“Take off your shirt, and put yours hands against the wall.”

Soubi stilled where she sat, breath caught in her throat as fear prickled an icy trail between her shoulder blades. It wasn't that she thought that Ritsu would never again whip her. Or that she was somehow exempt because she'd given birth to a child. She'd just gotten lazy. Indulgent.

Her fingers moved slowly on her shirt buttons as she stood, slipping cotton aside and ignoring the way Ritsu's eyes focused on her chest. Her bra was laid to the side as well and she stood in the familiar position. Familiar, and yet not, her stomach no longer tight with muscle but soft and stretch-marked. Her breasts now heavy beneath her, a weight she had to brace against.

“I must not make noise,” she murmured to herself as she felt Ritsu step closer, hoping he had the belt in his hand and not the rattan cane. “I will be silent. I can endure this.”

“Very good,” she heard Ritsu say before the first blow landed like fire.

She wheezed between her teeth, head thrown back in the moments she had no control, hating herself for her lack of composure. She breathed deep.

“Sorry, Ritsu-sensei.” She resettled herself, draping her hair away from her back again and waited for the next blow. It took a while to come, but she was patient and still, feeling herself start to sink into that space inside that let her ignore pain like water running off a tin roof.

“Do better.” Two blows hit her sharply and she sunk deeper, the tiny aware part of her wondering why Ritsu was suddenly so harsh. “You are still my perfect student, and I will not allow you to slack.”

“Yes, Ritsu-sensei.”