Chapter Text
“Boss!”
One last horrified scream, realizing he couldn’t stop what was about to happen.
“LUPIN!”
The crime lord before him warped and faded out of existence as the world snapped like a rubber band.
They tumbled to the ground from the whiplash of moving very suddenly without really going anywhere, and no one was able to speak for a minute as they all gasped to reclaim the air that had been punched from their chests. Gone was the city they had been in a moment ago; gone were the angry mobsters, the furious samurai, and him. Now everything was quiet, lying on the grass of a well-kept lawn with birds singing in the nearby trees.
Finally, Lupin began to laugh.
“We… we just did that!” he cackled breathlessly. “The world’s first interdimensional heist!”
“Yeah, that’s great.” Jigen’s voice was strained and frustrated. “Now are you gonna help me with this or what?”
Lupin’s laughter fell away as he sat up and turned to face his partner, as well as the person his partner was lying on top of, held down on their stomach with their hands pinned behind their back.
The… second Jigen.
Goemon was already getting up and moving to help, but Lupin held out a hand to stop him. “It’s okay, you don’t have to hold him anymore.”
Jigen cast him a skeptical look as the thief approached, crouching down to look the doppelganger in the eye as best he could, considering how the second Jigen was still struggling and thrashing like a rabid animal.
“Hey,” Lupin reached forward with one finger to tap the double on the nose, which seemed to startle him into holding still for a second. “You know there’s no going back, right? You can’t get there without our help. ...And honestly?”
The thief’s expression darkened for a moment, and for just an instant the coldness in his gaze almost made the pinned Jigen feel he was looking at his boss again. “I’d rather die than let him ever get his hands on you again.”
The second Jigen stared as different emotions danced across his face: shock, confusion, hatred, despair.
“C’mon Jigen, let ‘im up.” Lupin stood and held out a hand to help his partner to his feet.
“This is a bad idea,” the gunman grumbled, but he took the offered hand anyway, careful to hold both his gun and the exact copy he had taken from the doppelganger out of reach.
The double reacted instantly. His hands whipped around to push himself up and back, leaping to his feet and putting a good ten feet between himself and the others, still half-crouched and ready to fight. There was murder in his eyes, but it was clear he knew he was unarmed and outnumbered, not to mention trapped in unfamiliar territory.
Lupin looked entirely unfazed by the glare being leveled at him and his crew. “You can run if you want, but the nearest town’s ten miles out. It’ll be a lot easier and comfier if you just come inside with us.”
The other Jigen seemed almost insulted by the suggestion, but after staring at Lupin for a minute he finally spoke, albeit in a slow, angry growl. “The fuck do you people want from me?”
Four pairs of eyes looked to the thief in silence. He didn’t answer for a few moments, slowly looking the second marksman up and down as though he was really taking him in for the first time. At last, a tired smile appeared on Lupin’s face.
“A chance.”
When the response was a confused, suspicious stare, the thief continued. “Give us a chance to let you have more, okay? You’re not here to be a prisoner.”
“What could you give me that’s better than what I have? You’re just cheap knock-offs playing in the little leagues.” There was something hollow in those words, like the double was speaking as much to himself as he was to them.
“We were good enough to steal you, at least,” Fujiko cut in with a huff. “You’re lucky we got you away from that maniac.”
That hit a nerve. “Don’t you fucking dare talk about him!” The second Jigen took a step forward before seeming to remember his situation, stopping and gritting his teeth with barely-contained rage.
“Okay, okay, let’s all take a deep breath.” Lupin stepped between them and held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Fujiko, I love you, but shush. We can talk about that stuff later. For right now, let’s just go inside, maybe grab something to eat, and try to… adjust a little.”
Jigen, the one who actually belonged here, gave a heavy sigh. “Lupin, I don’t think that’s gonna—”
Whatever he was going to say was cut off as the doppelganger took the opportunity of their distraction and bolted, ignoring the shouts of alarm from behind him. He knew they were too weak to shoot him for running.
Lupin—no, not Lupin, the fake —hadn’t been kidding about them being miles from civilization. There was nothing but trees, hills, and rocks as far as the eye could see, and it felt like he hadn’t made any headway at all by the time he had to stumble to a halt, doubled over and panting.
It didn’t seem like they were chasing him, but that could change any minute. He knew he had to keep moving, but when he tried to force himself forward he only staggered until his back hit a tree, and his legs gave way beneath him.
Only now, staring at his shaking hands in the faint light of dusk, did Jigen start to truly realize he was afraid.
This was the ultimate failure: he had let himself be overpowered and taken captive by those weak fakes, and now he wasn’t even in the right world anymore. Surely Lupin, one of the most brilliant and powerful men in the world, could find a way to get here—but after such a pathetic display, would he even bother to try? If Jigen could be taken by these idiots, then was he really worth saving?
Those fucking dreams of his clearly had something to do with how this all happened to begin with, considering the fakes had mentioned their Jigen having dreams that reflected the real world as well; so if he had helped cause this and been unable to stop these copies… God, how pitifully weak did that make him?
Lupin had higher standards than that. He deserved better.
“I’d rather die than let him ever get his hands on you again.”
The words struck Jigen right to the heart, the echo rattling against his ribs until he felt sick. They would never let him go, and he couldn’t even begin to guess how to get back on his own. And even if he did somehow find a way, there was no guarantee he would be forgiven for making such a god-awful mess of things… he didn’t think he could take that rejection, no matter how much he deserved it.
So then… now what? Was he doomed to be some prize; a trophy to show how these cheap imitations had managed to steal from the Lupin Syndicate? The very thought made his blood boil.
“Give us a chance to let you have more.”
The fuck did that even mean? He had seen more than enough through the other Jigen’s eyes to know these people had nowhere near the power and wealth the real Lupin controlled; there was nothing ‘more’ they could possibly offer him.
Unbidden, his thoughts strayed to memories from his dreams—to lazy touches and idle conversation, basking in each other’s company and the closeness that seemed so effortless.
A twig snapped, and he jolted back to the present. Scrambling back to his feet, he barely had time to even think of finding a makeshift weapon before a shape appeared from the dark, and he was suddenly looking at the last face he wanted to see: his own.
The fake Jigen (or was he the fake now, in this world?) was infuriatingly nonchalant as he strode up and stopped about six feet away, leaning his shoulder against a tree like he did this kind of thing every day.
“So, you done freaking out yet?”
Jigen bristled at the question. “Fuck you. You think I’m just gonna roll over and play nice?!”
“You’re just makin’ things harder on yourself, y’know,” the fake remarked with only the tiniest hint of annoyance. “We’re not interested in hurting you.”
“And I’m not interested in being anyone’s pet.”
Even without seeing his eyes, Jigen could tell the fake was raising an eyebrow at him, but he seemed to bite back whatever he was going to say and sighed instead. “Look, I get that this is way different from anything you’re used to. Hell, none of us are used to this, we’re all just making shit up as we go here. But it’d break Lupin’s heart if anything happened to you now, and even though I’ll admit I’ve got my fair share of self-loathing problems, I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”
“Why?” Jigen finally unclenched ever-so-slightly. “You don’t even know me.”
“That’s a lie and you know it,” the fake said sharply and without hesitation. “If your dreams were anything like mine, and I bet they were, we know each other real well already. And not just cuz we’re sorta the same person.”
“So you think we should forget everything and be friends, is that it?”
“No. I think you should do what Lupin asked, and give us a chance.”
When Jigen was silent for a minute, the fake shrugged and continued speaking. “Or you could stay out here and starve or freeze to death, if you really want. But I’d like to think you ain’t stupid enough to do that.”
Lupin was over the moon when both Jigens returned, no matter how reluctant the doppelganger was to be there. It had taken a promise that if things didn’t seem any better within a week, Jigen wouldn’t stop his double from leaving to find a place for himself in this world, but that and common sense had won out in the end.
The gang spent the night in a fairly typical way: picking over leftovers because they were all too tired to cook or get takeout, lounging on the couch and bickering over what to watch on TV, and ultimately trudging upstairs one by one as they decided they were tired enough for bed. The only difference was the doppelganger sitting in the back of the room, watching them with a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and something else that wasn’t quite discernable. Every now and then one of them would look back and ask his opinion on something, or inquire if he wanted to come closer, but he always gave either a curt reply or just shook his head, and they didn’t press him further. He seemed to appreciate that in some small way, with his posture slowly uncurling a little as the night went on.
Just a little, but it was a start.
He hadn’t intended to fall asleep, but all it took was daring to sit on the couch for more than a minute after the others had all left, and the bone-deep exhaustion took hold. It was still dark when Jigen flinched back to consciousness, disoriented and wondering where he was until… oh, that’s right. He was still exiled to this strange, incompetent timeline, with no clear way to return.
Taking a moment to struggle free from the fresh wave of despair trying to wash over him, he dragged himself upright and looked around at the dark house. What had woken him? There was no one around, but he could just about glimpse a faint light from down a hallway that hadn’t been on before, and curiosity took over.
Jigen was only a few feet from the doorway when a soft sound began emanating from the room, making him pause. It was music, a single guitar beginning a song that was vaguely familiar, and as the words started he silently approached to listen.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
It was a library, smaller and more intimate than what his Lupin usually kept, with a small fireplace casting the light he had seen over a stereo and recliner, as well as the lanky figure slumped in the chair. Lupin seemed to be pouring over a notebook of some kind, and though Jigen couldn’t see his face, something about him felt deeply sad.
He almost spoke, but his voice was stuck in his throat. Watching, listening.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Lupin sat up and ran a hand through his short hair, taking a deep, shaky breath. He turned and finally noticed Jigen, still rooted to the spot in the doorway, but there was no surprise or anger on his face as he offered a weak smile. No punishment.
The thief’s eyes looked wet, but it was impossible to tell if he had actually been crying or not.
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night
Trusting and vulnerable, Lupin just smiled at him. And somehow, in that moment, he felt no dislike towards the thief.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
“Hey Blackbird,” he said softly. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”