Lupin III Fan Fiction ❯ Daddy's Girl ❯ Complicated ( Chapter 13 )

Daddy's Girl

By Bekka Mouri-Hibiki

(Lupin isn't mine nor is The Golden Gun. Jigen finds Toshiko and Zenigata's ex-wife visits again.)

Part Thirteen: Complicated

" Toshiko! " Lupin could be heard in the distance as he called for the girl. It sounded like he was around the front of the house. The three of them couldn't find the teenager inside and decided to look outside after Goemon said he had found her window open.

Lupin and Jigen had both berated the samurai for not mentioning it until after they had searched the house for it had given the girl a ten-minute head start on them. Since the girl was not familiar with the terrain that surrounded the house there was a possibility she could have an accident. The house was surrounded by dense forest and skirted on two sides by hidden trenches that were pretty deep. Lupin The First had the trenches dug as booby traps in case the police ever discovered the estate but the downside was that the trenches would swallow anyone one up, friend or foe.

" Toshiko! " Goemon's voice echoed Lupin's. From the sound, he had climbed out onto the roof to look for the girl.

" Toshiko! " Jigen called as he made his way into the woods. The sun was setting and he wanted to find the girl before it was completely dark. He thought the night prior had been the last night of the full moon so it was going to very dark once the sun went down.

His mind went to Fujiko, recalling how roughly he had treated her after he had found out what had been going on. ~I wonder if she did get bruises from me grabbing her like that? ~He thought. He also recalled the kiss on the cheek she had given him and how nervous it had made him.

He started to think about what Lupin had said to him as well. ~He's right. Fujiko isn't Theresa. I need to cut her some slack because she's really not as bad as she was. Theresa would have sold her mother if it had helped her to reach one of her goals. ~

He thought about it a little more and realized he had reached the place where he found the blanket. He glanced around, the blanket still in the underbrush and nothing looked disturbed. There was a chance that Chamberlain was the sneaky sort and could have sent someone to hide out to do an ambush when they least expected it. ~Maybe I'm giving the guy too much credit, ~ Jigen considered the fact that Chamberlain didn't know when to shut up.

He sighed and got out a cigarette, lighting it. As he took the first drag, some twigs fell onto his hat from a branch that was way up high. He instinctively grabbed his Magnum and aimed upward to where he felt the twigs had come from. " Who's there? "

There was no answer so he called again. There was nothing but silence so he aimed the gun, " You better speak up or I'm going to shoot! " He shouted.

" It's just me, " Toshiko answered and sounded frightened. " Please don't shoot. "

" Damn. Don't scare me like that, " Jigen put the Magnum back. He looked up again and frowned, " Fucking shit, girl. Why are you in that tree? "

" I climbed up here to think about things, " Toshiko called back.

Jigen tilted his fedora back and squinted as he looked for the girl in the branches. She sounded pretty high up, catching sight of her faded jeans in spite of the coming on of twilight. He realized he was at the base of the tallest tree in the woods, the one he could see from his bedroom widow that towered over all the other trees by at least twenty feet. The tree was probably at least five stories tall and that was just a conservative guess.

" How far up are you? " Jigen finally asked. " I can barely see you. "

" I'm about halfway up, " Toshiko called back. " I don't know if I can get back down. I wasn't scared when I climbed up here but now I am. "

" Christ, " Jigen said. " I'm coming up there so don't move. "

" Are you going to help me down? " Toshiko called back.

" Yes, " Jigen grabbed a branch and pulled himself up. He clenched his cigarette in his teeth as he carefully chose his path between the places where the other trees' branches had tangled with the tree he was in and focused on Toshiko's jeans as a reference point. " Can you see me yet? " He called as he slowly made his way up.

" No, " Toshiko called to him.

Jigen continued to climb but decided to lose the cigarette. He called to her as it fell from his teeth, " Are you sure you're only halfway up? "

" Maybe I'm two-thirds, " Toshiko replied sheepishly. " My mind was somewhere else. "

He watched the cigarette fall through the branches and it all but vanished when it hit the ground. ~Damn… this is high. How was she able to do it? ~

" It will get easier. I can see you and you're about to clear where the other branches stop, " Toshiko said.

" Thanks for the progress report. I'll be there in no time now, " Jigen replied with a hint of sarcasm. He looked up and caught sight of Toshiko's pants again. " I see you. Don't move. "

" How are you going to get me down? " Toshiko looked over the branch she was sitting on.

" I'll figure something out, " Jigen grunted as he reached a branch a few feet below her. He got on it then glanced at her again, " Hang on. I'm coming up. "

Toshiko grabbed onto the branch as Jigen pulled himself up and sat down in front of her. " Wow. You climb well for a smoker, " She commented with a hint of awe.

" What the hell are you doing up this high? " Jigen snapped as he glared at her. He wasn't very happy about having to climb the tree. Towers, walls and buildings were a different matter entirely because trees could be unpredictable not to mention dangerous.

" I told you, " Toshiko cringed and pulled back from him. She looked away, " I needed to think about things. "

" Couldn't you do that in your friggin' room? " Jigen got out another cigarette. He lit it. He took a long drag off of it. He exhaled the smoke and started in on Toshiko again. " Have you lost your damn mind? Do you know how dangerous this is? "

Toshiko started picking at the bark under her fingers. She shut her eyes, " I do. "

" Do you know what could happen to you if you fall from this height? " Jigen asked. Toshiko didn't reply so he said, " You'd be a sack of broken bones. You'd be in bed for months… if you didn't break your neck on the way down. "

" Maybe I will this time, " Toshiko muttered.

" What do you mean 'this time'? " Jigen arched an eyebrow. He got a bad feeling his gut as he thought about what the teenager had meant.

" Never mind, " Toshiko said. " I was talking to myself. "

" Damn it, girl. You make no sense at all, " Jigen moved closer to Toshiko. He grabbed her jaw and she took a sharp breath as he forced her to face him. " Goemon told us you climbed Tokyo Tower. Why did you go up there? "

Toshiko trembled a little as she looked past Jigen. " It's not any of your business why I did that. "

Jigen gripped her chin between his thumb and index finger as he looked into her eyes. " I'll tell you what I think. I think you climbed up there to off yourself but you got scared just like you're scared now. Am I right? "

Toshiko's eyes went wide, " You don't understand… "

" I understand it all a little too well, " Jigen found himself really looking at the girl. He really hadn't noticed it before but she was very pretty. He was too angry to do anything but glare and he knew it was scaring her.

" How could you? How could you even start to understand why I did it? " Toshiko still wouldn't look at Jigen. He could feel her trembling under his grip.

" My little sister did the same thing… except she was successful, " Jigen said gravely. " It wasn't Tokyo Tower but the fall was fatal. Sometimes, I can still see them scraping her up off the street. "

Toshiko took a sharp breath and looked at Jigen. He tightened his grip on her jaw so she couldn't look away again. " Let me tell you, she had a lot to live for but she lost it all when she stepped off that building. YOU have a lot to live for and I'm not going to let you fall out of this tree. "

" No I don't, " Toshiko shook her jaw loose from Jigen's fingers. " I'm useless. All I am is a bother to my stepfather; a pain to my mother and my dad doesn't give a damn about me. All he cares about is catching you guys and I hate him! "

" Then why did you want to get revenge for him? " Jigen glared at Toshiko. " You are one conflicted kid, you know that? "

" I am not a kid! " Toshiko shouted.

" Then quit acting like one, " Jigen growled. " Adults don't run away from their problems. They deal with them! "

" But if I die, then I won't have problems anymore. "

Jigen spit out his cigarette and moved closer to Toshiko, grabbing her by the shoulders. " That's so selfish of you. You may not have your problems any more but have you bothered to think about the problems it will cause for everyone else if you kill yourself? "

Toshiko had been struggling against Jigen's grip but she stilled. She shook her head slowly, " I haven't. "

" Then I want you to. Think about your mother. You say you're a pain to her but has she ever said that to you? " Jigen gave Toshiko a shake. " I want you to think really hard. Has she ever said it? "

Toshiko thought about it and realized that her mother had never said she was a pain. In fact, they depended on one another before her stepfather had come into the picture. " No. My stepfather is really strict though and tells me I'm a worthless failure. "

" Don't listen to him, " Jigen said. " He's full of shit. You've still got time to make something of yourself. You're what? Sixteen? "

Toshiko nodded, " Yes. "

" You're still a friggin' kid. How can he say that shit? " Jigen said.

" Stop calling me a kid, " Toshiko muttered.

" You seem like one to me, " Jigen replied. " Now, how do you think Pops would feel if you checked out? "

" I don't know, " Toshiko shut her eyes. " I don't know how he feels about me at all. "

" What happened at the hospital? " Jigen said. " Wasn't he happy to see you? "

" He was then he recognized Goemon and it all went downhill from there, " Toshiko sighed.

" Shit. He's got sharp eyes, " Jigen muttered as he glanced away. He looked at Toshiko again, " I want to know why you want to ruin your chances of finding out how your dad feels about you? "

Toshiko looked downward, " Maybe I don't want to know. "

" You have got to learn to make up your mind and stick with your decision. You can't have a good life if you're always struggling with yourself " Jigen sighed.

" I should just die, " Toshiko muttered.

" I don't ever want to hear you say that again, " Jigen grabbed Toshiko's jaw again and made her look at him. She looked off over his shoulder instead of at his face. He glared at her, " Look me in the eyes. "

" I can't, " Toshiko muttered.

" Are you scared of me? " Jigen asked.

" You shot at me and you're shouting at me so of course I'm scared, " Toshiko whispered.

" You had a gun pointed at my best friend's head, " Jigen stated. " What did you think you were going to get out of shooting Lupin anyway? "

" I thought I could get my dad back, " Toshiko muttered.

" If you don't love him then why did you want him back? " Jigen furrowed his brow. " You are confusing the hell out of me. One minute you hate your father and the next you love him. "

Toshiko sniffled as tears started to fill her eyes, " I love him but I hate him. I love him because he's my daddy but I hate him… "

" For not being there for you, " Jigen finished her sentence.

" Yeah, " Toshiko muttered and sniffled again.

Jigen shook his head, " I just don't understand you. If you want to, we can talk it over in the house and we can sort this mess out. The only thing I can say is that killing yourself isn't the right way to take care of your problems. It's a coward's way out. "

Silence fell between them, the only sounds being that of birds singing and Toshiko's soft sobs. Jigen felt bad about having to treat her roughly but he had to get through to her somehow. He let go of her chin and let his other hand slide down her arm until he reached her hand. He placed it on top of hers, giving them a squeeze.

" I didn't mean to scare you, babe. You have to understand though. I know you're just confused right now. Everyone is at sixteen and you just need to work through it. If you need help, don't be afraid to swallow your pride and ask. We want to help you, " He said gently.

" Mr. Jigen? " Toshiko whispered.

" Yeah? " Jigen replied.

" Can I ask you for a favor? "

" Anything. "

" Could you just hold me for a little while until I'm not scared to climb down? " She glanced at him, the blush on her cheeks becoming deeper.

" As long as you promise not to do this again, " Jigen said firmly.

Toshiko bit her lip then nodded, " I promise. "

" That's a good girl, " Jigen said and closed the remaining gap between them. She slipped her arms around him and leaned into his chest. " I'll stay here until you think you can climb down, okay? "

" Okay, " Toshiko whispered.

Jigen held her for a long moment then pulled back to look her in the face. " Can I ask you something? "

" I guess, " Toshiko furrowed her brow. " What? "

" Are you any good at darts? "

" No. Why do you ask? " Toshiko sounded puzzled.

" Never mind. "

**

" Jigen! Where are you? " Lupin called from the ground below. Goemon followed close behind him.

" He must not be far, " Goemon reached down and picked up a cigarette off the ground. He pointed to the ashes in the grass, " It burned itself out. He must have dropped it for some reason "

" Damn…" Lupin muttered. " First Toshiko disappears now Jigen. Is there a black hole somewhere on this property? Oh wait. There are two. "

" I doubt they got that far, " Goemon said stiffly. He looked upward and squinted in the growing darkness. " Lupin. "

" Yeah? " Lupin said then looked up in the same direction as Goemon. He narrowed his eyes. He saw Toshiko's jeans just barely through the branches as well as Jigen's slacks.

" They're up there, " Goemon said.

" I can see that. How in the hell did they get up there? " Lupin was surprised to see Jigen and Toshiko as high up as they were.

" How else? " Goemon replied. " They climbed. "

" I figured they flew, " Lupin's comment dripped with sarcasm. He whistled loudly the called out to Jigen.

" I found her, " Jigen called back.

" Thanks for stating the obvious, " Lupin said. " Is she okay? "

Lupin heard Jigen ask Toshiko is she was ready to climb down. " She says she's still scared. Go get a ladder from the garage and I'll bring her down. "

Lupin looked at Goemon, " You heard the man. "

" I am not your servant, " Goemon muttered.

" But you are Toshiko's. Fetch boy, " Lupin pointed towards the garage.

" Fine then. I'll get the ladder but I will go up to help bring her down, " Goemon said then left.

**

Zenigata woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his hospital room door. He wondered if Toshiko had come back or if it was his ex-wife again. " Who's there? " He called.

" Koichi, it's me. "

" Toshi, " Zenigata felt his blood run cold for a second. He wanted to tell her that Toshiko was okay but knew it would be a shock for her to find whom she was okay with. " Come in. "

Toshi pushed the door open and walked it. A rather authoritarian looking fellow in a suit and tie followed her. She shut the door when he was in the room and put her hand out. " Koichi this is Ryousuke. "

" I am to assume your are her husband? " Zenigata arched an eyebrow. Ryousuke looked like he was indeed a strict person. He was perfectly groomed and his suit pressed precisely.

" That is correct. I am to assume you are her former husband then, " Ryousuke's voice sounded like it had gotten a dose of starch as well. " That also leads me to assume that you are Toshiko's father. "

" Yes I am, " Zenigata said firmly. He had heard of Ryousuke from family friends and he didn't like what he had heard. According to a few, he was the reason Toshiko had decided to move out for he had been very strict on the girl.

" I have come here to discuss her with you, " Ryousuke glanced at Toshi. " She thought it would be best. "

" If you care about her, " Zenigata shrugged.

Toshi narrowed her eyes, " Of course he cares! How could you say such a thing? "

Zenigata looked at his ex-wife, " I think Toshiko would still be at home if he did care. "

Ryousuke cleared his throat, " I do care but I feel that she needs discipline to overcome her problems. We came to odds over that and she ran away in the middle of the night. Since then, she has drifted from friend to friend and refuses to see Toshi if I am with her. "

" She probably feels like the air is being sucked out of the room, " Zenigata muttered under his breath. He was feeling that way as well.

" Well… I see where she gets her smart mouth from, " Ryousuke muttered to Toshi. " Does her sloppy nature come from him as well? "

Zenigata glared at Ryousuke, " What do you mean by that? "

" She is disorganized, " Ryousuke replied. " That's what I mean. You need a front-end loader to even get into her room. "

Zenigata thought about for a moment, recalling when he was a teenager. His father had said something similar about him. Matter of fact, the ICPO chief had said that Zenigata would need a front-end loader to even see the top of his desk and that had just been a month prior.

" She can't help it, " Toshi sighed. " She has so much on her mind. You know that, Ryousuke. "

" Yes, I do. I think she needs to concentrate more on her studies than on building those inane gadgets she's always dreaming up, " Ryousuke sounded like he was getting angry.

" Whoa. She builds stuff too? " Zenigata arched an eyebrow. He had built little gadgets and such when he was younger. He now used that skill to come up with gadgets to catch Lupin.

Toshi sighed, " Yes. When Toshiko was about six or seven, she found the keys to your workroom. She went in and found your gadgets you left behind and started working with them. She took to them like a fish would to water. "

" It is a useless hobby, " Ryousuke scoffed. " She could use that time to study. "

" Hey! It's not useless! " Zenigata slammed a fist down on the bed. " It's good for someone to have mechanical knowledge! She could create some new toy kids will go nuts over and be a millionaire! "

" Or she could fritter her time away making useless things! " Ryousuke intoned sourly.

' It's a good skill! She'll make something of it! " Zenigata growled.

" I suppose you are going to say that being able to climb anything like a damned monkey is a good skill to have too? " Ryousuke countered sharply.

" Toshiko can climb? " Zenigata looked at Toshi. When Toshi was younger, she could climb anything and was notorious for saving stranded kittens from huge trees. She had even scared Zenigata a few times with the heights she could scale.

Toshi nodded, " Yes. It seems she got that from me. I encouraged it when she was small because it would wear her out and make her sleep. "

" Oh, " Zenigata sighed.

" It was a bad idea indeed but what was a single mother to do? " Ryousuke commented harshly.

Toshi growled and glared at Ryousuke, " Exactly. Now, can we please talk about HOW we are going to find my daughter instead of who her bad habits come from? "

Zenigata nodded, " I'll look for her once I'm out of this place. "

Ryousuke arched an eyebrow, " How do you propose to do that? You can't even catch a man you've been chasing for years so how will you be able to find Toshiko? "

" She's my daughter. I will find her, " Zenigata retorted sharply.

" It is out of the question. I will hire a private investigator to search for her. You won't have to worry about her at all, " Ryousuke said. He gave Zenigata a cold smile, " That should be rather easy for you since you've not worried about her so far. "

" I would have if I had known anything was wrong, " Zenigata gave Toshi a sideways glance. " It's just that some information was kept from me and I was lead to believe everything was fine. "

" I didn't want you to worry, " Toshi turned her glare to Zenigata. She narrowed her eyes and hissed, " I didn't think you'd want to be bothered since you were so busy with Lupin. "

" Well I won't be busy at all for at least six weeks so I can look for Toshiko, " Zenigata said. He figured the pain meds were helping keep his temper in check for he would have been yelling under normal circumstances. He also knew that under normal circumstances, he probably would have decked Ryousuke for talking about Toshiko in the manner he had been speaking of her.

" I'm letting Ryousuke hire the private eye, " Toshi said sharply. " By the time you get out of here, it may be too late. It could be too late now. She could already be… "

Ryousuke pulled Toshi to him as she began to sob. " Settle down dear. I told you coming to see this buffoon would do nothing. I already had my mind made up to hire the investigator but I wanted to respect your part in this mess. "

" Toshiko's fine, " Zenigata blurted out without thinking.

Toshi sniffled and looked at Zenigata with her tear filled eyes. " How can you say that? You don't know anything about her! "

Zenigata moved his mouth like a fish out of water for a few seconds then squared his shoulders, " My sixth sense says she's fine. "

Toshi rolled her eyes, " There he goes again. Ryousuke, let's go. "

Zenigata watched as Ryousuke and Toshi left, mentally kicking himself. He had wanted to keep Toshiko being with the Lupin Gang from Toshi because he knew it would upset her but mentioning his sixth sense seemed to distress her more. He felt that he was nothing but a crazy fool in her eyes. He sighed once the door was closed and muttered; " I know she's okay because she was here. "

**

Lupin looked at Goemon, " Damn. "

" Yes. That was very enlightening but I feel somewhat guilty about hearing it, " Goemon nodded.

" I think we should keep Toshiko here a little longer, " Lupin said. " It sounds like the parents have some issues of their own to work out. "

" All three of them sound like they need a therapist instead of Toshiko, " Goemon agreed.

Lupin got out a cigarette; " I forgot to say thanks for bugging the hospital room while you were there. "

" It was very rational thinking, " Goemon said. " You knew the sunglasses would irk him. "

" He didn't see the bug when it fell off, did he? " Lupin arched an eyebrow.

" I do not think so. He seemed a little off with all those medications they have him on, " Goemon looked towards the door. " Are you planning on using her somehow now? "

" After hearing about her mechanical aptitude I can't help but think she might be useful, " Lupin sighed. " Hell, she might be able to help me out with some of my gadgets I can't get to work. "

" I think her involvement might be unavoidable now, " Goemon intoned grimly. He shut his eyes, " She does have skills that could be considered useful to us. "

" We already know she can climb like a cat but I'll have to test her mechanical ability. She could rival Fujiko and be a lot easier to get through an air duct to boot. "

" She is petite, " Goemon nodded.

Lupin smoked his cigarette for a few moments as he thought about the ramifications of taking Toshiko along. They were at a slight disadvantage without Fujiko but at least Toshiko would be more loyal. Toshiko could be trump card of sorts if Fujiko had defected at the mention of her pending demise. He knew her well enough to know she was a coward when it came to death.

" What are you thinking about, Lupin? " Goemon asked.

Lupin sighed, " When we go in there, be careful of Fujiko. "

" Come again? "

" Taking her nature into consideration she could be a threat, " Lupin felt like the words he was saying were coming from somewhere else.

" She is apt to change sides under threat of death I know. "

" I just don't want her hurt. It's only self-preservation if she's joined that bastard but make sure she doesn't lure you to any traps, " Lupin looked towards the door. " I know I don't have to tell Jigen that. "

" It is impossible for him to trust her, " Goemon nodded. " I believe he'll be going in there for that man stealing his identity. "

" Yeah, " Lupin looked at Goemon. " What do you think is going on? "

Goemon looked confused but realized Lupin's mind had jumped to another subject. " Are you speaking of the little scene we found? "

" I thought Toshiko was scared of him as much as she's been avoiding him, " Lupin walked over to where Goemon was sitting.

" He climbed up there to get her, " Goemon said. " She must be grateful to some extent.

" I've been thinking about last night, " Lupin's gaze drifted to the door again. " I thought she was looking at me but maybe she was looking at someone else. "

" She was about to tell me who it was when Jigen arrived at my house. For a moment I thought she had told me it was Jigen, " Goemon glanced up at Lupin. " I soon found out that she was only telling me Jigen had arrived. She did however tell me that she wasn't looking at you. "

" You were at the other end of the table with Fujiko, " Lupin looked down at Goemon. " She wasn't looking in your direction so that only leaves one person she could have been looking at. "

Goemon got to his feet quickly, " You aren't saying what I think you are saying, are you? "

" Goemon, " Lupin put his hand on the samurai's shoulder. " If you're thinking what I'm thinking then Jigen's going to have a problem on his hands. "

" Indeed. He doesn't seem to be very thrilled with her being around. If your hunch is correct he will have much more to worry about that her presence, " Goemon shut his eyes.