---

A small frown rested on Tatsuo’s face as his master replied to his question, though she had no real answer for him he silently agreed that all they could do was hope they were prepared enough to face what they were all trained for. Most of the recruits he watches over may see him as a bit of a cold instructor, but he believed it was better for them, hopefully fueling them on to grow stronger with his harsh methods. If he had to be the most hated man in the estate then so be it, he was already used to it by now anyway. He was soon brought out of his thoughts as a new recruit thanked Kikumi in accepting them into the estate. He let a slight smirk slipped onto his face and held back a scoff. There wasn’t about to be much hospitality once she’s being watched over by him. None of the new recruits were going to catch a break. The moment they walk into the training rooms he’ll have some fun with them.

After his master replied to the girl he leaned a bit closer as she requested he’d take the new blood to get something to eat. Tatsuo gave a quick nod and held back a sigh of relief as she said he’d be free for the rest of the day. “Sure, I’ll fattened the new pups up,” he replied with a small smirk before taking a few steps forward towards the new band of recruits, a frown now resting his face. Once his master left them Tatsuo rested his hand atop his sword and scanned the new faces. “Alright kiddies listen up! Before I take you to stuff your faces I’ll introduce myself. I’m Tatsuo Isao, Master Mori’s pupil and one of your instructors. I’ll simply tell you this; I expect you all to do your best. We don’t have time for those not prepared for the path of a Demon Slayer. Train as if your life's on the line, because trust me when I say it is. I also suggest that you cause no problems, well, as long as I’m not dragged into anyways. If I am then you’ll have a rather unpleasant experience,” he finished with a stern tone as he scanned everyone of their faces. After letting it all sink in for them he turned towards the estate and motioned them to follow him.

“Now let’s hurry and get you something to eat. The sooner I drop you pups off the sooner I can somewhat salvage this day,” he muttered before leading the new recruits through the estate. It was a quiet journey, only a few irritated mumbled from Tatsuo and some hushed conversations amongst the new recruits. He paid no mind to it though and finished escorting them to the cafeteria. With a small sigh he turned to them and jabbed a thumb towards the cafeteria. “Go on and eat something before you get some rest. Tomorrow you start your training. Be prepared kiddies, this is what you’ve all been striving for. Don’t mess up,” he said before letting them all file into the cafeteria, watching them with a final glance before walking away with a heavy sigh. Finally he was off the clock. Tatsuo couldn’t help but smile in relief. Now he had to think of how to salvage his day.

Finally after some thinking he decided a little nap on the beach would be a good end to his long day. So with a deep breath he made his way off the estate and began his careless walk towards the nearby beach.

The fleeing girls and the Love Pillar's student would make their way into the alleyway, it was tight and devoid of life other than the brief scurrying of vermin across the building's side. There was bustling and conversation in the occupied areas nearby, though nothing was being said about the girls nor the arrival of the demon slayer. But what was noteworthy is the quick hushing of those not within the alleyway, almost as if something had arrived that egged them to silence themselves. Whether this raised red flags or alarms for the group was yet to be discerned, but the two fleeing women seemingly grew unnerved by this event.

"Sister, we need to leave. I think they're here." The younger of the two, the brunette girl quietly spoke.

The blonde grunted before coming to a halt and cautiously glanced between where they had began their trek and the destination they were heading. "We're surrounded." The blonde snapped out tossing her sister's and grip free from her hand and reaching to her leg where a small dagger had been concealed - drawing the weapon and readying herself in self defense. "If it gets too dangerous, take my sister and run - don't bother trying to save me." The blonde continued, her eyes squinting is a concealed fear as beads of sweat began to appear along her forehead and brow.

---

"We need to get stronger." The female student with the strong leadership skills announced to the others, they, not really acknowledging her declaration as they were too bust stuffing their faces.

They had just returned from final selection afterall, which along with the strenuous journey to the estate probably gave the students minimal amounts of time for things such as eating and self-care. And as quickly as they were given this solace, it would soon be stripped away from them again in return for more rigorous training - but hey, the Sea Estate was beautiful. The oceanside nearby, the beach with beautiful pristine sand, seafood was aplenty, even if they would soon begin a different type of hell - they would atleast have small pearls of peace while being here.

"I don't think what we saw, has anything to with strength, Menma. I'm fairly sure that they were Imperial Solders, so unless you plan on facing the military of this very country itself - you'd best just forget what you saw and focus on yourself." The angrier boy from before with messy hair rebutted, not really eating much and playing with his food rather.

---

Meanwhile, in Kitakyushu the lonely foreigner travels would bring him into contact with a small group of traveling merchants. If it weren't for that god forsaken language barrier, the friendly trio probably would've been able to give the guy some useful directions.

"H e l l o" They spoke in poorly known English. "S p e a k J a p a n e s e?" The three were literally memeing the tower of a man to one another, the youngest of the merchants - a woman with long black hair seemingly in her early thirties cackling the most of the group. But they would break from their commotion and attempt to emote towards an inn visible in the nearby distance, it looked unoccupied, but if they were sending the man in that direction they probably had good intentions, yeah?

Gerard's face lit up at the gnarly but still vaguely understandable English...even if all the group of merchants did was ask if he could speak Japanese. Flexing his jaw a bit to loosen up his facial muscles, the hulking inquisitor nodded. "I speak Japanese," he replied, careful to manage each inflection of the vowel, "But bad. Where am I? I go to Oita."

Alas, maybe his European accent slew any chance of communication after all, because after that stint of talking, the trio shifted to waving their hands around in vague gesticulations. At the end of it all, Gerard was fairly certain that he was more confused than ever before, but at least they were pointing him towards an establishment in which he could sleep. With a nod of his head and a perplexed smile, the man didn't really feel like he had any other paths to pursue, and strode into the inn, his gait as casual and controlled as ever.

---

After any kind of introduction or whatnot, Kuuto would soon find himself snatching crows from the trees. They did not appreciate it, as their signature crow-like voices would tell him great disapproval, but one look into his eyes and they would be immediately docile. He was not too rough putting them into the cage, but crammed it enough that it would hold as many as possible without needing to squeeze any of them. After what seemed to be not long he locked it up and began to carry it yet again.

"Hmmm... That Sea Pillar has still not yet arrived, she would have left from the Storm estate like me, but I suppose a detour was taken to take care of business too", he thought to himself out loud, though under his breath. What to do now...? Unless he used force he would not be able to freely investigate, and above all else he wished to avoid turning his blade on other demon slayers, yet he was not so soft as to have emotional reasons for that. This was a disciplinary matter to him.

He looked around for a bit, before flipping his haori up as he crossed his legs and sat beside the cage, maintaining posture, then closing his eyes. Very well, if he must wait, then perhaps getting in a bit of training would be a good idea. He was capable of Full Concentration constant breathing, but as he practised it more and more, he felt there was more he could do with it... But what, he wondered.

---

The day continued. Kikumi left her underlings to their own devices, unusually. That isn't to say that she didn't check up on a few of them - but it was the evening and she needed some time for herself. She made her way down to the beach, though it seemed that she had been beaten there by some others. Tatsuo and a few of her students, no doubt enjoying the fresh sea air. The sea was chaotic, yet also calm and serene. The very thing that drew her to the breath in the first place. Seeing it was already occupied, Kikumi decided against going to the beach.

Instead, she made her way back to her home. It was much larger than the rooms of the students. The gift of owning the area. She gave a small nod in greeting to the flowers lining her walls, entering swiftly. It was silent, but she could tell there was someone in there before she saw them.

"You didn't come and see me," the person said. "Did Emi not tell you?"

"She did. But you're here anyway." Kikumi sighed. "Tell me what you want and go." She shuffled out of her shoes, staring up at Tsurugi. The useless one.

"Ah, it's been weeks. Aren't you happy to see me again?"

"No. You're not allowed in here." Kikumi placed her shoes neatly next to the door. She began to walk further into her house.

"Is that so? I'm leaving again tomorrow, so..." Tsurugi said, reaching for her shoulder.

"I see." She swerved his hand. "I wish you a safe trip." She didn't get a reply. Just a loud sigh and the sound of the door opening then closing. If that man had any redeeming qualities, it was that he knew when to quit. Even if he did it too often. Still, Kikumi felt a disappointed. Her house was too empty. Now it was just her, her thoughts, and all of the paperwork she had to do. It remained like that for the rest of the night.

---

The next day came. Kikumi had slept less than she'd wanted to. Her mind was going in circles about the River Pillar business. She couldn't decide on anything. But that could wait until the night came once more. While the sun was up, it was time to train. She got ready quickly, slipping outside into the sunrise. Another day on the Sea Pillar Estate.

On the agenda for the day - starting the newbies on their training. That was, of course, Tatsuo's job. But Kikumi would go down later regardless. There was a decent chance he'd be off doing something else. On top of that, she'd need to organise her other students and then keep an eye on the new demon slayers. Just to see how they were settling into things. So much to do and only twenty-four hours in the day.

---

---

Jun scoffed, then muttered quietly to herself, “So melodramatic.” With one swift move, she removed the overcoat she wore, revealing more practical clothes underneath – similar to the standard demon slayer uniform, just without the usual identifiers. Though, a demon was sure to find out even without that, especially given her sword. However, instead of drawing her weapon from its sheath, Jun untied it from her belt, then used the string attached to the sheath to wrap around the handle and the base of the weapon. She had a hunch she was about to fight humans rather than demons, so the warrior tightened the fastenings, ensuring the weapon would remain sheathed. Tch, I’ll have to tone down my power, or this will just fall apart. She could have attempted striking with the back of her sword, but that wasn’t a compromise she wanted to adopt just yet, so keeping the saw-edged katana in its scabbard would have to do.

Jun glanced around, taking note of the two girls, narrowing her gaze as she tried to catch sight of the enemies. She crouched, breathed in deeply, concentrating on her leg muscles momentarily, then pushed off. Third form: Shooting Star… she twirled as she shot off, keeping her eye on the whole of the alley wall, walls and roofs included, ascending at a slight angle until she landed with a muffled thump just by a rain gutter lining one of the roofs. ...Silent ascent, nonlethal version. She glanced down, at the girls, the alley’s entrance, the opposite end, the windows, balconies, nooks and crannies, and of course, the tops of the buildings. Whoever she was after, they’d be here somewhere, and she could get to them faster than they could to the girls – unless the opponent actually was a demon. Jun kept a hold on the sword’s handle with her both hands, body thrumming, ready to unleash the finisher of the third’s form – the multiple, heavy slashes – at a delay, as soon as her target was pinpointed.

Meanwhile, on the street level…

The blonde gasped at that weirdo’s moves, gripping the dagger tighter to her, shoulders and back growing ever tenser as she planted her legs firmly to the ground. Her gaze glanced nervously around, ears perking as she tried to locate the direction the presence that had tried to muffle their sounds was. A very mild tremor tried to get a hold of her hands, but she bit the inside of her cheek, and scratched at the backs of her palms while still holding onto her weapon, using the pain to center herself.

Her sister used the opportunity of the stranger’s wondrous ascent to back off, practically collapsing by a trashcan. She crawled backwards until her back hit the wall, and she squeezed herself by the trashcan and in between the nearby bags-full of trash. The stench made her grimace and cover her mouth with a hand. Her other hand still clutched the sharpened hairpin. If someone came near, she just had to stab them in the neck. Maybe pretend compliance or weakness first, then stab them in the neck. Knee their lower regions if they were a male. Slam an elbow into their jugular if her weapon was taken from her. Beg…No, no begging. Instead, she could drive the heeled part of her footwear into their toes. Use her fingers to stab at their eyes. Bite them. Struggle. Anything. As she ran through this advice, she affixed her gaze to the person who gave it to her – her sister. She knew she’d been told to escape, but…She was afraid to go alone. Where would she go? How could she even be alone, after all this time? She needed her sister, and if it meant being together, she’d rather go side-by-side into the afterlife. But maybe, just maybe, they could both make it out of here, alive and well. That would be nice.