A/N: This is all caught up now! From here on, I'll be writing chapters and publishing as they come. Enjoy! :)

The silence that permeated the ship made no exception when it came to Kamui's bedroom. Unusually empty, the halls were echoing with nothing but an occasional cough that did nothing to dispel the tension. Something about the way Kamui had eyed her when they reached the ship told Ame that bashing her head into a brick wall would be more pleasant than the upcoming conversation. She started to veer off to the public bathroom and break their odd trio, but was snagged by the back of her shirt and dragged along behind Kamui. He didn't stop, nor did Abuto until they reached the room, where Kamui extended his hand towards Ame.

The man didn't smile. Didn't utter a sound, and Ame turned her head.
Beside her, Abuto crossed his arms; equally quiet.

Pursing her lips, Ame tried to hold out. Tried to turn her head and refuse, but Kamui's demand charged the room with an unusual air that she couldn't place. Moreover, the older Yato's watchful gaze did nothing to help.

With a heavy sigh, the woman gave. Reached into her pocket, drew out her gun and plopped it into Kamui's palm. She was in trouble. Again. And she hadn't even tried to skip out this time, not that she had before.

Kamui had been asking all day, and even as night settled over the world on the walk back he hadn't gotten an answer.
"Look at yourself," The moment he started, Abuto joined his side. Scowling at the floor, Ame prepared to endure another lashing; verbal, but still. Nagging. "You're just a Human! How many people were in there?!"

Gritting her teeth, the woman kept her vow of silence.
"What he's trying to say," Chiming in despite knowing that Kamui had enough to say for the both of them, Abuto stepped towards the woman. "is that you're still injured. You're not going to the hospital for check ups anymore, and getting into fights isn't doing you any favors. You're not up to it."

"Well I'm not dead, am I?" Kamui's expression grew sinister at the nonchalant rebuttal. "Pretty sure you wouldn't be nagging me if I was. I always expected torture and flames."

"Ame, what the hell was that?" His voice was low and even. Left no room for evasion. When she didn't make an effort to respond, Abuto shifted his weight.

"You might want to answer him, kid."

Kid. That was a stupid thing to call her. Had she ever heard Kamui swear before? She didn't think she had, and though it was the mildest form, it perked her ears and set her on edge. That did nothing to change her mind, but the sound of crunching metal drew Ame's gaze to her glock. In Kamui's hand, the gun twisted and contorted as if he had been handling a paper ball. It didn't go off, but if the trigger had been pulled she doubted that it could. The way the barrel caved in and folded into the handle probably rendered the gun useless. Most likely.
So much for returning it to Ryu.

Intimidation wouldn't work on her. She was in dire need of a shower and medical treatment. Preferably before her arm rot and fell off.
"My ex."
As if she had a right to be angered with Kamui, the woman passed him and barely avoided his shoulder on her way. He dropped the gun and it hit the carpet with a thud as he followed her with his gaze. There was a pause that should have been filled with more information. Ame was obligated to tell Kamui now; especially after what he'd seen. He'd been in the room from the beginning; filed in with the crowd and took a seat. Sure, Ame had been attacked, the fighting wasn't the issue. Everything that surrounded it was.

"Abuto," Turning to the man at his side, the younger Yato kept his eyes on the ever evasive woman as she kicked off her shoes. "go get the needle bag."

Waving short nod, the older man sighed. Sure, sure, the Human was hurt again.
"We're all involved in this now, Ame. You know that half the men are sick; don't let your pride get in the way." As he spoke, Ame turned to face Abuto. Her shoulders dropped and she met his eyes. "You should be well versed in the tactics. Cool your head and don't get so personal."
The men being sick was new to Kamui though he didn't ask. Not now. Though Ame had intended to avoid furthering their involvement, as the door closed behind Abuto, she couldn't deny that he was right. He left her with Kamui. The last person she wanted to explain herself to. But instead of pushing the topic further, when their eyes met, the man crossed the room to her side.

Without explanation or any heads-up, the man crashed into her with more force than anticipated, and if not for the hand at the small of her back, Ame would have lost her balance. She was trapped in a kiss that she had no way to predict, and before she knew it her shirt was being dragged up to her chest. Kamui's tongue took the opportunity of her surprise and invaded her mouth and she was pulled in every possible direction with nowhere to actually go.

Taking hold of his sleeves, Ame tried to stabilize herself, but the man was wearing away at her belt and pants with no restraint. When the belt proved an impossible task, he yanked it away and the band snapped from Ame's body, but before she could follow it, the ripped leather was tossed across the room and his palm was back at her hip and condemning her pants to the same fate.

"Kamui-" With great effort, Ame managed to turn away. Her refusal was taken as a challenge. Resulted in her being further pulled into the man and helpless against his apparently devious motives. If he pulled at her any harder she'd be crushed. Turning away from the mouth at her ear, Ame cringed. "Kamui I'm- I'm still hurt!"

Pulling back, the Yato peered down at Ame. He hadn't released her, but his look said it all. Humans. Obvious dismay hung around the man as he stepped back and quickly released Ame's sides as if she was a live grenade.

Kamui hadn't even thought about that. Now she'd take longer to heal. Ame avoided his gaze as she smoothed her shirt down and felt at her jaw. Last she saw, and from the way she felt, she still looked like a catastrophe on legs. How could he possibly want to do anything at a time like that?!

He took hold of her arm and held it up for examination. Murmured that the the blade went through clean.

"Blocking knives with your arms isn't smart for Humans..." His eyes trailed down her forearm and to her hand, where he turned it over and took in the sight of her sliced palm. "Neither is this... She almost slit your throat."

"I was careless." Resignation had taken the woman the moment Abuto left the room. It was far more dangerous to not tell them about Iori. Especially if the woman sprang a surprise attack or tried to flank them when they were out. Her chin was turned up by two firm fingers, which trailed down to the strap of her tank top and pulled at it; hardly hanging by a thread and doing nothing to conceal the snapped band of her bra.

"Is this why women shop so much?"
Though Kamui's question was deathly serious, Ame couldn't help but release a breath of a laugh. Her brows turned up in what appeared to be worry when he didn't smile back, and she grasped the hand on her shirt in both of hers.

"No." Nearly laughing, she shook her head. "I hope not."
"Why were you with Gintoki today?"
"Gintoki?"
"At that store, and... He walked you to that bar, are you working for him? What were you doing?"
Was this... more jealousy? Ame thought Kamui had gotten over that on the last planet, but apparently she was mistaken. She pressed his hand to her mouth and grazed his fingers with her lips.
"I hired him to help me... If I couldn't do it."
"Do what?"

At that, Ame threw every sense of privacy to the wind. She told him everything. About the kid, and Iori using Gintoki as a mule to deliver notes to her. She spilled everything she could think to tell him about the woman from the dirty details of their relationship to the end of it. Iori poisoning her last boyfriend when she left. How Iori had gotten her and the rest of their group out of the field by working her end; filing false paperwork and getting all of them steady income. That didn't invalidate any of their experiences or injuries, but after a few years of the same shit, they'd all gotten pretty tired of it. Being older and wiser, Iori had been able to pull some strings that Ame didn't care to recount and got them all off scot-free; where they were keen on assembling their own private militia. It grew in numbers and they needed more order.

Developed the tattoos to keep rank and let Iori, the mastermind behind it all, assume position on her throne of corpses with Ame wrapped around her leg like good dog that she was.

By the time that Ame had reached the middle of her story, Kamui had dragged her into the bathroom and thrown her in the shower. Patiently waited outside to hear everything she would offer. He didn't ask any questions. Just let her talk and wrapped her in a towel when she was out, and the thought that he was being too kind to her crossed Ame's mind. He always was even tempered. Nothing ever got to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought I could take care of it." At the end of her story, Ame murmured the words to Kamui as she poked at the bruises on her face. "You want to be the strongest, right? What good would I be if I couldn't hold my own?" One day and she'd been decked across the jaw too many times to count, slammed into a counter, and who even knew what else? She looked like shit. "Those bastards always go for the face..." Dabbing at her eyebrow, the woman sighed again.

"You probably can." Seemingly random, Kamui popped up behind the woman and turned her around. He lifted her chin again, and his thumb pressed into a split in her lower lip. "Handle it yourself. But you don't have to. Humans are fragile." Kamui would have shrugged it all off if Ame hadn't been so hesitant to tell him. If she hadn't said that it reminded her of her brother, he really would have dismissed it and wouldn't be discussing it. But if she was going to far as to wage wars on the group she'd told him about, he could help her. Just a little.

He didn't appreciate people ganging up and injuring his human while she was supposed to be healing. All the new wounds would take even longer, and she was already slow enough as it was. Slipping by the man, Ame made her way back into the room. The first aid kit had been conveniently placed on the dresser near the door and she helped herself to it as Kamui plopped onto the bed.

"But he's not your brother, right?" His only question earned a click of Ame's teeth and shake of her head. "Aren't there better things to do? Why are you getting mixed up in all this Human stuff?"

"Because I'm human." Snapping back at Kamui, the woman released a breath of annoyance. Human this and Human that, what did he not have any emotions?! Couldn't he understand? He had a younger sibling; he had to know how it hit her, yet he remained expressionless.
"Why don't we just get rid of the kid and move on?"

At a loss for words, Ame stared the man. What the ever loving fuck? Was he serious? He must have seen her face, because he added onto what he had said.

"You don't want him to suffer, right? He can't if he's dead. That's easier than taking him to some guy that might not even want him. What if he doesn't?"

"Then I'll take him." Kamui didn't care about the kid. That was clear. Her muttered response earned an overly curious stare that showed her how little Kamui understood.

"You? Where would we put him?"

She internally kicked herself for telling him anything. Of course he wouldn't understand. Had he ever worked as a team in life or death situations? Not as an indestructible killing machine, but as one of the fragile Humans he continuously mocked. She doubted that he ever had to depend on anybody else to ensure that he made it out alive.

"There's no we in this. If he has no where else to go, I'll stay on earth with him."

A moment was spent processing Ame's words. Kamui watched her back as she wrapped her hand and didn't offer another word. She had to know that pissed him off. So some kid just came out of nowhere and she was threatening to stay with it on earth?! He'd kill that kid before he let that happen. Apparently, Human children were the worst.

"We can get him." In that one sentence, the corners of Kamui's eyes drew in and his mouth tugged upward. "But I don't like secrets."
Ame turned back to him, frowning. She moved to his side and placed the gauze on his nightstand before sitting and placing a hand over his forehead.

"How are you feeling? You looked tired today; are you alright?"
Smiling up at the woman, Kamui nodded as his fringe was brushed from his face.
"I'm fine."

He always said that. Raising a brow to the man, Ame realized that her question was pointless. He wouldn't tell her if he wasn't. The man's eyes closed as she raked another lock of hair from his face and her fingertips traced the rim of his ear. If some kid thought that it would take this from Kamui it was mistaken. He could grow up to be strong. Maybe. But if he was going to get in Kamui's way...
Ame's hand retreated and she took hold of her gauze to finish wrapping herself. Left him to contemplate his course of action.

He released a breath that was far too deep to be relief, but then he did something that made her hair stand.
He coughed.
Ame turned to the man as he casually cleared his throat and slid under the covers. Tucked his arms under his pillow and stretched out on his stomach. As if he didn't know that it was an alarming display.

Then again, did he? Had he been informed about the cold passing around on the ship? Abuto had been dodging men left and right to avoid it, but Kamui had been sleeping most of the time. Directly under an air vent; a cesspool of germs. Staring at the metal grating over the bed, Ame dropped the medical wrap in her hands.