Lupin The Third: The Gunslinger's Lament

Chapter 4

Much as she had when they left Hutchison House in Maine, and later Ms. De Luca's, Ruby felt a bittersweet sorrow as they left the ramshackle house in Dal Fiume. It was, perhaps, a little less difficult to leave this location, however, as the town held some rather traumatic memories involving monsters and Antony and the awful plot to kill Lupin and do unspeakable things to her. Even Kierra and Adela almost died. And yet, Ruby would always recall the riverside shack fondly as a place of late-night swims and intense but exhilarating training; the training that kept her alive.

Even Lupin seemed to possess something of a fondness for the place. The hillside hovel had proven a good hideout. And as they'd paid for the place, Lupin decided to lock it up tight, especially since he was using the cellar to stash the remains of his target dummies. One day, he may well return to this place. But for now...

Onward to Rome!

The journey from Dal Fiume to Rome was their longest Italy drive yet. It took a couple days, with pit stops. They spent one night camping out under the stars, just as they'd done after leaving Ms. De Luca's. The summer nights were still a bit cool, but whenever Ruby got the shivers, Lupin and Goemon were there to keep her warm. Though she seemed to get colder far more easily than she should, and it had the men wondering if perhaps she was getting sick again.

Ruby was unusually quiet during the trip. In fact, she slept rather a lot, mostly leaning against Goemon. Whereas once, the samurai would've been stiff and flushing hotly, now he seemed perfectly content to have Ruby dozing against him. But her unusual lack of energy concerned him. Typically, the girl was so vibrant and sprightly. Now, she seemed strangely tired. Mostly, Goemon dismissed this as the inevitable result of the harrowing experiences she had suffered as of late. But he was concerned that she might have lost some color. He wasn't alone in his concerns. Oftentimes, Lupin found himself glancing at her in the rearview mirror with frown and furrowed brow. Sometimes, Ruby looked almost sickly to him. Almost.

On the day they arrived, Ruby was in a light doze. Jigen was taking his turn behind the wheel, while Lupin had his feet up on the dashboard, watching the scenery go by. But in time, Lupin glanced over his shoulder and called to Ruby.

"Hey, RuRu! RuRu-chan... Have a look out the window."

As Ruby came to, she glanced out the window and got an eyeful of none-other than the Roman Coliseum. "Woah!" It was the most animated she'd been since leaving Dal Fiume. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed, pressing herself against the window. "It's the Coliseum!" But just looking out the window wasn't enough. Unhooking her seatbelt, Ruby stood on the seat and popped up through the sunroof for a better view.

Goemon glanced up, finding himself with an excellent view of Ruby's backside; one that would have made Lupin envious. Only now, after this long drive, was he flushing again. Swallowing hard, Goemon averted his gaze. Jigen glanced in the rearview and noted the samurai's reaction. A small grin came to the gunslinger's face as he returned his eyes to the road ahead.

Lupin leaned out the passenger side window and gazed up at Ruby. "Whatcha think, RuRu? Is Rome as impressive as you thought it'd be?" Lupin had to admit, he was rather pleased to see the girl so excited. Ever since they left Dal Fiume, the girl had seemed sickly and lethargic. At least now, she had some of her previous energy.

"And then some!" she told Lupin with a grin. "Hey, can we stop and check it out?"

"Maybe later, kid," Jigen called up to her. "I wanna get us set up first before we do anything else."

Pouting at Jigen's words, Ruby slumped back down into her seat. She gazed out the window and watched the Coliseum as it passed out of sight, while Lupin and Jigen discussed their upcoming plans.