Sorry for the extremely long wait for this chapter. I got busy working on another project and, since I haven't worked on that for the last week, figured I'd try to get this chapter written. I will eventually finish this but it may take me way too long. I also haven't watched anything Lupin since that god awful Italy series over a year ago, so I really have no idea how these characters act anymore. xD One of these years I will finish getting the second series and rewatch it all. And then realize I got everything wrong, but like my interpretation of them better. Enjoy this chapter and hopefully I can get the next one out before the year ends.

SEVENTEEN

The following day Lupin and Goemon tried to get Jigen more enthusiastic about life in Kumamoto, Lupin doing everything he could to try and make life living secluded on an island seem like the worst idea ever.

Zenigata almost lived in room 203, hoping to make contact with someone, even if it was Jigen and Ren's silent bogey man.

Ren spent most of her time alone in her room, hiding away from the others who she came to despise. Who were they to try and turn Jigen against her.

During one of her silent seething moments she overheard Jigen mentioning supplies for the trip, how they were running low and would have to make another supply run before they could leave.

"A supply run," she whispered as she stared off in thought, an idea coming to her.

Late that night, while Jigen and Lupin slept, Ren snuck out of the room and grabbed the map that marked what areas were safe and what areas were full of infected. Taking it to her room she sat down and unfolded it.

Using a small flashlight she scanned the neighborhood, looking at areas she knew were infected but weren't yet marked. She grabbed a pen and picked one of those areas, hesitating before drawing a circle around it. The deed done, she folded the map back up and placed it back where it once was before hurrying off to bed.

...

The next morning Ren and Fujiko snuck off to continue their search for Fujiko's much wanted pregnancy test. With one floor left to search it was looking bleak.

"There's a store down the street that probably sold them," Ren said as she dug through some boxes that were under a bathroom sink. "I'm sure they're still there."

"And then the others will wonder where I'm going and what I got when I came back," Fujiko said as she opened a medicine cabinet and browsed the items inside.

"Which is why you could lie," Ren said, as if it were obvious. "Oh, wait, I think I got something."

Fujiko looked with anticipation as Ren held up the small rectangular box. She smiled and snatched the box. "That's it! Thank you. Now leave so I can take it."

"You're welcome, geez," Ren muttered as she was shoved from the bathroom.

The minutes ticked by, Ren sitting in a chair and flipping through a magazine. She looked up and sighed. "You done, yet?"

The door to the bathroom opened and Fujiko stood and stared at Ren.

Ren stood up and looked at her. "So?"

"I... I'm pregnant," she said with a forced half smile.

"That's... that's great," Ren said, unable to tell from Fujiko's reaction if it was or not.

...

After lunch Ren allowed Jigen to go to the roof. Zenigata and Fujiko left for their room, Goemon following when he was stopped by Ren.

"So, Jigen was telling me about the supply run," she lied.

"Yes?" Goemon stared down at her with no expression.

"I was thinking we could do it today." She stared at him while biting her lower lip.

"Today?" Lupin wondered. "The days half over."

"Well, I know, but this place isn't that far and I figured the faster we get the supplies the faster we can leave."

Goemon looked at her suspiciously. "You're willing to leave?"

She shrugged. "I mean, Jigen wants to, so if he does, then I do. I'm kind of sick of this place, anyway."

"Where are we going?" Lupin wondered.

"Oh, well, Jigen already marked it, so..." She grabbed the map and unfolded it. She placed her finger on the circled area.

Lupin and Goemon looked over the map.

"Two blocks away," Lupin said. "We can be in and out in an hour. Looks like it's a pretty clear area."

Goemon stared at the map. "Hmm... I thought..."

"Something wrong?" Ren wondered.

"No, it's fine," Goemon said. "Jigen knows this area better than we do, so it's fine."

"Let's grab our stuff and go," Lupin said, more excited about the prospect of leaving for Kumamoto than anything.

"I'll get Zenigata and Fujiko," Goemon said as he left for the apartment next door.

...

Jigen stood on the roof, overlooking the area. Noticing movement below he glanced down, Lupin, Goemon, Fujiko, and Zenigata all armed and walking from the apartment.

"Where the hell are they going?" Jigen mumbled as he watched them. He turned and walked to the stairs.

Ren sat in her room reading a book when the door opened.

"Hey, where did they go?" Jigen asked, slightly annoyed.

She shrugged. "They said they were going on a supply run."

"Supply run where?"

"I don't know. They said you marked a place for them to go."

"I didn't mark anything," Jigen said as his annoyance grew. "And we never discussed it. Where did they go?"

"I don't know," she said in a raised voice. "There was a place on the map that was circled and I told them-" She stopped herself, knowing she had said too much.

"You told them?" Jigen said. "You told them what?"

Ren said nothing, only stared in worry.

"You told them what, Ren?!"

"I..." Tears began to form as her voice quivered. "I told them that..."

"Damn it," Jigen hissed. "Where did you send them?"

She shook her head as she began to cry. "You lied to me," she sobbed. "You said we'd never go to Kumamoto!"

"And I never said we were going!"

"You said you'd think about it! And then you said it probably wasn't as bad as you thought it was! I told you I didn't want to leave, but you didn't care! You only care about what they want!"

"I said that to get them off my back! Do you really think I want to go there after everything we've talked about?!"

"You only listen to them! You don't even care about me since they showed up!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I don't-"

"I hate you! I hope your friends die! And I hope you die, too!" She jumped to her feet and ran past him.

Jigen watched her with a hurt expression. "Ren!" He flinched as the door slammed shut. "I do not fucking need this, Ren!" he screamed as he limped as fast as he could to the door. He opened it and looked into the hallway, seeing no sign of her or where she went. "Fuck!" he yelled as he slammed the door shut and leaned against it.

...

Goemon led the group through a neighborhood. Approaching their destination he stopped, looking around before looking back at the others as they looked at him.

"What is it?" Zenigata wondered.

"This isn't right," Goemon said as he looked around him.

"Don't tell me you got lost," Lupin sighed. "I gave you the map so-"

"I'm not lost," Goemon said with a glare. "What I mean is nothing about this feels right. It hasn't since we were told about this mission."

"You think Jigen is setting us up?" Zenigata asked.

"Oh, come on," Lupin said, annoyed that any of them would think that. "Jigen would never do that!"

"No, he wouldn't," Goemon agreed. "This mission was never his idea, though."

"Ren?" Fujiko said, giving an unsure look.

"She's just a kid, Goemon," Lupin said with a roll of his eyes.

Goemon glared at him. "And this whole thing was her idea."

"So just because you don't "feel" right Ren is now some psychopath killer?" Lupin asked, feeling the whole thing ridiculous.

"Well, she is a girl," Fujiko sighed.

"Yeah, a girl! A twelve year old girl!" Lupin said, refusing to even look at Fujiko.

"An angry twelve year old girl," Zenigata said as he stared at them. "They're capable of anything, Lupin. Trust me."

"So we're not even going to look at this place?" Lupin said, not wanting to waste the trip. "Or even the buildings around us?"

"We're going back to the apartment," Goemon said, starting to walk the way they came.

"So we walked all this way for nothing?" Lupin glared at Goemon. He then looked at the others as they started to follow Goemon. "Guys? Guys!"

"Keep up or get left behind," Zenigata said.

Lupin slumped his shoulders and sighed. He took a step towards them and froze, high pitched screams sounding behind him.

He and the others turned to see a group of sixteen runners coming at them.

"This way," Goemon yelled as he started to run towards a building.

The other three followed, Fujiko and Lupin lagging behind as they ran down a littered alley. Fujiko screamed as glass broke, two runners falling from the window before her and cutting off her path as Goemon and Zenigata continued on.

Lupin ran towards her, lunging himself at an old wooden door of one of the buildings and ramming it open with his shoulder. "Come on," he yelled at Fujiko, waiting for her to enter before running after her. "We'll catch up to them on the next street!"

Fujiko ran blindly through the darkened warehouse, her pounding heart being the only thing she could hear.

Suddenly there was a loud crack of wood breaking and a scream.

"Fujiko!" Lupin ran forward to the hole that was now in the floor. He knelt down next to it, shining his flashlight down to the dirty floor below and seeing Fujiko limping off as a clicker ran into view. He looked over his shoulder as the group of runners were streaming into the building and then looked back down into the hole. The clicker gone and the runners getting closer, he took a deep breath and jumped down into the basement of the warehouse.

He landed with a thud, the noise bring the sounds of clickers all around him. Unable to see where they were he ran off, finding a small space to hide in.

Two clickers ran into view, stopping and clicking and they moved their heads in all directions. A sound in the distance caused them to face in the direction it came from, both clicking before running off.

Lupin exhaled quietly. He slipped the backpack off his shoulders and lowered it at his feet. Kneeling down he undid the zipper slowly, hoping the noise didn't attract anything. The bag open, he reached inside and dug through the items he had brought. He smiled, pulling out the knife he had brought in case he needed it. It was larger than the one on his belt, the blade wider and able to deal more damage.

Zipping up the backpack and putting it back on, he took a deep breath and readied himself to leave his place of safety.

He snuck through the basement, making sure to avoid the debris scattered around the floor. A low clicking caught his attention, a lone clicker walking along a wall.

Taking long strides Lupin made his way towards it. Once close enough he lunged forward, grabbing the creature from behind and stabbing it up through the face and into it's brain.

The clicker let out a screech before falling limp.

Lupin let go and watched as it fell with a thud.

The screech attracted two more clickers, who rushed towards Lupin.

Lupin grabbed the closest one and killed it. He then struggled as the second one attacked him.

The clicker was pulled away, Zenigata throwing it to the floor before diving on top of it and stabbing it several times in the face.

"Thanks," Lupin said, relieved to see him.

"Where's Fujiko," Zenigata asked with a glare.

"I don't know. She fell down here and ran off."

Unhappy to hear that, Zenigata looked around. "How many more of these are there?"

Lupin shrugged. "Where's Goemon?"

"Keeping those other things away from here." He looked up towards the hole in the ceiling. "I'm going to hoist you back up. Once I'm gone throw what you can find down here to attract the others. Keep them here while I look for Fujiko. Okay?"

Lupin looked at him and nodded.

The two walked back towards the hole, Zenigata kneeling down and clasping both hands together. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Lupin said. He ran forward, stepping with one foot onto Zenigata's hands as Zenigata lifted him up. He grabbed onto the edge of the splintered floorboards and pulled himself up.

"Give me ten seconds," Zenigata said to him.

Lupin stared down at him and nodded. Once Zenigata was out of view he started looking around for objects, finding some rocks and small metal parts. He collected what he could and brought them next to the hole, tossing the largest piece down first.

There was a distant click and some screeching, three clickers running towards what had been thrown.

Lupin continued throwing objects, attracting four more clickers. Not getting anymore he began throwing down smaller pieces to keep the clickers from wandering.

Zenigata walked the basement slowly and cautiously, in case any clicker had become stuck in random rooms or behind the large machinery the basement held. Hearing a noise he readied his knife and walked towards it.

The noise was coming from behind a closed door, Zenigata reaching for it slowly before quickly opening it, pressing himself against the wall next to the door as a clicker wandered out.

He snuck up behind it and stabbed it in the side of the head, setting down it's limp body quietly. "Fujiko," he said in a loud whisper as he looked around. Getting no response he continued on.

He checked all the rooms, opening up all the doors and searching the areas they led to. His mind then wandered to years earlier, to his daughters school and how he did this same thing to find her. Tears streamed down his face as his body tensed and shook. "Toshiko," he cried, falling to his knees as he sobbed.

Lupin continued throwing down small rocks, noticing a few of the clickers turning their heads curiously before wandering off. "Hey," Lupin whispered. "Where are you going? Come back."

Panicked, he reached for a larger object to throw, but was only down to even smaller rocks. "Damn it," he said as he noticed the other clickers following the ones who left. "Come back," he whispered louder. "Great," he sighed, grabbing his knife and once again jumping down into the basement.

The thud of his landing attracted two of the once gathered clickers, Lupin stabbing one and then using it's body to hold off the other. Reaching around the dead clicker he stabbed the other one in the head. "Five more to go..."

Lupin ran in the direction the clickers left in, killing them as he reached them. "One more," he said, looking around him. He heard a faint click and ran towards the sound.

He entered a room, Zenigata knelt down in the middle of it, head bowed as he cried, unaware of the world around him. Or the clicker that was heading his way.

"Zenigata, look out," Lupin yelled.

Broken back to reality, Zenigata looked up, just able to get his hands raised to hold back the clicker that lunged at him.

Lupin ran forward, grabbing the clicker and stabbing the blade up through the chin and into the brain. He tossed the dead creature aside and turned his attention to Zenigata. "You okay? What happened?" he asked, worried over the man being upset enough to cry.

"Thanks," Zenigata said in a low voice, composing himself and standing. "It was... it was nothing. Just thought of something," he said, his voice trailing off.

"Did you find Fujiko?" Lupin asked as he looked around.

"No. Did you?" He sighed at the stupidity of his question. "Nevermind."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Zenigata sighed. "I just need to get out of here."

"I'll help you back up the hole," Lupin said. "You go and find Goemon. I'll find Fujiko and you guys can come back and get us. Okay?"

Zenigata had no energy to argue, nor did he even feel like doing so. He only gave a slow nod and started walking out of the room.

Lupin followed and they stopped at the hole Fujiko had fallen from. He hoisted Zenigata up and, not giving the man another glance, started his search.

He kept the knife gripped tightly in his hand, heart beating quickly and body tensing as he quietly searched the rest of the basement. "The last room," he quietly sighed. He hadn't lost hope in finding Fujiko, figuring that once he knew the basement was clear he could just start yelling for her.

He entered the room, a large storage room in the corner, and stopped. Knowing there was nothing behind him and ready for a fight, he took his knife and hit it against a metal storage container, the loud high pitched clang echoing off the walls.

From his right a door burst open. Lupin lifted his knife, ready to strike the figure coming at him, but relaxed when he was able to make out that the figure was Fujiko, who came at him with her own knife.

He side-stepped and avoided her attack, grabbing the wrist of the hand the knife was in and wrapping his other arm around her, pulling her close to him. "Fujiko, it's me, relax," he said as he struggled to hold her as she fought him. "It's me, calm down!"

She opened her eyes wide and gasped, finally realizing what was going on. "Lupin," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Lupin," she cried, dropping the knife and turning towards him, grabbing him and burying her face into his shoulder as she cried.

Lupin wrapped his arms around her, staring off as he tried to calm her.

...

"I can't believe you left him," Goemon said in slight anger as he led the way back to the warehouse.

"He wanted me to," Zenigata replied in annoyance. "That was part of his plan, for me to leave and get you."

"I've worked with Lupin long enough to know that his plans aren't always successful. Or very smart. Let's just hope he's still alive"

Zenigata glared at the back of Goemon's head. "He's fine. We cleared the place."

"And you're sure of that?"

Zenigata said nothing, knowing that he wasn't.

The two reached the warehouse and entered it, walking to the hole and looking down into the basement.

"About time you two got here," Lupin griped, a relieved Fujiko standing next to him. "Took the scenic route or something?"

"Be happy we came," Goemon said.

Zenigata bent down and grabbed Fujiko as she was lifted up. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I twisted my ankle a little, but it's okay."

Zenigata then bent down and grabbed Lupin's hand, pulling him up.

"Thanks," Lupin said. "So, now what?"

"I led the runners into a building on the next block," Goemon said. "They shouldn't be bothering us."

"Let's just get back," Zenigata said. "And ask Jigen what the hell is going on."

"If he'll even tell us," Goemon said as he turned and started towards the street.

The others glanced at each other quickly before following him.

Not one word was spoken and not one infected spotted as the four made their way to the apartment. Goemon, angry and his pace quicker, was almost thirty feet in front of the others by the time they reached the building.

The door to the apartment opened and Jigen started towards it. "Ren, I-"

A seething Goemon stepped up to Jigen and grabbed him by the front of the shirt, violently shoving him against the wall. "Did you set us up?" he yelled.

Jigen stared at him in fear and confusion. "No, I-"

"Don't lie!" Goemon said, pushing Jigen harder against the wall.

Jigen had had enough, glaring at Goemon and doing his best to get free. "Get off of me," he growled, shoving Goemon away. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He looked over as the others entered the room.

"You almost got us all killed," Goemon yelled, getting in Jigen's face.

"Hey," Zenigata yelled, grabbing Goemon and pulling him away. "That's enough!"

"I didn't even know anything about you guys leaving," Jigen yelled, still glaring at Goemon. "You want to blame someone, blame Ren!"

"Where is she?" Zenigata asked, wanting to have a word with her.

"I don't know," Jigen sighed in a mix of worry and anger. "She told me what she had done, we yelled at each other, and then she ran off. I searched the building and she isn't here."

"She left?" Zenigata said, now angry that she would put her life in danger doing something so stupid.

"Look, she's just a kid, okay?" Jigen said as he glanced at the others. "And that doesn't excuse what she did, I know, but..."

Zenigata nodded, knowing how worried Jigen was and what he was going through. "I'll go look for her. Don't worry."

"I'll go, too," Goemon said, Jigen's demeanor softening him some, though he still wanted to give Ren a piece of his mind.

"Lupin," Zenigata said as he turned towards him. "Stay here and watch Fujiko. We'll be back before night."

"Thanks," Jigen said in relief, giving them both a half smile and getting a nod from each in return. He watched the door close, his smile fading and worry once again returning.