Lupin III Fan Fiction ❯ Daddy's Girl ❯ Stupefied ( Chapter 15 )

Daddy's Girl

By Bekka Mouri-Hibiki

(Lupin isn't mine. Toshiko surprises Lupin with her expertise then they take off to Goemon's. Chamberlain learns that it isn't wise to yank Lupin's chain.)

Part Fifteen: Stupefied

Jigen tried to relax on the couch as Goemon sat on the floor across from him. " I don't like this, " He muttered. " I know she has talent but I really don't think she should come along. "

" Jigen, " Goemon said. " We have to do it this way. "

" I know but I don't want to put that girl in danger, " Jigen sighed.

" Toshiko is more of danger to herself at the moment. Did you not understand that when Lupin told you? " Goemon intoned stiffly.

" Yeah, I understood but that doesn't excuse dragging a kid into this mess. Turn on the television, would ya? "

" Do it yourself, " Goemon retorted. " I am not your servant. "

" Don't forget I had to climb that tree because she was going to off herself, " Jigen reminded Goemon.

" And don't forget I had to climb the ladder in order to get the both of you down from there, " Goemon retorted.

Jigen growled, " You had the ladder. I had to do it the hard way. "

" It looks like you were rewarded for your efforts though, " Goemon smirked slightly. " It seems that you've taken a liking to the girl as well. "

" She was scared and wanted me to hold her. I wasn't about to say 'no'. I was scared she'd jump if I didn't have a grip on her. "

" I see, " Goemon nodded. He then narrowed his eyes as he directed his gaze to the stairs. " There's something on the landing. "

Jigen looked at the landing but saw nothing. He then heard Lupin chuckling as he said. " You did it, girl! You made it work! "

The scorpion camera came tumbling down the stairs, landing upright thanks to some treads that hadn't been on it before. It turned and headed right for Goemon. " Wave to the camera, Goemon! " Lupin's voice came from a tiny speaker that had been installed somewhere in the scorpion's body.

" She fixed it, " Goemon gasped as he stared at the mechanical arthropod. Eight lenses stared back at him as if the thing were alive. He jumped back when the pinchers started moving in a threatening manner. " That looks rather menacing but intriguing at the same time. "

" I'll be damned, " Jigen said and scooped the gadget up. " She was able to fix it after all. "

" She sure was, " Lupin said. " She even made it better. It didn't have the microphone or speaker before. She even installed some night vision sensors so it could go into dark areas. "

" Yeah, I saw those. She put an extra set of eyes on it so I'm guessing that's them. This is great, " Jigen turned the thing over in his hands as he looked at it.

" You bet it is. " Lupin said. He then groaned, " I need to ask you to stop turning that thing over so much… I'm getting motion sickness. "

" Sorry about that, " Jigen set the scorpion back down on the floor. " What else did she do to it? "

" Just watch, " Lupin steered the scorpion back towards the stairs.

" That thing can't climb stairs now can it? " Jigen asked then jumped when little spikes came out of the treads. The scorpion grabbed onto the edge of the bottom step with its pinchers and pulled itself up, the teeth on the treads giving it traction enough on the carpet to scale the steps with ease. " Whoa. "

" Yeah, " Lupin said as he appeared at the top of the stairs with Toshiko. She was still in her pajamas while he had put his red jacket on over his dark blue shirt and had on white pants. " She's a natural at this. "

" Watch out! " Toshiko said as Lupin scooped up the scorpion then yelped in pain, dropping it. " The spikes were still out. " Toshiko muttered.

" I wasn't paying attention to that but that will be good defense if it falls into enemy hands, " Lupin chuckled as he flipped a switch on the remote and retracted the spikes. He picked up the gadget and said, " So are we ready? "

" As ready as I'll ever be, " Jigen shrugged.

Goemon stood, " Is Toshiko aware she's riding with me? "

" She is now, " Lupin smiled at the girl. " Jigen and I are taking the Benz. "

" Okay, " Toshiko looked at the floor. " Whatever you've already decided is fine. "

Jigen cleared his throat and stepped forward. " Lupin, why can't she ride with me in the Benz and you go with Goemon? "

Toshiko took a sharp breath and looked at Jigen, her cheeks turning bright red. Lupin patted the girl on the shoulder, " It's okay. He doesn't bite. "

" I'm just thinking of her safety, " Jigen glanced at Goemon. " He can handle the bike pretty well in daylight but I don't know if he can handle it in the dark. "

Lupin arched an eyebrow, " I see. You want me to die if we hit something. "

Goemon frowned, " I will not hit anything. "

" I trust in your driving abilities even if you don't have a license, " Lupin waved his hand. " You two go on and we'll be behind you. I have a phone call to make anyway. "

Jigen walked over to the stairs and looked up at Toshiko. " Come on down, babe. We haven't got all night. "

Toshiko walked down the stairs as Jigen fished the keys for the Benz out of his pants pocket. " I already put my stuff in the trunk. You have anything? "

Toshiko held out her folded sweater and jeans, " I only have what I came with and these pajamas. "

Jigen frowned and looked at Lupin. " Damn. We've got to get her some more clothes. "

Lupin slapped his forehead, " I forgot all about it. While you were gone getting Goemon and Toshiko earlier, Mishi dropped off some clothes for her. "

" God I hope they're not her unwanted clothes, " Jigen muttered. " One of her dresses could make Toshiko a whole wardrobe. "

" Very funny but they're new. I told Mishi what size Toshiko wore. I called and asked her to do it since I was so busy here. When she heard it was Zenigata's kid she spent her own money on the stuff, " Lupin pointed to the office. " I left the bags in there and I was going to give them to her earlier but things happened. "

Toshiko looked at Jigen, " Can I go get them? "

" Yes, " Jigen nodded. " That way, you can wear something different tomorrow. "

Lupin walked Toshiko over to the office door and opened it so she could go inside. " They should be next to my desk against the wall, " Lupin called after her as she walked in.

Jigen heard the rustling of shopping bags and Toshiko let out a happy gasp. He went to the door to see what she was so joyful about. " What's up babe? "

Toshiko quickly stuffed what she had been excited over back into one of the bags and blushed again. " It's nothing. Don't worry about it. "

Jigen looked at Lupin, " What was it? "

Lupin smirked then leaned into Jigen's ear, " She was excited because Mishi even bought her new panties. I couldn't find hers in the dryer so I told Mishi to get those too, " Lupin whispered.

" You mean? " Jigen glanced at Lupin.

" Yup, " Lupin smirked. " She's been commando since Fujiko washed her clothes. "

" Christ, Lupin! " Jigen nearly dropped his cigarette from his mouth then took a step back, " What the hell did you tell me that for? "

Lupin grabbed Jigen by the arm. " Don't ask questions if you don't want them answered. "

" I'll keep that in mind. I'm going out to the car. Tell Toshiko I'll be waiting out there, " Jigen pulled away from Lupin and walked towards the door.

**

Chamberlain waited in a hidden spot of the warehouse, trying not to smile to himself. He had set up some of his most brilliant traps for Lupin, anticipating the cheeky thief's arrival. Fujiko seemed rather sure of herself when she said he'd show up for her long before the appointed time. He just hoped she wouldn't take it too bad when she woke up in a crate but he couldn't leave her where she could try to make an escape.

His self-righteous glee faded as the flashing lights of police cars illuminated the walls. He looked out the window he was next to and frowned deeply as several police cars stopped in front of the building. ~Perhaps I tripped my own alarm system when I came in here, ~ He thought as he scanned for the quickest way to the alarm box to disable it.

He skittered to it and found it hadn't been set off at all. He furrowed his brow then narrowed his eyes as he realized just what had happened. He quickly made his way to the back exit, dashing outside as the police came in through the front door. He heard a few men shout as they tripped some of the booby traps, distracting the other policemen and enabling him to make a getaway.

~Damn Lupin, ~ Chamberlain mentally kicked himself. ~He's probably assuming what Fujiko's thinking… I'll have to depend on myself after all. ~

**

Jigen guided the car down the road that led to Goemon's house. It was about a ten-minute drive but it seemed like forever. He wanted to talk to Toshiko about her decision to join them on the mission and get some idea of what she was thinking. She obviously wasn't aware of the danger she would be putting herself in or she just didn't care.

He took a deep breath and pulled the Benz off to take a side road that would double the time it would take them to get there. Toshiko furrowed her brow and looked at him, " What are we doing? "

" I need to talk to you, " Jigen said as he found the spot he was looking for and pulled the Benz to the side of the road. The moon was still full and shone brightly through the trees. The pale light made Toshiko glow slightly where it pierced the foliage, shafts of illumination dotting her face with shadows and light. Jigen found himself speechless as he looked at the girl, wondering why she looked so much prettier than before.

He had looked at her many times but hadn't really paid much attention to her appearance. He had too many things on his mind before he talked to her in the tree but he guessed that was when he noticed her beauty for the first time. Now she was another concern for he was starting to notice things about her that seemed to have not caught his eye before.

" What? " Toshiko asked. " What do you need to talk to me about, Mr. Jigen? "

" Um, " Jigen muttered then regained his train of thought. " I want to know why you've decided to come along. "

Toshiko put her hands in her lap and stared down at them. " I want to help my daddy. If that guy had been a better shot, my father would have been killed. He was almost taken away from me, " Toshiko muttered.

" So you've decided that you like your dad now? " Jigen arched an eyebrow.

Toshiko nodded, " Mr. Lupin made me see that I am a lot like my dad and I can't help it. He's a part of me and I can't fight it. I won't go as far as to say that I love my daddy just yet but I've decided to like him for now. "

" For now? " Jigen tilted his fedora back. " Does that mean you're going to hate him tomorrow? "

" I don't know but I'm going to try to at least like him, " Toshiko said.

" I underestimated you, " Jigen smiled.

" How's that? " Toshiko looked at Jigen, her brow furrowed in confusion.

" You aren't a kid. You're a young woman; " Jigen patted Toshiko on top of her head. " You've made a lot of progress today. "

Toshiko blushed and looked down at the space between her and Jigen on the seat. " Thank you. Does that mean you'll stop calling me a kid? "

" Maybe. I still need to know a couple of things; " Jigen took off his fedora and set it on the dash.

" What else is there? " Toshiko looked up and was slightly shocked to see Jigen without his hat. " Whoa. "

" What? " Jigen asked and frowned. " I just thought you'd like to see my eyes because I'm going to ask you some serious questions. "

" Yeah but you look so different without it, " Toshiko's eyes scanned his countenance.

Jigen ran a hand through his hair to smooth it out, " I know. Now, I want to know if you know just what the dangers of helping us out tomorrow are? "

Toshiko brought her hands up and seemed rather interested in her thumbs as she chewed her lower lip. Finally, she spoke. " Mr. Lupin asked me the same thing after I agreed. I said I understood. "

" Look at me, " Jigen said and put his right hand under Toshiko's chin. He tilted it up so she was making eye contact with him. " This isn't like going to the shopping district with your friends because you're all bored. This is some seriously dangerous business. "

" That's what Mr. Lupin said, " Toshiko tried to break eye contact but Jigen didn't allow her to do it.

" Look, " He said. " This isn't like the movies or television. We're going to have real guns and there will be real traps. You could easily get hurt or killed if you aren't on the ball at all times. "

" Mr. Lupin already warned me, " Toshiko whispered.

" We may have to split up and not be in contact with each other for long periods of time. You'll have to be very quiet and watch your back at all times, " Jigen knew that Goemon would probably take Toshiko with him if they had to split up but he wanted to give her the opposite impression. " Do you think you can handle that? "

Toshiko shut her eyes, " Mr. Jigen? "

" What? " Jigen said.

" I haven't told anyone this but my roommate and I are cat burglars. I am a thief just like you guys. I told Goemon I had done things I had been ashamed of but I didn't tell him anything else than that. No one knows about it at all. "

" Well shit. That makes everything a lot different, " Jigen let go of her chin. " Have you ever been shot at? "

" Yes, " Toshiko nodded. " I've been shot at many times before you shot at me. "

" Really now. What kind of stuff did your roommate and you take? " Jigen inquired.

" We took whatever we could get our hands on, " Toshiko sighed. " We'd make friends with rich kids at school so we could scope out their stuff then break in later at night to take what we wanted or we'd steal things if we were invited to sleepovers. We'd take anything that wasn't nailed down. "

" You two ever heist jewelry or cash? " Jigen's impression of the girl was starting to change drastically.

" We did a couple of times. My roommate and I can pick any lock or crack any safe as long as it isn't too complicated. "

" Do you steal to have the money and the stuff or is it for another reason? " Jigen leaned against the steering wheel.

Toshiko started to twiddle her thumbs nervously. " We steal mostly to live but I feel good when I make off with the stuff and I don't get caught. It's seems like the only time I feel good. "

Jigen got out a cigarette and lit it, " Pulling off a successful heist is intoxicating. I think you had other reasons though. "

" I… " Toshiko's shoulders started to shake. She let out a sob and started wiping at her eyes with her hands. " I… "

Jigen set the cigarette down in the ashtray before putting his hands on Toshiko's shoulders. " I didn't mean to make you cry. "

Toshiko grabbed Jigen's jacket and pulled herself to him, pressing her forehead against his chest. " I'm so ashamed of the real reason why I steal, " She sobbed. She sniffed and cried a bit more before she said; " I thought maybe I'd get my daddy's attention if I got good enough at it. "

Jigen took a deep breath and slipped his arms around Toshiko's shoulders, holding her tightly. " I figured it had to be something like that, " He muttered then buried his chin in her hair. " I still have one more thing I want to ask but it can wait. It isn't important. "

Toshiko sniffled hard then moved away from Jigen so she could look at him. She was surprised when he removed one of his arms from around her and started to wipe away her tears with a thumb. " What do you need to ask me? " She whispered as he dabbed away the moisture.

" It isn't important. "

" We're alone so ask me now, " Toshiko said as she put one of her hands around Jigen's wrist.

Jigen took a deep breath then looked her in the eye, " It wasn't Lupin you were staring at last night was it? "

Toshiko's grip on Jigen's wrist loosened slightly, " No. It wasn't. It was you. "