I watched with fascination as the word sank into her consciousness, her mind clearly struggling to process what I'd just said.
That porcelain skin of hers flushed a deep crimson that spread from her cheeks down her graceful neck, disappearing beneath the neckline of her fitted top.
Whether it was anger, humiliation, or embarrassment painting her features so beautifully, I couldn't tell—but damn, Sakura looked absolutely stunning when flustered.
She shot up from the bed like she'd been electrocuted, those long, toned legs carrying her backwards until she nearly hit the wall, nearly stumbling through the scrolls. The movement made that ridiculously short skirt flutter, giving me a tantalizing glimpse of more creamy thigh above those skin-tight shorts that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
"There's no way I'm letting you…." she started, then caught herself, her voice trailing off as she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. The position only served to push her modest curves together in a way that made my mouth go dry. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
The amusement I felt must have flickered across my features, but I schooled my expression into something stern yet approachable, not so harsh as to send her fleeing, but authoritative enough not to give her little head ideas.
I remained seated on the edge of the bed, keeping my posture relaxed.
"The only joke here, Sakura," I said with that perfect blend of charm and authority, "is you believing you'd go unpunished for what you did… or that you believe yourself ready for real field missions."
The words hit exactly where I'd aimed them—her deepest insecurities about being the weakest on her team, about being a burden rather than an asset. It was psychological warfare at its finest, targeting the vulnerable spots in her self-worth that would make her more malleable to my suggestions.
Her reaction was immediate and devastating—stronger than when I'd slapped her. Those emerald eyes filled with unshed tears as she started stammering, "I—I am ready! I've been training so hard, and I—"
I softened my features deliberately, letting concern replace the sternness as I leaned forward slightly. "Hey, I understand this is difficult," I said, my voice dropping to something warmer, more compassionate. "But you need to take responsibility for your actions, Sakura. Running from consequences won't make you stronger."
As I spoke those words, I let the Devil's Whisper weave through my voice—that subtle supernatural persuasion that made words carry more weight, made them feel like absolute truth.
The ability was less effective on Sakura than it would be on others; her natural stubbornness created resistance.
I'd avoided using the Devil's Whisper so far for exactly this reason—it was less potent on her than I'd like, and honestly? The catch tasted so much sweeter when earned through pure skill rather than supernatural cheating.
With the confusion and doubt I had been working out of her, and the attacks on her insecurities, made a window for the words to slip in.
I could still see it working.
Her defensive posture began gradually, hesitatingly, to relax, those rigid shoulders dropping slightly as my words seemed to resonate deeper than they should. Her breathing slowed, and I watched the fight drain from her stance bit by bit. The flush on her cheeks remained, but now it seemed less from anger and more from something harder to define.
I took a moment to observe her, really study what type of girl Sakura was beneath all that shounen protagonist bullshit. She was remarkably selective about when to take responsibility—eager to claim credit for successes but allergic to owning her failures. In a twisted way, it almost made her more human, more real than the self-sacrificing hero archetype would suggest.
We are alike in a sense. Unlike her, however, I admit I'm not on the right side of the moral spectrum.
I licked my lips as I watched her internal struggle play out across those delicate features, her pale skin still flushed in that utterly captivating way.
Time to drive the nail home completely.
"You're making this far more serious than it needs to be," I said, my voice taking on a slightly exasperated tone. "Spanking isn't some horrible torture, Sakura. It's discipline. Compared to official punishment, it's practically nothing."
The silence stretched between us as she stood there, those tight shorts hugging every curve of her lower body while that pathetic excuse for a skirt barely covered anything meaningful. Her thighs pressed together nervously, and I could see the war of emotions playing across her face.
When she didn't respond, I let out a sigh. "I see. You've made your choice then." I stood slowly, brushing imaginary dust from my pants. "You'll be exempt from the mission onward. You'll need to report to the Disciplinary Review Board as soon as we return to the village."
Those slender hands balled into shaking fists, her head dropping as the weight of real consequences crashed down on her. The movement made her pink hair cascade over her shoulders like silk.
"I'll have to explain to your mother why her daughter is facing formal discipline proceedings," I continued in a mutter and false regret. "The poor woman….. for all her effort to rais—"
"Alright!" she cut me off, the word bursting from her lips like a dam breaking.
I paused, tilting my head. "Pardon?"
"I said... alright," she repeated reluctantly, the words seeming to scrape against her throat. "I'll accept your punishment."
Embarrassment, defeat, and something that might have been relief all warring as her emerald eyes refused to meet mine, focused somewhere around my feet.
"You're making it sound like I'm sending you to death," I sighed, shaking my head. "This is literally the lightest punishment I could think of. Most parents give their children when they misbehave."
Her jaw tightened at that, and she muttered through gritted teeth, "You're not my parent."
"Are you sure about that?" I asked, letting the implication of my relationship with her mother hang in the air like smoke. She flinched as if I'd struck her again, the reminder of exactly how deep I was with — in — her mother hitting its mark perfectly.
"Besides," I continued smoothly, "isn't there an old saying about a sensei being like parents to their students? Guiding, nurturing... disciplining when necessary."
"And…." I moved a step closer, noting how her breathing quickened slightly. "Am I not your sensei, Sakura?"
Sakura, after a brief pause, gave a reluctant nod, those green eyes still avoiding mine.
Internally, I sighed at her thick skull. How many times had I punished her for not using her voice when I asked a direct question? Did she actually enjoy earning extra correction? The thought was almost amusing—maybe she was more of a masochist than I'd initially realized.
Still, I felt the surge of victory rush through me, but I couldn't let that satisfaction show. This had to feel normal, routine—just another consequence of her actions. I nodded as if her compliance was the most natural thing in the world and returned to my seat at the edge of the bed.
Looking at her standing there, rooted in place, toes curled into her sandals like they'd hold her pride together.
"Here…" I tapped my lap twice. "Lie across."
One delicate hand flew to her chest, fingers coiled across the fabric of her top as she hesitated. Those emerald eyes were wide and shy with something between panic and disbelief. "C-could we... could we maybe do this standing instead?" she stammered, grasping for any alternative.
I shook my head with forced patience. "Perhaps next time, but for now we'll do it like this." I didn't bother explaining why—I didn't need to justify my methods to her. Hell, she'd even missed the casual implication that this might become a recurring arrangement. The thought was almost amusing.
I tapped my lap once more, more insistently this time. "Come on, Sakura."
She swallowed so loudly I could hear it from across the small space, then began walking toward me like a condemned prisoner approaching the gallows.
When she was close enough, my patience finally ran out. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her down across my lap in one smooth motion. She let out a startled yelp, her free hand flying out to brace against the mattress as she found herself suddenly bent over my thighs.
"Wait, I—" she started, twisting to look back at me with those wide, shocked eyes. The position made her pink hair spill across her shoulders like silk, and I could see the rapid rise and fall of her breathing.
"Relax," I said, settling my hand on her lower back to keep her in position. "I don't have all day. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can both move on." I paused, letting my voice carry just a hint of suggestion. "Unless you'd prefer this to last all day?"
She bit that plump lower lip and quickly turned her head forward, letting it drop in docility. My pulse quickened.
This gorgeous girl was draped across my lap, finally exactly where I wanted her. The urge to run my hands along every inch of exposed skin, to trace the curves of her body through that criminally tight outfit, was almost overwhelming. I released that tension through my nostrils in a heavy breath, my hand trembling slightly as I raised it.
Her ass, perfectly framed by those painted-on shorts, was a work of art—smaller than her mother's generous curves but perfectly proportioned to her slender frame. What she lacked in chest development, she more than made up for in the sweet curve of her hips and the way those shorts clung to every contour. The fabric was stretched so tight I could see….
My hand descended before I'd consciously given the order, the feel of firm muscle beneath soft flesh making my mouth dry. The impact sent a satisfying tremor through her entire body, and her reaction was everything I'd hoped for—that sharp intake of breath, the way she tensed every muscle in stubborn defiance and stubborn silence.
That defiance only made my hand rise again with more purpose. She wanted to be difficult? Fine. I could work with that. The second strike landed with more force, and this time I heard the smallest sound escape through her nose as she tried desperately to contain any vocal reaction.
I felt my body responding despite myself, blood rushing south as the third strike echoed through the small room. My hand lingered on the curve of her ass longer than strictly necessary, testing her boundaries, gauging how much she'd tolerate without protest. The heat from that perfect flesh seemed to burn through the thin fabric of those obscenely tight shorts.
Her head remained bowed, her pale skin flushed with embarrassment and exertion. Every muscle in her lithe frame was tense, from her delicate shoulders down to those incredible thighs that were pressed together so tightly.
The fourth smack drew another suppressed whine from her lips, and this time I let my hand rest even longer against the firm curve.
Her breathing was becoming more labored.
"You're being remarkably quiet," I observed, delivering a matching strike to her other cheek to maintain fairness. "That's not necessarily good for your health, you know."
This time when my hand settled against her ass, I let it move slightly, fingers tracing the contours through that second-skin fabric. Her body was a fascinating contradiction—softer than most kunoichi, clearly less battle-hardened, yet firmer than any civilian woman. The perfect balance of youth and training.
Not fit for a kunoichi's life—but perfect for a shinobi's bed.
The feel of her beneath my palm was intoxicating. Each gentle movement of my hand sent subtle tremors through her frame, and I could feel the way she fought to keep herself perfectly still, not wanting to give me any more satisfaction than absolutely necessary.
Those pink strands of hair had fallen across her face like a curtain, but I could still see the way her jaw was clenched, the stubborn set of her shoulders even in this compromising position. She was not oblivious to what I was doing. Everything about her radiated defiant beauty, from the graceful curve of her neck to the way that ridiculous excuse for a skirt had ridden up just enough to give me an even better view.
On the sixth smack, delivered with deliberate force to test her resolve, those pink lips finally parted.