Reluctant Hero

13. Aoko's numbers

Since young, Aoko never liked the hospital.

The plain white walls, the cold stale air, the smell of medicines and the sound of crying people… at least that was what she experienced whenever she visited her then-dying mother in the hospital.

But after her mother died, she rarely been to the hospital, at least not for her own sake. And thinking back about it, the last time she'd been here was a very, very long time ago.

That was why Aoko was currently lost, wandering around a foreign floor because she board the wrong lift (she was so distracted scrolling through the photos she took of Keiko and her firstborn, even though she literally left their ward just two seconds after).

On a positive note, she found many things had changed in the hospital, in a good way. The walls were now decorated with posters and drawings by children and recovering patients, and maybe her sense of smell wasn't as strong compared to when she was young so she wasn't very bothered by it anymore.

And there was also the sound of…

Piano.

The tune sounded familiar, very familiar, but it was played too slowly for Aoko to piece it together and figure out what it was.

Just out of curiosity, she followed the song, and found her way towards the lounge area.

A girl, age probably no more than six, was clothed in a school uniform and sitting on the piano seat, legs dangling and barely reaching the ground. Her tiny hands were spread across the white keys as she carefully pressed them, almost afraid and unsure.

With a backlog of cases left in the office, Aoko should hurry off soon. But something compelled her to move forward, towards the little girl who looked more than just confused over the notes she was playing. There were traces of loneliness, and some bit of sadness.

For a moment, Aoko thought she saw herself there.

"Hello." Aoko said softly, careful to not startle the girl.

The girl whipped around in surprise before bouncing off her seat. "Hello!" She girl chirped. Now that Aoko was near enough, she saw the pink name tag on the child's school clothes: Yumiko.

"What are you doing?" Aoko asked, a good question to strike a conversation with children.

"This morning my teacher taught me how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but I'd forgotten how." Yumiko said before staring at the piano key wistfully.

Ah, so it was that song. Aoko glanced at the piano, and then at the dejected look on Yumiko's face.

There was still time.

"Do you… want me to play it for you?"

Yumiko looked at her in anticipation. "Really? You'll do that for me?"

Aoko nodded. "Yeah."

"Thank you!"

Cracking her knuckles, Aoko sat down on the seat while Yumiko stood beside her with hands clenched to her chest. She had some experience playing the piano when she occasionally helped Keiko and Sayaka for their chorus club, but that said, she hadn't touched it since high school graduation. She still remembered the chords, but she wasn't sure if her rusty performance would meet the expectations of the child.

Aoko began playing, adding a few more notes to the song for the fun. Knowing her skills, this was, of course, in no way a comparison to Beethoven or Mozart, but to the little girl and her small world filled with innocence and simplicity, it seemed like this was the best thing she ever heard. It made Aoko's heart melt a little, but at the same time it ached too as her mind drifted from the melody to more complex issues, like wondering why Yumiko was here in the hospital, and where were her parents? Were they sick? If they were, how sick were they?

"Are you going to play another song?" Yumiko asked after Aoko finished, breaking her line of thoughts.

"Sure, why not?" Aoko grinned, because this was a better response than any questions she was tempted to ask.

"Then…" Yumiko began shyly as she shuffled her foot on the ground. "May I sing along?"

"Of course."

Aoko played another children song, one that at least both her and Yumiko know. And then they moved on to the next one, and the next again. It was only in the midst of the fourth song then Aoko looked up from the piano and realized they had gathered a good amount of audiences, mixing from children to older patients, their family members and even the nurses were here, watching their performance with smiles plastered on their faces.

Except for one man.

The unexpected surprise caused Aoko to miss a note, but Yumiko's sweet voice covered that well. She quickly looked away from the crowd and focused on the song, until she finished, stood up, and the crowd cheered.

She used the chance to glance around the crowd again, right at the spot she saw that man.

What the hell.

It really wasn't a dream or a hallucination.

There, in the flesh, was Kaitou Kid.

Yumiko tugged onto Aoko's blouse, catching her attention. "Thank you for playing the piano for me." She beamed.

"No problem." Aoko managed a smile in return, but her heart didn't make it as genuine as she wished it could be. Distracted, Aoko looked up again.

She frowned.

Kid was gone.

Where did he…?

She didn't get to dwindle on that thought for long as people started approaching them, extending their thanks and appreciation about how she and Yumiko made their day brighter and so on. Aoko honestly didn't do much, and her original intention was to make Yumiko happy, but she thought that accepting the gratitude was better and easier than denying it, if that would make them happy too.

After most people left, including Yumiko as she bade her goodbye, Aoko thought of leaving too, but from her side-long glance she spotted a wheelchair slowly making its way towards her direction.

She glanced up.

Sitting on the wheelchair was an old, smiling man, and the one pushing the wheelchair was—

Aoko widened her eyes.

Kaitou Kid.

It was like a mix of everything bombarded Aoko at once. Confusion and then surprise and then shock and then confusion again and then it was back to acceptance because she realized in this day and age, everything was possible and that not everything in the world had to be logical, including the factor of coincidence and luck.

(She should really, really get use to this.)

Kid, on the other hand, had dived straight into nonchalance.

"Hello. I'm Jii." The old man greeted and put out a hand, which she noticed his hospital wrist tag, along with a couple of needle holes on the back of his palm.

"Hi. I'm Nakamori Aoko." Aoko said, shaking Jii's bony hand before glancing at Kid. He was avoiding her gaze, and it wasn't difficult to figure out the reason. She glanced away, putting on the I-totally-don't-know-you act too.

Jii tilted his head up and gave a stern look when he noticed Kid's silence. "You promised me." Jii hushed.

This caught Aoko's attention. Promise?

"OK. OK." Kid sighed and twitched his lips at Aoko, showing the bare minimum of a smile. "Hi."

"Just hi?" Jii chuckled. "You're supposed to introduce yourself too."

Now that Aoko remembered and realized… she never knew what his true name was. Kaitou Kid was just his alias, but she was so used to it that she treated it as his real name.

A habit that became a tradition, it seemed.

Her heart began thumping so loudly she could hear it in her ears. She lowly moved her hands to her back, afraid to let either man see the nervous twitches at the thought of knowing something she never dared to dream of.

Kid's… real name?

"I thought a hi is good enough." Kid retorted.

Jii shook his head. He turned back to Aoko. "His name is Kaito."

Kaito? Kaitou? As in Kaitou Kid? Aoko darted a glimpse at Kid, who was grimacing like a kid being forced to study math during summer break.

"Nice to meet you." Was the only thing she could say in response.

"Are you here to visit someone?" Jii asked.

She noticed Kid's subtle tilt of his head towards her.

"Yeah, a friend. I just finished visiting her and, well… this happened." She gestured to the piano, dragging the topic back to why Jii probably approached her in the first place (She hoped Kid was grateful for that).

Jii nodded thoughtfully. "The piano had been here for as long as I remembered, but nobody ever played anything serious on it."

"It's just children songs." Aoko said hastily.

"But you played very well, and enough to brighten everyone's day." Jii closed his eyes, taking in the moment. "Thank you for that."

Aoko smiled politely, because that was the only thing she knew to do. She wasn't sure what Kid and Jii's relationship was, and whether if Jii knew what Kid—Kaito (Kaitou?) actually did for a living. But even if she disapproved whatever Kid done, she had no rights to tell Jii anything, especially when it wasn't her business (And how would he take the news?).

"Ok, Jii-chan. I think we should go back." Kid announced loudly, seemingly taking the chance of that one second of silence to escape out of this mess. He grabbed the wheelchair handles, ready to turn it around and out of the lounge.

"Wait, I still want to talk to Aoko-san."

"But it's going to be your medication time soon."

Apparently, Jii knew the wheelchair's mechanism better than Kid. He stopped Kid's attempt with the brake and shook his head. "It won't be in another two hours. Turns out I have a better memory than you."

Kid scowled.

"You should try learning too. Piano, I mean. Good for wooing girls." Jii nudged Kid's hand, continuing the conversation like it wasn't disrupted. "Or maybe you can ask Aoko-san to teach you."

"It's fine. I don't want to." Kid said, sounding desperate to get out of this conversation but also reluctant to upset Jii.

"Kaito is usually very keen to learn new things, and always has been since he was young." Jii looked at Aoko with a glint in the eyes, as if they were about to share a deep secret. "But sadly, that's not the case when it comes to tactics in wooing girls—"

"Jii-chan—"

"—If your father knew you have yet to get a girlfriend at your age, he'd be disappointed. Don't you remember the stories about how your parents got together?"

Kid pinched the bridge of his nose. "How can I not when I heard it for about five thousand times?"

"Then why aren't you putting them to practice?" Jii hushed not-so-quietly. "Ask this fine lady for her number."

Aoko blinked. Where… is this conversation going again? (And she thought they were talking about the piano just three seconds ago.)

Kid's lips turned into a thin line. "No."

"Can't even humour this old man's dying wish?"

"You're not dying, Jii-chan."

"Everyone is going to die at some point."

"You are right." Kid closed his eyes. "If this conversation continues, my point is now."

That was it; Aoko couldn't control herself anymore. She first let out a snort, and then burst out laughing at the end, clutching the side of her stomach as she did.

"Great job, Kaito." She heard Jii said while she was still struggling to breathe. "You made a girl laugh. That is one step to wooing a girl."

Through her teary gaze, she saw Kid scowling at her, and it only made her laugh even louder. But she knew she had to stop or this was going to get awkward, especially when her laughter wasn't exactly the best of sound or the prettiest to look at. She coughed a few times, took in a few deep breaths, hoping to regain her composure.

"I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just…"

Just what? She really didn't know what to say, but Jii saved her the moment.

"You don't have to apologise." Jii said, turning to Kid and softly smacking his hand. "Go on, ask for her number. The worst that can happen is a no."

"I really don't—"

"Sure." Aoko cut in, smiling. "I can give you my number."

"She agreed!" Jii cheered, oblivious to Kid's death glare. Really, all he needed was a knife and he would be crowned the best imitation of a serial killer for any Halloween contest (And with that thought, Aoko had to look away before she accidentally burst out laughing again).

Sucking a breath through his teeth, Kid forced a smile. "But it's still not necessary. And anyway, I don't have my phone with me."

Jii frowned. "I saw you using it a while ago."

"I left it in your room."

Aoko rolled her eyes. Considering his line of work, she didn't believe Kid would leave his phone anywhere, but she definitely knew he wouldn't want her touching his phone, even if she was only going to pretend typing her number into his contact list. Mildly shaking her head as Kid continued explaining his stupid, fake excuse to Jii, she fished out a pen and grabbed his wrist, surprising the heck out of Kid as he flinched.

"What—" Kid began, but stopped when Aoko began jotting down her phone number onto his palm.

She actually intended to write some random digits for show, but before she knew it, her pen moved like it had a mind on its own and what she wrote was her actual number instead. Though it didn't matter since Kid already knew, it was just funny to think that, ironically, the numbers on his hand were probably the first and only real thing they ever had between each other.

Pushing those irrelevant thoughts away, Aoko clicked her pen when she was done and watched the blue ink soaked into the lines of his pale skin. Now that she noticed, too, his fingers were pretty long…

Kid pulled away—as though his hand got burnt—and shoved it into his pocket. "OK, we should really go now." He said to Jii.

Jii sighed. "See? This is why you are terrible at wooing girls. You're supposed to thank her and tell her you will call soon."

"I will thank her later. Let's go." Kid said, not before sneaking a look at Aoko, which she understood, strangely. It was a message for her to stay, and that he had lots of things to tell her, besides a thank you, definitely.

"Goodbye Aoko-san." Jii waved before Kid pushed him out of the lounge.

.o.

It wasn't long before Kid appeared again, with angry stomps, furrowed eyebrows, and both hands tucked deeply inside his jeans pocket.

"I know we don't have an agreement," he said as he approached Aoko on the piano seat. "But I thought it wasn't necessary because it seems like common sense."

Aoko was confused. She stood up, not wanting Kid to tower over her. "Common sense for what?"

He cast her a pointed look. "Aren't you stalking me because you know my real face?"

Aoko scowled back. "I'm flattered that you think I have the ability to actually stalk you, The Kaitou Kid, when you once deemed me unfit to be a private investigator because I'm not discreet enough."

"Great. Quoting me and holding grudges, again." Kid shook his head. "Why are you so petty?"

"How am I petty?" She jabbed a finger at him. "You're literally accusing me!"

She must have said it with a good amount of conviction for Kid to believe her without much contemplation. "Then why are you here?"

"I wasn't lying when I said I came to visit a friend."

Kid stared at her. "On this floor?"

Now she felt stupid, but there was no other way to say it beside admitting the truth. "Uh, no. I… boarded the wrong lift that only goes to alternate floors and ended up here."

"And then you ended up playing the piano too."

She bared her teeth. "Yes. Funny how life can get."

He crossed his arms, almost sulking. "Yes. Very funny."

Aoko knew Kid as Kaitou Kid, and worked with him because he was Kaitou Kid. But this was the first time she seen him not being the person Aoko knew him as. He had shown emotions that expanded out of Aoko's knowledge. He carried responsibilities and had someone he cared about. He was respectful. He was patient. He was here.

Rounding it all up, today made Kid more human than Aoko could ever feel.

It was a little sweet yet sad at the same time. And somewhere in her heart, a tiny bit of her dislike towards Kid crumbled and fell away, much to her own surprise.

"You're cute when you sulk." Aoko said, in the most teasing way she could sound as possible (because speaking it in any other tone could dangerously imply a lots of things that Aoko dared not think about).

Kid uncrossed his arms and glared at her. "I'm what?" He said, in a way she knew he had definitely heard her. The extra evidence was his reddening ears, but Aoko couldn't tell if he was embarrassed, angry or both.

Hah. Aoko smirked. What a rare and god-sent opportunity, to manage to rile Kid up like that. But the triumph she felt had gotten her all giddy and excited, and before she realized it, her lips moved, and words she never intended to say aloud slipped out instead:

"It's nice to know you in this form. The you, when you're not Kid and stealing."

Kid blinked, and then gave an odd look, like he was unsure whether she was teasing him or making a serious remark. But Aoko didn't allow him to figure out the truth, because it was, in fact, a serious remark.

Quickly, with the art of distraction, Aoko cleared her throat and glanced down the corridor Kid came from, hoping he wouldn't notice her tensed up shoulders. "Is Jii-san your grandfather?" She asked the first question she could think in her head.

"No." He muttered.

"Oh. Your uncle?"

"No."

"Um, distant uncle?"

"Do you actually think I'll tell you?"

Aoko barely resisted the urge to stuck her tongue out before she turned, watching a few nurse suddenly scurrying down the corridor with a heavy look on their faces.

Kid was looking at them too.

She wondered if he was worried the nurses were running towards Jii's ward, but she remembered he came from the other side, so the chances were much lower… Still, that didn't mean his worries were to be belittled in any sense or case... It would be totally inappropriate, redundant, ridiculous and crazy to express her concerns about how Kid was feeling, but it wouldn't be that so if it was about Jii.

"Anyway, is… Jii-san alright?" She asked, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.

It was like a sudden, thick cloud had passed Kid's face and she couldn't tell anything from his expression. But when he looked up at her, lips parting so slowly in a way that seemed like he was about to tell her something real, something serious… The hair on the back of Aoko's neck lifted in anticipation, wondering if—

"It's none of your business." Kid muttered and looked away, his features back to its furrowed-brows state.

Of course she knew she should change her habit of expecting too much, but… Aoko frowned. "You're being extra pissy today."

"Yes. Because you're here." He replied without hesitation.

Aoko rolled her eyes. "I already said I'm not stalking you."

"I know," Kid peeled open one of his hands, revealing the numbers she wrote on his palm. She stared at it as well, until he clenched his hand into a fist and looked ahead, distracted.

"Then?" Aoko asked, but realisation dawned upon her quickly enough. "Just to make it clear, I'm not going to push you over the edge with this underhand advantage—I will never approach Jii-san, and I will never question him about you or your real identity."

He looked at her, silent and observing with his pair of unblinking blue eyes—She wondered if he was contemplating whether he should trust her words, but his next sentence surprised her: "It's not about that."

Aoko raised her eyebrows curiously, prompting him to continue.

Kid put the same hand deep inside the pocket of his jeans. "It's nothing."

"There's something."

"There's nothing."

"Something"

"Nothing."

Aoko opened her mouth, preparing to rebuke again, but the voice didn't come. Empathy won over her curiosity, in a way. There was no use in pushing, and she understood that well when she just went through Keiko's persistent questionings about when Aoko was going to find someone to settle down.

"Fine." She said with a resigned sigh, but not without eyeing him in disdain.

Kid caught her look and sneered back. "Hurry up and use that last favour already."

"I will. Don't worry."

"Good."

"Good."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Aoko spat, not mentally registering the context of the words that rolled out of her tongue until Kid spun around, catching her off guard. Dumbstruck, she stood there, watching Kid leave as he stalked out of the lounge and disappeared behind the wall.

It was similar like that time he came and left her almost immediately after passing her the thumb drive at the cinema, but similar didn't mean the same.

There was more to his tensed shoulders, his agitation, and his clear way of showing the distance he was trying to put between them.

And her?

She could be, might be, and maybe a little sad that their conversation came so fast to an end.