A/N: Okay so I'm kinda impatient and despite the fact that my beta is working on editing out any mistakes in this chapter, I'm still putting this thing up. I'll replace it with the other version tomorrow when she mails it to me. So anyhow, since I promised you guys and update over the weekend to celebrate my shortlived freedom from exams, here it is.

Enjoy!

And don't forget to leave a review!

I glared at him angrily as the sun beating down on my back. That bastard merely stared back at me with a cold gleam in his eyes. Okay so maybe burning his clothes had been a bit going overboard after I had already managed to trash his room but still. He was just such a jerk! Would it kill him to be a bit more polite when he talked instead of acting like he had a prickly pine tree shoved up his- Gah! You know what? I don't care! Let's see him do his worst.

"I tried to overlook your earlier incompetence but now I'm convinced that you need to be taught a lesson. Your wild ways will not be tolerated here."

"Oh please, you think a bit of flogging will teach me this so called lesson of yours?" I spat venomously as I tugged at the bonds that held me in place in a rather secluded corner of one of the numerous gardens in the Li Estate. Two servants stood in place behind me, armed with a leather whip and something I had never seen before. "What makes you think I'll learn it now when those freaks at the Slave house failed to teach it to me for three years?"

A slave was never supposed to talk back to her master, especially in front of other people since that undermined the master's authority. I could see that I had seriously insulted His Prickliness by what I had just said. It was evident in the way his jaw hardened and his eyes narrowed. I knew I should have just apologized and saved my hide but when had a little anger stopped me before?

"Do your worst." I hissed, raising my chin in a defiant gesture. I was not going to be broken by the likes of him.

"Fifty times." He barked at the servants. They jumped at the sheer amount of fury rolling off of him. Had it been someone else in my place, I'm sure they would have wet their clothes, crying for their mother to save them or something along those lines. Unfortunately it was me, the girl who had a mile long streak of stubbornness. I already had numerous scars littering my back like silvery snakes as a proof of those lessons. Too bad I wasn't going to be learning it anytime soon. I clenched my teeth to stifle the cry that would no doubt form as soon as the sailing whip made contact with my skin. Funnily enough, it never happened.

"Syaoran!" Mister Li sounded furious. I looked over shoulder and saw that he had caught the whip in his bare hand. Blood dripped to the grass ground as a shocked gasp escaped my lips. When had he gotten here? "Why is she tied up like this?"

"She has been deliberately sabotaging everything around her, Father. She needs to be taught a lesson."

"By flogging her to death?" he growled in response, motioning for the servants to untie me before turning his attention to my Master who now sported a surprisingly blank look. "We have a lot to discuss, Syaoran. No slave of the Li's is ever to be treated like this and I will not stand for this sort of barbaric abuse in this estate, am I understood?" he asked, daring my Master to go against him.

"Yes Father." Lord Prick bit out in response, clenching his fists by his side in an obvious display of barely controlled anger.

"Good." Mr Li nodded in satisfaction before turning around to walk back to the mansion. "I will be expecting you in the study in ten minutes, Syaoran. Now get Y3 to her quarters." He ordered and I swear if looks could kill, I would have been dead a thousand times over by the ones that His Prickliness was shooting in my direction. Still in a daze for having escaped my punishment so closely, I wordlessly followed my Master towards his room. I now knew his name was Syaoran, which if memory served me correctly meant something like tiny wolf or was it little? I'm not quite sure which it was. I mentally snorted at the thought; this guy was in no way even close to little let alone, tiny. But the wolf part sure did fit him. He was definitely growling like one.

Stopping outside the door to his room, he turned around to face me, dislike and disgust clearly etched on his face, "Just because Father has forbidden physical beating to punish you, does in no way mean that you will be allowed to repeat what you did today. Trust me when I tell you this slave, do anything to piss me off and I will make sure you regret the day you were born, understand?" then without waiting for my reply, he turned around, marching down the hall like he owned the place. Which, now that I think about it, he did. But that's beside the point. Just because he owned the place doesn't make him any less of a prick then he was earlier. If anything, it added to my dislike of him but… sighing softly, I pushed the door aside and stepped inside the door to the room that I had trashed not a mere couple of hours ago. Looking around, I bit my lip to keep myself from frowning. I'm the one who made the whole mess so it was no wonder that I would have to be the one to clean it all too. Damn it! Why the heck had I stomped on those chocolates that I had found on his dresser. I should have just eaten them. Chocolate stains were such a bitch to get out of the carpet after all.

Hanging my head in dejection, I moved out of the room and made my way towards the kitchen. I would need the cleaning supplies to clean this mess up.

Damn, I'm seriously beginning to hate my life.

-0-

I knocked on the door brusquely, still seething over the fact that Father had interfered with my slave's punishment. First, he probably bought me the most pathetic, useless slave in the training house and now he expects me not to punish her when it was quite evident that she was doing everything on purpose.

"Father," I greeted tonelessly as I entered, having heard his call to go inside.

"Take a seat son," he spoke calmly and I proceeded to do as he asked. "Now then," he continued serenely as he leaned back and observed me closely, "care to explain to me what was about to happen outside a while back?"

"That barbarian you bought from the slave house is a disaster!" I exploded.

"Oh?" he quirked a brow, not sounding in the least bit surprised, "How so?"

"She has no manners, she has no idea how to behave around me, she… she…" I felt heat creep up my neck as I remembered the hits she had landed on me last night. I did not want to tell my father that my slave managed to hit me. Things like that were unheard of. Even if she was a brute, I have been training long enough to have been able to avoid those punches. It's just… she managed to surprise me. I didn't even know that they taught slaves how to fight.

"Yes?" Father seemed amused. Damn it! This is all her fault. Even my own father is no longer taking me seriously.

"She refused to allow the collar to be put on her." I decided to not include how she refused. If he was this amused by me stuttering, I did not want to see his reaction to learning the whole detail, "What sort of slave refuses the collar? And this morning, when I told her to make me breakfast, she put salt in my coffee! The omelets resembled charcoal and in less than an hour, she ruined five of my best suits, I have no idea how she did it, but she even managed to repaint the roof of my room with mustard, I don't even want to know what she used to drench the curtains with but worst of all… she trod all over my chocolates!"

"Hmm… that does sound serious." He nodded but I could see the way his eyes laughed at me. That bastard. He's laughing at me. She trod all over my chocolates and he's laughing at me. "But I'm afraid I can't really do anything about it anymore. I gave you the chance, one complete year to choose a slave for yourself but you refused. I bought the one that I thought complemented you the most. She seemed skilled enough at the slave house and I absolutely loved the Teriyaki she made. She is a smart, witty young woman and her looks are quite exotic. I know you like the color green and her eyes have quite an attractive shade of emerald. I have trouble believing her to be as much of a barbarian as you have painted her out to be."

Clearly stung, I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off, "Even if she is like what you just told me, I'm afraid you are no longer in any position to do anything about it. She is your slave and you can't change that. If you feel like the training house was unable to train her properly enough to please you, do so yourself but I will not tolerate physical abuse. Like it or not son, she will be the one to give you an heir and only then will you be able to claim your position as the head of this estate."

My eyes widened as I remembered that little condition. Damn. I couldn't claim my rightful place until I had someone I could pass the title on to. But for me to have an heir I would have to… I quickly shoved those thoughts aside before they had any time to manifest. Thankfully, father's next words helped me provide the distraction I needed.

"That aside," father continued, waving his hand dismissively, "how are the preparations for the reception gala of Lord Flourite and his heir coming along?"

"We will be done by the time the week is over, Father."

"Ah. Good. Good." He nodded in approval. "You can go now. But I would like to have a word with your slave as well. Send her for her on your way out, will you son?"

"Yes father." What would father want with my slave?

"Oh and Syaoran," his words stopped me near the door, "physical punishment isn't the only way to tame a wild heart.

-0-

I knocked on the door softly, feeling a bit apprehensive about seeing Mr. Li. I'm pretty sure he had told his father about how I had fought him last night and now I was in for a lecture and probably a whole lot of chores as punishment. I wouldn't really put it past him to actually impose restrictions on me. I mean, as nice as he might have seemed on the trip here, I barely knew this man. So until I knew more about him, I would be placing him in the same mindset as all the other males in this godforsaken world.

I hit his precious heir, which is the highest insult there is. So I just knew that I was in for it big time.

"Ah, Sakura, come in. come in."

"You wanted to see me, Mr Li, sir? I stepped inside the room, nervously fiddling with the hem of my shirt. It was nothing like the stifling, high collared shirt that we were forced to wear at the slave house. No, even though it was the same design, this shirt had a nice modest v shaped neckline and a soft green color with pale pink blossoms embroidered all over it in asymmetrical patterns. The material was really nice and soft, like a cross between satin and silk, and I knew it was quite expensive too. My hair was still tied up but Mr. Li did not seem to mind and Master Prick had not really ordered me to wear it down either. The slave collar, added a heavy weight on my neck, the cool metal pressing against my exposed skin. I had finally been able to rid myself of the bracelet though. Oh how I had hated that bracelet. It had been the first thing to mark me as a slave and even though I now had a bigger mark right around my neck, I was still glad to no longer have to wear that other piece of jewelry.

"I heard about what you did from Syaoran." He said, his tone failing to betray any emotion.

"And you expect me to apologize for my actions, sir?" despite knowing that I was merely digging the hole deeper for myself, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut. "If that is why you called me here for Mr Li," I raised my chin in a defiant gesture, "I'm afraid I would be sorely disappointing you. Mistress Chioko was right about me. I am a barbarian according to your traditions. And even if I am at fault here, having gone overboard with what I did, I won't apologize to a prick like your son, no offense to you of course sir. I hate people who think they are better than everyone else and unfortunately, your son just seems to be the worst of that kind. I may be a slave, but I deserve some amount of respect when being addressed but sadly, His Prickliness-" I clapped a hand over my mouth in horror. Having referred to him as that in my head all day long just made me call him that out loud, and right in front of his father too. Oh shit! Oh shit! I was in some deep shit now.

A deep rumbling chuckle broke me out of my mental freak out episode, making me stare at the older man in awe.

"Oh please, do go on Sakura."

"S-sir?"

"Relax, you can say whatever you feel like to me." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but blush like a silly little school girl, thinking how handsome he looked when he laughed. How his eyes resembled warm honey and how… I forcefully pulled myself out of that suicidal line of thought. Damn it, I seriously can't be crushing on my Master's father. That sounds wrong on so many levels. But his eyes… Oh they were just so warm and dreamy and I could just drown in their depths forever and-

"Sakura, are you alright?" he looked at me in concern and I hastily lowered my head, nodding as I did so, not trusting myself with words just yet when my mind was in the state it was right now. I'd blurt out something really stupid the minute I opened my mouth. I just knew it. I was cursed with the worst luck after all.

"Alright then, please continue your rant," he laughed and a warm tingly feeling spread through my whole body. This was so not good. "I would like to hear what you think of my son."

"Well sir, he doesn't seem to have an ounce of humbleness in his body and it seems like he has a rather prickly pine tree shoved up his-" and here once again I clapped my hands over my mouth. What the heck is wrong with me?

"Oh my," he chuckled and the butterflies in my stomach somersaulted. Shit, this was really really really bad! The guy is twice my age. "You have rather strong opinions about my son, don't you?"

"I can't really help it, sir," I responded quietly, keeping my face lowered so that he would not be able to see the look I was currently sporting. "It's the way he acted towards me. Like I was some insignificant insect he wouldn't even think twice about before crushing it beneath his shoes. I know you were given the documents on me and that you had probably already read long before you even considered buying me for your son. So you already know that I am not from around here and while I can try and put up with this ridiculous concept of the female species being nothing but some property that can be bought and sold off but I cannot and will not stand for the way he treated me." I had no idea where I plucked up enough courage to speak so frankly with him, even if he was acting nicely, I had no idea what would offend him. In fact, I had no idea why he was acting so tolerant towards me in the first place.

"So I made the right decision in choosing you." He smiled that oh so heart melting smile and I felt myself getting weak in the knees. "You will be good for him. Give him some time and he'll come around," he assured me gently while I mentally snorted. I highly doubt that. Hell would freeze over and the apocalypse would be upon us all before Lord Prick acted nice.

"Oh no, I'm pretty sure he will. Long before hell freezes over."

Damn! I said that out loud, didn't I?

"Yes you did." He sounded extremely amused and the knowledge pleased me a lot for a certain reason. "My son wasn't really willing to get a slave for himself," Mr Li explained, and for a fraction of a second I played with the notion about His Prickliness being secretly gay. Maybe I was in the way of his secret love and that was why he was treating me like shit. It would also explain the spiky ten foot pole shoved up his… I quickly stomped on that train of thought and burnt it to a crisp. I was pretty sure that wouldn't sit well with Mr. Li.

"That is quite an… interesting conception, Sakura." Mr. Li spoke up and I almost fell off the chair in shock. Open mouth, insert foot. I just love making my own life difficult, don't I? Maybe I should just ask him for a noose and hang myself with it…

Although suffocation is supposed to be agonizing. I don't want my death to be painful.

Hmm… Maybe I could ask for a sword and commit seppuku.

No wait.

That's something samurais do. And besides the sight of my own guts spilling on the floor won't be pretty. Plus, it would hurt like hell. And I want a quick, painless death.

A bullet to the brain could work! It's fast. A flash of pain and you're gone… But I have no doubt about it that Lord Prick would bitch and moan about having to remove brain matter from walls for days on the end. Nah, that would be too out of character for him. In the half day that I have known him, he's been nothing but a stoic, cold, heartless prick! With a stick shoved up his… Gah, why the heck do I have such a fascination with his ass? Okay so maybe it might be a bit cute but… wait a second. Where the heck had that thought come from? I must seriously be losing all my marbles if I'm beginning to think that his butt is cute. Oh God, where the heck is that gun? I seriously need to shoot myself before I spew anymore nonsense.

The hole that I started digging for myself when I entered Mr. Li's office should have reached the centre of the earth by now, right? Maybe I should just jump in that and let the lava burn me to a crisp. Or would it vaporize me? I wonder.

"It's true he never spent any time with the opposite sex before, not that that our laws would have permitted him to, but I don't think my heir is… ahem… 'secretly gay' as you have put it." I could just melt into a puddle on the ground in mortification as he laughed. Would jumping out of the window right behind Mr. Li's desk right now be good idea? I'd be saving everyone a lot of trouble. Especially Lord Prick. If he found out I said that to his father… I don't even want to think what he would do. I'm pretty sure killing myself now would be doing myself a favor too. My death wouldn't be as painful as His Prickliness would make it for me. "Asexual yes, perhaps definitely but not gay."

My jaw hit the floor and then some as I gaped at the laughing man before me. Did he just say what I think he just said? I think I'm already dead and stuck in limbo somewhere. And this is just my mind playing tricks on me. I mean, why would Mr. Li poke fun at his own heir's sexuality?

"All joking aside though," He quickly sobered up, "you should know that in three years time, I will have to hand over the estate to him as per the law. But there is a condition he has to fulfill before he is fit to receive this title. If he fails, everything goes to the collective funds of the council. You do know what that condition is, do you not, Sakura?" he regarded me seriously and I felt my stomach plummet to the centre of the earth.

"He requires an heir of his own," I breathed, finally having to acknowledge the one thing I had been avoiding doing ever since Mr. Li had bought me from Mistress Chioko. A feeling of dread settling over me as I finally recalled the worst aspect of being turned into a slave.

A/N: I hope it was funny, since I thought it was but then again, I seriously have no confidence whatsoever in my ability to write humor so it could have sucked as hell. ^_^; But I'm seriously hoping you'll agree with me on the former. If you do, please do tell me what part was it that made you laugh the most (if it did at all).

Oh and what do you think of the slight twist at the end? I'm evil, aren't I?