[h2]Kubo Emi[/h2]

"Eh? Uh, no, I wasn't..." Emi hadn't realised she was staring so hard at the unfamiliar girl, momentarily flustered. Kaeru was one of their newest additions, and those cute looks, combined with his friendly demeanour, were quickly proving to be an effective combo against the strict woman's heart. She managed to recover quickly enough when Akira spoke to her at least, shaking her head in response, "I'm afraid not, I only just-"

When Ayako addressed the gathered agents, Emi immediately shut her mouth and stood to attention, intently listening to her words. She couldn't help but reflexively clench her fist at the mention of a Devil-class, but otherwise she betrayed no hint of her emotions. Up until Ayako made it clear that the rookies were coming along with them, that left her somewhat conflicted. Even if the Devil was supposedly a low-level one, she hated the idea of inexperienced fighters accompanying them, it felt far too risky... no, that line of thinking had to be wrong, right? Her superiors disagreed, and it simply meant that Emi would have to do [i]her[/i] job, and keep them safe. As long as they stuck close to their more experienced counterparts, and only engaged the beasts, there shouldn't be an issue.

"You will handle the small fry [i]alongside[/i] one of us," Emi noted, sounding a tad harsher than she meant to, glancing over her shoulder, "playing the hero is a nice sentiment, but do not over-estimate your abilities before your first deployment."

She only wanted to remind Frederica that she could rely on her comrades, but who knows how her interjection was received? Her expression only soured for seemingly no reason, as Emi felt like she could hear an amused chuckle, echoing in her mind. Ugh.