"Penalty"

As Sakura's black sedan pulled up to her mansion, the night had deeply descended, enveloping the surroundings in a blanket of darkness punctuated only by the soft glow of moonlight.

Stepping out in a sharp charcoal suit, Sakura's light hazelnut hair caught glimpses of moonbeams, adding a subtle shimmer to her appearance. A line of silent ninjas, the loyal guardians of the Himura family, greeted her with bows as she approached.

"Did the journey fulfill you all?" Sakura calmly asked the bowing ninjas.

"Hai! Himura-sama!" The ninjas softly responded in unison.

"Very well." Sakura smiled at them.

As Sakura made her way towards the mansion's grand door, the ninjas followed in silent formation, their movements precise and calculated.

Inside, she was greeted by another group of ninjas, the same group that Ray had encountered.

The five ninjas humbly bowed to greet Sakura.

"Carry on, I'm tired." Sakura said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, one of the ninjas in that group spoke.

"Himura-sama, we have something important to report." The one ninja said.

"What is it?" She asked calmly.

"We encountered a strange man earlier, a foreign man sitting motionless in your kitchen." The one ninja reported.

Sakura aggressively furrowed her eyebrows.

"As the guardians of this family, we acted based on your orders, Sakura-sama!" Another ninja added

"We might've killed the man if it weren't for Reina-sama stopping us." The one ninja reported also.

Sakura became restless and nervous.

"What happened? Tell me!" Sakura exclaimed in panicky.

"We studied the man first and sensed a dark aura from him, indicating that he might be a trained killer like us.

"We attacked him first from a distance."

"We threw our kunais at him, but he evaded them all as if he was trained with such speed."

"We were ready to strike him and impose the penalty for disturbing the home of Himura family." Three ninjas on that group calmly explained to Sakura.

Suddenly, Reina showed up from the kitchen.

"And Ray-kun left with his forearm bleeding." Reina interjected to the conversation, worried.

Sakura widened her eyes. Her heart is panicking and racing with such extreme restlessness and distress.

"Whe-whe-where is he?!" Sakura stammered, losing her composure.

Reina sighed

"He just left not long ago, Okasan." Reina answered her.

"I-I have to get to him, I need to tend his wound." Sakura said, her hands and face sweating due to her being restless and panicky.

Seeing her mother breaking down, Reina rushed to her.

Reina held Sakura's sweating face.

"He's fine, Okasan, I already fixed his wound." Reina happily reassured her a lie.

"I-i-is that true?" Sakura asked her daughter, still breaking down.

Reina suddenly hugged his mother.

"He's fine, he already went home." Reina said.

Sakura seemed to calm down.

Reina then broke the hug.

"You care so much for Ray-kun, huh?" Reina teased her Sakura.

Sakura smiled and somehow regaining control of her composure.

"Of course, he's my beloved stepson." Sakura said, her eyes sparkling and her angelic smile never fading.

"Beloved? How about your daughters then?" Reina joked

Sakura laughed

"You already know the answer to that, sweetie." Sakura said.

"Anyway, I'll be heading to my room. Goodnight, Okasan." Reina greeted her mother goodnight.

"Goodnight, sweetie, I'll be heading to my room as well." Sakura greeted her back with a smile.

Reina then left the scene and went straight to her room.

The five ninjas hurriedly bowed again in front of Sakura.

"We are very sorry for not giving your stepson a warm welcome, Sakura-sama." The five ninjas apologetically said, humbly bowing.

Sakura's face suddenly darkened, her demeanor and manner switching in an instant. She glared the five ninjas with hatred and murderous intent.

"Take these five bastards to be tortured." Sakura ordered calmly, but her voice was filled with hatred and fury.

The five ninjas didn't react and stood composed where they were standing.

They knew in their hearts that they would be punished accordingly, as Reina herself had stopped them from harming Ray. Meaning, they were about to kill a very important associate of the Himura family.

The twenty silent ninjas behind Sakura all bowed and moved to take the five ninjas away to be tortured.

Sadly, they bore the penalty instead of Ray, which was a souce of their sadness.