DISCLAIMER: Yeah…. I don't own it, but if someone REALLY loves me this Christmas…
Oiiii…
Yeah, sorry, I haven't been having the best week…. I went on brief hiatus after the passing of one my dearest friends, my dog which I loved dearly by the name of Freeway. I owned Freeway for almost six years, and after a long battle with brain cancer, we finally had no other option but to put him out of his suffering on the ninth. He was a good dog, one of my best friends, and I doubt I'll ever be able to top him. Thanks to everyone who helped me through his passing, you all helped me more than you'll ever be able to fathom. I really adored him and I'll miss having him at my feet while I write. And in other news this week there was also the 25th anniversary of the passing of John Lennon, whom anymore who reads this is well aware that I am a huge fan of. Yeah, and my hallway flooded and one in the morning, too. Merry Christmas to me. I only hope the New Year's is better. Thanks again to everyone who reads and supports; writing's what keeps me sane.
This chapter is dedicated to Freeway, as well as to John, two whom I keep in my prayers often.
Fun Fact of Boredom: Throughout the chapters, there are numerous references to other anime, mainly old, although Naruto's also been briefly mentioned. There are especially a lot of references to the Japanese children's show Doraemon, which I am a fan of although it officially has never been shown in the U.S. Make a game out of it—See how many references you can count:D (Okayyyy….. You know it's been a heck of a week when I start going into scary happy mode)
Chapter Thirty-one: Somewhere they can't Find Me
"Okay… Okay, Max, c-calm down—Hey, you can't say that word!" Fuji shouted into the receiver. "Max, just…. Max, listen… Max!... MAXWELL!... Okay… I'm gonna get Yukiko and Toshiro to look for them, okay? All right, don't worry…We'll get them back… Okay, bye." She hung up the phone and looked over her shoulder at who remained of her group.
"What's wrong? We could hear Max from over here, Fuji," Ryo said with concern. "I know the boy can shout, but that was ridiculous!"
"His and Leo's kids never showed up at the hotel," Fuji seated herself at the table in the hotel and drummed her fingers against the oak. "That isn't like them…"
"Hey, maybe they went out for, I dunno, food or somethin'. You get distracted in this city a lot, trust me," Toshiro said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I noticed you getting 'distracted' by every girl in a tight pair of pants in this city!" Yukiko countered with a deep frown.
"Toshiro, you have a car, too, right? You and Yuki take that… Ryo-san, Ally and I'll meet up with Leo, Max and Heiji, and try to figure out just what the hell's going on."
"I'm scared for those kids… It's never a good thing when anyone around here goes missing," Ally muttered gravely.
"We're on it…. But where the hell do we start?" asked Yukiko, kicking her feet up and standing beside Toshiro.
"Ask around the airport, see if any of the attendants saw them. Then if that's a dead end, they have cameras for security… Get the tape of today and we'll analyze it here."
"Right… Consider us gone," Toshiro picked up his swords, and Yukiko was quick to follow him out of the house.
2,000 feet above New York:
"Hrm," Odori glanced over her magazine and looked to her daughter, who was asleep in her seat. Next to her sat Jordan, who was also in the middle over reading, although Odori could not make out the title of the book. He glanced over his glances at the seat in front of him, and then looked over to Odori.
"You okay?"
"Fine… I just have a bad feeling," Odori replied. "Where's our first layover?"
"Spain. Let's hope you're not as psychic as your dad, eh?" he said with a hopeful chuckle. This laughter faded, however, when he read over Odori's expression. "You're really worried about something, aren't you?"
Odori gave a nod, and glanced down at Namiko, "Maternal instinct, I suppose…"
"Don't worry, Fuji only acts stupid. You ought to know that by now," Jordan continued reassuringly. "She knows how to get herself out of trouble. She had to learn after Ari went AWOL."
"Why did you not come to help Lupin and Fujiko after that occurred?"
"I was still angry at him… We were angry at one another for a long time," Jordan sighed. "Hell, I thought he was a trainer, at first, someone to help me become a great thief. I didn't know that my dad had taught me to be a thief. I didn't even have a clue he was Japanese!.. Sure explained the love for sushi, though."
Odori gave a small laugh and said, "I did not know my biological family for some time, either. Heiji actually found them for me."
"So, is your sister… The one I met… Is she—"
"We're twins, yes. I suppose you can tell that we took different paths in life, though."
"So, why did they only give up one of you?"
"To many peasants, twins are still bad luck."
"With Ari and Fuji, I can see where they'd have evidence of that…"
"They needed to rid themselves of bad luck, and they needed the money, as well… And my mother and father paid greatly for me," Odori heaved a heavy sigh. "I think it rounded out to about ten-thousand yen…"
"…That's only like a thousand American!"
"When you're in poverty, it's a fortune."
"Eh, can't argue with that one… I wasn't the most well-off," Jordan allowed the now-awake Namiko to take hold of his hand as he spoke to Odori. "My parents were killed off when I was pretty young."
"Do I know who the murderer is?"
"Yeah, try my Uncle Remy."
"…That could explain why you hate Victor so much."
"Nah, he's a jerk in his own right. He acts too much like his father sometimes, though," Jordan said darkly. "I think Yukiko's sister is just setting herself up for a fall."
"She looks like her sister, so I'm sure you'll be there when she does," Odori said quietly.
"Yeah, I—What? Um, no… I don't do crazy anymore. I swore off crazy after my last relationship!"
Odori glanced over at him with amusement, "And I swore off another relationship, period."
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You've got a lot to offer. You'll make some guy really happy."
"I'm through with trying to make others happy. And if my daughter is happy, then I am happy," Odori said sternly.
"Yeesh, you are scarily like Goemon…"
A New York airport:
"You see anything?" Toshiro asked Yukiko through his cell phone.
"Nope, you?" Yukiko pushed the door of a restaurant in the airport and walked out into the busy terminal, looking about left and right for the small children.
"You know, I can't wait until the Christmas special, when the worst thing that happens is someone gets drunk…"
"Yeah, yeah. I know, buddy. Come on, I don't see crap… I need to get off my drink for a little bit," Yukiko rubbed her lower back as she spoke, and caught a glimpse of her ever-bulging reflection in a revolving door. She gave a small sigh and continued on, until she found Toshiro outside of the airport.
"Kids like that just don't vanish," Toshiro said with a shake of the head. "There has to be video footage of them leaving…"
"Like outside the airport?" Yukiko's vision fell upon a camera staring back at them.
"Like exactly that," Toshiro smiled, picked up a long suitcase with his swords that he carried at his side, and began to walk back into the airport. "Get the car warmed, hon…"
"I can't drive," Yukiko tossed him the keys and strode toward the front doors. "I'll be right out, don't miss me."
"Why do I… Nevermind," Toshiro muttered and shook his head, and walked off in the direction of their vehicle.
Later, at the hotel:
"You run off the tag number yet, Heiji-chan?" Fuji leaned over Heiji and studied the information of the screen while Heiji gave a small nod and sipped from his cup of Ramen.
"Yeah, it's registered in Jersey… And it went missing a week ago," Heiji said with a sigh. "There's no kind of tracking device on it, so we've got another dead end."
"Hrm… Maybe not," Fuji narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer to the screen. "I see my niece and nephew… Can you zoom in on the driver?"
"Yeah," Heiji gave a nod and clicked away on the computer, closing in closer to the cab driver. "Nothing… It's too dark, Fuji."
"Wait, what about the rearview?"
"Hrm… Let me see…"
"Guys, I ain't gettin' nothing," Ally sighed and walked into the hotel room. "Carmen isn't picking up, her mom isn't… It's like the whole country's phone service is down!"
"Oh, yeah, you're worrying about your piece of ass and my kids are missing," Max said, looking up from one of the many files he and Leo were searching through.
"You wanna repeat that?" Ally growled.
"Guys, quiet," Heiji murmured. "I think… Here… I got his eyes… Fuji, you recognize him?"
"Ooowwww…." Fuji moaned.
"I think we have our answer," Heiji said, turning back to the other men in the room.
"Hey, Fuji, Victor went to his sources and you'll never guess who's behind that counterfeiting!" Ryo cried, running toward her friend.
"Could it be… Jurgis?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Because he's right here, too," Fuji said, pointing to the cab driver on the screen.
"WHAT?" Max shrieked.
"Yeow… Leo, calm down your boyfriend…" Fuji murmured. "I'm willing to bet this has something to do with why you can't contact Cagliostro, Ally…."
"They've still got some of the best forgers in the country. A lot of people from Dad's generation made a living making fakes and exporting them out of the country, so of course they'd jump for new work," Leo continued, closing a file and looking over his glasses at his sister.
"Urm… Yeah…." Fuji blinked a few times, and then shot her head back to Ryo. "Get in touch with Yukiko and Toshiro, tell them we need a flight to Cagliostro, or at least Italy. Heiji, call Jordan and Odori, we may need them, there, too, if this thing's as huge as I'm thinking it is."
"We'll take care of the flight," Leo said, rising from his seat.
"Wait, we can?" a confused Max inquired.
"But you have to trust us, Fuji," Leo continued, taking out a step of handcuffs.
"Leo, what are you doing?" Max hissed in a whisper.
Leo turned about and put a finger to Max's mouth, "Leave this to the taller people. You just sit there and go through your files, okay? You look so pretty when you do that."
Max was too stunned by this to counter, and Leo continued, "Have us pretend to arrest you, we'll get you out of the country quick that way."
"No, that won't work! I'm the Paris Hilton of the crime world, no way'll that NOT get any press!" Fuji snapped, briefly eyeing the handcuffs.
"I don't hear you coming up with anything better," Leo muttered, turning back to his files. "Or is the partying getting to your brain."
"A word, with you," Max said through gritted teeth, pulling Leo out by the shirt collar onto the balcony. He quietly closed the balcony door, and all in the room could see the gestures and motions of anger Max made toward his partner.
"….Maybe we should close the blind; I feel wrong watching this," Heiji muttered as they all continued to watch Max scream at Leo.
"You know the saying, right? The more screaming, the better the makeup sex," Fuji said with a chuckle.
"You know, maybe Leo isn't all that wrong about you," said Ryo wearily.
Max opened the door as slowly as he had before while trying to regain his breath from the shouting, and calmly walked into the hotel, Leo following with his hands in his pockets.
Max seated himself on the couch, crossed his legs, and looked upward at Fuji, while Leo walked past all of them and out the door.
"Hey… Um… How'd it go?" Fuji asked nervously.
"Screw him, let's just find those kids," Max answered darkly.
"…Max?" Fuji muttered.
"Listen, he's not happy, so he wants me to move out after this, so that's fine!" Max shouted. "If that's the way he wants to be, then he can be like that! I have no damn problem with a divorce! ….Let's just find those kids…" he said in a weak voice.
Cagliostro:
"Oww…" Jared sat up and rubbed his head. "Dako? Dako, are you here?"
"She's still asleep," said a blonde with a sweet voice. "Are you all right? What's your name?"
"It's Jared… Jared Lupin…. Aw, no, I'm not supposed to tell my last name! I think this is the only family with rules like this," Jared muttered.
"That's all right, I'm friends with the Lupin family. My name is Carmen."
"Hi…. You know my family?"
"Well, we were almost related, in a way. We were nearly cousins," Carmen chuckled.
"Ew… Oh, no offense, but, it seems like my family gets more and more huge all of the time. Where's Dako?"
"Your sister?"
"She's my dad's daughter… We're kinda siblings, but… It's a long story. She's okay, right?"
"Yes," Carmen nodded and rose. "Physically, at least."
"Huh?"
"We're all prisoners here… Myself, my mother, and now I suppose you and your sister, as well," Carmen said in a low voice. "I've tried several escape methods, but nothing seems to work. A ruthless man's taken over, and shut us from the outside world."
"What, and no one noticed?"
"We're too small for that," Carmen sighed. "The last news-making event was my running away, and before that there was a messy ordeal in the late 70's. But people usually let us keep to ourselves, other than that."
Jared nodded and hopped off of the bed in the large room and looked about at his surroundings, and then looked over his shoulder at her. "Wait… Carmen… You're Ally's girlfriend!"
"….I suppose so," Carmen said quietly, and looked over to another bed in the room where Dako slept with Clarisse at her bedside.
"She looks like a thief who worked for Lupin for some time," Clarisse said with a small smile. "Probably no relation; she looks too sweet to be a thief."
"Hey, she's better than me, and I'm a ninja!" said Jared with a laugh.
"You're not that good yet," Dako muttered and opened her eyes.
"You're awake! All right!" said Jared with a smile. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Eh…. Where are we?" Dako muttered, sitting up on the bed and looking about at the tiny crowd that surrounded her.
"Cagliostro," said Jared, placing a hand on her arm. "It's a long story, but I think that cab driver's got something to do with it."
"That cab driver?" Dako repeated, and rubbed her forehead. She looked to Clarisse, who only gave a small shrug.
"I'm as puzzled as you are," she admitted with a small sigh. She looked over to the other side of the room, and glanced at Carmen, who was in front of the dresser. "…Dear, what are you doing?"
"I think it will make itself clear in time," Carmen replied. "Mother, I want you to stay with them. I know that you can protect them, and vice versa."
"Wait," Clarisse rose and stepped over to her daughter. "What does that mean? Carmen, what are you doing?"
"You live with a thief long enough, you learn a few tricks," Carmen said while opening a dresser drawer and pulling out a pair of slacks.
Tokyo:
"This is a nice place," Jordan admitted as he looked about at the décor of the Japanese inn.
"My usual room, please," Odori said to the clerk at the desk. The old woman nodded, glanced back at Jordan briefly, and gave a small smile. She gave a small chuckle and murmured something to Odori, then disappeared into the innards of the inn.
"Does she realize that I understood that she said I have a nice ass?" Jordan asked, looking up from the giggling Namiko.
"Probably not," Odori answered. "She was like this when I was—"
"Hrm?"
"When I was here with Namiko's father," Odori said hesitantly. "…I have a usual room. I'll just head up there. She's just getting out a couple of mats for us, but she will bring them up."
"Mats? Eh…" Jordan gave a small shudder at the thought of sleeping on the floor, but followed Odori up the stairs to a room at the end of the hall. "Wow, nice taste… Looks just like the pictures in tourist guides."
"You've never been to Japan?"
"Eh, I come here a lot, but mainly for business. I never stay long enough to really take in the sights."
"I see. Well, I will get to unpacking. Could you watch Namiko for me while I take care of a few things?"
"I don't see why not. She's the first girl in a long time who I could actually stand," Jordan said with a chuckle, and watched Odori slide open an adjoining door and disappear behind it. Jordan then looked down at the young girl at gave a small smirk. "I'm glad your dad gave you back, don't get me wrong… I just don't see how he did it. Hrm? Who the hell's calling me right now?" he wondered out loud. "Hello? Fuji? Hey… What? No, I'm—What the hell… Damn it, no, nothing like that! Fine! Bye!"
"Something the matter?" Odori asked from the other side of the paper door.
"Nothing," Jordan replied, placing his cell phone back in his jean pocket and turning to face the door. Odori opened it once more and stepped out, now in a more comfortable kimono, and with several of her bags lying open upon the floor. "Well, no, that'd be a lie. My niece and nephew are missing, and Fuji and her gang are headed to Cagliostro."
"Do they want us to come?"
"She says there's no rush, that's she's got it under control, but she scares me when she talks like that. That usually means she doesn't have a clue as to what the hell she's going to do," Jordan seated himself on the floor at a low table and rested an elbow upon it. "So I say we take the next flight out."
"Agreed," Odori nodded and seated herself across from Jordan. Her eyes then widened toward an open window, and Jordan grew outwardly concerned.
"What, is it ninjas?" he murmured.
"No, snow… A lot of it," Odori answered, blinking once more at the rapidly falling white.
New York:
"Wha…" Fuji began as Max seated himself next to her.
"Don't ask," Max responded, staring straight ahead at the seat in front of him. "It's a long story."
"…Zenigata, what's going on with you two?"
"I don't know, okay! Just… Just shut up, all right?" Max said in a low voice. Fuji frowned, took him by the hand, and pulled him out of his seat and down the hall, all the way into the bathroom, much to the shock and confusion of the other passengers on the plane.
"What are you doing!" Max growled.
"Relax, they'll just think we're in the middle of something else. They won't know I'm giving you a heart-to-heart, so don't worry about ruining your macho image. Now what's going on with you and my brother, huh?"
"I don't even know," Max admitted, looking downward at the ground after perching himself on the sink of the small bathroom. "It's like… He got this head injury and he's totally changed… I'm starting to think it wasn't for the better…."
"Just one? I've fallen on my head plenty of times, and I'm fine!"
Max said nothing, but he and his sister-in-law shared a brief glance, and Fuji's confident smile fell.
"Okay, so, maybe it affected him a little differently… There's got to be a reason for it, though!" Fuji declared, "Jeeze, it's always before the holidays this stuff happens… Come on, now, Zenigata, smile. C'mon…. Don't make me make you!"
"Lupin, I'm not in the mood…"
"Come on, Zenigata," Fuji placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled. "I'll take care of it. Now smile or Cecilia gets your guys' new home address."
"There," said Max with an obviously forced smile. "Happy?"
"Never," Fuji answered. She blinked a few times in puzzlement as Max placed his hands about her waist and embraced her. "Umm…. Max? Are we, like…. Having a moment?"
"I just really don't want him to leave me!" Max choked, proving that he could be as emotional as his father without even trying.
"Eh, it's all right… There… There…" Fuji said uncomfortably. Both heard a clicking and turned to see the door open and a stunned looking businessman in their midst.
"S-sorry… I didn't know I was interrupting anything," he said, red-faced, slamming the door shut. Max and Fuji looked to one another for a few moments, and then both broke out into a small laughter.
Cagliostro:
"Just because you trained a little while doesn't make you a pro!" Dako said in a hiss to Jared. "You can't even ride a bike!"
"I learned enough. More than you probably ever did," Jared replied, tugging upon the bed sheets and then peering over to balcony.
"You two may remain and guard my mother," Carmen said as she adjusted her black wig. "How he manages to see with a hairstyle like this…"
"I'd prefer none of you going," Clarisse admitted as she looked over at the children worriedly and then panned her vision over to her daughter.
"I have to do this. Someone has to get help," Carmen kissed her mother briefly, then stepped over to Dako and Jared. She embraced Dako briefly and kissed Jared on the side of the face, and began a slow descent down the balcony.
"Ha ha… You like her," said Dako, poking Jared.
"I do not!" Jared responded with a blush. "And I had someone kiss me—More than you've ever gotten, I'll bet!"
"Hrm…"
"Be careful," Clarisse whispered as she stepped over to the balcony and watched Carmen, dressed in disguise as Ally, let go of her grip on the makeshift rope and landed upon the roof of a lower level. She then paused, pulled another bedsheet rope from her side, and continued down, until she was out of sight. She was visible moments later, swimming across the mote and then hiding in a nearby bush. She then broke into a run as she made sure the coast was clear, and disappeared out of visual range.
Tokyo:
"I can't believe this…" Jordan muttered and closed his cell phone. "Looks like we're trapped for the time being. All of the airports in the area are shut down because of the damn snow."
"At least I brought provisions," Odori said with an attempt at optimism as she began to set to table. "I fed Namiko already… She's asleep in the other room."
"Thanks… I just don't know how this could get any worse," Jordan said with a heaved sigh. The lights then flickered, and decided to shut themselves off. "….Downed power line…."
"I wonder which ancestors I've dishonored now," Odori murmured as she looked about and rose. "Go get candles, I will go get Nami. I do not want her getting cold…"
"Yeah, good idea," he nodded in agreement and walked to the low table while Odori exited the room, returning with Namiko and herself wrapped in a thick blanket.
She seated herself across from Jordan, and smiled as her daughter reached out and picked up a small handful of seaweed crackers from a bowl Odori had laid out. "You're going to make yourself sick…. Well, fine…. But do not get ill during Christmas, Namiko Ishikawa-Miyamoto."
"Kept her father's name, huh?"
"He's to have some involvement in her life; she just could not stand being away from me."
"Hey, I don't blame her, you're pretty nice for an Ishikawa," Jordan lit a few candles he had found in Odori's luggage. Her girl-scout like ingenuity had paid off once again, it seemed.
"I suppose I should thank you for that comment."
"Hey, it's no problem. It's the truth. Your one brother's a creepy computer nerd, and the other's a creepy Broadway dancer. You're the most like Goemon… And I didn't think I'd ever say that and mean it in a good way."
"My father could be a little rash…."
"He tried to train me and I ended up with a concussion."
"Train you?" Odori said with narrowed eyes. "How long ago was this?"
"Had to be about anywhere from fifteen to… Twenty years."
"I was just a small child, then," Odori leaned forward and sipped her tea, and glanced at Jordan's stunned expression.
"I remember you… You tried to stab me right in the ass with this little sword!" Jordan said with a laugh. "You tore my favorite pair of jeans!"
"I'll reimburse you for them, then."
"Nah, it's okay. Just buy Namiko something, and we'll call it even," Jordan answered, sipping his tea and then looking out at the snow. "I just hope they're faring better in Cagliostro…"
"A place like that? I would doubt it…"
"You really know how to bring sunshine into a room," Jordan said with a chuckle, and rose as he heard a crunching noise from the outside. Odori heard this as well, and slowly rose to her feet with her daughter on her hip.
"You hear what I hear?" Jordan muttered.
"I'm an Ishikawa—Always," Odori smiled and in one swooping motion retrieved a long length of rope and placed Namiko on her back in moments the little girl was strapped on to the back, and Odori had her sword in hand, and Jordan his gun.
A strong wind blew out the candles, the only light in the room, and a series of swooshes could be heard streaking into the room and surrounding the two. Odori met back-to-back with Jordan, and Lupin shakily held up a lighter and lit, revealing the black masked-ninja liked figures associated with the guards of Cagliostro. One motioned forward, and the others went to attack, Odori and Jordan drew both of their respective weapons and began to fight as they had been taught by their fathers.
"What'd they say?" Odori shouted to Jordan as one attacker called to the others in English.
"'Get the baby!'" Jordan responded, and turned to Odori. "Run! Start up my car!" he called in Japanese, and tossed her his keys. She nodded, hopped off of the small table she had been cornered on and briefly flew over the ninja-like fighters, and ran through the open window and out to the front. She cursed as she saw Jordan's car totaled, and stopped the first motorist she could find; a man driving a Honda down the dark road.
"Get out!" Odori ordered the young Japanese man.
"What the hell? Are you crazy, bitch? Do you have any idea how expensive this is?" the man laughed.
Odori, who was indeed not laughing, drew her sword and placed the tip an inch from his nose, "….Get out…."
"D-damn… Yes ma'am," he muttered and slid out. Odori pulled Namiko from her back and placed her on the passenger seat, quickly buckling her up and accidentally reversing.
"I HATE stick!" Odori growled as she grinded the gears and put the car into drive.
"Momma! Ningoh (dolly)!" Namiko moaned. "Ningoh!"
"Damn it…" Odori rolled her eyes and fishtailed the car and then drove to the back of the inn, where Jordan was outside defending himself from one of the fighters.
"Grab her doll!" Odori shouted.
"WHAT?" Jordan shrieked.
"Do it!" Odori demanded, and Jordan with a disbelieving expression ran into the back of the room and then through the open sliding door, and landed right on the hood of the stolen Honda. "I hope he doesn't plan on getting his car back…" Odori muttered while Jordan climbed into the car beside Namiko.
"Ningoh!" Namiko gasped and clutched onto her doll.
"Take a left up here," Jordan said to Odori, pointing to the road ahead.
"What? Where?" Odori frowned and narrowed her eyes in order to turn exactly where Jordan had motioned.
"WOAH! Damn it! Wrong side of the road!" Jordan shrieked and pulled the wheel to the correct side of the road right before a head-on collision with a semi truck. "Where'd you learn to drive!"
"I didn't."
"What!"
"I don't know how to drive…"
"Christ…" Jordan placed a hand over his eyes and slunk down in his seat, praying to make it out alive.
Cagliostro:
"What do you mean I can't get in?" Ally growled. "I'm her fiancé, damn it!"
"Sorry, no trespassers allowed," said the tall guard, glaring down at the relatively short Ally.
"Al, c'mon, man. We'll figure out something," Heiji placed a hand on Ally's shoulder, but Ally only brushed him off and went to punch the guard. He ended up with a gun pointed squarely at his head. Ally narrowed his eyes as he was slowly turned around by Fuji and she placed an arm over his shoulders as they walked from the gates. Unbeknownst to them, Carmen was merely a few meters away in a bush, and caught sight of Fuji delivering this affection gesture to Ally. She bit her lip and looked down at the ground, but remained in silence until they had walked away from the castle gates.
"We'll think of something, trust me. I know we will," Fuji whispered to him.
"Hrm…" Leo glanced at the guard once again, but did not share what Ryo knew he was concocting in his mind. Leo approached the guard, and spoke a few words to him, while Fuji looked on, stunned at the body language Leo was using. It was so much like… Their mother.
Max saw this, and looked in the other direction, and shut his eyes tightly as he heard the gates open up and heard them walk away from the post.
"Zenigata…." Fuji muttered and went from Ally to Max. "Oh, the boys are always getting hurt here." She sighed and rubbed Max's shoulders then kissed him on the forehead. "We'll everything straightened and I'll hit Leo in the head for you when everything's done. Does that sound good?"
"Yeah," said Max in a whisper.
"Hey, would you look at that!" Yukiko muttered and took a few steps forward.
"What's up, Yuki? Heiji stood beside her and looked in the same direction.
"Morse code!" Yukiko smirked and reached into Toshiro's gi.
"Excuse you!" Toshiro yelped.
"Please, you're usually begging for this," Yukiko smirked and pulled out a pen and pad of paper. "What's it say, Heiji?"
"H… E…. L… Help! Help… U…. Us! Help us! They're English speakers!" Heiji called back to the group.
"You think that could be your kids, Max?" Fuji inquired.
"Only if… If, well, Lupin taught…. Ohhhhh….." Max gave a moan as he realized exactly where Dako had learned to pick a lock like she had at the auction house. "….I'm gonna hate to see Leo when he's back to normal and someone tells him…."
"Let's head inside while Leo's got that guard distracted," Fuji began to push the group along and took up the lead, and was stunned when a hand reached out, grabbed onto her ankle and pulled her into a bush. "Ally? What… Aren't you…?"
"It's me," Carmen said quietly.
"Carmen! Woah, Ally really taught you good makeup skills! I can't even see your—"
"Come… Let's go," Carmen rose and pulled off the mask, staying out of the sight of Ally, who was already near the castle bridge.
"I'm glad you're okay!" Fuji said with a relieved laugh. "Are my niece and nephew in there?"
"Yes. And they are fine as well," said Carmen with a nod, "…Fuji?"
"Hrm?"
SMACK! Carmen hit Fuji across the face with all of her strength, which was a surprising amount, and shouted with tears in her eyes, "Stay away from him!" she cried, and ran forward to join the rest of the group.
"….Woah… I just… I got bitch slapped by Carmen," a stunned Fuji mumbled.
Inside the castle:
"Mr. Lupin… How nice of you to join me for dinner," said Jurgis with a smile as he rose from the long dining room table and pulled out a chair to his right. "Please, I would love for you to join me…"
"Thank you," said Leo with a slight nod of the head as seated himself beside Jurgis. "How did I figure that you'd show up again? It was enough having Victor as a recurring villain… Now you now."
"I guess I'm your Pycal," Jurgis said lightly as he seated himself once more and held up a plate. "Stroganoff?"
"I'm laying off of the red meats for now. Thanks, though," Leo smirked and watched Jurgis' hands as they went back to their own plate. "…Where are the kids, Jurgis?"
"Leonard Lupin… The man of a one-tract mind and numerous languages… Mankii-chan, too. Congratulations on that, they're calling you the next Yasuo Yamada, from what I hear… Minus the Clint Eastwood voiceover work. Are they planning on having you do any live action voice work?"
"There's talk of my doing a few things, but that doesn't matter," Leo leaned inward and clasped his hands together. "What matters now is you and me, and the fact that you have my children."
"What will you do if I don't give them to you? Shoot me?"
"Wouldn't be the first time," Leo replied with a smile. "I don't know what's happened to me, but I feel like I could shoot you right now and go get a burger afterwards…"
"So you like those drugs, eh?" Jurgis smiled and sipped his tea. "They were supposed to make you lose your mind… You're probably halfway gone already. The head injury's just a wonderful little coincidence."
"What'd you sneak it in, eh? Those stress pills?"
"No, your inhaler. We've been pumping you full of it for weeks… The signs take a little time to show, however," Jurgis gave a small chuckle and set down the small cup. "You should be committed in the state you're in right now."
"Why me? Fuji has an inhaler, too."
"You would've figured it out faster," Jurgis answered with a small shrug. "You wouldn't have gone into denial."
"You're clever… No wonder my father used to like you…. Why'd he can you, anyway, Jurgis?"
"He didn't like my dealings, and he thought I was too close to your sister."
"That makes two of us. Now hand over my kids, or they won't be able to distinguish your corpse from the rest of the ones that are in that torture chamber beneath the palace."
"Fine… You want to see them so badly, you can join them," Jurgis said with a growl. He rose from his seat, as did Leo, and both stared at one another a long while. Jurgis reached for a knife upon the table, as did Leo, and Jurgis in one move kicked up his chair in Leo's direction, sending Lupin flying until he landed upon a bed of coal next to a fire place. Jurgis lifted Leo up by the neck and drug him over to the fireplace. He tightened his grip and drug Leo over to the fireplace, placing his head inches from the flames.
"Yo! Jurgis!" Fuji shouted, and fired off a warning shot. Yukiko soon followed, shooting through the teacup he had been using and sending the porcelain flying in hundreds of separate directions.
"Now how did you get here?" Jurgis wondered aloud, standing to his full height and taking Leo with him.
"I'm a Lupin, and we always get what we want," Fuji said with a confident smile. "Clever trick… Sending out fakes of pieces people would pay high prices for… But that's not it, isn't it? What's the connection with Capran?"
"Do I look like some kind of comic book villain?" Jurgis said with a laugh. "You've got a tech guy, you figure it out!"
"That'll be a little more difficult when you're dead!" Yukiko shouted and raised up her gun. Toshiro shook his head, though, and placed a hand over hers. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
"You shouldn't even be here," Toshiro said with a frown. "I don't know why I… Why'd I let you come?"
"We'll settle this later," Yukiko shrugged off Toshiro and once again aimed at Jurgis, firing but missing him by only a few inches. "Damn it!"
"There's a saber over his head," Carmen whispered to Ally.
"Thanks, I—Carmen?" Ally yelped.
"Quick!" Carmen whispered.
"Yuki, aim for the mantle!" Ally ordered.
Fuji gave a nod as she saw what Ally had planned, and shouted over to Leo. "To your right! Your right! Yeah! Right there! Now, Yukiko!"
Yukiko shot, knocking the saber from its place over the fireplace, and the blade made contact with Jurgis' neck. Even Toshiro shuddered at the sight that followed, and Leo took a few steps back from the body. Ryo's blood ran cold as he turned around to face them; he was covered with blood as he had been when he had been thought to have been the murderer of that guard so many years ago.
"Everybody okay?" Fuji was quick to ask. "Leo? You all right? How about you, Carmen?"
"I'm fine," Carmen answered, quickly shielding her hand from sight. Ally took her hands and looked them over, and gave her a critical glance.
"How'd you make your knuckles bleed?" he asked while removing his jacket and placing it over her shoulders.
"She must've hurt it on her fall…" Fuji said quickly before Carmen could concoct an excuse. "There'll still guards under Jurgis' command. Carmen, you lead Ally, Leo and Max to where the kids are… The rest of us are gonna play guard. Except for you, Yukiko."
"What? That's crap!" Yukiko growled.
"Yuki-chan, you don't want to lose a baby. It hurts," Fuji said with gritted teeth. "Now get in the car."
"….Yeah…." Yukiko muttered and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Toshiro, come on…. You, too. I can't fight them off on my own."
Toshiro nodded and followed, turning back once to glance at Fuji and wonder what her statement of loss had been about.
The Ishikawa household:
"They're already packing," Odori murmured as she pulled Namiko's blanket about her tighter and looked in one of the windows to see one of her numerous siblings packing for their obligatory Christmas trip to Lupin's home.
"Well, as big a family as they are, they probably have to send their luggage a week in advance," Jordan killed the headlights and parked in front of the large traditional structure and walked up the stairs with Odori at his side.
"Someone's at the DOOR!" one of the young boys shouted.
"Amaya!" Goemon called.
"I'm helping Sanami pack—Goemon, you answer it," Amaya replied from upstairs. The aging samurai sighed and glanced through the peek hole, and nearly choked as he recognized the tall figure next to his daughter.
"No… Not him…" Goemon muttered numbly. "Not him…"
"Hello, Papa!" Odori smiled widely as Goemon opened the door, and embraced him tightly. "I'm sure you know…"
"Jordan Lupin."
"Mr. Ishikawa," Jordan nodded and gave a polite smile, although he was about as thrilled as Goemon at the aspect of sharing a roof.
"What brings you all here?"
"Cagliostro guards attacked us," Odori answered with a small sigh.
"Cagliostro?" Goemon's eyes widened, and Odori quickly placed a hand on her father's shoulder.
"It's under control; Jordan helped me keep them from Namiko."
"Jordan did? Wait, you two were sharing a room?" Goemon shot his head in Jordan's direction and wore that familiar look of a samurai ready for the kill.
"It isn't what it seems," Odori said with a blush. "We were wondering if we could stay over for the night."
"Certainly. There is a crib in your room, Odori," Goemon gave a nod and a small look of surprise as his daughter pecked him on the cheek and made her way up the stairs. Jordan went to follow, but Goemon quickly extended a hand, preventing him from furthering up the stairs. "I will lead you to your room."
"You know, I'm not the perv my dad is…"
"This is my house, so you will abide by my rules," Goemon answered. "And Odori is my daughter, so you—"
"She's not a little kid you know, right? She's… Got a kid."
"I realize this. I failed once, so I shall not again."
"Oii….." Jordan rolled his eyes and followed Goemon up the stairwell unhappily.