[right][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190920/c2b4ae9f45f22020bbcb041504eaef8f.png[/img]
[hr]
[i][sub]Spirit Pillar Estate, [@Zoey White][/sub][/i][/right]
[hr]

The Spirit Pillar Estate scarcely diminished in the presence of rain. The torrent fell upon the mountain, and its garden of trees, and the compound forcefully laid at its base, and for all the world’s trouble and confusion in the midst of a storm, the Estate thrived within it. The men and women of the Corps whose job it was to investigate Demons, they relished in the cover of the heavens, which cloaked and guided their passage to safety. And for those that remained within the bastion of the Spirit Pillar’s Estate, they gave their thanks not to be lost in its downpour, and with their blessing of equal fortune ploughed onwards into their assignments.

Of the dozen Demon Slayers residing within the Estate, only one stood out in the rain: Kankuro, First Wolf of the Spirit Pillar’s scouts. Among the two divisions of Demon Slayers, Wolf and Hummingbird, he could easily be considered him as the strongest in sheer combat prowess. In the center of the courtyard he stood, clutching the Nichirin Magari Yari his master had requested be specially made - a constant, torrent of water pummelling him from above, drenching further his already sodden black buttoned attire of the Corps.

Overlooking him, in the safety of the Estate’s engawa, were two further members of the Corps. Some-ways off to the side, forced to watch and wait for the opportunity to spar with the Wolf, was Hanako Akira, more than obviously unhappy with the conditions and the wait. And nearby, watching the display intently, was the Spirit Pillar herself, Fushigi Yuu, sat cross legged on the wooden floor of the porch - her signature blue, close cut haori fluttering in the wind in rhythm with the black ribbon tied across the sheath of her nearby katana.

[b]”Sixth Form: Ripcurrent,”[/b] Kankuro muttered, as his stance shifted with the fall of the rain. In such a storm, his movements had become that much harder to read - his footwork was deft, and abnormally fast, dancing through the pounding rain, barely disturbing the passage of the droplets which cloaked him in a blur of movement. For less than a second, he was in one location, and almost immediately he was gone, culminating after a half dozen repetitions in a killing strike. For the past weeks he and Yuu had been perfecting the technique. The faint traces of a smile on her lips implied that that day was fast approaching.

[colour=LightSlateGray]”That’s good, really fucking good,”[/colour] Yuu called out, standing from the engawa with a gentle round of applause for her Wolf. Her gaze fell to Akira, prepared to begin the match, at the moment of the sound of squawking. With rapid speed her peripheral vision whipped to the origin of the sound - a drenched, miserable crow, struggling through the wind and rain to the courtyard. The guards surely failed to recognise its flight among the torrent. Spite marring her face, Yuu stepped to the edge of the porch, leaning a bare, tattooed left arm out into the cold for the crow to land upon.

[colour=LightSlateGray]”Son of a…”[/colour] the disdain on her face was painfully obvious as she read the message, similar to most of her negative emotions, which she wore like badges of honour, [colour=LightSlateGray]”Kankuro, let Kanami know the old man’s summoned me. And, put the guards on alert, I guess. Akira-[i]chan[/i], you’re coming with me, no questions.”[/colour]

[hr]
[i][sub][right]Storm Pillar Estate[/right][/sub][/i]
[hr]

The journey from Estate to Estate was an extensive one, but most so for those residing in the Spirit Pillar’s Estate. Its seclusion from most of civilisation, a protective measure in place since three generations of Spirit Pillars prior, forced an arduous journey, painful enough by carriage, to the nearest city. Multiple hours of travel by dirt and mud roads, followed by multiple more by train, it was one Yuu had endured a dozen or more times, but one she could never bring herself to be used to.

The Estate over which the old man presided had, for as long as she had attended, rubbed her the wrong way. Three stories worth of architecture, and for all of it she had scarcely seen even the full layout of the first floor. Sending the Hummingbirds in would be a fool’s errand, Yuu understood that. His part of the Corps had been named the Executioner Squadron for a reason, and both sending her men on suicide missions and making enemies were far from in her schedule. Still, the unknowns that lurked within the upper floors of his Estate tugged from within her an unreasonable disdain - the Storm Pillar himself was one of the few she disliked to a lesser degree, but his insistence on secrecy where secrecy was unnecessary brewed a deep seated hatred.

[colour=LightSlateGray]”Right, you’re out here, Akira-[i]chan[/i]. Adults only,”[/colour] Yuu called back to her student, watching the other tag-alongs near the entrance from the corner of her eye. She turned back, arms crossed, to look at the girl. Where Yuu had at one time worn simply her haori, and casual wear for the day that barely covered her arms or torso, she had transitioned to the standard Demon Slayer Corps, black buttoned, full body uniform, drenched to the last thread. Over the top, though, remained her trademark haori as the Spirit Pillar. For a moment she stood, gauging Akira’s attitude, before turning to head in, [colour=LightSlateGray]”Play nice, don’t make a fucking fool of yourself.”[/colour]

Entering into the chamber, filled with her fellow Pillars, Yuu was almost consistently the last to arrive. Her judging eyes fell onto each, not searching or considering anything in particular, but merely looking at them, severely, in turn. Yuu disliked them all, on some level. The reasons for each differed, but her years as a Pillar had given birth to a number of poor opinions regarding them - and no doubt, vice versa. They were, however, her colleagues. She could not forget, nor undermine that. She did not have to like them to work with them.

[colour=LightSlateGray]”I’ll have my Hummingbirds change course and help your lot, then. Not really happy about dropping everything to find this asshole, but if we want subtle, I don’t exactly have a sodding choice,”[/colour] Yuu announced to the other Pillars, once the Storm Pillar finished his tirade. On a certain level, she didn’t care that the River Pillar had defected. He held the title of Pillar, what Demons remained that could take control of him that wouldn’t outright kill him at the first opportunity? So his defection had to have been legitimate, [colour=LightSlateGray]”But what kind of example do you really expect to set? Demons are going extinct, so all that’s left for us to do is follow suit - capturing and having him Seppuku is just gonna affirm to anyone who wants to defect that we’re the ones in the wrong. If you’re going to kill him anyway, might as well make him a symbol for why the Corps is still fucking necessary.”[/colour]