Lupin the Third: The Del Monte Ruby

Chapter 8

Note: Tried my hand at some Japanese language in this chapter, just for a bit of flavor. Consulted a friend who speaks it, but no guarantee, as it's not his native language and he didn't have the proper context for it. If I told him it was for a Lupin fanfic, he would've hung up on me.

Anyway, forgive me if it's crap.
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It was the perfect hideout.

Hutchinson House was so removed and tucked away that there was hardly any chance of law enforcement or even the private security of Antony Del Monte finding them. It was the second day of their stay, and Ruby was settled in quite comfortably. She quickly discovered that the property had beautiful views, plenty of space to run around, and lots of room inside. However, besides jarred and canned goods in the pantry, there wasn't much food in the house. Thankfully, it wouldn't require a trip back to Harp's Head to get supplies. The small village on Longwell Island was easily reached by foot. Thus, Ruby had taken it upon herself to do what she could to prove her worth to her admittedly unorthodox caretakers.

Running errands for them was just one of those things. And in the small-town village on Longwell Island, it was safe enough for Ruby to go about by herself. And it was this new sense of freedom that she thoroughly enjoyed. Ruby was on such an errand when Lupin returned from a brief trip to Harp's Head to meet with his contact; a simple courtesy and a chance to gather supplies that could not be found in Longwell Island.

As he stepped inside, shortly after noon, he found that Goemon had finally arrived. The samurai was perched on the windowsill of the rounded bay windows which overlooked the shore. They were open, letting in a cool ocean breeze.

"Hey, Goemon!" he greeted.

But Goemon kept his gaze averted and said nothing in reply.

Jigen sat on the couch with his feet up and his hat perched lower than ever on his face. "He's catatonic at the moment." Then, with a puff of his cigarette, "We need to talk."

"Huh? What's up? Do we have trouble?"

Jigen took another long drag on his cigarette. "You need to do something about the kid," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I've grown fond of her, but she's almost getting a little... too comfortable. More comfortable than she ought to be, staying with three men. This is your fault, of course."

Well, whatever it was, it seemed Lupin need not be ready to spring into action. But his curiosity was nonetheless piqued. "Huh? What trouble has Ruby caused?"

"This morning while making breakfast, she was listening to the most god-awful music. But that's not so much the problem. She was dancing to it." This didn't seem such a problem to Lupin, until Jigen elaborated. "She was dancing... in just her blouse and underpants." He took another puff on his cigarette. "Poor Goemon chose that exact moment to arrive, and he's been useless ever since."

"Whhhaaa??" exclaimed Lupin. His shoulders slumped dejectedly. It wasn't fair! How come Goemon got to see that, and he didn't? Oh, life was cruel! So cruel!

From the window Goemon flushed and lowered his gaze, as though he had brought shame upon his ancestors. In his attempt to treat the incident with seriousness, Jigen was trying his hardest not to grin around his cigarette at the memory. But it was difficult to hide anything from Lupin.

"Ooohh, Goemon," Lupin laughed. "You poor, poor man!"

"Bottom line," said Jigen, "You need to get that poor girl some clothes. That's the only outfit she has, and she just sleeps in the shirt and walks around at night without pants on."

"Don't you guys worry. I'll take care of it." Lupin turned away, ready to leave, but hesitated. Quickly, he slinked back to Goemon and whispered, "How did she look, eh?"