Lupin III Fan Fiction ❯ The Picture, the Promise, and the Protectors ❯ Leaving on a Jet Plane ( Chapter 2 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the aforementioned characters in this work of fiction, they all belong to their respected owners.

Hi, guys!

J.D. here, hoping you liked the last chapter. Well, I guess you did if you bothered to read through the first one. Or maybe you're here to see how bad it can get. In any event, I'd appreciate any questions or comments about this story, so I can make it bigger and better, and we'll both be happy. Good? Good. Now, on with the show!

The Promise, the Picture, and the Protectors

Chapter 2: Day Two-Leaving on a jet plane….

'Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC.

Didn't get to bed last night.

On the way the paper bag was on my

Knee

Man I had a dreadful flight.'-

The Beatles, 'Back in the U.S.S.R.'

"How's Yukiko doing in there!?" Lupin called from the bathroom. He was laid out on the couch reading a Smithsonian magazine, glancing over potential heists and checking them off with a marker. Fujiko had gone out later that day with a tall blonde man whom Lupin thought of shooting, and Jigen and Goemon were stuck helping Yukiko get ready for the morning.

"Well…." Goemon opened the door and stepped out with Jigen. Lupin looked over and laughed until he fell on the couch, and even then he continued to laugh. Both were soaking wet. Jigen removed his hat from his head and went to wring it out, and a bar of soap fell onto the floor.

"I think we got more wet then her…" Jigen murmured, "I'm going to go change. I can't believe this. Two nights ago I was smoking and drinking it up. Today I have a soaked hat and a rubber duck in my shorts."

"Huh. So that's where it went," Goemon muttered to himself.

"Yeah, hurry up, Jigen. We don't want to be late. Our flight's nine tonight, and we have a lot to do between then and now," said Lupin.

"I told you I ain't going!" Jigen said angrily.

"Why the hell not!?" Lupin asked indignantly, "Did you steal money or something from someone over there!?"

"Listen, I don't have to go if I don't want to. I'll take care of Yukiko while you're all gone," Jigen suggested.

"She's coming," Lupin replied calmly, "We can't leave the kid here on her own, you know. We're all going, like one big happy family! You hear me-A happy family!"

Yukiko at this time exited the bathroom, dressed in a blue dress that Fujiko had helped her pick out the day before. Fujiko had enjoyed shopping with the little girl; it gave her a sense of power, and she enjoyed power, "Hi, guys! Where's Fujiko?"

"She went out for a little while, but she oughta be back soon," Lupin said reassuredly, "Boy, she oughta be back soon, if she plans on seeing this thing through," he added in a mutter, shaking his head.

"Okay," Yukiko said with a smile, "So, I'm going to Osaka with you guys?"

"Yeah, sure as hell looks like it," Jigen muttered.

"Hey, watch your mouth around the kid!" said Lupin.

"Jesus, this is like that Ted Dansen movie, only worse!" Jigen muttered, shaking his head and storming off into his room, leaving a trail of water behind him. This would have been a solemn moment if he hadn't squeaked with each step he took towards the door.

"I didn't think anything was worse than that movie, except for the fact that it had a sequel," said Goemon.

"Is he all right?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah, he's just really crabby a lot," Lupin answered, "He gets like that sometimes. Maybe it's the weather… He's old enough to get arthritis, isn't he?"

"Speaking of that, it looks like it's going to storm," said Goemon, glancing out of the window. The once bright sun had vanished into ever thickening gray and black clouds. "I hope this doesn't affect our flight schedule in any way."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Boy I can't wait to get my sticky little fingers on that map! Aw, man, this is gonna be great!" Lupin said happily.

"It's good to see you've gotten your mind off of Fujiko," said Goemon.

Lupin sighed heavily and looked down at the coffee table, "Yeah, but now I'm thinking of her again! Thanks a freakin' lot, Goemon!"

"I better pack," Goemon said after a pause, and turned to leave. He walked into his bedroom, leaving Lupin and Yukiko alone.

"So…." Lupin trailed off, "Kid…. Do you think you could tell me your mother's name, to help me out a little?"

"Yoko Sakamoto," Yukiko said with a wide smile, going over and sitting down next to Lupin, "She was really pretty. She liked horses, and old movies. We used to watch them together a lot before she got sick!"

"Huh… Intriguing…" Lupin muttered to himself, "Thanks a million, Yu. I'll have your dad here in no time!"

"You promise?" asked Yukiko.

"Hey, I'm a gentleman before anything," Lupin answered with a reassuring tone of voice, "You want to watch a video while the boys and I pack?"

"Sure!" Yukiko said excitedly.

"It's, uh, one I found in the back corner of a Blockbuster…. I haven't watched a cartoon in years, so I have no idea what it's about, honestly," Lupin admitted.

"It's all right!" Yukiko said happily, jumping in her seat, "Put it on, put it on!"

"Okay, here it goes," Lupin said as he rose and put the movie in. "Enjoy, kid. Snacks are in the fridge." He looked back at her as she watched the television like a mindless zombie. "Ah, children…. So easily amused. Who says they're hard to raise? Let the VCR be the other parent!" he asked himself as he walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He turned around and saw Jigen, although changed, was making no attempt to pack while Goemon cleaned his sword. His suitcase lay down at his feet.

"Where's the kid?" Jigen asked.

"I put a movie on for the little brat," Lupin said as he opened one of the dresser drawers and began to pack his things.

"Really? Which one?" Goemon inquired.

"One about a stupid cat," Lupin answered breezily.

"Felix?" Jigen asked.

"Nah… Something to that effect, though," Lupin replied, "Fritz. Yeah. Fritz the cat." Both Jigen and Goemon came to full attention, looked at one another, and bolted for the living room, "What? What's wrong?" Lupin asked, and peeked his head out of the doorway, "Jesus Christ, they allow that in cartoons!? Why the hell couldn't they have been like that when I was a kid!?"

"Holy crap," Jigen grumbled as he removed the tape from the VCR, "Never have kids, Lupin. You'd probably end up killing them…."

"Sorry, I had no clue it was animated porn!" Lupin yelped, "What are you going to do with the tape?"

"I'm going to destroy this filth," Goemon answered, taking out his sword.

"Wait, wait, wait! Let me destroy it for you guys!" Lupin said, taking the tape from Jigen and smiling.

"Yeah…. You have fun, 'destroying it', that is…" Jigen muttered.

"What was happening in the picture?" Yukiko asked. All stopped dead and looked at one another.

"Jigen…." Lupin asked after a pause, his eyes traveling to the gunman.

"I don't have time for this crap. I've got to pack," Jigen muttered.

"So you're going?" Lupin inquired.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want you to end up killing the kid. Someone's got to watch out for her, afterall," Jigen replied, exiting the living room and going into the bedroom. Lupin looked over in Goemon's direction, but he had already vanished out of sight. Lupin smiled and looked downward at Yukiko, who looked back upward at him.

Yukiko began, "What's a-"

"Fujiko will explain it all to you later," Lupin replied, "Now we've got to pack your things. We need to get you ready if you're going to go to Osaka with us."

"I love Osaka!" Yukiko said happily, running into the room she now shared with Fujiko.

"I'm going so soft," Lupin sighed and shook his head, "It's going to be a long nine and a half days…"

Fujiko returned that afternoon, wearing a suspiciously expensive-looking necklace. She took such a while to pack, they barely made it to the flight on time. Yukiko was a little confused as to why they had to wear disguises and call each other by different names, but thought of it as playing pretend. Lupin sat alone next to the window, but was too busy perfecting his plan to care about the view. Fujiko sat behind him with Yukiko (she picked sitting with a child over sitting with Lupin because the child could behave), and Jigen and Goemon sat in the back seats behind them.

"Nice view, huh?" Jigen muttered to Goemon.

"You're wanting to make conversation with me, Jigen? Is something the matter?" Goemon asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Jigen responded, "You just look a little distant, man! More so than usual, and that's really saying a lot!"

"I'm just concerned with taking a child with us to an operation," Goemon answered, "It doesn't seem right."

"We're the last people to talk about what's wrong or right," Jigen said with a laugh, "Damn I wish they'd let me smoke on this flight. Watch, another hour and I'm going to start to get irritable."

"We have to wait an hour for that!?" Lupin skeptically called back.

"Shut up!" Jigen called to him. Jigen turned back to Goemon, "Don't worry, we only have nine more days, then Lupin's going to take her to her father, and our problems will be gone. I know I'll probably miss the kid a little, though. She's pretty likable."

"Yes," Goemon nodded, "What if he can't find Yukiko's father?"

"Huh?" Jigen shot his head upward, "Then heck, I don't know! We'll think of something, I guess. Lupin will come through, though. Don't worry it."

"I can't help but worry. I have this feeling I get before imminent danger," Goemon replied.

"It's probably just some bad squid. Now just sit back and watch the movie," said Jigen.

"I'm in a small plane with rude people watching a film starring Paulie Shore. I believe I've entered Yomi," Goemon said to himself as he sat back and began to watch the film.

Meanwhile, in front of Jigen and Goemon, Fujiko was reading through a magazine while Yukiko sketched away on a drawing pad she had gotten at one of the airport shops. Fujiko's eyes traveled over to Yukiko's drawing pad. There were four figures, and with closer inspection, she realized it was she and her comrades. Yukiko was a naturally likable child, and Fujiko at that moment wondered what would happen if Lupin didn't find Yukiko's father. But this was unlikely; Lupin always found what he had set out to get.

"You like it?" Yukiko asked, looking up as she noticed Fujiko's staring at her picture.

"Uh, yes…. It's very nice, Yukiko," Fujiko answered with a smile and a nod, "Do you like drawing?"

"Yeah! A lot!" Yukiko said happily. "You can have this one, if you want." She tore the page off of the drawing book and passed it to Fujiko. Fujiko looked down at the drawing in awe a few moments, and then at Yukiko. Fujiko nodded her thanks and folded the picture and placed it in her purse. Yukiko kicked her heels against the seat of the chair, and took out her headphones as she saw the movie playing in front of her.

They arrived in an airport near Osaka an hour later, and Jigen lit a cigarette as soon as he stepped off of the plane. They retrieved their bags from checkout and Jigen pulled around the front of the airport in their pink and black 40's model car.

Lupin sat down next to Jigen and Yukiko sat inbetween Goemon and Fujiko in the back seat. Lupin looked behind himself and asked Yukiko, "Hey, you okay back there, kid!?"

"Yes, Lupin. Thank you," Yukiko answered in a nod, "I like being in Osaka. My mommy loved it, too."

"What'd your mommy do?" asked Fujiko.

"She was a waitress," Yukiko said with a wide smile, "Then we moved to Yokohama and she got a job being a waitress there!"

"Well, do you want to be a waitress?" Lupin asked.

"No," Yukiko shook her head.

"Well, what do you want to be?" Lupin inquired.

"A spy!" Yukiko said excitedly.

Lupin smiled, laughed in amusement, and patted her on the head, "Kid, I like you more and more as the days pass, you know that!?" he sat back in his seat and turned to Jigen. "So, you still nervous about this place? You look a little pale, Jigen."

"How I'm feeling is none of your business," Jigen answered as he turned a corner, "Say, where are we going, anyway?"

"A nice little bed and breakfast that's out of the way… Quaint little place so old my grandfather probably visited it as a kid…."

"I hate fresh air…" Jigen grumbled to himself as he turned again down the street. "I need to work on the brakes when we get there…. They're squeaking again…."

"Maybe you ran over a cat," said Fujiko.

"Hey, Goemon, lunch!" Lupin said with a laugh. Goemon grumbled and unsheathed his sword briefly and held it against Lupin's neck. Lupin laughed nervously and eyed Goemon, pondering whether or not Goemon would actually do it this time. Instead, Goemon sheathed his sword once more and sat back in his seat.

The bed and breakfast was atop a large hill among a group of mountains that stood outside of Osaka. It was an older building, done in traditional Asian styles but with hints of Western flair. There were several other cars in the parking lot, and Jigen made sure to park away from them so he would have room to work on the car. Lupin and Goemon went to work taking the bags up into the room as Jigen pulled his tools out from the trunk and Fujiko escorted Yukiko to a large pond in the back of the home.

"Jeeze, that kid's even got Fujiko going soft…" Jigen muttered as he removed his hat and jacket and pulled his tools out and set them on the concrete. He took out a crawler from the trunk and laid down on it, and rolled under the car, "Jeeze, this thing needs more than new brakes! I need a new car! I'd love a new car…. Maybe mien feuer wouldn't mind if I took his…" Jigen murmured to himself as he went to work on the car, "I'm a hitman, not a mechanic…. Jeeze, this could be considered degrading to anyone else in my profession…."

"Mister Jigen?" he heard, and felt someone poke him on the knee.

"Jesus…. It's the kid… Not a moment's piece…." Jigen grumbled as he rolled back from under the car and viewed Yukiko looking back upward at him. "What do you need, kid?"

"I wanted to know if you needed help. Fujiko had to go unpack before her dresses got wrinkled," Yukiko answered.

"And she told you to come and bother me…." Jigen concluded as he sat up on the crawler.

"No," Yukiko shook her head, "I wanted to come and help you. It was all my idea…."

"Huh…. Really?" Jigen muttered in surprise, "Well, if you want to help, you can start by passing me that socket wrench…."

"Okay," Yukiko immediately picked out the socket wrench and passed it to Jigen. Jigen was impressed by her knowledge of tools that he found she possessed as time progressed.

A little later, after everything in the rooms had been unpacked, Lupin finally got a chance to sit down. He heard laughing from the window next to him, and moved the white linen curtain back from the pane.

"What the bloody hell…." Lupin muttered as he looked out and saw Jigen pushing a laughing Yukiko down the hill on the crawler he had been using to work on the car with. Fujiko looked over Lupin's shoulder and then at him.

"What do you make of it?" asked Fujiko, standing back and folding her arms across her chest.

"I have no clue. You, me, I can see being nice to a kid. But I've never seen Jigen be nice to anyone who isn't his friend. He doesn't trust many people. Not you, probably not me…." Lupin replied as he watched Jigen help Yukiko pull the crawler back up onto the top of the hill and then letting it go again. "I think I'm going soft, Fujicakes… Shame we'll have to return her."

"Huh…. Oh, well," Fujiko answered in a shrug and turned back to her door. She looked back at the window once more, and then quickly exited the room.

After Jigen put the tools back in the trunk, he slowly followed Yukiko up the stairs into the two rooms they had rented for the next week. Almost every joint in his body ached after working on the car, sitting in a cramped airplane, and playing with Yukiko. Lupin watched in amusement as he watched Yukiko skip in, followed by Jigen, who trudged in slowly.

"You okay, Gramps?" Lupin chuckled as Jigen set his jacket on the bed.

"Shut up. I'm going to go get a shower…." Jigen muttered tiredly, and walked into the bathroom. Lupin heard the shower turn on, and smiled to himself.

"How's finding my daddy going, Lupin?" asked Yukiko.

"Everything's going to plan, Yuki!" Lupin answered happily. Yukiko jumped over and sat down on his lap, and Lupin looked down at her in surprise briefly, and then smiled and shrugged in contentment.

"Where's everyone else?" Yukiko asked.

"Fujiko's unpacking, Jigen's getting a shower, and Goemon's probably on the roof. He's like a freakin' cat…." Lupin answered, "And, sorry, kid, but I have to get to work. Big, big operation coming up in the next few days. Can't screw it up, you know."

"Okay. I'm going to go find Goemon!" said Yukiko happily, skipping away from Lupin and out the door.

"Good luck, kid…." Lupin muttered as he unfolded the documents for the heist and laid them out on the table in front of him. "Nothing like the quiet of the country…. Aah…" Lupin said happily, taking in a breath of the air. It did not last long. His euphoria was soon interrupted by Jigen's bellowing as to the whereabouts of the soap. Lupin shouted back the location of the soap, and went back to his work.

The sun was setting as Yukiko found the top story of the building and climbed out onto the roof. Sure enough, Goemon was there, meditating. Yukiko carefully climbed across the shingles, making a clicking noise as she went. Goemon opened his eyes and put a hand on his sword, but then calmed as he saw it was Yukiko. He then grew frightened again as he realized how high up the young child was.

He rose as Yukiko came over to him, "Yukiko! You shouldn't be up here, it's much too high!"

"I'm all right, really, Goemon," Yukiko reassured him as she sat down on the shingles. Goemon decided he would keep an eye on her and make sure she did not fall off the roof. If she did, he would have to try to catch her. He sat back down and looked out towards the sunset. Yukiko looked over at him, and then out at the sun, and finally back at Goemon, "What are you looking at?"

"Nature. It is all around us. It usually isn't, so it's nice to appreciate it when you have the chance," Goemon answered, "You don't realize how nice something is until it's not always there."

"That's like me with my mommy…." Yukiko said quietly, "I felt bad about fighting with her all those times after she left me…."

"She didn't leave you," Goemon said, shaking his head, "She's just in a different realm now. She is always watching you, though. I've lost relatives as well, and I take solace in thinking that they're watching over me…."

"I just…" Yukiko looked downward, "I miss her so much, I what if my daddy doesn't even want me!? What if he hates me!? What if, what if…."

"Then we'll take care of you," Goemon said after a long pause, "Don't worry. No matter what happens, you're not going to be unloved. We'll all take care of you."

"You mean it?" Yukiko asked, her eyes tearing up.

"You can count on it…." Goemon replied. Yukiko embraced him, and began to cry. Goemon jumped in shock, and he looked down at her in surprise. He put an arm over her shoulders, and looked forward at the last glimpses of the sun. By the time it set, Yukiko had fallen asleep. Goemon lifted her up and climbed back into the building, and walked down into the bedrooms of he and his comrades.

"Kid finally fell asleep?" asked Jigen.

"Yes. In tears," Goemon said sternly, walking past them and into Fujiko's room. Fujiko rose from her bed, where she had been brushing her hair, and took Yukiko from Goemon's arms.

"She's fast asleep, huh?" Fujiko said with a wide smile as she laid Yukiko on her bed and looked back at Goemon.

"Yes, as far as I know," Goemon answered with a nod.

"I'll take it from here," Fujiko said, and closed the door as Goemon exited. Goemon unrolled his mat onto the floor and sat down upon it, and continued his meditation.

"What'd you mean 'in tears'?" Jigen asked in concern.

"She was talking about her mother, and she became a little upset. She's all right now, though," Goemon answered calmly.

"You're getting a little attached to her, aren't you?" chuckled Jigen as he looked over at Goemon.

"Oh, and you aren't, Mr. Toboggan?" Lupin retorted.

"Hey, the kid helped me out, and I thought it'd be nice to let her have a little fun in return," Jigen responded in defense.

"Yeah, yeah…." Lupin rolled his eyes, "Don't get too attached, guys. I'm getting closer and closer to finding this guy."

"What if he doesn't want her?" Goemon inquired to Lupin with a little hope in his voice.

"Don't worry, he will," Lupin answered.

"Are you sure?" asked Jigen.

"What, do you not want me to find him?" asked Lupin.

"No," both answered sternly, turning away from him. Lupin smirked to himself and hummed in a smarmy tone as he went back to work.