Ashi

The stump of your arm throbs and you grit your teeth. You stare into the eyes of the man who took that arm. He stares back, his eyes cloudy, blind, and dead. He is one of a dozen heads that have been lined up as an offering to you. Behind these grisly gifts kneels a woman in a plain white kimono. This girl, your most valuable and loyal subordinate, was only a child when you took her in. She has grown into a a beautiful young woman whose devotion to you- and skill with a sword- is unrivaled. And it is her mistake that cost you your arm. She has spent the last weeks slaughtering everyone even tangentially related to the incident, offering their heads to you before disappearing to find more. Her massacre has reached its end and there are no more culprits left to offer you. None left but herself. Without a word she rises and removes her kimono in a slow, almost ritualistic fashion. She is completely naked beneath and stands before you, unflinchingly exposed and vulnerable. She places the katana with which she has orchestrated her revenge on the ground in front of her, an offering to you. She lowers herself on to her knees and places her head on the ground, her submission absolute. The intricate koi fish tattoos which stretch across her back contrast sharply with her pale skin. "Those who dared to harm you are dead. I have burnt their homes and hung their corpses." Her voice is slightly muffled with her face pressed to the floor. "It was my foolishness that allowed this to happen. I offer no excuse." Her body presses itself even harder against the floor, as though the weight of her guilt is physically crushing her. "I regret that I have nothing to offer you as an apology, as my life and body are already your property. Worse, I am compelled to beg a favor of you, though I am wholly unworthy." Her words are formal but her voice is shaking, desperately holding back tears of guilt and shame. "I beg you, exact punishment upon me worthy of the magnitude of my failure. Restore to me some shred of honor, even if I must spill my innards and beg for it with my dying breath."