"Understood." She didn't like it, but she didn't have to. She just had to do it. And as if summoned, Ema had arrived. She caught Renji's positioning; nicely done. She waved, beckoning Ema in.

"Ema, this is Renji. He's agreed to give us a few pointers."

The next words came out like she'd swallowed leftovers that had gone bad -- the words came out normally, but her brow was wrinkled and her expression confused. "He mentioned that we need to get you a weapon -- after we're done here, do you want to go look for something?"

"But first, your students await."