Satsujinjiken!

For all his conviction back at the hospital, Wataru had no idea where to start to embark upon the new path he had decided.

Scratch that, he knew where to START. In fact he had already started. What he didn't know was how to proceed.

He had taken the first step and cut the ribbon tying his and Miwako's romantic lives together. He had been as honest with her as he felt he was comfortable being. He told her how, while she meant a lot to him, he realized that he no longer harbored the same feelings for her as he had thought he initially had. He apologized profusely, for wasting her time, for leading her on, for leaving her so suddenly, for making her sad. He braced himself for the slap, for the yelling… it never came.

He wasn't expecting her to beam happily and wish him well in his future, to chase his dreams because she would be happy as long as he did what made him happy. No, he wasn't deluded into thinking his life was a shoujo manga, and that things would go that way. But he also wasn't prepared for the silence, so thick a knife could cut it, the empty defeated look in her eyes, the single tear that slid down her check and she said, "I see…" and turned away, her pride alone stopping her from breaking into a run. She had looked so shattered.

He felt horrible. He had definitely done Miwako wrong. Part of him wanted to run after her as she drove off, to explain, to apologize more, to comfort her. But he didn't have that right, and doing so would change nothing, for his resolve was firm, his actions were for the best. It was his punishment for making her sad that he had to watch without being able to do a damn thing about it. But, Miwako was a strong girl, and Takagi knew she'd be fine, and hopefully, somehow, someday, they'd be fine too. Running after her would do no good, she would want her space.

Takagi walked nervously into the station the next day, unsure of where he stood with his partner. Would he have to face that shattered look, would his presence bring her grief, would she request a new partner? He didn't know what to expect.

Well, he didn't have to wait long… before he even left the car park to get into the building, he felt eyes burning holes in him. Stiffly he turned, to see a fuming Miwako storming his way, hell fire alight in her eyes. One punch later, he was sprawled on the floor, with a blossoming bruise over his left jaw. Miwako turned her face away from him, a slight glint of amusement in her eyes, and said "Now we're even, come on," as she stalked off inside, beckoning him forward.

Takagi couldn't help a small smile. He could deal with this… Miwako was being, well, Miwako. And he KNEW she could do a hell of a lot more damage than that punch if she wanted to, so for now he got off pretty easy.

Standing up he attempted to dust himself off, knowing there was nothing he could do to hide the bruise.

Taking his seat at his desk, Takagi sifted through some papers, watching Sato as she came from Megure-keibu's office, two cups of steaming coffee in her hands.

"We've got a case," was all she said, as she plopped one of the cups in front of him, a little more forcefully than necessary, but unable to hide the slight upward curve of her lips as he stared at it, as if daring it to explode.

"Takagi, it's not poisoned you know," she supplied, in a deadpan voice.

Tentatively, he picked it up, chuckling nervously, as he dared to ask, "Does this mean we're okay?"

A forlorn look crossed her face, and she replied, "More or less."

He supposed they could both live with that for now.

Taking a sip, he said, "So what's the case about?"

Miwako was surprised.

Miwako was hurt.

Miwako was angry.

She just wanted to cry till her tears ran dry, to scream at the top of her lungs, to punch something.

Then there was the part of her that just wanted to curl up and do nothing. To just lay there, wondering if life even mattered. To dare to wish it was a dream.

That night Takagi broke up with her, she did a bit of all those things.

She really did not sense that coming… that Takagi-kun, whom she had steadily fallen for, whom she had been sure was head over heels for her, would want to end things before they started. Was there something that was keeping him from being with her, some reason he thought their relationship was a bad idea, so he decided to break it off despite his feelings?

No. She had been practically suffocated by his sincerity when he said he didn't feel the same anymore, when he apologized, when the pain of hurting her enveloped him.

She wanted to hate him so much right now, so she did.

But after she calmed down, she thought about it. She really couldn't blame Wataru for feeling how he felt, could she. It's not as if he could control that. Sure she hated it, sure it made her insides twist in agony when she thought about it but she realized she didn't hate HIM. And that was what was important.

So she decided that even though she would be hurt and angry and sad for some time to come, she would not lose her partner – her friend – over this. They meant too much to each other, romantic feelings or not.

It was with this conviction she enthusiastically greeted Wataru in the car park the next day, bestowing upon him a little farewell gift [hey she had to get rid of a little of her frustration somehow] after which she tried to go back to their normal routine, even if she did let some of her anger seep through in her actions, like when she all but smashed his coffee cup into his desk. She didn't feel the need to hide her emotions from Wataru, and she knew he'd understand that it was more the situation she was angry at and not so much him…

She knew he'd understand that time would heal all wounds to the best of its ability, and that yes, he was still the person she wanted to catch criminals with. Verbally, she assured him of this, with a soft "More or less," when asked if they were okay. They were meagre words, but she knew every bit of emotion behind them was conveyed to the black haired man she spent so much of her time with.

He knew she was hurt, he knew she was sad. He knew she'd be thinking about it, about why. He knew she'd probably have outbursts, he knew her mischievous and slightly vindictive side might try to get childish revenge with pranks and such. He knew he would feel guilty sometimes, but he knew they would both heal, and they would both always be there for each other.

And she understood that he got her meaning and felt much the same when he continued their conversation with, "What's the case today?"

And so they moved forward.

Walking out the door, she thought maybe she could go a little easy on him when it came to revenge. He was sporting a nice bruise, but that wasn't nearly what made her feel slight pity. It was the eyes of their fellow officers burning holes into Takagi's skull as he walked out the door chatting with her. Just wait till their colleagues found out he dumped her… there would be hell for the cute little Keiji to pay. She cackled a bit in her mind, while feeling a bit bad on his behalf at the same time, maybe she really did have a vindictive side.

Conan was walking down the street with the detective boys, his guardian and her best friend when they spotted the police officer duo, heading toward a yard. Sato and Takagi were walking up the path to a western styled house, with neatly trimmed lawn and hedges, Takagi's hand already fishing his black notebook out of his pocket. The officer in question was sporting an impressive bruise along his left jawbone.

"What's wrong with Takagi-keiji's face?" Ayumi-chan asked innocently.

Genta snickered, "Maybe Sato-keiji slugged him one for pulling away from her kiss in the hospital."

Conan's eyes grew as wide and round as saucers.

"What?!"

That was his voice mixed with Sonoko's. Great, thinking about Takagi apparently made him into to a drama queen on the level of the drama queen herself. Sigh.

"Oi oi, what are you guys talking about?" he asked, while Sonoko was begging for details.

"In the hospital the other day, remember Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko supplied, "When Sato-keiji tried to kiss Takagi-keiji and he pulled away. Then she had to leave."

Conan's mind was whirring with this information. He hadn't seen it himself as he looked away, thinking his heart would probably shatter into a thousand tiny pieces that would never fit back together again if he witnessed the event. Was this really true? Why would Wataru let the moment he had waited for so long go to waste, it made no sense.

While Shinichi tried to solve the first riddle in so long that stumped him, he could hear Sonoko going on about how a scoundrel who refused a maiden's kiss in such a manner deserved more than just a slugging. After which she proceeded to compare Takagi's 'wrongdoings' with Shinichi's, citing that it was just as bad as Ran's husband leaving her to her own for so long without so much as a word, a promise, a kiss. As if he took her love for granted.

Ran didn't even bother to blush these days anymore. She looked torn between being amused and being weary and annoyed.

"Sonoko…" she warned.

The blond girl simmered down as they passed by the house the officers had just entered.

Curious as ever, the not-quite-seven-year-old peered inside, hearing Takagi state, "No Sato-san, I'm afraid this wasn't an accident. It was a murder!"

There were collective gasps from inside the house and Conan dashed in.