Laziness was a trait that had long embedded itself in more than half of the Yorozuya. Another lazy Tuesday was spent with Gintoki stretched across the couch, buried in the newest JUMP as his do called personal maids started their cleaning excavations. It started with Shinpachi, sweeping and bemoaning the lack of help while Gintoki tried to focus on what he was reading and tuned him out. Then Kinu, bringing his requested strawberry milk and settling in to shut the pair of glasses up. They started in the main room; clearing plastic wrappers, then wiping off his desk as he turned a page and sighed.
"Onii-chan, you could at least aim for the garbage next time."
Glancing back at Kinu, the silver haired samurai watched as she lifted a crumpled ball of paper from the floor and eyed him. Apparently, she was going to whine as much as Shinpachi.
"Ah, yeah. Sure, next time."
"That's what you always say!" Shinpachi folded the cloth in his hand over and used the cleaner edge to start on the desk again.
"Onii-chans are supposed to care for their little sister's feelings! If they don't it gives the wrong image of all those weird urges being bottled up until they go kaboom and then bam!" On the couch across from him, Kagura kicked her legs up and plopped back, holding her girl's weekly JUMP over her. Gintoki frowned at her.
"The only thing going kaboom is your brain."
"It says so here on page ten of Darkest Desires; Dear Brother!" Kagura held the comic pages towards Gintoki and he rolled his eyes. Kinu leaned to the side, glancing over the panel Kagura was pointing to.
"Ew. They're still publishing that one?"
"What are you two reading? What's going on in those books?"
"I'd rather swallow broken glass than have a brother-complex…" Kinu murmured, and the man sat up as she kneeled at Kagura's side.
"Make that a double. Two orders of broken glass with a side of burning hot coals." Gintoki added, as Kagura and Kinu flipped the page, both squinting at the book. Their faces contorted and tilted to the side, and Gintoki tossed his ankle over his knee, eyeing them.
"There are so many scarier, darker guys, why would anybody go after their brother?"
"You're revealing weird preferences. Scary shouldn't be on that list!" Kinu ignored his words as she held the comic up, pointing at a panel he strained to make out.
"Like this guy. He's definitely got a troubled back story, and-"
"He's murdering civilians! That's a villain!" Cutting in, Gintoki leaned onto his knee, craning his neck to catch a better view. Kinu flipped another page and found a second picture. She didn't even have to hold it up for the Yorozuya to respond.
"That's not better, he's holding a severed head! What kinda guys are you-"
"It's still weird, isn't it? The Onii-chan thing?" Tossing Gintoki's now empty carton of strawberry milk into the garbage, Shinpachi chuckled. It was a gentle sound, as if he was only half listening. Cleaning was far more important than the catastrophe of a conversation. More important than the purity of Gintoki's little sister.
"Whaddaya mean?! I'm not the one saying it!"
Snickering to herself, Kagura sat up. She reclaimed the JUMP from her friend, and returned to the page she had been reading. Kinu stood and brushed her apron off, prepared to grab a broom.
"It's a rule! All siblings that don't have blood relations are secretly in love!"
"Who told you that? That's not a real thing!"
Instead of backing Gintoki up, Kinu blankly stole another peek at the comic. A single finger pointed at Gintoki far more accusatory than it had a right to be.
"You're hereby exiled as Onii-chan."
"Oi! I didn't say the weird things, Kagura said it! Why the hell am I getting treated like I did something?!"
Grabbing the book from Kagura's hands, Kinu thrust it into his face.
"Panel two of page fourteen says all Onii-chans are harboring secret weird feelings."
If that panel had only said that, Gintoki would have batted it away and continued about his daily reading, but there was an odd, crack like line running through the page. He attempted to snatch the book, but Kinu lifted it.
"Th- that's an armpit, right? What kind of JUMP are you two reading over there? That's an armpit crack, isn't it?!"
"I don't think Onii-chan is gonna put Excalibur in an armpit."
Gintoki managed to yank it out of Kinu's hands, and scoured the page, cringing at the cheesy romantic lines and depictions of newly blossoming, feathery taboos. To his relief there was nothing graphic. On the other hand, the subject was appalling.
"Don't say it like that! I'm Onii-chan, and Onii-chans don't put Excalibur anywhere near little sisters! What kind of sick comics are coming out now? Isn't this supposed to be age appropriate or something?" He started to flip through the pages, searching for verification, but before he could further investigate Kagura jumped over the table. She swiped at the book.
"Gin-chan! Gin-chan give it back! I just wanna know if Excalibur reaches the stone, give it back!"
The ensuing argument and shoving contest was more than Kinu had a mind to listen to. So she wandered off, and deemed her break over as she joined Shinpachi in the bathroom. As soon as she entered, he glanced at her, and light flashed across his glasses as he smiled.
"Ah, you didn't have to get up so soon. Just coming at all is a huge help. You could have taken a longer break."
Averting her gaze, she slipped past him and grabbed the scrub brush for the toilet.
"It's fine…"
Every time she came over to help, he was the same. Friendly. Outgoing, even. If they weren't completely alone, the boy eased into a comfortable pace that allowed him to speak to her freely, and Kinu was sure that she liked it. Small talk and all, even though she was never sure what to say back, and had never worked up the courage to actually invite him to do something with her without company.
She ran the brush under the rim of the toilet as Shinpachi wiped the mirror down, still smiling to himself.
"You know, it's funny to see Gin-san let somebody scold him without completely brushing it off. I saw Ai-san lecture him about his table manners once, and he actually let her finish before complaining."
Kinu's mother was like that. They both knew better than to actually talk back to her when she was in the middle of a lecture or she'd wring their ear clean off their head. Kinu only wished she could have seen it, to grin at Gintoki the entire time.
"Hm… She's scarier than she looks." She commented, and the boy turned to face her, nodding.
"I saw Gin-san's face. He only looks like that for a final boss, so I can imagine." The idle chatter continued as Shinpachi pulled the shower curtain open and started to spray the tub with disinfectant. Kinu stared down at the toilet as she flushed it, opting to sweep while her partner set on the bathtub. "But Ai-san has always been nice to me. I've never seen her get angry. She's just one of those people, isn't she? The kind that are patient, and nice, but if they get mad..."
His voice faded into the background. Kinu wondered if she felt something. Here they were, practically alone, and talking. Completely uninterrupted. Nothing readily presented itself to Kinu, just the nagging thought that she wanted something more. Contact. Affection, maybe. Anything that made her react to Shinpachi. Replicated the sensation of standing under a freezing jet of water while a man that was completely uninterested in her looked on, devilishly composed and smoking. Devoured her with his eye.
That sounded perverse.
Kinu swore she wasn't perverse.
The longer she stood there, in silence, thinking on it, the more clear it became to her. If it had been Takasugi, cleaning with her for some reason, she would have been more comfortable talking. Now, she didn't know what subject would be appropriate, or if Shinpachi wanted to hear about the book she was reading, or if anything like her usual thoughts would bore him out of his mind.
Takasugi, on the other hand, always listened. Even if he wasn't interested. The subject could be mundane, or boring, and the most he'd do was be a little off-put. Rude, even. But he'd always offer his opinion and respond. When she thought of it like that, it sounded like a tiny thing. Certainly nothing remarkable. To Kinu it seemed kind, though. Sure, he'd call her stupid, but he'd still humor her, and actually hear whatever she was trying to say.
Didn't that count for something?
"I wonder what the weather will be like later. It looked cloudy, so it's probably best not to hang anything out to dry."
Glancing at the mirror, Kinu watched Shinpachi step out of the tub and turn the shower on. Maybe small talk wasn't that great after all. Now they were on the weather. The smallest of small talks. As Shinpachi rinsed away the soap, she didn't think she actually liked him. It had been interesting to make him uncomfortable, and she had definitely felt something. His skittish nature had been more of an obstacle than an asset. A little fun to think she could make somebody act like that. Even so, now she thought the only way she could be sure was to get closer to him. Make him uncomfortable again. And she honestly didn't want to.
Without a word, she finished her task, and removed her apron. All that was left was airing the futons out, and Shinpachi could decide what he wanted to do with that.
The members of the Kiheitai were seated around the table of their safe house staring up at the holographic screen overhead. A good portion of the last half hour had been spent laxly discussing arrangements while their allies nodded in consideration.
"Yeah, I could see the issue there. Of course, Yoshiwara is open to any women you send my way." Kamui smiled as he spoke. Thought nothing of the request. "I've heard that name before, Amagi. Who is it?"
"A rich bastard with too much time on his hands." Takasugi said back, and Abuto laughed.
"Figures. Who the hell else would be asking to buy a wife? Not enough personality to find one himself."
"Sounds about right." The one eyed man said, puffing on his pipe. Abuto's shoulder twitched, and he looked to his metal arm, poking at it, as Kamui leaned back onto the dashboard of his ship.
"So, you got a time frame, or..?"
"We have a few options, so likely within the next week. This will only be if it doesn't work out between them. For now, we're waiting on the shipment to get here." Kawakami chimed in and the red headed Yato hummed in agreement. That and fabricating a backstory for the woman.
"Can't expect anyone to want to stay with that creep long, though." Matako sighed as she spoke, but kept her eyes on the nail file in her hands. She only paused to turn her hand over and eye the shape of her nails before starting back at them.
The older Yato jerked upright, as if poked by a needle, and Kamui frowned down at him. Watched as he stretched his shoulder out and scowled.
"Abuto when are you going to get that fixed?" Kamui stood over him, as he fiddled with his metal arm. "It's starting to get annoying."
"To you or me? How do you think I feel? Can barely wiggle my fingers here, and can't get an appointment to have it looked at for another two weeks." Grasping the arm, Abuto manually lifted it at the elbow. When he released it, the arm fell limp at his side and he huffed in frustration. "May as well not have an arm at all. Damn thing's shocking me, too."
"Want me to rip it off?" Curiously frowning at the contraption, Kamui reached for the dead arm, and Abuto twisted back, snapping at him.
"No! No, stay away from it, dumb ass! You're gonna break it!"
"If I may," Staring at the screen, Takasugi leaned onto his open palm. "two weeks is a hell of an inconvenience. I might know somebody that could take a look at it the moment you dock."
Abuto and Kamui turned to the screen, one frowning, the other with a raised ginger brow. Takasugi ignored the looks Kawakami and Matako set on him, and kept his gaze on the screen. If they came to earth he'd be able to see exactly how useful Kinu could be to him. If she could fix Abuto's arm, she'd be paying for Kamui's generous acceptance of Takasugi's request.
"Really?" Scratching the back of his head, Abuto looked up at at Kamui, then back at Takasugi. "You sure? I called the shops I know in Edo and they were all booked."
"We're already headed that way, we can stop. How's about two hours sound?" Kamui crossed his arms and legs as he settled back against the dash. It was past noon. Kinu would be getting back from her class soon, so two hours would work. He took out his phone, and dialed her number and by some miracle she picked up on the second ring.
"You busy?"
There was a slight pause, but the girl actually spoke loudly enough for him to hear her.
"No. Lecture's over."
"I've got some friends coming to your shop. Keep it clear, we'll be there in two hours." Glancing at the screen, then at Kawakami and Matako, Takasugi nodded. Gave the go ahead.
"Okay. I'm not opening, anyway."
"Good." That was perfect, actually. "I'll forward the address to you, just meet us at the shop." He told the Yato men after hanging up.
"Gotcha. See ya there!" The call ended after Kamui's positive note, and Takasugi turned to the curious frowns of his companions. Kawakami was the first to speak after a drawn out pause.
"Uh… Shinsuke, we don't know anybody that works on mechanical limbs. What are we doing?"
Feeling his mouth turn upward, Takasugi shrugged.
"I just want to see what will happen." He admitted, already thinking of ways to cover his tracks if she failed, but he was curious. She'd had a hand on her desk, so maybe working on a real arm would help her figure out what was wrong with what she had made. Takasugi stood, and Matako and Kawakami exchanged a look as he moved to the kitchen. He started to grab a bite to eat, then thought better of it and settled on a yakult. If she wasn't opening, that meant she was cooking. And if she was cooking, she'd give him something nice.
He sent the details to Kamui, via text, and chose a book to pass the time. As soon as he was in the hallway, the questions resumed.
"You're not gonna tell us who it is?" Matako was behind Takasugi when she spoke, and he faced her, then Kawakami. They still weren't on the same page?
"Kinu."
"Kinu?" The woman echoed, frowning as he passed.
"Does she… She knows how to fix them?" Kawakami asked and Takasugi shrugged again.
"Probably not." He was already going in the evening, anyway. This just gave them something to do, and would certainly fall under the experience category. It'd be funny to see her embarrass herself. He started for the door, but Kawakami and Matako were quick behind him. They didn't let up. The entire way to the door, they were only a few steps behind him, and when he realized they were there, he stopped at the genkan.
"You don't have to come. I'm perfectly capable of handling this."
Not getting the hint, or maybe ignoring it altogether, Matako shook her head.
"We're coming! We- we want to come, right, Senpai?" She looked to the deaf man for reinforcements, and he pointed at himself, baffled.
"Me? Actually I was… I guess I could come…"
Fine. Sure, whatever. He wasn't keen on the idea of chaperones, and he made it known with a dismissive wave of his hand, but Takasugi was followed, right up to the entrance of the tea shop where Kinu greeted him with the same deadpan expression as usual.
The nearly invisible upturn at the corners of her mouth. Just barely, but still. It was there.