Chapter 40

Timing is the key to many things; striking true, killing quietly, even a successful seduction.

I held the wooden sword in both hands while facing my opponent. I was far from the best swordsman in the school, unless the rules were changed to approximate a life and death struggle. In those circumstances, I could take a clean kill and a simultaneous one out of five matches with the master. None of the other students could do as well, which puzzled them. I could have explained, but how do you tell someone that killing will teach you that holding back is a down payment on defeat. I had killed, with gun, knife, and bare hands, so my body did not need my brain to tell it when to strike.

Two clean kills to three deaths later, the master bowed respectfully to me. The Brotherhood represented a danger, honing my edge to make me a more dangerous opponent. The master's smile was pleased as he walked away; I would never be his equal without sharpened steel between us, but he felt closer to his ancestors when he faced me.

I dumped my training bag on the couch and sat down hard. The living room was full and I could hear more people walking around on the second floor. Janet and Melisa were in the early stages of what promised to be a bloody exchange. Rachel and Doris Alex looked at me asking me to get between the two combatants before they had to clean up the carnage.

"Melisa!" I said sharply as she took a deep breath to blast Janet, with a scathing retort, after receiving a particularly nasty insult. "I need your help."

Melisa deflated instantly, and dismissed Janet by turning to give me her full attention. Janet seethed, but seemed to console herself with having had the last word.

"What do you need, David?" Melisa asked sweetly.

"My martial arts school," I said thoughtfully. "I'd like it moved."

"You don't own the martial arts school, David," Melisa said reasonably sitting down next to me.

"I think the master is feeling financial pressure from the building owners," I told her. "A benefactor that wanted to move the school to a more appropriate location would be welcome."

"Why do you want it moved?" she asked.

"I like the idea of a more traditional surrounding; a couple of buildings, some gardens," I told her. "The school is the only place I can get away from everyone here."

"Do you have some ideas for a location?" she asked.

I had plenty of ideas about what I wanted, but giving Melisa large projects with few details kept her too busy to look for new ways to manipulate people around her. I was about to answer when the front door opened. I turned to see who was entering the house, when Malia stumbled and fell into the hallway from the foyer. Michael's laughter penetrated into the house. Malia stood up, faced the front door, and cursed at him. She finished a vicious set of curses, before turning towards the living room. When her eyes met mine, she squeaked out another curse.

"You're dressed," Melisa told her.

"Michael pushed me," Malia defended immediately.

"From the front door, past the foyer, and into the house?" Melisa asked unbelievingly.

"I forgot for a second, but I stopped myself before I stepped into the hallway," Malia said quietly. "I was leaning in when Michael bumped me the rest of the way."

"It doesn't matter," Melisa said forcefully. "You've been standing INSIDE the house, fully dressed, for at least a minute in direct violation of David's instruction."

Stephanie, Nancy and Heather walked down the steps talking, but froze when they saw Malia.

"You're not in uniform!" Heather said excitedly to Malia.

"Michael pushed me," Malia repeated uselessly.

Stephanie's eyes widened and she looked on the edge of panic. I stood up and approached Malia. I looked towards the front door to see Michael leaning against the door frame.

"You can say thank you later, David," he crowed.

"Why would I say thank you?" I asked him.

"Psshuh!" he said with a smirk. "Nobody lays down ultimatums, with spankings as punishment, without expecting to have an aching hand at some point."

I nodded slowly; there had been an expectation that Malia would eventually force me to make good on my threat.

"Can I watch?" Michael asked me.

"You'll have to step into the house to do that," I pointed out.

"Malia's still wearing clothing," he said.

I shrugged and waited.

"Get in uniform, Malia," Michael ordered.

"Go fuck yourself!" Malia yelled before stomping angrily into the living room.

"Doris Alex? Melisa?" Michael pleaded. "Make her take off her clothes."

Janet, Doris Alex, Rachel and Melisa had followed me into the hallway.

"I'm supposed to help you when you aided and abetted getting my ass spanked?" Melisa asked tauntingly.

"I want to watch," Michael whined.

"No," Doris Alex said with finality. "Unless you step into the house, of course. Malia is wearing more than her bathing suit bottoms though, so you'll have to accept the consequences."

"Bitches!" Michael mumbled.

"But you will," I said looking at Stephanie.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"Watch," I clarified. "You didn't live in the house when I set the rule of Malia's clothing so I won't spank you. I want you to watch though."

I turned to walk into the living room, only to be stopped by Melisa's voice.

"Rachel lived here at the time," Melisa said.

"She's not..." I started to answer.

"You don't make decisions for me, David," Rachel interrupted with.

I turned enough to stare into her blue eyes.

"Then you can be last," I said with a nod.

"Am I exempted?" Nancy asked suddenly.

"Don't even try, Nancy," Doris Alex answered for me.

Stephanie sat nervously in the papa-san chair during the spankings. Malia screamed bloody murder trying to make me go easy on her. Heather enjoyed every second of her spanking, and I had to pry her out of my lap when it was over. Doris Alex was annoyed that she was not last so could not take care of the hard-on spanking the Siblings produced. Nancy was another screamer, but I got the impression she was trying to make sure Doris Alex did not think I had gone easy on her. Janet tried to spank my hand with her ass, rather than the other way around. Melisa criticized my technique trying to make sure Rachel enjoyed her spanking. She offered to take care of my sexual desire so that I would not be distracted with Rachel. I pulled her back over my knee and spanked her again for that comment.

"I shouldn't be here for this," Stephanie said standing up from the papa-san chair. "This is between you and Rachel."

"There is nothing between Rachel and me," I said softly.

"That's what you think," she said.

"It's what I know, Stephanie," I replied.

"You were willing to let it go, David," she pointed out. "She insisted on being treated the same as everyone else."

"She doesn't really know what's she's agreeing to," I said.

"None of us know that at the beginning, David," she replied.

I shrugged.

"Make sure she enjoys it, and she'll never leave your side," Stephanie said walking out of my bedroom.

Rachel opened the door and walked barely inside the room. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes before she spoke.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Your dad never spanked you?" I asked leaning back on the bed.

"No," she confessed.

"We could just stand here, and say you got what everyone else did," I offered.

"I heard some screaming before, and I'm not that good of an actress," she said taking a step towards me.

"You don't have to do this, Rachel."

"I think a lot of people in your life would think less of you if we didn't," she said seriously.

"That's my problem," I told her.

"So what do I do?" she asked ignoring my statements. "Just climb onto your lap."

She was standing by my right knee.

"Something like that," I said.

She smiled and folded her body over my legs. Her weight slowly rested on top of me. Her ass was in perfect position for my open hand to be applied to it.

"Rachel," I said gently.

"What?" she asked turning her head towards me.

"Bare bottom."

"Oh!" she said breathlessly getting up from my lap.

There was a moment of insecurity in her eyes, but I tipped my hand too soon by smiling.

"You're trying to force me to change my mind," she accused.

"Everyone else got it skin to skin," I said calmly.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other for a few seconds before grabbing her shirt. She pulled it over her head to expose a tight white tank top.

"I said bare bottom, Rachel."

"The shirt might get in the way," she responded.

Her hands dipped under the waist of her sweatpants and she pushed them down slowly. She was not wearing any panties so her natural blondness was evident. Smiling widely, Rachel hopped back into position on my lap. I closed my eyes and thought about not doing anything. I opened them to see her staring at me.