Chapter 9 I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face

A/N: Well, I've started something I swore to myself I'd never do; name chapters after songs. To go along with this, I've started something called the Obscure Fact of the Chapter, which is just a small fact that has some (even if it seems obscure and random, hence the title) remote relation to the song the chapter is named after. Also, I feel the obligation to apologize to J. Lucy-Daisuke if it seems like I'm ripping her Fun Fact of Boredom idea. The Obscure Fact of the Chapter actually started out as The Obscure Fact of Random Knowledge, an inside joke between many of my friends and me. Oh, and the last time I checked conversion rates, it was about 116 yen equaled one dollar, so Fujiko gave Lealah about 125 American dollars.

Obscure Fact of the Chapter: This song comes from a movie called My Fair Lady, one of my all time favorite movies. Rex Harrison sings it in both the movie and the original play. Julie Andrews was originally cast as Eliza in the play, but when the movie was made, they didn't want a stage actor playing the roll of Eliza Doolittle, so they had Audrey Hepburn take the part. Coincidently, Julie Andrew's breakout movie roll, Mary Poppins, was made one year later.

This chapter is dedicated to my Dad, whom I based Lealah's foster father after and who recently had a close call in the hospital. Love you, D!

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I've grown accustomed to her looks, accustomed to her voice,

Accustomed to her face.- I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Rex Harrison

Chapter 9

Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon were all awake far before Lealah the next day.

"Hey," he said, tying his tie as he stepped in. "I need to talk to you guys. You know, after last night I'm beginning to think that Lealah might be ready for some more intense training. I'm going to get things ready, so Lealah's going to spend the 3 days with you two and Fujiko, ok?" Jigen groaned and Goemon rolled his eyes.

"Does she have to be here? I mean, no one likes her, and she'll just create problems," Jigen said.

"I agree with Jigen. It would have no qualms about spending the day with Lealah, but if Fujiko comes, I will take leave." Lupin grinned at the empty threat.

"And leave poor, defenseless Lealah to Fujiko and Jigen's devices?" He managed to stifle Jigen's indignant exclamation. "You wouldn't." Goemon growled and climbed out of the window onto the roof. Lupin chuckled.

"What the hell were you implying with that statement!" Jigen yelled.

"Relax, I just wanted Goemon to stay here. I don't want Lealah getting relationship lessons from Fujiko, and as resourceful as Fuji-cakes is, it'll take both of you to keep an eye on Lea."

"So why didn't you just tell Goemon that?" he asked.

"It's so much more fun toying with the two of you. Later!" With that he was gone. Jigen sighed. It was going to be one of those days. Well, more accurately, 3 of those days.

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Lealah woke much later to find the adjacent bed empty. This was the usual, so it didn't worry her much. She was sore, mentally and physically, so it took her a few minutes to get up the will to rise. Grimacing, she remembered what her foster father would always say when he came in to wake her for school in the mornings; "Let me see those feet hit the floor!" Sometimes, if she didn't keep herself in check, she could find herself missing him. Ok, so she did miss him.

Yawning, she dragged herself into the kitchen to find, as usual, an absent brother, an ex-mobster sitting at the table and reading the newspaper, and a samurai meditating on the balcony. "Where's Lupin?" she asked, stifling another yawn. Goemon opened an eye.

"Your brother has left to prepare things for your final training, so you will be spending the next three days under Jigen's and my care. Fujiko will also be joining us for reasons that Lupin has yet to disclose."

"Ooh, wow, sounds important. So, three whole days of hanging out with you, Jigen, and Fujiko. Why does it take all three of you to baby sit me?" Jigen smirked.

"One for each day, I guess. There isn't really much to do around here, so you're going to have to keep yourself entertained."

"That's no problem, but did Lupin leave any money? There are some things I need."

Jigen raised an eyebrow. She's been living with us for how long and she's asking for money? "Such as? Make-up and things?" Lealah blushed.

"I don't wear make-up, except for funerals and plays. I only have one change of clothes, and I need some…feminine…sanitary…needs. I can keep washing the clothes, but that might cost more in water and electricity costs later."

"And what would 'feminine sanitary needs' be?" Lealah's face turned redder and she dropped her head, averting her eyes and biting her bottom lip in the process.

"Still Mr. Sensitive I see, Jigen. Hello again, Lealah," Fujiko said, stepping in. "I can spring for the essentials and make Lupin pay me back with interest later. Let's see, 15,000 yen should cover it. I'll come with you to make sure you can find everything."

"Hi Ms. Fujiko. That much? Are you sure? I mean, I don't need that much." Fujiko chuckled in her feminine way.

"Don't call me Ms., and you do need one more change of clothes for now and a nice dress is essential if you're living with us. Not to mention, every teenage girl needs to have tampons and zit cream." Lealah stared at her, mortified, while Jigen pushed his hat further over his eyes.

"Er…um…I'm sorry…why the hell didn't Lupin get this crap for you, anyway!" he exclaimed, almost as embarrassed as Lealah.

Fujiko began to laugh. "Oh, Lealah, don't be such a prude! And Jigen, I have four words for you; Open mouth. Insert foot."

"Screw you, too!" he yelled back. She smirked back.

"You wish. Come on, Lealah, we have shopping to do!" Lealah gave Jigen and Goemon a look, almost as if to say 'Help!' and then she was whisked away. Jigen shook his head, picking the paper up again.

"God help her…"

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First the two girls went to a grocery store to pick up feminine needs. "Uh, Fujiko, I can't really help it that I'm a prude. Like I said, Lupin didn't raise me for most of my life." Lealah said nervously. She was beginning to dislike Fujiko, and not just because of her closeness to Arsène.

"Oh, I know, I just like to make Jigen feel like an ass. Pick out whatever you'd like. You can read the labels, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I can speak and read Japanese. Why do you like to make fun of Jigen?" she asked, reaching for a box.

"Don't call me 'ma'am,' either. We don't like each other, and I like to 1-up him whenever I can." She responded, looking down at her nails.

"How come? I mean, he's really nice." Fujiko snorted.

"To you, maybe. He's jealous that I pay more attention to Lupin." Somehow, Lealah doubted this very much, but nodded anyway.

"Ok, I'm done in here. Thanks for doing this for me."

"Oh, don't thank me. Lupin is the one that's going to end up paying me back. Anyway, it's nice to hang out with someone that isn't a guy for a change," she said, smiling at Lealah. Lealah smiled back, feeling sick to her stomach. This was not a woman with whom she would want to get closer with.

"Thanks."

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After a dress and a new set of clothes had been bought, they headed back to the house. Lealah bounded into the house ahead of Fujiko, purchased items in tow. "Hi! We're back!" Goemon appeared in front of them.

"Did you have a good time?" Lealah nodded and then ran to the bathroom. Fujiko poked her head in.

"Hey. I'm just here to drop off the brat." Goemon frowned severely

"She is not a brat. She is a young lady."

"It's just a figure of speech. I'm off. Flip Jigen off for me." With that she was gone.

"Ok, I'm better. Did Fujiko leave?" Lealah came out of her room immediately after Fujiko had shut the door, as did Jigen. He began to laugh.

"You don't like her, do you?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I've never liked women that use their looks to get what they want. It's cheap, and it just furthers the stereotype of the manipulative bitch, and she furthers that stereotype proudly. I hate it," she told him, her lip curling. "And I heard her call me a brat." Jigen and Goemon stared, surprised that she went off on the rant. Then Jigen grinned.

"Thank you! Now I know we aren't crazy!" Jigen exclaimed, nudging Goemon.

"How did you think we were crazy?" Goemon inquired. Jigen scoffed.

"We are probably the only two straight guys in existence who don't want to bang her. Now I know that she is completely untrustworthy and it has nothing to do with my sexual preference that I don't want to bang her. It has to do with the fact that I can't trust her and I hate her friggen guts." Goemon nodded in agreement and Lealah laughed.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one! I hate the way my brother is always all over her too!" she exclaimed.

"Me too," Goemon and Jigen both said in unison. At that they all laughed.

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"Koichi? What in god's name are you watching? Is that girl singing Take Me Home, Country Road in Japanese?" Zenigata nodded.

"From what I'm hearing, it's not the exact song, but yeah. My daughter used to love this movie…" He stopped talking and averted his eyes as CJ looked on pitiably.

"You really miss her, don't you?" she asked. He nodded sadly. She walked up behind him and put her arms around him. "You're able to see them again, aren't you?"

"Yes, but even when I do get back to Tokyo, my ex-wife doesn't want to see me, and she does everything in her power to prevent me from seeing out daughter." He sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter. My daughter is about 17 now, and she can take care of herself." CJ shook her head in sympathy.

"I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault. It's mine. I spend too much time chasing Lupin to be an effective anything else…speaking of which, I need to analyze that letter. Could you please turn on the radio?"

"Sure. I'll help," she replied, switching the device on. The melody floating from the radio was familiar to Zenigata.

"Huh. This song always seems to be playing when I turn the radio on…"

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Fujiko didn't come back to the Lupin household until much later that night, so Lealah, Jigen, and Goemon spent the afternoon playing poker and rummy. Jigen was the superior poker player of the group, but Lealah ate them both up in rummy.

"Great Buddha! How did you get so good at such a game!" Goemon asked, throwing down his cards in disgust. She had gone out again, causing him to retain at least ten cards in his hand.

"When our school band went on trips, this was all we did in our free time. Especially on the bus. I got so good at it, my friends refused to play. 225." She stated her score to them. Goemon sighed.

"Negative 65,' he said through another sigh. Lealah grinned.

"Twenty-five," Jigen said, leaning back and throwing his cars in the pile. "Let's stop, $35,000 in debt is my limit." Lealah chuckled.

"Hey, that almost cancels out my poker debt!" They were all laughing and chatting as Fujiko stepped in with two large suitcases. The kind that was about two-thirds Lealah's height and you had to roll to get around.

"What the friggen hell do you need all that stuff for!" Jigen exclaimed, flicking ash from his cigarette into a tray. "You're only staying here three days!"

"A woman needs her essentials, or did you forget?" Lealah's face grew red. "Now, which of you two are going to help me with all of this? There's one more bag I couldn't get up." Both men stayed stationary. "Well!" Lealah sighed.

"I'll do it," she said, standing.

"Sit down," Jigen snapped. "I'll do it. There's no tellin' if she'll try to drug you or something is you go out there alone."

"Then why'd you let her take me earlier!" she yelled, sounding a little panicky.

"Jigen isn't serious. I don't think you could lift my bag anyway."

"I threw Lupin over my head, didn't I?" Lealah retorted. Jigen raised his eyebrow.

"That's a story I'll have to hear… Come on Fujiko, you're helping me get it up the stairs." With that they were gone.

"You do realize that Fujiko will be sharing your room?" Goemon said, turning to Lealah. She groaned.

"I'm sleeping on the couch for the next three days then," she said, raising to get bedding.

"Why do you assume that you will be the one to be kicked out?" he asked. She blinked at him.

"I'm the youngest, not to mention a minor. I have no rights compared to any of you," she responded with a particularly sardonic note in her voice.

"I believe that you will find that you have more rights here if you will only speak up for them," he told her softly. She looked as though he had hit her, then her face reflected contemplation. Goemon knew it probably wasn't very moral to use her to take a shot at Fujiko, but it was also teaching Lealah to be more vocal. Goemon had been noticing how she tended to keep it in when she needed to speak up.

"Ok, Fujiko, you're on the couch," Jigen said, leading the way in with the suitcase.

"What! No, this place has two beds in each room! I'll just sleep in the one Lupin isn't!" Jigen shook his head.

"Lupin doesn't want you giving relationship lessons to the Kid, so you can't be trusted in a room alone with her."

"Then make her sleep on the couch!" Lealah glared at her.

"Ladies should always have a bed to sleep on. Bitches can take the couch." Her eyes blazed in fury.

"I guess that bars you from the bed! Maybe you should take the couch too!" she yelled.

"We won't both fit on it because you're so FAT!" he yelled back. Lealah's eyes grew to the size of baseballs. Wrong thing to say, buddy, she thought.

"What. Did. You. Say?" she said, her voice dangerously low.

"FAT! FAT, FAT FATTY!" he shouted back. Lealah rolled her eyes. This was just getting childish now. The phone rang.

Lealah answered "Bialystock unt Bloooooom, Bialystock unt Bloooooom?" in her best Swedish accent. Silence from the other line, then, after a long pause…

"…Um…Ji…gen…?"

"Oh, hi Big Brother. Jigen and Fujiko are fighting."

"Yeah…um, put her on, will you?"

"Hey, Fujiko. Fujiko! FUJIKO! My brother wants to talk to you." Fujiko turned back to a red-faced Jigen.

"We'll finish this later, mob-rat," she seethed. Jigen proceeded by flipping her off.

"Jigen, you don't have to get into a fight over me. I really don't want to cause any trouble…"

"Oh, that little…bitch won't be getting away with this. This isn't even her house!" he growled. Fujiko slammed the phone down.

"Lupin says if I get the only room, it would run the risk of invading Lealah's privacy, so I get the couch since it doesn't matter if you both invade my privacy."

"What does that mean?" Lealah wondered aloud.

"It means that Jigen and Goemon have both seen me naked, and he doesn't want to run the risk of them seeing you naked, so you get the privacy of a room," Fujiko explained bluntly. Lealah gaped like a fish for a moment, her face turning a brighter red than ever.

"Have you no decency, woman!" Goemon roared.

"Fujiko!" Jigen yelped. "She doesn't need to know that!"

"Heh, at least I didn't tell her that we screwed. Oh, wait, did I say that out loud?" Lealah wanted to melt into the floor. She didn't want to hear about anyone's sexual past, least of all, his. Jigen's face was almost as red as Lealah's and Goemon had surpassed red and gone on to purple rage.

"Oh my God. This isn't happening," Jigen said, burying his face in his hand. "If I hadn't been so drunk, I never would have done that!"

"I…I think I'm going to go to bed…" Lealah stammered. The red in her face had faded into pale, and she really wanted to get out of there. She disappeared into her room very quickly. Fujiko laughed.

"She really is a prude. Well, since I've effectively embarrassed the hell out of you two, I'll just be off to-" She was interrupted by Jigen grabbing her wrist roughly.

"Don't undermine me in front of her," he told her in a low, dangerous voice. Fujiko struggled, but was obviously no match for his grip.

"Why not? What do you care?" she asked.

"Teenagers need some illusion of stability and authority in their lives," he growled through gritted teeth. "Lupin is an idiot, and has no idea how to take care of a teenager. Goemon has lived under a rock his entire life. You seem more like the type who would eat her own young. That leaves me."

"What do you know about raising a kid?" As she struggled, his grip tightened, crushing her arm. "Let go! You're hurting me!"

"I'm the oldest of three kids. I looked after kids in the mob. I know plenty about it."

"You? Her stability? Don't make me laugh! She isn't some little mafia brat, Jigen. You don't know how to take care of a normal kid." Fear showed through her eyes as his grip tightened even more.

"Do you have a better suggestion? You know she blames you that Lupin doesn't pay attention to her? I'm starting to think that's not just teen angst."

"It isn't my fault Lupin is the way he is!"

"Bullshit. You provoke him. Now, stop it!" He let her jerk her arm away from him. The he glowered and went into his own room, slamming the door.

"Jackass," Fujiko muttered. Goemon stepped in front of her.

"Don't try to embarrass Jigen in front of her. All it will accomplish is embarrassing her far worse," he said, before climbing on the roof to meditate.

"Huh?" Fujiko said.

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In her room, Lealah felt like her heart was being squeezed in two. Anger and hurt welled up inside as hot, unshed tears stung her eyes. This isn't right, she thought. I don't have a chance with him. It shouldn't be hurting like this. I shouldn't even be concentrating on this at all. She couldn't help it, though. She hated the way Fujiko treated her as a tool to get at her friends. It was almost like how an unhappy parent would manipulate a small child to hurt the other. Her fist clenched on her pillow case.

"I'm not just some little kid!" she yelled, slamming her pillow across the room into the door. Just as the pillow fell to the floor, she heard a knock. "Whoever you are, go away!"

"Kid?" Oh. Wonderful.

"Please, Jigen. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now."

"Can I come in? I just want to tell you something," he said. Lealah sighed.

"Fine," she said in a low, defeated voice. He stepped in and walked over beside her bed and sat down. He sighed tiredly.

"Look, don't let her get to you. She's trying to hurt us, not you."

"You know, my stepmother was like her. She'd scare or hurt people for her own amusement. You know what she'd used to do when I was little? We'd go to the mall or something, and she had a car that would only unlock the drives side from the outside. So, she would get in, and I would wait for her to unlock my side. She would start up the car and drive a few feet to make me think she was leaving without me. She always had this horrible grin on her face when she'd do it. I, of course, would freak. Then she'd stop and laugh at me. Fujiko reminds me of that. Just using me for her own amusement." Jigen was silent for a moment.

"You must have hated it there," he said.

"The man was the nicest person you'll ever meet. I'll never understand how they got married." He smiled sadly.

"You can't really help who you fall for." Lealah nodded. Yeah, she understood. "Just like Lupin couldn't help it that he fell for the Wicked Bitch of the West." Jigen got a giggle for that one. He smiled. "Good. Get some sleep tonight, ok? This bedroom was hard-won."

"Ok. Goodnight, Jigen."

"Goodnight, Kid.

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The next day Lealah woke up uncharacteristically early. When she turned over, it was 7:02. She felt entitled to roll over and fall back to sleep, but found that she couldn't. She didn't feel like listening to music, so she stood up and went into the kitchen. Fujiko was gone, and no one else was up yet. Turning on the TV, she decided to lounge around for 30 minutes, then cook breakfast.

30 minutes later, she was cooking a traditional Japanese style breakfast with her headphones in. Goemon came in first.

"Lealah?" She couldn't hear him. "Lealah!" After the second try, he lifted the headphones from her ears.

"Whaa..? Oh, hi! Sorry about that!"

"What are you cooking?"

"Miso soup and rice. Figured it would be nice to deviate from an American breakfast." He nodded.

"What are you listening to?"

"The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. I don't think you would have heard of it." He shook his head. "Well, it was originally a play based off of a book by a French author. Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote the play, and then did a movie recently. I like the singers in the movie better, so I got the soundtrack."

"What song?" Jigen asked stepping in.

"Good morning! Music of the Night. That and The Phantom of the Opera are my favorites. Don't tell me you saw the play?"

"Yeah, actually. I took my sister to see it when it first came out. She liked the Phantom theme too. Hell, that was around the time you were born, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. Have you seen any plays, Goemon?"

"When I was in America, I saw Miss Saigon. It was not as impressive as Madame Butterfly. All the others I have seen were kabuki."

"Hehehe, Japanese Shakespeare," Lealah muttered.

"Huh?" Jigen asked.

"In kabuki, male characters play female ones, like back when Shakespeare first wrote his plays. Anyway, here's breakfast!" She set plates in front of everyone. "I'm glad Fujiko's gone. Last night was…" Her voice trailed off.

"I know what you mean. She always causes trouble like that when she comes around. A couple of times when she's working an angle, she'll hit on Lupin, and try to seduce him into working with her," Jigen said, taking a swig of coffee.

"The woman has no morals. Leave it at that," Goemon announced. Lealah nodded.

"Ok," she said, leaning back. "So, what are we going to do today? More cards?"

"No!" Goemon and Jigen yelled in unison. Lealah grinned.

"Ok, then what?" Jigen glanced over at the TV, trying to avoid the question, which was playing Jerry Springer at the moment.

"Hey, why are we getting American channels in Japan?" he asked Goemon. Goemon looked back and gave the universal confused expression.

"Oh, that! I set up new connection to the satellite on the roof. I figured that if I was going to become a thief, I might start by stealing cable." Jigen stared at her.

"When did you do this?"

"Well, one night I had insomnia and got up and did it. It was a pain trying to do it quietly enough not to wake anyone."

"How did you learn how to do all this?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I used to take things apart for fun. I'd get in trouble if my foster parents found it, so I learned how to put it back together. It wasn't all that hard," she responded, yawning.

"Well, you certainly are skilled at electronics," Goemon said. She grinned.

"Tried and true gamer, right here." His face screwed up into a look of confusion, and Jigen laughed.

"I should have figured you for a gamer! You seem like the type," he remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean!" she exclaimed in mock offence. He just laughed. God knows we need a tech expert in the group, even if she is just 15. Sometimes Lupin just doesn't cut it. He looked over at her. She was laughing at something Goemon said in response to his earlier comment. Jeez, she'd better make it though this test. I don't know if I'll be able to do it if she doesn't…

"So, what do you want to do today, Kid?"

"I dunno. Since you two dispelled the suggestion of more cards, I don't really have any other suggestions." Oh, what do teenagers like to do for fun? She deserves some of it if she's going to…fail. Don't think like that. She won't. Ok, teenage fun. Friends? None here. Shopping? Oh yeah.

"There's a mall down a couple of blocks from here. How about that?" Lealah forced a smile. She had always been a little odd for a girl, and she really didn't care for shopping. It was almost like that little switch in her brain that puberty usually flips that told her to like clothes had been surpassed. She saw he was trying to do something nice for her though, and decided to roll with it, to be polite.

"Sounds great! Lemme go get my shoes!" She scampered off to her bedroom.

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"What are we doing here?" Goemon asked outside of a Japanese clothing store.

"Giving Lealah a few moments of happiness before she has to go off on this insane training trip with Lupin." He checked his watch. "I can't take much more of this. Let's go find her." Both of them were surprised to find her in the arcade.

"I thought you'd want to go shopping or something!" Jigen said, catching her in between DDR matches.

"Nah, I hate clothes shopping, and the DDR machines here are so much better than the ones in America!" Jigen and Goemon looked at each other and shrugged.

"As long as she's having a good time, correct?" Jigen nodded, and they both went to sit in the food court. An hour later, Lealah came to join them, thoroughly tired and pleased.

"Ah, that was fun. I'll have to pay that kid back for the quarters I pick-pocketed next time I see him. I am sooooo tired."

"Let's head back. It's almost time for dinner." Jigen said. Lealah nodded 'ok.' Back at the apartment, they ate leftovers from the night before, and settled in to watch a movie. The movie was Tombstone with Kurt Russell. Jigen said it was the only current western he could stand, and Lealah had already seen and loved it.

"Doc Holiday is so awesome in this movie!" she said gleefully, after hearing his signature line of the movie ("I'm your huckleberry.")

"Aw, he's just a lunger! Urp was a whole hell of a lot cooler!" Jigen returned. Goemon was left out again. He didn't really mind. He had always thought of himself more as an observant party than an active one anyway.

"No way! Holiday was so much cooler! He had better aim than you!"

"Oh, yeah, right! When he was sober, maybe!" They were still arguing happily when Fujiko waltzed in. They quieted immediately.

"Hi, Lealah. Goemon. Jigen. Are you guys going to be up much longer? I'm kind of tired." Goemon and Lealah looked at each other. She was certainly being nice.

"Yeah, this is a tape. I think I'm going to turn in, too." Jigen said, stretching.

"Yes. Sleep would be a good idea. Lealah, perhaps you should also go to sleep. I don't believe you got much sleep last night, did you?"

Damn him, she thought.

"You aren't sleeping?" Fujiko asked.

"I got a good 3 and a half hours. I'll go to bed, though. Good night."

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The next day wasn't much different. Lealah stayed around re-organizing her side of the room while Jigen and Goemon played pool together on the roof. It was amazing the things they could get up there.

Busy housework was Lealah's excuse to mull things around in her mind. She wasn't stupid. They were all treating her like glass, and she saw it. Granted, they didn't usually have a young girl on the team, but still, she felt something was going on. And what was 'training' with her brother going to be like? That worried her a little bit. He could be tough when he wanted to, and serious. And she knew that her grandfather had been a bit hard on him when he had been the one being taught. She was worried. Then there were her own feelings for a certain gunman who, if she could pass the training, she would be living with. This was definitely a situation she'd never been in before. Of course, she'd had crushes before, but she never lived with or worked so closely with them before. It was different with him, too, since she knew deep down that nothing ever could come out of it. It made it a little easier, somehow. And then there was Fujiko. Lealah did not like her at all, and not just because of Lupin's obsession over her. There was just something about that woman Lealah just couldn't stand…

Lealah sighed. I guess I'll just have to wait to see how it all turns out…it's the only thing I can do… Suddenly, she heard the door open and Jigen and Goemon walked in.

"You know, you didn't have to slice the pool table in half," Jigen commented, sitting on the couch.

"I was losing. It was unacceptable."

"You still didn't have to cut it in half. Now we're gonna have to buy another one," he responded, sighing.

"I bet that'll be a pain," Lealah said, coming out of her room for a brief interval.

"Yeah, it will. A gigantic one. And it's coming out of his share of the next heist!" Jigen said, pointing at Goemon. She smiled and shook her head.

"I do not believe I should have to pay for it. Why do we need another game like that?" Goemon asked.

"It's something to do! Lupin and I don't meditate in our spare time like you do. God knows Lupin needs to stay amused or bad things happen." Lealah laughed.

"That's the truth. I'm almost done with the room, can we finish the movie after I'm done?"

"Sure, sounds good," Jigen responded, craning his neck around to look at her.

"Ok." She walked back in humming something he recognized as being from her Phantom of the Opera CD. He sighed and turned to Goemon as she shut the door.

"Who knew anyone related to Lupin could be like that?" Goemon nodded.

"She seems like a respectable young woman," he replied.

"Woman! Ha! She's still a kid!" Jigen rubbed his eyes. "It's gonna be hard if she fails. Why the hell did you volunteer me, anyway?"

"I don't kill children and it is what needs to be done," he said coolly. Jigen exploded.

"You son of a bitch! You think I kill kids! What happened to 'young woman,' huh!" He sighed and rubbed his eyes again. "Jeez. I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I haven't killed anyone in cold blood in a long time, much less a kid."

"Have you grown to like her?" Goemon inquired. Jigen glared at him.

"If you're referring to Lupin's comment that morning he left, you can both go to hell. As a friend, I don't know, maybe. She's a lot like my sister. More outspoken and outgoing, but that isn't hard to do." Goemon nodded.

"I wonder why Lupin suggested this. I could never kill a sister of mine." Jigen laughed a little in a sad way.

"Heh, I almost killed Lupin to protect my sister once. It's the way his whole family has been taught. He actually would have died if he failed at any of the tests his grandfather had given him. And his father… well, let's just say Lealah was raised by Lupin instead of their father for a good reason."

"I'm done!" Lealah exclaimed, emerging from her room. "Ready for the movie?"

"Yep!" Jigen said back, faking cheery as best he could. "Put it in!"

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Two o'clock that morning found them all sleeping soundly, even Goemon. Lealah was startled away by a noise outside. At first she dismissed it as a nighttime animal, then she realized it came from the hall outside of their apartment. She almost dismissed that as other tenants, until the noises got closer to theirs.

"Don't worry, I won't get caught. He's gone," Lealah heard a faint voice say. A tight tugging started in her stomach. Then she heard the unmistakable scritch-scratch of someone picking a lock. Lealah bolted up. Oh god, what do I do! Uh…Jigen. Get Jigen. She knew that as well as the police, the group had many enemies that wouldn't bother giving them any trial besides trial-by-fire. She crept across to the door that adjoined the rooms and slipped inside. She could barely make out his sleeping figure in the dark.

"Jigen?" She was surprised at how filled of fright her voice was. "Jigen, please wake up…"

"What?" he said, finally waking. His voice was clouded with heavy sleep.

"There's someone outside." He sighed tiredly.

"It's probably just Fujiko, Kid. Go back to sleep." Just as he finished his sentence, whoever was picking the lock jerked it loudly and cursed under his breath. Jigen froze, listening closer, then turned to Lealah and said quietly, "Get your gun." She nodded and as she went to get it, Jigen woke Goemon and alerted him to the situation.

A few minutes later, they all stood in front of the door, weapons draw, ready for anything that might come through. Butterflies fluttered in Lealah's stomach. This was her first real bit of trouble… Slowly, the lock finally turned and the lock creaked open… and in stepped Fujiko to find to guns to her head and a particularly sharp sword to her throat.

"What the hell are you all doing!"

"Fujiko!" Jigen yelped. Lealah let out a held breath and lowered her gun. "You scared us to death!"

"I scared you!"

"What were you doing?" Lealah asked.

"I went out to meet someone. I'm just getting back. I'm guessing from the pajamas you all were asleep." Lealah nodded. "Well, that's where I'm headed. All of you, get out so I can change." Mumbling to themselves, they all began to head back to their rooms. A smile came across Lealah's face.

"What are you so happy about?" Jigen muttered.

"You didn't try to blow my head off when I woke you up," she said. Realizing that he hadn't, and grin spread across his face too. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a half-hearted hug.

"I guess I've gotten used to you, Kid." Lealah, still grinning, hugged him back. She was glad of it.