Lupin tensed at the sight of his friend in such a pitiful state. The red stain on Jigen's side made it clear that his stitches had come undone again, and not a single one of these cockroaches had bothered to tend to him. A bruise was forming on his face, and he limped slightly as he entered the room. Without his hat, a few strands of hair fell limply over his face, and Jigen made no effort to push them back.
But the worst part—the thing Lupin found hardest to bear—was the glassy, vacant look in his best friend's eyes. Jigen wasn't even looking at him. He was like a ghost, barely there.
"He only responds to me now," Zorin said smugly. He gave Jigen a hard shove in the back, causing him to tumble right in front of Lupin. "Look at this! The great Jigen, best gunman in the world, reduced to nothing but an obedient puppet. Pathetic."
Lupin felt a cold fury rise within him.
"Last chance, Lupin. Where is the treasure? It'd be a real shame if the Black Dawn was too late to stop the ex-partner of the infamous Lupin from putting a bullet in his skull, wouldn't it?"
"Well, well, well… Looks like you're going to need to resort to brute force, because I'm not saying a word. Do your worst."
Zorin's face flushed red, like a ripe tomato. The remark had hit hard. He did not appreciate being mocked. With a sharp gesture, he pointed at one of his henchmen.
"You! Bring me his belongings."
The henchman left and quickly returned, carrying Jigen's hat and magnum.
"Jigen," Zorin said coldly. "Aim at him."
Under the grip of hypnosis, Jigen had no choice but to comply. His muscles moved on their own, taking the magnum from the henchman's hands. A well-worn reflex—one that no longer felt like his own—lifted the gun and aimed it directly at Lupin's head.
Lupin watched Jigen move like a puppet, powerless against Zorin's cruelty. He held Jigen's gaze, calm and unwavering.
Faced with that unwavering confidence, something deep within Jigen began to resurface. Lupin's gaze was like a beacon cutting through an ocean of fog, rekindling a consciousness Zorin had crushed. Slowly, Jigen remembered who he was—and who stood before him. Lupin's smile softened.
An inner resistance began to grow. Though his movements were still controlled by hypnosis, a mental battle had begun. Jigen clung to every memory, every moment shared with Lupin, and every trial they had overcome together.
"Since you refuse to answer me, Lupin," Zorin said in a singsong tone, "I have no choice but to ask Jigen… to kill you."
Lupin tutted and shook his head. When he spoke again, Zorin had no idea what he was rambling about.
"See, that's how I know you're not a good thief." Lupin said, his voice almost pitying. "That's not how you do it. In fact, that's the absolute worst way to do it."
"Do what?" Zorin snapped.
"Stealing!" Lupin raised his hands way high, forgetting for a moment that they were supposed to be tied behind his back. He hastily dropped them back into position. "You may be a decent criminal —although I doubt it, considering your style—, but you're not a good thief."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Jigen-chan over here!" Lupin jerked his head towards his best man. "You could have gone after Fujiko. Or even Goemon, provided he didn't slice you into sashimi first. But noOOooOo. You sir, decided to aim way to high! You thought you'd steal the cart before the horse!"
"That's not how the saying goes!" Zorin was staring to loose it. He had never experienced a wild Lupin first hand and, like many of the thief's adversaries before him, he had severely underestimated Lupin's talent at being annoying. "Jigen obeys me! He is perfectly capable of killing you."
"He is, but he won't!" Lupin shot back, his grin widening. "Because you stole the wrong guy! Jigen has absolute faith in me! He would never betray me!"
"That is not betrayal when he is not even aware of his actions!" Zorin yelled, his frustration mounting.
"Is too!"
"You fucker—!"
"Icarus!" Lupin hissed agressivelly.
That did it. Zorin had had enough. He spun sharply, glaring at Jigen with barely restrained fury.
"Jigen! Shoot him!"
The command made Jigen's finger twitch. He was already aiming at Lupin's head, but the hypnosis forced his arm to shift, aligning the barrel with Lupin's heart. His finger trembled on the trigger, obeying that deep-seated feeling screaming at him not to pull it.
Something deep inside him was resisting. Lupin's antics and his unwavering confidence had stirred the emotions Jigen kept locked away. Hidden beneath layers of loyalty and camaraderie, his love was now clawing its way to the surface, desperately fighting to stop him from pulling the trigger.
The gun trembled in Jigen's hand, its faint metallic rattle a testament to the battle raging inside him. Zorin's command held no sway over the unyielding bound that Jigen and Lupin shared. Sweat trickled down his brow, and his eyes narrowed under the crushing weight of the hypnotic order.
Lupin said nothing. He simply watched Jigen, meeting his gaze, silently supporting him. He didn't need words. His calm presence was a silent reassurance that he believed in Jigen—that he could fight back, and that he would win.
"What are you doing?!" Zorin bellowed, his voice thick with rage. "Shoot him!"
But Jigen didn't.
Lupin's smile grew, radiant and sure. There was no fear in his eyes, only a serene and profound trust. He believed, with every fiber of his being, that no force in the world could make Jigen betray him.
"My heart belongs to you, Jigen," Lupin said, his voice steady. "Don't let anyone tell you what to do with it."
Something cracked. The hypnosis was faltering. Slowly, Jigen found the strength to lower the gun, even though the movement felt unnatural and strained. The motion felt unnatural, every muscle straining against invisible chains.
The spark of will and loyalty that had always delighted Lupin was back in Jigen's eyes.
Jigen's hand shook violently, the barrel still too close to Lupin's heart for comfort. His boss wasn't out of danger yet. Every muscle in Jigen's body fought against the command, and the effort was draining him, his breathing grewing ragged with the effort.
Lupin was everything to Jigen. He was the one who had pulled Jigen out of the shadows of the underworld, had given him a family, a purpose, and a reason to keep going. He had shown him there was more to life than solitude and violence. He had taught him to use his skills for more than just killing.
Jigen loved Lupin.
He would never, never shoot him.
The hypnosis was crumbling with each passing second. The barrel of the gun inched further and further away from its original target, centimeter by painstaking centimeter.
Zorin immediately realized his control was slipping. He shouted in frustration, "Jigen! Obey me!"
In a voice rough from the strain, Jigen growled back, "I… only obey… Lupin."
Stunned, Zorin stumbled back a step. He fumbled to retrieve his shield.
A gunshot rang out, sharp and deafening. The weapon was blasted from Zorin's hands before he could strap it to his arm.
The bullet skimmed dangerously close to Lupin, tearing a strip of fabric from his jacket before ricocheting off a wall and striking Zorin in the arm.
Jigen was still facing Lupin, but he had managed to turn his head slightly. One pale eye, barely visible beneath the dirty strands of hair falling across his face, locked onto Zorin with seething rage. Jigen looked murderous. For the first time, Zorin regarded him as a genuine threat.
For the first time, he was afraid of Jigen.
Lupin, however, burst into laughter, the sound filling the entire room.
"Well, that's enough," he said. "I've played along with your little game, Zorin, but honestly, I've had just about enough of you."
With a quick motion, Lupin freed his wrists. The ropes fell uselessly to the floor. Zorin watched, wide-eyed, as his trap unraveled before him. His face went pale.
Lupin brought two fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. The window behind them suddenly shattered, a flurry of broken glass scattering across the room. Jacques was hurled through the window, landing with a thud and sliding to a stop at Zorin's feet.
Then Goemon leaped gracefully into the room, the soft clack of his wooden sandals striking the floor as he landed in front of Lupin, standing protectively at Jigen's side.
"Jigen. Are you alright?" he asked immediately.
Jigen didn't respond to Goemon, but his gaze flicked briefly toward him. Every ounce of his focus was locked in a mental battle against Zorin's command. His magnum seemed magnetically drawn to Lupin, and Jigen had to fight tooth and nail to reclaim every precious centimeter.
Breaking the tension, Jacques coughed, reminding everyone of his pitiful presence. Propping himself up on his forearms with great difficulty, he winced as shards of glass dug into his skin. His gaze darted fearfully to Zorin, who somehow managed to radiate both fury and desperation.
"I… I warned you, Zorin!" Jacques stammered.
Zorin took an instinctive step back, his wide eyes darting between Lupin, who was still grinning with infuriating insolence; Goemon, whose bloodied blade bore silent testament to the battle he had just fought; and Jigen, side-eyeing him, radiating a seething, silent rage.
Goemon, ever composed, gave his blade a sharp flick, sending a spray of blood droplets onto the floor. "Everything is ready, Lupin. The henchmen are no longer an issue."
Lupin nodded in approval. He turned to Zorin one last time, his expression mockingly amused. "Gogo, we need to get rid of that hypnotic shield. It's been far too much of a nuisance."
Goemon raised his katana. Zorin, though startled by the sudden turn of events, wouldn't have earned his title if he hadn't been prepared for a fight. He reattached his weapon-shield to his wrist and extended the blade affixed to it. Its was nearly as long as his forearm.
Zorin declared solemnly:
"Lupin, you stole my files and killed my men… but I won't go down without a fight."
The clash between them was swift and fierce. Zorin wielded his shield-weapon with unexpected mastery, using the shield to deflect Goemon's strikes and the blade to counterattack. The two combatants were evenly matched, each predicting the other's moves with uncanny precision.
Meanwhile, Lupin turned to Jigen, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Jigen? Hang in there, buddy."
His gaze searched Jigen's face, desperately looking for the spark he'd seen earlier. But Jigen's expression remained vacant, his body still locked under Zorin's hypnotic command. Lupin's hand tightened on his shoulder, a silent attempt to offer comfort and grounding.
The tide of the fight seemed to shift in Goemon's favor. With a swift move, he shattered the blade of Zorin's weapon and prepared to deliver a powerful strike to the center of the shield, aiming to break the hypnosis. But he was stopped before he could do so.
Jacques, still sprawled on the floor and clearly desperate, grabbed the samurai's leg with all his strength and yanked him down. Goemon lost his balance and landed hard on his backside.
Zorin, one eye swollen shut from the fight, seized the opportunity provided by the distraction.
"Jigen! Shoot Goemon!" he commanded.
The magnum turned toward Goemon far faster than it had when aimed at Lupin. A wave of panic surged through Jigen as horrifying visions flashed through his mind.
"Sorry, Jigen," Lupin said.
Before Jigen could process the words, a searing, explosive pain erupted in his chest. Lupin had driven his elbow directly into Jigen's wound. For a brief moment, Jigen lost control. He doubled over in agony, pulling the trigger involuntarily. The shot cracked through the air but embedded itself harmlessly in a distant wall, far from Goemon.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Goemon freed himself from Jacques' grasp with a well-placed hilt strike, ensuring the Frenchman would no longer pose a problem.
In the blink of an eye, Goemon was back in position. Wasting no time, he delivered a final, devastating strike directly to the center of Zorin's shield. The weapon shattered under the sheer force of the blow, shards of metal flying in every direction.
Jigen finally felt the mental grip of Zorin dissipate, his consciousness snapping back into place. Gasping for breath, he realized Lupin was holding him up and turned to face him.
"Lupin… are you okay?"
Lupin let out a small, strained laugh. "Ha. Idiot. I should be the one asking you that."
Jigen straightened up slowly. The grunt who had brought his belongings had fled long ago, followed by Jacques, who had left a visible trail of blood on the floor. Now that the battle was over, Goemon had Zorin at swordpoint, and anger flared within Jigen. Zorin had gone too far. This man had manipulated him, forcing him to threaten Lupin and Goemon.
Pushing past the pain and fatigue, Jigen forced himself upright. His magnum was itching to put a bullet in this fucker's skull. But he held back. Instead, he reloaded his weapon with more force than necessary, a sneer etched across his face. He wouldn't kill Zorin—he wasn't that kind of guy—but damn, the temptation was strong.
Zorin was going to rot in prison, but this time, that didn't feel like enough. He had made him raise a hand against his partners.
The punch had been deeply satisfying, even though his hand was now throbbing painfully.
"Do your own dirty work next time."
Jigen was still angry, but the punch had taken the edge off his fury.
Zorin rubbed his jaw. He had realized he'd lost, but his expression remained composed, as befitting the leader of a mercenary group.
"If you don't kill me, Jigen, I'll come back for you. You and your group have taken my men and my organization's reputation. Killing you three is now my only goal."
"We'll see what prison has to say about that," Jigen shot back.
In the distance, the sound of sirens echoed. Lupin had surely tipped off Zenigata somehow. Zorin's expression made it clear just how much he despised that idea. Lupin stepped in, now that Jigen was done with Zorin.
"Sorry, Zorin! Jigen's calling the shots tonight!" He picked up the gunman's hat, which the careless henchman had dropped during his escape. "You didn't really think that little stunt of yours would work on us, did you?"
He chuckled. Jigen retrieved his hat and headed toward the door, eager to leave this damp, grimy place behind. The sirens grew louder, but the three thieves weren't in a hurry. The police would be easy to evade.
Just before stepping out, Lupin turned back for one last look at Zorin. The mercenary leader looked almost pathetic, sitting amid the shattered remnants of his weapon.
"Oh, by the way," Lupin added, a mischievous glint in his eye, "if you can, let the Cercle know we'll be paying them a little visit soon."
If Zorin understood the weight of the threat, he didn't show it. Without waiting for a reply, Lupin turned away, following Jigen and Goemon close behind.
The police didn't even notice the three as Zenigata led his team into the safehouse. There, they found Zorin, and soon after, every newspaper in Europe ran headlines about the arrest of the leader of one of the continent's most notorious mercenary groups.
If Zenigata suspected Lupin's involvement, he didn't breathe a word of it to the press.