A hard swallow followed as the young boy looked up at his superior, a nervous expression painted on his features. Kazuha was never really GOOD at talking especially in these situations, also he was normally not the one who broke things in FIRST place. Hesitant red eyes drifted to his twin sister who was looking at her nails with a bored expression, she didn’t seem overly interested in what their leader had to say. Kazuha tried to find the words but simply lowered his head and pulled on his sister’s sleeve to speak for them. Looking at her brother’s hand she sighed and spoke with an unamused expression.
“Well, we were doing exactly what YOU told us to do. Practicing to be the best we can be. Although with practice comes some…”, she paused, “Unexpected variables. Such as not knowing one’s own strength and various other variables that can’t POSSIBLY be accounted for.” That was a really fancy way of saying they broke something because one of them had grown a bit stronger and they hadn’t taken proper safety measures. Karuha shrugged, “Don’t worry sir, it is already being cleaned up as we speak. Gives the other shinki something to do.”
Kazuha nodded in agreement over that, it wasn’t like it was something important just a simple vase that could be replaced. Still, the young boy stared at the floor as if he was in trouble finally speaking in a timid voice, “S-sir, we are really sorry.”
“Speak for yourself, I’m not sorry for doing what I was told to do. It would be an INJUSTICE to punish us for progression. Protecting and defending our master that’s our number one priority, we made progress in becoming stronger so we can fight better.”, she pulled a small book out of her skirt pocket that recorded their training progression each and every day handing it over to their lead. “Look, you can see there was an unexpected improvement in Kazuha’s strength.”, she tapped the improvement to prove a point.
The young boy rubbed his arm nervously, he really was sorry though he hadn’t realized he was going to cause his sister to slam into the wall that hard. They did play rough but it wasn’t like they ever played with the other kids who would get hurt, and he wouldn’t mention that Karuha had been specifically teasing him about something sensitive today to provoke a more violent reaction.
The girl sighed and shook her head, “Listen if we are going to receive punishment for doing our job then so be it, but I expect a pretty lengthy definition on how that is even a little bit FAIR. I’ll wait sir, I’m more than happy to accept punishment on just grounds.”
Of course he shouldn’t have expected a simple answer, not from the two of them; Kazuma has to force himself not to sigh and knead his temple with his fingertips out of sheer exasperation. Roughhousing is an utterly foreign concept to him, simply because he is stuck at an age where such actions would never cross his mind -- or be deemed acceptable, for that matter.
Even so he must aggressively remind himself that Kazuha and Karuha are, for better or for worse, permanently children. And while that does come with some perks -- such as Kazuha looking up to him (he’s not quite sure where Karuha stands on that particular matter) and the twins’ ability to socialize with some of the other shinki -- their natural rowdiness is certainly a downside.
“This is not about justice,” Kazuma says wearily. If he were a more frivolous man he may have rolled his eyes. “The fact remains that the two of you should not be playi-- training indoors. You’re lucky what was broken was a vase and not one of the other residents of this house.”
Still, with the stubborn pout so visible on Karuha’s face, Kazuma gets the sense it would be a pointless endeavor to truly punish them. “Your desire to train more is admirable, but perhaps doing so in front of an... overseer would be wiser.” He’s not going to suggest himself, lest he incite Karuha’s indignant complaints. “And outside, for that matter.”
Finding the right balance between discipline and leniency could be truly difficult at times. “I appreciate that you did not clean the vase yourselves; it would be troublesome if one of you were to cut and injure yourself. Who knows how negatively that may affect your functionality in battle.” He gives them a stern look. “Be more careful next time.”
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