One good thing in a million bad ones

In hindsight, Aoko should have known.

Kneeling over the toilet, puking her guts out, Aoko should have known when she had woken up that morning that she should have just stayed in bed. She should have known.

She should have known.

It was supposed to be the event of her life. The event.

This was her chance, the one in a lifetime chance.

And yet, when Aoko opened her eyes, groggily waking up from an exhaustive sleep, it was already incredibly bright outside, contrary to what she believed she'd find at five o'clock in the morning. Of course, the look to her clock and supposed alarm revealed that, in fact, it wasn't 5 o'clock in the morning but about 4 hours later and Aoko had trouble to process what she saw.

At first, she turned the clock around but it still didn't make any sense. Then she grabbed her phone from the nightstand next to her bed and found the written 09:05 on the display and instantly her heart plummeted.

"Fuck!"

Jumping out of her bed at the speed of light, Aoko nearly tripped over her own feet, barely managing to catch herself, and sprinted to her bathroom.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

She felt like crying, honestly, how could this happen on a day like this?! What the fucking fuck happened to her fucked up alarm?! Along crying, Aoko felt like ripping her hair out in frustration.

This was supposed to be the most important day of her whole fucking life. And she. Just. Ruined it.

"Whyyyyyyy?" she whined while putting on the skirt and white blouse she had (thank fucking god) prepared the day before, and then brushed her teeth, the fastest ever, brushed some make-up over her face, even if she knew how important good looking was for the audition but there. Was. No. fucking. Time!

"Alright!"

After having gotten dressed and ready under five minutes, Aoko grabbed her bag and ran outside.

"Ah, Nakamori-san," the good-looking but way to nosey neighbor (also super annoying detective if someone asked her, she was way more into thieves) greeted her with a smile on his lips and usually, Aoko would greet back as friendly, engage in a short (or hour long actually) conversation and then continue on her way but today was different. It was life dependent!

"Good morning, Hakuba-kun. Bye, Hakuba-kun," she yelled instead while running past him.

She thought she heard him mumble something or other but didn't really care about it. She was a woman on a mission, after all, a mission she was at least an hour too late for, but hey, she wouldn't give up now, for her father didn't raise a quitter.

The second thing that should have been a red light was the lift. She lived on the highest level, usually a delight but now, right now, the fucking lift just didn't. Come.

Tapping her foot impatiently, she wondered if she was faster if she ran down the stairs, she felt like she should just dash down the stairs like a maniac, but after around three minutes the lift would have been faster. Key word: would.

And when the lift finally arrived on her floor, she regretted it deeply. Aoko couldn't remember one damn time she had ever to stop on every. Fucking. Floor. And she'd lived in the apartment for five years already, going in and out daily, sometimes leaving and returning even five or six times and never did she have to wait longer than a minute.

Even all the "good morning, Aoko-san" and "good morning Aoko-chan" and "today's the day, isn't it? Good luck, Aoko-chan" and "you're gonna rock them" couldn't really lighten her mood. And if this fucking lift took any longer she wouldn't fucking rock anyone anymore. Still, Aoko being Aoko, the always happy-go-lucky, friendly and easy-going neighbor couldn't really bring herself to be angry at all those neighbors who wished her nothing but good luck and so she smiled and greeted them back and thanked them like the properly raised, decent human being that she was.

When she arrived on the fourth floor, Aoko ran out like a beast and dashed down the fucking stairs, taking two or three steps a time and hoping she didn't fall or slip and break her neck – she figured she just as well might, with her luck that day.

But nothing bad happened and so she dashed outside – right into the cold rain. And she had nothing more with her than a white blouse.

Rummaging wildly through her purse, Aoko tried to find her umbrella, she usually always had one packed.

Not today.

"Fuck!"

Turning around, she pushed against the entrance door and found it locked, which wasn't surprising, as it always locked and could only be opened with a key. Grumbling, Aoko fumbled for said keys and found – nothing.

No-thing.

She wondered if she'd get a stroke. Or who she killed to deserve this.

Closing her eyes and taking two very deep breaths, she tried to silence the ticking in her head.

"Alright Aoko. Calm down. It'll be alright. Kuroba-san is known for his friendly and good treatment of his employees. Just take the next bus. Go there. And it'll be fine."

It was the mantra she kept reciting in her head, probably looking like a crazy idiot to all those neighbors who passed her to go their own ways but Aoko couldn't care less. Nothing could stop her and though she was frustrated with everything, with the frustration rising every second, she needed to move on.

"The show must go on."

Magicians were also improvisation masters, after all.

So, after taking yet another calming breath, Aoko opened her eyes again and rushed to the bus station, getting drenched by the pouring rain though it could be worse. It could rain cats and dogs. Or a car could –

It wasn't more than 200 meters, more than two minutes, that she ran along the sidewalk, when that crazy thought crossed her mind that a car could possibly splash her with puddle water. Why the fuck did she even think that?!

Now drenched from head to toe, dirty and her blouse quite see through, she found the bus just a minute away from the station. Just how much bad luck could one person have, in one fucking day and it was barely morning.

So, Aoko had to decide, run to catch the bus or turn around and get an umbrella and change? But her keys were inside her apartment and though she could easily pick both locks, Hakuba would be up there waiting for her and he wouldn't approve of her breaking inside her own flat even if it was none of his damned business. But running back would take a minute, getting up might take another five, then changing and getting the umbrella another five maybe, going back – all in all she might catch the next bus in 20 minutes but 20 minutes were just out of the fucking question. She'd change anyway at the studio because she had actually applied for the bunny job, not the she wanted to be a bunny girl, but it was her chance to get her talent known and Kuroba-san might make her his assistant afterwards. She just needed to get in.

So, running for the bus it was, drenched and cold and dirty as she was.

And then, because the morning wasn't as horrible, not at all, she stumbled over a rock, or the uneven pavement or whatever the fuck it was, and Aoko fell down, catching herself with her arms but her right wrist cracked in a way that didn't sound too healthy and didn't feel too well. But she saw the bus, saw how it stopped at the station, and crying out in frustration with the adrenaline rushing through her veins, made her jump on her feet and dash onwards.

The good thing was, she caught the bus.

The bad thing?

Sitting down, she started inspecting the damage. Her wrist hurt like a bitch and it already started swelling. Per-fucking-fect. At least her legs weren't bleeding though one of her shoes was scratched at the front and her snow white blouse was something between grey and beige, grandly showing her crème colored bra.

Aoko felt like crying, in pain and in frustration, biting her tongue to stop the whine that was about to leave her mouth, was cold and wet and dirty and she couldn't possibly face Kuroba-san like that. She should probably just turn back.

No.

This was the only once in a lifetime chance she got. This was her time to shine and convince him of her talent and how she was perfect for his show, a perfect addition, pretty and skilled. Though, admittedly, right now she was neither.

Maybe she should really just turn back. Maybe they'll audition again. Maybe she'd get another chance…

Whenever she thought like that, like giving up, there was her father's voice who told her, again and again and again that she should join the police force, she'd be the perfect addition, clever and proactive. And how she'd decline every time because she saw her life in magic, in making people happy, in conjuring smiles on their faces, watching their sparkling, confused eyes, watching those expressions they made when they couldn't believe what she's just done. It was addicting. It was a feeling she didn't want to miss in her life and Kuroba-san was the best magician in the whole world. She didn't want to work for anyone else.

However, her chances of getting the job were probably zero by now. Not only was she too late, she was also not presentable – wait, that wasn't true.

As if she'd foreshadowed it, as if she'd known, Aoko rummaged through her bag again.

"No, no, no, nononononooooo," she cried through her lips and kept looking for her bunny costume.

She might have changed into that – scratch that, it was part of the job to wear the bunny costume, she was supposed to arrive in the damn bunny costume which she'd forgotten. At. Home.

Well, maybe that was a sign.

Maybe she should just go back.

Yeah.

Wet.

Hurting.

Dirty.

Without the necessary props.

Who was she trying to impress now, huh?

Dropping her head to the window, Aoko tried desperately to keep the tears from falling because crying wouldn't help her, besides, she was in public, she couldn't just start crying. And anyway, it was just a job. Her dream job, if she was honest with herself, a dream job she wasn't ready to just let go. Just like that. Without even trying.

No.

She needed to at least step onto the stage, in front of Kuroba-san and give her best.

She needed to at least try.

Despite her resolution, Aoko didn't get up right away when her stop came by, but she figured that regret of not trying was worse than trying and failing, and so she stood up, right when the doors closed. Just. Her. Luck.

"Wait, please, I need to get off."

Rushing to the front, she thanked all gods in heaven and beamed at the driver who opened the doors for her again and let her off. At least something went right.

"Thank you, have a nice day," she yelled while running off.

It took her around ten more minutes (six precisely because she ran all the way) and around ten o'clock, 90 minutes too late to her audition, without her bunny costume, dirty and wet, she finally arrived where she wanted to go every morning from now on.

Her dream place.

She would have taken in the place more, if she had the time, but as things stood, Aoko dashed through the streets, through the door, right to the reception.

Heaving like a madman, Aoko braced herself on the counter, trying to communicate with that way too nicely clothed woman with her way too perfect nails and hair and make-up and everything.

"Miss?"

Aoko nodded and held up a finger until she was able to breathe again. "My name's Nakamori Aoko, I came for the audition."

Because Kuroba-san was nice, they had to register before the audition date so everyone would get a time slot they needed to arrive and could plan their day around it. It was great because if people needed to work then they could arrange their day around the event. Of course, Aoko lost her slot but maybe, if someone else, just like her, was late, if she was lucky, she could get another slot. Maybe. If she was lucky. Und luck was not at her side that day.

The woman frowned and Aoko's heart plummeted. Bad sign. "I'm afraid you're a little too late, Nakamori-san. The audition already proceeded."

"Please, I know I'm late, I'm sorry. Just please. Can I have someone else's slot? Maybe someone also didn't come?"

She bit her lip, at least she seemed to try to be nice. "I'm sorry but all the candidates arrived today. I'm sorry but I-"

"Please!" Aoko begged, nearly jumping over the table to kneel in front of the woman. "Can't you just squeeze me in there somewhere between two candidates? Give me just one minute, it'll be enough. I'll just need a minute. I beg you!"

Aoko knew she was grasping at straws here as it was her own damn fault for being too late but she couldn't give up now, not when she made it this far. (Not that she'd actually gotten very far, but, yeah.)

"Look, I…" the woman seemed to contemplate before she sighed and put her face on her hand. "You know, looking like that you won't make it either way. I can tell you where the stage is and when they're going on break. You might catch Kuroba-san and convince him to give you a minute to perform. But do you really want to embarrass yourself like that?"

Aoko didn't even need to think about it. "Yes!"

The woman called Keiko (it was the nameplate) nodded. "Alright. You have around 20 minutes to get yourself in shape before they leave for break. The stage is just through the personnel door on the right. See that sign?"

Keiko pointed towards her right, along a windowed front to the farthest wall Aoko could see.

"Right there is a door for personnel only and if you go through there, you have to follow the hall until the very end. Go straight on. You'll end up right on stage."

Aoko beamed. "Thank you so much!"

Keiko winked. "Just don't tell Kuroba-kun, alright?"

Grinning, Aoko nodded and made her way to the nearest toilet. "I really like your glasses, by the way."

She didn't see the other girl blush and smile fondly.

Walking into the bathroom, Aoko realized she looked worse than she imagined. Her make-up was smeared the worst way, her blouse looked like she puked on it – or her cat, it really depended – , her hair was a mess and Keiko was right – she'd only embarrass herself.

"Fuck it."

Steeling her resolve, Aoko scrubbed her face clean, even if meant all her make-up was off, it was definitely less embarrassing than facing him looking like Frankenstein. She then tried desperately to dry her hair with the hand dryer, switching between her hair and blouse, receiving only mediocre results but Aoko couldn't give up now. No. The show must go on.

It took her all of the 18 minutes she had to get as dry as was possible in that time, wash her face and all the dirt off her body to look a sort of presentable and then hype herself up mentally as much as possible.

"Alright Aoko." Looking at herself in the mirror, she nodded, her resolve set in stone. "You're gonna do it. You're gonna do your best out there and no matter the outcome, you're gonna rock them."

With that she took off, dashed down the floor towards the door, ripped it open, ignored the loud "Wait! You're not allowed to go in there!" and sprinted down the corridor.

And then she found herself in front of yet another door, the door behind which her fate would be sealed. She didn't even think a second before she ripped that one open, too, surprising some very nice looking people making their way towards her.

And then she laid her eyes on the man of her dreams – not romantically (though she definitely wouldn't mind marrying him) – but skillwise. Of course, with his unruly dark brown hair, bright blue eyes and the nicest black dress suit she's ever seen, he looked godly. But it was mostly his skills that really attracted her to him, and his kindness. His professionalism and his smile, his mischievous grin when things worked out, and the spark in his eyes when he deceived yet another arrogant detective.

And he stood right in front of her, the god of gods, with a surprised look on his face quickly schooling into a friendly smile.

"Hello," he said with a wink. "Would you like to take a picture?"

"What. Is. That?"

It was another voice that broke Aoko out of her embarrassing staring. A voice so poisonous only a snake could be. Heaving heavily from her sprint, Aoko turned her head towards the voice.

It was a woman, beautiful, so beautiful barely anyone could compare to her. She had perfect straight reddish hair, beautiful big read eyes with eyelashes as long as they could get, full red lips and the most elegant and at the same time sexy red dress Aoko's ever seen. And the most annoyed expression.

"Be nice, Akako-chan."

Akako, huh? It didn't matter. She wasn't here to impress some beautiful woman, she was here to impress the god magician of the world, Kuroba Kaito. Turning her look his way again, finally getting her breathing under control, he watched her bemused with a friendly and open smile on his lips. It made her so happy that he didn't start screaming or showed his disgust with the way she looked or that she just came running through the personnel entrance which technically was illegal but … yeah.

"My name is Nakamori Aoko! Please let me perform! Just a minute! I won't take more of your time."

She bowed deeply, hoping against hope they'd give her just one minute. Her heart hammered in her chest, nerves wracking through her body. This was it. Her dream stood and fell with Kuroba's decision right now.

"What-! The nerve!" Akako voiced annoyed. "Wait, Nakamori… Nakamori… you're two hours late. The audacity to just come up here, through the personnel entrance mind you and demand to perfo-"

"Akako, come on. I wanna see what she's made of."

Looking up, surprised, she found Akako to be as surprised as herself (or maybe even more than herself really) with her mouth open, ready to protest again when Kuroba just turned around and started to walk towards the stage.

When no one followed him, he stopped, turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Are you coming?"

His friendly tone never changed and Aoko took as the stars finally aligning and giving her this chance, the chance to perform and have him see what she was made of and how she was perfect to perform by his side.

Hastily walking onstage, Aoko stopped in the middle, let her bag fall to the ground and took a deep breath. Meanwhile the magician as well as his assistants, and Aoko actually wondered who this Akako girl was because she was never on stage with him (maybe his manager?) and couldn't help but look at the scowling woman. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, an arrogant look on her face as if she knew that Aoko wasn't worth the time they gave her but when she look over to Kuroba, her heart started beating in excitement. She's never seen anyone looking so excited and expectant like him and it filled her heart with so much warmth and happiness even if she hadn't even started performing.

There were so more people next to Kuroba and Akako but since Aoko knew none of them, she just dismissed them from her thoughts.

"Alright, Nakamori-san. Would you like to start?" Kuroba asked and watched her happily.

Before Aoko could even think of nodding and then proceeding with her performance, Akako interfered. "Wait. You came here to audition as the bunny girl. Where's you costume?"

"Ah yes." Aoko ruffled through her hair (it was a nervous tick she'd been trying forever to get rid of). "The thing is, I forgot it at home. But I can perform some magic. I can show you without the costume."

Akako opened her mouth to protest, probably, tell her off that she broke the rules and breaking the rules meant game over, but Kuroba started talking again.

"It's fine. Go on." His smile never wavered. So that was the famous Poker Face, huh? She really couldn't tell if he was maybe angry or annoyed or anything but happy with the way he was watching her. Still, Aoko nodded and then focused on her show.

"Ok so," she started, snipping her finger and a deck of cards appeared in her hand.

"No. No. No. We don't need any more card tricks, bunnies don't do card tricks. Show us something else."

Aoko bit her lip, watching Akako ruining her plans. But maybe that was another test. She needed to be flexible, spontaneous and able to improvise. Well, fine. Nodding again, Aoko snipped and the cards disappeared though she had to admit her hand was giving her more trouble by the minute as the pain grew exponentially. And it had to be her right hand…

"Ok."

Cards really wasn't the only thing she could perform illusions with but then again, without the proper preparation much else wasn't possible.

Quickly going through her, Aoko took out half her preps and then stood up again.

"Ok."

She knew they were expectantly awaiting a grand show but there was no music, no preparation, really no magic on this stage. She had to do all that alone.

It was a challenge and she couldn't say she didn't rise to it.

But then again, today was shit as hell.

Throwing the first bag on the floor, Aoko raised her arm in anticipation for the explosion that just … never came. She could literally hear the pin drop in that moment.

Looking towards the powder that should have shrouded her in pink mist, she found it lying sadly on the floor, looking like flour. Sad. Pathetic. Failing.

"Ah." She ruffled through her hair again, watching helplessly to the expectant magician. "I'm sorry. I guess it got wet…"

She wondered what else she could show them but realized maybe it really was a sign that she shouldn't be here right now. Maybe she should have listened to her father and become a police officer. But she was here instead. And she thought how she could show them that she could pull a rabbit out of a hat but Aoko wasn't too sure that would work right now. What would convince them, was her incredible fire-y skills but…

"I could show you some really cool fire magic but I'm afraid I'd just set myself on fire today."

That was it.

It was over.

She failed.

While Kuroba's expression never changed, Akako's did. From annoyed it got to smug and Aoko sighed defeated.

"Thank you for your time. I'm sorry it was a waste."

She bowed because it wasn't their fault and she was honestly grateful he gave her the chance which she blew herself but maybe it just shouldn't be.

"You may leave now, Nakamori-san."

Aoko nodded once more, defeated, sad, and then took her bag and left through what she figured must be the correct door she should have taken in the first place.

She was greeted by some woman in a bunny costume smiling at her encouragingly and offering a plate with something on it. Aoko smiled wistfully, took a piece of what looked like a cookie absentmindedly, thanked the woman and then continued her way.

Her day couldn't have been worse so far. It really couldn't. It was the worst outcome possible and Aoko really wondered who she angered up there to deserve it.

It really wasn't fair.

But when she downed the whole cookie in one go and immediately her stomach started rioting, her day just got even. Worse.

Thankfully the next toilet was just around the corner and at least one stall was empty, so Aoko sprinted inside, falling to her knees and puked into the toilet.

She had been so absentminded that she hadn't even realized the cookie had nuts inside, nuts which she was highly allergic to.

Just her luck.

Kaito sighed again.

With his head resting on his hand, he watched lazily as the next girl walked in. She, contrary to all the other girls, looked anxious and unsure. She looked cute in the bunny costume that all the girls before her had to wear, too, but none really looked fitting to him.

"I – uhm – actually." She looked around the stage, fumbling with her hair nervously. "Actually, I'm not sure if I really want to audition, after all…"

He raised an eyebrow but just as usual Akako took over the talking for him. "And why is that?"

"I think that girl before me tried to kill herself or something, looks really bad. Maybe it's not all roses…"

With that, Kaito looked up sharply, already jumping over the seats and ran up to the girl, grabbing her by her shoulders and shook her. "Where is she?!"

The girl, surprised and scared by his behavior, looked at him with big terrified eyes. "T-toilet."

Wiping off stubborn tears between heaves of acid, she wondered how things could have ended like this.

She had worked so hard to come this far, had taught herself all the tricks, performed in front of ungrateful kids and adults all the same, endured all the pain, and yet it led to nothing. Her dream just blew up like that. Just because she was late and wet and hurt. Kuroba was even so nice to let her perform and yet, and yet she let him down, and herself even more so. All those year's hard work for nothing.

Maybe she should have shown them some fire magic. It was magic she had perfected for years, all her life in fact, burnt her hands time and time again, nearly burned down the whole house (and not just once) but maybe today really wasn't the day for such a performance. Those things would have probably just exploded in her hands, just because.

Still, shame and despair burned inside her, failure being a word she usually didn't experience. And yet, here she was, on the most important day of her life, inside a toilet stall emptying whatever was inside her stomach (not that is was much in the first place).

And then something happened that Aoko never would have imagined being possible.

"Nakamori-san?"

She heard his voice before she registered the door being slammed open and had she not closed her stall's door, he would have burst inside, too, probably.

She was so hard trying to keep the tears at bay, tears of frustration from the day (and it still wasn't even mid-day), from pain and from all the heaving, that she really didn't want to see anyone at the moment, much less even him of all people.

"Nakamori-san, are you inside?"

He knocked (or really, more like hit the wood quite forcefully) on the door, surprising her so bad she choked on her own spit.

"I'm calling an ambulance. Nakamori-san!"

"W-wait," she gasped, wiping her mouth and her tears away hastily. "C-coming."

Aoko stood up on shaky legs and opened the door slowly, unsure of what she should expect to find behind it. Whatever it was she'd expect, it certainly wasn't the honestly worried face of one Kuroba Kaito, though.

"Are you ok, Nakamori-san? Is it true? Did you try to kill yourself? Please don't do that! It was just an audition!"

He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her softly, gently, the frightened expression never leaving his face.

"W-whoa. Wait!" she said, grasping his arms in order to stop the shaking. "Let's make one thing clear, Kuroba-san. Even if this was my dream job and I'll forever be unhappy, probably, it's still not reason enough for me to attempt to kill myself. What made you even think that?"

Though he didn't seem to believe her right away, Aoko's words seemed to calm Kaito enough to lessen the grip he had on her, still, he didn't let her go completely so he probably didn't fully believe her.

"Another competitor saw you and thought you tried to kill yourself," he said, dumfounded.

Aoko sighed, her stomach having finally stopped rebelling, though she'd probably not be able to eat anything for the rest of the day. And damn, she'd love to brush her teeth, ugh.

"No. But the cookies had nuts inside of them and I'm allergic to nuts. So, yeah."

It seemed to take him a while to understand what she meant by that. "Ah, you mean the cookies Riena is providing our contestants."

He nodded as if in thought, more for himself than for her and then, finally, let go of her. "Do you need an ambulance? Are you fine?"

Aoko smiled softly. It was endearing to be worried over like that, and then by the object of her dreams even. Too bad this was probably the last time she'd ever talk to him. Too bad, really.

"Yes, I'm all better. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Kaito nodded and then a small smile crept on his face, too. "I'm glad you're better. Do you maybe want me to take you home? Are you sure, you're fine?"

Smiling brightly, Aoko nodded. "Are you sure you understood my words? I'm really better now, I'll be fine. Anyway, don't you have other contestants to worry over? …the audition?"

She wondered what Kaito saw in her because he couldn't seem to stop staring at her, looking right into her eyes, and sometimes his eyes'd drop lower, to her lips probably, but she was without make-up, dirty, probably smelling now too, definitely not very desirable, and she wasn't even able to show him her skill. How was that good enough for him to focus on her like that? To worry about her?

Kaito seemed to catch himself after a while, shaking himself out of whatever space he had been in, and nodded, solemnly, if Aoko interpreted his face correctly.

"You're right. The other contestants."

He lingered a while longer, perhaps a thousand thoughts on his mind, but say he did nothing.

Nodding, Kaito smiled softly. "You're right. I need to go back." Then he pulled a business card out of his suit's pocket. "Here, take it. Call me if you need anything. Especially if you need a job. I'm willing to give you second chance."

With that he winked and left her alone in the bathroom with nothing but his business card and surprise.

Kuroba Kaito was one of those people who were, without a doubt, too nice for this world, and Aoko could at least say, she met him in person. She couldn't say she was working for him but that was alright. And though he offered her another chance, a second chance, really, she didn't think she could accept it. Not after such a failure before. Besides, Akako wouldn't let her in anyway. And by now they must have found the perfect bunny girl, anyway.

So, Aoko decided, after tossing and turning the whole night after the disastrous day, to just do what her father had always been telling her. She went to apply for police academy.

It wasn't her dream job. It wasn't anything she'd ever wanted to do. But so far she'd done so many odd jobs, she finally needed something stable. Of course, she definitely expected to be accepted as the bunny girl but well, with that out of question, she needed other options.

Maybe it was the disappointment in herself that drew her to what her father had told her, because, apparently, she herself wasn't good enough, so maybe what her father told her would be. Besides, she really didn't want to disappoint anyone else again.

So, slowly walking towards the police station to talk it over with her father and find out what the application process was like, she took the long route through the greenest park Tokyo had to offer. It wasn't like she wanted to get there as fast as possible, possibly never, but that was impossible too.

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, the total contrast to the day before. If it wasn't for the horrible feeling of disappointment in her stomach, Aoko might have enjoyed it.

"Oh no, Ayumi-chan! Watch out!"

Aoko heard a soft thud before the voice yelled out. Curious, Aoko stopped and turned in the direction. Just behind her a little off the road were three small children, two boys and one girl, as it seemed, and the girl was on the ground, holding her knee.

Worry immediately taking over, Aoko rushed to the children.

"It hurts!" the girl cried, holding her bleeding knee.

"Hey there, let me see."

Aoko smiled softly while kneeling down.

"Oi, nee-chan. Be careful with Ayumi-chan," the biggest kid yelled at her, standing next to the girl protectively.

"Of course," Aoko replied friendly. "My name's Aoko and you must be Ayumi-chan, right?"

The girl in front of her nodded shyly and Aoko looked up to the other two boys. "And your names?"

The bigger one replied first. "My name's Genta. And this is Mitsuhiko."

Aoko smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun."

She then turned back to the hurt girl and took out a band aid, carefully cleaning the knee first and then stuck the pink band aid with the big eyes and cheeky grin printed on it on the girl's knee. And then, because those were children and she loved children with their childish innocence and honest feelings, she snipped her fingers and a rose appeared in it.

"Here," Aoko offered Ayumi who had watched her in surprise and wonder.

"Whoa, nee-chan, how did you do it?" Genta asked confused.

All three of them were next to each other with Ayumi sitting in the middle, Mitsuhiko to her right and Genta to her left, leaned to Aoko to watch more closely. Then Aoko did what she loved most. Magic.

Grinning mischievously, she snipped the rose away, right out of Ayumi's hand.

"T-the rose! It's gone!" Ayumi squealed with big eyes.

"Ok, let's see where it's gone."

All of them were so focused on her right hand with which she had snipped before, making the snipping motion again, that no one noticed how she leaned over them and put the rose in Genta's shirt's pocket. Snipping her finger again, she pointed at Genta's shirt and all of them took a step back in surprise.

"W-whoa! How did you do that?" Genta screamed in surprise, not really believing that the rose was in his pocket.

"T-that was incredible, Aoko-oneesan," Mitsuhiko responded with joy and Ayumi happily joined in.

Honestly, doing magic for children was the best feeling ever.

"Oi, Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko! Where did you run off to?"

Another boy ran up to them, looking slightly annoyed and the kids turned to him, unable to conceal their joy and showed them the rose and the trick Aoko just did, trying so hard to reconstruct it but failing all the same.

"We need to figure out how Aoko-neesan did it, Conan-kun! you have to help us!"

The boy seemed even more annoyed, watching her like a hawk, like a father would his children, making sure she was no criminal with bad intent. When he thought her to be good, he just nodded and told them to leave.

"Ok, bye, Aoko-oneesan."

"Bye Aoko-neesan. Have a nice day!"

They all waved at her while Ayumi held the rose protectively and ran after the boy called Conan.

Aoko watched after them until they took a left turn and she couldn't see them anymore. She would have loved to show them some more tricks, maybe putting her hand on fire would have been a good trick. She would have loved to see their expressions.

Suddenly, clapping rang behind her. Swirling around, Aoko couldn't believe what she saw.

"What splendid show, Nakamori-san."

There, leaning lazily against the tree just a few meters behind her, was none other than Kuroba Kaito himself, only this time not in a suit but in a black sweater with a black baseball cap, (maybe to thwart of fans?) and loosely fitted jeans. He really made any look appear heavenly.

"I knew you were a raw diamond. All you needed was the unconventionality and opportunity."

"Thanks."

She bowed slightly in appreciation, something akin to happiness spreading through her body, warming her from the inside. It was probably the nicest compliment she's ever heard, not because it was so nice, but because it came from someone who was the very best at what they loved doing the most. For him to tell her she was good, to acknowledge her skill, it was a big deal for Aoko.

"Work for me. Whatever technicality you need to know, I can teach you. But what matters most, what cannot be taught, you have that. Work for me, Nakamori-san."

To be honest, Aoko was floor by his offer. So floored that she just stood there, with her mouth open like an idiot, and her mind blank, empty of any and all thought.

Kaito seemed to realize that too and he pushed himself off the tree, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry to ambush you like that but would you take my offer?"

When he stopped right in front of her, Aoko found her bearings again.

"I-uh-well-I… I was just going to apply for police academy. I can't believe I just met you and did you really offer me – I mean, how in the world, after yesterday, I mean, can I even-"

Kaito put a finger on her lips, successfully silencing her nervous rambling.

Eyes softening in understanding, he nodded. "If you want to join the police, that's your decision. But watching you interact with these children was enough for me to see your passion for magic. To see the smile it brings on your lips to see the children laugh in surprise, and even if it was a basic trick, you did it gracefully with enough skill rivaling my own. I'd love to have you on my team, Nakamori-san."

"My name's Aoko."

"Huh?"

"You need to call me Aoko from now on."

"Is that a yes, Aoko-san?"

"YES!"

With that she jumped up and hugged him to her body tightly, overcome with joy.

Who would have thought that after the most disastrous day would follow the most wonderful?

Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews!

If you want me to continue writing and posting stuff, then please comment. Otherwise, it's just like screaming into a void and it gets frustrating after a while. Anyway, I hope you liked it and maybe I'll write a second part elaborating why Kaito wants Aoko on his team so much.