DISCLAIMER: If you hug a cat tight enough, it squeaks…. Oh, and I don't own Lupin III.
Hap-py Birthday!
Crap, I mean New Year's…. Too many Christmas specials the past month for me. Oh, new story up by the way…. I was in a bit of a sad bastard mood so it's a lot more depressing than my usual works. Yeah, the title's based off of a Dean Martin song…. It's a one-shot, but the more and more I look at it the more I'm tempted to add onto it. Eh, well, if there's enough feedback I'll consider lengthening it. My main objective is still this story, though—So onward! Oh, P.S.: Thanks to Lazslo for his help : ) He may not read this, but he still deserves my word of thanks.
Fun Fact of Boredom: There were actually a few ideas for a boyfriend for Odori, but one was too much like Ryo's character and the other just plain annoyed me…. So thank goodness for the guy she's (hopefully) landed now.
Chapter Thirty-three: Here's that Rainy Day
"Nothing? You're sure?" Fuji looked over the screen again worriedly and then looked to Heiji.
"Nothing at all…. Not even a picture," Heiji sighed and shut the lap top and looked up at Fuji, who was on the bed behind him overlooking his work from the floor. "I don't get it! I tried everything…. Police reports, Google—Everything! These guys don't technically exist."
"Just great!" she moaned and fell back on the bed. "I have to know my opponents weaknesses and every move so I can outwit them! And all I get are two names!"
"Anthony Perry and Hector DeLeon," Heiji looked over the otherwise sparse papers and sat himself beside Fuji on the bed. "Maybe you should lay low for a while, until they give up."
"Na-ah! There's somethin' to a be a' stealing and I'mma gonna steal it!" Fuji bounced up from the bed and walked over to her equipment. "I've got a reputation to hold up, afterall!"
"Yeah, but try dragging along a lovestruck Odori and moody Yukiko with you," Heiji rolled his eyes and heard a shout from the room across from them that could have only come from Yukiko, who was in the middle of yet another mood swing.
Toshiro slid into Fuji and Heiji's room, slamming the door shut behind him. "Can I hide out in here for a little while? I don't even know what the hell I did, this time! And she always scares me when she starts polishing her guns…."
"Sure, Toshiro-chan," Fuji answered before Heiji could raise his voice to speak in protest. "You and Heiji can bond while I go check on the rest, okay? Okay!"
"…Does the happiness ever, you know, get to you?" Toshiro asked.
"Hey, I'm the one marrying her, not you, so it really shouldn't concern you," Heiji answered. "Now if you excuse me, I'm still an Interpol employee, so I've got to report in for work."
"Why do you still hate me after all of these years?" Toshiro wondered aloud.
"Because you abandoned your family for your own selfish reasons."
"Heiji, I had my own family at that point!"
"After all Dad did for you, and how he put up with your whiny ass, you still just couldn't even visit!" Heiji growled and stormed out. "I'm heading out to Interpol HQ. Send Fuji my love."
"Yeah," Toshiro nodded and looked down at the mess of paperwork at his feet. One paper in particular caught his eye, and he lifted it up and scanned over it. "….No way…."
New York, about ten years ago:
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Julia said in a sing-song voice through gritted teeth as she looked about for police officers nervously. Her right leg twitched out of nervousness, and she looked continually to her left and then right for any suspicious persons. She heard a crash and jumped, nearly sending the Vespa into drive as she squeezed on the handlebars. Luckily, she had put it into a neutral mode, and was relieved to see only a cat scampering down the city street.
"Miss me?" Toshiro whispered in her ear, and Julia gave a shout and jumped.
"Toshiro!" she shrieked and smacked him roughly on the arm. "What in the hell are you trying to do, kill me? Grrr…. Did you get it! I'm freezing here!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Toshiro seated himself on the back of the Vespa and kissed her gently, though awkwardly, for this was new to both of them on the mouth. "Come on, let's head out."
"Where ya'll goin'? Ain't ya gonna stay fo' us?" Toshiro froze at the sound of a deep, thick Southern accent. "Tony, don't you think that's a bit rude?"
"Heh, they're New Yorkers, what'd you expect?" a voice joined the Southern one, and from what Toshiro could tell, he sounded like a black man who was not a stranger to a big city. "And they don't exactly welcome backwater inbreds, I'm sure…."
The Southerner gave a small growl and then a guttural chuckle, "Well, we can learn 'um some manners… Like how it ain't good to steal from others."
"Listen, I'll give you two whatever you want, just let us go…. At least let her go," Toshiro said with a sigh of defeat. He leaned inward to Julia and whispered. "It'll be all right, Julia, I swear."
"She yo' sweetheart? Or your Maman?" Hector asked with a laugh. "You's a little young to be out on your own, boy. Don't you know? There's dangerous people out and about this time a' night."
"We'll let the girl go, she wasn't part of the plan, and I don't like killing women," said Tony.
"They scream too damn much," Hector interjected.
"…..But you and that bag of what you took stays," Tony continued, stepping out of the shadows. He was a man who stood about five and a half feet tall, and wore a completely black suit that covered even his face and hands. He looked like some sort of cross between a ninja and the S.W.A.T. team officers Toshiro went drinking with when they were in full uniform.
Hector then stepped out of the shadows. He was a tall man with a black cane that matched a long leather coat he wore. Most of his features were covered up as well, with thick boots, leather gloves and a mask that made even Toshiro jump back in surprise. He had seen skulls before, in museums, and the mask that Hector wore looked like an authentic one.
"I don't want to leave you here," Julia whispered shakily.
"I'll be fine, I train for freaks like these," Toshiro answered. "You just go home and put on a pot of tea for me, all right? I'll be home soon."
"Y-yeah," Julia nodded, but still felt unsettled at the thought of leaving Toshiro with the two sinister looking figures.
Toshiro kissed her briefly, then turned his attention back to Hector and Tony, but Hector had vanished. He turned about suddenly and was nearly struck with a blow Hector had attempted to deliver with his long black cane. He instead hit a garbage can, and put a reasonable dent in it—Reasonable meaning that he crushed the trash can.
Toshiro jumped up on a fire escape and drew one of his swords, and watched as Tony began to scale up after him. Toshiro swung at Tony, and then went black. Something had hit him roughly on the back of the head.
"Damn it, Hec!" Tony shouted as Toshiro lay there knocked out on the fire escape. "I told you not to kill him!"
"He ain't dead!" Hector called back, and picked up his cane from the pavement. He had had to set it aside briefly in order to lift up the trash can lid and slam it against the back of Toshiro's skull. "He breathin'! Let's go!"
"Yeah," Tony nodded, and glanced down at the crumpled body in the gi once more before hopping off of the fire escape with the bag of Toshiro's pillage from the night. "Come on, man, I'll buy you coffee."
"Sound good, sound good," Hector said with a smile of satisfaction, although no one could see it. The mask obscured his facial features, for the most part.
Present day France:
"Okay…. Stay-at-home dad…. First day," Max clasped his hands together and hit the alarm once again. He hadn't any need for the alarm; he had been up most of the night worrying. "Well…. Ehehe…. How bad could it be?"
"Hey, have you seen my razor?" Leo stuck his head out of the bathroom door and looked toward Max hopefully.
"Dad!" Dako shouted. "Jared set the kitchen on fire and Avery's got his diaper off!" Dako shouted.
"I can usually cook, you were just hovering over me too much!" Jared shouted.
"You're just a show off!" Dako snapped.
Max hopped out of bed, walked over to the dresser and tossed Leo a new razor nonchalantly on his way out the day. In the hall, he lifted up the running Avery and carried the squirming boy underneath his arm all the way into the kitchen, where sure enough, there was a good blaze beginning on one of the burners.
"You use salt for small fires like this," Max said tiredly as he opened the bag of salt and threw it over the burner, while Jared stood in the corner and watched. Max shoved the bag in Jared's hands and muttered, "Clean it up when it cools," and then went upstairs into Avery's nursery and fitted him with a new diaper, as well as a denim jumper and green Mankii-chan shirt.
"…..Was it just me, or did he actually do something right?" Dako asked with a raised eyebrow. On one side of her stood Jared with the salt bag still in his hands, and on the other was Leo in his purple kimono, patting his face with a towel.
"….I… I think he did. A series of right things," Leo answered. "I'm gonna check on him before I go, guys."
"I would think—You don't have any pants on, and they're in your guys' room," Dako answered quickly, and turned back to Jared. "Are you going to clean that friggin' kitchen or are you waiting for the mice to show up to help you?"
"Yeesh, I'm goin'…. You're going to die old and alone if you talk to boys like that," Jared muttered.
Leo sighed and headed up the stairs to his and Max's room, and found Zenigata dressing for the day, "Well, that's a good thing, huh? You don't have to wear a suit anymore."
"Yeah, I feel weird wearing jeans on a Tuesday…. Now I know what your world feels like," Max said as he eyed Leo's black jeans on the bed.
"Ha ha… Laugh all you want, they're comfortable, and I look damn good in them," Leo said, tossing aside his kimono and putting on the jeans and then searching about for a pair of socks. "Now where are…."
"Top left," Max said without even looking back at Leo. Leo blinked a few times, opened the said drawer to the dresser and pulled out a pair of socks.
"I love when you talk domestic like that," Leo kissed Max on the cheek and then pulling out a shirt from his closet. Max paused a moment and then looked over his shoulder at Leo.
"Yeah, it's weird…. I guess I take after my dad like that. He was always more of the homemaker out of my two parents… Although Mom always cooked better."
"HA! January third, Max Zenigata-Lupin finally admits he takes after his father," Leo pointed an accusing finger at Max and smiled. Max rolled his eyes and tossed Leo his tie and walked out of the bedroom.
"Think you're soooo cute," Max smiled and looked back at Leo. "Well, you're right, but that's a different story. Now come on, you'll be late for your flight."
Leo took a quick sip of coffee from the cup lying on the dining room table and just as quickly began to choke on it, "W-what the…?"
"Avery's baby food. You just downed split peas like it was a vodka martini," Max muttered.
"Ugh! Stop me before I do that again!" Leo gave a shudder and picked up his real cup of coffee, and after a quick sip of it he was out the door.
"Hm, I hope he's safe," Max said to himself. And then Avery began to cry, and he was quickly drawn away from his deep thoughts to the baby.
Japan:
So he had fought against the mafia. So he had been in gunfights that made the ones in movies look tame. Jordan still didn't have the courage to muster to tell Odori that she had made a huge mistake, and that it was all Fuji's fault. And it had gone as far as to now traveling with Odori to Japan. He knew that the truth would come out some time, but he dreaded the wrath that he knew she would hurl upon him if he were to tell her. She was small, but she could put up a good fight.
"We can stay at an inn for the night. No ninja intruders, I promise," Odori said with a small smile upon her face. The smile was almost permanent, it seemed, although a small amount of sadness could be seen behind it.
"Sounds good," Jordan came to attention and lifted Namiko out of the car while Odori picked up her backpack. Odori was well-known with the owner of the inn, so she acquired the best room for nearly nothing. "Hey, I've got to talk to you when you're done unpacking, all right?" Jordan said to her as he played with an ever-cheery Namiko.
"All right, just one moment," Odori nodded and disappeared into the bathroom in the back.
Jordan sighed and turned Namiko to face him, "I better keep you close to me…. She won't kill me if I'm holding a baby….. Dori, you ready?"
"Yes," Odori nodded and stepped out, dressed in an all-white kimono. "My mother gave it to me; it was hers, and was my grandmother's before that. What do you think?"
'My stupid timing…' Jordan cringed, but looked on at the kimono with a smile and nod. "It looks great on you…."
"I had to hem it reasonably…. I'm a bit short for it," Odori admitted. "I… If you would like a Western ceremony, we could do that. I just feel much more comfortable in a kimono."
"Yeah…. Um, I'm sure if you I would too… Listen, I… Woah!" Jordan yelped as Odori took the back of his neck and craned his head down, and then kissed him.
"Not everything has to wait," she said, much to Jordan's disbelief.
"L-listen… I've got a headache," Jordan said with a nervous smile.
"Oh! Oh… Well, that's fine. I'll go get my other bag from the car," she slipped off the kimono, and fortunately for Jordan she had worn her full gi beneath it. He sunk back into couch in the inn room and glanced over at Namiko. "Now, that excuse usually won't work, but fortunately for me, it did. I got lucky—Well, almost…. Ehehehe…. Yeah, look at me like that now, I'll tell you about it when you're older."
"'Kay, dada!" Namiko answered and embraced him tightly about the waist.
"Now I really do have a headache," Jordan murmured.
Seattle:
"Who in this entire state would even put a death threat against anyone?" Ryo asked as she walked beside Fuji, sipping her coffee and pulling her jacket tighter against the strong winds. "I don't even think people come out of their houses here!"
"I know… It's weird! I don't even think I've ever been to Seattle! Hey, you gonna share that coffee or am I going to have to pull it out of your married hands."
"Sure, I—Wait! What?" Ryo's eyes widened and she stopped on the street corner. Fuji turned back about and smiled, and took a few skips back until hitting the lamppost, "How do you know about that? Fuji, tell me!"
"Ohhh I have my ways. Why do you think I'm getting married? You broke the pact, so if I turn fifty and I'm alone I'm out of luck!"
"….You're kidding… Why do I think Ari's not the only bi one?"
"Hey, they say it's genetic," Fuji gave a wink and a sideways glance at Ryo.
"Oh my God… Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're my friend and friends tell one another the little annoying things about one another!" Fuji answered. "Although, I'll admit that I am a little upset over you not inviting me…"
"Fuji… I… I'm sorry… He just showed up and whisked me off like I was in some kind of fairytale… And he's hard to resist when he puts the charm on."
"Eck, gag me," Fuji laughed and punched Ryo lightly in the shoulder. "I'm happy for you, really…. Just don't getting pregnant on me right away, I need my driver as long as possible! It's bad enough Dori's fawning over my half brother and Yukiko-san's so pregnant… They're giving a bad name to women in the work force the way they're acting! Next thing I know, they'll be wearing aprons and baking cookies!"
"Uh, Fuji…"
"I know, I know… I sound like a frigid bitch… But I can't help it! I'm losing my work force faster than Janet Jackson loses her clothes… Before I know it I'll have to bring in some of Jordan's guys!"
"Fuji…."
"And then it'll be the inevitable 'blah, blah, blah… I told you about working in large groups, Fuji… Blah, blah, blah'!"
"Fujiko!" Ryo shouted, and took a quick step back.
"WHAT? Boy, you're bitchy today… Are you sure you're not pregnant?"
"Look out!" Ryo grabbed onto Fuji and pulled her down onto the concrete, Fuji's head missing the black wooden cane by seconds.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Fuji shouted.
Ryo growled and grabbed her by the her choker necklace, "I'm two seconds from killing you!"
"No time—Run!" Fuji shouted and picked up Ryo from the ground, and dodged down at alleyway in order to get away from the tall man in the skull mask. "The people here are freaks!"
"Fuji…"
"What the hell n—There's someone behind me, isn't there?" Fuji asked with a nervous chuckle as she felt a blade dig into her back.
"Yeah," Ryo answered blandly. "And they say you're a genius."
"Tony, you got 'um?" the tall masked figure shouted from the sidewalk, his footsteps audible from the alley.
"Yeah, I got her…" a blade shot out from his other glove, and Tony held this up to Fuji's neck. "Now don't scream…."
"There are only two places I scream…. One's on a rollercoaster the other's in the sack!" Fuji quickly ducked out of the way as Ryo threw off one of her many bracelets, this one a smoke bomb in disguise.
"Damn it! Hec, they're getting away!" Tony shouted as he began to wave the smoke from in front of his face.
"I got 'um! Don' you worry none…." Hector answered confidently as he stepped in front of their only exit. Ryo grabbed onto a fire escape bar and swung over Hector's head while Fuji slid in between his legs and out onto the street.
"They're gaining!" Ryo shouted. "Don't you have a better idea than running, Fuji?"
"Yeah, buying tennis shoes!" Fuji answered, jumping in front of the first car she saw barreling down the road. "STOP!" The terrified man swerved out of her way and screeched his brakes on, and Ryo quickly pulled him out while Fuji hopped into the passenger seat.
"Great, automatic…" Ryo grumbled and sped off, turning a sharp corner on the soaking road and drenching a group of musicians on a street corner.
"Hector, let them go!" Tony shouted as he emerged from the smoke-filled alley. "We'll get them later…. Come on, I'm catching a damn cold out here." Hector nodded, and slowly turned about and followed Tony back into the alley.
Back at the hotel:
"Ha… HACHOO!" Fuji gave another loud sneeze and moaned as she fell back onto her bed. "I'm dyingggg…."
"No, you forgot your umbrella," Ryo answered, and stepped out of the kitchen with an icepack to ease Fuji's headache.
"I didn't have time with the guys… Trying to kill me… How about you—Why aren't you sick, huh?"
"Because I eat right," Ryo answered and seated herself beside Fuji.
"Fuji, phone," Ally entered her bedroom and passed it to her. "…..Give it back to me after you spray it down with Lysol…."
"You fight big scary Bruce Lee look-alikes and you're afraid of catching a cold… Gimme a break, Ally," Fuji grumbled and took the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey," Heiji said cheerily from the other end, although this ended in a cringe as he heard Fuji blow her nose. "You sound…. Well, like hell…. What happened?"
"Eh, I almost got killed, walked away from that one, but caught the flu in the process."
"That sucks. Well, I've got some info for you on gentleman callers…. One Tony Perry, Ivy League graduate, and Hector DeLeon, bayou swamp rat who did time for killing his dad."
"Ouch. I've been tempted, but I've never gone quite that far," Fuji shuddered. "That it?"
"They've been a team for almost a decade now…"
"A team like a gay team or more like Superman and Batman."
"The latter… That's not the most interesting part."
"Enlighten me, great Confusus…"
"They're employees for the United States government."
"…."
"Fuji? You there?"
"I've got to make a few phone calls…. I'll get back to you, Heiji-chan."
"Yeah… Don't go postal on me, okay?"
"I won't… Love you, talk to you later," Fuji said sweetly, followed by a sneeze.
"You too… You should really eat better, Fuji…"
"Bye," she grumbled, and slammed down the phone, and then picked it up and began to dial again.
Paris:
"It's dinner, and it's good…" Jared said in disbelief as he poked the chicken in front of him.
"And there's absolutely no frost on it," Dako added, cutting into it and taking a bite. "Hey, Jared…."
"Hrm?"
"He tries to go back to work and we grab him around the knees and throw him to the floor," Dako said, taking another bite of food.
"Agreed," Jared nodded.
"Hey, how's the dinner, guys?" Max stepped out of the kitchen, pushing the door behind him. His hands were full with a plate that carried turnovers he had made during the day.
Dako looked upward at Max with a glare, "Why have you been making us eat Papa's food when you could cook like this? Were you trying to starve me, or do you really, really hate children deep down inside?"
"Woah…. Well, I…. Oh, phone!" Max quickly set down the warm plate and hurried into the kitchen, grateful for the excuse to leave Dako to glare. "Hello?"
"WHY IS YOUR COUNTRY TRYING TO SLAUGHTER ME?" Fuji shrieked into the other end of the phone.
"Wha… Wha… Oh, sorry, mees, you have wrong number," Max said in an indeterminable accent.
"MAX! Max, don't you hang up on me, I know it's—" Fuji was cut off as Max slammed down the phone into its cradle and seated himself slowly in a wooden chair in the kitchen. A few feet away was Avery's highchair, where the boy was playing with his own food. He picked up a handful of apple sauce, and it made contact with the side of Max's face.
Max gave a small sigh, wiped his face clean, and stared down at the apple sauce in his hand, "I miss your Dad, too…"
Seattle:
"Where is he?" Leo glanced down at the paper and then looked around the airport. He spied a sign with his name on it, written in Japanese, and immediately hurried over to who he believed would be his new partner. He hurried through the airport in order to meet up with his temporary partner, accidentally tripping over a piece of rolling luggage along the way and crashing right into a woman.
"Owwww…. Sorry, ma'am," Leo moaned and rose, clutching onto the back of his head. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she sighed, stood and dusted herself off. She picked up her sign, which, curiously enough, was on the one with Leo's name upon it.
"Oh, you must be the driver for myself and Inspector Kosai!" Leo said, shaking her hand.
"Charley Kosai?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, the best officer on Honshu, I hear!"
"I am Charley," she answered with a small glare.
"O-oh… Um… Wow, sorry about that," Leo gave a nervous smile, and gave Inspector Kosai a better look-over. A small Japanese woman with round features and…. A noticeable figure…
"It's all right, and understandable. You most be Inspector Lupin," Charley returned the handshake and gave a smile. "I've heard a lot about you…"
"Eh, good things, I hope!" Leo said with a nervous laugh in an attempt to try to work his way out of his embarrassment. "Here, let me help you with your luggage."
"I'm fine, thank you," she lifted up her suitcase and looked over a paper in her hand. "But you hail a cab to our hotel, if you're in the mood to be helpful."
"Not a problem," Leo answered and walked out of the airport with her, opening his umbrella and holding it out for her. "Err…. So, I don't know that much about you, Ma'am!"
"Not much to share, Inspector," Charley answered. "I'm not rude… Just not big on talking… I don't mind listening, though. I've been told I'm a pretty good one!."
"Nah, it's okay. It's not really a day to talk, anyway," Leo responded with a smile.
Japan:
"What rational person would think someone would want to marry them after only knowing them a short time?" Jordan wondered aloud. "That's right… It's not a rational person… She's an Ishikawa…" he rubbed his forehead as Namiko played around him with a frog she had found outside.
"How's your headache?" Odori asked as she entered the room and seated herself beside him at the table.
"Going away slowly. Dori, listen, I—"
"AIEEE!" Jordan first thought the scream had come from Namiko, so was stunned when he realized that it was instead from Odori, who was attempting to brush off the frog that had jumped onto her kimono.
"I've got it, I've got it, don't worry!" Jordan rose and sighed, then picked up the frog by its bag leg and tossed it out an open window.
"… Bye…" Namiko said quietly as she peered her head over the windowsill to catch a glimpse of the hopping frog. "Bye-bye!"
"Are you okay? Calm down… Breath…."
"I… I don't like frogs," Odori admitted in a pant.
"Yeah, apparently…. Crap, I didn't think you were afraid of anything! I guess you are human!"
"Yes, I… I suppose… What was it you were going to say before that…. Incident?"
"Well, about the er, marriage, thing… I…. Have a phone call to take!" Jordan was relived to heart he phone chime suddenly, and quickly ran to it to pick up. "Hello? Woah… Okay, calm down, Fuji… Jeeze, you sound like crap! Yeah… Yeah, okay. We'll be careful… Don't worry…. Yeah, bye."
"What was that about?"
"She needs us there… Apparently there's someone who's trying to kill her, again," Jordan sighed and looked back at Odori. "I'll get to packing… I've got a friend who'll have us in Seattle by nighttime."
"Yes… Thank you…" Odori gave a small sigh and turned back to the bedroom. "I guess this means the babysitter's going to have to wait…"
Seattle:
"So you know about these guys?" Fuji blew her nose once more and broke into a hacking cough.
"Er…. Yes…" Toshiro answered with a shudder, and glanced at Ally, who was spraying disinfectant throughout the hotel room.
"You want more soup or somethin'?" Ally asked, setting down the can.
"No… I'll be fine…. I HATE flu season! I should've gotten my shot," Fuji sniffed. "Any reason they were after you, Toshiro?"
"Well, I had just stolen from a local senator…" Toshiro began. "He had taken various artifacts from charity auctions after bidders had paid for them… And as I remember, I also took a file for another rival Congressman… I got paid a damn near half million."
"So they got it?"
"Nope," Toshiro shook his head and snorted. "Are you kidding? You think I'd put something that important in a friggin' sack?"
"Then where'd you put it?" Fuji sipped her tea and sighed at the warmth running down her sore throat. "Aww…. That's the stuff…"
"I…. Well… I…."
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"I think I lost it while packing…."
"Augh…. Ah…. Ah… ACHOO!"
A restaurant across town:
"So why don't you tell me a little more about yourself?" Charley sipped her tea once again, set it down and smiled from across the table.
"I'm not really that impressive," Leo answered with a shrug. "Happily married, three kids… Pretty boring, really."
"But you're the voice of a popular cartoon character, and the son and brother of world-famous thieves… You're a reformed thief, yourself!"
"…That's not really anything to be proud of," Leo set down his fork and glanced at Charley. "Listen, I don't really like talking about that part of my life…. No offense, but I didn't even talk with Max about that for a while."
"Max… That's your lover, right?"
Leo flushed at this word and nearly choked on his lasagna, "Urm…. I never thought of him with that word, really… I don't mind 'husband'. We argue a little too much to be something like lovers, heh heh…"
"Is that why he's not here now?"
"Nah… We just decided one of us should stay home with the kids, and I'm less domestic than you'd think, so Max took over duties this time. Do you have any kids of your own, Ms. Kosai?"
"Nope… Single girl in the city," Charley laughed lightly. "Not all of us are lucky enough to find 'the one' on the job."
"Hey, that's a nice necklace," Leo sipped his water and pointed to the locket about Charley's neck. "That's…. Hrm…. Looks like it came out of America, early 20th century… Er, correct me if I'm wrong; it's been a while since I've had to really research a piece of jewelry."
"No, no, you're absolutely right!" Charley answered with a smile. "It was a gift from my fiancé."
"Ohhh…. I thought you said you hadn't met anyone."
"He passed away about a year ago," Charley answered quietly.
"Oh…. Oh, wow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… What I mean is, I—"
"It's fine," Charley gave a sad smile and poked at her food. "You didn't know. I think you two wouldn't gotten along great, though!"
"Really? Why's that?" Leo began to sip his drink again as he waited for Charley's answer.
Charley smiled and winked, "He loved blondes, too." And Leo then began to choke once again.
Paris:
"And that's how to pass a sobriety test when you're drunk," Max said as Dako and Jared sat in front of him on the floor of the living room, their jaws dropped.
"Cool!" Jared smiled and rose from the ground enthusiastically. "Could you tell us how to pass a drug test, next?"
Max gave a chuckle and leaned forward, "Nah, but I can show you how to use a jutte…"
"Awesome!" Jared said with a gasp of joy.
"You don't even know what one of those is!" Dako said with disgust.
"Shut up! I do so! I was almost a ninja!"
"Almost… Probably barely," Dako answered, and sat up on the carpet, still clutching onto her pillow.
"Door… I'll get it. Don't you two go killing one another—I already bought groceries for dinner tomorrow, and it's too much for me to eat." Max stood and tossed on Leo's purple and gold kimono over his own track pants and shirt and then grabbed his gun. He looked through the peephole of the door and slumped his shoulders with a sense of relief as he saw it was only Fujiko, who had next to her an extremely annoyed-looking husband, with a brown bag in his arms.
Max opened the door and raised an eyebrow as Fujiko walked past him. Lupin stopped at the door and gave Max a tired glance, "You know… The more and more I think about it I think you gay guys are onto something really good."
"Hi, Grandma! What are you doing here? What'd you bring us?" Dako asked with a smile.
"I brought you all some dinner," Fujiko said with a smile.
"Oh, Dad cooked already… But we could always have it for lunch!" Dako answered.
"Oh," Fujiko blinked a few times in surprise, cleared her throat and wondered where to go from there. "Well… I better go check on Avery."
"I just got him to sleep after his bath and giving him his medicine," Max called as Fujiko wandered into a back hall. He then looked to Lupin questioningly.
"She thought you'd need some help with the kids," Lupin explained with a roll of the eyes. "I think she thinks that just because I was a little less than competent when I babysat that you're clueless, too."
"Or maybe it's the fact that I'm a Zenigata," Max muttered as he watched Fujiko disappear down the hall.
"I'd say it's fifty-fifty… Hey, someone just pulled up in your driveway…"
"Oh, you're kidding me," Max grumbled as he watched his own parents emerge from a rental car.
"Explain to me why we took the first flight here?" Zenigata asked.
"Because our son needs our help… Now get that bag—I made the kids dinner."
"You ever think he could handle it on his o….. Oh, wait…. It's Max… Well, he's good at things, too…"
"Yup, he sure is…. He sure is…"
"….You're trying to think of something too, aren't you?"
"He's trilingual," Natasha said with a shrug. "He can program a VCR!"
"That's the kid down the street you're thinking of that can do that…"
"Oh, well… Why worry about stupid things like that?" Natasha gave a nervous chuckle and placed another box atop the two Zenigata was already holding.
A Seattle airport:
"Out like a light," Jordan lifted Namiko up and placed her in the cab in between himself and Odori. "The flight must've taken it out of her!"
"She isn't the only one, I'll admit," Odori replied with a yawn. She situated herself in the cab and glanced at Jordan, and then looked downward at the ground quickly as she realized he had caught sight of her looking at him.
"Umm…. So, heh, that Musashi guy never proposed too you, did he?"
"No, he was already engaged to someone else."
"Yeah… No wonder you let him go, eh? I mean, if he had broken off that relationship with that other girl, she would've been heartbroken… And you wouldn't have wanted that! You probably put yourself in her shoes, eh?"
"If I were her I would have gutted him like a fish and sent him in pieces to various relatives without blinking an eye… That were the words I used to keep him from running off with me."
"Wow… You're a real romantic, you know that? Eh, this hotel, all right, cabbie? The one down there."
"Yeah, but it'll cost you your lives…" replied the female driver in a grave voice.
"Say what?" Jordan choked.
"Heh heh… Best laugh I've had all day," Ryo chuckled and tossed away her disguise. "Sorry about that… I needed something cheer me up."
"You're a complete sadist," Odori smirked, "no wonder you're so in love with Victor."
"That and he's kinda cute when he's asleep," Ryo said with a light chuckle. "….And you've got to love a man who isn't afraid to cuddle."
"Wow…. I know someone who won't be eating tonight after hearing something like that," Jordan muttered.
"Hrm, he can be a good man, when he puts his mind to it," Ryo said with a smile.
"No comment on that…"
"So when are you two planning the wedding, hrm? I heard all about it…"
"We haven't exactly gotten through the details," Odori replied with a light blush and a small far off smile as she looked out the car window.
Ryo grinned at Odori's expression and turned toward the hotel, "I warn you both now, Fuji's got a bad cold…. So be warned. Ally's doing his best to sanitize the place, but there's always a chance of someone catching her friggin' sickness."
"Well, one of them. The gods only know what else she carries," said Odori. "I have seen some of the men she's dated… They look like dogs I've eaten."
"You really do eat dogs?" Jordan asked.
"It's a birthday tradition in some rural parts of Korea," replied Odori with a shrug.
"This is our stop, guys," Ryo interjected suddenly and brought the car to a halt. "Hey, maybe there'll be dog at your guys wedding," Ryo muttered to Jordan as he exited the car.
Across town:
"Nice hotel," Leo looked about the room and set down his bag at his feet.
"Yeah, I'll say! Not bad for one of my first gigs!" Charley answered with a chuckle as she fell back onto the bed.
"Gig?" Leo wondered aloud with a raised eyebrow.
"I… I've never been away from the office much…. Well, you know… Out of Japan!" Charley sat up in bed and smiled. "I'm going to change, Inspector."
"Just Leo's fine… I'm going to set up work," Leo answered, pushing up his glasses and opening his laptop while Charley disappeared into the bathroom. "Oi, what a night… Why's it always women I get hooked up with?" He heard a knock upon the door and sighed, rising from his chair and going to the door. He frowned as he saw no one in the hall, and shrugged and closed the door behind him.
"Who was that?" Charley called.
"Er, no on—Wow," Leo blinked as Charley stepped out in a nightshirt and laid down.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah. You just look a little bit like someone I used to know, is all," Leo cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his paperwork. 'I'm married, I'm married, I'm married… Wow, she's got a nice set of le—Okay, remember Max… Max who cooks for you, watches over your kids, adopted them. You don't even know this girl, Ari! Damn it, when it all comes down to it, I am my father's son. I shouldn't even be looking, but… Crap, bi's even harder sometimes! Think of a song… Any friggin' song… Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banana phone… I've got this feeling, it's so appealing—Wait—Raffi? The best I could come up with is Raffi? Ugh, I think I need to get out more…'
"Leo, are you okay?" Charley turned back around at him and looked at him worriedly. "You look sick."
"I'm fine… Just tired," Leo yawned and stretched.
"Oh—Well, turn off your light on the way out of the bathroom," Charley said with fatigue heavy in her voice. "And try not to move around too much."
"Huh?"
"Well, the cot looks uncomfortable, and I know you're like all into guys, so it'd be like having my big brother here," Charley shrugged.
"Oh… Yeah… Uhehehe…." Leo scratched the back of his head and closed his laptop. 'If Max only knew he'd kill me…'
But Leo soon found he didn't have to worry about this—There was a smashing noise moments later and in the hotel room stood a man in an all-black ninja like set of armor. The man in the skull mask followed inward after a few moments, clutching onto his cane.
"This… Is bad…" Leo said with a gulp. "This is real bad…"