Hey guys! The rating for this story may go up, and hopefully I don't procrastinate like I have been recently...let me know how his is!

Bzzzt.

A 25 year old man turns over in bed out of frustration.

Bzzzt.

Maybe the noise will go away…

Bzzzt.

"God damn it," Abe Takaya groans as he reaches for his phone charging on his bedside drawer. He looks at the time and wants to scream. Whoever texted him three times in a row at 4:23am must have a serious death wish.

We need you down here now. There's been another incident.

Hurry.

WAKE UP.

"Hanai…" Abe grumbled as he tried to slip out of bed as quietly as possible, careful to not wake the gently breathing body next to him.

Abe worked as a detective in Kyoto, thanks to his very observant and analytical habits. He was employed by the city's police department and often worked alongside his former teammate and captain, Hanai Azusa, now entitled Commissioner General Hanai.

There had been several murders in the Kyoto for the past month, averaging out to about one victim every week. There was really no pattern to observe with the killings; always someone from a separate part of town, the body always found in an area nowhere remotely close to the home of the victim.

This was a very tricky case, but nothing can get past the great Abe Takaya, best detective in Japan and former star catcher of the Nishiura High baseball program.

Abe slowly pulled some pants out of a drawer and slid them on over his boxers – again, as quietly as possible.

He slipped a white button-down around his tank top and hastily matched the buttons to their assigned slots. The young man quickly grabbed his jacket and put on his shoes and headed for the door, but to his dismay was stopped.

"You're leaving…?" A voice that Abe had grown all too familiar with over the years softly asked.

Abe turned to face his obstacle; his beautiful, beautiful obstacle that he'd never want to leave if he didn't have this fucking job that he does now. "Mihashi…I have to go…there's been another crime," the raven-haired man explained.

Mihashi had grown a lot over the past ten years; his body was no longer thin, and he had a nice slender figure complemented by a fine layer of muscle. His golden-brown hair managed to stay about the same length, and his height had increased about 10 centimeters. He was standing naked behind his former catcher, staring at him with those big, gorgeous hazel eyes of his.

"I wish you didn't have to go…I don't want you to get hurt."

4:23am fatigue got the best of Abe. "I wish you'd just go back to bed so we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," he snapped, instantly regretting it.

Mihashi flinched. "T-Taka-kun… don't be mad…" the smaller boy sniffed.

Abe felt a huge pang of guilt – he didn't mean to put Mihashi on the verge of tears. "Hey, c'mere."

He pulled his former pitcher into a tight embrace, feeling Mihashi's naked body against his, resting his head on top of the smaller boy. "I'll be alright…I just wish that these stupid murders would stop happening but this killer is being a real pain in the ass."

Mihashi buried his face into Abe's chest. "P-Please be careful…"

Abe put his hands on his lover's shoulders and pressed his lips onto Mihashi's. Oh, the bliss, Abe thought, never wanting the moment to end.

Once they pulled apart, Abe assured his former pitcher that he'd be safe and call him once he was finished with his work, and made sure to lock the door to their apartment before he left.

As Abe unlocked his car he called Hanai to get directions to the scene of the crime.

"It's not necessary to drive here. The crime scene is under the bridge near your apartment. You can just walk."

Abe was so relieved. "Thanks, Hanai. I didn't want to waste gas anyways."

Normally the sun would just barely be rising at this time of morning, but an unhappy cloud cover made everything the streets and buildings look much more dim than usual. The air was cool, which was nice for a day in mid-July. Hopefully the clouds would stay over Kyoto for the next few days; Kyoto summers were simply TOO hot.

As he came upon the bridge, he noticed warning signs and floodlights set up by the coast of the river. Abe could've only assumed Hanai and the rest of the police working the hour were down under the bridge.

Abe made his way down to the security tape surrounding the crime scene, noticing that there were more cops than usual at this one than most of the others. Was the victim someone important?

"Hey, you got some business here, sir?" A gruff cop asked standing guard at the barriers.

Abe simply nodded. "I'm detective Abe Takaya, here to assist the Kyoto Police Department."

"You got a badge or something, Abe-san?"

The detective swiftly pulled out his wallet and showed the man his occupation, making the guard give thanks and let Abe step under the tape.

"Abe! Nice of you to show up, finally!" a voice said as a hand landed on his shoulder as he reached the body.

"Sorry," Abe didn't even turn to look at his addresser; he already knew it was Hanai. "I was er…preoccupied with something."

"Mihashi, huh?" The commissioner nudged him. "Are you two still living together?"

"Are you and Tajima still living together?" Abe retorted. Wow, 4:30am really made some people bitter.

"Okay, forget about it," the cop quickly responded, feeling his face begin to burn. He refocused his attention on the subject at hand. "We need to find out the cause of death and maybe the area that the victim came from."

"Alright, but before I get to work, I'd like to know why there are so many officers around."

Hanai chuckled. "Well I only had 3 others with me on patrol at the time the body was found, and when I asked for some back-up, the station went a little overboard."

Abe just rolled his eyes as he snorted out of amusement and approached the body.

He kneeled down and observed the veins on the female victim's lifeless body; bulging out slightly, showing some mark of stress. No real physical injuries other than a cut here and there, but Abe could already tell that this woman had been drowned.

"Was anything found with the victim?" Abe questioned, standing back up to face Hanai.

Hanai nodded. "Yeah, there was a note tied around her neck, but since her body was found in the river, it's illegible now. It's pretty much a tease from the bastard who did this."

"Well," Abe began, "I know that she was drowned long before she was put in the river, because her veins give away signs of a long state of struggle or exhaustion. I can't tell you exactly where she's from, but she's probably from a busier district, one with lots of shopping places, because I know you can't get the clothes she's wearing now from any of the stores in this area. Just take her fingerprints and you'll know exactly who she is."

The Commissioner bowed in thanks. "You have always been a major crutch to this association. We owe you so much."

Abe bowed back. "Glad to be of service," he mumbled before leaving with nothing else to say.

As he turned the corner onto the street with his apartment, Abe felt something painful hit his arm. Then his shoulder. Then his arm again. Abe spun around only to have a medium-sized stone be the last thing he saw before it hit his skull and knocked him unconscious.

What…the hell just happened…

R&R please, and thank you for reading!