A Samurai's Punishment

Unlike some of my other work, this is a relatively short, more sex-focused standalone story. I wanted to try out writing some femdom and BDSM stuff from the perspective of a male character, as that's something I haven't really done before. Note that while this is set in a sort of vague/generic setting inspired by feudal Japan, this is not at all intended to be a historically accurate rendition. I just found that the relationship between a samurai and his liege to be an interesting dynamic to explore from a BDSM perspective.

***

My fellow disgraced samurai and I stood upon the road leading up the mountain to Oka Castle. As a boy, I had stared at the elegant roofs and battlements in wonder, dreaming of one day serving as a samurai within that hallowed fortress. As a young man, I had trained within its courtyards and had defended it from the forces of Lord Araya.

And now I returned to that castle in disgrace, having failed Lord Oka when he'd needed me most. My liege was dead, cut down in the night by barbarian assassins the night before the great battle on the coast. Though we had avenged him and had thrown the invaders back into the churning sea, the shame persisted.

Vengeance had not erased our failure.

The only way to achieve some semblance of atonement was to throw myself at the feet of Lord Oka's heir.

"This is foolish, Reizo," said Shuji, one of the other dishonored samurai who had ridden with me to the castle. "Lady Ikumi Oka will need to show strength and cruelty to display her power: she will make an example of us."

"Two days ago, I heard you talk a courtesan into giving you a discount because you were riding to face an honorable death at the hands of your new liege," I growled, my eyes not leaving the imposing gates of the fortress that would serve as my grave. "Now that there are no whores to woo, it seems your honor has fled."

"That was idle chatter, my friend. Foolish talk. Not quite as foolish as the notion of you striding in there and offering Lady Oka your head." He patted my shoulder; I flinched, half-tempted to strike him. "My cousin says there is plenty of work for ronin in Asai province. Lots of bandits and pirates to hunt. You can restore your honor with the blood of criminals."

"We would be but a step above such criminals," I said, still glaring at the castle gates.

"We need not be petty mercenaries," said Koshiro, the third member of our dishonored little band. He was an older samurai who had a family of his own, so I judged his hesitation far less harshly than I did Shuji's. "The new Lord Araya is said to be a far more honorable man than his grandfather. A far more worthy employer. And he is in need of warriors. Good pay. Proper work. There is honor to be found there."

"Given the bad blood between Clans Oka and Araya, I very much doubt that," I grumbled. "The new Lord Araya is just as likely to kill us as Lady Oka is. At least here, we can die with our honor restored."

Both of the others sighed.

"I cannot do this," Koshiro said. "I only rode all this way with you to see if I could persuade you otherwise."

"Walk your own path, old friend," I said with a warm smile at the kindly old samurai who'd been like an uncle to me. "Hunt bandits, bow to Lord Araya, or stride into this castle to meet our fate head-on. The same goes for you, Shuji," I said, my smile fading as I glanced at the younger warrior. "I will not attempt to sway you. Nor can you sway me."

"If you insist on marching in there to die," Shuji grumbled. "Just...don't tell them that we're close by. At least give us a head start before Lady Oka's vengeful samurai come for us."

"As you wish, Shuji. My dishonor is my own. You walk your path, I shall walk mine."

Shuji sighed and withdrew a bottle of sake from his pack and offered it to me. With a shrug, I took one last drink, wrinkled my nose at the foul taste; Shuji had poor taste in both liquor and women. After Koshiro gave me a brief embrace, the other warriors turned their horses around and I rode alone up the path towards the gates.

Four men in the black and red armor of the Oka clan stood watch, spears and bows at the ready. My own armor was wrapped and bound within my saddlebags; given my disgrace, I no longer possessed the will to wear it.

I dismounted and announced myself.

"I am a former samurai to Lord Oka. I am here to present myself to Lady Ikumi Oka, so she may decide my fate."

One of the guards leaned forward.

"Reizo?"

I did not recognize the man, but I gave a nod.

"What took you so long? Lord Oka died a month ago."

"I spent several weeks scouring the shores for surviving invaders, in the hopes of reclaiming some semblance of honor."

One of the guards let out a soft chuckle.

"I daresay you did, Reizo. The other soldiers and samurai who returned told of your bravery. A dozen invaders dead, piled high around Lord Oka's body. They say you used Lord Oka's own blade to kill two demons conjured by the invaders' witches."

I had killed four of the barbarian assassins in Lord Oka's presence, and there had certainly been no demons at the battle. Some of the invaders, though, had fought fiercely enough that they might as well have been otherworldly beasts.

"Lord Oka perished under my watch. This is why I have returned to face his successor's justice. If she wills it."

"A waste, if you ask me," said the soldier who'd recognized me. "But very well."

The gates opened into the flower-lined courtyard of the great castle. Dozens of young samurai trained with wooden swords under the stern eyes of Kenko, the seasoned brute who had trained me and Shuji. I prayed he did not notice my arrival; I feared such an encounter almost as much as I did the prospect of facing Lord Oka's successor.

Thankfully the grizzled samurai was too focused on berating the new recruits to pay me any mind. The sentry led me up the steps and into the castle's central tower. He sent a servant to inform Lady Oka of my arrival and then he turned towards me, grinning.

"What was it like?" he asked, his voice brimming with eager delight.

"The battle? Horrific. All of Lord Oka's other wars and clashes paled in comparison to the carnage of a single day upon that beach."

"I still regret that I was not there alongside you. Broke my damned ankle falling off a horse, so I missed the muster."

"Banish that regret, my friend. Rejoice that you instead stood guard faithfully here."

He wrinkled his nose and a delicate young woman entered the foyer. She wore an immaculate silk kimono in the colors of Clan Oka, with her face painted white, and her black hair pulled into a tight, immaculate bun. Like most other noble handmaidens and castle servants, she kept her eyes downcast in the presence of a samurai. Given my disgrace, she needn't have paid me such deference.

"Follow me, please," she said in a soft whisper.

Gritting my teeth, I followed the handmaiden through the castle I had once bled to protect, through the home that had belonged to my liege. A home that Lord Oka would never see again, due to my failure.

Rather than lead me to the main hall where Lord Oka had usually received his guests, the handmaiden instead showed me to the gardens within the rear courtyard of the castle. Birds flitted between colorful flowers; cherry blossoms flowed gently in the wind. Water bubbled from a few springs scattered through the garden.

A lone woman knelt beside the water, inscribing something upon a scroll. Like the handmaiden, she was thin and delicate, with pale skin adorned with white makeup upon her face and splashes of red on her cheeks. She wore a black kimono decorated with intricate depictions of foxes and serpents. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, with ruby-studded pins holding back the sleek dark locks.

She turned her cold dark eyes towards me and raised a thin, immaculately-groomed eyebrow.

"Yua," she said in a low, icy tone to the handmaiden. "Who is this muddy, sweaty man you have brought into my presence?"

I fell to my knees, pressing my forehead to the dirt.

"I am Reizo, my lady. Once the sworn sword of your uncle. I failed him and so I have returned here to face your judgment."

"'Failed him,'" she repeated. "There is already a poet in my court composing a poem about my uncle's death. I believe he was going to include a line or two about you. His metaphor of choice was something about a 'gray-flecked black wolf' who avenged the mighty lord. Raise your gaze, Reizo."

I did so, my dark, unwavering eyes boring into hers. There was a gleam of amusement in her stare, as if she was not a woman who held the power of life and death over me. Lady Ikumi could have commanded me to tear open my guts before her very eyes and I'd have done so. She could have commanded me to swim to the mainland to kill as many barbarians as I could, and I would complied without question.

And yet she instead seemed on the precipice of making a joke.

"'Gray-flecked black wolf.' Yes. An apt metaphor," she said.

I did indeed have streaks of gray through my long, unkempt black hair, even though I was only a few years past thirty. The stress of the war against the barbarians seemed to have aged me by at least a decade.

"Wolves are dirty and wild things, too, making the metaphor even more apt. Yua: see to it this man has a bath. A thorough one. If I am to decide his fate, I will not do it while distracted by the stench of the road."

Yua murmured with obeisance and led me back into the castle. Baffled by that interaction, I kept silent as the handmaiden showed me to another spring ensconced deep within the fortress.

Several towels and soaps awaited me. I had not had a proper bath since setting out to war. It took considerable effort to wipe away the grime, mud, sweat, and dirt from my body. There was even a bit of dried blood clinging to my forearm, a reminder of a quick but bloody fight against some bandits who had ambushed us on the journey home.

Even when I was finished, I knew I would look the part of a wild wolf given my hair and thick layer of stubble. The handmaiden returned, bearing a fresh change of clothes: the black and red robes of a proper samurai of Clan Oka. My limbs trembled with self-loathing as I donned them, for I had left behind my own robe back at the battlefield, ashamed by the blood of my lord that had stained the fine fabric. Ever since, I'd just worn threadbare peasant's garb that had grown dirty and frayed during the long journey back.

When we returned to the garden, Lady Oka had finished writing in her scroll and was tending to the weeds growing up around the roots of one of the cherry trees.

Once more I prostrated myself, pressing my head to the dirt.

"What is it you hoped for in coming here?" Lady Ikumi asked as Yua bowed and departed.

"An end to my shame, no matter the cost."

"And how, precisely, would you wish for that shame to end?"

"In whatever fashion my liege requires."

The young woman let out a long sigh.

"My uncle spoke your praises, in the few times that I actually saw him. I can see why you got along so well: you're just as damnably stubborn as he was."

I allowed myself the faintest of smiles at that. Indeed, my liege had been a notoriously headstrong man. It was one of the reasons why I had adored him so much, as he always insisted on doing the right thing no matter the cost.

"Raise your gaze," Ikumi said.

I lifted up my head, remaining upon my knees as she continued to tend to the weeds.

"Be honest with me, Reizo. If you could pick the outcome of this path, what would it be? Suicide? Exile?"

My brow furrowed. The whole point of my journey had been to throw myself at my new liege's feet, as honor demanded. My fate was not mine to decide.

"My lady, I-"

With a growl, she tossed aside the weeds she'd collected and stalked over to me with surprising speed. After crouching down before me, her thin, delicate fingers grasped my chin.

I shuddered at that fierce touch, but did not shirk away.

"Tell me, Reizo. Select your perfect outcome. Do not choose what you would do in my shoes, nor what my uncle would have done. Choose whatyou would want me to do."

"I do not-"

Ikumi let out another growl, rose to her feet, and balled her hands into fists.

"I would strike you, but a self-loathing samurai like you would probably rejoice at the pain."

"My lady, I am no samurai. Not after your uncle's death. I am ronin, and-"

Ikumi's thin fingers took a firm hold of my gray-flecked hair and yanked my head backwards, forcing me to gaze up at the woman who could command my death if she wished it.

"Choose, Reizo," she hissed in my face, her perfume wafting over me. "Do you just want todie?"

As I stared into her dark, angry eyes I caught something else. A warm gleam that went beyond just fury.

No. I was seeing things.

"I want to serve. I want to fight. If I need to return to my duties as a simple guard or sentry, I would gladly do so. Through work and effort, I will prove my value once again."

"You want to spend years on dull, boring guard duty. Wandering up and down the battlements all night, staring out into darkness. A peasant could do that."

With one hand still gripping my hair, the other reached down, grasped my wrist, and turned my hand over to exposes the scars and callouses upon my palm and fingers.

"The hands of a killer. The hands of a man who has already avenged his lord. And you wish to play sentry?"

Her hand tightened within my hair. Sparks erupted along the lines of pain unleashed by that grip. My thighs trembled.

"Choose, Reizo. I know that may be a hard concept for an honor-blinded samurai. Choose."

A shudder rippled through me.

"I want the honor of wearing Clan Oka armor again. I want to stand at your side in battle or lead troops your troops into the fray. I want the blood of your enemies to stain my steel. I want your foes to shriek in terror at the sound of my name. I want my name to echo like thunder behind the lightning of Clan Oka. I want to kill, to fight, to serve...just as I did for your uncle."

With every word, the fire and strength within me grew as I imagined myself once more shedding blood in Clan Oka's name.

"Finally," she snapped, releasing my hair and taking a step back. "Words with some fire and iron within them."

During the confrontation, a few strands of hair had slipped out of her bun and she put them back into place.

"It would be a waste to exile a man of your skill. An even greater waste to demand your suicide. I will not cast aside such talents. Not when I have such need of them."

"'Need', my lady?" I asked, frowning. "Who assails Clan Oka?"

"Nobody yet. But Lord Araya has been quite insistent with his marriage offers and I worry that my continued refusals could lead to greater tensions. It is unusual for a woman to ascend to rule over a clan; though my uncle did me a great favor by publicly naming me as his successor before he marched to war, this will still not be an easy transition."

"And I will be honored to stand at your side, my lady. Against the Araya clan. Against whomever else doubts your right to rule."

That fiery gleam returned to her eyes and she took another step back.

"And yet...I cannot help but feel that I must temper my mercy with judgment."

"Name your punishment and I shall embrace it."

A few weeks in exile or a time of penitent service at a monastery. Perhaps even a flogging or some other sort of painful punishment. Whatever the cost.

"I shall think upon it. For now, I shall have Yua show you to the guest quarters. After my council meeting, I shall summon you once more for judgment."

Somehow it actually feltright that I was about to receive some sort of punishment or discipline for my failure. To simply return to my status as an honored bodyguard would have been too easy, too simple.

I'd have felt shame and regret for the rest of my days if my path to redemption did not at least contain a few thorns.

**

After I stepped inside the amply-furnished guest quarters, Yua let out a soft cough from out in the hall. I turned; she remained just beyond the doorway, eyes downcast.

"A word of warning," she said softly. "I have an inkling of what sort of punishment Lady Oka intends to visit upon you."

She glanced up and down the hall, as if to check if anyone was listening.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Was her talk of restoring me to service some sort of cruel ruse?"

"No, not at all. Ikumi, is..." She cleared her throat again. "I mean,Lady Oka is an honorable woman. She will not order your exile or suicide and she will keep to her word. But the punishment she alluded to is perhaps of a different nature than you were expecting."

"How so?"

Even through the makeup adorning her face, I saw red blossom upon her cheeks.

"I have said too much. Forgive me."

The handmaiden scampered off. Nearly as baffled by Yua's behavior as I'd been by Ikumi's, I sighed and slipped back into my room, settling into a series of meditative poses to relax and focus for the coming meeting.

A few hours later, Yua returned, offering not a single word or warning as she led me up the stairs. To my surprise, she took me to the residential wing instead of the gardens or council chambers.

We passed by several guards and other handmaidens, none of whom paid us any mind.

Soon we reached a large set of sliding doors; candlelight flickered up and down the hall. Yua bowed her head.

"Wait here until you are summoned." She sighed. "Good luck."

With that, she scampered off down the hall. Still utterly baffled, I fell into another meditative pose before the doors, remaining still and silent for another ten minutes before Lady Ikumi Oka's cold voice sliced through the air.

"Enter."

After a deep breath I stepped inside, expecting to see a few other samurai waiting for me, perhaps with clubs or whips to unleash some sort of brutal penance upon my flesh.

Instead, Ikumi knelt in front of a scroll, dabbing a brush in ink before adding a few more strokes to the page. She wore the same kimono she'd worn during our first meeting, though she'd let down her hair and had tied it into a single long braid, adorned with ruby-studded pins.

Despite my circumstances, I couldn't help but take in a sharp breath at her beauty. During my meditation, it had taken some effort to dispel the lustful thoughts that had been ignited by the way she'd clutched at my chin and hair.

"I noticed a bit of trepidation in Yua's voice when she served me tea not long after she showed you to your quarters. Did something happen?" she asked, not looking up from her work.

I had no desire to shame myself further with a lie.

"Yes, my lady. She tried to warn me about the nature of the punishment you had in mind, but she offered no specifics."

"Such a kind, delicate thing. I wonder, though, if she offered that warning, knowing full well that she in turn would be punished as well."

"I do not think she deserves that, my lady. She spoke your praises, assuring me that you would keep to your word and-"

When she rose and turned around, I realized that she had not fully fastened her kimono: much of her upper chest was exposed, the pale skin gleaming in the candlelight.

She crossed the room towards me. Though I towered over her, I couldn't help but feel small beneath that stern glare of hers.

Once more those soft fingers reached out and took me by the chin.

"When I clutched you like this in the garden, I saw something. A need. Do not lie to me, Reizo. Was my perception correct?"

I did not nod, out of fear that doing so would force her fingers from me.

"Yes, my lady. A flash of instinct, nothing more."

"Nothing more? What a shame."

Her hand fell away.

"My lady, I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, you handsome fool," she said with a snort and a dismissive wave as she settled back in front of the scroll. "I thought I detected genuine lust in your eyes back in the garden. Noting your foolish need to be punished, I thought of a punishment that would be enjoyable, in a way, for the both of us. But it seems you have no desire for that."