Welcome back!

Well, for me at least… My Lord it's been a while… I feel like I've been on the writer's strike, too. But occasionally writer's block hits us all, and I was one of the unfortunate victims this time. This isn't nearly as bad as some of my other writings, however; one project I'm currently involved I was not able to start until now because only now I have been able to think of how to open it; this project has been in the works for about two years. Also, while we're here, R.I.P. Geneon, you'll be missed… This now makes me worry about the Lupin series property, but I really hope that it will be picked up soon, and perhaps they will at least finish the rest of the second series. No matter for that, however, this isn't a time to worry—This is a time to relax, and enjoy another chapter. Now I know some people are probably upset with me for the lack of updates, but I still ask that you please let me know what you think of the chapter. Thanks a bunch!

P.S.: El Cid, Yuki, Lealah, Lup, Rick, Aries, Luna, Chas—THANK YOU for all your patience and support!

Fun Fact of Boredom: Beta girl in the new Lupin OVA is named Yukiko. Makes me wonder, heh '

Chapter Seventeen: Whenever You Need Somebody (free cookie to whoever knows sang it XD)

Paris:

"Okay, now I'm really not sure about this," Leo muttered as he sat on the closed seat of the toilet in the den, nee basement, of his and Max's home. He already now sported freshly dyed hair; it was a lighter shade of brown, with frosted tips. Leo thought this made him more ready for a night out on the gay bar than a gang meet, but Torako and Max paid no heed to this. Now Torako stood over him with a potato and a needle, and Max with a bucket of ice. "Couldn't I just use a clip-on? That's how I wear my ties…"

"This'll just hurt a second," Torako reassured him.

Max bent down at Leo's level and smiled. "It's just an ear piercing, nothing major… C'mon, both your daughters had it done!"

"Oh! We're doing the ear? Guess I better get a smaller ring," Torako muttered, and set down the potato and needle, and headed back up into the main house.

"What did she think she was piercing?" Leo snapped, and rose off of the seat to go after her, but Max quickly stopped him and eased him back down. "I don't like your friends. They all want to kill or maim me."

"Not Jake, he just liked watching you suffer."

"Oh, is that all?" Leo snapped.

"Hehe… Hey, I'm the cranky one here," Max smiled warmly at Leo and looked down at him, then a few moments later reached over and pulled Leo closer to him. "Listen, I worked too hard for you to leave you for Torako."

"So, did you guys…?"

"Nah. The only girl I've ever been with—" then Max stopped short, knowing the other half of his sentence would only make Leo angrier.

"Was who?" Leo swiveled on the seat and looked at Max above his glasses. "Did I know her?"

"Kinda," Max answered, clearing his throat. "Hey, about time you got back!" he said cheerfully, grateful at the sudden appearance of Torako.

"Aw…. You gays are so adorable and non-threatening," Torako said with grin.

"No, you're just a damn giantess," Max muttered, and handed her the ice bucket. She set down the potato a moment, and went to work at numbing the area.

The four children, who had busied themselves with a board game (Lupin was also present, but was not allowed to be banker, under order of Dako), all turned their heads at the ensuing scream. Even Avery looked up, having felt the vibrations of the yell through the wooden coffee table.

"I think they killed him," Jared muttered, then dropped the dice.

"She's the devil!" Leo shouted as he stormed out, a brass standing towel rack in his possession. Max went to approach him, but only had the towel rack pointed in his direction. "And you're just helping her!"

"Woah…" Dako blinked, paying no attention as Lupin attempted to calm down the fight after standing and cautiously walking over to his son. "I mean… I know he's one of our dads, but he's gone from geek to… Wow…"

"Huh?" Faye blinked, and realized this had been said in her direction. "Um… Yeah. I guess, if that's what you're into."

"I have a thing for guys who can kick ass," Dako admitted with a smirk. Jared only snorted at this, and Avery sipped contently at his juice box, looking over his shoulder at the ensuing fight with calm interest.

"You know…" Fujiko now returned from the kitchen with a bowl of chips for the kids. "He never did like needles growing up… Oh! Lupin!"

"Crap, Dad!" Leo yelped.

"That's gonna leave a bump," Dako cringed.

"Ya think?" Faye inquired.

"Ohhh yeah," she nodded. "Accident or not, he was decked at full-speed by solid brass."

"Yikes… Grandpa's not gonna be happy when he wakes up," Jared mumbled.

Beijing, China:

"Xie xie," Ryo nodded gratefully, then turned to Toshiro and sighed. "No one here has seen him, either."

"You really think he'd be here?"

"If you want to go one place, I'd think it'd be China… Over a billion people, and he knows the language fluently," Ryo muttered, and took a seat at the bar beside Toshiro. "If my mom hadn't burnt all of her bridges when she left the gang for Victor's dad, this wouldn't have been a problem."

"Wait, what?" Toshiro's neck snapped in her direction at this news. "He was almost your brother?"

"Listen, my mom's like the female Lupin… I'm more surprised when I find people she hasn't had a fling with, sad as it is. No more gross than Lupin having a crush on your mom."

"Yeah, he drooled over her plenty," Toshiro muttered, then scratched off another line on the list the two had made. "I promised Yuki I'd be home by Christmas."

"You have," Ryo glanced at her watch. "Twelve hours."

"We haven't missed one since I went off to New York… Hehe, I always feel like if I'd stayed, she wouldn't have turned into… Well…"

"Such a hard ass?"

"Yeah," Toshiro nodded. "For lack of a better word."

"Eh, that's just Yuki… I wouldn't love her if she weren't so cranky," Ryo said with a grin.

"Sooo you think she's mad?"

"She's probably looking for you so she can stick one of those swords up your ass."

Paris:

"When I find him, I'm gonna stick both of those swords up his ass!" Yukiko growled, and slammed down her glass. Saiyuri gave a shudder at this, and began to wail, and Yukiko shut her eyes at the sound of the piercing crying. She could see why the little girl was crying, though; her one parent had left in the dead of night, and the other one was a ball of short nerves and anger.

"S-sorry," Yukiko bent down in front of the little girl and shook a bit as she went to comfort Saiyuri. "It's just… Well, he promised he wouldn't, and…"

"Daddy's gone forever!" she wailed.

"N-no he's not," Yukiko answered with a nervous grin.

"Like Uncle Ally…" she sniffed, and Yukiko held the little girl close after she uttered this, and remained silent for a short while. "…Daddy just went to go bring Uncle Ally home. Ally… Well, he was really sad, so he went away to think for a while, and… We're just worried about him. Sooo that's why Daddy and Aunt Ryo left."

"They gonna find him?"

"They'll try like hell, kiddo," Yukiko answered with a knowing grin, and parted from the girl, then lifted her up. "Now… More importantly, I'm gonna have to do some shopping today."

Saiyuri cheered at this, and Yukiko smirked, "Yeah, yeah… I liked shopping a lot as a kid, too."

"So what're you going to do now?" Heiji sat on the bed, holding Hikari in his arms, while Fuji looked out the window, her back turned to him. "It's down to five of us… Four, really… I mean, someone's got to take care of the kids, right?"

Fuji was quiet a while, then looked to Heiji, optimistic as ever, "Well… We have a Lupin… We have an Ishikawa with a sword, and we have a Jigen… My dad did it with four people, so I'll do it, too!"

"That mean I'm Fujiko?" Heiji asked with a sigh as she approached him.

"No, I'm Fujiko," Fuji sat down beside him and messed with her daughter's hair a bit. "They don't really have a name for you, Heiji-chan."

"Why am I thinking it's 'babysitter'?" Heiji asked critically.

"Nooo. We're dropping them off at the Zenigatas! I mean, I can't really do the family tree right now, but they're someone's grandchildren somewhere!"

Heiji rolled his eyes and laughed, "Yeah, just what they need… They had Max for over twenty years, do you really think this is fair to them?"

"Oh, if Blondie had gone to any other parents he just wouldn't be the same Max we love and adore!" Fuji smiled at Heiji's scoffing at this, and leaned in to him. "Speaking of Blondie, he and bro going to be in San Francisco, too!"

"You know this how?"

"I have their house bugged, maybe… How do you think I know what to get those kids every Christmas?" Fuji said with a grin.

"That's incredibly creepy, even by your standards. So what'd you get them this year?"

"Ehehehe…."

Then came a scratching from the closet door, and Fuji's seemingly innocent smile became even less convincing. Heiji handed the baby to her, and was cautious in opening the closet door.

"It's not Odori is it—WOAH!" he yelped at he was tackled by what he thought was first a large black monster.

"I got a little depressed and did some shopping this morning…" Fuji answered quietly.

"It's just not enough to donate to orphanages every year, you have to go all out on your nieces and nephews, too?" Heiji managed to push the beast away and glared as he gripped onto the nightstand to rise. "If he tries to ride me…"

"Nooo he's not my brother, Heiji-chan!"

"That was very traumatic, by the way," Heiji muttered as he stood and looked at the animal. "Is it some kind of dog… Cow… Thing…?"

"Mastiff," Fuji answered with a grin. The dog merely sat and stared as Heiji, wagging his tail passively.

"He's out to get me," Heiji muttered, and wiped his drool-covered face with his hand. "Yuck!"

"Hehehe I found him in a pound."

"Wow, I couldn't imagine why," Heiji muttered plainly as he looked the dog over. "Does it have a name?"

"Ehh not yet… Heiji-chan?" Fuji giggled.

"No," Heiji snapped. "Can we go drop him off?"

"Sure thing! Lemme get Hikari-chan ready. You hang out with the puppy!"

Heiji looked down at the door, and their eyes met a moment, then Heiji jumped after it gave a loud bark.

"Okay, we're ready!" Fuji said cheerily.

"Yeahhh… We're dropping this off first, right?"

"You betcha," Fuji winked and grinned. "C'mon, Heiji-chan! You get the puppy!"

"Of course…" Heiji found the dog's collar and tugged at it. The dog failed to comply, and Heiji found himself pulling at the collar. Fuji merely gave a whistle on her way out, and the dog ran off after her, knocking Heiji on the ground once more.

The Lupin-Zenigata residence:

"Arm, you think?" Torako asked Max quietly as they conversed quietly in a corner of the den. Lupin was a sprawled out on the couch, an ice pack quelling the bump rising on his head, and Fujiko had taken his spot in the board game. She had totally turned the game around, and now was the clear frontrunner in the game. It was beginning to turn into a fierce competition between her and Dako, while Avery, Faye, and Jared all looked on, a bit worried about the determined expressions both wore.

"You two… Are trying to kill me…" Leo muttered, rubbing her sore ear, and flinching as he touched it. "What was the point of that, anyway? I mean, there're gangsters out there who don't have pierced ears, too."

"It's one of the signs you've been let in… It's part of initiation, only another Inu can do it to you," Max explained. "At least I don't have to stab you, hehe."

"What?" Leo yelped, gawking at Max's amused expression.

"Yeah. I had to hang out with her for a week and go through whatever hell she put me through, because she was a senior," Max said with a laugh, pointing with his thumb to Torako.

"Remember when I died your hair with ink?" Torako laughed.

"Ohhh yeah," Max nodded. "Go figure they give me the mean sponsor."

"How could you…" Leo looked to Torako, and then to Max. He had known going into the relationship that Max was a little 'different', and had anger issues… But this was a whole other side of Zenigata-Lupin, who laughed about the torment he'd gone through.

"Hey, I'm probably gonna go grab you some ice. Leo, you wanna follow?" Torako walked over to him and held out a hand. Leo sighed and stood, not even acknowledging the hand, and Torako nodded to Max, who only looked back to his children, who were now in the middle of a great board game war. Lupin still hadn't woken up from his K.O.

Leo entered the kitchen, where Torako already stood, bent over and gathering ice from the fridge. All he would have to do was grab her by the hair and slam her head against the refrigerator door, and the queen of pain would be gone from him life forever.

"Hey!" but it was too late before he could make it. She was already standing again, ice pack in hand. "Here ya go! That ought to help with the swelling!"

"Thanks…" Leo muttered, taking it and placing it on his pounding ear.

"I'm not trying to steal your boy toy from you," Torako said, leaning against the granite kitchen island and looking Leo over. "And I really appreciate you doing this for me… For him and me…"

"No problem," Leo muttered, looking down at the ground.

"I grew up in foster homes," she announced after a few moments. "My dad was in organized crime, my mom died when I was born…. When he was taken to the pokey, no one wanted me. I didn't have any family in the States, either… That's when the Inus took me in. They were all people like me… They didn't fit in anywhere…. Because they were biracial, like Max, or didn't have parents, like me, or they just sucked at life and couldn't think of anywhere else to go… They were cool, but… Max was my first friend. And I think of him as more of a brother than anything, so don't worry. I don't want him for that, okay? I'm not gonna move in on your man."

"Urm….. Thanks," Leo answered with a blink. He now felt about a foot tall; she seemed to have a past even more screwed up than that of Max's. But was he supposed to have known?

"Good," she punched Leo in the arm and smiled. "I just wanted to make sure that was square, 'cause I was getting the impression you hated me for a few, there!"

"Hehe…" Leo only gave a faint laugh, then cleared his throat. "So, are you….?"

"Gay?" she concluded, grinning. "Hell, no! I like guys wayyyy too much! I'm just butch, is all!"

"Makes sense," Leo said with a moment's thought. "So what else do I have to do… For this Inu gang thing?"

"Hrm? So you're really gonna do it?"

"Well, my hair's dyed now, and I've got yet another hole in my head… Might as well, right?"

Leo wasn't prepared for the strong embrace Torako delivered to him, much less when she lifted him off the ground then kissed him on the cheek.

"Lee, you freakin' rock!" she said with a grin, and then went off running down the basement.

"Lee?" Leo repeated after recovering from the back-breaking embrace of Max's friend. "I have a feeling… That this is going to be one of those things I regret."

Hong Kong:

The room was mainly dark red, except for the mahogany woodworking. There were brush paintings along the walls, on white canvases. Fierce tigers, cranes in flight, and scenic views of old China, mainly. The floor had a matching red carpet, and was sparsely furnished. The only lights came from above, in a yellowed chandelier, as well as two torch lamps standing on either side of the exit. And there were two men on either side of the older Chinese man in the mahogany and red cushioned chair. They were dressed in suits, he was in traditional dress. Ally had his black jacket tossed aside him, as his feet.

"So. You are familiar with my sister," the older man said after taking a long pause to examine Ally over.

"She's my mother," Ally answered, then gave a dry gulp.

The man turned his head to one said, and smiled, "But your last name is different from Ming?"

"Yeah. It's Jigen," Ally answered with a nod.

"Jigen? I didn't know the whore had married… That's… Japanese, right?" he continued. "For what, temperament?"

"Dimension, I think," Ally answered with a cough. The older man gave a laugh.

"So what brings a young man like you out from the protection of his father's wing, neh?"

"I want to join you. I came a long way so I could," Ally answered, taking a step forward. The guards went to attack him, but the old man held up his hand, and stood, then slowly walked over to Ally.

He gave a smile, and patted Ally on the shoulders, "Welcome, my son… You are welcomed in the family of Ming Ju-Long. We will make you one of the family, gladly. You will find peace here."

Ally bent his head down, and nodded, "Thank you…"

"You are welcome. Now your initiation begins immediately."

The Lupin-Zenigata Household:

"You're sure this is temporary?" Leo said unsurely, glancing in the mirror and trying his best to look over his shoulder at his back.

"Sure is! It's like the new 'thing' now," Torako answered, and stood up from the stool she had been working on. "Now you're really an Inu Gang member!"

"I always thought tattoos would make people look like jerks," Leo muttered, then snapped his head in the direction of Max and Torako. "N-not you guys, but…"

"Eh, no offense taken!" she answered with a grin. "Max and I are jerks. So it fits!"

"Speak for yourself," Max muttered, then also stood, although with less ease. The doorbell went off, and he gave a groan.

"I'll get it!" Faye said happily, jumping up from the board game quickly and rushing up the stairs.

"If it's the religious people remind them that this is a house of Satan!" Max called as she went running to the front door.

"I better go check, too," Jared said after a moment's thought; it was more of a selfish move, to get away from the ensuing battle between Fujiko and Dako. Avery followed his older brother, only signifying with the Sign 'same', and they were gone as well.

Max and Leo thought nothing of this until they heard happy squeals, followed by barking. Max grit his teeth, and Leo excused himself, and went running up the stairs before Max could shout. He still could hear it ringing from the walls as he made his way into the kitchen, a loud, long "FUJJIIIIII!"

"Lookit, a puppy!" Faye said excitedly as Leo entered the living room where the large beast sat drooling and enjoying the attention of the three children.

"….." Fuji said nothing to the glaring Leo, only gave a wide, nervous grin. "….I like your hair," she finally said.

"Hey, does he have a name?" Jared asked, although he did not stop petting the dog as he did so.

"Ummm I don't think so," Fuji answered, and knelt down with the children. "He's a cutey, though, huh?"

"Aww, puppy," Dako said as she now walked into the living room. This caught Leo off guard; Dako wasn't an 'aww' person. But she, too, bent down and began to coddle the dog.

"He's your problem, now. He likes to eat USB cables. Have fun with that," Heiji said, shoving the leash into Leo's chest. "And don't bend down to quick."

"Wh—Oh," Leo answered, blinking at the panting dog who was now staring and drooling at him. "Guys… That's a lot of work… And you know we travel."

"Aw, can we please keep him?" Faye asked, looking up at Leo with her big brown eyes.

"No way," Max hobbled out and laughed. "He can't say no, so I'll say it. No, no, no, and no."

"We could say he's a hearing dog for Avery!" Jared said, and Avery nodded in agreement.

"He's bigger than Avery," Max answered. "He's going."

The four children gave a moan, and Fuji sighed, "Come on, guys. Every kid needs a puppy growing up, you know that!"

"I didn't have one, and I turned out okay," Max answered, and Leo looked at the dog once more.

"Okay," said Leo. "We'll try it out. But no fights on who takes him out."

"We won't," they muttered.

"We gotta find a name for him!" Faye said excitedly.

"Yeah! How about—" Jared was quickly cut off, though.

"If you say Akamaru or Kiba, I'm going to smack you down," Dako said sternly.

"I wasn't!" Jared snapped. "….But they are cool names…."

"Ugh…" Dako grunted. "How about Harry?"

"How about no," Jared answered.

"Jake's a nice name!" Faye said with a gasp.

"No it's not. Moving on," Max answered quickly.

"So what do you think is a good name, Miss Know it All?"

"Drake?" Dako said with a shrug.

"Ew, that's like that stupid show you watch!"

"It's not stupid! Say it is, and I'll kick you right in the ass!" Dako snarled.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Leo said with a sigh, and held up his hand. The dog stood in front of Leo and Max, and barked.

"He came with a muzzle, right?" Max asked Fuji.

"Max, if you can't think of anything nice, go sit down over there," Leo answered in a snap; clearly with everything happening, his fuse particularly was short.

And the dog sat at this command. Leo looked down at him, puzzled, then thought for a moment, "Max, roll over."

"I'm not going to—" but Max then stopped as the dog did just that, then looked up at Leo with his tail wagging. "…You're kidding me... His name's Max, too?"

"It is a really common name for a dog," Leo admitted, brushing back his hair, which was still sore from when it had been bleached.

"The most popular, actually," Heiji added with a nod.

"What's all the commotion about?" Fuji asked as she walked up the steps and into the living room. "You guys have a dog?"

"Now they do," Fuji answered happily, and clapped her hands together, "When'd you get here, Mom? Is dad here?"

"Yeah, I knocked him out cold," Leo answered quickly, and then quickly changed the subject. "Mom, we've got to leave tonight, would you and dad mind…?"

"Not at all. Your father's concussion should be all gone by then," she answered with a smile and a nod.

"Concussion?" Fuji yelped. "What concussion?"

This went unnoticed, however, and Leo and Max walked back to the basement, while the children continued to coo over the new dog.

"Ari and your father had an incident…" Fujiko answered with a pat of Fuji's shoulder. "Can you stay for dinner?"

"Ehhh no. I have a flight to catch," Fuji answered with a grin.

"And this has absolutely nothing to do with their travel plans, huh?"

"Leaving? They're leaving? Where to? Romantic getaway, trip with the kids to Disney?" Fuji asked with a knowing grin.

"Watch your ass, Fujiko," her mother answered with a knowing smile of her own.

"Hee hee.. I've got a flock of guys willing to do that for me, Mom! I'm one hot little MILF!"

"…You're going to be such a cause for embarrassment for that poor baby when she gets older."

"At least she'll have her cousins to complain to," Fuji said with a shrug.

"…So any luck with Ally, yet?"

"Nothing," Fuji answered with a shake of the head, immediately losing the smile and glint in her eye. "Toshiro-chan and Ryo-san are out looking for him, though, which has got Yuki-chan feeling pretty upset…. Which really is not good for someone in her condition!"

"Wait, so she's… Again?..."

"Mm-hm! Her face is starting to fill out already, and she's crankier than normal!"

"…I still remember braiding her hair when she was little," Fujiko muttered. "I don't know what you're going to go do, but you stay safe. It's not just you, now, Fuji, other people depend on you, too."

"I know, Mom."

"And I'm talking about your daughter, just not your team."

Fuji nodded, and turned to leave with Heiji, who was now over visiting his Uncle Max and was simply ready to move on. "Do you want me to bring you back a present, Mom?"

"All of you alive, preferably," Fujiko called out, and folded her arms as she watched her daughter and future son-in-law walk out of the house. "…I'd always hoped you'd have as much sense as your brother, Fuji… It's a whole different game from the one your father and I played."

"Fujiko-chan, you mind explaining to me how I lost three hours and developed a splitting headache?" Lupin had managed to drag himself up the stairs and still clutched on to his ice pack, which hid a welt that Leo had managed to inflict upon him.

"Hrm? Oh, I'll tell you all about it, later. The kids got a puppy."

"Ari hates dogs. Max hates almost anything living."

"Mm, I think part of Fuji knew that," answered Fujiko with a nod.

A week later, Hong Kong:

"What do you think?"

"I think this is the reason I identify more with Taoism," Ryo said with a laugh as she looked over the pathetic bonsai tree, dressed up to look festive. "It's past Christmas, though!"

"Mm, well, I couldn't get a tree until now," Toshiro adjusted the foil star atop the tree and smiled at it affectionately. "It looks like the one Julie and I had a few of our Christmases."

"How many does this make without her?" Ryo wondered aloud as she continued to look over the map and cross off another location.

"Seven," he answered. "Seven years since I lost her."

"And eight since my engagement went up in smoke," Ryo added, and folded up the map. "Well, we searched through all of that region, and Fuji's called me," Ryo glanced at her cell phone on the table, "fifteen times this past hour."

"I know if you pick up, though, that it's gonna be a bitch fest for both of us," Toshiro brushed back his hair and shut his eyes. "How hard is it really to find a short biracial guy with a beard who's either dressed like Bruce Lee or Wayne Gretzky at any given moment?"

"Harder than I thought," Ryo answered, and gave a wince.

"Everything okay?"

"It kicked me," she muttered, placing a hand on her stomach. "Little monster, I'm the one letting him live here, you think he'd manage to not kick at my liver every five seconds."

"Well, it is Victor's," Toshiro shrugged. "You should get some rest, Ryo—All this traveling isn't good for you or that baby in there. I cut both Julia and Yuki down on the strenuous activity when they were this far along," Toshiro rose and took her hand, and she stood up from the chair and walked to the bed.

"Do you still miss her? Julie? I mean, I know you're with my sister, but…"

"All of the time," Toshiro answered.

"Mm, I miss Ari a lot sometimes, still," she answered as she removed her sandals and rubbed her sore feet.

"Not the same as having him die on you."

"Ari's gone," she shook her head. "There's Leo, now. I almost killed myself because I couldn't see that."

"Well, we do stupid things for people we love. I got sucked into playing Linus in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown because Julie gave me the puppy dog eyes," as Toshiro spoke he picked up his backpack and headed to the bathroom. "I say we call it a day…"

"So, did you have to carry around a blanket?"

"Get to sleep, Ju—Ryo," he stopped, and shook his head. "Urm, sorry…"

"It's okay… You're probably a little off when you're not around your blanket, Linus…."

"Meh," Toshiro muttered, and turned in to the small hotel bathroom.

San Francisco International Airport:

"When did they shut down Terminal 2?" Max muttered to Torako as they took the escalator down to baggage claim.

"In 2000," Torako answered, blinking. "You reallyyyy haven't come to this airport in a while, have you?"

"Eh, we always end up at a different place from where we started, or we don't take this airport," Max shrugged.

Leo removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "If I have to go through a random airline search one more time…"

"Oh, you did great!"

"You looked like a scared bunny, it was cute," Torako added with a smile.

"…When do we get to this Inu Gang I'm going to help you guys with?" Max was about to speak, but Leo held up a hand after picking up his suitcase. "I see drinks… I'll be right back…"

"Wow, he's turning into you," Torako blinked as Leo grumbled and headed to the wine shop. "Does your boyfriend usually booze it up right when you get somewhere?"

"He's stressed… And it's more than the Inu thing," Max answered, leaning on to his cane for support. "Would you give us…?"

"Take all the time you need. I'm gonna hit the Pacific Outfitters and see how long it takes for a security guy to start following me around," Torako pointed to the said shop, and then hurried down to it without another word.

Max, meanwhile, hobbled over to the shop Leo had ducked into, and looked about at the numerous wine bottles, being taken aback before focusing on Leo.

"Bourbon, neh? Good memories…" Max smiled as he glanced over Leo's shoulder. Lupin nearly dropped the bottle at Max's voice, and turned to face him. "What's eating you…? I know Torako's kind of a pain, and a new dog isn't helping, either… But something else is going on with you, I know it…"

"It's nothing," Leo answered with smile. "Sorry, just had a lot on my mind… Ally went missing."

"What? As in, out of Fuji's sight?"

"Mm," Leo nodded. "Yeah… I thought something was weird when I was reading about how Carmen had returned to Cagliostro after an extended vacation—"

"Which means she was really with them, but go on."

"She wasn't with Ally… So I called around a few connections I have in the family, and he's been MIA for a close to a month, now, which is a very un-Ally thing to do. He'd die for Fuji. If there's one person he loved besides Carmen, it's Fuji."

"So what're you thinking?"

"About asking Fuji if she wants to join up again after this," Leo answered, placing a wine bottle that he had been holding back on the shelf and turning to Max. "Ryo and Toshiro are already out there looking for him, and I think she needs all the manpower she can get."

"You know this means possibly returning to the dark side, young Skywalker…."

Leo gave a small laugh at this, "Yeah, well, I'm infiltrating a gang for one of your friends, I might as well go save one of mine."

"So… You and Ally…?"

"Never as close as you and me, but he was always there for me… I just hope he's all right."

"Well, for your sake I hope he is, too, buddy," Max patted Leo's shoulder and grinned at him. "He'll be fine, I mean, it's Ally. He's one of those crazy people who has nine lives just because of that fact."

"Kinda like your buddy?"

"Torako's on her last life and knows it—Hence why she's calling me in. I was one of the fiercest Inu Gang fighters in my day! Hell, I'll probably be able to kick some of those punk asses even with a cane."

"I just hope I can manage to do the same if they find out I'm a cop."

"Elbow's the strong point in your body. Don't forget that," Max instructed him. "Might want to pick up some wine, too."

"For your parents?"

"That and you can make a pretty decent knife out of one…" muttered Max, who then laughed.

"If you weren't a cripple I'd punch you now, just to let you know…"

"Eh, that's not the Inu spirit… If you were one of them you'd have my wallet off of me by now."

The other side of the airport:

"Lookit, Yuki-chan!" Fuji grinned widely and pulled off a bright floral maternity shirt off of one of the shop racks. "You'd look soooo cute in this!"

"I'd look like barfed up fruit salad," Yukiko muttered as she looked it over.

"Ohhh here's this shirt! I had one of these!" Fuji held up a bright pink shirt that read 'Bun in the Oven'. Yukiko scowled at this. "I'm getting you one of these," Fuji whispered.

"Do it and I kill you," Yukiko muttered as she looked over the rotating key chain stand.

"On edge, aren't we?" Fuji poked her playfully and smiled. "You're lucky though, that you get to do it all again. I wasn't even awake when Hikari-chan was born!"

Yukiko only wordlessly looked up from above her fedora, and Fuji took this as a signal to continue.

"Mm-hm! I was in a coma for a couple of days… It was fun, though—Had some really pleasant dreams in that time… Like cool Wizard of Oz type stuff! Then I woke up and found out they'd gutted me like a fish. Not fun."

"Urm…. Sorry…" Yukiko wanted to crawl beneath a rock at this point.

"It's okay. I've still got room and board and—"

Yukiko held up her hands, "Fuji I… I'm really sorry, but I'm not big on Mommy Talk. I don't to breathing exercises, I don't have a friggin' Baby on Board sticker, I don't dress my kid up like it's a Chihuahua. I just…"

"Let's go try this on you, Yuki-chan," Fuji then pulled off a dress from one of the racks and pushed the protesting Yukiko into one of the fitting rooms.

"What the hell was that about? We've got Dori and Jordan and—"

"We're being followed," Fuji said with a grin as she pulled off her jacket in the small room.

"Wait, what? Who would want to follow us?" Yukiko did a double take at this, then took a step back, her back at the wall of the changing room as Fuji began to undo the gunwoman's tie.

"Probably whoever Ally's working for… He's not the kind to strike out on his own. Now, come on, we need some disguises, and we need to get you and your baby out of here!"

"What about our kids?"

"I would trust Dori-chan with my own and my daughter's life any time," admitted Fuji with a smile, and she then turned her jacket inside-out, and Yukiko watched as it transformed into a green button-up shirt. "Not easy to do this with denim!"

"It's an airport, you know how tight security is… Hell, if you didn't bribe everyone in sight, you'd have been arrested nine times over."

"Who, me? Fuji asked innocently. "Here, put this on, too," Fuji's dress flipped to reveal a long black skirt, and Yukiko moaned.

"Yeah, cause that goes great with black and white shoes."

"I stole some sandals, they're in my purse."

"How the hell do you think to do all this?"

"What can I say, I've always been a pro at strategy. Goemon and I were the rulers of four-day long chess games," Fuji ripped off the tags and slipped on the dress she had pulled off of the rack, then took Yukiko's old clothes, placed them in a plastic bag and under her dress. "No one'll recognize you like that, Yuki-chan!"

"Let's just go," Yukiko grumbled, and adjusted the headband that had been Fuji's necklace only moments ago. "How're we going to explain this to everyone?"

"Ohhh I have my hints," Fuji answered with a confident smile, and took up her bag on her shoulder again. "Let's get goin'!"

But it was when Fuji put her hand on the doorknob that a bullet came shooting through, inches away from her hand.

"Yikes! Hey, watch it, I'm a rightie!" Fuji shouted, jumping back from the door and looking to Yukiko, who already had her gun drawn. "So much for disguises, neh, Yuki-chan!"

"Whatta we do?" Yukiko asked, her back to the wall.

Fuji wordlessly sat back against the other side of the entrance wall, and made motions which Yukiko understood, and the gunwoman gave a nod. Yukiko raised up her gun with one hand, gripped onto the doorknob with another, and then swung it open, turning about and firing almost instantly. While she did this, Fuji threw out a smoke bomb. The ensuing smoke didn't give Yukiko a good look of the gunman; all she saw was white gloves on one, and only the lithe figure of another.

"Run, Yuki-chan!" Fuji panted.

"And you think I'm doing what?" Yukiko snarled as they ran out of the store, Fuji firing off another smoke bomb over her shoulder.