Free
Hyuuga Nishi awoke to pain and soreness. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady as she evaluated the arm holding her. She was being carried over her shoulder like a sack of rice, and the person carrying her was running and jumping. Judging by the strength of the shocks and the distance of the leaps, she figured her captor for a ninja. Based on the bindings on her hands and feet, she surmised she had been captured by hostiles.
All Hyuuga know the danger of kidnappings, branch members or not. The seal on Nishi's forehead would allow Lord Hyuuga Hideyo, the head of the clean, to execute her at any distance. Lord Hideyo was a proud and loyal head, willing to go far to save members- but not everyone could be saved, and bloodline theft was an awful fate, worse than death. She would kill Nishi before such a thing happened, and for that Nishi was glad.
"Byakugan," Nishi whispered, her eyes opening wide with concentration and understanding.
Instantly, she knew her captors were two men. The one holding her was a wirey man armed with four kunai, ten shuriken, and two explosive tags. Judging by the state of his muscles and chakra, he was at least chunin-level. The other, heavyset with several hidden knifes and a long blade across his back, was injured. His left arm was pressed against his chest with a makeshift sling. He had probably taken a Jyuken strike, which would disable the arm from the shoulder down. His chakra and musculature indicated he was also chunin-level.
At her current genin level of skill, Nishi had no chance of overpowering, or even escaping these two men. She had more experience than them, but in terms of chakra output, speed, strength, and knowledge of ninjutsu she was unable to defeat or outpace them.
The sun was coming over the horizon, and the trees were unfamiliar. They were miles and miles away from the Hyuuga lands. The kidnappers had made good time, so rescue was unlikely.
Nishi felt the presence of the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead. Designed by the talented sealmasters of the Hyuuga clan, great wisdom had gone into its design. It was a cage, a force that bound her and constricted her. Any Main House member could kill or torture her at will, sealed as she was. This binding was her only hope, now. The Caged Bird Seal would set her free. She would not live the life of a bloodline theft victim, a sex slave for an evil clan, her children taken from her and raised as enemies to her kin. She would die free.
All the Caged Bird Seal's many forms could be activated at a distance, she knew. The execution feature, however, could be used at will by any sealed Hyuuga. It didn't even require handseals, and it wasn't that long or painful.
It was the perfect suicide Jutsu.
She deactivated her Byakugan and began to build up will for the feat.
The man holding her tensed up- she saw as his heart skipped a beat and his eyes twitched towards her- and came to a halt in a partner landed shortly thereafter. The uninjured man set Nishi down gingerly, and the injured man approached her.
"Wait," he said.
Nishi waited.
"You want to live," he said, "but you know the Hyuuga, your family, will kill you. They can kill you at any moment. They can kill you even out here. They might make a rescue attempt, but we have gone far and are out of range of their eyes. Soon, they will give up. When that happens, your life will end, thanks to that seal on your forehead."
All this was known. Fools tried to kidnap Hyuuga for bloodline theft, but those in the know would never do so. With the remote execution it would not work.
Nishi nodded. "It was pointless to kidnap me. There is nothing that can be done to stop my death, now. You will not get what you want. Our bloodline remains out of your hands. Someday, the Hyuuga will find you and kill you."
The man laughed, then grimaced and clutched at his useless arm.
Nishi frowned.
"I know my death is coming, and I prefer it to the fate you would give me."
"Not quite, young lady. We would like to make you an offer. You have lived your life in servitude to the Hyuuga Main House. Were you not taken, you would continue to live as a servant- a servant!- even while your blood, your power would have you rule any other group of people. The Hyuuga will kill you, but we have a day or two before they do so. If we move quickly, we can get you to our Sealing Master, who can remove that seal from you. You will wed Lord Mitsuru and become the Lady of our house. Your children will be heirs to the lordship, and you will lead a life of power. You will want for nothing."
Nishi shook her head. "If you were capable of such a thing, you would have already removed my seal. There is no reason to try to sell me on the deal. My compliance is not required. Why are you telling me this?"
"Well," he said, scratching his head, "As it happens, I got banged up pretty bad fetching you. We're probably not going to make it home in time to save you with Yoshi carrying you most of the distance. You're not fast enough to escape us, but if you could run on your own rather than being carried, we'd probably make it. It's only another day if we move quickly, but as you can see, Yoshi can't carry a person much further at his speed."
"So, we're offering you a life of freedom, Lady Nishi. And yes, that sounds nice, doesn't it? You will rule, and your children will rule. Aren't you tired of life as a servant?"
After a moment, Nishi nodded, and held out her hands.
"Remember, even if we're better off with you traveling on foot, that doesn't mean you can outrun Yoshi or me. We won't hesitate to knock you out again if that's our only option."
At a touch of the man's chakra, the bindings fall away from her hands and feet.
"Now, probably the best thing will be for you to run in shifts, since you won't be able to keep up-"
Nishi slammed her hands together. The Caged Bird Seal glowed red and she cried out in pain.
"What are you doing?! No!"
Yoshi ran over, but the injured man held him back with his good arm. Nishi fell to her knees, panting.
The injured man frowned. "It's too late now. She will die soon."
A moment passes.
"Sate my curiosity, Hyuuga: why kill yourself now? You have nothing to gain, and everything to lose."
She turned her blank eyes towards him. Those monochrome eyes were already changing form, becoming sealed by the suicide Jutsu. She spoke with an even tone.
"The cage doesn't just bind, it protects. You kidnapped me, thinking you would convince me to give myself up. You took my from my home, from my family, from my friends, all because you thought to put me in a situation where I would choose between death and slavery. You thought I might make a pragmatic choice."
Nishi laughed. "Even if I believed your ridiculous story, I would do this. No Hyuuga Bloodline Theft is possible. The kidnapping was pointless."
She coughed, turning her face toward the ground. Blood splattered the forest floor and she fell to her side.
"You judged me for a lesser being, rather than a Hyuuga. Your mistake."
Yoshi turned to Yoichiro. That crazy Hyuuga died with a smile on her face. What a bitch!
"What do we do now?"
Yoichiro looked thoughtful. "They will be on alert, now, so we cannot kidnap another. Well, maybe... but even if we could…"
He looked at the corpse of the woman at their feet, and scowled.
"... well, let's go report to Lord Mitsuru. He will want to hear of this. We need to keep moving. If we stay here too long, we will be found."