Despite the lack of sleep she had had the last two nights, Satou woke with an uneasy start. Eyes heavy she twisted to find the digital clock and was surprised that it was not even four am. Head falling back down on the pillow, she sighed, aware that it would be difficult to get back to sleep. Her rest had been uneasy. The troubled detective relaxed a little when her fingers brushed against his chest, an arm still wrapped around her. This whole case seemed off to the young assistant inspector. The hired guard, the bomb, the murder…it was all putting her on edge. Not to mention that Takagi of all people was acting…not entirely himself.

Satou had tried not to think too much into the moments she had caught her partner staring at the young wife. Though she was sure she was imagining it. If anything it was probably the connection Takagi had to Ise that was bothering her. She hadn't had the time to probe him further on it, not even to ask about how he had ended up involved working as a hired guard. She sat up in the bed, his arm resting in her lap. She didn't know why but all of it was giving her a bad feeling, she sensed danger. It was very unusual for her to feel so paranoid.

Takagi wasn't aware, but she had already passed on the information she had gathered from Ise to Megure. She had not included absolutely everything and had only mentioned that Takagi was acquainted with Ise and some of those working under him. Megure-keibu had given her the solo task of investigating them further. The inspector had faith in her partner's judgement, but misplaced trust was not something they could afford. She had been meaning to ask Mitsui-sama for more details on their contract. She needed more information, needed to know exactly where they were when not escorting the couple and how extensive their bodyguard duties were.

The whole idea of Ise and his men was bugging her. Those not belonging to the police or military were not legally licensed to have a firearm in their possession. And even military officers are considered civilians when not in service and thus are not allowed to carry a weapon. The more Satou thought on it the more it bothered her. Ise had also mentioned that he and his group were well trained. In fact, he had gone so far as to state that they even had more experience than the average police officer. If that was true where had they trained? And what type of skills were they taught? These were things she needed to take into account.

It seemed incredibly likely that at least one of the body guards could be involved in the attack. Although Satou had to admit that it seemed rather pointless to harm the young wife and if anyone would have been aware that her husband was not with her it would have been them. Still Satou could not rule out the possibility that there was a hidden motif or reason for it.

Mitsui-san himself was also not someone who could be cleared of suspicion. Upon the death of the All Nippon Air president the company had immediately been ceded to him due to a previous joint-ownership. She had learned that this arrangement was meant only to be temporary as it benefitted both companies at the time. But now that the president and owner was dead before the arrangement was cancelled the company belonged to the Mitsui-group. It did technically give Mitsui a motif to kill him. And as for the attack on his wife…he could have planned it to make it look like someone else was targeting him without actually having to endanger himself. She would have to wait on all of the pending reports before she could draw any conclusions. As tired as she was, that was why she wished someone would call her with an update.

Satou sighed as she unconsciously started stroking his hand. She looked down at his sleeping form, her mouth curving into a soft smile as she watched the slow rise and fall of his chest. Satou brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his fingers before placing his arm over his stomach.

She slipped out of the bed and groggily made her way to the bathroom. She paused a minute to look out the window at the half moon that was shining light into the bedroom and across the large grounds of the estate. She looked back at Takagi before silently opening the bathroom door and closing it behind her.

Satou turned and her eyes went wide as she took in the most marvellous bathroom she had ever seen.

"Oh, wow." She said allowed as she took a careful step forward, the black granite tile floor cool on her feet. Satou hummed to herself as she glanced at the large luxury stone counter that had two built in marble sinks with black ceramic taps. She noted the walls were a matching sealed stone slab that ran along on all four side framed in marble baseboards that matched the composition of the sinks.

Upon entry into the room ambient lights in the floor and the ceiling had automatically come on and Satou was at a loss as to where the actual light switch was. They only provided a small amount of light and the room was dim. She glanced up at the crystal chandelier and recalled that her aunt had a system installed that made the lights come on if you clapped your hands.

Frowning dubiously she brought her arms up closer to the chandelier and clapped them. She felt more than a little foolish when nothing happened. Satou glanced around once more for a light switch and noticed two large palm trees in the far corners of the room. After confirming that they were indeed real she searched the wall space by the toilet, surprised it wasn't made of solid gold.

Giving up on finding the light switch, the young detective stepped closer to the shower and gave it a closer inspection.

It was perhaps the most impressive feature of the bathroom. Satou glanced down at the granite floor that continued passed her feet and dipped down at a drainage point in the center of the encased area. The tile once again changed to marble slabs and polished stone to make up the back wall. The other three sides were comprised of glass that went from floor to ceiling. Miwako scrunched her eye brows at the plasma-screen mounted into the wall beside what looked like a control panel under the stainless steel showerhead.

The exhausted detective sighed as she grabbed a large black towel from a cupboard under the two sinks and hung it over the outside shower railing before stripping her borrowed nightwear off. The detective placed a hand on the glass as she cautiously opened the door and stepped in.

Miwako blinked when the shower felt even larger than it looked once you were actually inside it. It was certainly larger than what would be needed for a single person. Miwako was about to ponder what the point of that could be when the first thought that came to her mind made her snort. She laughed quietly, a sly smile on her face.

…it serves a purpose. She thought to herself as her thoughts drifted to the man fast asleep in the next room.

Pushing the sudden onslot of intensely inappropriate thoughts from her mind she instead focused her attention on turning the water on. There were no obvious taps to turn. Looking over the control panel in the dim light she spotted a button that looked right and pressed it.

"Oh good." She said to herself as the water met her skin after a brief delay. She turned a small dial that seemed to control the temperature and sighed as the hot water continued to rain on her body.

Hot showers had long since been her method of getting herself to relax on sleepless nights. She stood under the water, eyes closed as she tried to iron out all of the tiny details regarding the case. She ran a hand through her hair to push it back from her face as she leaned her head back to let the water splash against her skin.

'What is going to happen next?'

Takagi slowly opened his eyes, a hand coming up to rub them tiredly. He let the hand fall back down to the mattress and jumped up a bit. He gently felt the surface searching for the other person who should have been in the bed with him.

Takagi slowly sat up and looked around in sleepy confusion. When he noticed feint light coming from under the bathroom door he slipped out of the bed and made his way over to it. Upon getting closer he could hear water running from the other side and knocked before he opened it. He stepped in silently and his eyes went a little wider at the sight of her standing under the soft torrent of water.

He blinked a few times as the sleepiness seemed to disappear. She had let her head fall back as her hands were cupped by her chest and water pooled in her palms. He could not stop himself as he admired the soft curves of her body. Takagi smiled gently, she truly was a vision of beauty.

Apparently she had not heard him.

Not wanting to end the experience of her quite yet he silently leaned against the sink counter and watched in amazement as she slowly ran her hands down her body. A jolt of pleasure pulsed through him when her hands ghosted over her chest, yet he stayed silent. His breathing got deeper and he unconsciously started to undo the buttons on his shirt when she cupped them for a brief moment before she brought her hands up to her face to swipe the water from her eyes.

When she let out a soft little moan he decided that she was far too lovely to be left alone but he stopped himself.

He couldn't…

Instead he picked up the silk pyjamas she had left on the floor and placed them on the counter. He grabbed the large black towel she had hung on the railing and ignored the thought of how he used to use ones just like it when…

Takagi shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked up when he heard the glass door open. His partner blushed sheepishly at him as he held the unfolded towel up for her.

"Wataru. Sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked tiredly as she stepped into it and he wrapped it around her.

"No, What are you doing up? Can't sleep?" he asked as he grabbed a smaller towel and gently ruffled it against her hair.

Satou sighed as she rested against him. "… I'm just worried. I feel like we are flying blind, we need more information on this whole situation."

Takagi regarded her words thoughtfully, not sure if that was all that was bothering her.

"And…I don't know what it is…We've dealt with hundreds of difficult cases before, but I'm…" Satou sighed again. It was unlike her to express such feelings. Even to him. Though she had learned the hard way that he would be quite upset with her if there was something she was not confiding to him. He was more than just her fellow officer after all. Old habits die hard though, and admitting weakness was not something she was particularly fond of.

"I'm just getting a bad vibe from this case."

Not that she ever got a good vibe from any case…but she knew he would understand what she meant.

Takagi wondered if it was his fault, he was keeping her in the dark about a few things and she was likely picking up on it, along with all the other unknowns of the case on top of that.

Satou was a little surprised when he leaned in and kissed her. A jolt of pleasure surged through her at the firmness and warmth of his touch. She instinctively closed her eyes and melted into the kiss.

When he kissed her cheek her momentary trance was broken and she blinked her eyes…

Takagi frowned though she couldn't see it and pulled her into his chest. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm" She uttered.

Miwako was a little taken aback when he dropped the small towel and stroked his hands through her hair. She huffed lightly as he crushed her to him while continuing with his hands. "Come on." He prodded, tugging her body closer to him.

"What-?"

Takagi didn't answer but kept a gentle hand wrapped around her.

Miwako stood in tired confusion as he silently motioned toward himself. Annoyance growing, Satou glanced back at him. Miwako narrowed her eyes before it dawned on her.

Oh…

"No." She said flatly, not masking the irritation in her voice at all.

"Why not?" He responded, crossing his arms.

"We are on duty, it is our responsibility to rest now so we are at our best later." Satou didn't care if she wanted it more than anything, the suggestion he was making was idiotic at best.

Although she did acknowledge that you would have to be insane to be able to resist.

Strangely, Takagi also seemed too tired to deal with un-pleasantries and simply shrugged. "It will help you sleep, you're too stressed, I could feel your heart pounding before." He muttered as he stared back at her resolutely. Satou groaned, feeling like she wanted to smack some sense into her partner but instead found herself turning away as her gaze instinctively lowered down the open fold of his silk shirt.

Satou ground her teeth as a blush crept up on her face. It was probably her fault for waking him up and it was also true that her thoughts had wondered to that as she had been pressed against him in bed. If not for this damned murder case their weekend would certainly have taken on a more intimate tone. She had been robbed of that after all.

Satou glared at the bathroom door and then to her cell phone she had placed on the counter when she had first come in. It was ridiculous, irresponsible…

She fixed her hard stare at her cell-phone that was resting exactly where she had left it. Narrowing her eyes she made a last stand.

"We can't. Not while on such an important case."

He didn't respond for a few minutes… "I know."

Despite herself she smiled ruefully at him where he stood, obviously trying to look innocent. He ran a hand through his hair and pushed his bangs back while he inclined his head to her.

Satou was not sure but a true flash of desperation seemed to cross his face for a moment and she was torn.

"Miwako..." He whispered quietly into her ear as she stepped closer and leaned into him. She pointed back at her silent mobile to remind him that they could get an important call anytime from Megure or Shiratori.

"Okay, You're right." He mumbled with a hint of bitterness that she couldn't disagree with.

"Yes." She muttered as she let her arm circle around to his back as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Takagi smiled gratefully as he held her close.

He was still smiling despite his mixed emotions when he dipped his lips on hers. Satou wrapped her arms around his neck in response, bringing their bodies closer. One little kiss was acceptable.

Even as his lips massaged hers, Takagi pushed back the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to suddenly tug at his heart.

Guilt?

A part of him didn't want to touch her like this. In this place above all else. He wondered if he was confirming it for himself, that he loved her and not…her.

Of course he loved Miwako, there was no doubt about that.

But what he had done before he had even known her…it wasn't his fault was it? Without realizing he took a hold of her face and kissed her roughly. No it wasn't his fault. How could it have been?

Miwako made a little gasp when he suddenly spun her around and took hold of her.

He had only done what he thought was right.

She bit her bottom lip when his teeth sunk into her right shoulder. She tried not to whimper when he bit her almost aggressively.

No! He may have things to hide but he has nothing to prove. It was true that he had loved Nina, he still did, but Miwako, she was…

Satou frowned in confusion when he tightened his arms around her.

"W-Wataru?"

The pain from his bite had long since passed the point of being enjoyable and she was starting to wish he would loosen his hold on her. She sighed in relief when he released his mouth from her shoulder.

He jumped at the sound of her pained gasp when his tongue lapped at the bitten surface.

"S-sorry." He whispered desperately as he let go of her. She looked up at him worried as he held his head in his hand. She reached up and kissed his lips reassuringly and tangled a hand in his hair.

"It's nothing, are you alright?" she repeated the question he had just asked her moments ago.

"I…Yeah." He breathed, supressing the turmoil in his heart.

"I think the lack of sleep is catching up with me." He said sounding utterly exhausted.

Satou nodded and grabbed the silk pyjamas on the counter and quickly slipped into them. He really had been acting odd since this case started.

"Come." She spoke quietly to him as she hung the towels up to dry and took his hand. She led him out of the bathroom and placed her phone back on the bedside table before pulling him onto the bed with her.

She had nearly fallen asleep in his arms when he uttered a shaky, "sorry."

"S'ok, don't worry." She was barely able to respond when his lips gently kissed her shoulder. A moment later Takagi was certain she had fallen asleep as her soft breathing tickled his neck.

Takagi sighed in frustration, promising himself to keep better control over his emotions. Whatever feelings he had concerning the case they were subservient to his responsibilities as an officer. Though he had to admit he was starting to feel like the criminal hiding the truth for his own benefit.

Hours later, Takagi awoke to find that he was once again alone in the bed. Glancing at the clock he jumped up when he realized it was already passed 8:30. He quickly dressed and left his room hoping that most of the manor residents would not be up.

His heart sank when he entered the dining room and he found Nina already finishing breakfast.

"Good morning Takagi-keiji." She said without looking at him.

"Good morning." He responded, aware that his voice sounded unsteady.

"Why don't you have a seat."

Despite the promise he had made to himself earlier the uncomfortable ache in his stomach was once again returning.

"Megure-keibu called earlier. He asked that your colleague accompany my husband to work."

Neither of them made eye contact as the stiff words left her mouth. Takagi was reminded of her pained facial expression the night before.

"I see, which means…"

"Yes, he wishes for you to remain here with me."

Takagi's mouth was drawn in a tight line, she had said those words so quietly she had nearly whispered.

He turned to look at her and was surprised by the smile on her face. He smiled back at her, glad that the tension between them seemed to slacken.

At the very least, it would make it easier on both of them if he was to protect her. Takagi swore to himself that he would do just that.

Well after the recent Satou/Takagi case I had serious issues with this chapter. I was so happy after the whole thing that this installment nearly turned into a rather…intimate…deviation from the plan of this story's progression. I had to write the chapter over a couple of times and I was still unable to get rid of all of the touchy-feely stuff.

Anyway, I hope you liked the latest installment and thank you very much to all of my readers and reviewers!

A note on the luxury bathroom: I have a bit of an obsession with nice bathrooms and the one Miwako-chan discovers was inspired by a few designs I have seen…And also from the black granite floors in my house. Despite having to clean them all the time I really like them.

Kisses and hugs until next time!

Remember, all criticism and thoughts are welcome!