Pairings: [eventual - none in this chapter] Shinichi x Kaito, slight Kaito x Ran, one-sided Shinichi x Ran

Warnings: host!Kaito and [eventual] shounen-ai (no duh)

[Cultural] notes: In Japan, hosts usually have professional names that they use during work. For Kaito, I picked "Lupin" for fairly obvious reasons. Oh, and the kanji for Ran's name means orchid, if you didn't already know.

Notes: This plotline was inspired by a yaoi manga I read a while ago, but if you can tell which one it is, I have failed as a writer T_T. I'll continue this if I get enough good feedback, k? Hope you enjoy, darlings! - Luna

Club Aphrodite

- Prologue -

After nearly a year of his job working at the illustrious Club Aphrodite, Kuroba Kaito had separated his clients into four different categories: Girls who had just had their hearts broken and wanted a stranger's company, girls who had too much time on their hands and were bored, girls who liked the attention of an attractive male, and girls who sincerely were in love with their host.

The girl – a new one he'd never met before – in front of him was most likely a category one, Kaito mused as he observed the pretty though unfamiliar face. She had a fair complexion smoothed gently over a heart-shaped face and down a slender neck, disappearing into the scalloped neckline of her shirt. Her eyes, half-hidden behind chestnut bangs, were colored a marvelous shade of cerulean, though the striking effect was rather marred by the puffiness around her eyelids. She sat across from him, on the other side of the polished table, eyes focused on her remarkably pretty hands, which were twisting around uncomfortably in her lap.

"Ojou-san," Kaito addressed her, leaning forward slightly, and she looked up, wearing a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

He let out a small laugh. "Welcome to Club Aphrodite, ojou-san. I'm Lupin."

The girl blinked for a second. "Ah… R-Ran."

"Really?" Appearing to think for a second, Kaito held up a closed fist. Before Ran could ask what he was doing, a bright purple orchid sprung out of his grip. Grinning, he extended it to Ran, who couldn't hold back the small smile that blossomed across her face as she took the flower from him.

Relaxing, Kaito leaned back. Good. It looks like she's loosened up. "So, Ran-san, why did you pick me out of all the hosts?" He glanced around the host club, doing a quick survey of his fellow hosts. It appeared Hakuba had already been picked up by his category four client Nakamori Aoko, and it looked like the same had happened to Hattori, only with a girl named Toyama Kazuha. Eisuke and Makoto were still waiting.

"Well…" Jumping in slight surprise, Kaito turned back to Ran, whose gaze was back in her lap. "It's because you remind me of… him."

"Huh? Who, Ran-san?" Kaito asked, leaning forward.

Ran's fingers were back to squirming in her lap, now twirling around the stem of Kaito's orchid in a nervous dance. "My… the person I like."

"Oh. I see." Definitely category one, Kaito decided. "I have to admit that I'm honestly quite saddened to share any type of similarity with someone who can't see your beauty, Ran-san. He's probably quite a terrible person, huh?"

"He's not!" Ran unexpectedly shouted, startling Kaito and probably the rest of the club. From across the room, Hakuba stopped entertaining Aoko to send Kaito a look that said, So you can't keep your own clients happy, huh, Kuroba-kun?

Returning it with a murderous glare, Kaito refocused his attention on the blushing girl across from him. "I'm sorry, Ran-san," he apologized softly.

"That's okay," she quickly replied, raising her gaze for a millisecond. "It's just… I can't think of him as a bad person for not loving me back, you know? In my eyes, he's still so… Even though I know he doesn't see me the same way… I can't seem to make myself..."

Appearing to be having some trouble finding the words, Ran corkscrewed a hand through the perfumed air, trying to pluck the words out of it, before finally giving up. She let out a shattered breath. "It really hurts, don't you think? Unrequited love."

Smiling gently, Kaito answered, "It does." Not that I've ever experienced it firsthand, though.

A halved smirk fell from Ran's lips, accompanied by a mirthless little laugh. "I'm sure you've never experienced it, huh, Lupin-kun? With looks like yours…"

"You got me." Kaito laughed. "But I've heard enough about it to know that it's painful. And looks don't matter in love, right?" He sent her a reassuring smile.

For a moment, Ran looked transfixed, before she smiled back. "That's right, I guess."

"What's important is that you don't give up, Ran-san," Kaito continued. "I think it's just a matter of showing how much you care until he understands. And if he still can't return your feelings, you just have to move on to someone else. I'm not saying to settle for someone else – I just mean you should let yourself let him go and fall for someone else." Punctuating the last sentence with a grin, he moved forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "Understand?"

Ran, whose trouble expression had faded while listening to Kaito, beamed, looking considerably less brokenhearted. "Yes, I do. Thank you so much, Lupin-kun. I won't give up."

"Good girl." Retracting his hand, Kaito watched as she rose to her feet, wove around tables, and finally made it out the front door, though not before turning to wave at him.

Kaito only had time to take a long breath before his next client dropped down across from him, already chattering about her day.

"Good work, Kai-chan."

Standing before his open locker in the hosts' dressing room, Kaito peered over his shoulder to see the host's owner, former actress Kudou Yukiko, propped up in the doorway.

"Oh! Yuki-neechan," he exclaimed, shutting his locker as he shrugged on his jacket. It was quite unusual for the owner to stop in on her club, considering that most of the time she and her illustrious mystery writer husband were flying around in foreign airspace. "I didn't know you were around."

Yukiko waved a manicured hand dismissively. "Well, Yusaku insisted that I come to check up on all my darling boys. It's been at least a month since the last time I did, right?" She winked. "I'm taking out Saguru-kun and the others for dinner. Want to come, Kai-chan?"

"No, I've got something to do tonight," Kaito explained as he slung his overstuffed backpack over one shoulder.

"Night job, Kai-chan?" Yukiko wondered, wearing a dangerously sly expression.

"Not really. But thanks for offering, Yuki-neechan. It's great to see you again." Passing her and giving her a fleeting kiss on the cheek, Kaito walked down the hall and exited through the back door.

The night air was freezing, and Kaito began to increase his pace as he hurried out of the alley. It didn't look like he had time to go home, and he was incredibly glad that he had brought his Kid attire and a spare security guard uniform with him to work that day.

Kaito hit the light switch, stumbling into his apartment as the lights turned on. He collapsed at his kitchen table, blinking exhausted eyes. He remained at the table, face pressed against its surface for a good ten minutes.

With a small groan, he got up to deposit his bag into his closet. Peeling off his oversized coat to reveal the starched white jacket of his Kid suit, he draped the coat up on the coatrack and staggered into the bedroom. He watched in the mirror as he loosened his tie, examining the unfamiliar downward tilt of his eyelashes and the glassy indigo of his irises. Was it just him, or was his skin a few shades paler than usual?

Finally pulling off his tie, Kaito tugged off a glove, gently rubbing back his slightly overgrown bangs afterwards. Loosening a sigh against clenched teeth, he removed the rest of his Kid apparel, hanging them up carefully in the artfully concealed closet he'd installed when he had first moved in.

Kaito fell onto his bed, eyes fluttering shut against his pillow. He bit back yet another sigh, frowning. Was it just him, or did he feel… hollow?

Admittedly, the feeling had been plaguing him for weeks. Constantly adjusting to suit his clients' desires was tiring enough, but the addition of heists afterward had increased his fatigue tenfold. He was drained.

But that wasn't really it. When Hakuba had mentioned working at Club Aphrodite, Kaito had considered it a joke and had applied for a job there only as a way to spite him. But too soon, it became a serious employment, an occupation he cared about more than just a source of income.

And while Kaito loved to make others happy and felt intense pride and happiness every time he managed to make a client smile, he could never shake the feeling that he was losing himself trying to obtain that smile.

Okay, okay. I know this isn't all that intriguing at the moment, but keep in mind that this is only the prologue. Yes, I am aware that Shinichi has yet to appear, and yes, I am aware that it doesn't make sense for Shinichi to not know Kaito if Yukiko owns Club Aphrodite, and yes, I am aware that Club Aphrodite is a terrible name for a host club. But all will be explained in due time, my darlings. All will be explained.

Or... you should just suspend belief while reading this. That would work even better than me trying to explain.

Well, if I get enough positive feedback to make me want to continue. Since I've got a lot of other stories currently in progress, I'm only going to continue this if it's popular enough. Otherwise, I'll just continue updating Semantics, Shuffle Romance, and possibly Gem of a Person, k?

- Luna