Chapter 36: A 'Correction' in the Penthouse

The "private lounge" is not private. It is a 'black site'. The second the heavy soundproof door clicks shut, the entire atmosphere changes. The "Oasis" is a place of bright lights and fake smiles. This room is cold. It is a simple, dark room with no windows, just a long, polished table and some chairs.

The three "pests" are there. They are standing, not sitting. They look cocky. And Kenichi is here. He is standing by the door, like a mountain.

"So," the leader, the one with the scar, says. He is sneering. At her. "This is the 'private party'? I was hoping for something better. Where is the..."

"You are trespassing." Ayako's voice cuts through the room like a shard of ice. She walks slowly to the head of the table. She does not sit. She just stands there.

"You are Hitsune-kai," she states. It is not a question.

The men flinch. Their cocky attitude vanishes.

"How... how did you...?" the leader stammers.

"You are loud," Ayako says, her voice full of disgust. "You are messy. You are new. And you are stupid enough to poach on my territory."

"This... this is Bokumuchi-kai territory," the leader says, trying to sound tough. But his voice is shaky.

"This," Ayako says, "is my Oasis. And you are rats."

I am just standing by the door, next to Kenichi. I am her "bodyguard." I am a witness. My heart is hammering so hard I am afraid they can hear it.

"This... this is business, Ojou-sama," the scar-guy says, and he is bowing now. A sloppy, scared bow. "Just... business. We... we will leave..."

"You will leave," Ayako agrees, her voice a deadly purr. "But... you will carry a message."

"A message?"

"To your master," Ayako says. "That... the 'Dragon's Daughter'... is unimpressed with his rats."

The leader is scared. He is sweating. "Yes, Ojou-sama! Of course! We... we apologize..."

"Apology is inefficient," Ayako says. She looks at me. Just for a second. Her eyes are black. "Shoujo," she says.

My blood stops. "Yes... Ojou-sama?" I whisper.

"Observe," she says. "This is correction."

She looks at the leader. "You offended me. And you threatened my client. But worse..."

She moves. She is not gliding. She is fast. She closes the distance. The pests tense. One of the flunkies pulls a knife. "Ojou-sama!" he yells.

I tense. My training kicks in. I am moving.

"STAND DOWN!" Kenichi's voice booms. And he moves. Kenichi is not a driver. He is a blur. He intercepts the flunky.

CRACK.

THUD.

The flunky is down. His arm is not right. The other flunky freezes.

But Ayako did not stop. She ignored the knife. She trusted Kenichi. Her target was the leader. She is in front of him. The leader swings. A big, sloppy punch.

"Pathetic," Ayako whispers.

She ducks under it. Kiba Dachi. My stance. She sinks into it.

THUD.

Her palm-heel strike. Up. Under his chin. His head snaps back. His teeth clack. He stumbles back.

Ayako follows. She grabs his wrist, the one he swung with. She twists. Not like Hina. Not to 'control'. She twists to 'break'. The leader screams. A high, thin sound.

"This is my message," Ayako whispers, hissing in his ear. She slams his face down onto the table. 

CRACK. The table shudders. The leader gurgles.

The room is silent. Except for the gurgling.

Ayako steps back. She smooths down her dress. She looks at her hand. She looks disgusted. She pulls a silk handkerchief from her bag. She wipes her fingers.

She looks at the last flunky, the one standing. He has wet himself.

"Kenichi," Ayako says, her voice bored.

"Ojou-sama."

"Take out the trash," she commands. "Send this one, the leader, back to the Hitsune-kai. With my compliments."

"And... the other one?" Kenichi asks, gesturing to the guy with the knife.

"He pulled a knife on my Ojou-sama," Ayako says, her voice dead. "He is unacceptable. Handle him permanently."

My blood turns to ice. "Permanently?"

Ayako turns to me. Her eyes are black. Empty.

"This is my world, Shoujo," she whispers. "You pulled your knife on a bully. We correct our problems... forever."