The next day, 6:30am

Nui stormed breathlessly into the spacious drawing room on the second floor of the Kiryuin manor. She threw herself with great force into a large armchair, causing the longsuffering piece of furniture to plaintively groan.

"She's nowhere!" Nui screeched, her high tone causing the windows to shudder in hidden resonance. Harime panted like a wild animal. Her hair was soaked and slicked against her head, making her eyes look huge and alien as they glowed feverishly in the soft lamplight.

Ragyo looked up from her book, raising a stately white eyebrow over her reading glasses. Her face twisted into a mix of annoyance and amusement, and, slowly, she closed her book, uncrossed her legs, and leaned towards her youngest. The lamp now behind her, her face was cast into shadow, lit only by the self-subsistent radiance of her hair.

Sensing her window of opportunity for undivided attention, Nui launched into her canticle of woe.

"I almost had her, I really did! She just disappeared! She wasn't at her house, or work, or her favorite restaurant. She just... just... she's gone... It's raining. I've been out all night, and I just wanna..." Nui's eyes began to burn. Shifting, antsy, in her seat, she swung her legs spastically. "Where's Satsuki? She owes me." She licked her lips.

"Sleeping."

Harime stood quickly, flexing her fingers and swinging her arms as if to leave. Before she could move, though, her mother was standing and not six inches from her.

They say that power is something you're born with, that you can't learn charisma. They're wrong. Power is all body language, a direct command to the animal in human nature. Ragyo stood, shoulders back, eyes staring directly into her Nui's, her mouth twisted into a relaxed but threatening grin. Her stance said 'I am alpha. Submit or die.' It was the implicit command recognized by the wild animal, recognized by the part in us that fights, hungers, and fears.

"You will not disturb her." Ragyo's voice rumbled around in her chest as her eyes burned with undeniable will. She offered no explanation - none was needed.

Nui responded immediately, sitting back down and pulling her knees up slightly, her face breaking into a wide, submissive grin.

"Of course, Mother," she whimpered through her teeth, looking away. Ragyo too relaxed, a smug smile on her face as she resumed her seat. Nui looked downcast, silently shifting her eyes from her mother's face to the door, not daring to look at either one for too long.

Ragyo threw her a bone, the equivalent of patting the head of the beaten dog:

"What was the name of that girl who caught your eye?"

"Matoi," the young girl perked up - you could almost see her wagging her tail. "Matoi Ryuko."

Ragyo cocked an eyebrow, genuinely engaged.

"How interesting," she murmured. "Nui, I think I know of a way for you to find your friend. I have a job for you, and I'll bet little Ryuko will be interested in the outcome." Nui grinned and sat up straight, cocking her head to one side.

"What's that, Mama?"

"There's a scientist by the name of Matoi Isshen. I need him... disposed of." Ragyo relayed her instructions carefully, Nui nodding crazily all the while. When she was finished, Nui jumped up and bowed theatrically.

"I'll do it! This will be fun! I'll bet Ryuko will be so surprised!"

"Good girl. You take care of that, and I'll take care of your sister."

After Nui had left, Kiryuin Ragyo sat back in her chair and leaned her chin against her hand. It was getting more and more inconvenient to keep Nui away from Satsuki. Her lip curled in distaste.

Nui was an animal. She solved all her problems and satisfied her lust for blood with base brutality. She knew nothing of the hidden defiance of the mind. All she could do was beat and torture and laugh at her carnage, never knowing that her target remained noncompliant and unbroken. Nui was an animal, and had to be dealt with as such. Ragyo knew better than to believe that such viciousness could break Kiryuin Satsuki.

No, the Kiryuin matriarch thought, sliding her fingers up to rest pensively on her mouth. Satsuki requires a gentler touch.

She looked out the window at the dawn, pensive. No, Satsuki was human to the extreme, full of pride, feeling, and rational reliance. Bringing her to submission would not be so easy. Kiryuin Ragyo was no fool. Even though her eldest wordlessly obeyed her every command, it was clear she still considered herself free. Ragyo chuckled to herself, resting her face on her hand.

Silly girl.

She had thought that continually claiming her body would be enough to eventually break her. She was pleasantly surprised when it did not. Nui was no fun. It took almost nothing to gain her complete compliance.

Not Satsuki. She had only cried once, when her innocence was first taken, and Ragyo was fairly certain it was only from pain and raw astonishment. She was incessantly defiant, and although their little struggles were delightfully exciting, Ragyo could not allow such insubordination any longer. Her daughter's strength of will was becoming troublesome, dangerous even. Often she would slip away, expertly throwing tails. Traces of corrupted correspondences were left on her computer, any recognizable remnants eaten away by some unknown virus. Her room constantly smelled of the sweet, acrid scent of burned paper. Ragyo didn't know what she was up to, and she didn't much care - it was the spirit of the thing that annoyed her.

Satsuki belonged to her, and it irked her that she didn't know it yet.

I need to break her.

The endgame was upon them, all the necessary pieces set into play. REVOCS owned over ninety percent of the market, and soon it would be time. Ragyo couldn't afford any stray or errant slaves, as entertaining as they might be.

Kiryuin Ragyo shifted in her seat, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she reached for the phone on the end table. As she listened to the ringing on the other line, she considered her first move.

She was aware of her daughter's absurd attachment to stoicism (she was beginning to regret allowing it). Satsuki held so tightly to the idea that nothing could make her act dishonorably without her consent, and in this her freedom consisted. Still waiting for the other line to pick up, she pulled back the corners of her mouth in a crooked grin. The sadistic pleasure of her sickness spread through her belly, and she relished it fully, moving to slide a hand into her own dress.

It would just break her little heart if she found out she can't even control herself.

The other line picked up.

"Yes, hello?"

Her plan solidified as she stood and swept towards the window. Excitement spread through her, sending a wave of pleasure through her body, making her tremble. When she was finished, her daughter would no longer be the girl who stands tall and regal through countless travails, the girl who never makes a sound, never cries. No, she would be the girl who begs on her hands and knees for mercy, for escape from the pain, the girl who wantonly screams out her pleasure in the most shameful trysts imaginable.

"Yes, this is Kiryuin Ragyo."

And she would cry. After accepting her punishment, she would crawl, sobbing, to be held and comforted by the very woman who had disciplined her. Ragyo held in a chuckle, very aware of the receiver by her mouth.

Delightful.

"I'm afraid Satsuki won't be able to make it to her scheduled shoots for the next few weeks."

"We're very sorry to hear this," the man on the other line replied smoothly, no doubt planning to call his lawyers about breach of contract the second he hung up the phone. "Can I ask why?"

Ragyo threw her head back, her face stretched into a laugh, though no sound escaped her lips. Her hands were wandering over her own body as her exhilaration grew almost too great to bear.

"Oh, we just need some family time. I'm sure you understand."

xxx

Satsuki opened the door to the small office and took a glance at the line of desks in the bullpen. She felt almost amused by the shocked faces of the squalid little reporters. Smoothly, she stepped inside and walked to the back of the building, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Immediately, she regretted it as the weight of her hair tugged at her bruised head. She pressed a hand to her skull.

Nui's so annoying.

She opened the door to the back office, the windows covered by closed Venetian blinds. She stopped, surprised, then stifled a laugh; Jakuzure Nonon snored face-down on her desk, legs tucked under her in her chair. Satsuki, a smile twisting at her mouth, leaned against the desk and tapped the wood by Nonon's head. She awoke with a start.

"F sharp!" she cried, her hands reaching up to clutch the oversized hat pulled over her disheveled pink hair. "I said F sharp, you idiots!"

"Are you still living in your music, old friend?" Satsuki asked softly. Nonon jumped up, squeaking.

"Satsuki!" she practically jumped over the desk to take her friend into her arms. Satsuki fidgeted nervously in the hug, awkwardly patting Nonon's back. "I haven't seen you in so long! Well, really seen. The dumb bitches out there can't get enough of you. Do you know how much money you make me? Oh my God, your face! I heard about that!"

Satsuki grabbed the hand that reached up to touch the purple and yellow marks on her face, not allowing such intimate contact. Nonon took note and stepped back to lean against her desk, elbows propped akimbo against the edge of the counter.

"Those 'muggers' must have been pretty tough, huh?" Nonon said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. Satsuki looked away and changed the subject.

"Matoi Ryuko hasn't been here, has she?" Nonon narrowed her eyes but allowed her friend's evasiveness to slip by without overt scrutiny.

"Nah. I saw she was with you when that happened. I've been getting calls nonstop about people who want her side of the story, 'cause the Kiryuins have been so damn withholding on the details. No offense." Nonon shook her head. "I've been calling her and leaving all kinds of angry messages, but she just disappeared. Little whore."

"Good," Satsuki sighed, slumping into the guest chair by the door. "I hope she has the good sense to make herself scarce." Nonon cocked an eyebrow at her, making a humming sound through her nose that sounded more like a hiss than anything. Satsuki looked up, her eyes shifting around the room as if looking for escape before she huffed and folded her arms. "There were no muggers. Nui has her eye on Matoi. It was bad."

"Ah, I hate that freak," Nonon groaned, rocking back onto her hands. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Satsuki admitted, "But Nui's been getting her way for far too long. It's time I put an end to it."

Nonon noted the determined tilt to Satsuki's shoulders and wondered what was going on in her friend's mind.

"We're heading into the endgame, my friend. Things are about to change." Satsuki fixed Nonon with her gaze, her eyes flashing with intense fortitude and what looked like hope. "Do you have Matoi's contact information? I need it."

xxx

Sorry this is so short. This was hard to write. I just kept saying "ew, ew, ew." the whole time I was writing. Ragyo's such a freak!