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 what
