Lady Chinatsu had been eerily quiet, a crazed calm tingling under her skin, visible in her half lidded eyes. She allowed Kana to comb her hair, her head leaning this way or that with the gentle strokes, the morning was spent this way until Kana was done, the honorable lady spoke. "Bring me his head Kana-chan, won't you? His head." She sounded like a little girl almost, the request so simple and innocent, as though she were simply asking Kana to go to the store and get her some sweets. It made Kana wince.
"Of course Chinatsu-dono." came her reply, her voice hurt with the force of sounding chipper, her smile offset by the worried furrow of her brow. She did not like what the Lady had become, but it was not her place to judge. "Today we will find the men, and tomorrow we will-" - "GO THEN." Lady Chinatsu's voice cut violently through the ending of Kana's sentence, she froze and shrunk. "Yes ma'am." Kana deftly left the room. She used to cry when Lady Chinatsu yelled at her, but now Kana knew better than to waste her tears, the honorable madam did not mean it, she was simply in grief. She had to remember not to take these things personally, though it was difficult.
"Is she in a mood again?" Lady Chinatsu's mother asked as she passed by her. When was she ever not in a mood? "I think she is simply impatient is all." Kana hadn't the heart to speak ill of Lady Chinatsu and made excuses and underplayed Chinatsu-dono's condition often enough to where the old woman knew what Kana really meant. With a sigh she turned away from Kana, off to see her daughter, "Do yourself a favor and find yourself a husband dear, one that will take you away from here and this nonsense. And if you'd stop playing with swords and put your hair up you'd find one much quicker..."
Kana silently watched her leave for a moment before continuing on her way to the dojo the family owned on their property. Today she would be hiring ronin to avenge the deaths of everyone she had ever loved, and for the lost sanity of the woman she had admired growing up. The weight of this task made her anxious and giddy. Already she had several recommendations from trusted individuals in town, telling her so and so was known for never having failed yet, and that this other person was as good as a legend. The tree was ripe for picking apparently and if this was ever going to happen now was the time. She had the assistance of Lady Chinatsu's father in this matter. He had set up a notice in various places, inviting ronin to come to his home and try their hand against one another, the strongest would be selected for the job.
Upon arrival Kana saw how many ronin this attracted, and in the great city of Edo there were many who did not have work and desperately needed it. At least twenty men had shown up, not a bad number, or was it? Kana was not sure in these matters. She observed them spar from a distance for a while, before turning away, taking the tessen from the belt of her kimono and unfurling it, using it to block out the sun. Today her tessen and hidden tanto would be her warried weapons. She would go to ask the barmen and shop owners if they had any promising customers to speak of.
"Ah! Kana-chan this way!" A barkeep waved Kana down, "This is the man I was talking to you about. A good strong fellow I hired not too long ago, he'll get whatever job you need done." Kana reached the two and bowed customarily. "Thank you Miyazaki-sama."