For the umpteenth time since morning, Kinu's phone chimed. Kept going off. Even the day before, as soon as she woke up, her phone started ringing. The blocked number. The first time, she had answered it, wondering if they would make a sound again. Only static.

Whoever it was really seemed to want to talk to her, and she thought it was time she put down JUMP for good. It was working too well, now. Her phone vibrated in her wrist pouch, and she dug it out, wondering if there'd be better reception now.

As the girl snapped the phone to her ear, she murmured a greeting, but was met with silence. Not even static, just a dead, all encompassing nothingness. Unknown, the caller ID read.

The sun glared down on her and she glanced towards Shinpachi. He was looking off to the side, examining the passing buildings and food stalls. Window shopping as they traversed the short rout of chores and deliveries. He'd been a huge help. Kinu hadn't been able to carry all of the cake boxes and groceries herself, but they'd managed the entire walk, only stopping occasionally to rest along the way.

She had no way to know, but she suspected Gintoki had set this up. Nobody ever helped her with her routes, unless Gintoki had been specifically asked and bribed.

Despite the frequency of the calls, Shinpachi seemed to think it was telemarketers. Kinu wasn't going to tell him any different.

When her phone rang again, she hit the silent button, and shut off the ringer. That made thirty four since her cake delivery ten minutes ago. Who the hell had the time to call somebody this many times in a row? She decided she would take the device apart later. See if there was anything screwy on the inside before fully jumping to conclusions.

She was completely unaware of the prying gaze that had fixed on her since they'd wandered through the grocery store. At some point that kid, Shinpachi, had stopped looking like he was going to have a stroke and Takasugi didn't like it one bit. He'd only wanted more yakult. Not to see Kinu, and even worse, that boy following her around like a lost puppy.

That's what she'd been doing all this time?

Halfway to the shop, Kinu and Shinpachi veered down a side road. Takasugi hadn't seen anybody else overtly watching the girl, which was a good sign that his message had been received. Maybe that Amagi, was recalculating his approach, and the way they would handle further business. It didn't help that Kinu was letting the boy lead her through alleys and idly chatting with him; their topic unknown, as Takasugi wasn't able to get that close. Maybe the talking didn't hurt but it still pissed Takasugi off.

He hadn't intended to follow them. Takasugi was going to mind his own business, but they were walking in the same direction and the pair randomly turned to a back alley. As if that wasn't suspicious enough, Kinu had grabbed the boy's sleeve, not minding the boxes of cake he was carrying or the threat of him dropping them after such a shock.

Takasugi hadn't been watching that closely. Just close enough to see them walk to the front door of a house and wait for an answer. Shinpachi handed the box over, and exchanged pleasant words with the woman in the doorway as Kinu dug change out of her pocket, and then they were off again.

Takasugi thought the girl at least had enough sense not to run off into questionable places with boys. Even if Shinpachi had as much personality as a wet paper napkin.

They stopped at a food stall. Got popsicles, and perched under a pocket of shade to sit on the bridge between the tea shop and the market. Dangled their legs above the water, and leaned on the lower rail. The boy was still talking. If Takasugi walked by now, it'd look weird. That was the only reason he waited. Obviously.

"I know what it's like. Loan sharks. Kinu-chan, I don't think you know this, but when I met Gin-san my family was in a lot of debt."

Turning to face the boy, Kinu bit into her popsicle and savored the overly sweet grape ice. She swiped the back of her hand over her forehead, and the gauze scratched the sweat away.

"Hm. What happened?"

Shinpachi smiled, and gestured to her with his red popsicle.

"We made it." The boy bit into his sweet and Kinu glanced at the purple stream running down her fingers. Melting. Summer heat was no fun. She didn't say anything back to Shinpachi. The wooden stick in her hand had words written on it, and she turned her hand to get a good look.

What did one cacti say to the other?

A joke. There was an answer on the other side. Kinu licked at the side of her finger, then bit the popsicle again, eyeing the amount covering the answer. Halfway there. The red wood under her arms was sturdy enough to support her weight as she looked down at the water below. Wondered how deep it was.

"We should get back. Ai-San asked Gin-san to help you carry everything, but he got a client last minute. Kagura-chan went with him, but they'll probably get themselves into trouble if they're alone too long."

"Ah." The last bit of Kinu's popsicle broke away from the stick and plunged into the water below. Of course. Shinpachi had been forced to meet with her. It was no coincidence. He hadn't decided to meet her because she'd actually needed help, or because he wanted to see her.

You're succulent. That was the answer, but she couldn't laugh.

A moment was spent staring after her popsicle. As if she would see it again, or it would come back to her. It didn't. Neither did her old delusions about teenage romance, or manga, or Shinpachi.

The boy was already on his feet, shifting the bags he'd offered to carry, and Kinu forced herself to mirror him. Grabbed her portion of bags, as he lifted the last box of cake, and they were off. Kinu didn't know why she'd gotten excited in the first place. She'd already known. Not about the chain of favors, but that Shinpachi wasn't a real match for her. That didn't make it sting any less, considering her failed attempt at something with Takasugi.

They walked in silence, Shinpachi nothing more than a friend carrying out his moral duty, and Kinu mentally kicking herself for thinking he'd been doing anything different. She slipped her popsicle stick into one of her bags and glanced behind herself. Her stomach flipped.

A single olive eye was glaring at her. Takasugi. Apparently he'd had the same popsicle idea. His teeth snapped down on the frozen yellow bar, and Kinu whipped back around to gape at the passing ground. She had never seen somebody eat a popsicle so angrily.

She turned back, and Takasugi was still there. Still giving her a look that definitely meant something more than "hello, just passing through", or "you kids have fun". No, this look said murder. Shinpachi hadn't noticed. Was oblivious to the dark shadow lurking behind them, but Kinu waved her hands at him. Tried to shoo him away.

Takasugi's head tilted and his eye went wide; somehow looked more horrifying than before. Was he possessed?! Why was he there!? This was supposed to be a date! The closest thing she could get to one! Fully committed to getting rid of the man, Kinu alternated between trying to act normal and turning to try to wave Takasugi off, but he wasn't going anywhere.

"Kinu-chan are you okay?" Snapping back to Shinpachi the girl feverishly nodded. Waved her arm again, over her head this time.

"M- mhmm-"

"Did you walk through those gnats?"

"Y- yeah, gnats." Takasugi hadn't even slowed. If anything it looked like he was getting closer, and Kinu's shooing had drawn him in out of pure spite. Her eyes felt like they would pop out if she opened them any wider. Maybe that was his revenge. Startle everybody until they lost at least one eye, and then he would slither off to whatever dark hole he had crawled out of.

"I heard there are some foods you can eat that will keep gnats away. Maybe it's all the red rice, but I haven't seen a single one over here."

Kinu didn't think that was how it worked! More importantly, Takasugi was barely two meters behind them now. Looming over her. They were nearly to the tea shop. As long as Kinu didn't look back again everything would be fine. Ignoring problems made them go away, right? She'd just keep walking. Shinpachi would never see him, and Takasugi would take a hint and realize that she'd been trying to make him leave, and not beckoning him closer. That had to be it. Gintoki had been right. She may not have seen the evil boss aura before, but she definitely saw it now. Was trying not to see it again.

Shinpachi gasped.

Kinu was trying to rush ahead but the boy swiveled around on his heel, and she came to a dead halt.

"You!"

Oh no. Slowly looking over her shoulder, Kinu found the exact scene from her nightmares. Not drowning, but close enough. The dreaded love triangle.

Shinpachi was staring straight at Takasugi, but the man's gaze was on her. She had no choice. Turned to face them, and bit down on her lips. There was no way this was going to end well.

"Are you having a stroke?" Takasugi completely ignored Shinpachi, but the boy's arm shot out in front of Kinu and ushered her back a step.

"I'll hold him off! Run, Kinu-chan!"

Shinpachi dropped the box of cake, and she ducked to catch it. Barely managed to cut the fall with her forearms, and pain jolted through her entire body. When she looked up at Takasugi she found him to be smiling. At Shinpachi. That was literally the worst sign ever.

It wasn't warm in the slightest, and not a single drop of the look was pleasant. Not even sarcastic. It was entirely predatory. He was going to chew Shinpachi up and spit him out.

Trying to make a smooth recovery the girl picked herself up and hugged her cake to her body. She said the only thing she could think to. Tried to stop whatever was happening dead in its tracks. Kinu smacked the arm from in front of herself and stomped at the man as she spat the word.

"Pineapple!"

Takasugi's eye narrowed and his back straightened. He nearly leaned back, as though he was appalled but Kinu snatched Shinpachi's sleeve and took off. Left no room for him to follow unless he was actually going to murder the both of them.

When Kinu and Shinpachi returned to the tea shop, Ai had already unlocked the door. She stood behind the counter and turned off the sink as they entered.

"Shinpachi-kun! If I'd known you were coming, I'd have put on some tea."

"It's alright." The boy said back as he and Kinu placed their bags and the last cake onto the counter. "Gin-san couldn't make it, so I came instead."

Taking a pocky stick from her pocket the girl propped it in her mouth. She peeked out of the door. Scanned the entire street for any sign of Takasugi, but he was gone.

"Kinu-chan, that was a really good technique, but dangerous. At least we made it away."

Expressionless, the girl stared down at the hardwood. By some miracle, yes, but for different reasons than Shinpachi was thinking. She hummed. Safe words were great, right? But what sort of technique did he think she'd been using? Kinu just hoped Shinpachi didn't try that on somebody during a fight. She almost didn't realize that her mother had materialized beside her until the woman's arm wrapped around her shoulders and she was gently squeezed into Ai's side.

"Ah, we'll I've done most of the organizing today. Ki was gonna cook and restock everything tonight. I'm sure she could use some help with the groceries, though, right dear?"

Still not looking at the woman, Kinu bit into her pocky. What was Ai trying to do here? Pawn her off? Trap her with Shinpachi some more? She should have seen that Kinu's avoidance was a clear cry for help. What an awful mother! She should have been saving Kinu and saying that she was grounded or something! Parents could still ground adults, right? This was not the teenage dream! Shinpachi was only being nice because Gintoki was trying to do damage control.

Takasugi would definitely kill them if they were in the shop alone, and it was possible that what she'd said had only stunned him. For all she knew, he was in the tiny ceiling space between floors, just waiting to descend upon them like a spider monkey.

An angry spider monkey that had already gotten its first taste of blood.

"We're sorry to trouble you, but thank you for helping. I'll give you two some alone time, just let me grab my bag and I'll be out of your hair."

"It's not like that." Kinu turned towards the woman, frowning as Ai released her shoulders. "I can do it alone."

"But dear, I want grandbabies and you can't do that alone."

Wide eyed, Kinu stared at the woman. What was she trying to do?! Kinu wasn't having and babies any time soon. Hell she was going to the doctor tomorrow to get anti-baby pills, because being sexually active made her nervous in itself and she was half convinced she was going to wind up pregnant just looking at anything even remotely masculine or phallic. Her body had proven it wasn't happening this month, but she still wanted to be sure.

Shinpachi had gone red, and frozen. Staring at her as if she had said it.

Kinu didn't even have anything to say in her defense. Just watched the woman as she giggled and swung her little wrist pouch around her pointer finger. They both watched her make her exit, grinning the entire way, until they were left alone.

Neither spoke for what felt like forever, until Kinu finally decided to retreat behind the counter. Put space between them. Shinpachi had the wrong idea. She wasn't actually trying anymore. It shouldn't have been awkward, but the longer he stood there, fidgeting with the bags he'd brought in, the more Kinu wished she could curl up and disappear behind the bar.

He usually left immediately. Especially when they were alone. This time, he stood there, digging the ingredients out of the bags and setting them on the counters. He laid a bag of chocolate chips out, eyes down.

"That was really brave, Kinu-chan." The words were a soft murmur, befitting his appearance, and the lightness of his tone made everything, including Kinu feel tiny. He thought it was brave. Had something nice to say. Kinu glanced across the room, suddenly uneasy. She took the bags of flour from the counter and turned to the cabinets behind herself. Put them away.

"No, it wasn't." When Kinu looked back, she realized he hadn't heard her. That he was looking at her, and knew she had spoken, but her voice had been too low again. He didn't even ask her to repeat herself. "Shinpachi-kun, were you really going to try to stop him? Have you ever seen him fight before?"

Bashfully running a hand up the back of his head, the boy broke eye contact.

"Well, yeah, but… Of course I was. Gin-san would kill me if anything happened to you."

Every ounce of the building warmth in Kinu drained. Of course. Gintoki. Shinpachi smiled. Clearly thought that had been the right thing to say, and Kinu was annoyed at the thought of how she would have felt if this had been two short months ago. She would have been enthralled. Enchanted. Probably tried to kiss him, if she was entirely honest.

It was the sweetest thing anybody had done for her, aside from punching her dad. This was what she had wanted, right? Real alone time. Something to bring them together and water the seeds of love. But her mind was occupied with the thought of Takasugi. How angry he had looked and what he'd do to her now.

"I should go." Shinpachi said, and Kinu hummed an acknowledging tone. "Sorry we couldn't make the last delivery. Are you okay to do it alone?"

Kinu frowned at the remaining box on the counter.

"It was supposed to be for Gin-chan. Take it with you. As payment."

"Really?" Shinpachi eased the top from the box, and Kinu peeked into it. What they found was disheveled frosting and misplaced strawberries. The design had been smeared on the side of the box, and pressed into the lid. Damaged in the fall. Kinu's face fell, but the boy chuckled. "I'm sure it's delicious. Thank you."

He was too nice. He stayed that way, right up until he was walking out of the door, and he didn't have a bowing seizure. Progress that should have been made months ago.

Takasugi would have at least made her laugh at the cake. Asked if that was what her customer service standard was, or something like that. Shinpachi was too sweet. Kinu couldn't cling to him like she had Takasugi. She knew she had. That she wanted to, and he probably knew it as well.

Still, staring at the door of the shop, Kinu couldn't help but think she'd be awful for Shinpachi. The gauze stretched across her hand was proof enough. She was unhealthy. Not cut out for something or someone like that. She'd weigh them down; a life jacket carved out of lead. Even to Takasugi, what good was she?

Who was to say that she wouldn't ruin either of them the moment she didn't have the energy to be patient and kind? Kinu was no better than her father; how many times had she hit Takasugi? Why care about feeling wanted or welcomed? Nothing could last if she managed to start it. Despite what Gintoki had said to her, she thought Takasugi meant well, like Shinpachi. But she wasn't the kind of person that could fully appreciate it.

Even now, all she could do was pity not having somebody to latch onto. Probably wring dry like everything else in her life; hell, her mom was exhausted but she played it off well. Kinu was exhausted, too. Enough to know she'd been using Takasugi like a security net then entire time she'd been seeing him regularly. Wanting to hug him and touch him and slap a pretty sticker over her face to convince herself she was divinely cured of the ugly, person shaped hollow under her skin.

She had one more thing to do. Needed to mail her assignments to her school. Kinu had dressed for it, but hadn't worked up the nerve to actually go back. Her attendance was suffering, but it was either that or her; suffering through classes.

With a low sigh, Kinu grabbed her papers. She shoved them into an envelope and locked the shop. The walk wasn't far. Kinu only skimmed the people skittering from one place to another, but she was acutely aware of the plum clad man she passed on the way.

They didn't even make eye contact.