Sato's skin was smooth except for a callous on her trigger finger. "Smooth and soft hands that hide great power, the power to change a man for the better," Takagi would say as he placed a kiss against her wrist or knuckles. Takagi's hands were much the same but still very different. They were scarred.
Sato couldn't help but wonder how Takagi got his scars. The ones on his palms. They were almost identical, both were burns, both were long and cut across his palms horizontally. It looked as though he had grabbed a burning metal rod. And one day she asked. He smiled sadly and replied,
"The metal of the bars I pulled loose were very hot. But I didn't even care at the time, the handcuffs were more important." Then it dawned on Sato. He had burned his hands on the bars of the burning building! She remembered Takagi staring at the bandages in despair. He had worn gloves for the next few weeks. And when he finally took the gloves off for Sato, and only for Sato, she had been horrified to see huge red burns covering his palms and fingers. The burns had healed with time and now… she realized for the first time what had happened.
"You're burned because of me,"
"I'd die for you…"