A/N: Thank you for the review, Kira Kirya! I really appreciate it! I actually already have the final chapters of this story written out, though it includes a sort of lengthy time skip to be at the end of Gintama, and sort of blend seamlessly. It's really just a metter of writing to that point. Lately I've been writing another story, so my attention has been divided, since what I'm writing in this story was a little detail finicky and demanding for me. But I have a lot more of this story completed, and plan to get all the way to the end (because I loooove Takasugi, hahaha). Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

"It's completely burnt. Can't you do anything right?"

Kinu glared down at the chicken cutlet on her plate. Matako was right. In the end, she really didn't have much of a choice. Wasting food was out of the question.

"It's delicious." The one eyed man ignored the four pairs of eyes that set on him. Especially Kinu's fed up glare. Smirking to himself, he lifted a piece of meat to his mouth and bit into it.

Liar. Kinu wasn't falling for that nice act for a second, he didn't like it either. It was entirely his fault. As long as she was stuck on the ship, she was going to figure out exactly where she stood with Takasugi. Starting after dinner.

Kinu had the sneaking suspicion that he was keeping her around for the only two things she could offer him. Sex and a convenient mechanic. She'd seen the mocking sneer he'd taken when she'd mentioned her future plans with the picket fence and the family. He didn't think she could do it.

She'd show him. In a few years, she was gonna rub his face in it.

"Anything made with a maiden's pure heart is delicious." Takechi followed Takasugi's example, and turned to fix her blank stare on him. She didn't like it. He was wearing the same outfit as Takasugi again, and nobody had said anything. His megaphone, which he was using indoors for some reason, perfectly mimicked Takasugi's voice. This place wasn't normal.

Still, everybody ate without much more complaint. Only one side of the chicken was burnt. Matako picked that side clean, but the men managed to stomach it. Whether it was out of kindness to her, or because men were prehistoric mongrels was beyond Kinu, but she decided to go with the first.

Her plan started after their meal. She was cleaning up the kitchen when Takasugi carried the plates to the sink. Had pulled her shorts back to their natural position, and was prepared to strike the moment an opportunity presented itself. He was at the sink, starting to rinse a plate clean, and she conveniently dropped a dirty spoon on the ground. Picking the spoon up was fine. Kinu quickly placed it in the sink, but when she grabbed a napkin and got on all fours, she knew she had him.

Turned back to find him openly staring. If he grabbed her it was definitely only sex. If he kept staring it was only sex, and he wasn't interested in Kinu as an individual at all, only the services she could provide.

He wasn't shy about it in the slightest. Just stood there, plate in hand, completely forgetting about the running water. Ignoring the man, Kinu continued to wipe the hardwood. Even when it was fully clean, as if there were spectral remnants of the sauce left behind.

That was it. He'd be flustered and completely unable to keep his hands off her now, like some kind of rabid bastard animal. If she knew anything, he'd grab her any second now, and she could reprimand him. Call him a pervert and be angry that he'd take advantage of her vulnerable position. The man moved towards her, and Kinu's pulse surged. Here it came. He was going to out himself as a scoundrel.

She braced herself, but when he was close enough, his shin swept into the back of her leg, and side, as though she wasn't there at all. Kinu was knocked off balance. Forced to sit as he scraped the contents of a plate into the garbage. Not a sex starved lunatic, but definitely a scoundrel.

Glaring at his back, Kinu sat up.

How cold! He didn't want her at all! He'd only said the shorts thing because other men were around! It wasn't working. Maybe she was just a mechanic, and not even good enough to be a sex object to him! For some reason that was worse.

Kinu needed to reevaluate her approach. Her room was already set up, and Takasugi would never find her if he tried. Even Kawakami had thought it was hilarious when she showed him all of the space left behind the old control panel; it was a room in itself. Completely hidden, and warmer than the rest of the ship. Kinu could fit back there, and it was impossible to see if you didn't know what you were looking for. So it was hers.

Matako had given her a futon, and extra sheets, and if she needed anything else, she could squirrel things into her hidey-hole later.

After a careful shower, Takasugi returned to his room, only to find Kinu stretched across his bed in her dastardly shorts. She was thumbing through a novel, but the moment he entered, she turned. From her stomach to her side. The side that conveniently presented her ass to him.

What was going on? Kinu was usually a bit absent minded, but this seemed intentional! Were her shorts higher? Enough to inhibit brain function?

Trying not to look, the man placed his clothes in the hamper in his closet. When he turned back, Kinu was licking her finger. Turned the page. Of course she'd come back. She couldn't resist his charms. Couldn't sleep without him. That's what it was. She was trying to weasel her way back into his bed without saying so. He'd pretend to kick her out. Just to get his tiny piece of revenge. She deserved it.

"I thought you weren't sleeping here tonight." He said, and Kinu kept her back to him. Bit down on her thumb.

"I'm not."

Then why the hell was she there?!

"I came to get my pillow…" The girl murmured, bending her knee to further angle herself into the pillow in question. Either that, or to flash her gray underwear at him. Hadn't he told her those shorts were too short?! Did he need to wrap her in a yukata?! Western clothes were the devil. He'd do it. Wrap her in one of his robes, but then her chest would be falling out all night. There was no winning.

He needed to focus. Make a solid plan on getting Amagi alone. He couldn't entertain Kinu tonight; he'd probably be up talking with Takechi until morning.

"I really like how this book started. An action scene from the beginning is daring. And stealing organs, I thought he'd wake up the entire time… Who knew that an entire kidney could be removed without so much as a sigh?"

He needed to get away from her.

"I'd steal kidneys if I had that much energy. They probably sell for a lot, too. Ne, Shinsuke, do you like your kidneys?" Kinu turned back to him, and he swallowed his thoughts.

"They do the job. A virgin liver though, that'd probably be high on the market."

His hand was already sliding under the pink fabric. Exposing what little skin he could. He'd accept this dessert offering from the gods with the utmost grace. Maybe tie her wrists to her ankles to keep her legs open this time.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Kinu shifted under his palm. Acted as though she was readjusting before turning the page.

"Looking." He said, but she turned back.

"Groping. You were groping." She didn't even look back at him. Instead, the girl leaned her head into her folded arm and slid her knee further up the covers.

That wasn't subtle at all! She was trying to make him look! She'd made his bed. Like he wasn't going to mess it up again the moment he laid down.

When he hooked an arm under her stomach, Kinu tried to wiggle away. Instead, she was pulled upright and set between Takasugi's legs. Her back was flat against his chest and though she pushed against his knees, his grasp was firm.

"What exactly are you trying to do here?"

The enemy had gotten her! She had to play it cool! Takasugi wouldn't let it go if he knew she was conducting a product assessment in the field!

"N- nothing. I was just reading…" Biting her lower lip, Kinu tried to suppress the guilty expression she knew was coming. She'd already gotten her answer. More data wasn't necessary, he'd grabbed her without talking to her about anything meaningful. It had been entirely sexual.

The arm across her waist dipped lower, and the fabric of her tanktop scratched up her stomach as the man made a skeptical sound behind her.

"Are you sure about that? Because it doesn't look that way."

"I was. And you're interrupting me." Kinu lifted the book. As she scanned the pages for the line she'd stopped on, Takasugi grinned into her shoulder.

"Go ahead, then. Continue."

That sounded ominous. Why was his hand between her thighs?

"O- okay…" Trying to ignore the sensation of her hair being scooped across her shoulders, Kinu found the line. She read it. Didn't process a word it said, because a pair of teeth met the nape of her neck. Instead, she went stiff as the bite progressed to her shoulder.

"I can't hear you." He expected her to read out loud?!

"I don't have my glasses."

"Glasses? You really are a nerd."

It was an awful excuse, and she knew it. He'd seen her reading without them before. Knew her eyesight wasn't that bad. Pursing her lips, Kinu turned her head. She couldn't just run, right? They couldn't go all the way. She'd take control. Say it was a break and she was going back to the engine room.

He couldn't stop her, because she was dedicated, and that was enough.

"Uh… They laid him in the bathtub, watching for a reaction as he sank into the ice…" The hand on Kinu's thigh moved to her waistband, and she tensed as the waistband of her shorts was tugged. "His head drooped backwards, but he didn't stir- ahn-" Really?! Ahn?! That's what she said?! Takasugi's fingers stayed where they were. Didn't move again, but Kinu lowered her head and peered across the room. This was bad. He was going to turn the game on her. Put her in her place himself.

He wouldn't even tell her that it was only sex, just expected it to be known. Was he ever selflessly gentle with her? Candid? Why did she ever expect any genuine intimacy from him in the first place? Kinu should have known she wouldn't get anything like that from him.

"And then?" He goaded, and she tried to shake her unease and compose herself.

"Th- They took the scalpel, and a readily awaiting... plastic bottle... of alcohol..." The moment Kinu started speaking, his tongue was on her neck, and the hand under her shirt cupped her chest. Instead of passing her waistband, his fingers pressed into her side and dragged across her stomach.

Instead of letting her double over, Takasugi wrapped an arm across her shoulder and pulled her back. Bit down on her neck as his fingers slipped below her waist, and Kinu nearly dropped the book entirely.

"Sh- Shinsuke-"

"I don't think that's in the book. Nor was that sound you made. What was it, ahn? What do you think you're doing, making that adorable kind of sound at me? Do you know what cute things make me wanna do to them?"

Kinu was cute? Did he really think she was cute, because she'd just filed her nails the night before and put the clear nail polish on them, and was wondering if he'd noticed.

Just as she started to ask, her mind snapped back to reality. It was a lie! He was good at those! He knew exactly what to say to her! Why was he so tempting? Kinu was trying to make a point. Didn't want to lose sight of the truth but he was intentionally making her uncomfortable. Her face was burning. They both knew she wasn't cute. He was bullying her.

"Shinsuke," Pushing against his wrist, the girl turned back. "I don't think I want to do this anymore."

He met her gaze. Didn't say anything, but held a certain look she'd never seen on him before. As if he was profoundly disturbed, or surprised. Kinu's heart started to beat so strongly that it was in her back. Anxiety or not, that was a first.

"You said it yourself… Friends don't sleep together... Don't you think this is damaging?"

"What's a little more damage gonna do?" He didn't miss a beat, but neither did Kinu.

"I think I want to do this with somebody that actually loves me. That I love back. Without compensation."

"You know I can't give you that." He didn't move. Of course. Exactly as she thought. He didn't have the capacity for it, and she'd been leading herself on. Kinu waited for what felt like forever for the man to speak again, and when he did, his hands returned full force; groping, and leaving no room for her to resist.

"Love isn't free." Head back against his shoulder, Kinu tried not to make a sound again. Gasped as she pressed herself into his chest, and his fingers dipped back between her legs and ground into her. "That kind of love doesn't exist anywhere in this world. But if that's what you want, I'll spit out however many lines you'd like..."

She was positive that wasn't what she wanted. It was the exact opposite of what she wanted. Role playing.

"That's enough for you, isn't it?" Why couldn't she have him? Chin over her shoulder, Takasugi slid his hand under her bra. Spoke into her neck, as his hands came to a halt again and granted a second to regain her wits. "You're hardly capable of it either. Even if you did find someone that could…"

Staring at the ceiling, Kinu felt something she had no name for, despite its familiarity. Her brow scrunched together, and she told herself she'd already known, so she couldn't be upset. There hadn't been a doubt in her mind when they started, but as time went on she'd wanted to believe there was more to it. Especially after he went out of his way to ruin the first time she'd ever been asked out; even if it was a group event.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." She murmured, pressing her shoulder back into his, and pushing herself upright. She spoke though a smile that he regarded with his usual cool disposition. As though nothing had happened. Because for him, it hadn't, and she knew that now.

Kinu took her pillow, and met no resistance when she stood. She didn't take the book. Didn't really care what it had to say anymore. She could go back to normal.

Takasugi struck a match as she pulled the door open, and brought the flame to his pipe. Didn't care that she wasn't staying. It was probably easier for him; not having to maintain the charade of closeness.

It was fine. She wasn't bothered by it. Kinu would act like nothing had happened, and then when things started to fall into place in her life, she'd switch over to that. Pretend none of this terrorist business existed.

Late into the night, Takasugi sat in Takechi's room with Kawakami and the man himself. Seven different approaches had already been scribbled through, and Takechi started to write another line under the rejected ideas.

"It's more likely that he knows about the raid. Getting him alone will be nearly impossible if that's the case." He spoke softly, as though an invisible force was circling the room for their secrets. "It may be safest to continue as though the deal is still on. The easiest way would be to offer him who he wants, and draw him out with that. But I suppose that's not an option."

"Not if she's there, but I'm not opposed to him thinking she is." The one eyed man murmured back, and Takechi nodded slowly. "Then maybe we could use another woman."

"Why can't we just say she's in a car, or on the ship?" Kawakami asked, and Takechi peered at him.

"He won't drop his guard unless he sees her. If there isn't a woman there, he'll be suspicious, especially after what he's done. We have a reputation, and he's witnessed our reactions first hand." A small diagram was drawn, and Takechi circled a point on his newly formed map, and tapped the pen against it.

"If we position her here, while the group is over here, it won't be obvious. And she'd be out of the way once the fight starts. His main defense will be his assistant, Ishii-san." Hadn't Takasugi heard that name somewhere else? "Shinsuke-dono, if you can get past Ishii-san, and to Amagi-san, we have a fair chance of beating him at a quick draw. So somebody will have to draw Ishii-san's attention away, and make him think the threat is coming from here, away from the woman, and we should keep extra men back here, because he always has a security detail nearby."

The points on the map were starting to form a coherent picture. From the specs, Takasugi assumed it needed to be done outside of the city. In the countryside. He could think of a few places. That meant he'd have to drop Kinu off somewhere she wouldn't be obvious. Maybe he could get her to go to the Yorozuya. Use Gintoki somehow.

But what would make her run away from home?

He could take Riku out. Pump him full of liquor. But that wasn't controlled in the slightest, and he suspected it'd incur more damages than he was willing to risk. Ai was more stable and could probably think of a reason to push Kinu out of the house, but he didn't want to explain everything to her. If Gintoki thought she was in danger, he'd stick to her like a wad of gum under a table. How could he get Gintoki involved?

"I'll get some more water, want anything?" Standing, Takasugi opened the door.

"Ah, maybe the leftovers from dinner. And those riceballs." Kawakami spoke up, and the one eyed man nodded as he pushed another fingerful of tobacco into his pipe. He started down the hallway, and the sound of voices caught his attention.

"A double date?" That was Kinu. "Let's go to the french restaurant."

"No, I want to go to the mall first. Then we can do the real date." Matako. "What's wrong with him, anyway? He's scary. Mine is cuter and funny."

"My boyfriend is the best. He said he'd leave the Yakuza if I wanted. He wants to take me to the Eiffel tower…"

Freezing in his tracks, Takasugi hugged the wall of the hallway. What were they talking about? Since when had Kinu gotten a boyfriend? That wimp at the Yorozuya definitely didn't have Paris money. He didn't even have his own ship. Was that why she'd walked out? Kinu had been avoiding telling him she was seeing somebody now, and wanted to call everything off?

That explained everything.

The separate rooms. The slapping, and trying to break up with him again. She was living a double life. He'd uncovered secrets, and Matako knew but hadn't even told him! Eye wide, Takasugi inched towards the mouth of the hallway.

"Have you already talked about kids?" Matako asked, and Kinu snickered.

"No way. We're waiting until we get him out safely. He's pretty crazy, and really tough, so I think it'll be okay. Nobody could kill him. He's too strong."

Takasugi could kill him. He would. Strangle him with his bare hands.

"Oh please, mine could. He's the best, and he doesn't need to flaunt his crazy; he knows when to use it. Cutting eyes out at a festival is unacceptable! Even if he licks ice cream off you! I don't care how sexy he is, have you seen these green eyes?!"

Matako was defending Takasugi with her life. He really owed her one. She must have had a picture. Was showing Kinu how amazing his eyes were. Clearly she'd forgotten! Kinu had let some guy lick ice cream off her?! He was going to have an aneurysm. Hadn't he told her she wasn't going to that festival?!

"Sure." Kinu murmured. Not fully appreciating Takasugi's rugged charm. "You said the mall, right?" Matako hummed an affirmation and Kinu echoed it. "That's fine, let's go. I wanted to buy one of those matching knife sets. Like a couple thing? You know what I mean? I bet he'd like those, and we can use them to break him out."

She couldn't be serious. Here he was, trying to keep her out of harm's way, and she was rushing into a gang house to break out her delinquent boyfriend!? Had she slept with him?! Lured him in with her books and her vaguely threatening sexy talk?! He wanted matching knives! Why the hell hadn't she bought matching knives for them!?

"Ah, it says Satoshi-kun is sleeping… Let's try again in five minutes… I don't want to piss him off, or he might kill me. People say he does that. Or locks you in a dog cage."

Was he abusing her?! What was she getting herself into?! Following her mother's footsteps?! Who the fuck was Satoshi!?

"Have you already had your anniversary?" Matako asked, and Takasugi peeked around the corner. Kinu's chin was propped on her palm. They were both looking down at their phones.

"No. I started maybe… Oh, on that first night I came on the ship. When Shinsuke kidnapped me."

Nodding, Matako sighed.

"I guess that was kind of a kidnapping, wasn't it?"

Whose side was she on?! Matako reached into a bag in the center of the table. Pulled out a white gummy bear and popped it into her mouth. Were those his? Kinu was giving away his gummy bears now?! She hadn't even given him more. She'd secretly made them in the dead of night and was keeping them from him?!

He was going to strangle her and her little boyfriend. Dump him in the canal, and bury her separately, to really get his point across. It had only been a few weeks, that guy was using her to break himself out of the gang. He'd seen it before. Use a decoy, and get them killed while you escape. It was child's play. She'd met a gang member on the street, and he'd sucked her right in. Planted that ridiculous idea of love in her head, that's why she'd said that to him.

Kinu thought he loved her, and was willing to try to break into a Yakuza family house with only a knife to get him out.

Positively seething, he stormed into the room, and the women glanced at him. Takasugi snatched the waters from the counter. Yanked a tray of leftovers from the refrigerator before kicking it shut behind himself. Matako frowned up at him as he stopped beside the table. Glowered down at the ghost in front of her.

She kept her eyes on her phone. Kinu didn't even acknowledge his presence. She was that into the guy.

Snatching the clear bag of bears from the table, Takasugi turned on his heel. They were his. She'd made them for him and he was taking them. Matako's mouth dropped, and Kinu disinterestedly glanced up at him.

"Jerk."

Ignoring her, Takasugi set his course back on Takechi's room.

He'd find and kill that guy. Satoshi. It was a decently common name, but he could do it. Especially if he was doing stupid things like attacking people at public festivals, and doing lewd things with Takasugi's girlfriend.

That pen boy couldn't be in the Yakuza. His name wasn't Satoshi. Takasugi was pretty sure it was Shinpachi. But maybe that was his gang name. He'd been hiding in plain sight this entire time.

As Takasugi kicked Takechi's door open, his mind raced. The men looked up at him, and he set their refreshments on the table. Didn't want to talk about it. Next time he got his hands on her he'd give her something she'd never forget. Prove he was better than her lowlife boyfriend.

"Shinsuke, there's a chance he'll check behind us to make sure we've brought Kinu-chan. We should look for a woman that's her stature, and remove her from the tea shop when we do this." Kawakami pulled the plastic from the leftovers and uncovered the food. Took a rice ball.

Grunting an affirmative tone, the one eyed man crossed his arms.