Chapter Text
Lupin III: The Secret of the Leviathans
Once every three months for a whole week, Goemon would disappear. Neither Jigen or Lupin knows where he goes to. At first, they thought it was just for training in case they go to a difficult heist. Or he would go back to his old home with his wyvern, Nagami. But they don't seem to know where the samurai goes to.
So one day, they decided to ask him.
"Hey, Goemon..." Jigen called out, brushing the fur of his wyvern, Shadow, who was purring a bliss with his head laying down on the gunman's lap while enjoying the pampering. Goemon cracked one eye to look at the gunman, Nagami beside him as the large brute wyvern lets out a yawn.
"...we know that you have privacy on things but...where do you go when you leave for a week?" Jigen asked, Lupin coming out with food for the wyverns, Lupin's wyvern Red licking his lips when he saw the Aptonoth meat in a large bowl. When Goemon looks at him, he blinked in surprise before looking at Nagami, who just huffs at him in response. "...I didn't tell you?"
Jigen sits up more, placing the brush down to look at him. "No, you didn't. We'd figured it was for training or somethin'..." Jigen said, then blinked when Shadow looks at him, the pupils slit slightly with a look that said 'why did you stop?', the Nargacuga now letting out a low whine gruff. Jigen chuckled and picked up the brush again and starts to groom the wyvern's fur once more. Lupin feeds one steak to his Rathalos, who munched on it happily before nudging his arm, purring.
"Well...not for training...I...visit a clan." The Samurai said, now standing up and placing a hand on his wyvern's neck. Nagami looks at him and lets out a gruff. That got Lupin's attention, looking at Goemon. "Oh? A clan, huh? Is it some poeple we know about?" Lupin asked, a smile on his face. At first, Goemon didn't say anithing before shaking his head. "No...it's..." He took a deep breath.
"...it's a clan of Mizutsunes."
That got the thief and gunman off guard. "A clan of Mizutsunes...as in the leviathan Mizutsunes that are part of the Fated Four, the bubble leviathan wyvern." Jigen asked, now standing up to look at Goemon properly. Shadow looks at Nagami and gruffs at him, to which that the brute wyvern nods at him. Shadow lets out a huff before laying back down. The samurai looks at him before a soft smirk on his face. "The very same one...I helped a wyvern from the clan when it was injured a few years ago. I nursed it back to health and the alpha welcomed me to the clan."
Jigen lets out a chuckle before looking at his wyvern and pets him on the head. "...I honestly didn't think those guys were tamable due to their, umm...backstory." Jigen then rubbed the back of his head, a slight blush on his face. Lupin's grin went wider. "Backstory, huh? What kind of backstory?" Lupin asked, now getting up to the gunman, to which he scoffed in response, adjusting his hat.
"I am aware, Jigen."
He turned over to Goemon, who was paying attention to his wyvern, Nagami purring as he leaned into his master's touch. "But this clan is different. That is why there is an alpha that keeps them all in check and they behave normally like any wyvern would. It's just the unfortunate people that try to hunt them down." He said, remembering all the poachers that hunt down these creatures.
Lupin looks at between the two before getting his gunman's attention. "Why would it be bad to hunt a Mizutsune? I'm still trying to learn about the Fated Four." The thief couldn't help but asked. He may know many knowledge on wyverns and elder dragons, but he still learning on a few things. Jigen turned to the Samurai, who simply nods at him; giving him permission to explain to him.
"Well...they're normally a peaceful creature from what I was told. Like, you can walk up to one and pet them and they'd be find with it. It's just all the ones that the poachers or hunters go after are all males. And the reason why they're so aggressive is because it's mating season when they venture out."
It was a silent for a brief minute. Until...
"So everytime a hunter goes after one, they're just blue-balling it--"
Lupin didn't get the chance to finish that sentence as Goemon heard Lupin gasped, making him turn to see the gunman having the thief in a chokehold with one arm. "You were sayin' Goemon?" He asked, barely feeling the thief struggling to get out of his iron grip.
Red was about to intervene to rescue his rider until the Nargacuga was simply giving him a glare. The Rathalos was smart enough to back away from them, also not wanting to be in the wyvern's chokehold grasp that he copied from his rider. Goemon sighs deeply, knowing that Lupin would say something idiotic as that, but continued to inform both of them since they were curious.
"There is an alpha that keeps them all in check and they are females in the clan. The females go out hunting for food while the males protect the others and their kits. They trust me as I'm the only human that can go near them." Goemon said, folding his arms as Jigen lets go of Lupin, who was rubbing his neck while giving the gunman a glare before looking back at Goemon. "So they trust you that much, huh?"
"Yes...they are friends. They would never harm me or Nagami. I usually train with the alpha so I become more faster and agile in battle." Goemon simply said, but there was a small smirk on his face. Lupin looks over at him, then at Jigen before having an idea.
"Hey, how about we come with you?"
That got everyone off guard from the thief's question.
"What?" Goemon couldn't help but asked, seeing the grin on Lupin's face grow wider. "It's about near that time right? We could come with you and they probably smell us on you when you visit them right? They should know us by now despite not seeing them in person." Lupin said, then noticed a scowl on the samurai's face. This made Lupin held his hands up in defense. "I promise we won't do anything to stress them out or cause them harm. Besides, we got no leads on a good valuable target, so we may as well take a vacation right?" Lupin looks over at the group, trying to get them agree.
Jigen sighs deeply. "Well...I do need help Shadow stretch his legs anyway...and we haven't heard from Pops for awhile either since he's on a different case about a owner with a Seltas and Seltas Queen infestation. Might be a good time to relax..." Jigen replied, his wyvern standing up and stretching, letting out a yawn. That's when Jigen turned over to Goemon, "That is if you're alright with it. We won't come if you say no."
Goemon thinks about this long and hard. He knows that the leviathans are very secretive of their locations due to hunter and poachers around, but he knows that Jigen and Lupin mean well and they tried their best to understand his motives and his interest and they haven't let them down before. Plus, the alpha of the clan would be able to sense it if it turns south.
"...If I let you two come, you must listen to a few rules."
Lupin smirked while Jigen glanced at him, tilting his hat up slightly to look at him in the eyes.
"Do not go to specific areas in the clan, they are very territorial when it comes to their kits and eggs. They'll allow it on their terms. Do not make remarks of their backstory. And you must not tell no one of their location. It is hard to keep their home a secret with poachers and hunters around."
Jigen and Lupin nods to Goemon's rules. "Alright...we better start packing..." Jigen sighs before heading back inside of the home to get ready, Lupin seeming eager to meet the leviathan clan. Goemon looks over at Nagami, who tilts his head at him in question.
"Let us hope my decision to let them come is a bad one, Nagami."
There were many cherry blossom trees, the petals falling down to the ground as Goemon leads Lupin and Jigen to the secluded area, the wyverns not far behind from their masters. Lupin whistles in appreciation as he watches the petals from the trees falling down. "When you said secluded area, you weren't kidding." Lupin states, holding a cherry blossom petal in the tip of his fingers.
Shadow sniffs one of the blossoms before sneezing rapidly, some of the petals scattering from the force of his sneezes before it stopped, the Nargacuga wiping his snout with one paw to rid of the strong smell in his snout. Red simply chittered in laughter before the strong smell got into his nostrils as well, also sneezing rapidly. Nagami looks at the two before rolling his eyes, huffing before walking alongside Goemon.
"Not many wyverns venture out here due to the strong smell from the cherry blossoms. All of the trees have a Mizutsune bubble liquid they form in their scales to prevent any predators coming to their clan's location. Nagami is use to the smell now. It will take some time for Red and Shadow to be immune to the smell." He said, but then held his hand out that held his Zantetsuken, telling them all to stop. At first, they were confused until Goemon gestures them to wait before venturing out a few more feet, then sitting on his knees, his sword across his lap and waits.
At first, they heard nothing, the gentle breeze flowing through the massive cherry blossom forest--
A twig snaps.
Jigen was about to pull out his gun, thinking that something was about to jump on them before Lupin placed his hand on his partner's arm, then gestured his head to where Goemon was at. At first, he didn't see anything, until a pair of green-blue eyes was staring at Goemon through a bush, a small hissing sound being made. But Goemon made motion to move, simply staying in place while staring back at the unknown eyes.
The source slowly comes out as a Mizutsune.
It seemed to resemble some kind of a Chinese dragon, the paint-brush like tail swishing back at forth, making bubble secretion coming from underneath as small pink bubbles roam around the leviathan. It's clawed feet slowly coming up to the samurai, letting out a snort as the flower-like frills stood out on it's face and back, the pink color reflecting from the sunlight. It cranes it's neck forward, the gentle sniffing being heard to get Goemon's scent.
That's when it made a happy hurr, letting out a whine before pressing it's snout against Goemon's shoulder. He smiled and managed to raise one hand up to pet the side of the monster's head. "It is good to see you as well...you look much better now." He said, making the leviathan look over to it's side, seeing a large faded scar that ran across it's back leg up to it's stomach. It then turned over to Goemon and roars softly before seeing Jigen and Lupin behind them a few feet away.
That's when it lets out a warning hiss to them, the pink coloring on it's frills that ran from it's head and back starting to turn red.
Goemon placed a hand on it's snout, getting the Mizutsune's attention. "They are my friends. They mean no harm." The leviathan glanced at him before looking at the group. Without taking his eyes off of the wyvern, Goemon gestured his hand to Lupin and Jigen to come forward slowly. Both men starts to walk slowly up to the leviathan, being careful of not to slip on the bubble liquid that it was creating around them on the ground.
They were now mere inches away from it.
"Let him come to you..." Goemon said, the Mizutsune walking up to Jigen and Lupin, letting out a snort. They both remained still as it craned it's neck forward, sniffing them both before backing away. It then turned it's head to where it once came from and lets out an echoing roar, Goemon tensing up slightly when a deeper roar was heard back. "He's calling the alpha."
"What?" Lupin couldn't help but asked.
"The clan is very picky on who comes into the clan or not, I'm the first human that was accepted. It's the alpha's decision to see if you can join or not." He said, more echoing footsteps being heard until another Mizutsune comes forward, but this one was different than the others. It had both scars on it's eyes, the bubbles around it popping everytime it takes a step forward, the coloring now a darker pink and a dark cream color. Jigen seemed surprised at the alpha.
"Is that...a Soulseer Mizutsune?"
Goemon nods at Jigen's question, the Soulseer hearing Jigen's voice and comes forward to them. The alpha was much larger than the other Mizutsune that stood beside it. The alpha lets out a soft roar before sniffing them both as well, letting out a deep snort that nearly blew off the gunman's hat. Lupin made the first move, slowly holding his hand up to the Soulseer, to which the alpha seemed to had sense, sniffing the palm of Lupin's hand.
"...we mean no harm to your clan. We are good friends of Goemon over there." Lupin said, Jigen watching him from the corner of his eyes. Nagami and Goemon watched the alpha sniff both the thief and gunman, ready to intervene if things turn south. That's when a deep purr rumble in the alpha's throat, pressing it's snout against Lupin's hand. Goemon relaxed.
"He accepted you."
Lupin's smile grew wider as the alpha pulled away, turning it's head towards Jigen and nudged his arm gently. He seemed to get the message and held his hand out, the Soulseer now pressing his snout into Jigen's hand as well, purrs rumbling in his throat. "Well...that's good. But...what about our wyverns? Are they good to come as well?" Jigen couldn't help but asked. The alpha perked it's head up, hearing both of Lupin's and Jigen's wyvern and lets out a soft roar, telling them to come over.
Shadow and Red seemed hesitant, but walked over to the group, the alpha catching their scent and lets out a small gruff. Red responsed with a gruff back, Shadow merely letting out a snort in response. The alpha lets out a snort in returned to the Nargacuga before turning over to Goemon. The purrs in it's throat seemed to grow louder when it heard Goemon, walking towards him and pressed his snout against the side of Goemon's head.
The samurai had a smirk on his face, petting the leviathan. "It is good to see you again, Soulseer."
Soulseer lets out a purr in response before pulling away, now leading them deeper into the cherry blossom woods, the other Mizutsune following them.
As they ventured further into the woods, they came to an opening that had many Mizutsunes, some swimming into a river that was next to a waterfall, a large cave where there was another larger Mizutsune curled up around eggs, sleeping soundly while protecting the future kits of the clan. Other leviathans were relaxing, watching over the now young kits that were play-fighting with each other. Jigen and Goemon were amazed of the scenery.
Nagami lets out a purr as many of the Mizutsune kits saw the large brute wyvern, letting out tiny roars as they swarm around Nagami's feet. The Acidic Glavenus did his best to knelt down so he could be at the kit's height, one placing their paws on his snout, roaring happily at him while giving him licks on his snout. The brute wyvern lets out a deep purr in response, allowing the kits climb over his neck and head.
Lupin chuckled at that, then blinked when he felt something tug at his pant leggings. He looks down to see a baby Mizutsune tugging at his pant legs, then looks up at him and lets out a small roar. The thief smirked and knelt down, holding his hand out to the leviathan. At first, the kit ran away from him when he held his hand out, letting out noises that reminds him what a fox would say when they communicate. The kit then slowly came back to him, taking cautious steps and sniffed his hand.
"Tough lil' guy, aren't you?" He asked, barely feeling the Mizutsune's baby teeth gnawing at his hand, letting out playful growls. The thief chuckled, the kit now getting back up and pushed it's head and snout into the palm of his hand, letting out cheerful purrs. Lupin chuckled, then looks up when he saw another Mizutsune coming up, one smaller than the other males, so he assumed it was the mother of this kit.
The leviathan lets out a few gruffs and the kit went back to a bubble nest where there were other kits were resting at. The female Mizutsune looks at Lupin and nods at him before going over to the nest, curling around them and tucking her head near her brush-like tail. Lupin smiled before noticing how Goemon instantly was gone along with Soulseer. He walked over to Nagami, who looked over at him as the Mizutsune kits still crawl over his neck and back, one napping on the top of his head.
"You've seen your rider, Nagami?" He asked. Nagami purred and gestured his head towards the small hill, then seeing how Goemon was meditating, Soulseer sitting next to him as they stared at the horizon. "I can see why Goemon likes it here along with the Mizutsunes. Peaceful, great place for naps, I could get use to this." Jigen said, standing next to Lupin before noticing a spaced off look on the thief's face.
"...somethin' the matter, boss?"
Lupin blinked before looking over at the gunman. "I'm fine, Jigen. But you're right; this place is peaceful..." He said, then looked past Jigen and then snorts, a smirk on his face. Jigen blinked before looking over to where Lupin was staring at and then smirked as well, chuckling. "Shadow, you big softie." Jigen laughed a little.
The Nargacuga was laying down, feeling the Mizutsune kits crawling over his neck and back, one biting playfully on the ear. Shadow glanced at the riders and just snorts, laying his head back down while tolerating the kits that are around him, one pouncing on his tail as he swishes it left and right for the small kit. Jigen chuckled and walked over to his wyvern, patting the side of his neck. "It's okay, Shadow. You're still be the same no matter what." Jigen chuckled. Shadow just huffs in response.
Lupin looks at Red, who was watching the horizon in one of the tree branches of the cherry blossom trees, keeping an eye on any intruders.
Both the thief and gunman suddenly heard a loud yawn, turning over to see the large female Mizutsune in the cave that's guarding the eggs waking up. One of her eyes has a scar over it, shaking her head rapidly before seeing the two. The leviathan tilts her head at them, letting out a coo in question before looking over at two other Mizutsunes and lets out a gruff, the two now replacing her place to guard the eggs. She walks over to Lupin and Jigen, letting out coos before smelling them both.
"Easy there, sweetheart. We're with Goemon." Lupin said, holding his hands up to show he means no harm to her. The Mizutsune lets out a happy gruff before nuzzling the side of Lupin's head with affection, deep purrs rumbling down in her throat. Lupin smiled and pets the side of the leviathan's neck. "Glad to meet you too. You must be glad to have a peaceful place like this, huh?" Lupin asked.
That's when the leviathan was quiet before pulling away from him before letting out a gruff. She turns over to a small pathway, then turned over to Jigen and Lupin; gesturing her head to follow. The gunman and the thief look at each other before Lupin whistled for Red, who turned his head over to his rider. "Keep an eye out, Red. We'll be right back." Lupin said, to which the wyvern nods at him and went back to watching over the clan.
The female Mizutsune walked through the pathway before stopping, letting out low hisses and growls, the frills on her head and back turning red. Something was angering the Mizutsune as Lupin and Jigen caught up with her, seeing what was angering her.
It was a poachers trap.
And a darkish red element was on a cherry blossom tree, the bark from the tree slowly decaying from the blight. Lupin's expression hardened before pulling something from his pocket, twirling a small coin between his fingers before tossing it. As the coin lands, the trap goes off, the snare around the area closed in as a net shoots out at the center of the trap.
"Poachers trap...they went with a pitfall trap. And they got a monster with dragon element. I can only think of three monsters; and I know one of them." He said, walking over to the tree, watching the dragon element, then saw claw marks on the tree, seeing how it looked like it was slashed twice. He knew the wyvern. "...they have an Ebony Odogaron." Lupin said, the bubble leviathan still hissing at the trap and the decaying tree. Jigen was trying his best to calm the beast down, a hand on the side of the wyvern's neck.
"You sure it's an Ebony Odogaron?" Jigen asked, the Mizutsune now leaning into the gunman's touch, lowering her head so it is laying in Jigen's arms, letting out sad whines. Lupin nods before turning over to them. "Yeah...they got eight claws instead of fours like most wyverns do. They only use their dragon element if they are either battling a predator or to lure something into a trap. If it was any other Mizutsunes, they would have fallen into this trap." He then turned to the female Mizutsune.
"Have other poachers try to place traps around your home before?" He asked, the leviathan nods at him, letting out a sad whine. He then looks over at Jigen. "We need to tell Goemon and Soulseer about this. The poachers may come back with more traps." Lupin said, the gunman agreeing with him. The female Mizutsune looks at Lupin and whined, the frills on her head drooping down from either sadness or fear, he did not know.
Lupin smiled sadly and held his hand out to her. "It's okay, girl. You got Lupin, the world's greatest thief, on your side. We won't let anything happen to your clan or your kits." Lupin vowed. The Mizutsune lets out a sad coo and pressed her snout against his hand, purring deeply before nuzzling the side of his head, giving him an affectionate lick on the cheek. Lupin smiled at her before turning to Jigen. "We need to head back now and tell Goemon what's going on." The thief said.
Jigen nods, looking at the trap before the three starts to head back. They have to prepare.
The poachers won't know what hit them now that Lupin is on the case.