Lupin The Third: The Gunslinger's Lament

Chapter 7

As the Fiat trundled through the beautiful historic landscapes of Ancient Rome, they finally arrived at a sprawling set of ruins within sight of the famous Colosseum. And yet, it wasn't that famous landmark the gunslinger took her to. Instead...

"Palantine Hill," said Jigen. "You said you wanted to see some of the sights. Well, a good place to start is right here."

"Woah!" exclaimed Ruby, hopping out of the car and gazing about. "This place is dope!"

"This is one of the oldest spots in all of Rome," said Jigen, as he walked at her side, carrying the bottle of wine with him. "You know that story about Romulus and Remus, the twin boys raised by wolves? Well, according to legend, it was here on Palantine Hill that Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome."

Ruby saw the wistful expression Jigen's face and knew before he even said anything, that he was having a memory of Sofia. Sure enough...

"That's what Sofia used to tell me, anyway... when we first came here together."

Ruby blinked in surprise. When they 'first' came here together, he said. So, then they must have come here often. Was this place Jigen and Sofia's special spot? And he'd taken Ruby here? Ruby couldn't help feeling exceedingly special.

"She was always so excited to tell me things about Rome... as if I didn't already know anything. I never let on that I already knew."

Ruby chewed her lip thoughtfully. Then...

"Romulus and Remus?"

Jigen arched a brow. "Yeah. Romulus and Remus. You know the story, right? Two twin sons of the god of war, Mars. They were to be drowned in the Tiber River, but were found by a she-wolf who nursed them back to health. And later, they were found by a herdsman named Faustulus. When they got older, they founded the town where they were saved by the she-wolf – here on Palantine Hill."

Jigen glanced down at Ruby, his brow arching ever higher as they walked along the ruins. "C'mon, you know this story. Romulus ends up building a wall around the town, which Remus makes fun of, and even jumps his ass over Romulus' wall. He ends up pissing Romulus off, and Romulus ends up killing Remus for shit-talking him."

"Oooh... Wow. That's quite a wild tale."

Jigen gave her a skeptical look. "You've really never heard this story, before?"

She had. Ruby was just playing the 'Jigen' to Jigen's Sofia. The sweet little thing he had told her, about how he'd pretended not to know the things Sofia so excitedly told him... Ruby just felt compelled to echo those nostalgic moments from his past. But it was also a tad embarrassing to pretend she'd never heard of it. After all, she was a recent high school graduate, and she'd graduated with honors, too. She could even hear the surprise in Jigen's voice to think that she'd never heard a story that ought to be part of every basic education's lexicon.

"Oh, um, we might've learned about it in junior high, but it's been a long time, ya know?" said Ruby with a laugh and a shrug. "Easy to forget things. I like the way you tell it, though," she added with a sheepish grin.

"Ahhh..." said Jigen, and when he grinned at her, Ruby knew he'd caught on to her game. His words confirmed it. "Uh-huh. Right. I see. You're about as full of crap as I was."

Ruby blinked up at him innocently with a look that seemed to say, 'Who, me?'

"You're cute, kid. Real cute."

"In a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, or am I, like, legitimately cute? Because I was legit trying to be cute just then."

The smile on his face suggested that she'd truly tickled him. "Heh. Let's just go with both. You were 'being cute.' And... you are cute."