DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin the Third, but I have discovered through personal experience that an E-Harmony survey indeed does have standards.
Sooner update as promised, WOO!
That's mainly because it's yet another dateless Friday, but unlike all of the other ones, my friggin' car decided to commit suicide in the friggin' parking lot so now I'm pretty much stranded… Oh, well, at least the reason it almost caught on fire wasn't because of anything I did… Okay, note here. This arc takes place during a winter Olympics, but not the winter Olympics. Because while I'll more than likely neglect anything and everything to watch the hockey game (sleep, family, etc) this chapter may come out before the results… So let's just play along and pretend that it's a different Olympics in a different Italy. Thanks! Oh, and abelated happy Valentine's Day to all… And to those with someone with someone on Valentine's Day… You don't need my thanks, you… you… People with lives! Hmph.
P.S.: Dedicated to Shelby, born February 14, 2006. Welcome to the world, hon.
Fun fact of Boredom: Jared isn't named after that Jared, Rick…. His name was actually chosen by one of my readers, Yuki.
Chapter thirty-six: Willing to Forgive
Spain:
"Eh, still fresh…" Ally murmured and placed on foot on the ice. "Some guy must've cleaned it up this morning… Guess I'll just have to get used to the slick feeling in Italy…" he propelled himself off of the wall and did a wide circle and skated about smoothly, looking upward at the white lights shining back down upon him. "And Capone and the U.S. team win the gold…" he muttered as he fell back against the wall of the rink and sighed.
"What, stopping here to try to avoid your girlfriend?" another figure skated onto the ice and joined Ally. Fuji was bundled down in a heavy jacket, cap and scarf, but was still graceful upon the ice.
"Maybe a little," Ally murmured. "That or I just want to practice a bit before all of the press, and I've got friends here."
"You don't say…"
"Hey, don't you have Heiji to bother? I don't want to sound rude, but I at least want to get some practice shots in here."
"He's… We're not really talking…."
Ally slowed his skating, finally came to a halt, and leaned against the rail of the rink, "Why do I have the feeling I'm going to have to listen?"
Fuji gave a deep sigh and hung her head, "Yukiko and Toshiro are busy with the baby, Ryo's off doing… Whatever Ryo does… Heiji's ignoring me and Dori's mourning."
"So I'm the only one left, eh?" Ally gave a small smirk and watched as Fuji gently hit the back of the rail and stood beside him, looking onward. "Well, what do you want to talk about? What'd you do to make Heiji mad at you now?"
"Right now, breathing," Fuji folded her arms and rubbed them together in hopes to achieve some warmth. "But… It started because I never told him that…. You ever do something really stupid that you regretted?"
"….You're seriously asking me that?"
"Okay, okay… So I know you have… Well, I kinda did one of those things a long time ago… I was a young, stupid kid, and I kinda got carried away and… Long story short, I ended up pregnant. So I tried to marry the guy, but it all fell apart after he went off and did his own thing and I had problems with the baby."
"…So you've been pregnant before?"
"Twice. The second time it was just some guy I met at a ski lodge."
"Jesus, Fuji, why didn't anyone know?"
"So my dad wouldn't go on a killing spree," Fuji answered with a roll of the eyes. "I just didn't think it was important. I'm 'live for the day', and that crap's all behind me! I just want to forget it, but… I guess it's like what happened with your dad. It's all coming back and biting me in my ass."
"Hey, it'll work out," Ally reassured her, and smiled. "C'mon, you want to help me practice?"
"Yeah, because I know so very much about hockey…"
"Just shoot me some pucks… It's like golf. And hit them as hard as you can. It'll help you with your aggression."
"If I had aggression, I'm sure it would."
"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you have denial issues, too."
"Where's the damn stick?" Fuji asked with a sigh, propelling herself off of the ice, toward the exit, where Ally had his equipment set up.
Paris:
"Okay… Kids at the theme park… Parents definitely won't call… Phone's off the hook, dinner's cooking…" Max thought aloud to himself as he walked through the rooms of the house, making sure everything was in order. "I think I actually have everything set… Hehehe.. He won't even see the best Valentine's Day in his life coming!" Max stopped in the living room as he heard the door open, and smiled.
Leo wasn't sure exactly how to make eye contact with Max as he entered the home and set his suitcase by the front door. He then slipped off his coat, tossed his shoes beside Max's, and trudged into the living room, where he promptly felt hands on his shoulders.
"Flight late? It's almost midnight!"
"Where're the kids?" Leo asked, turning about to face Max.
"They're with your parents for the weekend," Max smiled and leaned upward to kiss Leo briefly. "I told Fujiko I'd pay her back by driving her and your dad when they leave for their cruise."
"…How long have you been planning this, exactly?"
"Let's just say I would have cried if you had had a delayed flight," Max responded with a small laugh, leading Leo over to the couch and sitting beside him.
"The house looks great…" Leo murmured and let his eyes fall upon the fireplace, although he could feel Max staring at him. "You must've worked your ass off here."
"Eh, not so bad… Not as bad as when my dad made me clean out our basement," Max's smile fell, and he placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah… I just feel like crap that you went through all of this trouble for me and I couldn't even pick you up flowers or something."
"Flowers? I'm gay, not a woman," Max snorted. "I don't need them, trust me. They'll just wilt, anyway, and I hate watching something die like that."
"I'll make it up to you later," Leo sighed and bent his head downward.
"Hey… What's wrong?" asked Max quietly. "Something happen while you were going after your sister?"
"When doesn't something happen?" Leo muttered and rested against the back of the couch. "I'm just tired from jet lag, is all."
"So… Will you be too tired for…"
"No, no, I'm fine for that…. With all of the work you went through, you deserve it," Leo said to a worried Max. "Besides, you look like you'd cry if I said no."
"I probably would," Max laughed, and switched off a nearby light.
'How in the hell am I supposed to tell you?' Leo wondered.
Italy, the following day:
"Winner take all?" Ryo smiled and glanced at her orange race car. Victor looked down to his black vehicle, and nodded. "And no arguments about it?"
"No arguments," Victor sighed and fixed his helmet upon his head and hopped into the racecar. Ryo smiled and climbed into her own car. Fuji was sitting in the empty stands, watching from afar.
"Who do you think'll win this?" Ally inquired, seating himself beside Fuji.
"Who else? Ryo-san," Fuji shrugged and leaned back against the plastic chair and smiled. "She'll kick his ass from here to the Vatican and back! So tell me—Odori still acting weird?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Ally murmured and sighed. The racecars quickly took off and tore down the track, while Fuji and Ally looked onward. "So, you ready to tell me exactly who you were married to?"
"It doesn't take a lot of guessing, Ally—GO RYO-SAN!" Fuji shrieked, followed by a whistle.
"So that's the real reason why your brother isn't a Jurgis fan," Ally murmured.
"Nope. Hates the guy like he hates visiting his father-in-law," Fuji answered.
"Hpm… Speaking of them, they're both out of the country right now, so better time than none to get a little job out of the way… Although I'm pretty sure you were thinking the exact same thing."
"You betcha," Fuji nodded. "You know that there's another name for Torino, right?"
"Yeah, Turin and…. Oh my God, you're not serious!"
"You bet I am," Fuji rose and smiled, clasping her hands together. "The Shroud of Turin!"
"Hey, look!" Ally shouted and pointed to the race track, where Ryo zoomed past Victor then halted to a stop. She pulled herself out of the still hot car and ran over to Victor's parked vehicle.
"HA! I win! You get me the cars!" Ryo said with a smile, punching her husband in the arm roughly. "Two European cars of my choosing! Get me American and we're through, though."
"Heh, you don't have to rub it in…" Victor muttered and rubbed the now sore spot upon his shoulder.
"Don't feel bad…You'll still get a parting gift," said Ryo with a sly smile.
"Let me puke now," Fuji muttered with a roll of the eyes.
Paris:
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Max asked with true concern in his voice.
"Yeah," Leo sat up in bed and pulled on his shirt. "Hey, I forgot some things at the office…"
"At two in the morning?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah…. Listen, I really need it," Leo said as he continued by pulling on his jacket. "I'll be back soon, I promise."
"Okay…. You want me to wait up, or…?"
"I'll be fine. I'm a big boy, I can fend for myself," Leo answered lightly, and headed out of his home and into the car, all the way to his father's house.
"Ari?" Fujiko answered the door with a yawn; Leo tried to hide his cringe when she opened the door in curlers and facial cream. "It's two thirty in the morning!"
"Could we take a drive?"
"Huh? What?" Fujiko blinked a few times, attempting to register this in her tired brain. "But, I… It's…"
"Mom, please? I really need to talk with someone."
Fujiko gave a slow, lazy nod. "Lemme just get my coat on and lie to your father… Jeeze, I can remember getting out of the house just by telling him I needed 'girl things', and he'd immediately shut up… Now it's 'to get diapers for my grandson'…."
"I really like it when you think back to the good old days, Mom, but I'm kinda cold here."
"Go wait in the car, I'll be right there," Fujiko waved him off and closed the door. By the time Leo had walked the length of the driveway, cleaned out the passenger seat from babys' toys, girls' makeup, boys' comic books and men's old fast food boxes, Fujiko walked out in a heavy coat, still tired looking.
"What's going on? Is everything okay with…. No one's sick, are they!"
"Mom, relax… It's nothing like that," Leo sighed and pulled out of the driveway, and began to drive down the country roads.
"What's wrong, then? Are you two fighting?"
"No… Not yet… You know how Dad always said Max would probably be the one to cheat on me?"
"…That little blond son of a bitch, why I ought to—"
"—Dad was wrong, Mom," Leo continued quickly.
"Ari… Did you…"
"It wasn't anything too bad, but I still talk to her."
"Her? A woman?"
"Yeah, I know… She was my partner a little while back. I don't know what to do, Mom. Max is asking how my trip was, and I can't exactly tell him everything."
"Then don't," Fujiko shrugged.
"What? I can't do that?"
"Well, your father never told me he had cheated…"
"Yeah, but that came out!"
"But I never told him I cheated, either…"
Leo's brakes came to a screeching halt and he slowly turned his head to face his mother, "When was this, Mom?"
"A little while back… You and Fuji were still very young," Fujiko sighed. "It's in the past, though. We've all got our skeletons, is the thing, and some things just shouldn't be brought up. Sure it'd be the right thing to do, if you think in terms of black and white, but if it's over and she's not pregnant or anything what harm would there be in keeping it a secret from him?"
"…I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," Fujiko leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "See? No harm, to fowl."
Across town:
"….You don't look like Leo," said Max suspiciously.
"Well, a lot of us don't," Charely chuckled and shrugged. "I just wanted to stop by and give him a little something."
"Yeah?"
"Here," Charely removed the necklace from about her neck and passed it to Max. "Tell him thank you…. For everything. Well, better get back to Japan now! Just wanted to say hi."
"Um, sure," Max looked down at the necklace, and watched in confusion as Charely hopped off of the porch and into her rental car. "….She came all the way… From Japan? They're such a family of weirdoes!"
The phone began to ring, and Max sighed and turned back into the house, nearly taking a dive toward the ground as his foot made contact with one of Avery's toys, "Damn it… They know where the playroom is… Hello? Lupin residence."
"Inspector Zenigata?" the familiar voice of he chief resounded on the other end of the line.
"Um… Chief!" Zenigata yelped. "H-How're things? How's the wife?"
"Good enough," the chief answered tiredly. "It's been nothing but hell around here since your 'significant other' uncovered that inside Interpol job."
"Yeah, ehehe…. Leo's not here… Um, why the call so late?"
"We've got a situation at the Olympics."
"Well, I'm sure Leo could—"
"We need someone down there pronto, and your resignation isn't complete until next week."
"B-but Chief!"
"Zenigata, do this one last job, and we'll give you time and a half for it…"
"….I…."
"Max, this will be the last chance for a Zenigata to try to capture a Lupin. Think about your family's honor. I knew your father, Max."
'Not as well as I do, you old senile bat,' Max thought to himself, but allowed the chief to continue. The thought of one last blast before settling down completely was quite appealing to Max… He had once done stints in gangs, had gone to wild parties… Done things that he hoped his parents would never find out and that only Leo knew… He had given up all of that fun, so he was entitled to a grand finale.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," said Max. "I need to leave a note first, though."
"Good work, Zenigata. You make us proud," said the chief, who then hung up.
Italy:
"All right, Ally!" Fuji whistled and clapped as Ally slid across the ice, pounding an opponent against the glass and getting fowled for such. "Hang the ref! Kill him! C'mon!"
"Fuji," Ryo nodded to the direction of a petite blonde heading down the aisles, searching for her seat.
"Eep… Hide me," Fuji yelped and hid behind Ryo for protection as Carmen seated herself beside Odori, whose depressed look seem fixed upon her face.
"Jeeze, it looks like a funeral here," Ryo's eyes flashed open as she registered the slight American accent, and she looked upward, stunned, to Yukiko, who joined Fuji at her other side.
"Yukiko?" Ryo yelped. "W-what in the hell are you doing here!"
"It's not every year you have a brother in the Olympics," Yukiko replied with a shrug. "Besides, Toshiro and I came to an agreement for this."
"Which is?"
"He's looking after Saiyuri while I go watch Ally."
"Oh dear God… Dad better not find out about this!"
"If he does he'll also find out you're married," Yukiko answered, looking upward at her sister with a sense of seriousness.
"You little—You wouldn't!" Ryo yelped.
"Don't think I wouldn't," Yukiko answered calmly. Fuji suddenly became a mediator as she attempted to keep Ryo off of the calm Yukiko.
"Now, now—Let's just play nice, all right?" Fuji asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Ay, you want to sit down!" shouted another audience member.
Fuji gave a frown and slowly seated herself and Ryo, paying no attention to Heiji, who looked onward with a sort of disappointment.
"What's the score so far?" asked Carmen quietly.
"Huh? Oh… That… One to zero, I think," Odori answered, and gave a small sniff.
"Oh, Dori-chan, it'll be all right," said Fuji reassuringly.
"Do you every think that no, it won't be okay?" Heiji snipped.
"Hey, I didn't say you could come into this conversation," Fuji said with a frown.
"She's my sister, of course I'm in on it."
"Wish you'd defend me that much sometimes, Heiji," Fuji grumbled and rose.
"Where are you going?" asked Ryo.
"Out," Fuji answered. Yukiko paused a few moments, and after seeing no one else rising from their seats, followed Fuji out of the building.
"Hey, what's up with you?" asked Yukiko.
"Me? Me? I'm not the one who left my newborn in another continent!"
"Doesn't mean I don't love her any less," Yukiko answered. "Someone's gotta be the breadwinner in the family."
"You know, I'm a happy person, I try to stay positive… You… The only thing that you've ever scored positive on in your life is your pregnancy test!" Fuji growled, heading toward the brand-new red Fiat Victor had purchased earlier that morning.
"Woah, what?" Yukiko climbed into the Fiat beside Fuji and tilted her hat upward. "Is that what you're all pissy about?"
"You don't want a kid, and look what happens? Heh… My brother's got three, damn it. He isn't even married to someone with a damn uterus! He's gay and he's got three kids!"
"Hey, what's this?" Yukiko pulled out a magazine from beneath the car seat and scanned over it.
"It's nothing," Fuji answered and removed the magazine from Yukiko's hands, tossing it into the backseat.
"The Venus of Willendorf? Isn't that in Austria?"
"They're showing it in Turin briefly…."
"But I heard over the phone from Ally that you were after the Shroud of Turin."
"Pfft… My Grandpa stole the real one years ago. Why do you think the one they have today only carbon dates back to the 1500's. He switched them out years ago," Fuji murmured.
"But why would you want a statue of a fertility goddess?"
"So Heiji won't leave."
"…Wait, you're trying to have a kid so your fiancé won't leave you?"
"That bad."
"That's friggin' horrible!" Yukiko answered. "What makes you think that a little statue'll do the trick, anyway? Just eat some oysters… Or get drunk. Getting drunk helped me. In all reality that baby should've been named Corona Kahula."
"What's her middle name, anyway?"
"Lisa."
"….Li—Your husband's such an Elvis nerd he named his kid what Elvis named his daughter? Let's hope Saiyuri doesn't bring home a pasty freak."
"Guess that rules out any kids that yours would hang out with… Knowing you you'd have a little computer nerd, and it'd have computer nerd friends."
"Hmph, that'd involve me being able to have them."
"Why don' you just adopt, Fuji?" Yukiko sighed and sat back in her chair. "There're lots of little kids who would kill to be adopted by a rich family! Look at me… I'm lucky my dad took me in. Or how about Odori, huh? She'd have been married off at fourteen to some farmer if Goemon and Amaya hadn't stepped in and taken her!"
"…It just pisses me off that the one thing I want right now I can't just go out and get!"
"Heiji's love? You gettin' knocked up may make him stay, but it won't necessarily make him happier, Fuji, remember that."
"…Yeah, yeah… I'm still stealing the Willendorf statue. I need to at least try to see if it'll work."
"Good luck to you then, Fuji," Yukiko tipped her hat and exited the car. "Now if you excuse me, I need to watch my brother kick some Eastern European ass."
"Have a good one," Fuji murmured, waving Yukiko off.
Paris:
"I hope he's not too mad at me…" Leo muttered as he killed the headlights and stepped up to the front door. He was much too tired to argue, anyway. He gave a small shudder as the door creaked open, and slid off his shoes as he glided onto the wood of the living room and looked about for any signs of Max. It was then that he looked over his shoulder and noticed that the only car in the driveway was his. "…Maybe he went out for breakfast… Yeah, that's probably it."
Leo nodded this reassurance himself, but stopped in the middle of the room as he saw a sheet of paper beside a familiar necklace. He lifted up the necklace and felt dread sink in, and then slowly lifted up the note in Max's familiar frantic handwriting.
"….Left for Italy…. Don't know when I'll be back…. Tell the kids I love them…." Leo murmured, and sunk to the ground. He had been dumped….
"Look who came with the kids!" Lupin crowed, entering the house with a still sleeping Avery in his arms and an exhausted Fujiko walking behind him. Dako and Jared soon followed in after their grandparents, both bickering as usual.
"I've got to go!" Leo sprung up from the ground and pushed his way past his parents to the front door.
"Wha… Where?" Lupin wondered aloud.
"Italy!" Leo bolted out the door, returning a few moments later to retrieve his shoes. He hastily put these on, and the screeching of tires was heard outside of the household about thirty seconds later.
"…Great. First he's gay and now I think he's doing speed," Lupin grumbled, setting down Avery and allowing him to crawl around the house at his will.
"There's got to be an explanation for this," Fujiko said to herself, and then looked at the women's necklace lying on the desk. She scanned over the note beside it, and placed a hand on her mouth.
"Fujicakes, something wrong?" Lupin asked worriedly.
"Oh, nothing," Fujiko backed against the desk and quickly slipped the note and necklace into her purse and ran over to Avery. "No, no, no, Avery, not in the kitchen."
"Like this, Grandma," Dako made a fist and flicked her index and middle finger over her thumb while shaking her head.
"Lord, and I had a hard enough time trying to communicate with boys…" Fujiko sighed, making the gesture to her grandson.
"Well, you certainly had no trouble with men," Lupin said with a smile.
"No, I didn't. Which makes me wonder sometimes why I chose to marry a boy."
"Oh come on!" Lupin frowned.
"You aren't kinda childish," Jared admitted.
"And I'm also kinda not your cheap grandparent," Lupin snapped.
Turin, Italy:
"Now you promise you'll help me if I help you?" Ally asked Fuji, rubbing his sore shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, now come on!"
"What'd you make her promise?" asked Yukiko.
"It doesn't matter," Ally shrugged. "Now what's the plan? This thing's under pretty high security…"
"Here ya go," Fuji smiled and handed him his hockey stick.
"What's this for?" asked Ally with a raised eyebrow.
"Make a slapshot and knock out the security system," Fuji smiled, tossing him a small stone. "Yukiko-san, you knocked out the guards?"
"Done and done," Yukiko gave a small chuckle and held up her magnum.
"Here goes," Fuji lied down on a creeper and propelled herself, flying just beneath the lasers surrounding the statue. Ally backed up, made a few practice swings, and made a shot that ricocheted off of a wall and to the security system behind the lasers, with the statue. While he took this Yukiko placed a silencer on her gun, and shot at the two security cameras. They had already been cut, but she did this for extra measure.
Fuji, meanwhile, made a cut in the glass, and removed another rock from her pocket, this one with a note attached to it. She gave a chuckle and lied back down upon the creeper, and slid out.
"LUPIN!" Fuji nearly dropped the statue in surprise, and turned to see an ever-annoyed Max looking back at her.
"Zenigata!" Fuji yelped. "Aren't you supposed retired!"
"Not for another week!" Max gave a long laugh and pulled out his handcuffs. "Now for about you drop that statue so I can get you in the pokey by morning."
"Max, you don't want to arrest me, and you know it," said Fuji with a smile.
"He's probably just gone crazy, Fuji… Glad to see you two are in the same boat. Why didn't you two ever just marry one another?"
"A blonde guy? Heh…"
"What do you mean? What does she mean, Lupin?" asked Max, not taking his eyes off of the statue.
"Well, with everything that happened in… Yeow…" Fuji cringed as she realized she was going much too far, but Max urged her on.
"About what?"
"It's nothing…"
"Tell me or I'll make sure you share your cell with the scariest, hairiest woman in the entire joint!"
"Listen, that's for you and Leo to go over, not me. It's not my place," Fuji replied, glancing to Ally momentarily.
Max caught sight of this, and looked to Ally briefly. In this brief second Yukiko shot, knocking the handcuffs out of his hands. Fuji climbed atop the creeper and skateboarding past Max, she placed one of the handcuffs on his own wrist and the other on a stern looking Roman statue.
"LUPIN! Damn it! Get back here!" Max shouted, giving a hard tug. He felt his stomach drop as he saw the statue begin to shift and toddle off of its pedestal. "Oh, no… Oh no no no…."
The next morning, a Turin jail:
"….Wow… Been in jails on four European countries… Luxembourg, here I come," Max murmured as his paperwork was stamped and he was told in a language that sounded vaguely like broken English that he was free to go. He nodded his thanks and turned to the man who had paid his bail, who tightly embraced him as he began to head out of the small booking room.
"I'm so sorry," Leo whispered as they walked out and down the stone steps. "Max, I'm sorry that it drove you that crazy… Please, just don't leave me!"
"What? Are you on speed now?"
"….Letter… I got a letter saying you were leaving me…"
"For like a week!" Max hopped into the passenger seat of the rental car and turned to Leo. "What did you think I was talking about?"
"Nothing…"
"No, Leo, come on, what is it?"
"…I… I saw the necklace with it."
"Yeah, your sister's."
"That wasn't my sister," Leo said quietly.
"…Let me out," Max demanded after a pause.
"Listen, nothing happened, all right?"
"Leo, why in the…Wha-what did happen? Fuji was talking about it, too! You know I'm a little tired of everyone in your family knowing more about our marriage than me."
"She asked me to leave you," Leo answered after a period of silence. "I wouldn't do it. Her name's Charley. She was the one investigating the assassination list."
"I thought she looked familiar," Max muttered. "You… You wouldn't leave me for her? But she was pretty hot… Well, very… She was totally poured into those jeans she was in."
"Watch it," Leo snapped, and yawned.
"You haven't been to sleep yet?" Max asked worriedly.
"I drove here from France," Leo answered. "Non-stop. Well, one stop… To get some coffee and a paper. A paper that informed me that an Interpol officer had destroyed an ancient Roman statue."
"Hey, at least they're not pressing charges," Max shrugged.
"Now they aren't, because I translated for the curator a while back," Leo grumbled.
"…That's really sweet, what you did," Max said. "...Kinda hot, too. Hey, why don't you pull over?"
"…Why?"
"I've never been in an Italian jail before, and there's something else I've never done in Italy…"
"…You're worse than my father," Leo said with a laugh. "We can't right now. We've got a wedding to go to."
"What? Whose?" asked Max with a frown. "Your sister?"
"No… But I'm best man at it," replied Leo.
A small church, that night:
"Come in," Carmen called as she adjusted her veil. Fuji slowly opened the door and cleared her throat at Carmen's icy glare.
"Um, hey," Fuji gave a shy wave. "Just wanted to… You know, give my congratulations. You're lucky…."
"That's all you wanted?" Carmen rose from the bench and placed the veil over her eyes.
"Yeah… Pretty much…. Um, no hard feelings, right?"
"I…. Well…"
"Carmen, the past is the past," Fuji said with a small hopeful smile. "Now you've forgiven Ally, and Ally's forgiven himself… If you forgive me all I'll have to do is forgive myself."
"It was an accident," Carmen said to herself quietly. "Why are you doing this now?"
"I want to be your… Well, I don't have to be your friend, if you don't want, but I don't want you to be mad at anyone… Trust me, it's not just to make myself feel better! I just want to shut this door… All I want is closure."
Carmen gave a frown, and began to stick out her hand. Fuji cringed and instinctively placed her hands in front of her face, and peeked out from behind her shield to see Carmen's hand extended. Fuji uneasily reached for it, then shook it.
"Thanks," Fuji said with a smile.
"Just don't touch him again, or you'll end up in the dungeon," Carmen answered with a chuckle.
'Ohhhh good luck with this one, Al,' a nervous Fuji thought. She broke out of the handshake and waved Carmen off. "Well, see ya outside, Mrs. Jigen!"
Carmen nodded, and went back to adjusting her gown for the ceremony.
"He come yet?" Fuji asked Ryo asked she walked into a back room fo the church.
"Not yet," Ryo answered with a shake of the head. "You get your statue?"
"Yeah," Fuji gave a small discontented sigh. "But I can't find anything on how to work the damn thing. So I chucked it."
"You sure that was what you wanted to do?"
"Yeah," Fuji answered. "Besides, I'm not ready for anything like kids yet. I'll give it a few years."
"You learn well, grasshopper," Yukiko chuckled and stepped into the room. "I gotcha what you needed."
"Gracias," Fuji took the bag from Yukiko and unzipped it, then went to work.
About half an hour later, after Leo and Max had shown and the rest of the guests had seated themselves (Max was somehow in the small church beside Ryo, making it a tense occasion for him) the wedding proceeded with Carmen's mother in attendance along with Ally's parents and his two youngest sisters, as well as Sachiko, who every once in a while would look over her shoulder at Heiji.
Jigen looked back at Ryo and asked quietly, "You're not gonna plan something small like this are you, Ryoko?"
"Me? Never, Daddy," Ryo chuckled, and gripped onto Victor's arm tightly.
"Hey, where's Toshiro?" Jigen turned his head and faced Yukiko, who had told him that she had only arrived in Italy in order to watch Ally marry. She spoke not a word of the statue she had stolen the previous night.
"He's at home with the baby… He and Ally never got along well enough for this, anyway," Yukiko shrugged.
"What about Fuji?"
"Probably went to go get their wedding gift… She's always late with that crap," Yukiko answered coolly. She silenced as she heard the music start and Carmen walked down the aisle, and stood beside Ally. The vows were read, and the rings were exchanged, and there was a standing ovation as the couple ran down the aisle and out of the church.
"Hey, gimme a second," said Ally, stepping back from Carmen. "I forgot my wallet in the church."
"I…Well, all right," Carmen gave a nod and stepped into the limousine while 'Ally' ran into the back room of the church.
The real Ally was in the back of the church still, and pulled off his disguise—A priest who had watched the ceremony closely, "Thanks again."
"Heh, hey, what are friends for?" Fuji ripped off the mask and slid off the ring. "You kids have a good time now."
"Yeah, see ya," Ally embraced Fuji tightly, and Fuji patted him on the back. "You're one of my best friends, you know that, right?"
"Hey, if I were anyone else I don't think you would've allowed me to kiss your wife," Fuji chuckled as she broke hold from him. She only waited until he had left the room the wipe her eyes.
"Sorry about that," Ally climbed into the limo and motioned for the driver to take off.
"It's no problem," Carmen leaned in and kissed Ally, and blinked a few times, then pulled at his cheek.
"Ouch! What was that for!"
"I wanted to make sure I was going back to the hotel with Ally," Carmen answered. "…Who was that that…"
"You don't want to know, Honey," Ally patted her on the hand. "I… You're not mad at me, are you?"
"Hrm, well, at least you're staying for the important part," Carmen answered with a chuckle. To this statement Ally gave a blush. "Hope it won't take your focus off of your game…"
"Eh, Eastern Europe's kicking our ass, anyway," Ally answered, leaning in and kissing him.
The limo driver dropped off the happy couple at the wedding party, then drove back to the church, where only one figure stood outside on the front steps of the church. Fuji had taken Namiko with her in an attempt to ease her urge to feel matronly, allowing Odori some time for herself.
"Excuse me, Miss, would you like a ride home?" asked the driver. "No charge."
"I am fine," Odori answered sternly.
"You sure? Well, would you like to at least like to get something to eat with me?"
"Will you leave me alone afterward?"
"I don't think you'll want that," he answered, and opened the door to the front of the limo. Odori picked up her sword and against her better judgment climbed into the limousine.
"So what are you so down about?"
"Nothing," Odori grumbled, staring out the window.
"Seems like everyone's getting depressed… I just had this real great girl who left me," he said with a sigh. "And now I'm trying to figure out how to get her to give me a second chance…"
"What, is she stubborn?" Odori gave a small smile and slowly turned her head to Jordan.
"God, she's one of the worst!" Jordan laughed and shook his head. "There's still something about her… What about you? Someone break your heart?"
Odori gave a nod, "But I'm stupid in the fact that I think I would probably give him another shot if he were here…"
"You two would take it slower of course, right?"
"Of course," Odori replied. "But that's only if he removes that stupid hat."
"I think he can do that," Jordan laughed, and tossed the hat over his shoulder.
An Italian hotel, later that evening:
Ally lifted Carmen up and carried her into the hotel room, dropping her on the bed and laughing.
"Hey, I'll be right back," Ally kissed her and stepped into the bathroom. He removed his jacket and brushed some of his pulled hair back over his eyes, fumbling as he heard his cell phone go off. "Hello?"
"Ally?" Toshiro's ever-Brooklyn thick accent came from the other end of the line. "I… I hope I didn't catch you two in…. You know, the middle of something."
"No, you lucked out," Ally answered. "But you've got only one minute, so go."
"I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to be there… And good luck…."
"That's it?"
"….That's it, unless you want me to tell you that I love you or something…"
"You Broadway fairy," Ally chuckled. "Thanks… Your minute's up, though. Go take care of the baby, or do something constructive at least."
"I'll think about your sister… Hey, maybe when you're older I'll tell you about the night Saiyuri was created. Maybe it'll give you ideas."
"Why you perverted—"
"Bye!" Toshiro hung up the phone, and Ally made sure to shut off his cell phone before he walked back out to Carmen.
"Was this a wedding gift?" Carmen stared and the statue of the round, almost pregnant looking woman.
"I guess… It's friggin' ugly, though. Must be from Fuji…" Ally answered, slipping off his tie. "Just put it on the dresser."
Carmen nodded and set it on the dresser beside her veil, and walked back over to Ally. She stood in front of him and ran her fingers through his hair, and then pushed him back onto the bed, switching off the light right before pinning him.
"…..Christ, this is better than four gold medals…" Ally murmured through the darkness.