AN: I know, I know, I lied with Reincarnation and the semi-hiatus thing. Reincarnation chapter two is about 20 % done, ha, ha. May I present...

The Author Chapter 1

(Dumb disclaimier: Not Gosho. Period.)

The first time Aoko met the man in the brown newsboy hat and glasses, one year after she found out the identity of Kaito Kid, it was in a café.
It was a windy, rainy cold day, and a certain Inspector Nakamori was sitting in the blissfully warm coffee shop, enjoying her coffee and daydreaming.

'get out of here! I hate you!' Aoko screamed.
'Ao-' Kaito pleaded.
'Get out!'
'It was to prote-'
'I DON'T care! Get OUT!' she said, pushing Kaito out of the door and slamming it in his face.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Aoko once again returned to her (lukewarm) coffee when she heard a voice ask her: 'Is this seat taken?'
The unfamiliar voice belonged to an slightly familiar-looking man wearing a brown newsboy hat and black-rimmed glasses. He was pointing to the seat opposite her, while his other hand held a styrofoam cup.
The man looked a little wet, as if he just arrived, which he probably did, thought Aoko.
'No...' She replied.
'Thanks.' he sat down and started to pour a packet of sugar into what she could now see as hot chocolate. 'I'm running from my editors because I skipped a meeting. Thank you for providing a sanctuary.' he explained.
Aoko blinked. 'You're an author?' It was hard to imagine this young man as someone who sits down and writes stories.
'Um... yes.' The man affirmed. He sipped his hot chocolate with four packets of sugar in it. ' Since I think you would not be very comfortable with my real name... my pen name is Kaido Akito.'
Aoko was incredulous. So this flustered but mischievous looking young man was the reclusive author of the bestselling mahou kaito series? ' Are you really...'
'Yeah... I hate to admit it, though. Every time I do so, the person that asks gushes over me and annoys me to the extent where I have to run away.' he paused, then in a high-pitched voice, mimicked: ' Oh, Kaido-sama! I am so happy I could meet you! You know, I am your number one fan! Will you sign this? And will you come to Clover Cafe so we can.. you know, talk about your new book? Please, Kaido-sama!'
Aoko laughed.
They exchanged phone numbers before leaving the shop.

The next time they met, it was the promotion of Akito's new book, aoi no otanjobi. Akito, unsurprisingly, was not present.
Aoko somehow found herself buying the tickets and going to the event, even though she knew that Akito himself would not be there.
As Aoko sat down, a familiar voice drawled ' I'm surprised that my editors did not kill me.'
'A-Akito-san?' Aoko asked, almost fearfully.
' Yeah.' He confirmed
'Does this mean... you go to every single of your events, but you don't appear onstage?'
He turned to face her, and for the first time, she could clearly see azure eyes behind his glasses. ' Of course. Very astute, Nakamori-keibu.'
' How did you- You're going answer me that you saw it in the news, right?' Aoko narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
He nodded.
' Why? I mean, why do you do this?' She added, seeing Akito's confused look.
' It's fun. And safer for me, which means I won't be assaulted by thousands of fangirls.'
'Do your editors know?' Aoko asked. If she was an editor, she certainly wouldn't allow him to do so.
'Of course. My editors are very patient anyways. They've dealt with Kudo-sensei before.' 'Kudo...sensei?' she enquired.
'Kudo Yuusaku was my mentor, my advisor, and friend. He and his son, Kudo Shinichi, helped me with a lot. Without them, I'd be washing dishes in a dingy restaurant.' he laughed, and Aoko laughed.
This event was turning out to be a lot more interesting than she expected.

Shameless references to MK:

mahou kaito: Magic Kaito

aoi no otanjobi: Blue birthday

Thanks for reading, and please review!