Well, I'll say it was time I write at least one tragedy after all the crack drabbles I did. I'm normally more comedy oriented, but angst and tragedy sometimes find their way to me.

Title: Poker Face
Genre: Angst/Tragedy
Pairings: None
Rating: T
Warnings: Character death
Words: 1777

No. No, no, no, no, no-

When they entered the classroom that morning, none of the students of 2-B Ekoda High expected to see the resident prankster and notorious magician sitting at his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper with a carefree smile and paying them absolutely no heed at all.

When asked, the teen just replied that Aoko hadn't been at home that day so he'd gone to school by himself. It wasn't his fault they were always late because of her, he'd say.

Yet either way, Kuroba Kaito never showed up at school before the warning bell, best friend in tow or not. It made them wonder what poor soul he had it in for that day.

As she pulled out a book from her schoolbag, Keiko kept glancing at the busy magician. She didn't know what to make out of it.

Where was Aoko when you needed her?

-no, no, no, no, NO! Why? Why did it have to happen?

During first period, Kuroba was still scribbling on the paper, his face never changing from its carefree smile, only a brow occasionally creasing as he concentrated on whatever he was doing.

Akako didn't know what that was, nor did she want to. It wasn't her business to pry among mortals' mundane entertainments, even if Kuroba was one of the more interesting ones.

Though she felt something niggling at her, telling her she better does check.

She ignored it.

And when the sensei reprimanded Kuroba for not paying attention, she hadn't batted an eye. A poof of smoke, some green hair and the teacher will be dealt with.

And when, as the reprimand didn't work, sensei threatened to take whatever he was so busy with from him, she still waited for the prank.

And when Kuroba only sent the same wide smile at the man before completely disappearing into a puff of smoke, paper he was scribbling on included and school bag not, then Akako's eyes narrowed.

Why? …I just wanted… I didn't want…

When Saguru found the thief sitting cross-legged at the edge of the roof during lunch period, he hadn't been surprised.

When he called out to him and received no answer, he felt a strange feeling bubbling within him.

And when he tried to approach him, only for his target to lean forward and disappear over the edge, he felt almost compelled to run and see if he really fell.

He didn't, of course. The school grounds were empty.

And when he found a pencil smudged with graphite lying by the edge innocently, he recognized the feeling for what it was.

Something wasn't right. And it worried him.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the Kid heist last night.

I just wanted… to do the right thing… Was it really too much to ask?

Halfway through fourth period Aoko appeared in the doorway, looking out of breath and with her hair a real mess. She apologized to the teacher, saying she had a fever and went to visit the doctor that morning, but since it subsided soon after she decided to come to school after all.

She expected a comment from Kaito as she seated herself, something like her completely missing out on a school-free day with the excuse sheet the doctor had given her.

Any kind of comment.

She received none.

Why? Why them?

By the end of the period, the students were sitting still with batted breath. As soon as the bell rung, Aoko reached for the teen a desk in front of her, gripping his shoulder in a tight grip and preventing any escape via puff of smoke.

She wasn't fooled like the others.

"Kaito? What's wrong with you?"

Was it really so wrong?

The boy had stiffened momentarily, but she still felt it. Then he turned his head to smile at her, one hand going to cover whatever he'd been scribbling on during the whole period. Aoko only managed to catch a glimpse of black before focusing on the boy's face.

Somehow, she didn't like that smile.

"Kaito." She added with more force. "What did you do this time?"

Was it his fault?

The smile only widened, reaching almost from ear to ear, never showing any teeth. Eyes almost closed, he answered her.

"Nothing's wro-ong."

His voice cracked at the last word.

Yes, yes it was.

At first it was only one. Only one Aoko could have taken as a trick of the light.

But then another followed, and another, until drops of salty water steadily flowed out the corners of those squinted eyes, down the round cheeks and over the crease of the wide smiling lips.

Three shadows loomed over her immediately, but she paid them no attention, her being alarmed and almost transfixed by the sight in front of her.

Who's else could it be? He was the only responsible.

It was like watching a mirror slowly crack – first there was one, then two, then a thousand more cracks appearing in the once smooth surface, until the shards started falling to the ground, shattering upon impact.

But, those shards were too precious to be abandoned. Eventually, and she could just see it, they would be picked up again, cutting into fingers and bloodying skin as they formed a new reflection, so smooth it could almost be mistaken for the real thing.

And yet…

Aoko wouldn't let him pick them up and hurt himself more.

There was something horribly wrong going on here.

And yet… he had done the right thing, hadn't he? He'd fought, he'd been the hero…

"Kaito, Kaito answer me!" She shook him, watching with more and more dread as the smile refused to diminish.

Even a quiet sob couldn't break it.

But it parted his lips.

Then why did a hero have to fall so hard?

"I…"

"Yes?" By now she was gripping his face with her hands, making him look and focus on only her, and not the ruckus that the whole class was currently making. You could hear the distraught voices of their classmates, sensei for the next period included. Aoko ignored them.

Kaito needed her.

And why couldn't a hero…

"I… couldn't save them…"

The final shard fell.

And the smile shattered.

And he bent forward, hiding his face in the girl's shoulder, breaking down in sobs completely.

…save them?

His hands clutched at her uniform in despair. She held him tightly, not knowing what to do.

The paper on the desk caught her eyes.

They're… They're…

It was black with graphite, the white of it vanished with the rapid zig-zag's of a hard-pressured pencil. In the middle, a smiley face was the only thing that stayed the pristine fair color it had been before. That, and the words below.

"Smiles and laughter are always good, but never forget your Poker Face."

Oh God, they're…

"T-they're dead."

An explosion in the distance made their heads snap to the window. A cloud of smoke and fire was rising to the sky.

Aoko sucked in a breath, eyes wide.

Only Kaito's face stayed buried against the girl's frame.

A heavy sob wracked his body.

Fweet!

The second body fell to the ground.

"What should we do with them?"

"Let them lie there, by morning all traces will be gone and nobody will be the wiser."

"And the boy? I heard she had a son."

"The boy's on a two day trip to Kyoto apparently. Won a ticket and will only be returning tomorrow. He'll be going straight to school."

The other grinned. "A homecoming surprise then, yeah?"

The gesture was returned. "Yes. With a bang."

They left, but before that the bulkier of the two stopped in the doorway, glancing back at the scene.

"I said I'd get you, didn't I? Took me eight years more, but now you're dead." He glanced at the woman lying next to the man, a puddle of blood spreading around her head. "You and both of your accomplices."

He left.

The wires were set.

"…an explosion shook a part of the Ekoda district today in the afternoon hours. According to reports, the explosion originated from the kitchen area due to a gas leaking, then spread the flames to the rest of the house. The two occupants of the house died instantly, and several others were lightly wounded from the impact and flying shrapnel it sent across the street. Now going back to the recent robberies in Shinjuku district. Police believe…"

It had been a productive night, Kaito mused as he pulled on his shirt. He'd not only snatched the jewel from under the task force's nose, but he'd also delivered a grand show with the help of Jii-chan and a few stacks of wire and smoke bombs.

There also hadn't been any assassination attempts, for which he was glad. It seemed like Snake had retreated to just watching lately.

Now it was time for Kuroba Kaito to return from his trip to Kyoto, where he'd been for the last few days and simply couldn't have been in Tokyo for the heist. He could just barely wait to see Hakuba's expression at school.

As he descended the stairs, his eyes closing and almost imagining his mother standing in the kitchen, leaning over a stove and cooking breakfast with Jii sitting at the table drinking his tea, he gave a sigh of contentment. Life was nice.

And then he opened his eyes.

A brief flash of red, oh God so much red, of lying bodies and of upturned furniture, the first thing he saw before even taking it in, and then… then nothing.

And Kaito, now with a wide smile and glassy eyes, turned on his heel and went back upstairs.

He wasn't hungry anymore.

He grabbed the schoolbag resting by the door, slung it over his shoulder and exited the house. He felt like going to school early today.

His loud "Itterashai!" went unanswered.

When everything else fails, there's always Poker Face.

"Report."

"Hai. It's as you said, Snake. Konosuke Jii was absent from his home tonight , but was sighted at the front of the crowd at the heist. We lost track of him just before Kaitou Kid appeared."

"…Heh. Seems like the master had been posing as the apprentice all this time. And the woman?"

"She was seen talking to him that night and helping get rid of some evidence."

"Good. Just as I thought."

"When will we strike?"

"We act tonight. There's no point in delaying it. There's no one but them home, we have the perfect opportunity. Let's go."

"Hai."

'Kaitou Kid, this time it truly is your end.'

This was an idea that popped in my mind a half a year ago, when I got an F on a Math test. I went through the whole lesson devastated and on the verge of crying, yet on the outside I barely changed, even smiled when someone talked to me. It made me think of Kaito and his Poker Face... and I wanted to vent my depression out on something.

Only now managed to put it into words though. ^^ Hope no one is TOO confused with the disjointed timeline, was the only way for me to properly (angsty enough) portray it.

*EDIT*: Ugh, FF ate all the break lines, had to rectify that.