When all was said and done, they laid on the floor murmuring between themselves. Kamui had broached the topic of Ame's whereabouts and secretive dealings, and a heavy breath hit her again. The woman had rolled over beside him and was staring at the ceiling. Neither had bothered with clothes and for the longest time, Kamui wondered if Ame would entertain the subject. In her mind she was running through memories.

There was a reason Iori wanted her back. A flash of her gun to a man's forehead took her. He had no chance of escape; being trapped by her grasp on his collar. Another under her boot, or an arms length away. Slit throats... Every time, blood had rained over her like the fountain of a mystic land. Watered the seeds that degraded her morality and sent her further into chaos. Nothing but a dog for Iori to provoke and fuck as she pleased.

Ame had left earth to escape the woman, and here she was. Back where she started. It wasn't fair that she'd be able to wash away the blood and assume normalcy. How could she, of all people, deserve to do so?

"It's a wonder that I can even do something like this."
"Huh?" Peering at the woman, Kamui leaned up onto his elbow. Ame didn't move. Kept her arms folded behind her head and her legs crossed; feet rooted in the carpet.

"Blood shouldn't wash off. I should be covered in it. This is just my past coming back to kick my ass." Innocent people. She'd slaughtered them without a second thought and grew a conscious later when she couldn't do a thing to change it.

"What do you mean?" Kamui sounded more lost than he should have. As if her memories weren't flooding his head, or as if he hadn't seen her hallucinating on the bathroom floor saying things that Ame didn't want to know. She could only imagine. If he hadn't pieced her nightmares together by now, she didn't know what to tell him.

"Good decisions were never really my thing..." She sighed and leaned up to mirror his stance. Took to toying with his ginger braid and undoing the end. She'd always liked his hair. He never did anything special to it, but it was soft and shined like a gem. "I'm not going to lie, there are some things I need to do... Loose ends to tie, debts to settle... But it's nothing I can't handle. So I want you to stay out of it."

If that wasn't a clear warning, she didn't know what would be. She didn't want him to see her like that. She wanted to stay the woman that he saw her as, and not regress to her old life. He couldn't see her like that and treat her differently, or she would die on the inside. Kamui was still watching her. Processing the words and for some reason a hint of a frown took him. He almost pouted, but Ame wouldn't be swayed. Not this time. He needed to stay as far away from what she was doing as he could; Iori's tricks were dirty and Ame wouldn't risk it.

Before the man could ask, she pushed herself from the floor.
"Taking a shower."
"I'll join you." Without missing a beat, the Yato man followed suit.
If Ame was hiding something from him, he was going to find it. She couldn't have all of the fun.

Gintoki had brought something for Ame before. When Kagura had come to visit, the Yorozuya had been outside waiting for Ame. That was Kamui's best bet. If she wouldn't tell him, he would find out for himself.

Later in the day, Ame was in the dining hall. Kamui found her alone at his usual table and scribbling something on an open sheet of paper. When he approached her, the woman broke away from the desk and folded the note. Didn't take any chances.

At the sight of his smile, the woman didn't crack a single expression. If anything she eyed him with enough suspicion to let him know that he wasn't welcome.

"Ame, what are you doing?"
"I should be asking you the same thing." Tucking the letter into her pocket, the woman crossed her arms. Kamui's grin didn't waver. Instead, he walked to her side and beamed down at the woman.
"Are you going out?"

"What's with all the questions?" Briskly pushing past the man, Ame started to leave the room. The man was steps behind her, laxly pushing the subject further in spite of what she had already told him and her attempted escape. They exited the dining hall, traversed the hallway and made it all the way to the hatch before she clicked her pen open and hurled it behind herself; point aimed at Kamui.

To Ame's dismay, the man snatched the pen from the air and crumbled it in his hand as though it was a brittle leaf. The plastic snapped and sprang away, and he dropped the ink tube, not caring that his hand had been stained black. Still smiling.

Wide eyed, the woman took a step back.

He didn't have his parasol. He couldn't come with her. And if Ame didn't know any better, she would think the man was growing more irritated by the second, thought the grin was still in full effect.

Another step backwards was taken, and sunlight poured over her shoulders and back; warming her down to her bones.
"It's Wednesday, that's against the rules." Beaming the words, the man started towards Ame again, and she narrowed her eyes at him. He was going to try to force his company on her. He wanted to know where she was going and was suspicious of her activities. But she couldn't tell him.

The sight of Abuto walking up behind the man and placing a hand on his shoulder sent a wave of relief through Ame.
"Should you be out of bed? Ryu said it would take a full week."
The distraction was enough for her to slip out of sight and around the ship to the dock. Waves slapped the piers and salt spray hung in the air and sprinkled over Ame with the warning of dampness.

"The medicine needs sunlight, doesn't it?" Ame was well down the dock and to land by the time Kamui looked back. "You let her get away..." Pointing to the woman, Kamui sighed. He didn't like this. Abuto frowned down at him and walked to the edge of the hatch near the open air. If Kamui wasn't coughing, there was a good chance that it had been a false alarm. He looked fine now.

"Hm? What's she doing?"
"I don't know, it's a secret." Nearly humming the words, Kamui kept a curious eye on the woman as she turned back and seemed to meet his gaze. Now on land, the woman offered a clear offensive gesture. Prominently displayed her middle finger to mark her circumstantial victory and further annoy Kamui. But he couldn't help breathing a laugh to himself as Abuto chuckled.

"This is her world, Kamui. We're not one of them. If she needs to settle something with those pirates we should let her."
"Pirates? We're the pirates." Full attention on Abuto, Kamui stepped into the light beside the man. Though he didn't have his parasol, Abuto made no attempt to stop him. A few minutes wouldn't hurt.
"I recognized that Human the other day. Military drop out, with a rouge pirate fleet. If she's dealing with them we shouldn't get involved."
A breeze picked up and sent a fine mist of sea spray over them; carrying their hair for a brief moment before dying down. Ame was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"But she's involved."
"I should have known. I recognized that tattoo on her." Turning back towards the ship, Abuto started back inside and waved the subject away. Kamui's intrigue was too heavy to be brushed off by the motion. He started behind the older Yato, frowning. How would Abuto have seen Ame's Tattoo?
"The words on her chest?"

Glancing back over his shoulder, Abuto shook his head.

"Behind her ear, dumb ass. Don't you pay attention to anything?"

Pausing to rack his brain for any memory of something behind Ame's ear, Kamui squinted at the metal beams over him. He didn't remember anything like that.
"What does it mean?" Kamui's question brought a pause to the conversation. The older Yato finally stopped walking and frowned back at him. Finally, after much consideration, Abuto shook his head and sighed. Shrugged, with his palms upward as though he didn't have all the answers, yet he still offered one.

"That she's a guard dog for the hot shots. You should drop it and let her do what she needs." He left it at that. Walked away while Kamui processed the words. If Abuto was right, he wanted to know more.

"But why wouldn't she tell me?" Calling after the man, Kamui remained in place. He was going to get his parasol and go out.
"Because she's not as much of an idiot as you are." Nonchalantly waving over his shoulder, Abuto rounded a corner.

Kamui doubted that.

She had to be more of an idiot to make him piece together what was happening for himself. After grabbing his parasol, the man made easy work of immersing himself in the crowd beyond the dock. Ame was far gone, but he figured she wouldn't be hard to track. If she hadn't gone to the hospital, and he suspected that she wouldn't, the Yorozuya was a good guess.