DISCLAIMER: If you're looking for someone who owns the rights, keep on looking….
Hallo!
Sorry this took a while to come out; lots and lots of paperwork… Did I mention I like paperwork like I like dental surgery? Yeah… But anyway, I finally got it out yay and hopefully the next chapter'll come out sooner… Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or read my other story! If you haven't seen it yet, it's a one shot I did called A Mile in My Heels. Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter! On with the show!
Fun Fact of Boredom: Mankii-chan, the happy little cartoon character that is the bane of Leo Lupin's existence, is based off of Hello Kitty and takes his name from Monkey Punch (Mankii Panch) (obvious, no: ) .)
Chapter Nineteen: My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Leo set down his bourbon glass and then looked upward at the redhead once again in stunned silence. He heard someone approach him from behind, and look upward briefly, then doing a double take as he registered the face. "M-Max! How'd you know where I was?"
"Eh, you're a Lupin and I' m a Zenigata… We're yin and yang… Never really too far apart," Max replied as he seated himself at the same table as Leo and looked upward at the musician. "She's pretty good…."
"Yeah… Um, Max, about her…"
"Hm? What's up?"
"Nothing," Leo sighed in defeat and hung his head. He knew that he would eventually have to explain his past with this woman, though. It came sooner than he had wanted; her set ended and she stepped off stage, and scaled down the stage and seated herself at the same table as Leo and Max. She leaned over and embraced Leo, and kissed him on the cheek while a stunned Max poured himself a drink.
"You're the last person I expected to see here!" the woman laughed as she sat in her chair, resting her elbows upon the table and smiling. She looked over to Max and smiled, "And who's this cute guy with you? I like blonds..."
"Well, eh, Max is…" Leo started uneasily as he eyed Zenigata.
Max looked over to Leo and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, what am I, Lupin?"
"We just got married," said Leo, looking downward at his shoes and the wooden floor.
"Cool! So you guys are like on honeymoons at the same time? Where're the wives? You leave them at home? Can't blame you… Spouses can be a pain" she asked with a laugh.
"No, eh, you don't understand… To one another…" Leo added with just as much uneasiness.
"Oh… Oh! Oh wow, that's terrific," she blinked a few times in surprise. "I never figured you'd…"
"Could someone please tell me what the hell's going on?" asked Max pleadingly.
"Well, Arlene and I knew one another a while back," Leo responded, clearing his throat. "We sort of dated, I guess you could say…."
"Is this the one the psychiatrist said was the reason you mistrusted women?" Max inquired.
Leo gave a heavy sigh, "Yeah, Max… That's the one…"
"The psychiatrist? You ended up at a shrink?" Arlene blinked.
"Yeah. And prison," Leo said in a snap while he kept his eyes upon Max. "Might as well get that out into the open, too."
"Did you two, like, meet there?" asked Arlene.
"We actually met at work," Leo responded, and stiffened upright in his seat as Max placed a hand atop his. Max read this expression, grumbled, and stormed off into the men's room.
"Is he okay?" asked Arlene worriedly.
"He'll be okay… I'm still just adjusting to everything," Leo shrugged and sighed. "He's not the easiest to live with, but he's been there for me and he's always been honest… And I do love honesty…"
Arlene paused and bit her lip, "I'm sorry… I did a lot of stupid crap to you, and I said a lot of things you didn't deserve to get told…"
"You stole from me," Leo said firmly. "That's after you chewed me out for being a thief. You're a hypocrite."
"I'm sorry… If I could take it back, I would. I was a stupid kid, then, but now I've got a lot more responsibility. I've got a son, he's about eight now."
Leo paled and twitched, and Arlene laughed at his expression, "Don't worry, he's more than likely not yours. He's a sweetheart, though… You should meet him sometime."
"I've got to go, actually," Leo rose and pushed in his chair. "Just, um, answer me how my watch got to Moldova?"
"His father… He must've stolen it from me before he walked out," she sighed and shrugged. She smiled and looked upward at him. "I guess this is good-bye, then?"
"You bet," Leo responded with more sternness than usual.
"I don't blame you… He really seems to care about you… Take care, Lupin," she said quietly.
"Yeah… I'm gonna go fetch him," Leo shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped into the bathroom. Max was sitting on a couch in the bathroom, resting his forehead in his hands. He looked upward at Leo, and Lupin sighed and seated himself next to Zenigata.
"I told her good-bye once and for all," Leo said as he put an arm across Max's shoulders. "She's the past… An irresponsible liar… Now I've got you… And I trust you anywhere that isn't around an open window…"
Max laughed at this and looked upward at Leo, "You promise?"
"You have my word as a reformed thief and Keaneau Reeves fan…"
"Not if only he and Jude Law would do a movie we wouldn't have arguments come movie night," Max laughed.
Leo shrugged, "My dad's got some serious pull in a lot of circles; I'll see what I can manage. C'mon, we've got a whole city to see and I haven't even started drinking yet!" Leo pecked Max on the cheek, and the duo walked out of the bathroom and out of the bar. Before they stepped back into the sunlight, Max's eyes met with a young brown-haired boy who was sitting in a lonely corner of the room, coloring. He looked upward at Max, and Zenigata jerked away a little in automatic response. He looked so dejected by the world Max couldn't help but feel moved by him. He turned his attention back to his partner, who led him out of the dark and into the sunlit Louisiana streets.
"You ever think about adopting?" asked Max.
"Um… We did that, Zenigata… We're doing that again…" Leo said with a raised eyebrow. He stopped and gave Max a questioningly glance. "What are you getting at?"
"I just saw something that really depressed me," Max shrugged and continued down the street with Leo, his hands in his pocket and one arm linked with Lupin's.
Fuji, meanwhile, sat from the sidelines, and took this opportunity to enter the club. The child Max had shared the frigid stare with was also of great interest to her. She took it upon herself to buy two Sundaes, and muttered a curse to herself and how much she'd eaten today. She walked over to the table where the boy sat and set down the ice cream in front of him. She sat in a chair opposite of him, and took out a bottle for Namiko. Fuji, as light and happy as she was, was almost brought to crying as she saw how quickly the boy ate. She then pushed her ice cream in front of him and smiled, "You…. You can have mine, too…"
His face fell a little; he knew that his mother had told him to never except things from strangers, but it was the first time he had eaten since yesterday. He looked upward at him and nodded, "Thanks…"
"Wow, you finally spoke," Fuji smirked and removed the menu. "You want anything else, Kiddo? I'll foot the bill…"
"Will you get something for my mom?" asked the boy hopefully.
Fuji smiled, "Whatever you want… Just think of me as your genie…"
"Thanks a million for this…" said the boy quietly. "How do you know me?"
"My brother was friends with your mom before you were even born… What's you name, kid?"
"Jared."
"Jared… That's nice…" Fuji nodded.
"What's your name?" asked Jared, looking up above the menu at Fuji.
"Eh… Fujiko, but I like Fuji…" replied Fuji.
"That's a sorta weird name…"
"Well I'm a sorta weird person," she gave a warm smile at this.
"Is that your kid?"
"Nah… I can't really have kids…. This is my, eh, niece, I guess you could call her… Her name's Namiko," replied Fuji with a little bit of sadness in her voice. Out of all of the people, an eight year old was the only one who knew her inability for children. Not even her parents had been informed of this.
"Jared, who's that?" asked Arlene as she walked over to Jared in a rush.
"Fuji Lupin, Ma'am… You know my brother," replied Fuji with a wide smile as she rose and shook the now pallor Arlene's hand.
"I dealt with him already… You want to chew me out, too?" asked Arlene in a hiss, "If you're gonna do it, at least do it away from my kid…"
"Mom, wait—She's really nice!" said Jared quietly.
"Eastern European father, neh?" Fuji looked at Arlene sideways, "Ya know, I've got kind of slanted eyes like his, too. Maybe I should ask my mom if she was hanging out with any Moldavians…. Would you like something to eat?"
"I don't need your money, I don't need your charity and I don't need the Lupin family butting into all of my affairs. I've had enough trouble with Lupin the Third and Fujiko Lupin," said Arlene as she took her son roughly by the arm. "C'mon, Jared… We're leaving…"
"Mom, stop it—She's nice!" snapped Jared, pulling out of his mother's grasp, "Why do you always run away from people?"
"Now isn't the time to fight, Jared… Please, let's just go…" Arlene said hurriedly. "Let's head back to our hotel."
"If you mean by hotel, car, there's a ticket on it. A ticket I'll cover if you just hear me out," said Fuji firmly.
Arlene gave a long pause, "What do you want from me, exactly?"
"Just to talk. Can we go to a park?" asked Fuji.
Arlene sighed and nodded, "Yeah… Fine… C'mon, Jared, get your coloring book…"
Later, the park:
"So you don't even know?" asked Fuji, gaping in obvious surprise. "How many other Asian guys could you have possibly slept with in that week?"
"If you call me a whore I hope you get struck down by lightning, Miss Lupin," said Arlene as she watched Jared play with numerous other children on a playground.
"Listen, I don't care if he's my nephew or not, but do you really think he deserves this? I mean, you're living out of a car! Does this kid even get a real education? I hated my tutors, too, but I also came from enough money and I could afford to be a screw up! I've got my parents to support me!"
"We all can't be so lucky," Arlene sighed. "I'm doing what I love and Jared's fully supportive of me…"
"Are you sure? How do you know he's just not scared to tell you the truth?" asked Fuji as she looked at the sad little boy, "That kid looked like he hadn't eaten in days when I fed him… Helen Keller could've looked at this kid would've known off the bat that he's malnourished!"
Arlene looked downward and bit her lit, "Listen, it's not easy seeing him go hungry… It really, really isn't… But I'm doing my best…"
"No you're not. Putting your pride on the shelf and asking for help every once in a while would be your best. Leo may hate you, but he's got a soft spot for kids; he'll help anyone who asks…. Hell, it's a rare day when we get along but he still helps me to this day!... Come back to my hotel room, you guys can stay there for the night. I'll help get you back on your feet."
"Okay," Arlene nodded. "Thank you so much…"
"Please don't mention it…" Fuji rolled her eyes in response. What in the world was up with her, anyway?
The next morning, the hotel room:
Fuji looked down at the hand written note and stared, and stared, and stared….
And stared…
She couldn't believe it. Namiko wriggled in her arms a little, and Fuji sighed and went to fetch the girl a bottle. The handwritten note lay upon Arlene's cold pillow, and the still-sleeping Jared lied next to it. Fuji passed by her purse and jewelry box as she walked into the small kitchen. Both had been emptied of any and all valuables and thrown upon the floor. Arlene had even stolen one of her guns. Luckily she still had the Walther which she kept beneath her pillow.
"Well, here's to swallowing my pride, Nami," sighed Fuji as she picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello, Heiji-chan? It's a long story…. Could you wire me over some money? I was robbed…"
Another Part of New Orleans:
"What's wrong, Leo?" asked Max as he looked at Lupin's suddenly stern expression.
"I just had a bad premonition… I hope Fuji's okay…" said Leo quietly. He rolled over in the bed and looked at the alarm clock. "Jeeze, I can't believe it's almost eleven! I haven't gotten this much sleep in months!"
"I know what you mean," Max stretched and placed an arm over Leo's chest. "The weather's too bad to go outside today."
"There isn't a cloud in the sky, Zenigata!"
"I know… I despise sunlight…"
"Yeah… You're a much bigger fan of indoor activities," Leo chuckled.
"Damn straight!" Max replied, "Well, not exactly, but, heh, I'm happy…"
"If you follow up happy with 'gay' I'm gonna smack you," Leo said firmly.
"Gay, almost…"
"I warned you!" Leo picked up the pillow and gave Max a good whack! with it, and Zenigata fell back, laughing at this.
Max went to return this, but the phone rang, and he gave a heavy sigh. "If it's anyone who's not my parents I'm going to chew them out… Hello? Yeah? Wow… Yeah, okay, I'll tell him… Bye," Max hung up the phone and turned to Leo, "That was Heiji—He says your sister got robbed last night."
"She what?" Leo gaped, "You're kidding…"
"Nope. He just wanted you to know that she's okay, though…"
"Well, that'll be something to bring up for the Christmas party."
"Yeah, yeah…. Merry Christmas… Where were we? Oh, yeah, I was about ready to kick your ass…"
"You wish!" Leo laughed.
California, later that evening:
"So you posed as Fuji, let her take your baby, and now Fuji's in Louisiana?" Ryo repeated as she and the rest of the remaining Lupin gang sat in the hotel room.
"Yes…" Odori nodded.
"Wait," Heiji righted himself and blinked a few times. "Then does that mean that we—"
"Unfortunately…"
"Oh, God!" Heiji shrieked, and ran into the bathroom. Toshiro and Ally turned to one another, paused, and then broke out into laughter in unison.
"It's not funny!" Odori growled, pounding upon the table. Both immediately halted their laughing and gulped as they stared at Odori, more than a little frightened.
"How'd she talk you into letting her take Namiko, anyway?" asked Yukiko.
"Fuji swayed me, but I won't give you the details as to what she told me… Besides, she promised me whatever I wanted…"
"What'd you ask for?" Toshiro inquired.
Odori looked up tiredly, "That she babysit whenever I wanted for a month…"
"That's a pretty good deal," Toshiro nodded.
"What? Are you crazy? I wouldn't trust Fuji with my fedora, let alone the life of my baby!" snapped Yukiko.
"What, you having one, Yukiko?" asked Toshiro with a smirk.
"This isn't a witch hunt! Fuji's out there somewhere with your kid!" Yukiko added with anger in Odori's direction. Ryo blinked once in surprise as she realized Yukiko had totally avoided the subject at hand and instead opted for yelling at Odori. Ryo was suspicious…
A California road:
"So… My mom's on vacation and she left me with a stranger?" asked Jared suspiciously, "Did you kidnap me?"
"What? No!" snapped Fuji, "Eh… No offense, but I'm not a big fan of kids…"
"Why not?"
"They get in the way of a lot of my fun…" Fuji replied uneasily.
"What kind of fun do you like?"
"Erm… Why don't you turn on the radio?"
"Okay," Jared leaned forward and turned on the station to a classical channel.
"You don't like rock music?"
"I hate it."
"But it's what your mom plays…"
"I know," Jared answered quickly. Fuji gave a small sigh as she changed lanes; perhaps there had been only one Asian guy after all.
"You want to grab something to eat?" asked Fuji. "Oh, hold on… News… I want to listen to it…"
"In other news, another charge was added on to Fujiko Lupin, Lupin the Fourth's, already large list, this charge kidnapping. It was filed this morning in a Louisiana police station by the boy, Jared Garland's, mother, Arlene Garland…"
"Kidnapping?" Fuji shrieked and nearly rammed into a vehicle on the shoulder of the road, "That bitch set me up! She friggin' used me!"
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Max Zenigata and Leo Lupin were on the first flight to California, having also heard the news earlier in the morning. Leo waited anxiously and practically ran onto the plane as they began boarding.
"The flight's about four hours, so calm down," said Max quietly, patting Leo on the hand.
"I knew Fuji was never fond of Arlene, but I didn't know she'd go as far as kidnapping! Damn it, Fuji!" snapped Leo to himself. Max looked at his partner worriedly and took hold of his hand.
"I'll buy you a drink if you want… I'm just as mad as you…"
"That'd be terrific…" Leo muttered.
Fuji arrived in the hotel room late in the evening, doing her best to hide Jared from the others, who, unbeknown to her, already knew of the situation. They were all waiting for her when she arrived, and Fuji passed Namiko to a glaring Odori as she looked about the room nervously.
"You know, Fuji, believe it or not, I had a small amount of respect for you at one point… Guess that's been shot…" muttered Yukiko as she turned away from Lupin the Fourth.
"Guys, you don't understand!" Fuji yelped, "I, I was set up! Come on, somebody? Ryo-san? Heiji-chan?"
"You lied to us about where you friggin' were, Fuji, why wouldn't you be lying about this?" Ryo asked angrily.
"Hey, wait, don't!" Jared called from his spot behind Fuji, "My mom left!"
"I'm tracking down this kid's dad, now…" sighed Fuji, "I was convinced it was Leo, but I'm not so sure… Even his mom's not sure… There's a businessman in Kyoto who also might be his dad…."
"Wait, I'm part Japanese?" Jared asked, looking up at Fuji in awe.
"I don't like the sound of it… How do we know he ain't working with his mom, eh?" asked Yukiko as she sat down on a couch in the living room.
"Hey, my dad had faith in you when you came to him on a hotel doorstep—I think it's time you return the favor," Fuji snapped. Yukiko gave a look of startled surprise, and this apparently shut the gunwoman up, "Now Jared's gonna be staying with us for a little while… The blood tests are coming back tomorrow… We'll know for sure then. Until then everybody treats him with respect or I make sure your respective parents are told that you were picking on a child."
"Come on, kid, you can bunk with me tonight," Ally took Jared's suitcase and led him into the room he shared with Heiji, making the hacker do a double take as he martial arts expert passed.
"What the hell about me?" asked Heiji, "I'm not sharing the room I know Yukiko and Toshiro do it in—I'm sorry, that's just twisted."
"You'll figure somethin' out," Ally responded. "Jared, you like movies?" Ally inquired of the young boy before closing his door.
"I better hit the sack, too… I'm getting tired," Yukiko stretched and yawned.
"I'll follow," Toshiro added, and turned to his brother before exiting, "You may be right about us sharing a room, but that's about all that's been going on in there…"
"I'm so close to letting you spend the night with the birds…" said Yukiko from her room.
"Dori, you want me to help you lay Nami down?" asked Ryo.
"Sounds terrific," Odori kissed her baby girl on the forehead and exited the living room, leaving Heiji and Fuji together.
Fuji smiled and waved, "Hi, roomie!"
"Why, God, why?" Heiji asked himself.
"Come on, my little Fujicakes continuation…" Fuji beckoned and led him into their room. Heiji tossed her his wallet after she had set down her suitcases, "What's this?"
"My license that says I know how to use a tazer, so watch it," Heiji replied as he took back his wallet. He held out his hand after placing it in his back pocket, and Fuji sighed and handed him back the money she had taken.
"Good," Heiji took a pillow and blanket from the bed and walked over to the couch. "Goodnight."
"Do you have fun watching me suffer?"
"In a word, yes…"
"Why in the hell are you still giving me such a hard time?" Fuji snapped as she dropped to the ground next to the couch where Heiji slept.
"Because you're immature and you can't commit to anything, and when I asked you out you turned me down. And it wasn't because of your dangerous lifestyle—It was because you didn't want a damn nerd for a boyfriend!"
"Listen, boyfriend's a scary word, okay?" Fuji said with a nervous chuckle, "Almost as scary as marriage, or Disneyland… Okay, I'll admit it… I'm a little vain…"
"A little?"
"Okay, so I'm as shallow as a hillbilly gene pool!" Fuji shouted, "You happy? What is it you want, anyway, a sorry? God, I swear if someone's mean to you once you hold it against them until they're dead!"
"I do not!"
"You're still mad at Toshiro for not being there when your guys' dad had a heart attack! You ever think maybe Toshiro was a little too busy saving New York City? Superman probably didn't make it to all of his dad's appointments, either."
"Superman's dad is dead, but he has a—"
"Shutup shutup SHUTUP!" Fuji shrieked. "Playing Dungeons and Dragons, okay. The Red Dwarf marathon, mildly tolerable, although to this day I don't know what the hell they're saying. Whoever thought of a British sci-fi comedy in the first place is the devil. Kicking your ass in Streetfighter—"
"Because you mash the buttons."
"—Enjoyable. But listening to the Superman speech again is something I refuse to be subjected to! I could talk your head off about crap, too, stuff you wouldn't want to friggin' hear!"
"Such as?"
"…I can quote entire scenes from Legally Blonde."
"…You win."
"Now we're totally off the subject and I'm more pissed off than I was before," Fuji heaved a sigh and rested her head back on the couch seat. Her eyes fluttered opened as she felt a presence, and looked forward to see Heiji's face down with hers. Ishikawa placed one had on her shoulder and kissed her, much to the surprise of Fuji Lupin. Then Fuji, with a strength Heiji hadn't even known existed in the raven-haired girl, pulled Heiji off of the couch and sat him down next to her.
"Wow, you're like the friggin' She Hulk!" Heiji chuckled.
"One more nerd reference tonight and I toss you out the window, and I'm tired and stressed enough to do it," Fuji said with a more than serious expression.
"Eh, yes, Ma'am…" a worried Heiji answered.
"Good… Hee, I kinda like it when you call me Ma'am!" Fuji admitted with a chuckle.
Early the next morning:
"Okay, time for me to get to work…" Ally muttered as he tied on his apron, which read King of the Kitchen, and went to work in their small kitchen space. He took out a eighteen eggs and whistled as he cracked each one and then mixed them in a large bowl. If there was one thing Jigen always made sure he had, it was his cooking utensils. That and his sniper rifle.
He then went to work on frying bacon which he had purchased the night before, and tossed two packages onto a skillet and turned to another project.
"What're you doing? Boys don't cook…" said Jared as he stood in the doorway.
"Hey, part of the reason my fiancée loves me so much is because I can make a homemade meal… Although usually I get stuck with condensed milk and eggs from a paper carton," Ally muttered.
"You've got a girlfriend?"
"Yep, and she's probably cuter than any ones you've had," Ally added joking as he concentrated on scrambling the eggs he had placed on a burner.
"Probably," Jared admitted as he watched Ally scuttle about. "But you're a lot older than me…"
"Not that much!" Ally responded with a laugh.
"How old are you? Twenty eight, twenty nine?"
"Not even close," Ally responded, blinking a few times at this. "M-My dad usually looked a lot older than he was, too! Lucky me, huh?"
"Well, you know your dad, right?"
"Yeah, good point," Ally nodded as he opened the small fridge and pulled out some containers of fruit. "The old man's a crazy bastard, but he never smacked me around, even when I deserved it…"
"That's got to be pretty cool…."
"Your mom ever tell you anything about your old man?" asked Ally as he took a large knife and began to chop the fruit with the ease of an expert.
"Woah… You're good with knives!" Jared gasped with awe.
"You're one of many who think the same exact thing… But, yeah, I take it your mom never told you about your dad?"
"Fuji's saying that it could be this guy in a place called coat-o, or whatever… That or her brother…"
"Ari?" Ally said to himself, and chopped in silence a little while, in obvious deep thought. He brushed the cantaloupe he had cut into a large bowl, all while retaining this silence.
"Um… Is something wrong? Did you know her brother or something?" asked Jared worriedly.
"Yeah, you could say that…" Ally muttered, handing Jared a plate of food as he finished the eggs and fruit, "You'll have to wait on the bacon… It takes a while…"
"That's okay," Jared nodded gratefully and walked over to the television, where he resigned himself to watching cartoons that early morning.
"Heh, well at least Toshiro'll have justification for watching Animainiacs reruns, now…" Ally said to himself with a chuckle.
Jared looked up from his plate as he watched Odori open the door to her room and walk out, Namiko in one arm. The young boy who knew little Japanese and the young woman who knew little English made eye contact briefly, and then Odori continued her walk to the kitchen.
"Arry, soba o ichi-ninmae onegai shimasu," said Odori to Ally, holding up an empty noodle bowl.
"You know, Dori, if I didn't like you so much cooking special Japanese foods for you would be a royal pain in my ass…" said Ally as he retrieved a small pot of buckwheat noodles from the stove and poured them into her bowl. He then passed her a set of chopsticks and a bottle after this, and Odori nodded gratefully and walked back into her room.
Jared, meanwhile, never took his eyes off of the lanky Ally. He had heard Odori's request to the chef, and had heard what she had called him. Ari….
He blinked once more in surprise as he came under the assumption that he was staring at his father.
A California hotel:
Leo looked toward Max with worry as he watched Zenigata polish his gun, and then stared back down at the script which he had hidden in one of his language books. He had not told Max this, but he had agreed to do another season of Mankii-chan for a television studio, considering the huge success it had been. There was even works of a Hello Kitty crossover. With this popularity, he mused, he might become the next Yasuo Yamada.
The royalties he received for being the unique voice for one of the most popular characters since Doraemon (Japanese robot cat; as popular as Mickey Mouse in the U.S.) were astounding, and if Max had been in a better mood he probably would've been overjoyed. Max was out for blood, though. Fuji had taken away his alone time with his new husband, and Zenigata was still reeling from it.
Leo had since calmed down from the kidnapping charges when he read over Arlene's statement and realized exactly how full of holes and how un-Fuji like it was, and now it was Max's turn to be pissed off.
"What are you looking at?" asked Max casually as he loaded the chambers of his handgun.
"Er, nothing," Leo closed his book, looked upward at Max and smiled. "How're you doing?"
"I'm gonna kill her next time I see her…" Max added calmly.
"Max, I'm sure there's a good reason!" Leo sighed. "We both agreed that it was totally out of Fuji's character!"
"Good reason for me ending that whore's life? Damn skippy," replied Max as he placed his gun in his holster and crossed one leg over the other. "Two weeks—I practically had to do the boss to get that off! We're still in hot water with him for everything we've screwed up in the past, and asking for two weeks off takes a lot of guts. He's a homophobic Lupin hater, and I have the ever increasing suspicion that our parents are behind it!"
Leo rested his chin on his hand, "So this is about your pride again?"
"That's part of it!"
"Zenigata, you've got to face it. We're the inspectors. We less competent than eighty percent of the politicians I've had to jackass around France over the years."
"We're damn good, it's just that Lupin's just as good!"
"Now, you see, if we were equal, things would always end in a stalemate; not with us looking like the fools…"
"So you're saying she's better?"
"Both of us are good, but we play on different fields… Unfortunately her field's on a mountain, and we're lower than the Dead Sea. Some things just have to be expected."
"I thought I was the pessimist!"
"You rub off on me… You know our blood pressures combined makes a historical year? I think it's when Columbus discovered America…"
"Ha ha… You get that one out of a joke book?" asked Max.
Leo was about to retort smartly when the phone rang and both lunged for it, Max tumbling to the ground and muttering 'ow' and Leo throwing down his book and picking up the phone. As Max rose, he saw the script Leo had been reading over inches from his face. He glanced over it as Leo busied himself on the telephone. He confronted Leo with this after LeBlanc had hung up.
"We've got a tip on Lupin," said Leo. "Eh, what are you looking over? A case file?"
"No… A script…" Max replied in a mumble while he continued to read over it. He looked above the booklet at Leo and set it aside, "Why in the hell didn't you tell me you were going to go more of it?"
"It's embarrassing! How would you like to be known as the male version of Hello Kitty? I still told my dad, but I'm pretty convinced that this is what'll do him in."
"You should've told me, still," said Max seriously.
"Could we talk about this later? They found Fuji…" sighed Leo taking the script from Max's hands and setting in aside.
"We should've talked about this a lot earlier…" Max muttered as he picked up his badge and walked out the door after Leo.
Fuji's Hangout:
"It's ten in the morning… We really should be getting out there before anyone gets suspicious…" Heiji muttered.
"They can just deal… I'm too comfy," Fuji replied with a yawn as she briefly opened her eyes to look back at Ishikawa. "If they start asking, go out there and tell them I'm on some kind of important, mission, stealy thingy…" she added, rolling over and putting her blanket over her head.
Heiji laughed and pulled the blanket down, and kissed her, "I love you," he said with a smile.
Fuji's face became strange, suddenly, and she looked away as she felt the pang of horror which those words made her feel. She could feel Heiji looking back downward at her, waiting for her to return this. She had to think quickly…
She suddenly sat up and smiled widely, "Maybe breakfast would be a good idea, afterall!"
"Eh, yeah…" Heiji sighed with some disappointment in his voice.
"I call dibs on the bathroom, first," Fuji kissed him on the cheek and walked into the bathroom, picking up her clothes for the day along the way. She closed the bathroom door behind her, and soon afterward banged her head upon the porcelain wall a few times, cursing her entrapment and her own stupidity.
Meanwhile, outside, Yukiko, Toshiro and Ryo watched in amusement as they watched Odori upon the couch, looking downward at the flashcards Jared was holding. These were the same flashcards Fuji had given Odori long ago to study, but Ishikawa had put off in order to practice.
"Anoh, anoh…" Odori looked downward at the picture on the flashcard and drew a blank. What the hell was it?
"Cat!" Yukiko called. Toshiro tried to stifle a laugh and Ryo nudged her sister in the ribs. Yukiko grew a little tense at this poking, and scooted away from Ryo ever so slightly. Ryo raised an eyebrow, and then turned her attention back to Jared and Odori.
"This is a dog," said Jared. "Doggg…."
"Dog," Odori said in her thick Japanese accept. "Dog…"
"Yup! You got it!" Jared smiled happily. "Good job, Odori!"
"Thank you," Odori replied in her broken accent as she bounced Namiko on her knee.
"Hey, anyone want seconds!" Ally called from the kitchen.
"We're good, Ally!" replied Toshiro.
"Anyone except Toshiro, whose opinion never counted in the beginning, want seconds?" Ally repeated.
"We're good!" Ryo shouted.
"Good, then… Jeeze that kitchen gets hot after a while… I guess Fuji and Heiji'll have to heat theirs in the microwave," said Ally as he removed his apron and seated himself in the living room with the others.
"What in the hell are those two up to, anyway?" asked Yukiko, looking at their door, "Do I even want to know?"
"Probably not," Toshiro and Ryo replied in unison.
"You know, you don't look like Fuji…." Jared said to Ally as he flipped another card.
"Um… Thank you?" Ally replied.
"You don't look like me either; maybe my dad's the other guy, then…"
'Dad' was one word Odori registered, and she, along with the rest of the Lupin gang in the room, looked to Jigen and stared.
"Wha—What?" Ally yelped and flushed, "I am definitely not a dad—Trust me!"
"Well, it's not unheard of, Ally," Toshiro shrugged. "A lot of pregnancies are unplanned, anyway! Look at me—I come from a long line of them!"
"No, you don't understand—I ain't related to this kid!" said Ally, his reddening increasing.
"Ally? Your name's Ally? I thought it was Ari…" said Jared in a confused mumble.
"Ari's your dad?" Ryo yelped. She placed a hand over her mouth and her eyes opened wide. She rose, excused herself, and went to go get a smoke on the balcony of the hotel. She quickly ran back in, though, with a look of surprise on her face.
"The cops are here!" she shouted.
"What?" Yukiko yelped, and the Lupin gang scrambled to get their things together. Ryo pounded on Fuji's a door a few times and explained the situation in a shout, and soon Fuji and Heiji were also out in the hotel room. Fuji looked downward, and saw Max and Leo staring back up at them, the SWAT team around them and Max holding a megaphone and appearing more angered than usual.
"Lupin, come out there now!" Max shouted, "You're surrounded…"
"Not quite, Zenigata," Fuji smirked, picked up her backpack and ran to Odori, "Cut a hole through the ceiling—That oughta get us out!"
"Right," Odori stood back, and with one swoop of Zantetsu she had carved a good sized hole into the ceiling. She was the first one lifted up, along with Namiko, and then the others soon followed, Fuji waiting until everyone had gone up to have Heiji pull her up. The German tourists watched in awe as the Lupin gang placed their disguises over their regular clothes, and one man finally approached Fuji with a piece of paper and a pen.
"My son love you!" said the man cheerily, "You sign?"
Fuji took the pen, jotted down her signature quickly and kissed it, leaving a lipstick mark, "Tell him hello from Japan," she smirked as she put on her mask and then the gang went their separate ways, undetected by Interpol, who was too busy trying to disable the fake bomb Heiji had set up before they had left. They were more than a little perturbed when it spat out confetti and began to play a classical tune from Beethoven.
"That was so cool!" Jared said to Fuji as they climbed into the Romeo, Jared sitting upon the female thief's lap.
"It ain't over yet—Ryo-san, you ready?" asked Fuji, turning to her partner in crime.
"I've been wanting to test out the new braking system," Ryo turned the keys on the ignition, and then zoomed out, nearly knocking down Leo and Max, who had gone down to parking garage in case the Lupin gang had gotten to the cars. Just as they began to rise from the ground they had been knocked down onto, Toshiro zoomed past. Max let out a yell, and Leo quickly grabbed him and rolled out of the way.
"That… Is it… I'm gonna kill them…" Max grumbled.
"Hey, could you get off? Max, you're heavy!" Leo grumbled.
The Romeo suddenly backed into the garage, and Fuji leaned down and smiled at the two, "I knew it! Max is on top!"
"You made me drive back here for that?" Ryo shrieked.
"You—" Max tossed a pair of handcuffs, which landed on the rearview of the Romeo. Fuji chuckled and looked at the handcuffs.
"Blondie, you're really losing your touch," Fuji chuckled as Ryo sped off once again, still angered at her friend.
"She's right, Max… You usually catch her…" said Leo with a little worry as he sat up on the concrete of the parking garage.
"Heh, those came with something special…" said Max with an evil smirk.
Leo raised an eyebrow and looked worriedly at his partner, "Um… Special like how?"
"You'll see…." Max replied, keeping the crazed expression.
"….I think you need another vacation…"
On the road:
"What… What the hell?" Ryo muttered as the car jerked to a halt. She stopped on the shoulder of the road, and went to the front to check. What Max had meant by something special was a small bug he had thrown into the car through one of its louvers on the hood, and it had made the battery freeze up and die, essentially. What Ryo didn't know, however, was that the battery also delivered at electrical shock if it were touched while it had the bug on it. She learned this, however, when she tried to made the fateful mistake of removing the bug, and a large buzz was heard from the front of the car.
"….I smell barbeque…" said Fuji, sniffing about.
Ryo slammed down the hood, and leaned on the car a few moments, a buzzing noise in her ears and her hair a mess from the current which had passed through her body. The metal bracelets she wore had only heightened the shock. She growled and kicked the car several times. Fuji attempted not to chuckle.
"Don't you dare say anything---Say something and I'll hurt you," said Ryo darkly.
Fuji couldn't help it, though, "Wow, all of that working on the car must've totally zapped all of the energy out of you…"
"Gaaah!" Ryo lunged, and the others looked on tiredly as the two went at it, Jared ducking the punches and pushing.
"I think Ryo's mad," Toshiro said as he and Yukiko continued to watch the fight from a distance.