#jigen doesn't even reappear :(

[peaterookie]

Lupin III Chapter 54 Review

hiii its time again

today's chapter cover is someone carrying a tied-up lupin in a suitcase.. someone with a hat… and has noticeable beard chin… and has a lanky figure….. and smokOH MY GOD IT'S JIGEN!!!

why is jigen so shady?? why did he kidnap lupin??? FIND OUT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!

once again, lupin is back to being a shady no-good businessman this will probably end after chapter 55 dont worry im kinda getting tired of this too yknow i never thought the whole thing with lupin following orders pretending to be a white collar worker was a good thing anyway because hes gonna fuck things up anyway doing it like 3 times gets a bit old!

this time he's meeting up with a man with a really big forehead and another fujiko

and they're kinda trying to kill each other for some reason they talk for like one second and then big forehead dude leaves, leaving a mysterious assassin to take care of lupin and drives off! weird!

the mysterious assassin reveals that its none other than jigen daisuke! lupin is super shocked! but i think most manga readers saw this coming- i mean he didn't treat jigen any good in the first place…

still, lupin manages to escape the whole ordeal rather unscathed, and comes back to the company that he got hired under

the boss reveals why lupin and the big forehead guy was up against each other apparently the big forehead guy is the president of a rival company, and his devious ass decided to steal the blueprints from them to pass the invention as his own!!

in this panel above lupin saids that they could just steal them back, but the boss saids that they already produced the thingy in the blueprint already sucks to suck

oh yeah the big forehead guy is named kajino but im gonna ignore that because the nickname i gave is way funnier

THEN JIGEN COMES BACK then lupi- oh damn. that's.. rather unfortunate.

big forehead dude scolds jigen for fucking it up and he kinda leaves saying he can still kill lupin then he winks look at that smile :)

ok then now big forehead guy with his stupid big forehead reveals that the product in question is an underwater cabin!! thats kinda cool do we have that in real life now? ill look it up after finishing this

a bunch of reporters swarm him asking questions about the cabin two reporters says that they've heard rumors that he stole the cabin idea from a rival company then fujiko (the woman RIGHT at the beginning of the chapter) accuses one of the reporters as lupin- which she was quite right about! then the second reporter than reveals himself as zenigata, and he arrests lupin. (i wonder why he doesn't arrest the big forehead guy though, manga zeni literally works on a whole different wavelength than anime zeni tbh)

then another revelation! one after another

jigen pops out of nowhere once again and reveals that hes the one that tipped lupin's plans off to Big Forehand Man and lupins like oh my god i hate you jigen im gonna get a new friend

i cant why are both of them smiling what if this is all an inside joke they find it funny jigen keeps betraying him out of nowhere but ok whatever lupin escapes again the usual

then we timeskip!

Big Forehead Guy and fujiko stalk a guy from rival company and they see him entering an underground vault to do more research so they decide to follow him, steal his ideas, and kill him with…

..huh? sure monkey punch! ill go with it

they enter the vault then they had to take their clothes off to prevent being detected with sensors

Big Forehead Man sees two vaults- one for male and one for female and advises fujiko to part ways and investigate both sides on their own

and then… HUH

OH HELL NAW LUPIN'S GONNA FUCK HER-

[lupiiifics]

Acceptance

Fic #1 Posted on AO3 on September 24, 2021.

Summary: Arsène Lupin III is dead, for real this time. Jigen doesn't believe it, even as Goemon tries to assure him it's true.

Word Count: 2,254

He’d seen it happen.

He’d watched the entire thing go down. Had touched his body after it had grown cold. Felt his nonexistent heartbeat and watched as the color— and life— drained from his face. By all accounts, Jigen shouldn’t have had any trouble accepting Lupin’s death. He’d seen him. He had been there, but his mind wouldn’t let him believe it.

Lupin had once told him that Jigen would know when he was truly dead. That the event would be so spectacular, the entire world would be talking about it. But this— this wasn’t what he had been expecting. There was no fanfare. No news outlets proclaiming the death of the infamous Lupin III. Just… silence. A small funeral. A simple gravestone. And silence.

It nagged at him despite everything. Even Goemon and Fujiko seemed convinced of their boss’s ruse, but Jigen was smarter than that. He knew Lupin. Knew this had to be some sort of trick, so he waited.

He traveled, drank himself into ditches all across the world, picked up small jobs here and there with Goemon, and waited.

Nothing.

He blinked and a year went by without Lupin reappearing in his life. There were no random calls, no nagging thieves, and no scented letters. Despite the irritation that would bubble up every time Lupin waltzed back into his life, he missed it. He began to wonder if this was really the end, yet his mind still pushed back on that possibility.

There was no way Lupin was dead. This was Lupin for fuck’s sake. He doesn’t die. And when he does, he always comes back. It was the natural law at this point, and Jigen would wait as long as he needed for it to come true.

He’d started searching for the bastard by time the second anniversary rolled around. He went from safehouse to safehouse looking for clues, sure Lupin had dropped by at least one of them. So far the search had been for naught. Everything was left as it had been the last time they were in each place, dust and cobwebs attesting to the untouched nature of most of their hideouts.

He got excited when he arrived at a small seaside hideout in Japan, hidden along the coast in a small patch of trees. Smoke poured from the thatched roof’s chimney, the first sign of life he’d found since his search had begun. The building itself wasn’t much more than a hut, built by the seaside on a foundation which slowly sank toward the sea. Last time he had been here, the hut was far enough out that even high tide didn’t reach it. Now, it was so close that the lower parts of the wooden planks were discolored and water damaged. It was obvious that no one had been here for years, which was true given the length of time Jigen had been away from it. He didn’t even remember the last time they’d hidden out here. What with Lupin’s flat in the city he so favored, anyway.

The flat had been as untouched as everything else had been, with trinkets, old magazines, and even a pack of Lupin’s favorite cigarettes left to gather dust on the coffee table. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the smoke lazily drifting from within the waterlogged building. Of course he’d pick a place like this. It was hidden, and perfect for someone so obviously determined to hide from him.

He had to keep his legs from breaking into a run as he approached the building, knowing the excitement might scare Lupin off before he even had a chance to say hello. He was always flighty after faking his own death, and Jigen knew he had to treat this delicately.

So he sauntered, much like he always did, with his hands in his pockets and a broken cigarette hanging from his lips. He took a deep breath of smoke into his lungs, held it until it started to burn, and let it out through his nose. He watched as the smoke filtered into the air like the smoke from the chimney, the grey swirls meeting to dissipate overhead.

The front archway of the hut was protected by a straw door which could be pinned up for easier access. Currently it hung loose against the doorway, swaying very slightly in the salt-stained wind. He hesitated for a breath of a second before opening it, his hand pausing just shy of the rough unkempt splinters. For some reason, he felt nervous. Which also made him feel ridiculous.

Fuck it, he thought. It’s Lupin. Why should I be nervous?

He held his hat in place as he ducked into the room, pushing it further down to better cover his eyes. For the first few seconds he stood there, he allowed himself to stare into the brim of his hat. Somehow, that made the nervousness pooling in his stomach more bearable, even if he knew he’d have to look up eventually.

He could feel someone sitting before him, waiting until he made the first move. He took another puff of his cigarette, and turned his eyes upwards as he let the smoke out through the corners of his mouth. A grin tugged at his face, faltering when he saw who it was.

It wasn’t Lupin.

He turned and stormed out of the hut before Goemon could say anything, the pure shock he felt instantly turning into anger. He was out of the hut and on the bank before he realized it, his magnum unholstered and gripped in his right hand like a lifeline. He aimed it at the samurai as he emerged from the hut, pulling the trigger and splintering the wood behind the younger man’s left shoulder.

Goemon wasn’t fazed by the bullet, the noise, or even the messy wave of tears which began pouring down the gunman’s cheeks. He didn’t pull Zantetsuken, or ask Jigen to put away his gun. He simply stood there, his face twisted in a sad expression of empathy.

“Jigen—”

Jigen shook his head. He aimed the gun at Goemon’s chest, and made sure he knew he wasn’t messing around this time. “No. I know what you’re gonna say, and you’re wrong.”

“He’s gone, Jigen. For real this time.”

“That’s not true!” Jigen said. “He always comes back. He told me so himself!”

Goemon took a step toward him, right hand hanging in the air. “We saw it happen, remember? He was shot in the head, Jigen. There is no coming back from that.”

“I don’t care,” Jigen said. “He’s out there somewhere. I know it.”

“He’s not,’ Goemon said. “He’s buried in France, right beside his grandfather. Just like he wanted.”

“You’re wrong. He’s not dead.”

“You held him. You checked.”

“It wasn’t him,” Jigen said. “It was some kind of dummy. Some trick I haven’t figured out yet. He’s not dead, Goemon. It’s impossible.”

“You don’t believe that,” Goemon said. He took another step forward, despite the threat Jigen held between them. Jigen wasn’t sure Goemon was taking him seriously enough, so he pulled back the hammer as a reminder. Goemon's left hand instinctively went to Zantetsuken when he heard the click, though he still refused to draw it. His right hand remained in the air, as if willing Jigen to put down the gun. “He was human, just like the rest of us.”

Jigen’s gun faltered for all of a second before returning to its aim at Goemon’s heart. He shook his head again, refusing to believe the words. “Yeah, but I’ve seen him die again and again. He always comes back.”

“Has he ever been gone for this long?” Goemon asked, and suddenly Jigen wasn’t sure. The last time he remembered Lupin faking his own death, he’d been gone for at most a few months. He always made sure to let Jigen know when to be prepared, with small calling cards scented to smell like Lupin’s sickly sweet cologne.

Jigen missed that smell like he missed cigarettes at the end of a pack. It was something so familiar yet so distant that he couldn’t help but yearn for it. He realized then that Lupin was a vice, and that it was incredibly hard to let go. “No…”

“Then I don’t believe he is, Jigen. It’s time for you to accept that.”

“He has to,” Jigen said. “He has to come back. I’m nothing without him.”

“That’s not true,” Goemon said. “You’re everything, Daisuke. Everything he wanted you to be and more.”

“Life feels so quiet without him. It’s… it’s too much like it was before. I don’t feel like myself anymore, Goemon.”

His arm was shaking, the sound of his magnum clattering as he struggled to maintain his hold. Goemon was close enough to touch Jigen at this point, his outstretched hand grasping his wrist and working deft fingers over the gun’s grip until the marksman relented. Goemon tucked Jigen’s prized pistol into the front of his hakama for safe keeping, focusing his attention on the man before him.

Jigen didn’t protest as Goemon stole his gun. Instead, he dropped his hand and lowered his head until his eyes— and face— were no longer visible. His tears dripped steadily into the sand below their feet, his still lit cigarette falling to the ground in a smolder. For a few painful seconds, he felt alone. Alone in his grief, with nearly two years of suppressed emotions bursting to stab his heart. His entire body trembled with it. It made him feel like a child.

Strong hands gripped his shoulders, reminding him he wasn’t alone. Goemon didn’t say anything as he pulled Jigen into a hug, the gunman’s tears-stained face sliding against the samurai’s chest like a puzzle piece.

The warmth of Goemon’s flesh broke any composure he may have had, and he shakily brought his hands up the back of his partner’s kimono, digging his fingers so tight into it he threatened to rip holes. He ducked his chin against the other’s shoulder, accidentally knocking his hat to the ground with the sand and his still-smoldering cigarette. Goemon caressed the back of his head with a calloused hand, shushing him and even shedding a few tears of his own.

“I know, I miss him too,” he said. He lowered his jaw against the top of Jigen’s head and spoke into his hair. “The world is truly too quiet without him.”

Jigen sniffled and pulled away just enough to see Goemon’s face. “He’s…” he cleared his throat. “He’s really not comin’ back, is he?”

“I’m afraid not,” Goemon said. “I’m so sorry, Jigen.”

Jigen pushed his face back against Goemon’s chest, not quite done searching for comfort. Moments like these were rare between the two of them. It wasn’t often they allowed themselves to be so vulnerable.

His words were muffled when he spoke, a few stray tears falling to soak into the fabric around the samurai’s shoulder. He pressed his hands against his damp cheeks, wiping away tears and sniffling to clear his sinuses. “M’sorry too. I know this hasn’t been easy for you either.”

Goemon’s expression broke and a few more stray tears fell down his cheeks too. “It is not easy losing a man like Lupin. Especially so suddenly. There aren't many people like him.”

Jigen agreed and reached up to brush the tears from Goemon’s cheeks. “It’s just gonna be hard, y’know? Getting used to the world without Lupin.”

Goemon nodded and tried his best to smile. “Yes, but we will get through it. And I’ll be here anytime you need me to be.”

“Which reminds me,” Jigen said. “What were you doing here, anyway?”

Goemon’s cheeks brightened and he looked away. His hair swayed gently in the sea wind, tickling the edges of both of their cheeks.

“I uhm… may have been following you.”

“So this was a planned ambush?” Jigen asked. He took a step back and plucked his hat up from the bank between them. He brushed a few grains of sand from the brim and returned it to his head, a small smirk growing at the corners of his mouth.

“It-it was not intended to be an ambush,” Goemon pouted. He crossed his arms. “I was simply concerned for you. That is all.”

Jigen’s smirk grew into a full-blown smile and he leaned forward, speaking into Goemon’s ear. “Aw, Go-Go. You care for me?”

The growing color on Goemon’s face turned into a full-blown blush. “Of course I care about you,” he said. “I would not have come if I didn’t.”

Jigen pressed a hand against his chest and feigned being emotional. “I’m touched, Goemon. Really.”

Goemon pushed Jigen away, trying to hide an embarrassed smirk. “Stop being an ass, Jigen. You are starting to sound like our late leader.”

Jigen chuckled and threw his arm around the samurai’s shoulders. He squeezed and let out a deep sigh. “Learned from the best, didn’t I? Gotta use some of what he taught me or it’d be a waste.”

“Impossible,’ Goemon said, allowing Jigen to continue his hold. He pressed his head against Jigen’s and smiled softly. “Nothing with Lupin could ever be a waste.”