A/N: So, I absolutely love Magic Kaito. And I love working on this, so, I hope you enjoy taking it? (:
MK is the only manga I've had the patience to read all the way through; besides Meitantei Conan, of course!

Sooo, yeah!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, blah, blah, blah. (:

oOo

Aoko took a seat in the back of the class room, head down, eyes staring at the fine wood of her desk. Her peers laughed and chatted happily to each other, completely oblivious to the girl's distraughtful presence. She lifted her head, slowly, scanning the room for him. Her breath was caught in her throat. There he was. Sitting on one of the nameless girls' desk, flirting shamelessly with her.

Aoko ducked her head back down, tears involuntarily swelling in her eyes. She clutched her hands tightly, hair falling into her face as she watched the first tear splash onto the surface of the desk. He hadn't spoken to her all week. Hadn't looked her way, hadn't acknowledged her presence, avoided her. She didn't care though. Why should she care?

Their homeroom teacher stepped into the room and everyone stood beside their desks, almost obediently. Aoko remained seated though, hands folded neatly on her desk, wet from her tears. This was ridiculous. She shouldn't be upset over a boy. Especially him. So what? So what if he had been her best childhood friend? So what if he had been by her side? So what if he was always there for her?

Aoko toned her teacher out. She was speaking to her, but the girl didn't want to hear anything she had to say. Surprisingly, Aoko didn't care if she had gotten in trouble. It was strange. The only thing she felt was sadness. Her teacher was stalking down the aisle now, heading straight for Aoko's desk.

The girl's strange behavior baffled her teacher. She had never had any behavior issues from the girl. What was wrong with her? She knelt beside her desk, trying to get a good look at Aoko's face through the mess of brown hair. It had become a curtain, shielding the girl's face, with her head bent down the way it was.

Aoko chose to ignore the teacher's soft, soothing whispers. When the teacher got no response, she sighed and stood. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her hands, dampened with.. tears? The teacher's brows furrowed in deep concern, but she quickly made her way to the front of the class, barking at her students to take their seats.

Aoko's fellow classmates began gossiping with one another, all eyes glued on the girl. All eyes expect his. He sat straight forward, jaw clenched, trying to ignore his friends remarks and comments. Suddenly, her small, soft, sweet voice invaded his ears.

"Kyoushi-san, may I please be excused?" Despite the increasing volume of the students chattering, despite her being in the back, and him in the front, despite him trying his hardest not to hear her, her voice stood out against all the others. It took all his will power not to turn around and stare at her.

He glanced at their teacher, carefully studying her reaction. Beneath her spectacles, Kaito noticed worry flashing in her eyes as she nodded, stiffly. His teacher's eyes never left Aoko's slim figure. He watched the teacher. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito spotted her. She briefly passed by his visage and was out of sight, slipping out of the door, soundlessly.

He slumped down in his seat, eyes downcasted, heaving a tremendous sigh that was sure to be heard by everyone around him. He didn't care. He just hoped she was okay.

Aoko clutched her books to her chest as she fled down the deserted hallway. She was originally going to compose herself in the girls' restroom, but she couldn't bear to attend another class with him, so she did the only other thing she could think of. She left campus.

The streets weren't nearly as busy as they usually were in the mornings, late afternoons, or early evenings. Aoko couldn't return home; her father wasn't due to report to work until noon. She couldn't seek refuge from one of her friends, they were all at school, which was where she should have been.

She shoved her books into her school bag, venturing down the business street. Aoko suspired slowly, shakily raising her hands to her face to wipe her cheeks free of any tears she had shed over him. She just needed time.. she would be okay, once she was able to get over him.

Aoko wandered aimlessly, not really caring where she ended up. The sounds of laughter reached ears and she slowed to a stop, finding herself in front of a park she had never heard of before. Overwhelmed with an inquisitve nature, she followed the cadence of mirth.

The source was a playground. There was a multitude of children, running after each other, guffawing, shrieking playfully. Aoko spotted their parents nearby. Although they seemed to be conversing with one another, she noticed each parent always carefully weeded out their child and regarded them cautiously.

She felt no joy, watching the children playing, hearing their shrilly laughter. Aoko wandered away from the playground and found a lone park bench, beneath a huge oak tree, its leaves fall off, one by one. She observed the scene for a moment, grimly deciding how perfectly it suited her mood.

She took a seat on the bench and slouched her shoulders, eyes threatening to leak once more. Aoko respired, a certain sadness creeping upon her usually happy and perky countenance. Her school bag found its way onto the ground, but she didn't bother to pull it up to her. Her eyes became fascinated in the individual pebbles used to create the park's walkway.

No matter what she did, her mind always wandered back to Kaito.

'Damn him!' She thought to herself, bitterly, unaware that she had begun lachrymation once again, 'Why hasn't he spoken to me? Does he know I saw? Is he embarrassed or ashamed?' Her eyes widened in sudden realization, 'Maybe he wanted me to see..'

Overwrought with her epiphany, Aoko failed to notice the couple sitting on the bench beside her, in each other arms. She heard the low voices, followed by a female's giggle. She almost couldn't stand it. What did they do to deserve to be so happy? What was so special about them? She inched herself away from them as much as possible on the bench.

After a few moments of sitting beside her, the happy couple decided to move on, hands clasped together. Aoko watched them, stolid expression flitting across her face. With a heavy sigh, she slumped over, elbows on her knees, eyes closing, face falling into her hands.

'Can my day get any worse?' Aoko asked herself, face contorted with distraught.

"Aoko?" The girl snapped her head up, instantly recognizing the voice. Her eyes landed on the figure, and they widened.

'I guess that's a yes..'