako opened the bathroom door and stuck out her head from the bathroom door, "You wanna go to a movie?"

"I'd really like that!" Dako responded, "You'll translate, right?"

"But of course!" Lupin replied, "Just finish up now, all right?"

"Okay," Dako closed the door once again, and Lupin turned to his son and smiled.

"We'll meet her down in the car. You two have fun," Lupin patted Leo on the back, and let out another line of laughter.

"Lupin, you go on—I've got to do something really quick," said Fujiko.

"Hm? Well, okay," Lupin nodded, and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind himself.

"What's up, Mom?" Leo asked.

"Come on," Fujiko led him by the hand into his bedroom, and opened his closet. "Here we go!" she pulled out a purple dress shirt, and held it up to Leo. "Well? I think this and khakis…"

"Khaki? Why don't you just dress me in gray pants and a blue shirt and call me Lupin?" Leo inquired.

"I'm just trying to help you," Fujiko sighed, and walked over to him. "You have fun tonight Ari, and remember that your father and I both love you."

"Thanks, Mom… I will," Leo embraced his mom, and watched as she walked out, Dako running out to follow her.

Later that Night:

"Well, this oughta be interesting… Hopefully he won't end up proposing to me…" Leo muttered as he grabbed his wallet from the dresser and placed it in his back pocket, "Who the hell pays when two guys go out, anyway? I'm guessing the femme… Hey, free meal for me!"

"Leo, you ready?" Max asked. Zenigata was by the front door, holding the keys to their car in his hand, swinging them around nervously.

"Yep!" Leo responded with a smile which tried to hide his overall uneasiness on the subject of going 'out' with Zenigata. He was slightly surprised when Zenigata opened and closed the door for him, but though nothing of this.

"I hope you like the place I picked out," Max said as he walked down the numerous flights of stairs with Leo. "It's an Italian place… Just opened!"

"Well, as long as I don't eat octopus, I ought to be all right," Leo answered with a light chuckle. This was extremely bizarre, and Max knew it, too. Leo felt like he was in the Twilight Zone.

"What's that?" Max wondered aloud as he spotted some leftover packaging material in the back seat of the car, "I just cleaned this thing out this afternoon!"

"Oh, I… I sent some stuff off to Ryo," Leo replied sheepishly. Great, and now the ex was being brought into the picture… Te-frickin'-rrific.

"Oh… White Day, right?" Max concluded.

"Yeah… Well, she did get me something for Valentine's Day, after all… It was the polite thing to do!"

"Yeah… Yeah, I suppose so…" Max said beneath his breath as he sat down in the driver's seat. Leo seated himself in the passenger seat and contemplated whether or not to wear his seatbelt; the escape would be much faster if he refrained from wearing it, "I hope you like that place I picked…. It's supposed to be one of the best in the area… Real Italians own it!" Max said as he tried to lighten the heavy mood a little.

"So… You hear Rollings hooked up with Sanchez at the office?"

"Woah, crap, really? I thought they hated each other…"

"…Yeah… Hey, is it just me, or are our lives extremely boring when we aren't talking about the Lupin case?"

"It's because we're both obsessed for our own reasons," Max answered. "Me because of my ego and my defending of the family name, and you because you just want to keep your sister and friends out of trouble."

"I just hope I don't turn into your dad!" Leo laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max snapped.

"Hey, you don't want to turn into him, either!"

"But I can say it because he's my dad! What if I said 'I hope I don't turn into your dad, Leo?'."

"I'd laugh my ass off, because that'd not only mean that you weren't law-abiding, it'd mean that you were straight."

"Heh, you've really got a mouth on you when you put your mind to it, you know that?"

"Well, at least we found something to talk about…" Leo sighed tiredly.

New Delhi, India:

"I ain't got any worries, and I ain't money, but luck seems to follow, wherever I go… When you said hello my luck disappeared, you didn't even know I cared… I got my kings and aces, and I'm winnin' at the races…"

"Fuji, shut up!" growled Ryo, slamming on the brakes roughly and sending Fuji flying forward. Fuji's head slammed against the metal frame around the windshield of the Romeo, and she moaned.

"Ryo-san, you sure are grumpier than usual today!" moaned Fuji as she nursed the red spot upon her forehead.

"Well, I… It's nothing, Fuji," sighed Ryo.

"No, tell me! Something's wrong! Tell me already!" Fuji poked at Ryo and implored in a whine.

"I had a package arrive from Ari today!" snapped Ryo.

"And I thought you liked when that happened…. What was it, pictures of him and Zenigata? If you have any of just blondie, lemme know… He may be a jerk, but he's easy on the eyes, you know what I mean?"

"Gross… No… It was a really beautiful kimono… White with purple flowers."

"Um… I wouldn't go freaking if a guy sent me that, especially if I liked him…"

"That's not why I'm worried… Someone already sent me something for White Day!"

"So someone out there has a crush on you? Oh, that's so cute, Ryo-san!"

"But how in the hell did he get my address?"

"Him or her…"

"What?"

"You're bigger than Xena in some circles, Ryo-san."

"And how the hell would you know that, Fuji?"

"Because I've got a bi-curious following of my own," Fuji shuddered. "Sometimes women will come up to me and want me to… Uh, sign things…."

"Holy… Well, that can't be fun…"

"Not in the least… Especially when it's on a street corner somewhere… Sometimes I don't know what's worse—Being popular with the police or being as popular as a rock star with raving fans."

"Well, look at it this way, Fuji—You've saved an entire generation from idolizing Britney Spears," Ryo said with a shrug.

"Oi, she scares me something wicked, I'll tell ya!" Fuji chuckled. "Hey, we're here!"

"You sure now?" Ryo inquired, raising an eyebrow with interest.

"Yup!" Fuji sauntered out of the vehicle, and into the library which they had stopped at. Ryo followed in afterwards, begrudgingly.

"I'm surprised she even knows how to form the letters to spell library…" Ryo said to herself.

Paris:

Leo was split on whether or not to tell Max that the waiter had just called him a blond bastard in Italian, but decided against it as Max began to speak.

"I wanted to thank you again… For this… I know it's kinda weird," Max admitted as he leaned on the booth table which they shared.

"Well, I've had lots of people like me, Zenigata… Just never a guy friend," Leo answered, wondering if he were actually saying the words that poured out of his mouth. It was just too strange. He looked away at the other tables as he noted Max looking at him strangely, as Zenigata had done before.

"It's nice out tonight, neh? You know, my mom used to send me to places like this when she'd hook me up with someone," Max sighed with a tone of bitterness in his voice. "I got to know a lot of the guys around there pretty well… I even thought about asking one of the waiters out for a while…"

"Does your mom know yet that you date almost strictly guys?" asked Leo as he took a sip of his water.

"Not yet… I'm not ready to die, yet," Max replied. "You know, it's weird…"

"What's that?"

"Well, I mean, I'm traveling all over the world, I've got a roof over my head, and I've got a kid now, in a sick, twisted, way… And I've got someone to care about… You know what; I think I'm actually… happy! For the first time in my life, I'm actually happy with my station in life! And to think it could be from my family's sworn enemy, ha ha! You guys aren't so bad, you know… Even your sister, even though she's a total bitch, and she's sort of snobby, and she whines a lot… You're the complete opposite, though… You're just too uptight… But, you know what, other than that, you're really an awesome person. Sometimes I just wish you were a girl, so I wouldn't look like as big fruitcake when I told you that I've had a crush on you for a little while now.

"I never even really looked at Asians until you, either! I guess you're just special like that. I'd really like it if you stayed and helped me raise Dako, Leo. She needs another good parent. You're a lot better with kids than I am… Let's face it; she likes you a little more than me… Jeeze, this is never easy to admit to someone… I know you really aren't for those things, but didn't you… Did you ever think about maybe.… Considering? I know I've got a temper, and huge ego, but I make up for it in other areas. Come on—I could cook, you could file taxes… It'd work out to everyone's advantage."

There was a long, long pause from the other side of the table. He had been joking about the proposing part earlier, but he knew what direction Max was heading in.

"…Um… Bathroom… I've gotta… Run…" Leo's voice cracked as he clumsily stood up from the table and made his way to the bathroom, running into the dessert cart and nearly falling over it as he did so. He ran into the bathroom, and immediately reached for his inhaler. He had no idea how long he pumped it in order to keep from hyperventilating, but he saw a good dozen men give him strange glances as they entered and exited the bathroom. When he finally stopped his asthma attack, he called the first person he could think of.

"Hello?" Fujiko asked on the other line of the phone.

"He likes me!" Leo moaned, leaning against a sink and holding his head in his hand. "He just told me that he likes me! He told me he wants me to stay and be Dako's 'mom', I guess… Gwaa, oh God, he wants to friggin' sleep with me, I'll bet! Jesus Christ…"

"….I take he broke the news to you, huh?"

"No crap!"

"Don't curse," said Fujiko quickly. "Now just calm down…"

"I can't, I… I'm gonna throw up…" Leo said in a pant, and proceeded to do so while a disgusted Fujiko waited on the other side of the phone. Leo slid down to the floor of the bathroom, his back against the cold wall. "Mom, I'm…."

"Totally freaking out," Fujiko finished. "How long have you been in the bathroom?"

"How did you know I was in…"

"I just heard a toilet flush, and there's an echo," Fujiko responded. "You just need to calm down…"

"Mom, it's… It's Max! It's—"

"Time for you to calm yourself before you have a heart attack," sighed Fujiko. "Okay, Ari, I'll tell you what to do, but you have to promise you'll calm yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, I promise," Leo said quickly.

"Okay… You need to go out there and talk with him… Just act cool, all right? Pretend you're like someone in the family for at least ten minutes. You can do it; I know you can… You can't have Max out there alone for too long. It may be hard for you to take, but trust me, it was a lot harder for him to say to you. Especially in this really, really weird situation… After you're out of wherever you are right now, then you talk to him. Maybe you'll convince him that it'd be a bad idea, or maybe he'll convince you of a few things…"

"Not bloody likely…" Leo muttered beneath his breath.

"You know, for a Lupin, you really aren't that open minded… You know I'm your father's second marriage, right? The first wasn't to me… It wasn't even to a woman, for crying out loud!"

"I'm… Not…. Dad…." Leo reminded her sternly.

"I know, I know… Trust me, I know," she sighed. "If you were, you'd know he was in the restaurant."

"What?" Leo choked.

"Yeah-huh…. Look for an older man in a corner… There's also a bug under your table, so he probably heard everything… He thought it was all a joke, up until now."

"I'm gonna throw up again, Mom…."

"No! No you're not," Fujiko responded quickly. "You're going to go back out there, and talk to Max… He's probably terrified right now… You know how quick he is to freak… Quicker than you, even!"

"Heh, that's also arguable," said Leo wryly. "Well… I'll go back out now…. Hopefully he's still there, if he hasn't taken the car and jumped the border…"

"You never know with a Zenigata, Dear."

"No, no… You really don't…" Leo sighed, "Love you, Mom…"

"Love you too, Ari," Fujiko responded, and hung up her end. Leo hung up his cell phone, and walked back out into the dining area. Max was still sitting at the table, and had taken a napkin and was doodling away at it with vague, haphazard strokes. It looked almost as though he had drawn an airplane and a house, but Leo really wasn't concerned with this. He seated himself back down at the table and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Zenigata," Leo said as he rested his arms upon the table and promptly dropped his fork on the floor in what appeared to be an accident. "Hm… Darn it, excuse me…" Leo lifted the tablecloth and was not only able to see the fork, but also the bug. He removed the bug, and placed it strategically upon the table in an area Max wouldn't see.

"These are crystal, aren't they?" Leo said as he raised his water glass.

"Um… I'm not really the expert on those things…" Max answered.

"Looks like it to me… You know what's cool about crystal, Zenigata? Now, watch this," Leo licked the tips of a few of his fingers lightly, and began to trace the rim of the glass with them. A high pitched, long noise resonated, and a man from another table in the corner jumped up and held his head in pain. Leo smirked and looked back at the older man, and the old man, through all of his makeup, could still give a glare just like Lupin the Third.

"Excuse me, young man," Lupin, in disguise of the aged man, rose and approached Leo. "I was wondering if you could deliver this letter for me…"

"Sure thing, Pops," Leo answered as he took the letter from the old man.

The old man's face flushed a little with anger, "P-Pops? Heh… He heh heh… My, aren't you clever… Remember now to respect your elders…." He laid a hand down on Leo's shoulder, and squeezed a little too tight for Leo's comfort. Max found this whole situation too bizarre to even comment upon, and remained silently, sipping his water.

"Hey, wine's here!" Max said quickly.

"Bourbon… Wonderful…" said the old man a little flatly as he walked away from the duo, and out of the restaurant. "He's going to get Ari drunk off his ass…" Lupin moaned to himself when he was out of good hearing distance of the two, "Perfect… My daughter-in-law's going to be friggin' Maxwell Zenigata… Boy, Pops is sure gonna love this one…"

Lupin caught a cab home, and after about tense hour, Leo and Max finished their dinner, and headed back to their apartment. Max had originally planned on taking Leo to a movie after this, but LeBlanc looked a little greenish.

"Hey... I… I didn't freak you out, did I?" Max asked with concern.

"You? Nah!" Leo laughed, brushing this off with a chuckle, "Never, Zenigata!"

"That bad, eh?"

"Well… Yeah…."

"Listen, I'm sorry, all right? I couldn't think of any other way to tell you…. I'm not that imaginative, LeBlanc—Even my sign's usually non-creative… I'm a Libra—We just obsess over things. It's the only way I could think to tell you something like that. It's not that easy, trust me."

"I know, I've told people that before, too."

"You mean you've told girls that before, too…"

"Well, um, yeah, but I didn't want to make you feel bad or anything…." Leo admitted sheepishly.

"It wouldn't; I think I'd be more upset if I found out after all this time you're bi!" Max laughed a little at the thought of this.

"Hee hee… Yeah…" Leo scratched the back of his head, cleared his throat, and looked out the window of the apartment. He felt a hand come on his shoulder, and he jumped in response. Max immediately drew away, and walked into his bedroom.

India:

Fuji gave a long cough, and reached for her inhaler. The dust was killing her, and making Ryo even crankier.

"Fuji, could we just call it a night? I'm dying, you're dying…" replied Ryo tiredly as she set aside another large, aged book.

"Well, we've all got to go sometime, Ryo-san!" said Fuji, followed by a line of coughing.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for," Ryo moaned. "Ouch… My friggin' back…"

"A-ha!" Fuji cried, "Here it is!"

"Thank God," muttered Ryo as she wiped her forehead and seated herself in a cushy library chair. "What the hell is it, anyway?"

"Well, it's book, silly!"

"Fujiko, I didn't even know you were literate…" said Ryo.

"Hey, I can read a cereal box and a stop sign—That's all that counts, right?" Fuji responded with a chuckle, "Now let's take a look at this baby…" She cracked open the book and let out a moan. "What the hell—I can't read this! It's in Indian!"

"We're in India, what did you—Nevermind…" Ryo rubbed her forehead tiredly, "Can't we get a translator?"

"Like Ari would really want to help me," Fuji rolled her eyes and turned back to the pages.

"You know… We do know someone who's Indian…"

"What do you… No. No, no, no, and triple no!" snapped Fuji irately, "No way are we—"

"Hello, Heij? Could you ask Veronica what she's doing?" Ryo inquired. She had already dialed the number. Fuji sailed over a table of books to strangle Ryo, but Ryo lifted a thick volume of a novel, and Fuji's head impacted with this. Fuji moaned and rubbed her sore skull while Ryo continued her conversation, "She's not? Terrific! Where is she now? New York? Terrific! We'll be there in two days! Bye…"

"Why'd you do that?" Fuji asked as she examined her hand to see if her head was bleeding.

"Because we need help," replied Ryo. "Hm, that's ironic…"

"What is?"

"I stopped your thick head with a copy of the Karma Sutra…"

"I hate irony," Fuji grumbled.

An Airplane, 3,000 feet over Italy, a day later:

"Yukiko, look at this view!" Toshiro gasped as he looked out the window of the airplane. He was seated next to Yukiko in the very back. In front of them sat Ryo and Fuji, in front of them sat Heiji and his electronic equipment, and in front of them sat Odori and Ally. Ally tried to make his presence unknown by covering his face with his hand. Odori had robbed each of her friends of their in-flight peanuts, and had the empty bags set neatly upon a tray.

"No, thanks," Yukiko loosened her tie a little and looked away, into the aisle. She was taken aback a little when she thought she saw her father. But no, it was only Ally, who had started to grow out a beard to mask the nasty scar that had been delivered to him a few weeks ago. They had not been able to stop long enough for him to see a decent plastic surgeon, so hopefully now they would be able to stop after this job.

"Why, are you chicken?" asked Toshiro with a chuckle.

"I don't like really, really high places. I had a bad experience as a kid," Yukiko admitted as she thought back to an incident long, long ago, when she still called her father Jigen. She had run up a catwalk, and nearly fallen onto the wooden stage, thanks to Collin. Luckily, Zenigata had been there to save her.

"Jeeze, I guess I'll have to find a nice house, then… I better check my accounts…" Toshiro said to himself.

"Huh?"

"Um, nothing, nothing at all," Toshiro shook his head, and looked back out the window.

The flight made a stop in Milan, Italy, around nighttime. The group went their separate ways, for the time being. Ally went to go find some new reading material, Odori went to go eat, Ryo went outside to have a rare cigarette, Toshiro and Yukiko quickly resigned themselves to the bar, and Heiji walked around aimlessly in the shops of the airport waiting area. Fuji made sure to stalk Heiji every inch of the way. He strolled into a magazine store, and Fuji hid herself on the other side of the aisle he was browsing through.

Heiji removed his cell phone, dialed a number on it, waited a little, "Hey, Veronica! How are you? Ha ha, with who? Fuji—You're kidding, right? Heh! That bimbo? She couldn't work her way out of a paper bag,…"

"WHAT?" Fuji's head shot up over the aisle, and she glared down at Heiji.

"You know, it's not nice to spy on people… Especially when they actually aren't talking to people…" Heiji said, showing her his turned off cell phone. Fuji grumbled and ducked back down into her aisle. "Caught you, Lupin…"

"You think you're so damn cute, don't you, Heiji-chan?" Fuji muttered as she walked down his aisle and met him.

"Well, yeah," Heiji nodded and shrugged. "What, you don't?"

"I do, and sometimes I think that's a problem of mine…"

"Hey, I never asked for you to like me…"

"I didn't, either…"

"Not my fault all you did was use me when I was fat," Heiji sighed as he picked up a magazine and flipped through it.

"I did no such thing!"

"God burns the tongue of liars."

"I am not a—"

"Yes, you are. You're a liar, and you're what my father would call a 'loose woman'," said Heiji with a snap.

"That doesn't mean you don't feel anything for me, Heiji-chan."

"I might have once, but then I saw how superficial you really are."

"Well, how do you want me to un-superficialize myself, eh?" Fuji inquired.

"I… I don't know, Fuji… You've got to figure that out for yourself," Heiji sighed, and tossed aside the magazine.

"Listen, I can't do that!" Fuji laughed with disbelief.

"Then I guess you better stop stalking me, Fujiko…"

"Heh, I'm a Lupin, and we never give up, Heiji," Fuji gave a sigh, and turned away from him. Heiji was slightly taken aback; was Fuji for real?

Before he could figure this out, he found himself outside of the store. He knew he was being mean to her, but he couldn't forgive her easily… He had a hard time in general forgiving anyone. He was still angry at Toshiro for not being there for his father, still angry at Ari for leaving… Angry at a lot of people for a lot of reasons.

"Maybe I should go apologize…" Heiji said to himself. He stopped, and did not have long to think before it literally hit him, the 'it' in question being a blunt object to the back of the head. Heiji tumbled to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head, and was drug into a corner of the airport.

Fuji, meanwhile, was walking back to the store where she had left Heiji. Maybe she was a little immature, but she couldn't help it! It wasn't as though she had asked to be the Lupin the Fourth fill in; she had always assumed she'd take on a role similar to her mother's, and play the vixen. But no, she had to do freakin' everything.

She came to a dead halt, and looked down at the ground, slightly curious. There were marks on the carpet where someone had been dragged, and she could've sworn she had last seen Heiji standing in that very spot when she had walked off. She was unsure as to whether or not her hunch was right, but she had to find out for sure. She followed the trail, and was also greeted with a blow to the back of the head. She soon blacked out, the last thing she saw being a passed out Heiji lying next to her.

Two days later:

Fuji awoke to the shrill call of a rooster. She moaned, and turned, only to come face-to-face with a goat. She let out a yell of surprise, and sprung up from her bed, which she realized was a pallet of hay. She looked to her left, and saw Heiji next to her, still asleep, "Heiji-chan… Heij… C'mon, wake up, please?"

"Huh, what?" Heiji slowly came to, and looked about, "Where in the hell am I?"

"Come on, this is no time for a roll in the hay!" snapped Fuji, rising, "I can honestly say I don't know where we are…"

"Hey, where's your gun?" Heiji asked as he sat upon the hay.

"Wha, I—It's gone! So's my jewelry, all of my other weapons, my wallet--Son of a bitch! Please tell me that I wasn't friggin' mugged in an airport?"

"Okay, I'll let you keep that thought to yourself, then," Heiji replied. "Don't sweat it—They robbed me, too… They even took the twenty yen in my jacket pocket…"

"Great… Now how will we catch a cab hone?"

"Have your parents wire some money!"

"Oh, yeah, just what my dad would like to hear—How I was pick pocketed!"

"Well, for what it's worth, this is more of robbed and left for dead… I'll see how far we are from the airport; it can't be that far." He rose, and opened a bar door, and let out a choke.

"What's wrong?" asked Fuji, approaching him.

"That sign… It's in Russian…"

Fuji saw a wagon struggle past them, drawn by an old horse. She turned to Heiji and gave a pained look.

Paris:

"The others are in New York, but Heiji and Fuji are MIA," Leo explained to Max as he continued to pack his suitcase. "There's been no sign of them for two days now. I'm starting to get concerned…"

"Maybe Heiji went off and married her," Max thought with a shudder. If Heiji married Fuji, that'd make her his niece-in-law… Leo would be his nephew-in-law.

"You okay, Buddy? You look a little pale."

"Eh, nothing," Max shook his head, and resumed packing.

"…I had a long talk with my dad last night…"

"He was at the restaurant, wasn't he?" Max sighed.

"Yep," Leo nodded.

"What'd old man Lupin have to say for himself?" asked Max.

"Well, after he blew up at me and said quote un quote, "I raised Lupin the Fourth, not Lupin the fa—"

Max quickly stopped him, "I don't like that word… I got called that too much in accounting school… Moving on…"

"We just came to some understandings," Leo shrugged.

"Understandings? About what?" Max asked with genuine interest in his voice.

"Well, um… Listen, I'm just really confused right now…" Leo admitted, rubbing his forehead, "I need some time to think about everything…"

"Everything? I don't know what 'everything' is, LeBlanc!"

"You may be a blond, but you sure as hell have a hard time playing dumb, Zenigata," Leo said with a chuckle and a shake of the head.

"Hey, did you have a good time? Two nights ago…"

"I had a lot on my mind then," Leo admitted. "It wasn't your fault… Yeah, I had a great time, Max…" He folded another one of his shirts and laid it in his suitcase. Max approached him, and Leo immediately tensed. He couldn't help it that he was less and less comfortable around Zenigata everyday.

"So, what'd your dad say to you, anyway?" Max inquired, seating himself upon Leo's bed and looking up at LeBlanc intently.

"Well… It's not like I was going to carry on the Lupin the Fourth name, anyway, and… I've, I've got to finish packing…"

"Ari, no matter what you choose, I'll still always be your friend, okay?" Max rose, and embraced Leo briefly, and walked out of the bedroom.

"I wish it were as simple as you make it sound, Zenigata," sighed Ari as he zipped up his suitcase and left it next to the doorway.

"Hey, I just got a call… We're heading to New York," Max said hurriedly.

"You know, they say it's a hell of a town," Leo added.

"Ha ha… You know cursing doesn't make you any more grown up."

"I'm two years older, jerk."

"…That's a relief…"

"What is?"

"You're back to calling me names," said Max. "I was afraid I had lost that."