A/N: I'm just gonna but a kink warning here. Believe it or not, I've written up to chapter 27 for this story, so I'm editing and then re editing before posting. I hope you all enjoy! This story is gonna be a wonderfully terrible disaster like the first.

By night fall, Matako had taken her turn in the kitchen and whipped up a fine meal for all the main men of the Kiheitai. She had outdone herself, in both quality and quantity this time, and as they sat at the table, the woman placed the largest servings of everything in front of Takasugi.

"We have less than three months before the meeting." Kawakami stated, cracking an egg over his rice as Matako took a seat across from Takechi. Between him and Takasugi. "Has anybody met a woman matching Amagi-san's description?"

Silent, Takasugi raised his bowl of miso to his mouth.

"That kid at the shop isn't a brunette, but she'd probably do in a pinch… Right, Shinsuke-sama?"

Glancing towards Matako, the one eyed man lowered his bowl. He hummed, as if considering it, but didn't lean towards an affirmative tone or declining. Kept it ambiguous. Sure, it was possible. He supposed. But who would take care of Momo?

Takechi perked up as he sliced a piece of fish with his chopsticks.

"As the strategist, it seems that would be the route of least resistance. As a feminist, I say that we introduce them so he can woo her before we make our move."

Kawakami nodded at that. Had a mouth full of rice. He inclined his head as Matako leaned over to fill his sake bowl, then reached to do the same for her.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Takasugi placed his bowl on the wooden table and glanced over his group. Fully aware that they were looking to him for a more concrete answer. "She's young. Probably under twenty. His father wouldn't believe that at all; he'd think she was a gold digger."

Matako shifted on her cushion, chopsticks poised to dig into her rice, but not quite there.

"Good point. There's a pink slip on the shop door. She'd probably agree if he'd pay off her family's debts."

That wasn't what Takasugi had been implying. He hadn't made that point at all! Making her a gold digger was the exact opposite of what they needed! Kawakami made an affirming tone in the back of his throat. Swallowed a mouth full of food.

"We should send word, before he thinks we've forgotten."

"A woman selling herself for her family… It sounds like-"

"She's not a woman, she's a child." Matako cut in, and Takasugi eyed her.

"Feminism is for women and children." Takechi said back with a straight face, and Matako rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it suspicious that she was here? Just showed up with that-" She glanced over at the one eyed man, but he was looking at his food. Slowly eating. "That's not a happy coincidence. How would she just… find us? It's creepy."

Matako wasn't entirely wrong. Takasugi wouldn't have believed it himself if he'd heard it, but he'd seen her crawl across a low rooftop with that burgundy towel poised to grab the cat. He'd just spent a good portion of the day at the vet with Kinu; she hadn't staged it. If anything, she was more surprised that he'd appeared, and not the other way around.

"A valid point, but I believe she's more of an idiot than a threat." Takasugi ignored the raise of Matako's brow. Didn't need to look at her to know it was there. "We're going to stick to the original plan. Wait for our associates to respond to our initial request. Finding girls is their specialty. Then we can build up a realistic life for her, and pawn her off on Amagi."

"Assuming they're open to doing business with us again after our conflicts, Shinsuke."

Without looking at the deaf man, Takasugi nodded once.

"It was a necessary response. If they know what's good for them, they'll tuck their tails between their legs and obey."

"Sh- Shinsuke-sama… how was the uh… kitten?" Matako's voice was low. Barely drew a turn of his head.

"She's fine. So is the old man, but he lost his eye in a bar fight."

The woman's back straightened, and the conversational ball dropped. Rolled far away. As Takasugi picked at the rest of his food, everybody kept whatever thoughts they had to themselves and didn't mention Amagi, the girl, or the deal again. Kawakami reached over the table and poured Matako another bowl of sake. Somber, she only looked towards the deaf man, but not directly at him. Accepted the drink.

Takasugi peered at Kawakami across the table. He was facing his food, but over the red rims of his sunglasses, their eyes locked together. Knowing. As soon as Takasugi left the room, Matako was going to shimmy up to Kawakami like she always did when Takasugi hurt her feelings; and he was going to hold her. Like he wanted. Bittersweet.

Taking a napkin, Takasugi dabbed at his mouth.

"Thank you for the food. It was excellent." He stood, ignoring the eyes on his back as he slipped from the kitchen, and through the hallway to his room.

Kinu was laying on her futon with Momo, wrapped in a fresh towel and damp. She'd called the vet after getting home. Asked if she could wash him, but they told her not to wet his stitches. To only gently run a cloth over him, and comb him. So she had spent the better portion of the afternoon trying to scrape up some supplies for his hideout in her room. A kitty box. A bowl for food. A weird little feather thing that she liked to tickle his nose with. When he'd woken up, he had stumbled around the room, meowing and if her guess was right, scared of the new environment. It was only for a short while, she'd tried to tell him. But he didn't seem to understand.

After he'd fallen back asleep, she'd cracked the girl's weekly JUMP that Gintoki had given her. Then her phone started to chime. Initially, she thought it was a spam email, but when it continued to vibrate against the low wooden table in the center of her room, Kinu leaned up. Didn't move to touch it. A phone call? For her?

It was working. Gintoki had told her reading this stuff would make her more popular and feminine, and just cracking it had gotten her a phone call! Sure, it had taken about fifty times, but it worked. Her phone stopped before she even thought to check it. She'd missed her opportunity, but she could feel the swan feathers of womanhood branching around her; washing her in a bright frilly peach light that everybody would recognize as femininity. Kinu was finally cute, and she hadn't needed to move her face to accomplish it.

As she leaned back, her phone lit up again, vibrating and chirping a cheerful little tune. She sat back up, staring at it. What did she do?

This was a normal girl thing. People wanted to talk to Kinu, because they knew she was girly. With a deep breath, she snatched the mobile from the table and flipped it open. Stared at the blinking screen. That guy, it said. Takasugi.

What, why?

Her thumb hit the red button, and her phone went silent. Wide eyed, Kinu peered down at the glimmering blue and black background of her phone. The little winking teddy bear in the corner of the screen. Safe. She didn't know what he could possibly have to say to her, but it couldn't be good. Then it started to vibrate again. The same title as before popped onto the phone and Kinu's jaw dropped.

Why was he so persistent?! She had to answer it. Act natural.

Steeling herself, Kinu hit the green button and held the phone to her ear. Silence. Was it a prank? She sat there, listening, but didn't hear anything. Then she remembered the most important step to answering the phone. She hadn't spoken.

"Uh… Yeah?" Good. That was good. Better than good, actually, this was off to a perfect start.

"Where do you get off, rejecting my calls?"

Frowning, the girl looked down at the comic book over her lap. Oh. Maybe it wasn't a good start.

"An accident…"

"Three times in a row? That's not how accidents work." Takasugi clicked his teeth at that, and the girl turned to the sleeping cat beside her. "Where are you?"

His next question earned a short pause from Kinu. She pulled the JUMP book from her lap, and placed it beside her futon, humming under her breath. Mumbled something that the phone barely picked up.

"What?"

"Home?"

"What do- you had to think about it? Why was it a question, are you home or not?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm in my room…" There was another pause, and Kinu pulled her phone away from her ear to frown down at it, almost believing that the man had hung up on her. His voice came again, faint from the speaker.

"I'm downstairs. Let me in."

Before Kinu could respond, her phone was blinking, and the man's title faded from her screen, leaving her to stare at the teddy bear again. What? He was there? She pushed herself up. Panicked. What did she do? Why was this so difficult?! She didn't understand why he would be down there, or want to come in, but it sounded terrible! Momo stirred. Turned his head as she yanked the door open and then closed it behind herself. Kinu nearly threw herself down the stairs. Took them two at a time. She reached the door of the tea shop, and then the glass door outside, and just as he'd said, Takasugi stood beyond it. Perfectly calm.

As if showing up at one in the morning was normal.

Takasugi didn't know why the girl pulled the curtain back just to fix that cold stare on him and not move. He eyed her as she finally grasped the lock on the door and turned it. Opened the door and let him in. When he entered, Kinu took a step towards him. Nothing further. He turned back to the girl, and motioned ahead, but she did nothing. Just stood there; still giving him that dead look. Why?

Talk about unsettling; standing in the dark with that creeper looking at him like she had just clawed her way up from the depths of hell and had a secret up her sleeve. If her face started morphing into a demon he swore he was gonna punch her.

"Well?" He motioned ahead again, and Kinu passed him without a word. Lead the way through the back door of the shop and up the stairs. He walked behind her, studying the girl's overly casual robe and pulled back hair. She seemed fresh from the bath. From the way she dressed, he'd never have guessed her to wear actual colors, but there she was; wrapped in a aqua robe that barely reached her thighs. She glanced back at him when they reached the top of the stairs, but didn't speak.

To Takasugi's relief, her face was still human. Kinu lead him around the banister, and past an open bathroom near the kitchen, then to the short hall that lead to her room. Momo was wrapped in a green towel on her futon. Sleeping still. If Takasugi had been surprised at her clothes, her room was more so. Warm and full. It was a decent size, but on the smaller side, with her futon in the back corner, just beside the alley window. It looked like a hotel. Plain, but pleasant. No Tatami. Hardwood. A single mint green pillow sat beside the oval desk on the floor, and the girl had an open book on it. A half finished paper.

The alcove across from her bed was filled with solid wood shelves displaying plain blobby stuffed animals of all colors, all with smiling faces.

Takasugi walked to the cat, and placed his hand on it. Scratched behind his ear. To his relief, Momo stretched his front paws out. Loopy, and exhausted, but alive. His brown fur was damp to the touch, as if he had been washed, and a small, empty cat box sat under the displays across from the bed.

Kinu wasted no time in throwing herself onto her futon and grabbing her manga again. Figured Takasugi's house call was for Momo. But when the man eased towards her, and pushed her JUMP down, she peered at him.

"Who are you, exactly?"

She stared at him, aloof, but present.

"Hm?"

How stupid was she? Had she not realized the position she was in, or the severity of the situation? Sure, she was irrelevant in the main scheme of things, but it was important for Takasugi to know exactly where she fit in, if she did, and if she was an asset that he was willing to use right now.

"Any affiliation with the government?"

The girl raised a brow at him, but her face didn't change.

"I paid taxes once." She murmured.

Her eyes drifted from him, and he let her raise the book again. Takasugi watched as the girl turned her page. Seemed completely disinterested in him.

"How'd you find the hideout?"

Frowning, the girl placed her book over her lap, barely covering four straight scabbed over lines that he wasn't going to acknowledge. Her gaze snapped to Takasugi as her nose wrinkled.

"Hideout? You don't live there? What are you, a wanted criminal?" She snickered to herself, murmuring, who cares under her breath. As she turned another page, she glanced up at Takasugi. Seeing the dark glare fixed on her, Kinu lowered her book again. Leaned up from her pillows to eye Takasugi. "You're… wanted? Why?"

His gaze stayed on her. As if he had no shame in accepting the title. But he didn't answer the question. Seeing that she wouldn't get a response, Kinu slowly leaned back and crossed her legs. Willed herself to stay back against the pile of pillows as she propped herself up and shook her head.

"Forget it. I don't care. Momo found it." She didn't pick her book back up. Kept her eyes on the wooden beams and ceiling over her. "Your secrets safe with me. We're… sort of friends, right?"

Friends?

"Uh…" Takasugi didn't really have an answer to that. No. A little? He looked at the sleeping cat again. Friends. That was exactly what they were, sort of. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a pair of friends. Sitting in her bedroom looking at a sleeping cat. No, he didn't like that. He took it back. It sounded ridiculous; they were business associates.

He pulled his pipe from his sleeve. Lit it without asking, and Kinu narrowed her eyes, but didn't say a word. As smoke trailed from the man's mouth, she crossed her arms and placed her book beside herself.

"So… Are you here for payment for helping Momo?"

"How are you going to pay me?" Sarcastically muttering back to the girl, Takasugi rolled his eye. Sure. Payment. She was struggling to keep her family business afloat, she couldn't give him anything. The girl hummed under her breath and leaned back. She glanced at her book, then put it back down as quickly as she had picked it up.

"You can have my most precious possession." Probably a stuffed animal, judging from the room. "My maiden flower."

Nearly choking on the smoke from his pipe, Takasugi jerked forward. Coughed into his palm.

"What?" The word was a puff of air directly from his stomach, as if he had been punched in the gut, and Kinu leaned further back into her pillows, straightening her legs. Her hands pulled the edges of her robe apart, and Takasugi gaped at her bra and underwear. Just as blue as the robe. Darker.

"I won't struggle. Take me however you please."

He didn't move. Was this a cop bust? He'd just told her that he was a wanted man! What was wrong with her?! Kinu was looking at him. Not making any face, and that was worse than if she'd been shy or outright lewd. It was creepy. She was an old man in a girl body!

She sat there. Deadpan. As if she thought that had been appropriate or expected him to actually do it. A moment passed of Takasugi just staring at her; eye wide. Speechless.

"What? I didn't say it right?" Leaning up, Kinu grabbed the book from her side and flipped backwards through it. She made no attempt at covering her exposed flesh, or even pretending to have a shred of decency. The girl fell quiet, then cleared her throat. "Lo and behold, I offer to you my most precious possession! My maiden flower to take as you wish! Dear knight, for your valiant efforts and accomplishments, you are hereby deemed, by royal decree, befitting my first blossom! May you be gentle with my maiden-"

Snatching the book from the girl's hands, Takasugi chucked it behind himself.

"What are you reading?!" Snapping the words at Kinu, he straightened his back.

She stared at him, palms pressed into the futon at her sides, expressionless and still making no effort to cover herself.

"It wasn't cute?"

"No!" Barking at the girl, he turned his back to her. What was she even thinking, saying something like that?!

"Oh… I'll rehearse… before…"

"What? What are you saying? You're going to say that to somebody?"

Kinu pressed her palms into her thighs and sat up. Then nodded. As if that was okay. It wasn't!

"D- Don't ever say that to a man!" His words earned the roll of her eyes, and she placed a finger to her chin. Possibly tried to recall the comic from memory, he wasn't entirely sure what she could be considering at a time like this. "You're not allowed to say that to anybody. I forbid it!"

Something was grumbled under her breath and Takasugi glared at her.

"What was that? Care to repeat yourself?"

"What are you gonna do, spank me?" Not even looking up at the man, Kinu sat between her legs. Her eyes darted to the book across the room, and she sighed. Was gonna go for it, Takasugi knew it.

"Stop reading trash like that." He muttered, and Kinu's head tilted.

"My Onii-chan got it for me. He said it would make me more cute."

"Call the police!" What kind of sick sister complex big brother would give his little sister that smut?! "Don't even think about saying that to anybody again. Don't say anything written in that book to anybody!" Takasugi's words earned a slight slump of her shoulders. She turned her head away from him. Murmuring under her breath. "What?" He asked. "What was that?"

"Make me." She grumbled, and Takasugi glared at her. She was gonna say it to somebody. He knew she was gonna say it, and there was no telling how it would be received. Kinu raised from the bed on all fours, reaching for the JUMP. Practically waved her ass in Takasugi's face as she pulled it back with her, then shot him a look. Fully aware of what she was doing and making no attempt at hiding the nearly invisible curl at the corners of her mouth. Takasugi turned towards her, pipe between his lips. Glaring.

So that's how it was? She thought he wouldn't do it. Had no idea just how much he could, in fact, spank her. Was waving her perceived victory around in his face; trying to dominate him, of all people. Setting his pipe on the table, Takasugi scooted back and straightened his posture; ever so calmly.

When Kinu eased back towards her bed he snagged her waist and she let out a breath of surprise, but he threw her over his lap nonetheless. His palm swatted into her rear, careful not to be too firm, and the girl's hair whipped up behind her.

"Hey! You can't-"

She gasped as he swatted her again, and though she barely struggled to free herself, he kept a firm grip on her side.

"So you can speak properly." When he struck her again, the girl popped up as she had before, pushing against his thigh and the floor. He was surprised at himself when he reached around her face and grasped her hair to turn her head.

"Are you going to say that to somebody?"

"Yes!" She sneered back, and Takasugi's brow raised against the wrap over it. Oh really? A chuckle rumbled low in his throat, and the girl over his thighs seemed to tense. What a fucking weirdo, she wasn't even trying to stop him! His palm connected again, harder, and she squeaked.

"You thought you had a forcefield?" Surprise was written all over her body. The wide eyes, parted lips, and the way she dragged herself forward. But she didn't tell him to stop. She glared at him. As if he had been the one out of line. Seeing her challenge, he raised her three more swats. Kinu had stopped struggling. Only released a low breath with each strike and turned to him when he paused.

What on earth was he doing? This girl wasn't his. They'd been thinking of pawning her off to that rich bastard in need of a wife; this was wildly inappropriate. That last sound had been dangerously close to a moan. She wasn't supposed to enjoy this! Still, not willing to out himself as crossing a boundary he hadn't intended, he took hold of her hair again and straightened her back. Angled her towards himself. It was absolutely delicious.

"You think it's funny to offer your body to strangers?" He nearly dipped his fingers lower. There was no chance that she'd say such a thing to anybody if he stroked her to an orgasm right there. Left her a panting, longing mess on her floor.

The blood was actively draining from his face and he knew exactly where it was going. His tongue darted across his pursed lips, too dry to accomplish anything. She'd agree to never say it again to stop him. The way she looked at him though, startled with her multi-toned ponytail bunched under his fist. This wasn't hurting her.

"Y- you can't stop me." The girl said, and his eye sharpened. "I'm gonna say it to everyone." She knew exactly what she was doing. Holding her hair back, he slid her robe up her thighs. Kinu squirmed against him for the first time putting up an actual struggle.

"What are you doing?" His free palm flattened against the small of her back, forcing her still. Begging her to stop wiggling against him.

"What's this? Are you afraid? After so brazenly exposing yourself to me? You think I'll violate you? "

"And take my maiden-"

When Takasugi's hand met her again, firmer, she let out another sound, more pained, but equally drenched in lust. Or maybe it was just him. He wasn't sure anymore. Why was she doing this? He kept her facing him to see her expression. To confirm his suspicion. This was bad. He could feel himself pressing against her stomach. The next made Kinu grasp his yukata dragging herself forward, and he drank in the sound she made, and the way she squirmed across his lap with surrender.

"Okay-" She breathed, and he knew he'd won. It had been a long, harsh battle, filled with perils and hardships, but he had made it. "Okay- I- I won't say it again-"

Takasugi released the girl's hair, and she kept her head down. Carefully slid from his lap, robe still parted, and giving him a full view of her blue underwear. Her legs were pressed together under her, and his eye flicked over the girl, well aware of his transgressions.

"What was that? Ten? Sounds about right." He shouldn't have done that.

Bright red and trembling, the girl turned her head. She had been moaning the entire time; he shouldn't have even touched her. Kinu's face was flushed, hair tousled, and her ponytail had come loose. But even more so, the girl was glancing between him and the floor. Unable to fully maintain eye contact. He knew the look all too well.

"You… You can't just do that…"

God, he wanted to fuck her. Why? She hadn't done anything to him; why had he done that? She'd been completely appropriate, aside from the book thing. But now he wanted to see more. That girl wasn't a ghost, she was pure sex. Powder soft but sturdy.

"Huh. Offer me your body, any way I want, and my choice isn't good enough for you? How annoying." Was it her innocence? The way she shied away from touching, or too much speech? The embarrassed look she was trying to hide under her hair as she grasped the edges of her robe and wiggled it across herself? "You're lucky that's all I did."

She'd loved every second of what he'd done to her. The evidence was written between her thighs before she'd covered herself and tried to smooth her hair. He didn't want to think about it.

"Th- Thank you..." She said, and Takasugi could have fucking exploded there. A submissive. How was she a submissive when she seemed so cold? Why would she thank him? And if she moaned like that over a spanking what sort of sound would she make if..? No. No he couldn't think of that. Takasugi pushed himself up, hand over his yukata, not daring to look at the girl's face for another second. It was a joke gone wrong. He hadn't meant to do it. Kinu didn't speak or even look at the man as he snatched his pipe up, and burst past the door.

What had that been? Shinpachi had never done anything like that, or made her feel that way. Takasugi had that pretty pink woman draped over him, and had just been threatening to cut a man's finger off in her sink. But the way he had grabbed her waist, and then her hair, it hadn't hurt. On the contrary, it felt good in a weird way she had no words for. Firm. As if he had been holding her afloat the entire time. Even the way he'd stayed between spanking her; with his hand on her, nearly squeezing. She scooched onto her futon and grabbed her book.

Gintoki had been right. It was working.

Kinu started to sit but thought better of it. On the other hand, she didn't want to risk it. She rolled over onto her stomach.

Maybe men did like butts, and Shinpachi had been an outlier. Takasugi had pulled her robe up, and touched hers, so that meant that her butt was alright. At the very least. Maybe he'd do it again, if she pissed him off.

After she finished this book.