I'm not supposed to be writing... Im supposed to be working on rewriting different things... But this is a oneshot so it shouldn't matter. I'm feeling especially angsty today and this was the product. I also messed with my writing style. Please enjoy.

Or not. Idk.

Disclaimer: I do not own DCMK.

And She Waited

-Jin

Aoko knew. Aoko had always known. She was the daughter of an inspector after all. Of course Aoko would know.

Yet Aoko never said anything about it like Hakuba or Akako would. Aoko don't want to chase him away. She was patient enough to wait for him to tell her himself.

He came to school hurt again and she didn't say anything about it. Aoko pretended she didn't notice. Just like he pretended he wasn't hurt at all. But Aoko knew. She knew he was tired and hurt and so utterly exhausted. She said nothing. He didn't want her to. He didn't want anyone to. So she'll continue to wait.

Aoko watched the TV as her hands clawed into her sofa. What was supposed to be a night filled with white and magic and bright blue and red lights turned into a night of orange flame and fear and blaring sirens of fire trucks and ambulances. Her father called and told her he was okay, no one was seriously hurt. They were all on the opposite side of the building when the bomb went off.

Aoko knew that KID saved them. Yet he hasn't called yet. Of course he wouldn't, he wasn't supposed to be over there. He was supposed to be at home, safe, and enjoying the nice Sunday night. He won't call to tell her he was okay. She won't call him to ask.

He wasn't supposed to be over there and she wasn't supposed to know.

So she turned off the TV with her phone clutched to her chest, and hoped that he would find a reason to call her, hoped that she could find a reason to call him.

The call didn't come. She went to bed with red eyes and a wet pillow.

He didn't come to school the next day. But she got her call with his fake excuses during lunch.

He explained that he got in a motorcycling accident and that he was in the hospital. He assured her he was okay and she yelled at him to be more careful and he yelled at her to get off his back.

Silence filled the line. "I told you so," she said in a scared whisper badly hidden by her fake confidence.

"You told me so," he replied with a sigh.

He thought she meant when she told him that motorcycles are dangerous. She knew different and let him believe that.

She hung up and continued to dig into her rice. She was getting tired of waiting.

It was getting more dangerous at KIDs heists. Fans were no longer allowed. Kaito got into more accidents and carried more scars. Aoko wanted to grab him by his shoulders and shake him and scream at him. She wanted to whack him over the head with her mop and tell him just how much she wanted him to stop. She wanted to grab him and hide him away somewhere soft and filled with sunshine. She never wanted to see him in the midst of another explosion or another gun shot ever again.

But she didn't know.

She had to wait.

He wouldn't ever tell her.

Aoko couldn't take it anymore.

What started as a game where he played tricks and danced around his pursuers heads, laughing like a child at Christmas distorted into something dark and dangerous. Her father used to secretly look forward to the games, she did too, but now everyone dreads them. Aoko knew that Kaito did too.

She knew he was the cause of the games. She knew he put himself in danger for whatever reason (and it had better be a dang good reason or else). She wished she knew the reason.

She wanted to.

Oh how she wanted to.

But he didn't want her to know.

But she was starting to not care what he wanted.

Aoko was close. She was so close to getting it out of him. She stood on his welcome mat with her fist an inch from his front door. She had spent hours convincing herself that it was for the best. She would tell him she knew and he would tell her everything else.

But…

She let her hand fall to her side.

She could wait. A bit longer.

Why.

The question burned into her mind and set her soul on fire. She lost countless hours of sleep wondering and pondering and thinking and getting nowhere.

Why did he do this. Why did he do this to her. To himself.

Why.

This time, she would find out. If he pushed her away because of it, she wouldn't care. At least he would know that she knew. He would know that she would be there for him if he needed her. She wasn't mad at him. She just wanted to know.

When she told him, alone in his living room after watching a random Disney movie, she had seen for the first time real emotion take form on his face.

Shock.

Guilt.

Fear.

She sat in silence and let him put back on his mask so he would be comfortable enough to reply.

"How long?" He had asked when he finally got control over himself.

She wanted to back off and look anywhere but his eyes. His eyes that used to be so bright and cheerful. Used to be. Now they were disconnected and guarded. She hated it. But she forced herself to look in his eyes. "Since the beginning."

It took him a few minutes to say something. She pretended those few minutes didn't exist. She had waited for so long, a bit more wouldn't hurt her.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled. "It's okay."

She didn't ask him why. She wanted to. She could tell that he knew she wanted to. But she also knew that he wasn't ready to tell her. She knew she had to wait a bit longer.

But now he knew that she knew. Everything would work out.

Or not.

Aoko didn't know. She never would. As she sat in the evening air and listened to the wind she placed a red rose down on the ground. She wouldn't cry, he would't want her to.

He was gone. She was left behind. He moved on. She had to too.

She stood up from the bench and tightened her scarf to shield from the chilly air. It was a beautiful day. Her 24th birthday was coming up. KID had been missing for 5 years. Kaito: the same amount of time.

She missed him. But she knew. She knew he didn't want her to.

So she would move on.

She no longer had to wait.

Because there was nothing left to wait for.