DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, and by the looks of my updates you'd think I didn't own a calendar, either.
Hey there, hi there, ho there!
My sincerest apologies for the lack of an update… I hadn't even realized how long it had been! School has just been, well, quite hectic, as of recent, as has work. I really do hope to get back on schedule with my updates… I also had a mess of home repair to do over the week, which for the mostpart kept me away from anything resembling an internet cable.Onnnn the upside, while cleaning my room, I found a bunch of sketches from when I began this series (a lot of horrible sketches, heh. But some people like looking at that sort of thing, I suppose). Hopefully I'll have them up soon enough. See ya around!
Fun Fact of Boredom: Well, I've gotten asked this a lot over the years, so I thought I might answer it here… The character I think I've based myself most off of is Leo… I'm working on becoming a translator, and I have a great deal of siblings spread across the country, even across an ocean. We also have similar personalities and, hell, if I could find a Jewish/Japanese guy? If he had a girlfriend already, she'd vanish quickly, you can rest assured.
Chapter thirty-seven: Nancy (with the laughing face)
New York City:
"You got into what?" Yukiko asked with a smile.
"The King and I," Toshiro answered with a smile. "I could barely believe it, myself…."
The smallest Ishikawa, in the back room, gave a cry, and Yukiko immediately walked to her child's room and retrieved the baby, "That's terrific… So when do you start?"
"Tomorrow," Toshiro answered, and rose from the couch, to his tiny daughter. He ran his hand through her short hair and chuckled. "I think it'd bore her…"
"Hell, half the things you've done bore me, but I sit through them," said Yukiko plainly, sitting down in the chair in the corner of the living room and rocking back and forth with her. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked as she watched him pulling on a heavier kimono.
"Um.. I just have to do something…" Toshiro replied.
Yukiko tilted her head to a side and frowned, "It's not getting rid of the Vespa, is it? You don't have to…. Hell, you could ride with Dori if you wanted!"
"No… I just… There's too many memories in it for me," said Toshiro quietly, and exited the house. He saw the bike in front of the garage, and gave a small sigh as he mounted it and began to drive down the small road in front of their home.
"Crap!" he said aloud as he realized he had left a costume that needed mending at the theater. "Well… One last ride to the theater wouldn't hurt…"
Paris:
"Three more days until you're officially retired," Leo marked off another day on the calendar and smiled as he looked over his shoulder to his husband, who was busying himself reading the paper.
"Yeah…" Max muttered, and flipped yet another page.
The phone gave a ring, and Leo hurried to catch it. Max, meanwhile, gave a sigh and looked to Avery, who was playing with his Cheerios gleefully.
"Allo? Le residence de la famille de Lupin. C'est Leo. Hey, chief! Busy? No… Um, no, this is Leo Lupin… You want to speak with Max? Okay, here…"
"He's probably figured out that I've been the one stealing his staplers for the past year…" Max muttered underneath his breath as he took the phone. "What's up?"
Leo blinked a few times at the flippant greeting, but was soon distracted by Dako and Jared's arguing in the next room.
"You want me to WHAT?" the suddenly shrill tone of Max's voice made Leo jump, and he turned back about to see what had happened. "Well, I… But, I… You can't keep do—Who? Oh, well… That changes everything…" Max hung up the phone and looked upward to Leo. "I've got to go to New York."
"But Max! I—"
"I've got to do this, Leo," said Max sternly. "Just trust me, all right?"
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah… They're fine… I've just got to find an old friend is all."
"Why?"
"I need to arrest them… I'm the only one who'd know where he'd be hiding."
"I'm going with you, then."
"Leo, you can't. You—"
"Mom and Dad love having the kids over. And it's for only this one job, right?"
"Urm, right…."
"So? Let's go together," Leo gave a sly smile and placed an arm on Zenigata's back.
"I'm not sure you'd exactly be comfortable with all of it."
"Since I've met you I've been to gay bars, an S&M club—"
"—On accident—"
"Yeah, but still. How much weirder could it be?"
"Heh… If you start growing a beard now you ought to be good enough by the time we get there."
"G—What? What's that supposed to mean?"
New York:
"….Excuse me, could I help you?" Toshiro spied a small figure in the center of the theater stage, looking in awe at the lighting and rigging overhead.
She turned to face him, and Toshiro nearly fell off of the stage, "Ju-Julie?"
"Julie?" she blinked a few times, "You knew Julie?"
"She… Who are you?" Toshiro's expression darkened and he began to draw out his sword.
"No, please don't!" she yelped, and took a few terrified steps back, "My name's Nancy, I'm Julie's sister!"
"…Sister?..." Toshiro slowly sheathed his sword once again and looked downward at the young girl. "I never… I never met you. I didn't even see you at the funeral."
"I was a coward," she said with a low voice. "I didn't have the courage to. Not after the way I spoke to her the last time we talked. Now, who are you?"
"I… Well, I was her boyfriend, for some time."
"Oh, so you're the 'loser'. My parents talked about you!"
"Apparently it wasn't anything good," Toshiro said in a low voice. 'It's frightening how much… They look so alike! She's probably what our daughter would've looked like!'
"Mr.? Are you all right?"
"Hrm? Oh, yes… I'm fine," Toshiro gave a brief shake of the head and cleared his throat. "My name's Goemon, but everybody calls me Toshiro. So did you come here for any reason in particular, Nancy?"
"Just to say goodbye," Nancy replied quietly. "Hey, um… This might a little forward, but… Do you have anything of Julia's around? I mean, it'd…. It'd mean an awful lot if—" She didn't even have a chance to finish. She had broken down into tears by the end of her sentence.
"It's all right," Toshiro placed his hands on her shoulders and sighed. "I'll take you to my house. You can meet my wife and I'll see what I can find you, all right?"
"Thank you," Nancy wiped her eyes and allowed Toshiro to lead her out. In the end, Toshiro still forgot to pick up what he had come for.
When he arrived home, he had half a mind to turn the Vespa back around and head for safety. Fuji's car was in the driveway.
"Is something the matter? You're very pale…" Nancy said worriedly.
"I'm fine," Toshiro shook his head and dismounted the bike. He looked back at the bike a moment and a thought came to him, but this vanished as he heard familiar yelling from inside.
"Oh, God…What now?" Toshiro sighed and stepped into the house, where Yukiko and Fuji were in the midst of their usual verbal battle.
"And I'm telling you that that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Yukiko shouted, and looked upward to Toshiro. "Thank God. A voice of reason around here! Please explain to this little idiot that it doesn't matter how many guns you have, when you're dealing with a supposed murderer, you're askin' for it!"
"Well, I…"
"Toshiro, this guy's a serial murderer!"
"Which is why the police should do their job and handle it. You're a thief, not Wonder Woman, Fuji! No one's been able to catch the guy yet!"
"There's a reason behind these murders, though!"
"Why do you even care? Not to sound heartless, but you usually don't."
"You're right, I don't—Usually. But I've got my reasons!"
"Those being?"
"Those being to protect you," Fuji answered. "…Hey, who's the girl?"
"This is Nancy," Toshiro cleared his throat as he introduced the petite brunette, "Julia's sister."
Yukiko mouthed a phrase beneath her breath and turned back into the house as she heard the baby crying, "Fuji, if you even try to go I'll bust your kneecaps so you won't be able to walk!"
"Wow… She's, um… Scary," said Nancy with a small chuckle.
"She's my wife," Toshiro answered, walking into the household past Fuji.
"Fine, I'll go on my own, then," Fuji grumbled and stormed away from the house. "Everyone has kids and they forget about the people who supported them, or in my case, helped get you two together in the first place!"
"And who's she?" asked Nancy in a whisper, pointing to Fuji.
"Our boss," Toshiro replied. "Come on, I'll show you the living room."
"Wow…" Nancy looked around the home and the Japanese furnishings, and was surprised and a little frightened at the sight of an unloaded gun on the table in the dining room.
"She must've been cleaning," Toshiro murmured. "You're not going to leave that out when Saiyuri starts walking, are you, Yukiko?"
"Hey, I've got time!" Yukiko answered. "Besides, I've been handling guns since I was six, and look at how I turned out!"
"….You're not going to leave that out when Saiyuri—"
"Damn it, no!" Yukiko walked into the dining room, and looked past Toshiro to Nancy. "So were are you staying?"
"Nowhere yet," Nancy replied. "I kinda just came on a whim…"
"Well, she could stay with us, right, Yukiko?" Toshiro asked, looking to his wife and then to Nancy.
"I guess," Yukiko said with a moment's hesitation.
"Oh my gosh, really? Thanks!" Nancy gasped. "I'll get my backpack from the Vespa!"
"You aren't jealous or anything, are you?" Toshiro asked with a whisper, looking to Yukiko.
"Nope. You know who owns you," Yukiko answered, nudging him in the arm. "Besides, she'll keep you company."
"Company?"
"I'm going to make sure Fuji doesn't go killing herself," Yukiko picked up the gun from the dining room table and placed it in her holster. "Doesn't seem like she's got anyone else right now. Yeesh, Ryo finally stops bein' suicidal and now I've got to watch out for Fuji!"
"What? Wait, we never agreed to anything like that!" Toshiro yelped. "What about Saiyuri?"
"If this guy's as dangerous as Fuji says he is, then I've definitely got to protect you guys."
"What makes you think he'd even go after us!"
"…You seen my fedora around?"
"Yukiko, what aren't you telling me?" Toshiro asked suspiciously.
"Listen, it ain't anything important," Yukiko shook her head.
"Yuki—"
"It's the guy… It's the guy who killed Julia, Toshiro," Yukiko heaved a sigh. "Stay with her sister, keep her protected."
"That's my fight, though!"
"Julia may have been your girlfriend, but she was my friend, and I owe her for taking care of you like she did," Yukiko picked up her fedora from the living room and looked over her shoulder to Toshiro. "Now I'm going to try to track down Fuji. I'll be back soon, hopefully."
"….Be careful, Yukiko."
"Hey, aren't I always?" Yukiko tipped her hat, chuckled and exited through the front door. "Now to track—Son of a bitch…" she muttered as she saw Fuji's car still parked in front of the house. "You never left, did you?"
"What can I say, you're predictable!" Fuji laughed. "I also picked up your suits from the cleaners!"
"You better not have touched my underwear or anything," Yukiko grumbled.
"You're such a freak about that. How gay do you think I am?"
"Only as gay as your brother," Yukiko answered, lifting up a backpack from the living room and then hopping down the steps to Fuji's car.
"Whatcha got there, Mom? Snacks?"
"Bullets," Yukiko replied, tossing the bag in the back seat of the car and causing it to bounce from the weight reasonably.
"Why haven't you just made the switch to automatic?" Fuji inquired plainly, leaning upon the wheel of the car.
"Because some of us are faithful to what's done us good in the past."
"Why do I just know that that's somehow a burn on me?" asked Fuji.
"Get movin' already. I don't want to be around here longer than I have to."
"Aren't you a little worried about Toshiro-chan?"
"Why should I be? He knows I'd beat his ass in if he ever did anything. Plus he wouldn't cheat on me."
"Oh? And what makes you the token one not to get cheated on, eh? Is there some great secret I'm missing?"
"He worked too hard for me," Yukiko answered with a confident smile. "Now let's head out."
A New York Airport:
"Ugh, I think I know how Jigen feels now," Leo scratched at his new beard while the blond 'woman' in the long skirt and head covering beside him rolled 'her' eyes.
"Quit being such a baby," Max grumbled. "How's my makeup? It on all right?"
"Yeah, but your chest is crooked," Leo whispered.
"Aie," Max briefly turned away from the crowds and adjusted, then looked back to Leo. "What about now?"
"Yeah… You look great," Leo nodded. "So what's my name again?"
"You wouldn't be able to pronounce it if you tried," Max waved his hand lightly and sighed. "Just let me take care of the introductions."
"Of course, my Orthodox Jewish princess," Leo took his 'wife's' hand and kissed it, and gave a small grin. "So where's this guy supposed to be?"
"At a service downtown," answered Max.
"I don't know any prayers or anything! I'll be lost!" Leo yelped.
"Don't worry, I was almost a rabbi, remember?"
"I also remember you getting kicked out."
"For being gay, not for sucking," Max answered quickly.
"…Oh, I'm not even going there," Leo shook his head. "So you want to hail a cab?"
"Nope. Sun's down, so we walk it."
"What? Max, you're kidding me, right?"
"Hey, we've got to keep up an image here," Max adjusted the scarf upon his head and looked at Leo's hopeless expression. "It'll be fine. You could use the walk, anyway. You're getting chunky."
"Oh, look who's talking!" Leo grumbled. "You weight thirty more than me, you cow!" a woman passing by in the airport stopped and stared wide-eyed at the couple, and Max quickly pulled Leo away from any other large crowds.
"It's only a lousy mile or five," Max said to Leo with a smile. "And after this we'll go out, how's that sound?"
"Hey, wear the dress and we can go dancing," Leo said with a smirk.
"Now there's an idea," Max said with a small sigh. "That's something you've never done for me."
"Well, it isn't exactly easy finding a place for us to go."
"We should move to California."
"I… I actually wanted to talk to you," Leo stopped and cleared his throat. "About, well… They've got a great school for Avery in Washington, D.C., and I thought about taking up a job there, translating for officials."
"And I would…"
"Be a good little housewife and bake cookies," Leo chuckled. "We've got some time yet, but I've thought about us maybe doing that."
"We'll talk," Max answered. "Now let's go find us an old buddy of mine, shall we?"
"Hey, Max, define 'buddy'."
"What? Why, do you think I—"
"Well, urm, kinda," Leo admitted with a small shrug. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, you've just… You've gotten around."
"Oh, look, snow cones. I think I'll get one…"
"Max…"
New York:
"So you want me to follow her?" Odori looked up from beneath the straw hat and watched her brother give a nod. "You will stay with Jordan, then."
"Wait, I can always give you a hand," Jordan rose from the living room couch to Odori.
"I will be fine. If you want to help, then look after Namiko," Odori lifted up her sword and her bag and stood in front of Jordan for a few moments, unsure of what exactly to do. He bent downward and kissed her on the cheek, and Odori gave a blush, and headed out of household.
"…When did I become the nursery bitch?" Toshiro wondered aloud.
"Heh, you know, I'm asking myself that same question, buddy," Jordan mumbled. "Hey, where's your other visitor?"
"Hrm? Oh, Nancy! She's looking through some photographs," Toshiro answered.
"She know yet exactly who your wife went to go off?"
"No, and I don't think it's important she know," Toshiro shook his head and walked over to Saiyuri's crib, and lifted the swaddled baby out and into his arms. "Yukiko will get the job done."
"Yeah, I've only seen her miss her target once."
"Really? Who in the hell was that?"
"Me, fortunately," Jordan scratched the back of his head and gave a shy smile. "We were having an argument. She ended up grazing me. I've still got the scar on my--"
"I think I'm going to check on Nancy," Toshiro rose from his spot quickly and left Jordan alone in the living room with Namiko.
Namiko poked the end of Jordan's nose and chirped. "Dada!"
"Aie," Jordan grumbled and rubbed his eyes. "Just when I thought I'd gotten away from this psychotic family, now I'm dating one of them. And it's your fault. If you just called my 'Jordan' your mom wouldn't think you like me so much."
"Dada!" Namiko cried once again and leaned into Jordan.
"…Yeah, I'll bet that's what you say to all of the guys," Jordan murmured.
"Nancy?" Toshiro called as he walked down the long hall. "Where are you?"
"Oh! Hi!" Nancy rushed out of the den with a handful of photographs and a smile on her face. "I only got the doubles. I never even saw her while she was pregnant, so it's weird seeing her in some of these."
"She was one of the most gorgeous pregnant women I'd ever seen," Toshiro fondly said with a smile. "Would you like me to grab you a bag from the kitchen?"
"Yeah, I'd like that a lot," Nancy smiled and looked down at the photos, and back up to Toshiro. She quietly began to walk down the hall after Ishikawa, but made a dead stop as she saw Jordan seated in the living room.
"I'm the friend," Jordan explained, leaning back against the couch. "You must be another one of Toshiro's friends, then, right?"
"Exactly," Nancy gave a nod, followed by a period of silence until Toshiro returned with a paper bag. Jordan never took his eyes off of this exchange, and while Nancy gave an occasional tense glance in the tall blonde's direction. She faltered a moment before gratefully being called away from Jordan by Toshiro in the kitchen.
A Queens synagogue:
"…I don't really like religious places, Max. They make me feel like I'm going to pass out," Leo whispered as they entered the building.
"You'll be fine. Just act as backup for me. I'm going to talk to the perp," Max whispered.
"What, you see him?" Leo blinked with confusion as he looked over the sea of black head coverings in the crowds of men.
"Yup," Max nodded and began to walk over to a group of women. Leo tilted his head to a side and began to speak, but was quickly ushered into an aisle by another man.
"…You look good, Noah," said Max in a near whisper as he seated himself beside a dark haired woman. "The surgeries went well, I see."
"The doctors were wonderful," 'she' answered, moving over a bit for Max to become more comfortable. "I should give you my doctor's name."
"Sorry, not that into the whole girl thing. I like standing up to do certain things," Max replied.
"And that's why you're in a skirt?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Noah…"
"It's Meredith, now," answered Meredith quickly. "And I know why you're here. I didn't do it, Max. I hired a guy."
"Why'd you do that, N-Meredith?"
"Another boyfriend," Meredith gave a small sigh and closed her eyes. "No one treated me the same after you left. I guess I was just trying to get back what we had, so, I ended up with a cop… Me, with a cop, I know…"
"Not that hard to believe," Max said with a grin. "Listen, I…. Are you planning on leaving the country?"
"Now that I see you, I suppose I should… Could I ask for a small head start? Do a favor for a lady?"
"I… Why are you asking that of me in a place like this? I'm a cop, you know I…."
"I'll tell you who did it," Meredith said quickly. "I know all about the guy, Max…. His name and everything."
"I'm scared to ask," Max muttered and rose. "Come on. We'll go downtown and get coffee there, and we'll figure it out. Meredith?" Max fell back against a set of chairs as he noted Meredith had turned deathly pale, and collapsed to the floor, a dagger in her back.
Max looked upward toward a window on the roof of the synagogue, and took off running with his gun as pandemonium irrupted within the service.
"You take the front, I'll take the roof!" Max announced to Leo, who had also drawn his gun and was working on getting the congregation out of the building. Max grabbed onto the Rabbi as he ran past. "Where's the stairs to the roof?"
"Through those doors, the very end!" the Rabbi replied, and continued to assist Leo in helping the congregation exit without too many injuries after Max had let go of his grasp. Max shoved his gun back in his belt and ran through the back door, and climbed up the metal ladder to the roof, whose door had to be pried off. Max climbed onto the roof of the synagogue, which sloped at an awkward angle and made running after the assassin all the more difficult. The man was dressed in all black, and looked back at Max once more, and gave an arrogant wave before jumping off of the roof. Max began to run after him, but became caught up in a wire which he had not seen placed on the roof, and tumbled off of the roof. He let out a yell as he began to fall to the concrete, but suddenly felt himself cradled in a pair of arms. He was greeted by the eyes of the same Rabbi as he realized he had not fallen to his death.
"Are you all right, 'Miss'?" asked the Rabbi, setting Max upon the ground.
"Urm, y-yeah…" Max sputtered and adjusted his heels. "Leo. Where's Leo? Leo! Hey, Ari!"
"Your companion, the other one with the gun, is back inside," answered the Rabbi.
"Thanks. Take care of your people, Rabbi," Max gave and nod and then hurried back into the synagogue. Leo was bent over Meredith, checking for a pause, and looked down at the body grimly as he stood.
"Looks like poison…" Leo murmured. "Max, are you…?"
"Yeah, I… I'm fine," Max cleared his throat and adjusted his scarf. "I can hear reinforcements. You want to head out?"
"Sounds like a good idea. We're ICPO, not CSI…." Leo answered, his face still drawn with concern for Max as they left the body for the paramedics. "Did you get any information?"
"Listen, I'm not mad at you, but… I just don't want to talk right now," said Max quietly.
"Yeah," Leo gave a small nod, and placed an arm over Max's shoulders. He was stunned as, underneath a covered walkway leading out of the synagogue, Max leaned into Leo and gave way to crying. Leo slowly sunk to the concrete as Max pulled him down, neither man saying anything to one another.
New York:
"You see anything?" Yukiko inquired, and looked over to Fuji.
"Not a damn thing…" Fuji sighed and sat back in her seat, giving a heavy groan and running her hands through her short hair.
"Well, he's a ninja, so I guess we wouldn't exactly be seeing the guy go to get the paper…." Yukiko grumbled.
"Crap, phone!" Fuji reached in her jacket pocket and tossed aside the night vision lenses she had been using to spy for her prey, nearly hitting Yukiko in the process. The Jigen-Ishikawa gave a grumble and threw these in the back seat while Fuji began to speak to the person on the other line, who, with a little listening, Yukiko realized to be Heiji.
"Mm-hm… He what? Well, all right…. Yeah, yeah… Thanks, Heiji. Me? Oh, I'm… I'm not too bad… How about you? India, huh? Well, have a good time…. Say hi for me," Fuji hung up her phone and looked over to Yukiko. "Seems like he ain't alone."
"What? Who else is working with him?"
"He's married," Fuji answered, and went back to surveying the theater which Toshiro usually worked out of, just in case he decided to show there.
"Yeah? And? Anything else?"
"Yeah… Apparently he's so deadest on destroying Toshiro even though the Rat Clan leader's forbidden him from it because he's jealous."
"Of Toshiro? Why? Can't be because of me or anything…"
"Definitely not," Fuji replied. "But, hey, how would you feel if Ryo left for years and even fought against you and she was still the favorite?"
"W-what? What are you saying? That big, scary guy's…."
"Yeah, your brother-in-law," Fuji replied. "Hrm… Hey, check it out. Gi wearing girl at twelve o' clock."
"You say that like you think I know what direction to look in," Yukiko murmured and took the binoculars from Fuji. "Ah, I see… Hey, ain't that just a lady in a bathrobe?"
"Give me those," Fuji gave a frustrated sigh and took these once again, and then pointed to the top of the theater. "See! Long hair! Traditional samurai robe!"
"….Hey, that's Dori!" said Yukiko with a frown. "What the hell is she doing here?"
Later:
"Y-You know what? You two deserve one another, so have a damn nice life together!" Yukiko shouted and tossed the last jacket in her suitcase while a now silenced Jordan and Toshiro looked onward. Fuji had hold of the baby's supplies, and Yukiko took her daughter from the crib before storming out.
"Wait! Where are you going!" Toshiro demanded, running out to catch Yukiko before she had gotten to any of the cars.
"Where else?" Yukiko pointed with her suitcase-filled hand to a house a few hundred yards away. "My mother's! And if I catch either of you there, I'll shoot."
"Fuji, could you talk to her?" Jordan asked with a sigh.
"Hey, I'd be pissed, too," Fuji admitted and gave a shrug. "I'm just going to make sure she takes breaks from her fuming to feed the baby. See ya!"
"Yeah, konbanwa," Toshiro said darkly, and shut the front door after the two women had left.
"I hope I didn't disrupt anything," Nancy said quietly, taking a step forward with her hands clasped together.
"You're fine, Nancy," Toshiro heaved a sigh and fell back into a chair in the living room. "She doesn't get that I don't think she's capable… I just didn't want her getting hurt! Now is that a bad thing to do?"
"Not in the least," Nancy answered with a shake of the head. "Umm… Well, if it gets your mind off of it, that is, if you want, could you help me sort out some pictures?"
"I'd love to," Toshiro nodded his head and rose. "Dori, I'll look after Namiko if you wish."
"No need, she is already asleep. However, thank you, Toshiro," Odori gave a nod and picked up her sword from her side. "I'll be joining her momentarily."
"Okay… Yours and Jordan's room's upstairs," Toshiro said, and at news of this, Odori stopped and flushed, and turned to Jordan quietly.
"Did you make those arrangements?"
"First I've heard of them," Jordan answered, placing his hands in his pockets. "Urm, we'll figure out something, right?"
"Mm," Odori gave a nod, and she was followed up the stairs by the tall Lupin son. She opened the door to her daughter's by a crack to check on the little girl, and when she saw that Namiko was still sound asleep, she shut the door and continued into hers and Jordan's room.
"This is nice… I'm scared to admit that Yukiko couldn't have made any room match this well, so I guess it was her—"
"Mother," Odori answered quickly and opened her backpack. She removed her sandals, first, and then took down her hair from its tight ponytail as she sat in front of the backpack, working in silence. Jordan found this awkward after a few moments, and cleared his throat and went to unpacking his own suitcase.
"So Toshiro is helping out Nancy," Odori concluded, and Jordan gave a nod. "And Namiko's asleep… Well, we pretty much have the second story of this home to ourselves, then."
"Mm-hm," Jordan agreed absently, and failed to notice Odori walk to the door and casually lock it and then seat herself in front of him.
"So you find refolding your jeans more interesting than me? Perhaps I should take up a hobby," Odori said jokingly.
"Er, sorry, I…"
"Like I stated before, it is just us up here."
"Odori, I, ummm…. I've got to take these shirts downstairs… I… I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I took them out of the dryer, but they aren't as dry as I thought they'd be."
"If I am coming off as some sort of desperate whore to you, you have my apologies. I am not your sister, but I will be the first to admit that even I get lonely, and that is not something easy for me to say."
"Woah, what! D-Dori, you're fine. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to. Damn it, I don't want to push you into anything."
"Nor do I wish to do so with you," Odori answered, and rose. "I am very sorry, I'll leave you to your packing, Jordan."
"Dori… Hey, how about we go off for a little while after all of this, eh? I've got a place in California you might like… It's about half an hour from an all Korean quarter…. After this, we'll go there. I'm just having some issues right now with this girl who says she's Julia's sister is all."
"You don't trust her…"
"Not in the least," Jordan answered with a shake of the head. "I've got the tech guy from my gang running background checks on her, but he hasn't found crap."
"Well, there's always your brother in the ICPO," Odori said with a shrug.
"Ur, yeah… But that'd involve talking with my brother-in-law—Aw, crap…"
"What's wrong?"
"If it couldn't get any worse…" Jordan stood in front of the window, Odori joining him after several moments. "My brother and my brother-in-law… Who is wearing a dress…" Jordan muttered.
"…He's got nice legs…"
"Hey! Don't even look at that!"
"God, who now?" Toshiro grumbled from his living room as he heard the doorbell go off to the now-normal tune of Eidleweiss. "What the hell do you want!" he swung the door open wide, but silenced as he saw it was a tired looking Leo and a shaken Max.
"Mind if we stay over tonight?" asked Leo with a sigh. "And I need a shave…"
"….I'll order pizza," Toshiro gave a sigh and stepped out of the way in order for the two to pass into the living room.
Across the property, Fuji and Yukiko found themselves in the house alone, as Sakura and her boyfriend had gone out of town for the weekend.
"He can be the biggest jerk in the world," Yukiko grumbled.
"Mm-hmm…" Fuji flipped through her magazine complacently as Yukiko sat cross-legged on the living room couch, the baby in her arms.
"I mean…. He thinks I'm friggin' twelve, sometimes!" Yukiko added.
"Yup… Hey, if I were a type of fish, which do you think I'd be? Salmon, royal blue tang, koi, or marlin?"
"What in the hell are you doing?"
"Personality quiz….. I'm thinking salmon," Fuji said with a confident nod after a moment's thought, and circled her selection in the magazine. "And that's two points for question two…"
"Jesus, Fuji…" Yukiko growled and stood. "How can you be so friggin' flippant about friggin' everything! Don't you take anything seriously?"
"VD's," Fuji said after a pause. She chased after Yukiko as the Jigen went storming out of the room, and caught sight of the familiar car in front of Toshiro's house. She thought little of this, however. She was more concerned with Yukiko, at the moment. "Yukiko-chan, I just don't see the big deal in taking things seriously!"
"And that's probably why you're the only one without someone! There, I said it," Yukiko stopped and spun around to face Fuji. "Exactly what everyone was thinking. Namiko's got more sense than you friggin' do sometimes, Fuji!"
"What's the sense in being serious?" Fujiko asked, her voice dropping quietly. "I tried to be serious, and I didn't like it… It just made me sad most of the time. Now why don't we go visit with Ari-chan and Max-chan? Their car's here."
"At Toshiro's? No way…" Yukiko glanced out the window to see the familiar police cruiser, and rocked the baby in her arms. Seeing her arms full, Fuji opened the door and walked out, venturing back into Toshiro's to see the men as well, as Odori and Nancy and baby Namiko in the living room, several boxes of pizza and soda bottles spread about the room.
"Hey, guys! Party and we weren't invited?" Fuji laughed and sat herself on the arm of Max's chair.
"Fuji…" Leo started warningly.
"Fuji, could you please leave me alone?" Max asked quietly.
"Aww… Rough day?" Fuji kissed Max on top of the head and patted him. "You look cute in that blouse…"
"Fuji, could you lay off him?" Leo asked with a stutter.
"Oh, he likes it when I joke around with him…" Fuji laughed and leaned closer into Zenigata. "Don't you, Maxie?"
Max rose from the chair and walked out of the living room calmly enough. It wasn't until he was out of the room and away from the children did he kick a nearby end table, sending it flying from one end of the walkway to the other.
"Maxwell…" Leo jumped out of his chair and ran to Max, nearly falling over the table. "Where are you going? Why the hell did you even do that?"
"Just… Shut UP!" Max shouted and grabbed onto the door handle. "Would you just shut up? I'm fine!"
"Where are you going?" Leo asked sternly.
"I have a mother, and it's not you, Ari," Max hissed and opened the door, and then slammed it behind him.
"….I love you, you know that, right, Yuki?" Toshiro murmured in a wide-eyed whisper.
"I know," Yukiko sighed and kissed him briefly. "And they love one another, but…. What in the hell happened?"
"One of his ex's died," Toshiro answered, looking to Jordan and Odori, who had remained silent through all of this.
"….You're kidding…." Fuji muttered and slunk down into the seat Max had been sitting in only moments ago.
"Nope…. Right in front of him," Jordan leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "We're thinking it the same guy."
"Your brother!" Fuji gasped.
"My what?" Toshiro blinked.
"I… God damn it can you never keep your mouth shut? It's a good thing you and Zenigata never ended up together… God only knows what a loudmouth you two could've made."
"I'm going after him," Fuji decided, and rose from her seat.
"No, let me…" Leo began to walk toward the door, then was touched on the shoulder by his sister.
"Ari… I'll be fine…" Fuji gave a smirk and walked out of the house, and found Max atop his car hood, his chin touching his knees. "Hey, Inspector. Feel like arresting me?"
"Not now, Lupin," Max grumbled.
"…You looked like you wanted to hit me in there, Zenigata…."
"I considered it," Max grumbled. "Why do you even care about me, huh? This isn't any of your business."
"Ohhh but it is," Fuji hopped onto the car hood beside Max and patted him on the knee. "This guy's going to go after our dear sweet Yukiko in time, I fear… She's part of this, too."
"What? How?"
"Your friend contracted a killer, right?"
"How in the hell did you even—"
"I have my sources… Anyway, that isn't important… What is it that it's the same guy who killed someone that was close to Toshiro. So, yeah, this is my battle too, Zenigata. We might not always get along, but when someone hurts my friends, I hurt them. That's how I play my game… Dad was the same way."
"And there's no treasure involved in this?"
"Welllllll maybe there's a teeny, tiny matter of something…" Fuji gave a sly chuckle.
"I knew it…."
"Oh, it's nothing!"
"Don't expect me to look the other way for that, Fuji."
"Who? Me? Awwww c'mon…. Let's go inside! Before everyone eats the pizza on us!" Fuji jumped off of the car and pulled Max off.
"You're like a child…"
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
"I kind of like it sometimes," Max admitted.
Later that night:
Jordan sat up in bed and brushed his hair back, and let out a sigh. Sleep didn't come easy to him, especially in recent months. He nearly tripped over Odori asleep on the floor, and felt the joints in his knees pop as he walked down the flight of stairs and into the kitchen. He stopped at the sound of someone downstairs, in the kitchen precisely, and continued to slowly creep down, straining to hear the female voice.
Nancy was pacing back and forth in the kitchen on a cell phone, and stopped in her tracks as she heard the sounds of someone on the stairway. She peaked her head through the doorway and met eye-to-eye with the elder Lupin, and quickly muttered into the phone, "I have to go." She then slowly slid the phone into her pocket, not taking her eyes off of Jordan.
"No, no I don't trust you," Jordan said quietly.
"I never asked you to," Nancy replied, and brushed past him on her way up the stairs.