Chapter 3

Shinichi sighed and tugged at the stiff collar of his school uniform. He was there: Ekoda High School. If he did well here, if he behaved, then Hakuba would let his guard down to the point where if Shinichi disappeared for an hour, he wouldn't bring down the cavalry. And if he disappeared a few times, then he could…

"We have a new student joining us today. Would you please come in?"

That's his queue. Releasing a steading breath, Shinichi strolled into the class room, head high and shoulders straight. He turned to meet the curious eyes of his classmates and gave them his most bland, polite smile. "It's nice to meet you. I am Arsène Lupin. Please take care of me," he said, bowing his head.

The teacher (whose name he should really find out) nodded and gestured for Shinichi to take the only empty seat—next to Hakuba-kun, just as Interpol arranged it. As he walked past everyone, whispers sprouted up behind his back like he wasn't right there."

"Arsène? It sounds foreign… do you think he's half Japanese like Hakuba-kun?"

"Never mind that, do you see what's around his ankle—"

"Yeah, but did you see him? He looks—"

"It's like an exact replica…"

"Do you think it's some sort of prank?"

Shinichi tuned them all out. He didn't want to know what they thought about him. Turning to the front of the room, Shinichi forced his attention to the teacher, diligently taking notes as Hakuba suggested even though he'd already covered advanced physics with Papa. He needed to make a good impression here; the better impression he made on people, the easier it would be to escape…

Soon, the class period ended and the teacher left, leaving the oddly tense class to fend for themselves until the next teacher arrived. Shinichi doodled a gem in the margins of his notebook and carefully drawing the gilded metal around it.

"That's really good, Lupin-kun. Do you like to draw?"

Looking up, Shinichi blinked owlishly at the girl standing over him. Her hair, long and messy, was held back by only a few hairpins and a curious, close-lipped smile made her look younger than a high schooler. He set down his pencil. "A little. It helped pass the time when I was a kid, even though I prefer soccer. This is actually a necklace my dad got my auntie a few years ago. It's nice to meet you, Ms…?"

"Aoko Nakamori," Nakamori-chan said, peering over to look at the drawing. "That looks like… A Scarlet Mystery?"

"That's because it is."

"Ah!? But that jewel was stolen by Lupin the Third!"

Shinichi nodded. "My father." He watched as Nakamori-chan's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment, but he just gave her an understanding smile, like it was a mistake that a lot of people made. He was a gentleman after all. It was rude to mock someone's ignorance. "You seem to know a lot about stolen gemstones, Nakamori-chan."

She rubbed the back of her neck, blush still full on her cheeks. "M-My dad works in the theft division of the police here in Ekoda, so I've learned some about it."

She was so nervous—did she think he'd dislike her just because her father was police? Shinichi smiled again, this time a little happier to put her worries to rest, even though inside his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Another person who he couldn't contact after this mess was over. First Hakuba, now Nakamori-chan…"

"Ahoko!" Shinichi flinched back as a brunet knocked into Nakamori-chan, wrapping his arm around her neck. Shinichi stared into what could have been a mirror, albeit a twisted one that gave him a bird's nest for hair and lighter eyes. The doppelgänger poked Nakamori-chan in the cheek. "What happened to you? Your face is almost as red as your panties."

Nakamori-san stared at him blankly before her face contorted into a glare. "Kaito…" she growled and Shinichi suddenly felt the need to lean away. She lunged at the boy, aiming for his neck. He dodged and they began a merry chase around the room which most people ignored.

That was… weird. Shinichi turned to Hakuba who was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Er… who is that?"

Hakuba rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Kaito Kuroba, unfortunately. Aoko-kun's best friend."

"Ah…" Shinichi nodded and continued to watch the two dart around the room. Nakamori-san's fist came inches away from Kuroba-san's face, but he managed to leap off the counter just in time. "Are you… sure about that?"

"Yes. Though the way Kuroba treats Aoko-kun is abysmal for a lady of her standards, they do make each other happy and stand by each other." Hakuba sounded rather wistful when he said that. Shinichi tilted his head.

"Are you alright, Hakuba? You sound a little—"

He coughed, his cheeks slightly pink. "I'm fine. However, I advise not getting too close to Kuroba; he's—"

"An absolute joy to be around?" Kuroba-san darted over to wrap his arms around Hakuba's neck, making the detective scowl. "That's so kind of you, Hakuba! I adore being around you too!"

"Remove yourself from my person," Hakuba growled out.

"Yeesh, tough crowd." Kuroba-san turned towards Shinichi and, with an ease uncommon to most high-schoolers, leapt over Hakuba's desk to stand in front of him. A puff of smoke covered his hand and the next thing Shinichi knew, Kuroba-san thrust a flower in his face. "I'm Kaito Kuroba! It's a pleasure to meet you, Lupin-san!"

Hesitantly, Shinichi took the offered flower. It was a yellow rose, thorns clipped and somehow lacking bruises even though he knew that, logically, Kuroba-san had hidden it somewhere on his body. He could distantly remember his Auntie teaching him flower colors when he turned 13—"The perfect age for first romance!"—and knew that yellow was for happiness… and friendship. Kuroba-san… wanted to be his friend? "Thank you," Shinichi said, looking up at Kuroba-san with a small smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Kuroba-san."

Kuroba-san's eyes widened slightly and he tilted his head. His lips twitched up at the corners—a rare gesture as Shinichi had seen nothing but exuberant smirks and grins since he'd been made aware of the other's existence. Shinichi had learned first-hand that the largest smiles were never real.

Kuroba-san quickly covered the smile with a yawn, sitting down on Hakuba's desk to the blond's annoyance. "So, Lupin, what was life on the run like?" he asked, devil-may-care grin back in place. "Surely you can give us all the juicy details, right?"

Shinichi couldn't help himself. He laughed.