DISCLAIMER: Yukiko's mine, the concepts mine… About all that isn't mine is Jigen : \ So, yeah, I own a good majority of it, lol.

NOTE:

This story was originally entered into a Lupin fanfic contest (I didn't win, but oh, well), and it's basically a simple story of Jigen and Yukiko bonding. It takes place after the first story I wrote (The Picture, the Promise, and the Protectors) when Yukiko's about seven years old. Yeah, I know that there's not real mention of Jigen's visual problems in the story, but I wanted to make this short as possible, and not have to go into details about his going blind. So, hope you enjoy this extra l'il snippet Catch ya'll later!

-Lucy

Time to Go?

By J. Lucy-Daisuke

He hated himself for wishing he'd sometimes been left with a son instead. But he would never tell her this. He was lucky enough to have her, even if it had been unplanned and come as a complete shock to him when she had arrived on his doorstep fresh off of the Japanese airplane. He wondered if this was how her mother had felt when he had left her unknowingly pregnant nearly seven years ago.

"You think someday I'll have a gun like that, Jigen?" she inquired as she stumbled down the hill beside her father, the older man gripping on her shoulder to steady her every once in a while. 'Dad' was still bizarre sounding to both of them, so 'Jigen' was good enough for the time being. She couldn't even call him anything with affection, it had to be the same thing his drinking buddies and Lupin called him.

"Maybe someday, kid, but until then, let's stick to BB guns. I'm almost afraid to let you around real bullets… Hehehe, me and both of your uncles." He rubbed the sore area beneath his suit; the right shoulder, the one he had been shot in the night before. He didn't want to scare her with it, so while she slept the night before Goemon worked to hold Jigen down while Lupin extracted the bullet and stopped the bleeding. He was still shaky, though, and he even tripped once as he took her down to the shooting range. This was where they did most of their bonding.

"Fujiko says you're gonna shoot your ass off like that if you keep your gun in your belt like that," she said with mild worry as she glanced up at him.

"No way… She's bit so much off over the years, there's nothing left to shoot off," he muttered as they stopped in front of their targets and he set down the case that held her BB gun. Shit, he'd forgotten to remind her not to curse again. How the hell was he supposed to catch every curse word? She'd get away with it for the rest of the weekend, and then Monday he'd start to put his foot down.

Monday he also had another heist with the rest of the gang; and who had time for parenting when there was a Munch painting to steal? He'd start Tuesday, then.

"Let's get you at fifty yards today…"

"I can do seventy-five!" his young daughter, Yukiko, moaned, giving him the look her mother had often given him.

"Fine, hotshot, let's start you at seventy-five…"

He stood a small distance from her and then silently watched as she fired a shot, and he raised his fedora to survey the damage; no paternity test needed, she definitely was his.

"See, I can start at seventy-five!"

"Don't get cocky just yet; wait until you're trying at five-hundred yards," Jigen was quick to add, pulling out his own gun and making sure the chambers were loaded before closing it and spinning it around, then taking aim at the target. He looked out of the corner of his eye, but only for a moment, and caught sight of a doe not too far from the targets that had wandered out of the nearby German forest. He shrugged this off and figured the stupid thing would know to take off running, and then pulled back the trigger.

The gun went off, and the dear went running, but Jigen also fell to the ground, and not by his own will. He landed hard upon the injured arm, and gave a shudder of pain, then sat up on the ground and looked at the terrified Yukiko, who had run a few yards away and now looked at her father, her eyes wide.

"What in the Goddamn friggin' hell were you Goddamn thinking!" Jigen snarled, not paying attention to his fedora, which now went sailing with a gust of wind while Yukiko stood, shaking in fear. "Were you trying to kill me? Why'd you push me down like that?"

"I… I… I didn't!"

"Then who in the hell did, Casper the friendly Goddamn ghost !" Jigen snapped, but immediately felt a pang in his gut as he saw she was shaking more violently now, and in addition to this, sobbing.

"I… I didn't want you to shoot the deer!" Yukiko shouted amidst the tears while Jigen looked at her, stunned.

He had gotten the same sick feeling when he had begun to kill professionally years ago; he hated it, and after not feeling it for so long, he felt like he could throw up at any moment. It was guilt, something he hadn't felt in quite some time. He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt it, but it came on full-force now.

"Yuki… I…" he looked down at the ground, then upward at the little girl, who now sat in a curled little ball on the grass, her face hidden from him but her sobs loud. He stood, and hobbled over to her as he clutched onto his wound, not quite sure what to do at first but then awkwardly attempting to embrace her. She only pushed him away, and then again came that guilt feeling.

"…I…. You could've killed us…" he started sternly, and already began to mentally kick himself for saying it. "And I don't want you hurt."

"I didn't want us to die, but I didn't want that deer to, either!"

"I wasn't gonna shoot it…"

"But… You shoot people…." Yukiko sniffed. Jigen went cold; Christ, he'd been wishing she wouldn't find out.

"B… Because they're bad…"

"If they're bad, then why do we get chased all the time? The bad people get the nice houses and everything, and we don't have any of that! I can't have goldfish, or friends, and I always have to wear disguises and stuff!"

"….You…. Ya got me there, Yuki…" this called for a cigarette. He pulled one out of his pack but didn't go to light it, just yet. Instead he sat behind her and pulled her over to him, embracing her and then rocking her slowly; he had seen this done in a movie once before.

"And… And in Japan, I went to school and… And I could go to parks, and there wasn't any mean cop chasing us!"

"Zenigata's not mean, he's just… Touched… Yeah, I guess that's the word for it…" Jigen muttered, thinking this was the mildest way to say "deranged". "So you… You want that sort of stuff?"

"I dunno, I… I like traveling and seeing new places, and…. I like seeing animals like penguins and giraffes and dolphins, and not seeing them just in zoos… And I like Lupin and Goemon and Fujiko…"

"Yeah, you've got a thing for Goemon going…" he said with a smile and a chuckle. He had seen it several times, but the samurai was clueless about girls, although at times Jigen was convinced Goemon would've made the better father of the two.

"…Do not…" she answered, wiping her eyes with her arm and still not looking upward at him.

"Do too… You wanna marry him. What, you wanna kill me and make him my son-in-law? Jesus, might as well push me over while I'm shooting again."

"I don't wanna marry him!" Yukiko huffed, hitting him in the ribs with her elbow slightly.

"Sure you don't…. Yuki, I… I'm sorry… I'm just a shit parent who had a shit parent. You ask me to sink a sub, wear a dress, shoot at the moon, I can do it… Heh, I just suck at this."

"You wore a dress?"

"You're too young for that story," Jigen answered quickly. "Now, do you wanna stop and have me get a home for us?" and then another nauseous feeling filled him, and that feeling was named commitment. "We could get goldfish, have you go to school… Whatever you want…."

"Would I get to see Goemon and Lupin and Fujiko?"

"Honestly? ….Probably not as much… And I'd have to get a j… I'd have to get a job," he choked upon the last word, wondering what skills he had beyond shooting and some bartending. From ace gunman to bartender and single father in six months; and he had thought that Elvis had fallen from grace…

"So… We wouldn't spend as much time together?"

"Well, no… And we'd have to stay there, we probably couldn't travel that much… But, erm… We could get you what, eh? A dog, a backyard, a-"

"A mom?" she could feel Jigen tense up at this, but she patted his arm, and looked upward to him, "Like… A lot later on…"

"Maybe when you get married," Jigen answered quietly.

"Nah, I don't wanna…"

"What the hell am I gonna tell Goemon, then?"

"Nothing, 'cause I don't! And you tell and I'll tell Fujiko that you like her!"

"And therefore get Lupin on my ass. Jeeze, he'd kill me for that! Listen, I've faced friggin' Russians and won against them, I ain't gonna get rubbed out by someone who watches Hello Kitty." He lifted the little girl up and then took the case with her gun in it, and after shoving his own gun in his belt he began to walk back up the hill with the little girl in tow.

"I don't wanna stop traveling just yet, then," she muttered into his jacket, and gave another sniff.

"…You ever get tired of this, you just tell me, Yukiko. I don't know how the hell we'd do it, but we'd manage," Jigen said to her as they continued back to the hideout where they stayed at while Zenigata looked for the gang frantically across town.

"Nah… Not yet…" Yukiko yawned, and looked upward at him tiredly. "…You lost your hat…."

"Eh, I've got a ton of them," Jigen shrugged. "We'll just let someone pick that up, and let them have a free hat, all right?"

"All right… And Jigen?"

"What's up, Kiddo?"

"I don't need a mom right now," she said quietly, clinging onto him tightly. "I like traveling with you guys… I'm sorry I said that..."

"It's not a kid's life," Jigen answered as he noted she was growing even more tired as they continued down the hill and back to the safehouse. "…I miss her, too…"

"How'd you guys meet, anyway?"

"It's a long story, and it involves me being your mom's bodyguard and us…. Eh, she's the only other one I would've left the crooked life for."

"…Who else?" she yawned, resting her head against his chest.

"Heh, well, you were the one I was promising goldfish to just a little while ago," Jigen answered with a chuckle. "I miss her too, but… We'll be okay… We've got Lupin, and Fujiko, and Goemon. Even Zenigata's got a soft spot for kids. Hell, from what I heard he's got one of his own… Or did. Who the hell knows? But we've got them. Now, you get to sleep, I… I've got a little bit of work to do." He walked her into the bedroom and then into the main living area of the hotel, and seated himself in one of the cheap hotel chairs.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and could feel his wound aching once more. If he had thought shooting dignitaries from long-range had been hard, he had been wrong. How the opera singer then girlfriend he had been forced to abandon years before was able to do it on her own all those years, he had no idea. She had been the strongest of the two of them.

"Are you drunk again?" he heard in a monotone and slightly accusatory voice. Goemon leaned forward and poked Jigen gently with the sword sheath, to which the gunman looked upward tiredly. "…You look like hell…"

"Well if it isn't the king of perception?" Jigen raised his head and looked over Goemon, then leaned back in the seat.

"I heard a shot before…"

"Yuki and I were shooting, and… Yeah, long story short I almost died at the hands of my six-year-old and I think she's terrified of me now."

"From your drawn out answer I'm assuming you're in need of counseling for it," Goemon seated himself beside the gunman with his arms folded and his eyes shut.

"You wanna head to Canada and get married?" Jigen muttered, then glanced over to Goemon, who now sat in the chair, but with his sword drawn for protection and a stunned expression on his face. "It's a joke… Put it away, friggin' homophobe… All I'm saying is she seems to like you more as a parent."

"Although I adore your daughter, there isn't enough tea in the world to get me to…"

"Heh, you're just uptight about it because you know you'd look better in the dress," Jigen murmured. "What am I gonna do with her, Goemon?"

"…Raise her how her mother would have seen fit."

"If her mother saw how I was raising her she would've fixed me so I wouldn't be able to have any other kids."

"Are you sure you don't?"

Jigen merely gave a could glare to the samurai, "At least I don't have to count skipping out on child support like Mr. can't-keep-it-in-his-pants Lupin."

"He's fond of saying that there's no DNA evidence to support those claims."

"Yeah, explain why those little brats look like Curious George, then."

"A cruel God," Goemon quickly counted.

"Can't be that cruel; Yuki looks like her mom, after all… You think I should get married?"

"As long as it's me."

"What's your hang up with that?"

"You brought it up," Goemon replied. "Why the sudden urge to lay your ground?"

"Lay my…. I'm not gonna go there with some guy who probably hasn't even felt some good ground," Jigen murmured. "This ain't the life for a kid, Goemon."

"You mean like I've told you forty-two times?"

"Forty… You need to get laid man, seriously," Jigen shook his head and brushed back his hair.

"You're starting to go gray."

"You know, I always feel so friggin' great when I talk to you, Goemon! Thanks, I'm gonna go hang myself, now, if you excuse me!"

"You're getting older, Jigen. I'm not exactly saying that you should go find a bride, but perhaps consider beginning to cut back a bit before…."

"Before what?"

"Before she stops hating this life and accepts it as we have," Goemon answered solemnly. "She should have her chance to be a child. It's not only what right for her, it is perhaps the best."

"She said she didn't wanna leave."

"Then she's either appeasing you or we're too late."

"Heh, you could be right. You'll be a good mommy someday," Jigen patted him on the back and smirked at Goemon's annoyed expression.

"You're much too cheap for my tastes, Jigen," Goemon muttered.

"Heh, yeah, and I prefer someone with an ass," Jigen countered, then stood from his chair. He heard his cell phone ring its familiar chime then suddenly, and sighed as the caller ID showed that Lupin was in dire need of a gunman's assistance once more.

"I'll take that," Goemon stood and grabbed the cell phone from Jigen on his way to the door. "Watch after your daughter…. Hello, Lupin? He's occupied at the moment. You're… You're where?"

"Hey, Goemon. Thanks," Jigen nodded, and Goemon returned this small nod, and then turned his attention back to the phone.

"I hope you know that you'll be billed for my plane ticket," Goemon continued as he headed out the door with his sword in hand.

Jigen smirked and shook his head, turning around just in time to see the tiny Asian girl in the light blue dress yawning and rubbing her eyes as she leaned against the doorway, "You're not going with him?"

"Nah, not this time," Jigen lifted her up and headed back into the bedroom. "I owe him big time, though… Maybe a barrel of pickled radishes. Yuk, you really want to keep this up, or…?"

"Yeah. I'm not ready to say bye to Lupin, Fujiko, or Goemon yet…"

"Thank God," he sighed in relief as he laid her back on the bed. Yukiko gave a small laugh at this, and Jigen walked to the closet and pulled out one of his many fedoras.

"So we're gonna keep traveling?"

"Yeah, Kid… We're gonna keep traveling," he replied as he placed the fedora on his head and turned to her.

"Good… 'Cause you can't cook," Yukiko yawned and settled down on the bed and closed her eyes.

"I'll figure out what to do someday, Kid…" Jigen leaned over and covered her with the heavy hotel comforter. "Until then, we'll be fine… We've got a good set up here…"

"Yeah we do," Yukiko yawned, and Jigen tilted his fedora down over his eyes after standing. He headed out of the bedroom, not exactly sure what he was going to happen to either him or his daughter, but glad that at least they had a family.

"Yukiko, if you're smart, you'll take after your mother," Jigen muttered, taking his seat in the living room once again, this time on the couch, and lighting another cigarette.