Natsumi fluttered her eyes open finding the gray metal still surrounding her. She jolted when she realized she had fallen asleep during their competition. Her eyes darted straight to Giroro, sitting in his chair and watching her.
"I see you're awake." His gruff voice echoed slightly in her cell. "You've been out for a total of five hours. I'm sure your legs are weakened in that position. Can you even stand?"
Natsumi shifted slightly on her knees trying to stand and show she was still strong but found that they had in fact fallen asleep. She closed her eyes as she stood upon her wobbling limbs. A slight shiver of pain shot through her muscles but she ignored it, trying to hide any sense of weakness in front of her captor. Her anger filled eyes returned to the red frog.
"Good, because today I'm taking you to a new location where you will be receiving your punishment. You need to learn some obedience and become a proper slave." Giroro stood up from his seat and used his key to open the bars that separated them. Natsumi glared at him, watching him walk closer.
Giroro only bother to get within two feet of her before pulling a small round device from the case on his belt. He pushed the small black button on it causing a beam of light to connect it and her collar. Her arms were then released from their connection to the walls in the cell, and she could let them hang freely to her sides. Taking a step towards Giroro she found that she couldn't move her head to follow her body. She coughed slightly as her collar was forced to collide with her throat.
"What's with this thing?!" Natsumi was not happy with the upgrade in leashes.
"This is a special item that I was lucky to get my hands on. It won't extend, shorten, or move unless I give it the command. You could learn from this device." Giroro stated with a sly smirk.
"No matter, you'll have to remove it sooner or later." Natsumi shrugged off the uncomfortable sense of restraint. She then followed Giroro down the hall, being careful not to let the collar bang into her neck again. Soon they arrived to a room slightly larger than the one Natsumi was kept in, it was even slightly brighter.
Natsumi's eyes scanned around the room to find strange items hanging on the walls. She didn't recognize any of them but she got a general sense of their purpose. One area was designated to leather restraints, while another section was decorated in sharp metal objects resembling knives only they curled and twisted; similar to a cork-screw. Before she could get a good look at anything else, Giroro steered her with the prodding leash towards the center of the room. She stumbled slightly before tripping over her feet and finally falling backwards onto the floor. She released a sharp coo when her rear collided with the hard floor.
She watched as Giroro closed the door behind him and pressed the button on the device in his hand. The light dissipated, releasing her from its hold. Before Natsumi could react the cuffs on her wrists were connected with yet another beam of light. The light connected down to the floor only giving her enough length to sit on her knees or in a chair- if she had been given one that is.
"There, now that you're strapped in I can take my time in selecting my first tool." Giroro circled around Natsumi looking at the devices on the walls. He paused behind her, she craned her neck trying to see his selection. "Here we go. How about we start with something simple? You should be able to relate to it too. It was stylized after a Pekoponian tool after all."
He came back around holding some sort of baton with different little buttons and bulbs. He held it out so she could see what would be used against her. He pressed one of the buttons, then swiftly flicked his wrist causing a stream of glowing strands to pour out. They twisted and weaved to make a single cord.
"I believe your kind would call it a whip. Let's see how long you last." Giroro paused for a moment. Placing the handle of the whip underneath his arm, he opened the case on his belt again, this time pulling out a thin piece of paper. Giroro peeled the thin backing from the paper and then placed it on his upper arm. He crumpled the backing into a little ball and tossed it on the floor to deal with later. Natsumi could see him tense slightly before letting out his breath.
Giroro took the whip out from under his arm again and weighed it in his hand till it settled in the right position. Natsumi then noticed a drastic change in Giroro, his eyes had become sharper and his stance was stronger and more confident. What she saw in front of her was a soldier on high alert, ready for anything.
Did he watch me the entire time that I had slept? Makes sense considering he knew exactly how long I had been asleep for.
"As I was saying, the terms for the rest of your life are as follows." He spoke with a stern and re-energized voice. "You shall speak only when spoken to as well as reply when ordered to do so. You will obey your Master and any other Keronian you encounter with complete and utter loyalty and humility. Any act or acts of defiance or disobedience will be treated with a punishment that the nearest Keronian in charge deems as suitable. For now I will act as your Master and I will strike you for any sign of defiance. Do I make myself clear Pekoponian Slave?" Giroro commanded.
"I'll take that as a challenge." Natsumi glared into his eyes. Immediately Giroro lashed the whip against her legs, the light slightly searing her skin. Natsumi winced and gritted her teeth withstanding the pain. For the first time she truly understood that he would stop at nothing to conform her to his will. She looked down and saw a fine gash across each of her legs, a bead of blood trickled down her right leg.
"I'll ask once again Pekoponian. What is your purpose?" Giroro looked down upon her as if he were a higher being; but she would never treat him as such.
"You look at me as though you're my Lord and you expect me to treat you like a king or a god?! I will never bend to your will! YOU DO NOT OWN ME!" Another strike went against her cheek lightly grazing her and barely breaking the skin. Natsumi let a tear fall but wouldn't let it soften her angry expression.
"I can see I have my work cut out for me." Giroro continued giving simple commands and punishing her when she outright refused to obey.
A few hours passed with Giroro having tried other tools; such as a few of the twisted blades, which left swirled cuts in her legs as well as a small stone that burnt flesh that decorated her arms with scorch marks. Giroro even tied strips of leather around her limbs, almost tight enough to cut off her circulation. Through the dragging hours of pain, Natsumi didn't give in to his orders. She cried as little as she could and withheld her whimpers. Blood began to dry and crust over her open wounds. Her throat had become parched and scratchy, while her energy began to fade away from her. Despite it all she continued to hold her defense against him, she would never surrender her will.
-To Be Continued…