Chapter 7

"Honestly, Hakuba-kun, I was still in the building!"

Shinichi had been reproaching Hakuba for his hasty actions the night before and he loved almost every minute of it. He didn't enjoy Hakuba's shamed face any more than he had last night, when Gramps had chewed him out for "wasting ICPO resources outside of an emergency." Shinichi wasn't a cruel man; he could tell how genuinely sorry Hakuba was, how much he wished things had gone differently. But that regret was there and regret was what Shinichi needed to capitalize on.

The twist of his face, the subtle change in his name, the precise percentage of scorn in Shinichi's voice—all were carefully calculated to keep Hakuba feeling guilty. As long as Hakuba related shame and regret with the memory of Shinichi escaping, real or not, he'd be hesitant to call Interpol again. And when Shinichi escaped for real, that hesitance could give him hours more time to work with.

But despite how necessary it was for him, Shinichi couldn't stop the guilt from building every time he saw Hakuba's distraught face. But still he continued, "I know you were just following Interpol's orders, but have I ever given you the inclination that I want to leave?" Shinichi put on his most betrayed expression. "I haven't tried contacting my family once. I like it here. I like school, and being with people my age, and talking to you. Why would I want to leave?"

"Lupin-kun…" Hakuba clenched his hands and sighed. They stopped, people parting around them like a rock in a river. "I believed that my actions, at the time, were correct. I can't apologize for that."

"And if you think it right, so be it." Shinichi looked away. "But I can't help but desire for one friend not to see me as a criminal. Our classmates do, Nakamori-chan does, Kuroba-kun does… Is one too much to ask?"

"I'll…" Hakuba swallowed. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

Shinichi smiled. Got him. "That's all I ask, Hakuba. Come on; we're going to be late to school."

They made it to class with 5 minutes to spare and as Shinichi brushed past a red-headed girl, her hand snatched his elbow. He froze, staring down at her. She stared back, red eyes like blood, her lips curled into a smug smirk. "Can I help you?" He tried to tug his arm away, but her nails dug into his sleeve.

"Arsène Lupin the Fourth…" she drawled, inspecting him. Shinichi shivered. "You are not who you say you are."

A chill washed over him. Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Her smile looked a little too wide, a little too sharp. "Be wary, little sparrow. An old enemy lurks close by and wishes to rip into your flesh once again."

What the hell. "Why are you telling me this?" Shinichi glanced around the room, desperate for anyone to save him from this crazy woman.

"I was told you must know it."

"By whom?"

"My friend Lucifer." Shinichi leaned as far away from the girl as possible. "Keep your wits close, Lupin-san. Your nest-mate is about to be stolen by the crows if you don't keep your eye on him."

"Akako!" Kuroba tore him from the woman's grip and glared at her. She glared back. "Stop harassing the new kid! No one cares about your Lucifer bullshit, so knock it off."

"That's not what you said about my last warning, Kuroba-kun," Akako said. "But if you continue to lay in denial, that is fine. I'm sure Lupin-san will eventually see the benefit of my words."

Kuroba rolled his eyes and pulled Shinichi to his seat. He glanced back at Akako, who was still watching them. "Um… is she alright? In the head?"

"No. No she is not. Just… try to ignore her." Leaving him with that cryptic statement, Kuroba went to his own desk as the first teacher of the day walked in. It was English period, the subject Shinichi was arguably best at—he'd been traveling around the world for years and when Papa found him, apparently he'd spoken English first. Shinichi didn't remember too much from that period of his life. He had only been six after all. But… somethings you just couldn't forget and pure utter terror was one of them. He shook his head, ignoring Hakuba's questioning glance. Now wasn't the time to think about it. He had to pay attention.

"Okay everyone!" the teacher said in English. Shinichi really had to start learning the names of the teachers here. "I know you all worked hard on your papers last week, so I wanted to give you an easy group project!" Most of the class groaned. Only Kuroba looked excited at the idea. "You are going to interview your partner and write what they say in English. Now, you can choose partners—"

"Lupin!" Shinichi jerked up. Kuroba launched himself out of his chair and across another desk. He threw his arms around Shinichi who had frozen. "I choose Lupin! He's my partner! No one else's!"

"Kuroba—"

"No, Hakuba!" Kuroba shook his finger in Hakuba's face. "I won't let you take this from me! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to hear more stories about Lupin's childhood? Since Monday, at most! You aren't taking this away from me, you got it!?"

"Kuroba, he's legally required to work with me on any group project—"

"I doubt it's an actual requirement," Shinichi cut in. He fought to keep the grin off his face. This was just what he was looking for! Now, how reluctant should he seem in order to throw Hakuba off the scent…? "Something can probably be arranged if you really want, Kuroba. The most I can do is ask Gramps about it after school; we need to visit him anyway, remember?"

Hakuba nodded. Kuroba looked ecstatic yet confused. "Why do you need to visit your grandfather? I thought Lupin the Second was dead."

"I was talking about the investigator who chased my dad: Inspector Zenigata. He wants me to come in and talk to my dad."

"Why?"

"Zenigata-Keibu wants Dad to reveal the location of the rest of his team; he thinks I'm the best person to talk it out of him."

Omake:

Okimi was lost. The six year old pressed herself up against a tree as she glanced around. She'd never been in this part of the park before! She bit her lip as tears gathered in her eyes. Her mommy had to be around here somewhere… right? She couldn't be that far away. Maybe she should yell?

Leaves crunched and a woman appeared from around a tree. Okimi sighed in relief. A grown-up! She could help her! The neechan looked like a doll, wearing a pink and white dress that Okimi thought looked more in place on stage than in a forest. She ran up to the neechan, who stopped when she noticed Okimi.

"Is there something wrong, little girl?" the woman asked, crouching so she was eye-level with Okimi. Her voice was only a little louder than a whisper.

Okimi nodded. "I can't find my mommy, neechan. I ran off to find my friends, but they weren't around, and now I don't know where I am." She started sniffling.

"There, there." The woman took out a hankie, a monogramed H in pink on the corner, and offered it to Okimi. "Don't cry. You'll find your mother."

She didn't look so doll-like up close. Her hair wasn't in the curls Okimi had seen old European dolls have; instead, it was short, to her chin rather than down her back, with only one ringlet in a sea of fly-aways. She didn't wear makeup either, only a magenta lipstick that Okimi had only seen in department stores, never on anyone's lips. But the weirdest thing about her was the black eyepatch over her right eye. It didn't match the rest of her.

"Neechan, did you hurt your eye?" Okimi couldn't help but to ask. Her curiosity was piqued.

Neechan nodded, her lips twitching up into her first smile. "Would you like to see?" Before Okimi could stop her, she lifted the patch. Okimi couldn't look away. She could see…

She fainted, her tiny body barely making a sound against the forest floor.