[ While it was a bold promise – a statement that might have compelled him to trade considering, meaningful looks with Jigen, had Jigen been there - it was far from unexpected. He pressed his lips into a thin line, his analytical gaze pinned on the face of the man sitting across from him.
This was not a matter the likes of how to bypass security, how to get their hands on the latest object of interest, or how to make a daring escape from some bank alive and well and laughing in the face of their opposition. They were dealing with a force beyond full comprehension, a force that had yet to be toppled - and he was reassured that Lupin grasped this; he was reassured that, behind the smirk, and the sparkle of cocky ambition in his eyes, there was a righteous determination, the understanding that their present situation was far more than a mere challenge to overcome, a puzzle to solve.
If there was any man capable of finding a way to freedom – or coming close, at least – it was Lupin. On numerous occasions, Goemon had found himself skeptical of the success of Lupin’s plans, and almost always, it had been banished by some flash of half-mad genius at which he could only shake his head and grin. When the man put his mind to it – that is to say, when he wasn’t horribly distracted by the fairer sex - Lupin had a cunning resourcefulness, a genius the ronin knew he could not match. When his mind was fixed on something, Lupin was not a man who could be easily derailed.
…And given that he would not be working alone against the Malnosso, all those with the desire to leave had more of a chance than ever of returning home and finding peace.
Goemon had to believe it.
What was more important, more inspiring in these circumstances than hope?
The ronin closed his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, he felt every year of his age as he sat there in silence, his mind turning. What could have been half a minute or five minutes later, he opened them again and met Lupin's gaze, seeming relaxed albeit focused.]
Action
This was not a matter the likes of how to bypass security, how to get their hands on the latest object of interest, or how to make a daring escape from some bank alive and well and laughing in the face of their opposition. They were dealing with a force beyond full comprehension, a force that had yet to be toppled - and he was reassured that Lupin grasped this; he was reassured that, behind the smirk, and the sparkle of cocky ambition in his eyes, there was a righteous determination, the understanding that their present situation was far more than a mere challenge to overcome, a puzzle to solve.
If there was any man capable of finding a way to freedom – or coming close, at least – it was Lupin. On numerous occasions, Goemon had found himself skeptical of the success of Lupin’s plans, and almost always, it had been banished by some flash of half-mad genius at which he could only shake his head and grin. When the man put his mind to it – that is to say, when he wasn’t horribly distracted by the fairer sex - Lupin had a cunning resourcefulness, a genius the ronin knew he could not match. When his mind was fixed on something, Lupin was not a man who could be easily derailed.
…And given that he would not be working alone against the Malnosso, all those with the desire to leave had more of a chance than ever of returning home and finding peace.
Goemon had to believe it.
What was more important, more inspiring in these circumstances than hope?
The ronin closed his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, he felt every year of his age as he sat there in silence, his mind turning. What could have been half a minute or five minutes later, he opened them again and met Lupin's gaze, seeming relaxed albeit focused.]
I understand. [You must try. We must try.]