Uchimori was admittedly dumbfounded and exasperated with this group. It took all of her power to keep herself from palming her face and continue to sit there in an unmoving and dignified manner when the would-be employer finished talking and one could have heard a pin drop. How they could remain so quiet was confounding her. The only explanation that she could develop was that they all possessed a complete lack of curiosity. The young ronin furrowed her brow; narrowing eyes glanced down at the weapon in front of her as she considered the situation in the short-lived silence.
There were other explanations, but for one such as herself who would kill to be able to voice her many questions she simply couldn’t stand nor understand their silence beyond that.
Her eyes widened in disbelief when the other some-what feminine ronin finally spoke; his inquiry was shocking to say the least. Of all the imperative questions that could have been asked he chooses to ask when the task would begin. Despite her desire to remain straight-laced Uchimori’s bafflement and irritation was starting to burst through her practiced façade with the twitching of her right eye and not to subtle leering. Forcefully she looked away and closed her eyes, set her jaw firmly, and wished she could growl but chose to compromise by simply sighing silently instead.
When Kohaku-sama continued by answering the ronin’s question, Uchimori kept her eyes closed. Only when he stopped himself midway and she heard the opening of a door did she finally allow her violet windows to peer out from behind their blinds once again. Uchimori felt her eyebrow rise in curiosity as a young girl and older man entered the dojo. The girl was of little concern to Uchimori and easily ignored by the female ronin, but the man was different. He gave off an air of experience and well controlled blood lust. He was a ronin, and not one Uchimori would wish to fight. She wasn’t sure that she could escape such an encounter unscathed.
The girl pushed the man into the dojo rather unceremoniously and, though some would find that quite disagreeable, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Yet, though seemingly acting careless the way he analyzed his surroundings and company did not go unnoticed. Especially not when his eyes landed upon her own form and a look of surprise followed by amusement gleamed in his eyes. Uchimori flinched slightly but then simply frowned and averted her gaze.
As he made the trip however, the physician was sure to analyze the company, it would make sense to do so seeing as how he likely was to spend quite a bit of time with them. His eyes glanced over the taller gentlemen first. One sat with an air of dignified restraint that seemed painfully practiced and tempted Hidemasa with the thought of patting him on the back and telling him to loosen up. Perhaps at a later date the physician would do exactly that. The other tall one sat quietly in one of the corners of the room, he seemed relaxed, like he had just woken from a short nap.
Finally his eyes moved over to the other two more feminine ronin. Hidemasa was only marginally surprised to see such petite men serving as sword wielders. With his experience in battle he had seen warriors of all shapes and sizes. No, what got him was the wave of dissatisfaction that washed over him when he observed that the very lovely and obviously proud Kanabo-wielding ronin was a man. It was a disgrace that such delicate girlishness would be wasted on a male.
Then the ronin’s eyes moved to the next indignity. Another feminine man. Sakurai’s eyes widened. Rather, he would be prone to believe that she was a he due to the way she was dressed, but somehow, Hidemasa had the sinking suspicion that were he to make an attempt at touching ‘him’ in any manner that would be deemed inappropriate if he were a woman, he would make quite the shocking discovery about this so-called man. That would be something he would most certainly have to try later.
Turning away from his observations he faced Kana’s father, Kohaku Souji. The man was quite polite in his greeting, and Sakurai was sure to return the gesture, bowing when bowed to and responding to Kohaku-sama’s words, “She was no trouble at all Kohaku-sama, contrary I enjoyed her company very much. It is clear she has been well nurtured.” Directing his words back to serious matters, Hidemasa continued, “As for what I’ve been informed of, I am aware that this is a quest for revenge against Warlord Yousuke. I know not how much you know of me but allow me to introduce myself. As your daughter said, I am Sakurai Hidemasa, I currently serve as a physician, however, I have worked the majority of my life as ronin. Your daughter sought me out so that I may offer my skills in both fields to this task.” Smiling in his normally friendly manner Hidemasa questioned Souji, “If I may ask, however, going after a warlord is no easy task, especially with so few men, how much progress have you made in your strategy and how much information have you gathered about our enemy? I do hope I have not overstepped my bounds, but I believe it is imperative that we all know where we stand.”