A/N: It was brought to my attention that I hadn't listed any characters in the story details/summary (Cause I'm a dope, hehehe), so that error has been corrected. Thank you for pointing it out and for the review!

The next evening, Kamui opted not to disturb Ame as she was at the window. He'd walked by a few times and she hadn't moved a single muscle. Didn't even seem to know he was there. Still bruised and wrapped up, as he expected. That would probably take an entire year; knowing humans. The halls were still mostly empty, and in the distance, Kamui could hear coughing. Probably that dreaded cold Abuto hadn't intended to tell him about. It wasn't until he was approaching the dining hall that the ash blond man snagged his attention. Mild intrigue hung on Abuto's features as he extended a slip of paper towards Kamui.

"It's from that woman." Raising his jaw, Kamui accepted the note. The woman? The one from the bar, Iori? As he started to shred the exterior, Abuto motioned towards the hatch. "She walked right up to the door and handed it to us."

"Us?"

"Ryu was smoking." The pointless information bounced off Kamui's ear drums and he stared at the oddly sloppy writing. With the way the woman looked and acted, he expected elegant loops, or something to that effect. Cute wispy characters, or feminine brush strokes. Instead, he was confronted with chicken scrawl.

The ship yard near the docks in an hour.

That was all it said. No information, no apologies or introductions. Just a location.

"This wasn't for Ame?" Still watching the paper as if the characters would rearrange into a secret code, Kamui murmured to Abuto as the older man rounded the paper to his side and read it as well.

"She said not to let Ame know. Called you the gingersnap fuck." Sniggering into his fist, Abuto didn't stop when Kamui curiously peered up at him.

Well, he couldn't exactly refuse; they didn't know where to find her. Maybe she would set up a fighting obstacle for Kamui as well.

"Alright." His voice was still low as he crumbled the paper and tossed it behind himself. He'd have to find that shipyard, so he figured that he should leave now. Coughing into his fist, the man ignored Abuto's minor retreat and started towards the exit.

"You're going? You should be in bed; sleeping. You're still sick and we all know it."

A sideways glance was cast over Kamui's shoulder as he shrugged.

"I'm still just as capable as-" Thinking back to his minor mishaps with Ame, the man's mouth curved into a grin and his eyes sparked. "no, I'm perfectly capable of killing a few humans."

The sinister smile did nothing to intimidate Abuto. At most, he received an eye roll, but at the worst time possible, another person made an appearance. She was right in front of him, and regarded the man will dull intrigue. Probably saw his expression. Ame stopped in front of the man and frowned. Had seen that look too many times to count; one of a predator stalking it's prey and taking every ounce of satisfaction possible from the hunt.

"There you are. Let's eat, I'm starving."

For once, Kamui was taken aback by the woman. Since when did she start realizing that she was hungry? Half the time he had to remind her to eat something after hearing her stomach or realizing that she'd been doing everything but stopping for meals.

"Later. I don't have time to eat right now."

Nearly recoiling at the statement, Ame fumbled to keep her mind straight. Since when didn't Kamui have time to eat?

"But you really want to eat."

"No, not right now."

Turning to Abuto for help, Ame found the man unresponsive. Not even looking at her. She switched back to Kamui, speaking as carefully as possible.

"But... It would be best if you just had a-"

"I'll be back later." Grinning the words at the woman, Kamui started down the hall. Disappointment welled in Ame's throat and tinged her voice as she frowned at the man's back.

"But... It's Thursday." That did nothing to stop him. Instead, the man insisted that she wait. Turned down a perfectly good trap. Ame watched him walk away, frowning to herself all the while.

A cough behind her did nothing to steal her attention, but when the dining hall door was open, a snap sounded. The man entering had no clue what was waiting for him. He continued forth, only to be impaled with a loud squelch. Abuto stood, wide eyed and arms crossed as Ryu turned to glare at Ame; an sword protruding from his back.

Half an hour later, Kamui was in a place that he assumed to be right. Oversized shipping containers where stacked with three to a wall and the dock was in sight; all valid articles for a ship yard. When he arrived, the first thing he saw was bright red paint on the ground, leading him in arrows to the proper spot. He trailed them and ended up at a human sized circle spray painted with the words "stand here".

Stepping into the circle, Kamui glanced around. He couldn't hear any other people. He looked up and found a large blue container suspended over him on a crane. No people there, either. Just as the man started to grow bored, a figure emerged from the shadows of the containers.

Her arms were crossed, head wrapped in bandages, and in her eye, and odd spark shined at him.

"Huh. You showed. I didn't think you would."

"Why?" Curiosity consumed Kamui as he searched the woman's face. He took in the sight of her, tense and reserved. Not unlike Ame. He could see them having a past; they had a similar vibe.

"Alone, at that. Let's get to it, shall we?"

"Get to what?" The woman wasn't answering his questions. Was she really Ame's ex? How did that work?

"I don't believe you're actually with her." Sauntering towards the man, Iori circled him. Her eyes stayed on him the entire time and she stopped after reaching his front again. A stone glare was etched in her features when he met her gaze. "Ame has never been into men. Never liked them. What's so different about you?"

"Well..." Pausing to consider his words, Kamui tilted his head. "She never seemed to have an issue with it. I think she likes it."

A hearty laugh erupted from Iori and she covered her mouth. Swallowed the sound and shook her head.

"No, no." With a deep breath, the woman composed herself and a smile eased onto her lips as she lifted her shoulder and bat her eyes at him. "You couldn't possibly know her better than I do."

The woman started to circle him again, and Kamui frowned at the sensation of a hand in the middle of his back. Iori's head peeked out from around his shoulder and she raised a brow as he watched with mild confusion.

"So what is it? What did you do to her?"

What he did to Ame was beyond him. All he knew was that he killed everybody and they kept fighting until she practically forced him to force himself on her. It was a normal relationship. They scheduled dates and everything. And their dates were always fun. Kamui would be on edge the entire time; waiting to trigger one of her traps and disarm it.

Moving away from the woman, Kamui turned to face her. Iori grinned up at him, and he returned her smile.

"What are you doing?"

His question was met with another chuckle and the space between them was closed once more as Iori stepped into him.

"Aren't you going to show me? What, are you shy?" A reserved giggle escaped the woman and her palm returned to his shirt to press into his chest.

"Shy? No, I'm not shy." This human was strange. He didn't know what she was talking about but she seemed pretty confident in what she was saying.

"That's good." Iori cooed back at Kamui, but he didn't move. Just stood there; staring down at her like he was stupid. She figured the man needed more prompt. Was reserved. A lawn mower engine; the push kind. Once she pulled the cord a bit he would hum to life and astound her by getting all of the work done. Something like that. And then, he would realize that Ame was so low on the ladder that he would abandon her. Any foot soldier would want to progress in rank, and Iori was a huge step up from mercenary dogs. She gripped his shirt and pulled him forward, but the man hardly moved. Was ridiculously heavy for his size. Ame had said that he was Yato. Maybe it was some strange attribute to the race, she didn't know.

"Human, fighting me would be stupid. You couldn't even beat Ame."

The words sharpened Iori's eyes and she glared up at the man. Was he an idiot?! Dense as he was, Iori could only assume that the relationship, whatever it was, hadn't progressed far.

"Ame is just front line infantry. She wouldn't know what to do if you gave her a book on it; lord knows she probably wouldn't even be able to read it." As she spoke, Iori pushed her anger down and her hands slid to Kamui's pants.

He gawked down at the woman, thinking that he finally understood what the hell she'd been going on about for the past ten minutes. Maybe she wasn't trying to fight him.

"I'll make it quick." Her bust pressed into his chest and he remained frozen in place; apparently experiencing a system error. "I've always had a thing for red heads, you know?"

No. He didn't. And how would he have?

"What about you? Anything in particular that you really like?" The hands on his pants had stopped and left him with an ever looming threat.

"What?"

"We should bond. Talk, get to know each other... Is there anything you like?"

"I really like mangoes." His statement brought pause to Iori. She squinted up at him and he peered back; equally baffled. Then she released a low chortle.

"You're funny." He was so obnoxiously strange! What could Ame have possibly seen in him? It was like talking to a child; any grown man would have caught her drift by now and reciprocated! Instead, Iori found herself biting her tongue and racking her brain for any logical response to him.

"Why'd you call me here?" The woman was unshaken by his direct approach. Grinned a grin that was the mock image of amusement.

"It's simple. You should sell her to me."

"Ame? Do Humans sell their girlfriends?"

That question received a clear laugh.

"Yes! Yes, we do! Spouses, friends, children, you name it. We could both own her, like joint custody, or-"

"Humans may sell their comrades, but we don't." Immediately shutting the proposal down, Kamui shook his head. He wouldn't sell Ame. Even if she was strange.

"We could share her. You saw her; hanging out with that guy. I know you did; I saw you. And you saw her. What makes you think she's serious about you?"

She had a point. If Ame was sneaking around with Gintoki, this woman wasn't much different. Kamui's thought started to swirl in his head. Iori was saying something, but all he could think of was Ame at the table with Gintoki. Walking around town. Chatting and giving the silver haired samurai that stupid smirk of a glare that she got when she thought she said something funny. Mean, but funny. Even Gintoki wouldn't tell Kamui what was happening, and why would he hide it for so long if it was nothing? A tug at the end of his braid jolted him back to the fingers slipping under the band of his pants, and though he hadn't realized it, he was scowling down at Iori.

"What's the matter? Was that a sore spot? She not keeping you satisfied? Let's see if we can do something about that."

It happened in the flash of an eye. Kamui was yanked forward by his pants and a pair of lips collided with his. His surprised was muffled and the woman pressed into him; devoted to her attack. He stepped back, holding his hands out as if not touching her would let him remain untarnished, but she fluidly followed and her tongue brushed against his lips.

Maybe this was happening for a reason. It wasn't like women threw themselves at him every day. No, only the oddball human on occasion. Though Ame had been the only successful one, she had withheld important information from him. And she didn't like radish. She would eat them, but every time she did, she gave him this look that accused him of being terrible for not eating them for her.

He was still being kissed. It wasn't even a good kiss compared to what he was used to. Dry. Even though the woman seemed involved in it, nibbling and licking at his lip, Kamui's brain was fully functioning. It had the same lackluster hold of sifting through a newspaper or walking from the bathroom after taking a shit; not even the urgency of using the toilet.

His hand shot out before he knew what he was doing and Iori fell back. Glared up at him from the concrete ground.

"You're a weird Human. How are you supposed to seduce anybody without at least stabbing them?"

"Wh- What?" Balking up at the man, Iori pushed her palms into the ground. She sneered at him, and wiped her rear.

"You haven't even tried to attack me. Where did you learn this strange courting technique?"

"Strange?" Nearly gasping back at the man, Iori clenched her fists. "Who the hell stabs somebody when they're trying to- You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I've had a Human for months now. I know exactly how they mate; Ame showed me."

"Well she showed you wrong!" Unable to help herself, the woman snapped back at Kamui. Her annoyance was quickly growing. Just looking at the man made her angry! What about him was better than her?! How could anybody chose such a dimwitted wet blanket over her? She didn't get it! "You- you're gonna pay for this." Smoothing her coat, Iori took a breath and puffed up to the man as if ruffling her feathers out. She turned on her heel and stomped away, swearing under her breath all the while. Then her arm dramatically shot into the air and a snap sounded over Kamui.

His gaze shot towards the sound and Iori turned back to grin at him. As if she was victorious. Above Kamui's head, the same shipping container that had been secured in a crane and hovering plummeted towards him. His eyes grew wide, and he could hear the snicker in the background, but in the flash of an eye, the container stopped. Didn't feel like it was full. With both hands over his head, Kamui held the cube up and fixed his eyes on Iori; smiling. The woman was awe-struck. Her laugh had died in her throat and she could do nothing but watch as Kamui re-situated his hands on the underside of the bin.

"You dropped something." Still smiling, the man launched the object towards Iori. With a thunderous boom it hit the stacked containers, and though he couldn't see the pirate, he knew she had run. Kamui started back the way he came, and tucked his hand into his pocket. Waved over his shoulder, still grinning. "Well, it was fun, but I gotta get back! It's date night, and Ame is waiting for me! If you grope my Human again, I'll break your fingers off."

So that's what Ame liked about him. Anybody would have died instantly, but that crazy bastard stood there and caught it.

"You're insane!" The words were no surprise, and Kamui chucked to himself as he continued on.

"Didn't she tell you? Or... are you not close anymore?" Pausing to look back at the woman, Kamui dropped his smile and grew fully serious. Clearly, the word close couldn't describe the women at all. This had all been to feel him out; and he wasn't backing down from a challenge. He knew she had four men staged around. Watching. Iori's face contorted into barely contained fury as she rounded the battered shipping container. "No? That's too bad. Ame wants that kid, so it'd be best if you just gave him to us before I have to kill you."

The sound of air singing towards him triggered Kamui's instincts and he calmly snatched a long dagger from the air. She had to be an idiot to think that would work on him. He held said dagger up for the woman to see, then snapped it like a twig. Dropped it at his feet.

"You're clumsy, aren't you? It'll take a lot more than that to scratch me. I don't really like killing women. You could have strong kids, it would be a shame. Keep trying to take her and I'll kill ya. Later, then."

Iori's blood boiled in her veins as she glared at the man's back. Not only was he stupid, but he was well trained in combat. That was a deadly combination.

Kamui faced no further issues leaving and made it back to the ship in one piece, still on the fence about whether he found the flimsy attempt at intimidation an insult or hilarious. When he reached his bedroom, Ame was on her side in the dark. Didn't stir at all. That was strange. It was Thursday. If there was a trap in the room, she wouldn't be in there. There hadn't been a trap at the door, or in the halls. Nothing was waiting for him.

He relieved himself of his clothes and climbed into bed behind Ame. Scooted towards the woman and took hold of her shoulder.

It happened in an instant. One second, Kamui was about to pull her over, the next, he was forced back and Ame was planted on top of him. He didn't need light to know her expression when she spoke.

"Where have you been?" Her hand was wrapped around his throat and the gauze scratched into his skin. Ame didn't give Kamui a chance to answer before she continued. "Her perfume is all over you. What did you do with her?" It was only natural to suspect something. She knew how Iori was. Had found that stupid crumbled note and knew exactly what Kamui had abandoned their day for and she wasn't happy in the slightest. The man leaned up, not bothered by the threat of being choked.

"Nothing, we just talked."

"Talked? You expect me to believe she just wanted to talk?" Kamui had been a virgin before her. He was easily tempted; what if he couldn't control himself? What if Iori had attacked him, and he'd ended up ravishing her against a wall, or a desk, or worse; a kitchen counter? She didn't even want to think it.

More than anything, Kamui was tickled that she'd backhandedly accuse him of anything. He wasn't like her, with a wild sexual history and innumerable womanly wiles to flaunt when he locked onto a target. He didn't even lock onto targets. No, all he had to do was properly grab Ame, and she'd melt. There was a spot just below her waist that always got a good reaction.

"She didn't have much to say, actually."

Was that an admission of guilt?! That's what it sounded like!

"You..." Her heart was throbbing at the thought of what Kamui had done. And he had the nerve to crawl into bed with her as though nothing was wrong. "You skipped Thursday!" It was all she could think to say, and despite the pain clawing up her throat, Kamui did nothing to comfort her. Seemed oblivious.

"I didn't skip-"

Insisting that he had, Ame jumped to her feet. She stormed to the door and snatched it open, only mutter one line over her shoulder before leaving. "I hope it was worth it."