[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/omaX2NY.png?1[/img][hr][sup]interactions: [@Jacky] | Tatsuo Isao[/sup][/right][hr]
[color=fad7c3]"Lose the attitude, Isao,"[/color] Kikumi said coldly. [color=fad7c3]"I doubt any of us have the will to listen to me talk for an hour. Not after what they have just been through."[/color] Then, at his mention of the demons, she fell silent for a few seconds. [color=fad7c3]"...We cannot change their decisions. We can only hope they can leave here strong enough to last."[/color] Her voice carried a sorrowful tone, but she did not look at Tatsuo, continuing to stare at the new recruits. How long was 'last'? A year? That still did not seem like enough. It was not uncommon for new recruits to be young, too. These were children that were being sent to the grave.

At least she wasn't being told when they died, and she wasn't the one ordering them to fight. Still, she knew the answer to Tatsuo's question - quite a few, but considerably less than Kikumi would like. He received no answer, only met with the quiet contemplation of his master. Hopefully none of the new ones had heard what he had said. Suffice to say, it wasn't the nicest thing to hear after just arriving at the Sea Pillar Estate.

When one of the new recruits, a girl, broke the silence and dropped into a deep bow, Kikumi did the same in response. Her company didn't seem too happy with her, but respect was something the Sea Pillar valued. Perhaps her position was making her soft. [color=fad7c3]"Mori-san will do,"[/color] she said once she had stood up straight once more. [color=fad7c3]"I am as much your teacher as I am your fellow human."[/color] That would do for motivation. Then, she turned to the side.

[color=fad7c3]"Isao, please take them to eat something,"[/color] Kikumi muttered to her subordinate. [color=fad7c3]"After that, consider yourself to be free for the night. Others will handle everything else."[/color] She gave him and then her new students a nod, before turning and swiftly walking back into the estate. It seemed to be getting late now. Still, Kikumi had many things to do before she could rest. For once, babysitting her subordinates was not one of them.