Mikau: Hello everyone! Welcome to both old friends and new! Thank you for taking a minute to check this out. It was actually done for Poirot Café's first Super Short Contest, the theme being hope. I really hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Akako would have more screen time and character development. I just don't think she's treated fairly in the original. She's such a cool character, but only a one-dimension interpretation of her is shown, so we don't get to see any depth.

…

Tomorrow Will Come

Kaito had a good fifteen minutes before he was supposed to meet with Akako at the café, so he ran into the campus library to pick up some references for his Ethics paper.

While searching the shelves, trying to find the right call number, Kaito happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar head of mousy brown hair.

Kaito smiled at his girlfriend, even though Aoko couldn't see him. They'd finally started dating two years ago after high school and Kid had both come to an end. She still didn't know his secret, but he was finally able to be there for her. He might still be lying by omission, but he wasn't breaking his promises to her anymore. He was reliable and considerate and loving, and things were going well.

Aoko was sitting over in the group study area with Hakuba, smiling and laughing softly at something the blonde had said.

Kaito was about to call out to his friends when all of the sudden Aoko leaned in and kissed Hakuba on the cheek. Kaito froze, mind stalling like an old jalopy.

Hakuba blushed and looked away, gently chiding Aoko.

Aoko laughed and playfully tugged on his arm.

Kaito's throat tightened.

Embarrassed but giving in, Hakuba pressed an affectionate kiss to Aoko's forehead, and then the lovers' lips came together in a blissful, languid kiss…the kind that Kaito and Aoko often shared.

But…his best friend and his girlfriend…

Kaito's heart shattered like a glass chandelier.

"You're not listening at all," Akako snorted, snapping Kaito out of his nightmarish flashback.

"Yes I am," Kaito lied, slapping on his poker face. "You were saying that your boyfriend Masahiko is a slug."

Akako blinked, unimpressed. "Masahiko broke up with me last week. Remember?"

"Oh. Yeah." She had told him that, hadn't she? "Sorry. It's just…" Should he say it? "You go through them so fast ever since you stopped using your weird mesmerizing magic to make love-slaves out of the guys you date."

Akako ignored the comment, trying not to show how much it hurt, losing her magic when she'd cried…because of him. It was all Kaito's fault.

"I was saying…" She sighed, rolling her scarlet eyes as she saw his attention wander again. "…It doesn't matter. Why are you so distracted today? The Bio midterm? You'd do fine if you'd stop staring stupidly at the back of Nakamori-san's head during class and actually take some notes."

Kaito winced inadvertently.

Akako noticed. She noticed everything about him…ever since high school when he'd rejected her. That had been the genesis of her problems.

"What's wrong?" she prodded, kinder than usual as she dropped the nagging tone from her voice.

Kaito shook his head and looked out the window as he absentmindedly took a sip of his hot chocolate.

She pursed her poppy-red lips, her brow furrowing slightly.

"…Hypothetically…" Kaito nibbled on his lip. "What would you do if someone was cheating on you?"

"Turn them into a newt and use them in one of my potions," she replied calmly and automatically. Even though her charm was gone, she could still whip up some wicked hexes.

Kaito rubbed the back of his neck. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that. I guess I should have asked 'What would a normal person do if someone was cheating on them'."

Akako's eyes widened as she pieced together Kaito's odd mood and strange question. "You finally found out."

Taken aback, Kaito stuttered, "W-What?"

"About Saguru-kun and Nakamori-san," Akako clarified.

Every hair on Kaito's body stood up. He stared at her in shock, the light going out of his eyes, making him look like a hollow shell. "…How long?"

Akako shrugged, playing callous. It served him right for emotionally dragging her through the mud all these years. Finally he felt some of her pain. "Well, it's been a year since Saguru-kun had to start fending her off, but Nakamori-san's persistent, and just about six months ago he finally gave in to his feelings for her."

Kaito visibly shrunk as the words cut into him.

"What?" Akako scoffed, getting a sick satisfaction from his shell-shocked expression. "Are you seriously surprised? Did you never once think while you were lying through your teeth to her all those years as Kid that she could turn around and do the same to you?"

Kaito felt like he'd taken one of Snake's bullets. "…Why didn't you tell me if you've known all this time?" he whispered shakily. His voice was cracking as the tears built up in the corners of his eyes.

Akako looked down at her coffee mug as the triumph of revenge faded away. It hadn't lasted long, and now she just felt empty…guilty that she had taken pleasure in his suffering. The look on his face physically hurt her. Seeing her beloved in such turmoil made her heart ache.

"You wouldn't have believed me," she explained gently. "You would have accused me of trying to break you up or said I was messing with you…being spiteful or something."

Kaito bit his tongue, trying to hold his splintering mask together. He stared silently down at his hands as reality hit him.

Her own heart breaking for him, Akako tentatively reached across the table and took one of Kaito's hands in both of hers. "Hey," she called softly. "Kaito…it's okay. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but…believe me, just because the person you love breaks your heart, that doesn't mean that it's all over. Tomorrow comes just the same…and the tomorrow after that and the tomorrow after that…and one of those tomorrows, you really do start to think 'It's okay'."

Kaito was about to snap, "How would you know?! You have no idea how I feel!", but when he looked up, he saw it in her eyes—a kind, soft, encouraging love. Her eyes had always been so cold, her tongue sharp, but now…

"Wanna go get ice cream? Watch a movie? …My treat," she offered.

He gave her a soft, tired smile. "Yeah…. Thanks, Akako."

…all there was was a warmth and a love that made him think that maybe tomorrow would come after all.