Children:

"And last but not least remember your manners," Tiedoll finished at last, glancing over Kanda one last time. The ten year old scowled again, tugging at his shirt. It had been a year since the general and his young apprentice first met, and Kanda's attitude hadn't improved still. Tiedoll sighed. The boy was meeting the other exorcists today, and it didn't look like he was going to make a good first impression.

Yu had become his apprentice a year ago, and was one of the hardest apprentices he had. He had a small body and so much anger it seemed to cascade from him from time to time. It was a miracle that the child wasn't dead yet.

However, somehow, they managed to survive together for a year. Tiedoll made little breakthroughs with him; he accepted the surname Kanda, learned to meditate, and how to manage his temperature for small lengths of time. Tiedoll labeled each accomplishment as a blessing.

And here was the hardest thing the two must go through, meeting the other exorcists. They trained for days for this event. Well, more of Tiedoll constantly told Kanda to be nice while he grumbled some unintelligible cuss. But he believed the message got to him.

They stepped into one of the many lounges in the tower, quickly spotting the Head Nurse and the little girl who sat next to her. She must be younger than Kanda, Tiedoll thought. That poor little girl.

"Kanda, this is Lenalee," Teidoll said. Kanda mumbled something under his breath, not even looking in their direction.

The nurse patted Lenalee's knee reassuringly, urging her to stand up. She smoothed out her clothes, a simple pink sundress, and stood in front of the others. She kept her head bowed, never looking up as she recited, "Hello, my name is Lenalee Lee."

"You two can go play why me and the Head Nurse talk," Froi told them, ignoring the death glare Kanda was shooting at him. Lenalee looked almost terrified at the notion, but complied without arguing, the two drifted off into a corner. Tiedoll sat down next to the Head Nurse, pulled out a notebook, and started to doodle. "That poor child."

"She was crying before you got here," she said, eyes locked on the children as they talked. "I didn't know how to calm her down. I was able to help her get it under control a half hour ago, but I almost told her she didn't need to come. This entire place is toxic for children her age."

"Does she go out much?"

"No, only for training. It's taken all I have to convince the science head that she is still too young to go out on missions though."

"I should have taken both of them as apprentices when I had the chance."

The Head Nurse gave the general a surprised look. "I know you lie teaching, Tiedoll, but that would be too difficult of a mission for even you."

"But just think about it," he said, drawing two happy, playing children on his paper. "It would be so much better for the two if they had someone around their age with them. I've talked to so many people the last year about raising children, and they all agree that-"

"They are not your children, Froi Tiedoll," The Nurse said sternly. The general pouted at her. "They are exorcists, and as much as it hurts, we cannot forget that."

"They are not just exorcists," he retorted. "They are basically babies in this world. Exorcists don't have the longest life span, but they deserve to be happy-"

"I'M NOT A GIRL."

Tiedoll was still standing when the Head Nurse grabbed Kanda by the ear and pulled him away from Lenalee. She was on the verge of tears, trying to say sorry without bursting. Tiedoll glared at Kanda.

"What on earth do you think you are doing?" he said, unable to keep his frustration in check. This was exactly what he was told not to do.

"She thought I was a girl."

"That does not mean you can snap at her like that."

Kanda fumed, going red in the face from being yelled at in front of strangers. "Well, you can't snap at me like that," he accused. "You said it yourself, treat others how you would want to be treated-"

"- This situation is different-"

"- but it isn't-"

"- do not interrupt me-"

"- then don't interrupt me-"

"JUST SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU."

The teacher and his pupil were quiet, remembering there were two others in the room with them. Lenalee had her face hidden in the nurse's skirt, shaking as she tried to control her sobs. Head nurse glared down at them, and Tiedoll realized how much he messed up.

"Are you okay?" she asked Lenalee, petting her head affectionately. She snivelled a bit, nodded yes, and let go of her. She turned towards Kanda, and the cruel front he had crumbled away under her stare.

"What do you think you are doing?" she said.

"She called me a-"

"So what?"

He looked down, gritting his teeth. "I'm tired of people calling me a girl."

"Then cut your hair," she said. "Or get use to it. But you never yell at anyone, especially Lenalee." She turned to Froi, who immediately snapped to attention. "I believe introductions are done. You can take Kanda to his room now." She placed a hand on Lenalee's shoulder and escorted her out of the room.

Tiedoll gave out a loud sigh, and a small laugh. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Wow, we really pissed her off, now didn't we? I haven't seen her like that since Cross tried to sneak out with some girl." Kanda gave off a tch, which only caused him to laugh harder.

They started towards their rooms, following the same path as the Head Nurse. Tiedoll spotted them ahead before they turned a corner. The nurse had picked up the young child, carrying little Lenalee over her shoulder. And you accused me of me of treating my apprentice like a child he couldn't help but think.