May 6th, 20XX

Ren, knowing that there were certain rumors going around, shouldn't have been surprised by a certain redhead following him in the hallway. The problem with these rumors in particular is that they were technically true. He'd been annoyed by the groups of people that would randomly follow him during the school day. Like, seriously, can a guy buy some bread? He felt it wasn't worth getting angry about, as he planned on fixing it anyway.

One of the mobs in question turned into the hallway. They honed in on him almost immediately. He froze immediately, instinctively taking a step back.

They all had some sort of sick grin on their faces with their eyes squinted. Exact same grin. Not a fold of skin differed from one person to another. Even their eyes twitched the same. He turned to book it as they started stampeding towards him.

"Ren-" She tried to say as he passed, not-so-wisely choosing to stand in the middle of the hallway.

He grabbed her hand and tried running up his usual escape route to the roof.

Closed off and locked.

God damn it, Makoto, I know it's your job, but seriously?

Hearing the approach of the mob, he observed his surroundings.

Locked door to the rooftop he could probably break through. Pile of loose junk, could conceivable hide under. They weren't after Kasumi, he could hide there.

He jumped into the pile, covering himself in an old gym mat. He heard a stampede of footsteps coming up the stairs.

A sickly sweet voice called out, "Oh, Amamiyaaaaaa- What? Where'd he go?"

"Um… I don't know where Ren is."

A slap rattled in his ears.

"Show some respect to Amamiya-sama, bitch." The voice turned from sweet to cold.

He threw off the mat, grabbed Kasumi, and jumped down the stairs, ignoring the shouts and…. Moans of the mob.

Shuddering, Ren ran towards a window in the hallway. Throwing it open, he subconsciously switched to Arsene, and jumped, landing in a crouch.

He put Kasumi down, and sat back against the wall.

"Sorry." He saw a red mark on her cheek. "I shouldn't have thought they'd leave you alone." He reached out to try and channel some healing magic, but she swatter his hand away.

"It's fine."

"I should have dealt with it myself."

"Ren, I'm fine."

No, you aren't.

That was what he wanted to say. Instead, nothing came. The girl didn't look disappointed, like she had before. In fact, she didn't really have much of an expression at all, which was a first.

She'd always put her heart on her sleeve. Now he could barely even see it.

"Goodbye, then," she said, stiffly bowing and brushing past him.

Velvet Room.

"So, completely ignoring any rumors, again-"

"You already said that." Ryuji glanced at the Velvet Room attendant, who was polishing the bar.

Ren rubbed his neck. "Yeah… Anyway, calling card. I'll work on sending it out, so everyone, get some rest and prepare yourselves."

Makoto, peering over her tented fingers, asked, "What exactly are you planning, Arsene?"

He resisted the urge to wink at her. "That's for me to know, and everyone else to find out."

Ryuji just shook his head, "You're having a bit too much fun with this 'phantom thief' stuff, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me?"

"Uh..." Ryuji swirled his drink and took a swig from the can. "Guess not."

"No new guns, because Iwai might want the evoker back, and would probably get pissed if he found out someone else was borrowing it."

"Who is this 'Iwai' person?" Makoto seemed to have a dangerous glint in her eyes. Ren took out his electrical-taped bolter and placed it on the table.

"He's our weapons guy. See, it costs 400,000 yen to fire this weapon for twelve seconds."

"..."

"You know what, never mind. We can worry about it later."

Ren dialed up Makoto in the middle of the night, after completing his work and the preparations. That second-hand shop really came in handy for throw-away disguises.

She picked up the phone, answering sleepily, "Huhwaha? Who is this…"

"Don't be mad when you get to school tomorrow." He tapped the 'end call' button.

She'd probably be mad anyway.

"Oh! Lupin the third, Lupin the third, Lupin the third-" He whispered to himself as he picked up the last trace he'd left on the school grounds.

AN:

Incredibly short chapter, but there wasn't much writing to be done anyway. It's mostly because I was really busy this week. I'll get something more substantial out next week.