A/N: aaahhhh this had been so long before an update. Imma start daily again, and I'm sorry for the wait everybody! Thank you all for the reviews and your patience, and thank you for reading, it means a lot.:)
Special thanks to Noniebee for helping with Gin in the chapter (She's a fuckin' Gin guru/whisperer). Check out her stuff, she's in the comments!

Abuto could do nothing to hold Kamui back as they traversed the winding maze of cargo containers. The further they'd walked, the more anger piled onto the younger Yato's shoulders, and even his responses had grown curt; edging dangerously close to nonexistent. Usually, Kamui delighted in the hunter/prey set up of a fight, but not having a tangible opponent to focus on had put a damper on his plans, and he was reduced to stalking around anticipating the crushing grasp of disappointment. Suspected that Iori had set everything up and secured herself at a different location.

A bomb shelter, most likely, in hopes that it would keep the red head out. Little did she know, Kamui had busted one of those up pretty badly before, and was more than willing to do so again if it meant getting his hands on her.

The ground turned from cleared dirt to dried leaves, and every step crunched underneath them. Gave away their position, from what Kamui deduced. It wasn't natural for the area to be covered. No trees were in sight. Grass barely made its way into the shipyard, and only lasted for a single misplaced blade near the edge of the walk way. That and weeds.

"This isn't a good idea... It's a set up."

Kamui glanced at the older man to acknowledge his words, but the look didn't stick.

"Feel free to leave."

"Don't be an idiot. More of an idiot than you already are..." Muttering the last half, Abuto sighed under his breath. If Kamui was rushing into the unknown, he wasn't about to let him do it unaccompanied and they both knew it. Before he could voice how ridiculous walking through a partially abandoned shipyard looking for trouble was, Kamui halted and held up one hand. The younger man's eyes were fixed on his feet, and Abuto leaned forward to attain a better view of a fishing line, bent around Kamui's ankle.

Danger jolted down Abuto's spine at the first rush of air and metal peeling back from the shipping containers to tear towards them, but despite his initial shock, Kamui was already acting. Had ducked underneath the double clothes-lined steel points that jutted towards them and barely gave Abuto enough time to follow suit. So much for a heads up. Gawking at the teenager beside him, Abuto kept his mouth shut. The trap whizzed over their heads and the edges pierced the containers behind them when they came to a halt. Stuck there as a reminder of the impalement that could have been.

"I didn't think you would avoid that." Light flooded Kamui's face with a grin, and the older man narrowed his eyes.

"Then you shoulda told me!"

"Nah. It wouldn't have killed you."

"It would still hurt!" Despite the snapped words, Kamui chuckled and got back to his feet. Hummed to himself, as if considering the claim. The men continued, and as they did, Kamui twirled his parasol over his shoulder. He'd learned his lesson about sun exposure.

"Haven't you seen the traps on date night? These are pretty much the same."

"Date night?" The words exploded out of Abuto before he could think better of them. "Is this what she's been doing? I've seen a couple but this is insane! She's insane! It's not normal, nobody does this! And I've never been on the receiving end of any of her traps!"

"That's because you're not special." The corner of Kamui's mouth pulled up at his next line, but Abuto shook his head.

"I'm not trying to be special, I'm trying to be alive!"

"But Abuto, I thought you liked Ame."

Clicking his teeth, the older man crossed his arms. He couldn't win.

"Sure, before the whole setting up death traps and passing it off as a Human date night thing, that's -" He didn't know what word was more intense than insane. Diabolical? Crazy? Abnormal, and probably something she should talk to a counselor about? A short chuckle was all that Abuto received after that. Kamui's azure gaze kept on the leaves underfoot to spot any upcoming traps, but he murmured back to Abuto.

"I know it's not normal." Humans weren't like that. Ame probably knew that Kamui had wised up as well, but it was an unspoken custom that they wouldn't break. She had fun setting things up, he had fun finding her latest invention, and Kamui was pretty sure that Ame wasn't even trying to kill him anymore. Novelty kept them at it though, and there were no hard feelings in the end; when they were both in bed, laughing about it together and whispering in the dark. "Plus, she sneaks me food in bed so you can't catch me."

"What? I knew the books were unbalanced! You're the reason the men didn't get whipped cream on dessert for weeks!"

"Huh?" Frowning, Kamui turned to the older man. Then it dawned on him. "Oh, that's not the same."

"Wh- what have you been doing with our whipped cream?!"

But Abuto didn't want the answer to that. There wasn't time for an answer, because the moment he asked, the ground under his foot gave out, and he nearly dropped into a pit that greeted him with jagged edges, all pointed upwards and just waiting to sink into the soles of his feet. Or anything else he offered. Rather, failed to protect. He swore under his breath when the dirt under his fingertips gave way, and he lurched downwards; nearly to his demise.

"Abuto-"

"I don't see why we'd meet her on her own terms, this is just stupid!" Barking back up at Kamui, the man hoisted himself higher. A nearly deafening scrap of metal was written off as another cheap booby trap. His hand gripped at the entrance of the pit, and he pulled himself a mite higher.

"Abuto, you should hurry up."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it. There's no footing down here and I deserve a raise for this!" As he came shoulder level with the ground, the man found Kamui, braced for impact, with his back to him. Ready to catch an outlandishly hostile shipping container that had apparently taken on a mind of it's own. It slid across the ground in a rush to crush the men and take full advantage of their distraction. Lock them in the spear pit.

That was all the motivation Abuto needed to launch himself from the ground and out of harm's way.

"It's a trap, idiot!" If Kamui didn't see the hole that had nearly been Abuto's grave, he wasn't about to let him fall victim to it. Unlike some people, Abuto knew that cheap shots were a disgrace. Not only cowardly for those that had set them, but shame to the victim as well. He snagged Kamui's shoulder and dragged him out of the way. Wouldn't risk being careless, and he was glad the he hadn't. The moment of impact was punctuated with an explosion that caused the container to jump over a meter off the ground. While Kamui could easily lift the container, after being stabbed tenfold, Abuto doubted even his capabilities. It'd be too close to the heart.

Kamui was only disoriented for the fraction of a second. He managed to keep on his feet, but was immediately entranced by the new path. Their view of the open ocean. Alarm was short lived when the door of the shipping container dropped open, and the silhouette of a man popped into view. Without thinking, Kamui aimed his parasol and fired. Was in the mood to kill anybody that confronted him, but the form popped, and the edges of such fell limp and formless. An unpredicted splash of liquid washed over them and the smell hit Kamui before his mind did.

"What is this?" Abuto raised his hands and examined the front of his shirt and sleeves, but the younger man was a step ahead of him this time.

"Flammable. Ame uses it." Without warning Abuto was shoved forward. "The ocean!"

He didn't need to be told twice. On Kamui's heels, the older man took a running jump into the water, just in time to avoid the inferno that erupted from the rectangular crate. They dived off the raised ground and fully submerged themselves in the salty embrace of the sea to escape and rid themselves of the fire hazard. This was getting out of hand.

When he popped to the surface of the water, a distinctly familiar laugh snapped Kamui to his senses, and his eyes shot to the top of the crate wall that would have been ahead of them. Abuto gasped beside him as he joined his superior, wading in the waves, but before he could comment on how ridiculous everything had become, a dark haired woman practically demanded their attention. Laughing. Grinning down at them while flaunting in all her superiority.

"That's a good look on you; shark bait!"

Kamui's jaw clenched. All of that searching and there she was. The woman that he was going to murder. She'd jerked them along for days, and he had finally found her. The satisfaction was indescribable. Even if he hadn't reached her yet, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would get to her. His only regret was that he didn't have solid footing and would have to find his way back to land before he would smash her head into the ground and avenge the blossom of life that had been stolen from him before he'd even known it existed.

This was it.

"I really didn't think you'd come. Saved me a lot of effort this way..." The woman glanced over them once more and paused before continuing. It was a long silence. As if she was waiting for something, and didn't mind the nearly awkward charge. "Where's Ame?"

"Where's Ame? All of this and you have the nerve to ask where my Human-"

"You crazy bitch, where do you think she is?" Abuto cut Kamui off, and he couldn't decide whether he was thankful of more irked that he couldn't delve into exactly how many shades of livid that he was.

"The nursery? Hell, how am I supposed to know? Aren't you her keepers now, or something? Use her for your dirty jobs; got 'er on a tight leash?" Jerking her hand back, Iori eased onto her knees to add insult to injury. Look down on the men as they bobbed in the waves. "It's a shame, she should see me kill you. She'd come back then. Violence always had a... Funny effect on her."

"Kill me?" Nearly laughing the words, Kamui peered up at the woman. The grin had started to ease back on him now, and the water surrounding both him and Abuto seemed to run cold. "You can't even face me."

Somewhere, deep behind the smile Iori wore, Kamui knew he had struck a chord. She wouldn't admit her cowardice. The last thing the woman would do was own up to her underhanded methods, but Kamui knew that she would try to save face. She straightened her stance, and her smile widened with the usual deranged, depraved spark that lingered in her chocolate eyes.

"I wouldn't waste my time."

Gintoki had been watching Ame as closely as he could the entire walk to Kamui's ship. He had waited for her to find a decent pair of clothes and clean herself up as best she could under the freedom of a premature hospital break, and while he couldn't claim to be impressed, the opposite wouldn't apply. When she stumbled down the hatch and joined him, in less than twenty minutes, Gintoki turned to her with his arms crossed and tried to calculate how far she would make it before she dropped like a fly and he had to carry her back to her cozy, sterile bed.

They didn't speak a word as they started back onto the road. The Yorozuya kept his pace slow to allow the woman to keep up with him with minimal strain, but he found them pausing occasionally for Ame's sake. Waiting for her to regain her breath and compose herself for another short walk. They hadn't had to stop as much on the way to the ship, but as more time passed, Ame grew visibly drained. Her hand was glued to her side, and her face had stuck into a grimace that Gintoki could only presume would be her permanent expression henceforth. She'd never be stoic and pretty again.

The bruises of her face had healed, thanks to medical technology and a series of treatments that the nurses had employed specifically on her damage. Most had come in periodically under the guise of saying that she'd be forever scarred if her looks had altered. It was a nice gesture, but on the other hand, Gintoki doubted the amount of thought Ame put into her appearance. She was no supermodel like Ketsuno Ana; the nurses were just being kind.

"Some soldier you are..." The woman had paused again to regain herself, and Gintoki leaned against a random shop wall to join her in her recuperation.

"Excuse me?" Hazel eyes shot up to glare at the man, yet he didn't move to acknowledge them. Kept his attention on the open road and the nearby sea.

"Aren't you supposed to be some fancy soldier rank? You might as well have stayed in bed." When Ame stared up at the man, Gintoki continued. "You should know how to move past the pain. Focus on the reason why you're still moving, or what your protecting... Whatever works for you. Aren't you a soldier?" Before the man's eyes, the pained posture that had riddled Ame's frame eased.

"What are you trying to say to me?" Insult leaked into the woman's voice, and Gintoki finally turned to look down at her. Deadpan as usual, and as if his words could be found in the most casual of conversations, he shoved a pinky in his nose. Paid more attention to that than her.

"You can't kill anybody like that. It's an embarrassment to your men. What are you supposed to be again?"

"A... A lieutenant..." She almost faltered at the title. Guilt flooded Ame's features and her gaze shifted as Gintoki nodded.

"You think you could lead men into a war like that? All limp and weak? You can't even walk, and you want to kill a higher up? What kind of lieutenant limps into battle alone?"

With a breath, the hand fell from Ame's side. She glared up at Gintoki, hoping that the look would freeze him in his vocal tracks. It didn't. Instead of dignifying his obvious point, she straightened her posture. Cut the effort to a minimum and walked past him to prove that she was fine. He'd take it back. See that she was perfectly capable of leading her troop into battle and eliminating the threat alongside them. As she always could.

As the woman walked by, Gintoki took place behind her. He kept his arms crossed, but could see the obvious change in her demeanor. Hoped her defiance would pave the way for not only her revenge but her survival.

They finally reached their destination, and Ame stood before the familiar shipping containers that made the entrance to the loading dock. She started to enter, but before Gintoki could follow suit, held up a hand to him. Signaled a stop.

"It's rigged."

Frowning at the woman, the Yorozuya glanced around to see how she could possibly come to that conclusion. Nothing jumped out at him. He didn't see any threats, or traps, or even misplaced items that could trigger an untimely demise, but Ame knelt down and studied the ground. Seemed to be looking at something he couldn't pick up on and made no effort to point it out at she traced the sand with her finger.

"Let's go around. There's another entrance." Curt in every motion, the woman stood and turned to the side. Walked around the structure and trusted Gintoki to follow without objection.

"You don't wanna see if he got caught up in-"

"If Kamui fell for any of her traps, he deserved to. He should know better. Let's go."

Not a moment was wasted in circling the ship yard. Ame kept ahead of Gintoki and occasionally studied the ground, but he wasn't entirely sure what she was looking at. She redirected him a few times, and gave up on her second entrance for a third, due to what she called "damage assessment and risk". Didn't provide an explanation. Either way, Gintoki trusted that she could figure it out on her own. He was just there to make sure that she got there in one piece.