[zapdragon555]

[Warning tags: Language and Violence]


Jigen Daisuke | Arsène Lupin III
^{[#0040BF] - [#BF0000]}

The low hum of flowing sewage water and pipework behind brick walls was sure to put a ringing in Jigen's ears that would last weeks, if they made it out of this 'job' alive. Jigen was beginning to wonder if they'd just walked into some kind of very obvious ploy—and truthfully, normally Jigen trusted Lupin to stay out of a clear death trap. But perhaps he should've done some research this time, instead of just agreeing (begrudgingly) on the spot to this whole venture after Lupin showed up with a bottle of his favorite, expensive scotch and sweet, pretty words about how much money they'd make.

Jigen wished he was still drunk on that scotch. Maybe then this long trek through these humid, disgusting tunnels wouldn't be so unbearable.

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Somewhere, something hissed, perhaps a pipe valve releasing pressure or the like, and Jigen wrinkled his nose and grit his teeth as a fresh wave of noxious fumes rolled over them both. His vision blurred as his eyes watered, and he heard Lupin coughing up ahead. "Boss—" he choked out, trying to raise his voice above the hissing. "Staying alive up there?"

A particularly hacking cough came in answer, but he was just barely able to make out a raised arm and a thumbs-up. The hissing petered out, and the horrid smell became a bit less horrid (or perhaps Jigen simply got used to it—god, he'd never get this stench out of his clothes). But eventually their affliction subsided, and Jigen suddenly realized that no matter how much he rubbed at his eyes, he was realizing that he could barely see the red jacket a few paces ahead. "Lupin," he muttered, trying to hide the edge of anxiety in his voice. "Slow down a sec."

"Sure. Still got that flashlight?" Lupin spoke quickly, and paused his step. Jigen grunted as he hit Lupin's back, and blindly groped for a handhold, finding the other man's shoulder to hold onto for the moment. Jigen fished into his pocket and retrieved the palm-sized little thing. It was cheaply made, and given to them before they descended. If he'd known they'd be down here, he would've brought something more high powered himself.

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"Such that it is," Jigen mused wryly, and handed it off to Lupin. "I'll let you hold it. Just don't go running off and leaving me here."

He could imagine, rather than see, the devilish grin that spread over Lupin's face. "Jigen, darling, are you scared of the dark?" Jigen put away the strange little twinge his heart gave over that darling shit and grunted noncommittally in response.

"I'm scared of falling into sewer water and drowning in someone else's shit."

"So you'd be fine drowning in your own shit. Shit of your own making?" Lupin chirped back, clicking the flashlight on with a small noise of triumph. Jigen wouldn't dignify that question with a response. Not missing a beat, Lupin pointed the flashlight forward. "I'll guide us through this murk. Stay close to me, my sweet damsel."

"You're loathsome."

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The light did well enough to guide their steps at first, but... as the two thieves went along their way, dodging standstill puddles of unidentifiable black water and the occasional spillage of droplets from somewhere above, the beam of the flashlight began to grow... shorter.

Not dimmer. No, Jigen could still see the light clear as day, but it was almost as though the beam couldn't reach anything in front of them. Lupin seemed to notice it, too—he swung the beam around to the walls, was able to see it light up the wet bricks faintly, but pointing it forward... nothing. "Eerie," Jigen's voice came out more squeezed with nervousness than he meant for it to. Silently, Lupin slowed to a stop, and Jigen once more nearly bumped into him with a grunt. "Why'd y—"

"Shh," Lupin hissed softly, and Jigen bit down on his own irritation. He fell silent, and listened for what Lupin had seemingly heard, only to realize... "Quiet."

"I am."

"No, I mean it's... not to be trite, it's too quiet." Lupin didn't sound as though he was smiling anymore. Jigen twitched slightly as something brushed his hip, and he looked down, barely able to make out the shape of Lupin's hand. Silently, he took it in his own. He... really didn't want to get separated.

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The first sound of a crunch nearly stopped Jigen's heart. It came from their own four feet, but already he was reaching for the gun inside his jacket, letting his fingers graze it as the two of them froze, and listened. Nothing but silence answered, an uncomfortably long silence that seemed to stretch endlessly. The crunch had been so sudden that it had almost been deafening in comparison.

Just as Jigen began to open his mouth, the smell hit. It was worse than before—different, and worse. Where as the former stench was something Jigen expected out of a sewer, this was... necrotic. Positively evil. Panic began to rise in Jigen's throat instinctively, bile rising with it, and he felt Lupin crush his hand in a squeeze and pull on him.

"C'mon. Can't see a damn thing—christ," Lupin hissed under his breath, his facade of chipperness breaking as their situation began to set in. Jigen picked up the pace into a run, conscious of the crunch of something giving way underfoot with each stride, and the horrific scent that rushed up from their path with it.

"That bitch's tunnel's gotta be around here somewhere—fuck, I might vomit."

"Don't. I think I see it ahead."

"There's literally no possible way that you can see a damn thing in here, Lupin."

"Just keep close!"

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[Prompt 2 starts here!]

It was nothing short of a miracle that Lupin was somehow able to find the literal hole-in-the-wall that Nix had detailed to them. Even more of a miracle was the fact that Jigen could breathe again without feeling like his already-fairly-charred lungs were burning. The damn flashlight still didn't seem useful at all, but... now that Jigen was looking into the crack of busted sewer wall, he could see a faint light at the very end of the resulting tunnel it made.

"Are we dead?" Jigen muttered, and Lupin grinned in the darkness, snickering to Jigen's benefit and lightly slapping his back.

"Not yet. Plenty of time for that to change. Let's go."

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It was honestly a bit of a blessing that the dim light up ahead didn't reach the floor of where they'd been standing. Jigen didn't particularly want to see what had been crunching and shattering beneath his feet all this time. All he knew was that it was organic, and rotting, and he didn't need sight to supplement either of those observations.

The tunnel was a welcome change. The air here wasn't so much fresh, but it was breathable, and Jigen took deep lungfuls of it as they trudged through the dark. Lupin slowed his gate, all of a sudden, and lightly elbowed Jigen in the arm, bringing a finger to his lips in a soft shh sound. Jigen held his breath for a moment and strained his ears, blinking at the sound of... voices. There were voices, up ahead. And more than that, there was a constant din of sound, rumbling and decidedly inhuman noises as well.

"That's the market, I'd bet," Lupin whispered, jamming a thumb towards it. "Look alive."

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Jigen grimaced as they continued to walk, cocking his hat a bit better over his eyes in a kind of instinctive preparation for a fight. He always needed the brim of it to aim well. "Firing a gun off in a closed place like this is asking for trouble," he grumbled, but reached into his jacket regardless, handling his magnum to ensure he could easily get to it.

"Let me do the talking. If these are a bunch of thieves and cutthroats, I imagine they'll take kindly enough to us," Lupin mused, ever the optimist. There was no going back now, at least. Jigen could accept that much, and so he simply grunted in response, as the opening of the cave grew nearer and nearer.

At last they came out into an enormous cavern, the sound even more deafening here, all echoing around off the walls. Stalls and booths lined the edges of the cavern, with animals both live and butchered being sold and used for transporting heavy goods. Jigen swerved as a cow snorted at him over a makeshift fence, sticking close to Lupin's side. "Where d'you suppose the door is?" he whispered, keeping his voice quiet and near to his partner's ear. "Probably nowhere easy."

"We could ask around," Lupin supposed, but knew that was a risky move. They'd have much better luck in just wandering around and keeping a close eye out.

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"Gentlemen! Can I interest you in some—"

"No thanks, pal," Jigen swept past a man holding an array of cages with small, colorful parrots inside of them, all of them looking quite miserable. He caught Lupin looking back at them with a wistful look in his eyes, and Jigen smacked the back of Lupin's hand. "Y'don't need a bird."

"I knooow," Lupin sighed, sagging his shoulders and leaning his head back. He snapped it forward again to spot a rather thick blockade up ahead, two vendors nose-to-nose in a shouting match with what seemed like a whole swath of employees behind each of them. Some argument about muscling in on one another's markets... it looked like both booths were selling a type of one-of-a-kind pottery, in sets. He supposed they weren't so one-of-a-kind after all...

It was then that Lupin's eyes fell on a pair of thinner shoulders and a hood, obscuring the face of a vendor sitting more quietly at their booth. Lupin lightly elbowed Jigen in the arm and nodded to the booth, making his way over. Perhaps someone calmer would be more willing to talk.

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"Excuse me, hey, sorry to bother," Lupin chirped as friendly as he could above the noise of the commotion to his right, "but my gentleman caller here and I—ow," Lupin grunted as Jigen elbowed him— "—are looking to get past this crowd. Do you know any alternate routes through this place that could keep us out of trouble?"

The figure at the booth shifted slightly, before their shoulders began to shake with laughter just barely audible under the din. "Since when did you two stay out of trouble?"

Lupin jolted at the sound of their—of her—voice. Something in him knew instantly the cadence and rise and fall of it, and his heart leapt with happiness and confusion alike. "Fuji?!" he whispered, bracing his hands on the table to try to get a peek under her hood.

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Fujiko Mine
[#43bcb4]

She tilted her head up just enough to let Lupin get a peek of her eyes, and she took some amount of amused endearment over the way he always seemed to melt a bit over something so simple. "I'm sure asking will get me nowhere, but what is it you two are doing, to find yourself in the Sunken Rows?"

"Issat what this place is called?" Lupin perked up from his puddle of limbs and loose grins that he'd lounged on the table, standing back up to his full height. "Fitting, to be quite honest. Hey, by the by, what was all of that awful-smelling crunch on the floor, outside?"

"You're dodging the question. But to answer yours, I don't know. I came in a different way, with the caravan of merchants."

"And why are you here?"

Jigen's gruff mutter interrupted their small back-and-forth, drawing two pairs of eyes up to his sour expression. Whenever Fujiko was around, it usually spelt trouble, and always spelt Lupin completely losing the plot, every single time.

Fujiko cocked a smirk at Jigen, in a wry way that made him feel too known for his liking. "Probably the same reason as you."

"Nix's troupe?" Lupin chirped, and Jigen could've slapped a hand over his face. Loose-lipped as always. Fujiko seemed to instantly brighten with a glint in her eyes that Jigen could only interpret as conniving. "Fuj, baby, it's been so long since we've done a job together! Isn't that exciting?"

Together! Jigen bristled and grabbed Lupin by the back lapel of his jacket, hoisting him up and back with a surprising amount of strength for such a wiry body, and set him down a few paces back. "Sorry, but we're working together on this one. Us two. Not you. Best of luck to you with whatever the hell you're doing. Hope you don't die."

"You're too kind."

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Fujiko's brow furrowed as the two began to walk off, tapping a long nail on the table with increasing irritation before at last she couldn't take it anymore. With a tense smile, she stood up and cupped a hand near her mouth. "Boys, don't go just yet. I can get you past this crowd."

Jigen paused, but didn't turn. Lupin was already starting to wander back towards her, his expression one of gratitude and excitement. "Is that so?" he murmured, flirtatious in a way that made Jigen gag. "Why so generous, Fujiko?"

She let her smile soften, glad to have Lupin back in her web. Jigen wasn't necessary, anyhow, even if he would perhaps be more useful than Lupin in this job. "I wasn't altogether honest with you. I'm not working under Nix. But I am trying to get to the thing she's trying to get," she whispered, drawing Lupin in close with a hand resting behind his nape. He nearly purred as she scratched through his hair. "Don't you think it would be more fun if we snuck under her nose and made off with Nix's prize, together?" Lupin butted his head into her hand like a cat, and she let him go with an impatient, but amused smirk on her face. "Well?"

"Mmmmnn... it's a good idea, Fujicakes. It is... but..." He had a rotten feeling that Jigen wasn't going to be hearing any of it. Ah, excuses... "Well... we just can't seem to find this door that Nix says is our next stop, so I dunno how useful I could be to you..." Charm rarely worked on Fujiko, but pity often did, as he put on his best pleading look. "If you could help us find it... maybe then...?"

"A door...? Please do tell me more. I think I've seen a—"

Jigen jammed a cigarette into his mouth and exhaled smoke like an angry bull. However quiet they thought they were being, they simply weren't. They'd give it away if they didn't shut the hell up—

He whirled around and slammed a hand on the table, staring both of them down. "Alright. If you know where the door is, lead us there. Come with us, or don't. But I'll have my eye on you," he muttered it like a threat.

Fujiko simply smirked up at him and inclined her head. "I'm used to having eyes on me. Your... decidedly uninterested ones are, frankly, refreshing," she mused, rising from her seat. Jigen grimaced and puffed on his cigarette, unable to discern her words between flirting and mockery. Maybe neither. Maybe he was just jumpy. "It's this way," she breathed, giving a subtle nod towards two enormous stone pillars that cast a shadow on the far wall. "Follow me."

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[Prompt 3 starts here! Chosen path: Blurred Lines]

"There!" Fujiko's whisper was far more noticeable now that they'd put some distance between themselves and the crushing crowd. It seemed the commotion hadn't really died down yet, and was even beginning to escalate; it was a fine cover for the three of them crowding around the door. "I'm hoping one of you two knows something about getting inside?"

"There's a keycard. Jigen?" Lupin looked over to his hatted companion, and the gruffer man twitched slightly, his mouth thinning into a pensive press.

"Sure. Yeah, just a second..." He began to pat himself down, checking pockets, pulling his jacket aside to peer at the inner breast pocket where he kept his pistol. Fujiko's brow furrowed as he continued fruitlessly. Lupin hesitated for a few seconds, then scurried over to bend down to Jigen's feet, poking around between sock and shoe and drawing an irritated noise from above. "I didn't put it in my friggin' socks!"

"I've seen you put money in here, though," Lupin countered, worming his fingers between sock and skin, making Jigen jolt and dance out of the way.

"This is different! Hang on, let me... are you sure she didn't give the thing to you?" Jigen barked, looking flustered by the two pairs of eyes on him.

"She did, but then I said, 'Hold this, Jigen!' and took the flashlight instead."

"No, damn you, I had the flashlight!"

"Ohh yeeeeah..."

Jigen was just about ready to grab Lupin up by the lapels and shake him, when suddenly a sharp clearing of a throat behind him made him freeze and reach for his magnum instead. His finger was already on the trigger as he whirled around and came face to face with someone very familiar.

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Goemon Ishikawa XIII
[#8b88c7]

The samurai looked a little out of place among the various hooded shopkeepers, with a stern tilt to his brow and an almost awkward hold to his shoulders. Between his fingers he held a rectangular piece of plastic, holding it out slightly with an arched brow. "A man pickpocketed this off of you, Lupin," he spoke with a tone that could only be described as derisive if picked apart. On its surface, it was simply a statement of fact.

"So you did have it!" Jigen snapped, grabbing the keycard and pocketing it before Lupin could, and then promptly turning a warmer smirk in the newcomer's direction. "Good to see you, Goemon. You're always a sight for sore eyes. What brings you here?"

"A client caught wind of a rare piece of weaponry being sold here, and tasked me to find it and purchase it. No such thing exists here. Just a wooden sword covered in gold paint." Goemon's mouth twitched slightly as he met Fujiko's smile from over Lupin's shoulder, a light dusting of pink touching his face as his brow furrowed. That letter he'd been sent by that anonymous client had... smelled familiar, like a certain perfume...

"Well, whatever the case, thanks," Jigen chuckled, in considerably better spirits now. That is, until he felt a faint slip against his body, and he barked out a wordless noise as Lupin snatched the keycard from his pocket and darted to the door with a giddy grin on his face. "Lupin!"

"Don't wooorry, we should get moving, shouldn't we? Sooner we get in here, the sooner we find what Nix sent us out to look for, sooner we get that reward."

"Broadcast it to the whole world, why don't ya," Jigen muttered, still bristling, then seemed to settle with a strong, but gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder. He followed it up to Goemon's face and somewhat sympathetic smile, and he felt as his ice-chip heart melted just a little bit. "You joining us?" he asked, in a softer voice to the samurai beside him.

"I thought about not. But seeing as how my purposes here are... moot, now, I'd rather ensure you three make it out of here alive."

The door shucked open, and Jigen jolted softly under that hand, which gripped his shoulder in a reassuring squeeze before letting go. Jigen let out a deep breath as Goemon walked forward, following Lupin and Fujiko inside, and attempted to re-steel himself against that brief bout of affection.

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The metal door shut behind him, and Jigen felt a brief sense of claustrophobia overrun him far worse than in the tunnel. This place smelled like a damn hospital, which was reasonable given it was some sort of area where science was done, but it rubbed him wrong all the same. Already the other three thieves had fanned out, looking around, and Jigen noticed Goemon's dark eyes focused securely on an enormous gaping hole in the wall. Instinctively Jigen reached for his gun once more, taking it out of his jacket and holding it at his side.

"Whaddya suppose did that?" Jigen whispered. Goemon shrugged a shoulder, his hand resting at the hilt of his sword, calm but ready. Fujiko seemed to be peering into a dark room full of glittering lights, tall mechanical servers that looked to be responsible for supporting some high-powered machinery. Lupin, on the other hand, was already moving towards a pair of larger doors that looked to lead further into the structure, a roguish tilt to his brow and smile that told Jigen he wasn't about to ask, or think, before acting. "Lup," he whispered harshly, stepping over to him quickly. "Be smart. Don't go touchin' anything willy-nilly."

It was eerie. The place didn't look abandoned, and other than that huge hole in the wall, everything looked properly in its place. Like every scientist in the room had just up and left all at once, with the composure to set down their coffee mugs. Jigen rushed forward and put a hand on Lupin's arm, gripping tightly and staring at him from beneath the brim of his hat. "You hear me?" he grumbled, the gruff of his voice silencing with a soft breath as Lupin's hand came up to eclipse his own and hold over it, gently.

"Do you have my back?" Lupin asked softly, not looking over his shoulder. Jigen was silent for a few moments, eyes darting back to Fujiko, who seemed to finally be peeling herself away from the server room, and to Goemon, who still looked to be staring down that ruined hallway. Finally he looked back to Lupin, who had turned in the meantime to fix Jigen with a level stare and an unreadable smile.

Always. "Yeah. Whatever, sure," Jigen muttered, flexing his fingers out from under Lupin's hand and rubbing his knuckles on the front of his suit jacket, almost flustered if he wasn't so on-edge already. Lupin seemed satisfied with it, throwing open the doors and stepping into a small interim room that Jigen followed him into, and instantly the two of them were sealed off, a hissing air rising all around them. "The fuck—?!"

"Relax. I think I've seen one of these things before. Decontamination or whatchamacallit. You remember that time we had to pose as surgeons?" Lupin chirped, ever the chipper thing, and Jigen's brow furrowed as he cast his memory back as far as he could reach.

"Nnno. I do not," he admitted, wrinkling his nose at the antiseptic smell that had begun to coat him quite thoroughly. At last the hissing ceased, and the vapor inside the room settled, and the door ahead of them shucked open, allowing them into a rather normal-looking room full of various abandoned equipment, papers, and mugs. Jigen stayed a small distance behind Lupin, eyeing everything a bit more discerningly than Lupin looked to be, but then, Jigen could never tell. Behind him, he heard the sound of the decontamination room activating once more. Maybe Fujiko or Goemon decided to follow.