Chapter 74 – The Punishment.

Chapter 74 – The Punishment. Announcement

Three today!

Akagi was sitting on a raised tatami mat in her audience chamber. She was wearing her formal haori and had a stern look on her face as she looked at two of her followers who sat in dogeza. This was to be a quasi trial and punishment for the significant intelligence failure the other day. Ordinarily, Akagi should have known that two members of Libra had entered Kyoto. But for some reason, neither she nor Yumi was ever informed and she wanted to know why. Yumi stood off to the side and was carrying a wooden box. She was also wearing her formal wear as Akagi wanted this to be an official clan action.

"Raise your heads." Akagi's voice was more authoritative and stern than usual. She glared down at the two of them, her eyes showing how serious things were.

Chloe and her subordinate Sakura rose to look Akagi in the eye. Both knew why they were there, and while Chloe looked calm and composed, Sakura was visibly nervous. She'd been placed under house arrest the day of the attack as she was the one responsible for the intelligence failure in question. Chloe was on another mission so this meeting was postponed until she returned.

"Do you know why you've been brought before me?" Akagi's orange eye seemed to peer directly into their souls.

"Yes, Myaster." Chloe nodded her head.

"Yes, My Lord." Sakura gave a nervous reply.

"Good, that will make things easier." Akagi looked at the two of them, before locking eyes with Sakura. The fox girl flinched under the weight of Akagi's gaze.

"Sakura," Akagi spoke to the fox girl. "Explain to me why you failed to properly inform me, or anyone within your clan that Hijax and Sumeralia were in the Kansai region, or what their plans were." Before anything else, Akagi wanted to find out what went wrong and fix it. "I expect you to answer."

"I have no excuse, my Lord." Sakura bowed her head. "I failed to adequately perform the task assigned to me. I am not worthy of forgiveness."

"I will be the one to determine that, not you." Akagi corrected her. "And that did not answer my question. Why was I not made aware of Libra's activities within Kyoto? What reason could you have for not informing me, or your direct superiors?" Akagi had a few ideas as to what happened, some benign, some not so much.

Sakura kept bowing. "I did not think them to be a threat, a gross error in judgment, my Lord. I was tasked with providing surveillance and tracking of threats to our operations, and I judged that those two presented no threat."Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

"I see," Akagi mused. She had a feeling this might have been the reason. She'd specified threats in her mission to the ninja and it seems that terminology came back to bite her. At least Sakura hadn't turned traitor, something Akagi had considered a possibility. "Why did you not view them as a threat? Surely you understand that all players that kept their abilities are powerful?"

"Because I believed that even if powerful compared to us, they would be no match for you." Sakura explained. "I'm aware that Libra has been attacking civilian populations to cause terror, but I assumed that you cared little for the people of this world and so chose not to report their actions. Please forgive my incompetence."

"Of course, my Lord. Thank you for your generosity." (Chloe x Sakura.)

"The lashes will be carried out immediately. Yumi, please bring me the instrument. Chloe, Sakura, take off your shirts and expose your backs and place your hands on your thighs." Akagi wanted to deal with this part immediately, not because she was torn up about it, but because she wanted everyone to get back to work.

The two did exactly as asked, and Yumi opened the wooden box and handed Akagi a large wooden paddle.

"Please bite down on this." Yumi handed the two girls a piece of wood to bite into. This was to ensure they didn't bite their tongue and to help dull the pain, even if only slightly. Akagi wasn't exactly going to put her full power into the swings, but she would ensure they hurt.

"Now then," Akagi decided to start with Chloe. She stood behind her and took a stance. "ONE!"

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Once everything was taken care of, Chloe and Sakura were taken to their rooms to begin their confinement. Akagi had gone into her private study and was currently sitting at a desk, going over documents. Yumi brought her some coffee and offered it to her.

"Thank you." Akagi smiled as she took the cup. "You know, that was the first time I've ever had to do something like that." She'd admonished some of her followers for their actions or mistakes before, but corporal punishment wasn't something she'd ever had to do before.

"Do you regret it?" Yumi asked.

"No," Akagi shook her head. "It needed to be done. That's just how big the mistake was. If I let them go without any punishment, it would make me look weak and make it seem that I had no stomach to punish people for their errors." Strict discipline kept the well oiled machine that was her clan running.

"While I would disagree that any of us would view you as weak. I do agree that your actions were necessary and proper. Honestly, you could have given an even harsher punishment, and no one would have batted an eye." Yumi was certain that if Akagi told them to offer up their lives as punishment the two would gladly do just that.

"Yes, I'm sure I could have." Akagi shrugged. "But what benefit would I gain from taking more extreme measures?" Akagi continued as she sipped her coffee. "Wounding them permanently or killing them would only serve to deplete my forces, and I have no desire to kill a member of this family unless absolutely necessary. I understand that people make mistakes, myself included, and I do not expect perfection. I'm more interested in ensuring that such a thing does not happen again."

Akagi was a pretty hardcore pragmatist in most cases. Though this sometimes led her to have a pretty utilitarian view of things that most people saw as alien. She never understood why villains in stories would kill subordinates for mistakes unless, of course, it was part of a pattern of behavior or some nefarious reason. Even then, in the case of the former, she would probably just demote them. She might not want to admit it, but she had quite a soft spot for the members of her family and would use kid gloves on them for the most part.

"Well, I don't think you need to worry." Yumi smiled. "Honestly, I think people would be more upset if you didn't punish them. Sakura was already getting some harassment by other ninja for her mistake. Hence why we confined her to her room until Chloe got back."

"Yeah, we need to make sure that stops. I have no intention of tolerating bullying or anything like that. She was punished and that will be the end of it." Akagi wanted to move quickly to prevent such harassment. She knew her subordinates were loyal, but sometimes she felt their devotion went too far. “She's been punished by me, anyone attempting to add further is inserting themselves into my role and that will not be tolerated.”