DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own Lupin III… But for what it's worth, I wouldn't mind even a share…
Welkommen!
Another long-awaited chapter… Sorry for the wait, but I had a series of events happen to be over the past two weeks that would make a National Lampoon movie seem tame. I'm sure my television and phone exploding in one afternoon will see humorous ten years from now. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, as always… It's always, always appreciated. Anyway, onward with the chapter!
Fun Fact of Boredom: There are now so many chapters I need to keep a list to make sure I don't reuse a song title.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Going to the Chapel
"Of all the rotten things for her to do…" Leo yawned and stretched in the kitchen chair and then fed Avery another spoonful of baby food. "I was hoping she'd at least stay out of trouble for another month."
"Well, at least your parents are coming," Max sighed and flipped another pancake in the griddle he worked from and then joined Lupin in his yawning.
"I'm just more interested in spending time with Ave, right now…." said Leo. He smiled as Avery banged his hands up and down on his tray and laughed, "Okay, okay! You certainly do have your grandpa's patience, Avery…."
"Which one?" Max looked over his shoulder at Leo and Avery and then went back to his work at the stove.
"I got a job offer in Japan… A production company wants me to sign a ten-year contract…"
"Are you going to take it?"
"It'd mean giving up Interpol, plus the closest relative we'd be near to would be your sister, and she has enough problems with her own kids. It wouldn't be fair to you… You never really got along with other Japanese people."
"Not even my father… Most of the time not even with you," Max chuckled. "If you want to take the job, then that's okay."
"My biggest concern is Dako… She's an American, and moving her to France was rough enough… There's enough anti-American sentiment with some people to cut with a knife," Leo gave a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair, looking upward at the ceiling. "Money isn't even really the issue; I just don't want to have Dako and Avery coming to me twenty years from now and claming that Grandpa and Grandpa raised them, not us. I feel like we drop those kids on my parents too much. They don't mind, but I want to be there for everything…"
"I can't blame you. But what Fuji's doing is wrong, and you're watching out for her, too. You promised her," said Max. "And I'm a Zenigata, so it's in my blood to chase them."
"I'm going to turn on the news… I'm just getting upset thinking about all of this crap…" Leo picked up Avery and a drool-cloth, just in case he decided to share his just-digested breakfast with his father.
Avery gripped onto his father's black and white kimono as Leo seated himself on the couch and turned on the television, and laughed at his father's horrified expression.
"And in other news, the Lupin the Fourth gang was stopped making quite a scene in Tokyo, last night," said the reporter in French (although this was translated for the sake of non-French speaking readers). "Several were spotted in a downtown area; the three men of the group, Daisuke Jigen the second and brothers Heiji and Goemon Ishikawa the fourteenth, were the cause of a major traffic backup during rush hour which led to ambulances sending four people to the hospital. Odori Ishikawa and Yukiko Jigen were later spotted in front of a maternity store also in battle. This, of course, also raises the question if either woman is pregnant…"
"M-Max!" Leo shouted and took a step back in his living room and he watched the recorded scenes of destruction ensue upon his second-rate television.
"Son of a…" Max's eyes grew wide as he stuck his head out of the kitchen doorway and listened carefully to the news report.
"In a related story, Ryoko Jigen was seen last night with Victor Lupin at a popular upscale restaurant," the report continued. "We here at channel eight have exclusive pictures which a tourist took last night while enjoying his dinner…. There have been rumors lately about a romantic relationship between the two."
"Romantic relationship my ass!" Leo fumed, stormed over to Max and passed him Avery.
"And what are you doing?" asked Max with a raised eyebrow.
Leo undid his kimono while he spoke to Max and walked to their bedroom. He loaded his gun and spoke to Max while standing in his boxers, "I'm going to make it so Victor comes nowhere near her again. I may not have the relationship I used to with Ryo, but that doesn't mean I can't save her from a jerk like Victor…"
"What just happened to 'Oh, we better quit'?" asked Max.
Leo was too busy dressing to catch Zenigata's slightly accusatory tone to catch on to the fact that Max was slightly suspicious of all of this. "This is different, Max. Ryoko's different. She's impressionable and Victor's manipulative. It's a volatile mix, if you ask me."
"Uh-huh…" Max said disbelievingly as he turned his back to Leo and walked into the kitchen. "Avery, you need a bath; you smell…." Max added in a mutter, "More than your father's story…"
Max was giving Avery a bath in the sink while Leo put on his purple jacket and walked back into the kitchen. Max looked up at Leo briefly, and then went back to concentrating on giving Avery his bath.
"To think, ten years ago you were running with a gang and I was out stealing," Leo laughed as he looked down at Avery and smiled happily. "Now look at us… Oh, don't get any his ears, Max…"
"I know, Leo," Max closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. "I've handled kids, before."
"Ummm….. Are you mad at me?"
Max turned to Leo and spat sarcastically, "No…"
"Okay, what'd I do now?" asked Leo worriedly.
"You're all for quitting until Ryo's name pops up… But that's always how it is."
"Are you jealous of my ex?"
"…Get me a towel for Avery…. I'm done…" Max said quietly. Leo nodded and handed him a towel, and Max lifted out the soaked baby and began to dry him. "Everytime it's something with Ryoko, you drop everything to go after her…"
"Max, we went through a lot together! I almost married her!" Leo exclaimed. "I can't not feel anything for her after that long! How many times are you going to get jealous of her, anyway? God… What the hell—It's not enough that I tell you I love you? What in the hell do you want from me, Max!"
"I'm going to go dress him…" Max completely blew off the subject, and left Leo alone in the kitchen while he went to go dress their son.
"This marriage is going to end in divorce court, yet…" Leo said worriedly.
"Hey, Leo!" Max ran back out into the kitchen, carrying a small portable radio. "I need you to do something for me…"
"What, now?" asked Leo, placing a hand on his forehead and waiting.
"Put in one of those J-Pop CDs you get Dako, and turn it up all of the way. Make sure it's at top volume when you start it…." Max instructed.
"What! Our neighbors'll kill us!" Leo shouted.
"Just do it," Max said sternly. Leo sighed and plugged in the radio, and blasted it all full volume for a few seconds. This jarred Dako out of her sleep, and she trudged out.
"What in the hell are you two doing now?" Dako yawned. "Are you doing it? Oh, God, I don't want to know…"
"Now will you tell me what that was for?" Leo asked as Max ran back out. Leo took one look at Max's worried expression and ran over to Zenigata, placing his hands on Zenigata's arms. "What's wrong?"
"What don't you hear that you should be able to?" asked Max.
"…..Avery….."
"He should be crying, right? I mean, I saw all of my nieces and nephews do that to a loud noise…."
"….Yeah…." Leo ran into Avery's room, and he and Max watched the little boy laugh and look upward at the ceiling, oblivious to the noise of the music. But Avery was oblivious to any sounds at all.
Tokyo:
"So now I'm up to date, right?" Fuji inquired. Toshiro and Yukiko, who sat on either side of their bed, nodded in response. "That's weird; all of those ninjas…. I wonder if there's something more behind this… They weren't the Rat Clan, from the sounds of it, Toshiro. Your mom may not like you, but she made a pact that she wouldn't harm you anymore…"
"And if it's one thing she's actually good at, it's her word…." Toshiro added.
"I'll get to the bottom of this; until then you guys just take it easy," Fuji rose and rubbed her sore and blackened eye. "I'm going to head to sleep in my own room. I'm a little over sleepovers."
"All right—Goodnight, Fuji," Toshiro opened the door and let her out, and then closed it behind her, and turned to Yukiko. "Perhaps you could hide out at my place for a while; I've got that new house, and they probably don't know about it, yet."
"Nah, I'm stayin' with you. I ain't running," Yukiko replied. "Baby or not, I'll be able to take it."
"But will the baby. We've got to think about it, too," Toshiro moved over to her and placed a hand on her stomach.
"This isn't friggin' fair…. You like kids more, you should've carried it. I've got to call a shop in Italy Friday, see if they can make me some special suits…" Yukiko moaned and fell back on the bed, covering her face with her fedora.
"How about calling your father and telling him?" Toshiro, "You're going to be extremely pregnant by the time you come home for Christmas—You won't be able to hide it forever."
"I'll call him tomorrow. Better yet, I'll see if I can get a conference call with him, Lupin and Goemon. They're like a gossipy group of old women. If I tell one, the others'll get jealous that I told him first."
"Eh, I don't care who you tell… As long as it's you doing the talking…. I did my work already."
"Excuse me? Ha ha… I've got nine months ahead of me; ten minutes and your work was done!"
"Hey! That was at least twelve!"
"Keep foolin' yourself, man…." Yukiko chuckled.
Fuji, meanwhile, yawned and knocked upon Heiji's door, "What a freaking night…. A black eye, ninjas…. Victor… Sometimes it makes a girl want to curl up and let the earth swallow her whole…"
Heiji opened the door to their hotel room and smiled, "Hey! I wasn't expecting you home so early!"
"Me, either…. Yukiko-san and Toshiro-chan just filled me in on everything," Fuji smiled and threw herself down upon her bed. "Jet lag's such a bitch! I just can't wait to get to sleep… I'm even too tired to be a pervert, tonight."
"Woah, that's a new one," said an amused Heiji. He sat down upon the bed and placed a hand on Fuji's shoulder, "I really missed you…."
"Uh-hm," Fuji muttered, her face down in the pillows of the bed.
"I wanted to ask you something; I'm kinda glad You're back so early!" Heiji admitted with a chuckle. "I probably would've just asked you over the phone if you hadn't made it home, yet, though."
Fuji rolled over and raised an eyebrow, looking at Heiji suspiciously. She sat up in the bed and rested her hands upon her lap, "What sort of question?"
Heiji leaned in and kissed her, and placed the small box he had picked up only hours beforehand in one of her hands. Fuji looked down at her hand, at the box, and bit her bottom lip.
"I hope it fits," Heiji said hopefully. "I borrowed Yukiko's ring; it was about the same size."
Heiji, I…." Fuji's mouth twitched, and she opened the box and looked downward at the diamond. "Um… This is really nice of you…."
"Try it on and see if it fits…" Heiji said with a smile. "I know it's not like anything you steal, but it's the thought that counts, right?"
"Heiji, I, I can't!" Fuji sputtered, and rose from the bed. "L-Listen… I'm not the kind of person who… It, it isn't you, I promise!"
"There's someone at the window," Heiji rose and reached beneath his bed for a bow and arrow kit he often brought with him. He may have been more skilled with the keyboard, but he was also quite handy at the bow and arrow.
Fuji reached for her gun, and quickly spun around, shooting at the ninja. The ninja duckedFuji reached for her gun, and quickly spun around, shooting at the ninja. The ninja ducked, and then silence followed. Both thief and hacker looked about tensely, listening for their assailant.
The glass suddenly smashed through, and the ninja scuttled in and disappeared into the shadows while Fuji and Heiji hid their eyes from the glass shards.
"Where the hell is it?" snapped Heiji.
"Gya! Duck!" Fuji pounced upon Heiji, and both fell to the floor while the ninja retained its position of clinging to the wall above their headboard.
"Don't worry!" the ninja shouted. "I'm not going to harm you!"
"Yeah huh, that's not what my terrified little gut's saying!" Fuji yelled.
The ninja jumped down, and removed his mask, revealing a more attractive than usual Asian man beneath, "You're Lupin the Fourth, correct?"
"Umm… That's one of my names, yeah…" Fuji replied, scanning him up and down as she spoke to him.
"I think we have an apology to make… And an offer," he announced as he tucked his mask into his sash.
"I'm al ears, Buddy," Fuji said numbly.
France:
The doctor set down his stethoscope and jotted down a few more notes while Avery sat down on the paper-covered table and his father remained in their corner, Leo standing the corner looking at his son with a mixture of guilt and fear and Max wearing an unreadable expression as he sat in the chair of the office, one leg crossed over the other.
"Well, gentlemen…" the doctor seated himself in a rolling chair and worked his way over to Leo and Max, and then continued. "There are several options we can take at this point…"
"He's totally deaf?" Leo asked quickly.
The doctor looked upward at Leo grimly and nodded, "But, like I said, with a combination of surgeries and hearing aids, he'll be able to have at least sixty percent of his hearing by the age of five."
"Five…" Leo shook his head and repeated. "…Five…"
"I think it'd still be wise to work with sign language when speaking to him," the doctor continued. "I can set you both up with classes as soon as possible."
Max rubbed his chin worriedly and continued to look downward at the floor; Dako was with Lupin and Fujiko at their home in France… More than likely his parents now knew of the news…. He barely listened to the doctor; he knew he'd leave that up to Leo.
Max's wandering mind crashed back to earth as he heard Leo say confidently, "…Then I'll quit."
"Quit what?" Max asked, looking upward at Leo with wide-eyed wonder as to what the hell his partner was talking about.
"Interpol," Leo replied. "I'll stay home with Avery. Maybe… Maybe we could even relocate to California. Dako would like America more, anyway, and most of the surgeons who would work on him would be in the U.S."
Max tapped his fingers on the chair and realized this would mean a huge swallowing of his pride… This would also mean potential run-ins with people he had gone to accounting school and the Rabbinical school with, and even meetings with the Inu Gang.
"Okay…" Max nodded.
Japan:
"So… He's holding your leader's daughter hostage, so you're working with him to kill Yukiko and Toshiro?" Fuji concluded as she took another sip of her tea.
"Yes," answered the young man, a Fuma ninja Katsushiro. "It isn't anything personal against them… Our hands are just tied… And if you can steal the stars from the sky, as they say you can, you can certainly return her to us."
"Well, I don't know about stars… But if it'll keep you guys from killing two of my best fighters, then I'm game," Fuji smiled a smile at the young man that sent Heiji immediately into a quiet seethe. He worked away with his electronics in order to busy himself while they talked in order to do away with the urge he had to strangle Katsushiro.
"I'm going to go grab some coffee downstairs," Heiji closed his laptop, removed his earphones and walked out of the hotel room, trying his best not to slam the door behind him. That didn't stop him from kicking a trashcan outside of the room down the hall, however.
"He's your husband?" Katsushiro inquired.
"Ummm…. Well, we're dating…. Well, I hope we still are…" Fuji answered worriedly. She had heard the trashcan hit the wall, as did Odori, who followed the noise and met Heiji down at the café in the hotel.
She ordered green tea and seated herself in front of her brother, "…Care to talk?"
"Not in the least," Heiji replied darkly.
"Fine by me," Odori took a sip of her tea and simply waited.
"God, that… I can't believe her!" Heiji slammed down his teacup and placed a hand on his forehead. "You should've seen the eyes she gave him! I thought I was going to puke on my laptop!"
"Fuji found someone, I take it?" Odori asked as she set her teacup down.
"Yeah… I've had enough of her doing that sort of crap… After this heist, I'm out. I don't know why I'm still here, anyway. I don't even really like a lot of the people here, that or I don't even have any emotional attachment…"
"Wow, you really are the Fujiko character…" Odori murmured to herself. Heiji rose and shook his head, and stormed off. Odori knew that he hadn't meant a lot of what he had said; something had simply upset him. It was a no-brainer that Fuji would be hard to love, and Odori wondered if Heiji was honestly strong enough to take the abuse on his heart.
Heiji, meanwhile, had walked back up into his and Fuji's room, and gave a look that could turn even the hottest water into ice upon impact as he spied Fuji. The ninja had left, but Fuji was still going over schematics which she and Katsuhiro had drawn up together while Heiji had gone to brood in the café.
"Umm… Heiji?" Fuji quietly rose and approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Heiji quickly brushed her off and tried to concentrate upon his work. "Heiji…"
"What do you want?" Heiji asked in the nicest voice he could possibly muster at the moment.
"Katsushiro left… I thought we could get to talking about what happened… Back there…"
"Did you plan it? Do you have a couple of guys on the side or something?"
"Excuse me!" a stunned Fuji yelped.
"Was he like a little guy you've got? A puppet or something?"
"Hey! I've been doing so good about staying in a single relationship!" snapped Fuji, angered by Heiji's accusation of infidelity. In reality, Fuji actually had been trying extremely hard to stay with one person in a serious relationship… Or as serious as she could manage.
"Yeah, yeah… Why'd you say no? Could I at least get a reason?" asked Heiji, looking up from his computer screen at her.
"Well, I…. Hrm… How do I go about this?"
"You could start with the reason."
"I, it's a bunch of things you wouldn't understand!"
"Try me."
"Well, I—"
"Fuji, I really do want a serious relationship with you. I may be mad at you and think you're awful at committing, but damn it I love you and I need to know if you love me, too."
"I… Eh…."
"I want to start a family with you, all right? How bad is that to want?"
"I can't have a family."
"Want, your stupid career again?"
"No, more like blockages in my friggin' tubes, jackass," Fuji snapped angrily.
"What? You can't have them at all?"
"I have about a five-percent chance of getting pregnant," Fuji explained. "And you're right. I should've told you before. I shouldn't have hid that from you."
"…You think I'm that damn shallow?" Heiji blinked a few times in shock.
"I… Listen, it's not exactly easy for me, okay?" Fuji shouted. "It's not like I didn't want to tell you—I was just scared!"
Heiji stood there silently a few moments, and sighed as he turned around, "Maybe it'd be for the best if…"
"Best if what?" Fuji asked worriedly. She watched Heiji begin to pack his things, and the reality of it came crashing down onto her. "H-Heiji? Don't do anything stupid, okay?"
"Don't worry… This is the smartest thing I've done in a while…" Heiji finished his packing his electronic equipment, and then went to working on packing his clothing. "You can keep the ring; I don't need it."
"You… You aren't going to do this," Fuji sputtered, shaking her head. "Heiji, we can work something out…"
"Fuji, sometimes people can love one another and not be meant for one another. We're a terrific example," Heiji zipped up his suitcase and pulled it up onto its wheels. "I'm goin' home…"
"Damn it, you are home!" Fuji shouted loud enough to wake up Toshiro and Yukiko, who were in the room next to them.
"I want more than this," Heiji spat at Fuji, and with that slammed open the hotel room door, picked up his suitcases and walked down the hall, turning the corner and then getting into the elevator. Fuji threw her jacket down on the ground and then broke out into a run.
"Damn it, I don't believe this…" Fuji kicked off her heels in order to try to catch up to the elevator. Too late, though. It closed on her. Fuji slammed her fist against the metallic door, paused, and then punched it a few more times, cursing loudly. The Lupin group had gathered behind her, or what was left of it. Many were stunned at Fuji's tantrum; she had always given off a cool, calm and confident personality, and now she was shrieking at the elevator.
Ally took a few steps forward and placed Fuji's jacket upon her shoulders. Fuji spun around and embraced Jigen tightly.
France:
"So Heiji left Fuji?" a stunned Leo repeated into the phone. Fujiko reconfirmed this, and Leo sighed heavily as he finished dressing Avery. Max had gone out with Dako that afternoon, leaving Leo with his son and his work.
"Please tell me you're doing better… I need some good news…" Fuji begged. "I go to Japan for a vacation, and I have Fuji on the phone in tears…. Leaves little time for any real fun."
"Um… I wish I could," Leo lifted up Avery and walked him to his crib. "I really think Max is going to crack any time now… Fortunately it'll probably only be at me. I don't want him to go getting angry at Dako or Ave for no reason."
"Why do you say that?" asked Fujiko intently.
"It's…. It's too much for him, and you know a lot of his family's not all there… I'm thinking he's going to lose it," Leo responded. "I don't want that to happen, but I'm starting to think the only reason he hasn't asked for a divorce is because of Avery."
"What?" Fujiko gasped, "A divorce!"
"I know, I know… But I work so much, and I'm taking care of the kids with him… Max doesn't like kids that much and he likes attention, if you catch my drift. Damn it, I'm making him sound like this total bastard, but he's not. I know he loves, me, otherwise he wouldn't put up with me like he does… I just don't know what to do anymore, Mom. It's becoming this total mess! Sometimes I just wish I'd never slept wit him…."
"You and your father both…" Fujiko gave a heavy sigh and secretly craved a cigarette at that moment. "I think you two just need some time to work things out… Well, your sister's on the other line, so I think I'll take this now… Ari, take my advice and just schedule a little you and him time…. Even a half hour works wonders."
"Okay… Have a good night, Mom," Leo hung up the phone, and looked downward at Avery. "You're so lucky you don't understand any of this right now, Ave…"
Tokyo:
"How's she doing?" asked Odori as Ally walked into the room where the rest of the Lupin gang had gather, aside from Fuji, who was still in her room.
"Eh, well… She puts up a good front…." responded Ally, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, guys! I thought through four plans on how to get that girl back and get us out of trouble!" Fuji shouted, kicking the hotel door open and walking through with a large stack of paperwork in her arms. She dropped it on the table of the hotel room and smiled as she looked down at her work.
Ryo took one of the drawn-out diagrams and scratched the back of her head, "Where in the hell do you suggest we find a rubber band this big, Fuji?"
"Eh, I dunno…. I don't usually do the ordering," Fuji admitted. "B-But I can! I'll do it without that little rat bastard! I hope he chokes on a pineapple, or surfs through a patch of jellyfish…. Yeah, jellyfish! We could use those… But where would I get the pickup truck? Well, I'll just figure that out, too!"
"Toshiro, I need to talk to you. We're takin' a walk," said Yukiko grabbing her fedora and placing it upon her head.
"Um, yeah, sure…" Toshiro nodded and rose from his seat, extremely happy to have an excuse to get away from Fuji and her numerous crazed plans. "I never realized it before, but Lupin did a lot of crazy stuff like that before he finally got together with Fujiko…" Toshiro muttered to Yukiko as he walked out of the hotel room, Yukiko at his side. He stopped and looked over at Yukiko, and lifted up her fedora, "….Are you wearing makeup? And why do you have a camera?"
"It'll explain itself in a few…" Yukiko pressed the button for the elevator and waited. Toshiro now noticed a small suitcase at her side. Now he was extremely suspicious of Yukiko.
"What's going on? My birthday was in May…" Toshiro muttered as he looked downward at the suitcase.
"Ha ha…." Yukiko stepped out onto the ground floor and led Toshiro to two bathrooms beside a small convention room. She opened the suitcase and pulled out a bag from her suitcase. "Go put this on…"
"What is it?" Toshiro inquired.
"Just do it…"
"Okay… But if it's like a French maid outfit or something, forget it!" Toshiro replied as he walked into the men's bathroom and waited until he was in a stall to open the package. He pulled out the black coat, and then the gray kimono, and a wave of realization came over him, "This is…. Is this like a joke?"
Ishikawa put on the outfit anyway, and was taken back as he watched Yukiko exit in a white dress, complete with a veil, "How'd you even hide that in that suitcase!" Toshiro asked in awe.
"It was little less than easy getting Goemon to lend me the outfit for you… I still think he's suspicious…" Yukiko replied as she adjusted the collar of his kimono and smiled. "Well, might as well get this done with before that guy gets to me, right?"
"Shouldn't we invite the others down?" asked Toshiro.
"I was hoping Heiji would show, too…" Yukiko sighed heavily, "Guess I can't ask for everything…"
"'Scuse us, Ma'am, we're here to set up for the wedding…" a older man walked past the two, two more men walking behind him.
"Nice to see you showed, Lupin… I take it Goemon told you, and then it spread like wildfire." Yukiko smiled and looked back at the thief. Lupin smiled and pulled off his mask, and soon Goemon and Jigen did the same thing.
"Heh, ya caught me… You know, it isn't everyday a girl asks for a men's wedding kimono… I just asked the hotel a few simple questions, and then I took the liberty of sending out invitations and plane tickets."
Jigen embraced his daughter and kissed her on the cheek, and then laid a hand on her stomach. Yukiko sputtered a few times in shock, and Jigen laughed a little and embraced her once more.
Goemon looked over at Toshiro and cleared his throat, "You know I'm not big on hugging…"
"Eh, it's okay, I am," Toshiro embraced his stunned father tightly. "I ain't gonna kiss you, though, Dad. Hope you don't mind, but I don't see how Mom manages."
"Your other mother's here, too," said Goemon lowly.
"Yeah, we have the womenfolk and Zenigata inside," Lupin pointed over his shoulder at the room behind him. "We also managed to detain Heiji for a little while… And we cleaned him up, some, too."
"Well, I guess it'd be a good time to go let everyone else know…" Yukiko sighed. "So much for a secret, huh?"
"Eh, I already had room service tell them," replied Lupin with a smile. He bent down and kissed Yukiko on the hand and looked upward at her in a smile. "Well, here's to my prettiest bodyguard, by far…. Sorry, Jigen."
"You never tell me I'm pretty anymore," Jigen muttered, and folded his arm. He came down hard on Toshiro's back, patting the young samurai, and looked upward at him from beneath the brim of his fedora, "It's a good thing I'm seeing you at the wedding, Toshiro, because if you two weren't, I'd be kicking your ass all the way to New York. I'm not going to let my girl be an unwed mother!"
"You're pregnant?" Goemon blinked a few times in surprise, and looked to Yukiko, and then to Toshiro with a scowl. Toshiro gave a nervous laugh and cleared his throat in response.
"Hey, you!" Ryo shouted to Yukiko as she walked down with the others, who had all dressed up for the occasion. A stunned Lupin blinked a few times in surprise at the site of Victor next to Ryo, and Victor in turn cleared his throat and looked away from his uncle. Ryo smiled and laughed as she looked at her sister and adjusted her veil, "I'm surprised you're not wearing the suit…"
"Could we get this show on the road? Goemon's got nine impatient kids in there and Jigen's twins are terrorizing them," Lupin said with an uneasy smile. The Lupin gang nodded, and Goemon and Jigen walked in, followed by the others. Fuji was the last to enter, her hands behind her back and her smiling expression faltering. Lupin wrapped an arm over her shoulders and sighed.
"You okay, Princess?" asked Lupin as Fuji leaned against her father.
"I've been better, Dad," Fuji replied as she entered with her father.
"Well, space was tight, so there's just enough seats here… I hope you don't mind sitting here…" Lupin led her to her seat, and Fuji took a step back as she realized it was next to Heiji. Heiji looked at her briefly, and then forward at the wedding again.
Lupin seated his daughter next to Heiji, and then left to his seat in the front of the room.
"Ally!" Toshiro shouted to Jigen, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Sitting and watching you take my sister from me," Ally responded darkly.
"Get your ass up here! I need a best man, and you're the best for the job I can think of," Toshiro smiled. Ally blinked a few times, stunned, and rose from his seat. Heiji smiled in amusement at this; he had known Toshiro had wanted him, but he was still reeling from his own loss.
At the thought of loss, he looked over at Fuji, who was staring straight ahead at the wedding, "…I don't want to fight here…" said Fuji quietly.
"Guess we aren't going to be talking an awful lot, then," Heiji muttered.
The procession began without the two saying another word to one another; the priest had waited patiently for the two, and Toshiro smiled as he watched Jigen lead Yukiko down and then stand there a few moments and then seat himself next to Ming.
"I get her, I fight and fight to keep her, and I still lose her," Jigen sighed quietly to his wife.
"Well, better to Toshiro than half the other guys she's liked," Ming replied, patting Jigen on the hand. Jigen looked across the way at Sakura, who had flown in only about an hour ago, and smiled at her. He was in love with Ming, but he still adored Sakura, and was grateful for what she had given him.
"I never thought I'd get invited to a surprise wedding and it'd be mine…" Toshiro said to Yukiko as she stood in front of him, the priest reading aloud the rights that no one really paid attention to. "Yukiko Ishikawa…. Has a nice ring."
"So does Toshiro Jigen…." Yukiko answered with a chuckle. Toshiro rolled his eyes, and then came the part of the vows, and both repeated them aloud, and then exchanged rings. Toshiro leaned down and kissed Yukiko, and the small children in the room giggled.
"This is the most normal wedding I've been to in thirty years… And that includes mine," Lupin muttered. Fujiko pinched him, and he yelled a little in response, and that chuckled. "What do you say to renewing our vows, Fujicakes?
"Only if I get a new ring," replied Fujiko.
"Yeesh… You never change…" Lupin grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Fujiko kissed him on the cheek and laughed.
Toshiro and Yukiko began to walk back down, and Toshiro gave a questioning look as he heard instead of the traditional wedding march the overture from Funny Girl.
"It was the only CD we had to play!" Natasha shouted as she noted Toshiro's confused expression.
Yukiko laughed and threw the bouquet over her shoulder. Ryo tried not to scream out in horror as it landed on her lap. Victor looked over at her, lifted up the bouquet and smiled.
"Here, Fuji, you take it!" Ryo shouted, throwing it at Fuji and then scooting away from Victor.
"Well, I better get going, too…" Heiji sighed, rising.
"Wait, Heiji—I'm sorry," said Fuji, grabbing onto one of his hands to keep him from leaving.
"Listen… I just need some time to think…" Heiji sighed. "If there's anything you need, just call me, Fuji…"
"Well, I don't think you can give me the one thing I need…."
"Maturity? Nah, not really," Heiji filed out of the small room, leaving Fuji with the bouquet.
"Hey, reception at Goemon's!" Lupin shouted.
"I didn't agree to that!" Goemon yelped in response. He clutched onto his chest, and Amaya immediately grew worriedly.
"Is it your heart?" Amaya gasped, taking hold of one of Goemon's hand.
"No, my dagger… Lupin shall pay…" Goemon removed a blade from his kimono and let go of Amaya's hold on him, "Oh, Lupin… I've got something for you."
"Really?" the thief turned his head back around, "What is—Jesus, Goemon put that down!"
"You goin' to that afterparty?" Ally asked as he walked to Fuji, the only other person left in the room besides the priest.
"Nah… Reminds me too much of my own problems. You?"
"Nope. Reminds me too much of my own shortcomings. Want to grab a drink?" asked Ally.
"Sounds great," Fuji rose from her seat and walked out of the makeshift chapel together.
France:
"Hrm?" Max blinked a few times as he walked in and saw a floral arrangement on the livingroom table, "Dako, did you get a boyfriend?"
"I so wish," Dako snorted as she set down her purse on the coat rack, "I'm going to go rot my brains on television…"
Yeah, check on Avery, too…" Max muttered.
"This'll be cool—We'll be able to call people rude stuff by signing…" Dako said to herself with a smile.
"Ha ha… I think not," replied Max as he walked over to the floral arrangement and pulled off the note. He raised an eyebrow as he read over the message and walked into his bedroom. Leo was hunched over his desk, studying. Max tapped him on the shoulder, and the surprised Lupin looked upward and removed his glasses. "What's up with this?" Max asked, holding up the note.
"I thought it'd be a nice surprise…" Leo replied with a shrug.
"It… It is…" Max blinked a few times in surprise as he looked down at the note once again. "You've never done anything like this before…"
"Well, I'll try more, if you want," Leo smiled and looked upward at Max. "I ordered dinner, too, so you don't have to cook…"
"Okay, what's up?" Max inquired, setting down the note on Leo's desk. Lupin seated himself upon his desk to look Max in the eyes, and swung his feet back and forth a little.
"I just wanted to thank you for going along with everything… I know it's been a lot of stress on you, and you've given up a lot."
"Um, wow…" Max leaned forward, and kissed Leo, and Lupin smiled in response. "Have I really been acting that cold recently?
"Eh, yeah, just a little," Leo chuckled. "I was afraid you were going to leave me."
"Hm, I may yell a lot and even say some pretty hurtful crap to you, but I don't want to leave you. I worked too hard for you," Max took hold of Leo's hand and sighed. "I don't know what in the hell's going to happen with us, or with the kids, or with work, but we'll figure out something. We always do… Even if we end up taking them with us and you tutor Dako while I go out and chase down Lupin…."
Leo thought a moment, and a smile came upon his face, "You… You know, she always has wanted to travel…"
"I was joking…." Max said with a slight tone of worry.
"Well, they can't do surgery on Avery until he's at least a year old, currently. But they can fit him with hearing aids until then, so he'll be able to have some sense of hearing… What a great learning experience that would be for a kid! I, I mean I traveled all around with my parents as a kid, and I had a blast, plus that's where I picked up a lot of languages!"
"But what about friends?" asked Max with a sigh.
Leo shrugged, "That's what the Internet's for. Besides, Dako isn't exactly making friends here. Maybe we could at least try it…"
"Well, I suppose… We still get the two-bedroom hotels anyway, even though we only take up one… The first sign of trouble, though, we move, settle down and put them both in normal schools. I'm only doing this because you traveled around, like you said, and I didn't, and out of the two of us you're the more stable one."
"Okay, I promise…" Leo embraced him, "I hope she doesn't mind…"
"Could we go to Australia?" Dako opened the door to Max and Leo's room even more and walked in. "I always liked koalas."
"It makes me wonder what else you sneak in on…" said Max with a glare.
"Nothing that isn't laughable in the least," Dako answered with a smug smirk.
Leo gripped onto Max's shirt as he lunged for Dako, and then looked downward at her sternly, "Dako, how did you get past the door? I could've sworn that I locked it."
Dako blinked and thought for a few seconds before concocting a believable enough lie. Leo would've killed her if he had found out that she had picked the lock, "I guess you didn't, because it was open… Maybe you were too stressed to tell…"
"Hrm, yeah… That makes sense…."
Dako smiled, believing that she had gotten away with the lie, but Leo still had his suspicions over the incident.
Japan, the next day:
"Oh, my head!" Fuji moaned and gripped onto her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw a wine bottle on her nightstand… She had remembered it being full and unopened the night before… But that was about all she remembered about the night before.
"What the…" she reached to the floor, and pulled up a tie, "….Heh heh…. All right… Looks like I've still got it! I don't need friggin' Heiji, anyway… Wonder which bellboy I brought up with me… Oh, maybe it was that cute piano player in the lobby! A girl can hope, a girl can hope…"
She sat up in bed and saw a figure snoring beneath a blanket next to her. "Maybe I should order breakfast… Nah… Heh, I just hope it isn't some kind of ugly bastard… Wakey wak—Oh, damn…."
She pulled away the covers, and watched Ally continue to snore lightly. Fuji then opened her dresser drawer, and swallowed two Tylenol whole, without any sort of liquid.