[If Kaoru were less well-versed in the art of deception, he would almost certainly be grinning at that. The people around them can write their conversation off as a dreadfully dry but perfectly well-versed expression of Professional Grief, but he can hear the undercurrent of insult even more clearly...

Of course he can. He's a passive-aggressive shitheel; this is the language he's most fluent in.]

Certainly, Kazama Chikage was someone who stood out even among our own.

[As in, "we're all shitheads more or less but boy, he sure took the cake sometimes". Kaoru's gaze drifts back toward the front of the room somewhat solemnly.]

The atmosphere will be very different now, I'd think. It's an unfortunate thing in such a turbulent time.