Chapter 5

The morning after Jigen made the miraculous transformation into a father, he woke with the irksome feeling that that woman had returned. It was the smell in the air; different from Lupin's cologne, or Goemon's signature scent of sword polish and pickled plums. The smell was floral, a chemical fakeness that burned his nose.

Jigen scowled as he shrugged on his clothes. Shit, couldn't she just leave them alone? She already cheated them out of one profit, was she really so bored to try it again so soon!?

Storming out of his room, he paused at the top of the stairs when he heard her speak. "Oh, you are simply the cutest! You can't be Lupin's child!"

"Uh…Thank you, miss…"

"And so polite too~!"

No. A horrified grimace passed over Jigen's face before he pulled himself together with a shudder. No way in hell would he leave her alone with Shinichi. He was still recovering from his trauma; she would just make it worse! Bolting down the stairs, Jigen skidded to a stop when he saw her holding Shinichi captive in her lap, ignoring how obviously uncomfortable he looked. He growled out, "Let him go, Fujiko."

Fujiko pouted and Shinichi brightened when he saw him, wiggling out of Fujiko's grip and dashing to hug Jigen's legs. "Papa!" he shouted gleefully, smiling up at him. The corners of Jigen's mouth twitched up as he reached down and lifted the kid into his arms.

"Hey, kiddo. Did you sleep well?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yes! And I beat you waking up today!"

"You sure did," Jigen agreed, all the while eyeing Fujiko suspiciously from under his hat. She was just watching them…and it was creeping him out. "What are you doing here, Fujiko? I thought you'd already be out of the country by now." It was best to at least pretend to be civil around her. Lupin would have his hide if he showed her any "disrespect."

Damn woman.

She fluttered her eyes, like he would fall for her innocent act. "Well, after we parted ways last time, I became aware of an…interesting object. It's rather eye catching. And I was hoping—"

"That we'd help you steal it." Jigen scoffed; the nerve of this woman! "After the bullshit you just pulled, you think you can waltz back in here like everything's fine and we'd do you a favor!? Maybe when hell thaws over."

"Look Jigen, I'm sorry about last time, okay!?" She pouted. "But I'm on to something this time! This jewel is worth so much that we can split the profit 3 ways—" Fujiko suddenly stopped talking, eyeing Shinichi who had been watching the conversation with rapt attention.

"He knows were thieves, Fujiko. If he didn't, do you think I'd let him stay in the room while we talk business?"

She crossed her arms and huffed, annoyed. "Well, how was I supposed to know!? It's not every day when you learn that a coworker has a never-before-seen kid!"

"If you say so," Jigen said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, kid, let's get you some breakfast."

It didn't take long to fix up some food, though that was probably because they only had cereal. In the short time it took to finish their meal (their first meal as father and son, a thought that sent a nervous thrill through Jigen), they heard Lupin scream before the man bolted out of his room with a laughing Fujiko behind him. Shinichi flinched at the sound and Jigen glared at Lupin for frightening his son (his son!). Lupin glared right back and asked, "Why didn't you wake me when Fujicakes got here!? She was left all alone with no one but the brat to entertain her!"

In response, Jigen flicked a piece of cereal at him. "Stop acting like it's my job to look after your woman."

Fujiko narrowed her eyes at him and he could see her hand twitch towards where her Browning M1910 was undoubtedly hidden. Shinichi then asked, "Um…excuse me, Miss? Who are you?"

Her face immediately brightened, though Jigen couldn't tell if it was because she genuinely liked Shinichi or because he called her 'Miss.' "Oh, did I forget to introduce myself?" Jigen wanted to scoff and mutter 'apparently,' but held his tongue to prevent an argument. "I'm Fujiko Mine, but you can call me Auntie, sweetheart!"

"I'd prefer if people didn't make the assumption that we're related, Mine," Jigen complained, but his words fell on deaf ears as Fujiko started fussing over Shinichi. Lupin snickered at his predicament.

"—You're way too small for your age! What have they been feeding you?" Funny, Jigen wasn't aware that anyone knew Shinichi's exact age. "And what are you wearing? Lupin, I can't believe you let him go outside wearing those!" Shinichi looked down at his clothes, a well-worn t-shirt and shorts Jigen had fished out of a donations bin in order to replace Shinichi's old and ripped mini-suit. Jobs have been slow to come by as of late and they hadn't been able to afford new clothes as their remaining money was currently aimed at putting food on the table and keeping the lights on.

"Fujicakes, he hasn't been outside of the hideout since he got here, and we can't really afford much right now—"

"No excuses!" she huffed, turning up her nose at Lupin. "I refuse to let my nephew be dressed in rags when he's not even undercover! We're going shopping; I'll pay."

"With the money you stole from us," Jigen grumbled, but allowed Fujiko to take Shinichi out. They were getting free clothes out of the deal and it's not like she couldn't take care of anything that came their way. Despite how often she was captured, Fujiko had saved their asses multiple times.

While the two were out, Lupin and Jigen poured over the file Fujiko left for them. The job was to steal a diamond called the Golden Jubilee that was on loan to Teitan Museum of Art. Another thief, International Thief 1412 had already sent out a notice that he was going to steal it, however their unnamed client wanted them to snatch it first. The pay was incredible; even split 3 ways, it would still be enough for new fake passports, transportation, and enough to live comfortably in a country of their choice for the rest of their lives. Hell, it wouldn't surprise Jigen that that much money would be able to bribe an international pardon from the leaders of INTERPOL.

"Christ, what the hell do these people do for a living?" Lupin said as he flipped through the museum's blueprints. "This place isn't even well guarded. Why are they throwing away so much money when this won't even cause us to break a sweat?"

"Well, it is the biggest diamond in the world," Jigen replied. "Maybe they're just trying to make sure we don't try to sell it to someone else. Or they could be planning to double cross us."

Lupin nodded. "With our luck, it's probably the second. I'll plan something out just in case."

The front door opened and both Fujiko and Shinichi's voices drifted into the room. Shinichi ran inside and instantly clung to Jigen's leg, pressing his face into the fabric of his pants, while Fujiko followed soon after, holding his multiple bags from what looked like designer stores. "How was your shopping trip?" Jigen asked. Shinichi mumbled something into his leg that he couldn't hear. "What did you say?"

"There was a man following us."

Alarm shot through him. He turned to Fujiko, who was looking uncharacteristically serious. "Did you see him?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He was approximately your age, height, and weight. There was a hat covering most of his face, but I could see that he had dark hair and a mustache. We lost him in the alleys, so he doesn't know where we went, but…"

Looking down at his son, Jigen ran a hand through the boy's hair. "Are you alright? Did he try to grab you?"

Shinichi shook his head, blinking back tears. "N-No…I'm just a little scared…" Jigen could understand; Shinichi was probably still terrified of the men who tried to kidnap him. "I…I'm not sure why, but…he was kind of familiar."

"Familiar?"

"Yeah…he walked familiar. Nothing else but that though."