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"The way you're looking at me, you must be comparing my figure to Hina's, right? In your eyes, is she more attractive than me?" Kujaku caught the look in Ikki's eyes and frowned immediately, pressing him for an answer.
"You're really perceptive. I was comparing your situation to hers, yes. But I don't think Hina's more attractive than you," Ikki said, shaking his head.
"So, you think I'm prettier?" Kujaku asked with a smile.
"Not really. If you ask me, you and Hina are just different in your own ways. You're mature, she's aloof. Both work well enough," Ikki said.
Now that she'd caught up with him, he didn't mind trading a few more words with her. 'Anyway, there's no harm in saying what I actually think of people,' he figured. As for Hina, Ikki was fairly sure that even if she found out what he'd said about her, she wouldn't have any real objection. She'd complain a couple of times, sure, but that was just how she was.
"What? I would've sworn you preferred someone more mature," Kujaku said.
"I do prefer someone more mature. Problem is, your maturity's a bit of an act, isn't it?" Ikki said, glancing at her.
Kujaku opened her mouth, ready to snap back at him, then thought better of it and shut it again. Unfortunately, nothing about her earlier behavior had exactly screamed maturity. If anyone still wanted to call themselves mature after a display like that, they were plainly anything but.
"Let's leave that alone and talk about swordsmanship instead, Ikki. Like you saw earlier, I can learn two sword techniques at once. There's probably no one else among your students quite like me. Don't you want a student who can use two different sword styles?" Kujaku asked, walking alongside him, clearly curious.
"No!" Ikki said firmly.
"That determined?" Kujaku stared at him, wide eyed and disbelieving.
"That's right. That determined," Ikki said, nodding.
"Don't you get any satisfaction out of raising a truly gifted student?" Kujaku pressed.
"I'm no professional instructor like Zephyr. Teaching students is more of a transaction for me, if I'm honest," Ikki said, glancing at her.
He wasn't joking. Outside of training his own partners, making anyone else stronger brought him little enough benefit. Why would he go through all that effort for nothing? Kujaku found she had no answer for that. He had a point, in his own way.
There really was an arrangement between the Marines and Ikki. His willingness to teach them at all was contingent on them offering him certain conveniences in return. Even knowing this, Kujaku couldn't help but sigh.
Rumor had it that Ikki went easier on beautiful women, that he'd even offer a pretty girl a discount here and there. So why was he being so level headed about her, specifically?
'Was it because I got flustered and covered myself up earlier?' Kujaku wondered, narrowing her eyes at the thought.
Lost in her own head, she walked the rest of the way in silence, following close behind him. She only snapped out of it when Hina's voice reached her.
"What's wrong with you, Kujaku? Why do you look so out of it?" Hina asked, puzzled, looking her over.
Kujaku glanced at Hina, then around at their surroundings, and finally at Ikki, who'd already gone ahead to join Nami and Nojiko. She hadn't even noticed they'd already made it back to where they'd started.
"Kujaku?" Hina's voice reached her again.
"Sorry, I got a little distracted." Kujaku pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
"This isn't like you at all. Did something happen after you and Ikki went off together?" Hina studied her carefully, her suspicion only growing.
"Haha, it's nothing, really, nothing at all." Kujaku waved her hands.
Under Hina's stare, she felt an odd flicker of nerves she couldn't explain, which only deepened Hina's confused frown, especially once Nami and Nojiko had finished relaying everything that had happened.
"Captain Ikki, you didn't secretly do something to Kujaku, did you? She looks completely flustered, like she can barely face Hina right now," Nami said, elbowing Ikki in the ribs with a light laugh.
"How could that be? I'm not that kind of man! Do you really think of me as someone who takes advantage of people, Nami? That's a little hurtful, coming from my own captain," Ikki said, pressing a hand to his forehead with a deep sigh.
"Hehe, it's because I know you so well. That's exactly how I know you're the kind of man who takes advantage of people. Isn't that right, Nojiko?" Nami asked, smiling over at Nojiko standing nearby.
Nojiko only smiled and nodded along.
"Now I'm even more hurt. Nami, how about you comfort me a little?" Ikki said, letting his body fall toward her.
Nami laughed and opened her arms to catch him, pulling his head snugly against her chest. Cradled there, Ikki felt as if he were resting on an impossibly soft pillow, a faint, pleasant scent drifting into his nose.
"You said you don't like taking advantage of people. And what's this, then? Now you're taking advantage of me..." Nami said with a light laugh.
This time Ikki didn't bother arguing. Instead he nuzzled deeper into her arms, savoring the moment of peace.
Watching this, Hina turned back to Kujaku. "He didn't do something similar to you, did he?" she asked.
"How could that be? I'm not that kind of person. Hina, how could you even think I went through something like that?" Kujaku said with a small laugh.
Even so, she knew that while she hadn't gone through quite what Nami just had, she'd still given Ikki a little something of her own, and she'd offered it up entirely of her own will. That left her briefly at a loss for how to even describe what had happened.
"Hina's been through something like that before," Hina said.
At that, Kujaku's curiosity flared. "Do you bury Ikki's head in your chest too, the way Nami does? Or did Ikki actually make a move on you? You haven't already joined his crew, have you?" she asked, curious.