Saya walked through the door, and everyone in the inn turned their heads to her.

It's really wasn't uncommon that she would receive that kind of attention: beautiful women rarely went unnoticed, and Saya was of an exceptional beauty. Sadly, a beautiful woman would easily become a target to ill-intentioned men: even in a relatively peaceful village like Zaria, that kind of incidents were not infrequent. That's why she would often wear a hood: not out of fear, but to avoid unneeded confrontation that would delay her business. Even a Goddess of Death could not afford to bring justice upon delinquents every single day.

Whatever. If problems arise, I'll deal with them.

She went straight to the owner of the inn, and put a sack of coins on the desk.

"A room for the night"

"Sure, ma'am" the guy said, an old fellow missing most of his teeth " Are you planning on staying here only for one day? The next village is pretty far, and the road is perilous. Expecially since you seem to be traveling alone".

"I'll adjust my plans according to my needs. I will probably end up staying here longer...if that's the case, I'll pay for my room, don't you worry"

"Well, it's not like we are short on available rooms. Zaria doesn't get that many travelers everyday"

"Good. Now, I'll need you to tell me something".

Saya put a photograp on the desk. It was old and yellowed, yet one could still clearly see the people portrayed in it.

"Ooh" the guys said, in surprise "You don't see a lot of these around anymore!"

"It's from six years ago. We just happened to acquire an old camera for cheap. Now… have you seen any of the girls in this picture?"

The man stared intensely at it.

"So many beautiful ladies...who's the young man in the middle? He must be a lucky guy".

Someone who's going to get very unlucky , very soon, Saya thought, but she kept this for herself.

"So? Have you seen any of them?"

"I think would remember it if I saw...wait, wait! This one!" he put a finger on one of the five women in the picture "I saw her! Who could forget a beauty like that? She arrived in town a week ago. She's currently working at an inn, at the other end of the village! I wish I could afford to hire her...at least I would get to see something beautiful every morning, instead of the usual ugly faces!"

The man chuckled. Saya ignored the lustful vibe she was getting from him.

"Good" she said "Thank you"

"I hope you don't have any ill-will toward that girl, ma'am" he added, with a sudden grin on his face "You know...she already has a rep for not being the kind of girl you want to mess with".

It was lunchtime. The inn was crowded with visitors.

Jake nervously carried a tray filled with food, worried that he may spill it: it was his first day on the job, after all. At the age of 16, he was lucky to have found that kind of emplyment: most of his friends were doing heavy work elsewhere, but he wasn't really built for it.

Moving across the hall, he met Mai going in the opposite direction, carrying an empty tray. She winked at him, and he almost stumbled on his feet, risking to spill everything.

It couldn't be helped: Mai was of a breath-taking beauty.

She told him she was of mixed-race: half Vietnamese, half black. At least that's what she was told, since she never met her real parents.

That explained the unsual height for a Vietnamese girl: 170 cm ( 5 ft 7).

She was of a dark skin tone, and had amaizing black almond-shaped eyes.

Her black, smooth hair were cut short in a stylish bob. In all honesty, Jake found that kind of haircut sexier than the average long hair women usually had. The earrings she wore, two large black circles, made her even more elegant.

Mai didn't speak much, but she always seemed to be in a good mood, always greeting anyone with a respectful bow of her head and a smile: that, was a smile to die for. Jake was pretty certain he already had a crush on her.

Her body, of course, didn't go unnoticed.

She was wearing a pretty sexy dress, althought not really expensive: it revealed her legs up to the mid of her thighs, and the upper part of her breasts, althought it covered her shoulders.

She's at least got a D cup, Jake thought, and almost stumbled again.

You idiot!, he told himself, Focus on what you're doing! You don't want to lose this job!

He also had a feeling she winked at him fully aware that he would flinch: he had only known her for a few hours, but he already learned she had a peculiar sense of humor, making fun of him in subtle ways.

Jake had finally delivered the food at the right table, when a a new visitor walked through the entrance. And Jake's heart leaped once again.

She was an Asian beauty unlike Jake had ever seen. She was staring straight at Mai, who immediately turned her head: their eyes met, and Mai smiled.

"Ehm" Jake said, approaching the girl " May I help you, ma'am? You may need to wait a few minutes for a table..."

"I'm not here to eat" she said "I just need to talk with that girl"

"Do you know Mai?"

"Let's just say we go way back"

At that very moment, Jake caught a customer's movement with the corner of his eye.

As Mai was walking by a table, carrying drinks in her hands, a shady looking guy reached out and groped her ass.

Mai flinched and turned to face the molester.

"Now, now" she said, in a friendly yet reprimanding tone " Use your eyes, not your hands"

The man grinned. He was sitting at the table with another guy, who not only didn't reprimand him, but actually stood up for him.

"Come on now, miss" he said, getting up and grabbing her arm "We just thought we could enjoy your company. Why don't you sit down with us?"

"Sorry, I'll have to pass" she said in a calm, composed tone "Can't you see I'm working?"

"Weeeell now, what kind of service is this?" said the guy who groped her ass, also getting up " Why can't you give two lonenly customers some company? It's insulting. We came here and paid for service. We may get angry, you know"

Jake was sweating profusely.

He knew Mai had a reputation for being able to defend herself: he heard she broke both of a drunken man's arms, since he got violent and tried to hit her. But even so, Jake couldn't leave a woman alone in that kind of situation: he had to do something. Problem was, each of those guys were twice his size. As for the customers, they were just watching without lifting a finger: they were too scared to stand up for a stranger.

"You'll behave, right?" one of the thugs said, placing once again his hand on Mai's butt "Come on, be a good waitress and show us a place more...intimate"

Mai stood still for a moment, as holding her breath. She was clearly not enjoying that kind of physical contact. After a moment, though, she gave them a radiant smile.

"Very well" she said, with a malicious light flickering in her eyes "Please, follow me outside"

She put both of her hands on the men's wrists, and started leading them through the backdoor.

"Hey!" Jake uttered, moving a step forward " What do you guys think you're..."

"Stop it".

The Asian woman had put a hand on his shoulder, and was helding him back with incredible strength.

"Leave her alone" she said.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked "I thought you were her friend!"

"What am I doing, you ask?"

The woman smiled: in her eyes lingered the very same look Mai had.

"Isn't that obvious?" she asked "I'm giving her some privacy".

"Here, gentlemen" Mai said "Nobody shall disturb us"

The back alley was dusty and deserted. The sun didn't reach them, yet it was oppressively hot: it was the middle of the day, after all.

Vargus didn't mind the heat: he was focused on an even hotter matter right now.

His traveling companion, Genjo, pushed the girl against the wall. As he groped her right breast, he started kissing the crook between neck and shoulder; then he moved up her neck and bit her ear lobe.

She put her hands on the sides of his head, brought it closer and passionately kissed him. Their tongues wriggled in a mix of saliva.

Vargus groped her left boob with one of his hands, and started lifting her skirt with the other. Even under the clothes, he could feel how soft and elastic her boobs were. He was already panting from both heat and lust.

Who knew we would find this beauty in this God forsaken village!, he thought. We got so lucky!

Then, he heard Genjo muffled screams. Vargus raised his head to watch, and at first he doubted his eyes.

Genjo head was expanding and twisting. He could hear the sound of his skull cracking. Veins were popping out everywhere, and his hair got sparser, revealing the scalp underneath.

Genjo was clearly in pain. He was trying to get away from the girl, but she kept holding his head in her hands and sucking his face.

After a few seconds, she pushed him away: Genjo opened his mouth and let out a screeching sound...then, his head exploded. Blood splattered over the wall behind him.

Vargus was in shock. He moved a step back from her.

"W-what...what the fuck did you just do to him?!"

She she gave him a friendly smile, as if a man's head didn't just explode before her eyes.

"What did I do? Well, it's one of my Fist's simplest tecniques: the Deadly Kiss of the North Star "

"Y-you bitch..."

He unsheated his knife. He was scared, but he wasn't going to flee. He didn't really understand what that woman just told him, but he knew one thing: he had always been able to survive fights with that knife.

"DIE!" he yelled, as he swinged at her.

And he stopped. He couldn't move his body anymore: moving quicker than the eye could track, she had stuck her fingers in both sides of his face, from cheekbone to jaw.

"What..."

She pulled her fingers out, and his arms moved on their owns: his right arm was twisted and bent behind his back, while his left arm was brought up to the back of his head.

"What...THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME? I CAN'T MOVE!"

He tried to move his legs. He felt that he could do it if he really tried: he was just meeting great resistance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" she said, with the usual seductive smile on her face "I hit your Shinfukumen pressure points. If you force yourself to move, your upper body will blow up"

"This can't be!"

He stopped struggling: even a dumb thug like him knew he was beaten. Right now, he knew only one thing: he didn't want to end up like Genjo.

"You must not move for three days" she said " After that, you'll be saved"

"Three days!?"

Three days paralyzed in that heated up alley, pissing and shitting himself: he would have barely survived dying from thrist.

But I can survive, he thought, and he felt immediate relief from his terror, I'm not going to be killed here.

Then, he suddenly felt dizzy. He started to drool, as he was overwhelmed by a lust he never felt before in his life. His erection painfully pressed against his pants. Now, the presence of such a beautiful woman in front of him was almost unbearable.

"What...what is this...why am I..."

"Oh, right,I forgot to tell you" she said with a facepalm, feigning regret "The effect of my Fist on the Shinfukumen pressure points is a little different from original Hokuto Shinken. You see, it increases your lust to an extreme degree. But don't you worry, it will fade away in three days. After all, you won't be so dumb to move just for a nice pair of tits, am I right?"

As she said that, she grabbed her own breasts. She played with them.

"See?" she said "They are just tits after all. They are not worth your life"

Vargus salivation increased.

"Hey, don't do that..." he groaned.

"Whoops" she said in a coquettish voice, as she let one of her shoulder-strap slide down and reveal most of her right breast "I'm so clumsy"

"Hey" Vargus uttered in desperation, trying to control the urge to jump her "Stop doing that!"

"Mmmh, what could you be talking about, I wonder? I'm just struggling with my clothes. They often lead to these kind of incidents, you know: they are elegant, but they're sooo revealing..."

She wiped sweat off her brow.

"Isn't it too hot in here? Maybe I should just take my clothes off"

"Please don't..." he begged, on the verge of crying.

Please do, he thought. He could hardly think straight anymore.

"Aren't you also hot, with that shirt on?" she asked "Here, I'll help you out".

She put her hands on his chest and started tearing fabric apart. Vargus' body wriggled at her touch.

"PLEASE, STOP!" he cried " I apologize for what I did! I won't do it ever again! But please, stop teasing me!"

"You apologize? What for?" she asked, feigning puzzlement "I don't mind getting this kind of attention. After all, it's only thanks to guys like you, that I get to have some fun from time to time".

She stripped.

Her bouncy breasts popped out in the hot air. Her nipples were large and pinkish.

"Oh my" she said, playing with them some more "Look! They are sooo sweaty!"

That was it. Vargus lost any control he had left. He felt his mind slipping into a frenzy.

"Uahahaha!" he laughed like a maniac as he jumped her, breaking through the resistance his own muscle offered "Who cares what happens! Let me have some of that, you filfthy whor-"

A sound came from the dephts of his body. It was the last sound Vargus would ever hear.

Blood spurted everywhere, painting Mai face and breasts crimson red.

One hour later

In a private room, Mai and Saya were facing each other, sitting at the same table.

"So, you were the first one to come back" Saya said.

"Yes. About a week ago"

"I'm happy to see you haven't lost your touch"

"Of course not. Sorry to have kept you waiting, though. That was a messy affair: I had to take a bath after that"

"Your friend is in shock about what you did, you know. I'm talking about the boy"

"Oh, Jake wil recover from it. He's a nice guy. I think he has a crush on me"

"Still, why did you search for a job as a waitress?" Saya asked "Why didn't you just sell your body, as we always do?"

Mai smiled.

"Come on, Saya-chan" she said " You're way too strict. Out of all us Sinful Fist users, you the one that takes her sacred duties most seriously. I just felt like working at a inn would be fun, that's all. I'll sell my body when I feel like it"

"Mh" Saya nodded, poorly hiding her disapproval for that carefree attitude.

But she knew very well that Mai was as carefree in her choices of life as she was reliable in carrying out her tasks.

"So, let's get down to business" Saya said "I roamed the South for months, and I couldn't find anything. What about you? Got any lead?"

Mai smiled once again.

"I found Goro"

Saya eyes widened in surprise.

"Did you?"

"Yes. He's the leader of a bandit group in the West. He has control over a few villages. Needless to say, he's terrorizing and murdering innocent people"

"Did you meet him in person?"

"No. I just collected informations from his underlings. It was easy to make them talk"

Saya raised one of their eyebrows.

"Goro was always the weakest of us" she said "He's a poor user of our Fist. He was the only one to fail our Mistress' test. You could have handled him easily".

"Yes"

"But you didn't"

"Of course not. I would have never stolen that pleasure from Theresa"

This time, it was Saya who smiled.

"Well said. What about his underlings? I suppose you took care of them"

"Of course"

"But won't Goro be alarmed, seeing his men died from Hokuto Shinken? He could try to flee".

"Well" Mai said "We both know he would be so dumb to actually try and fight us. But, just in case, I made it look like his underlings killed each other"

Saya expected that of Mai: she had always been the most clever and careful among them.

"So, did you kill them with some weapon? A sword, perhaps?"

"I thought about doing that" she answered "but then again, it would be evident from the wounds that someone with superhuman strength killed them. Not that I expect Goro to be this smart...but just in case, I pressed their Jeihoku pressure point"

Saya couldn't help but flinch a little.

"Jeihoku?"

"Yes"

"You mean you literally controlled their minds to make them kill each other, all while being fully conscious of what was going on, and not being able to stop themselves?"

"Yes. They cried, and begged, and screamed a lot, but everything was over pretty quickly"

Mai kept smiling, and Saya forced herself to reciprocate.

Damn, she thought, we always thought Roxanne to be the sadistic one... but the way Mai is able to smile after doing this kind of things, is just damn scary!

Then, she posed the most important question. She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"What about Shun?"

Mai shrugged.

"No clue. I haven't found any signs of him. Except for a little hint" she said "I heard Goro met with a certain King a while ago. Some ruler of some faraway city in the North. That's all I know about it, but...we can't really rule out the possibility that it may be Shun"

Saya hands were spasmodically clinging to the sides of her chair.

A King? The ruler of a city? What the hell are you aiming at, Shun?

Then, she strived to calm herself: she couldn't afford to let her emotion get the best of her.

"We'll deal with Goro" she said, in a firm tone of voice " And we'll deal with Shun too. Let's wait for the others"