The shadows shifted through the branches of the tall trees, blurs of movement leaping from point to point in an unsettling silence, at a speed no creature should be able to exert in such uncomfortable and obstacle-filled spaces.
Each one was a predator, the most dangerous predator in this world. And they were hunting.
Below them, a single, solitary figure ran in a panic, their movements erratic and unpredictable, managing to evade them for over three days and three nights.
But the constant harassment had exhausted them. The lack of sleep, rest, and decent food had diminished their stamina. They could barely maintain their run.
The shadows knew it. It had been their strategy, for they were distrustful of their prey's nature. This was the best way to ensure their capture.
Seeing that the target stopped behind a tree to catch their breath, they made another probing attack.
Two of the shinobi quickly descended, their hands blurring into seals and chakra igniting in their stomachs.
Water bullets shot toward the prey, their power capable of shattering the tree trunk.
Cracks echoed and wood splinters flew, forcing the prey to desperately leave their position.
The Takigakure shinobi continued to press, searching for any sign of weakness or an opening.
Before them, a young woman with disheveled black hair, cold eyes, and a solemn expression began to weave hand seals, her movements slow and somewhat clumsy, likely due to exhaustion or lack of training.
She generated water around her, collecting the moisture and cooling it to form crystalline needles.
The needles shot out at great speed, forcing the Taki-Nin to move to the sides and take cover among the trees.
The girl tried to seize the moment to run away again, but shuriken rained down from above, cutting off her escape route. She looked up just in time to see a burly man descend with a Sasumata in his hands.
The weapon arced, slamming into the ground with a loud thud, kicking up dust and debris in the position the girl had been a second ago.
She rolled on the ground before jumping up again, avoiding another barrage of water bullets.
The shinobi had noticed her slowness in weaving seals and determined that they could now subdue her.
Surrounded, exhausted, and cornered, a young Kimiko began to panic. Not for herself, but because her sole reason for living was waiting for her in the middle of nowhere, completely alone.
She had left Takeshi in a location far from any civilization, counting on her intelligent son to manage on his own while she went to get more money.
Unknowingly, Kimiko had gone to steal in the vicinity of Takigakure and was discovered by its shinobi. In a brief confrontation, the girl revealed her Ice Release, and that degenerated into a relentless chase until things ended at this point.
She wasn't so foolish as to not know what that village intended.
A young woman from one of the most famous clans of the Five Great Nations, robbing travelers in a foreign land, dressed like a beggar, without a Hitai-Ate on her forehead.
They didn't see her as a threat. They saw her as an opportunity. A walking package to create shinobi with Kekkei Genkai.
She had fled, run, and tried to outwit the Taki-Nin, but her efforts were in vain. Kimiko was not that strong, nor that fast, nor that cunning.
—Surrender, Yuki brat. Cease your resistance and come with us to Takigakure, or we will drag you by force! — called out the leader of this squad, the big man with the Sasumata.
Kimiko gritted her teeth, not responding. Her mind tried to devise some strategy to get out of the predicament, her body on the verge of collapsing, pulling strength to stay on her feet.
—Have it your way... You don't need legs to have children anyway— the man declared, lunging at the girl, his weapon swinging furiously with the intention of breaking her lower limbs.
Kimiko backed away, but throwing weapons constantly cut off her path, forcing her to face the man.
She pulled out a kunai, uselessly trying to overcome the subject in Taijutsu.
His technique was superior, his strength overwhelming, his speed disconcerting when operating such a heavy and massive tool. Kimiko was overwhelmed.
Sparks flew, the kunai constantly intercepted by the handle of the larger weapon.
Kimiko lowered her center of gravity, lunging at the opponent's legs with the intention of stabbing him. However, the Taki-Nin waved his hand and the base of the Sasumata slammed against the woman's back.
The air left Kimiko's lungs, the pain immobilizing her, and her face buried in the dirt by a brutal stomp from the man.
The other shinobi jumped on her, delivering heavy kicks that left her breathless again.
Completely subdued, Kimiko was tied up, stripped of her few tools, and dragged back to Takigakure, half-unconscious.
Her heart sank. A deep sense of unease gnawed at her. The image of her Takeshi, waiting for a reunion that would no longer happen, made her shed tears of frustration.
She could only hope that the child would grow up healthy and not get into trouble. She trusted him in that sense.
Takeshi had always been intelligent and capable. Truly, he didn't need her now. He stopped needing her since he learned to walk.
With those thoughts, Kimiko allowed herself to fall into unconsciousness.
*************************************
An uncomfortable sensation shook the woman. She felt an instinctive revulsion at whatever was disturbing her rest.
As clarity returned to her mind, a shiver ran down her spine.
Her wrists ached from the tight bindings, the dirt made her skin feel uncomfortable, and a constant smell of sweat assaulted her nostrils. A cool breeze seeped between her legs, as if ignoring the garments that should protect her... !!!
She shook herself as best she could, her eyes covered by some cloth preventing her from seeing, but her senses informing her of what was happening.
A ragged breath and a soft, viscous sensation beneath her arm, a warm, sweaty body pressed against hers, a large hand disrespectfully tracing her abdomen.
—Shhh, stay still— the degenerate whispered, sending a tickle through her skin as he firmly held her arms and continued to run his tongue along her armpit.
The disgust threatened to make her vomit, her teeth biting hard into the cloth that covered her mouth and muffled her roars of anger.
She tried to bring her hands together to form a seal and murder the bastard, but her chakra did not respond to her commands. They had placed a seal on her, restricting her from her best weapon.
However, before more of her clothes were torn off, a commotion reached both their ears.
The Taki-Nin stopped what he was doing and hurriedly got up, turning in the direction his partner had gone to urinate.
He detected a moan or a grunt of pain and then a dull thud, like a body falling lifelessly.
He waited patiently, his hand reaching for a kunai in his thigh-strapped backpack, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, a short figure calmly emerged from between the trees, wearing nothing but old, dirty rags.
A child. A thin boy, about five or six years old, brown eyes that did not look at him with fear, curiosity, or caution. Those eyes flashed coldness and disgust.
—Who are you, brat?— the Taki-Nin spoke loudly, alerting his companions and the group leader.
Kimiko flinched. She couldn't see and wasn't a sensor, but deep down, she feared it was Takeshi. But... How could Takeshi be here? She had left him quite far away and had fled in the opposite direction, as she couldn't risk him being discovered by Takigakure as well.
—I hope you prepare yourself, because what you've done today warrants a world of true pain— the child said with a deadly serious tone.
Kimiko truly panicked. That voice, that was Takeshi's voice.