Chapter 3

Biting his lip, Zaku kicked a stray tin as he walked further away from the arena. The Kazekage had frightened him, no doubt about it, and he had no way to find comfort. Normally people would talk to others, but who would he talk to? Teuchi and Ayame weren't like that and he didn't know anyone else. Besides, no one would bother to listen to a grimy urchin.

Lost in his thoughts, Zaku spent two long, restful hours bathing in the creek, washing his jumpsuit as well. He went back into the village and heard the shouts and cheers from the arena. The fighting was obviously still going. He wondered if Naruto had won his battle.

Tired eyes wandered to the wall that surrounded Kohona and frowned at faint figures jumping over the stone. His ears pricked up when he noticed that the cheers from the arena were silent. It was eerily still. A sense of foreboding overcame the teenager and he quickened his pace, keeping his eyes glued on the wall. An explosion sounded and he jumped in shock, staring at a part of the wall that was crumbling before his eyes. To his shock, a huge three-headed snake was moving through the dust, entering the silent city.

Not so silent anymore – screams sounded up ahead and Zaku began to run, all thoughts turning to the rusty kunai hidden in his box of pebbles. His feet slipped in the sandals and he ditched them, running barefoot along the cobbled stone towards Ichiraku Ramen. Fear pulsed in his belly, fear for two of the only people to ever show him kindness.

Teuchi… Ayame…

He skidded around a street corner and ducked behind a bench, breathing heavily as he spotted enemy ninja leaping over rooftops. The ramen shop wasn't far now. A panicked group of people raced past him, herded on by a Chuunin. They ignored Zaku, but he stared at them in search of familiar faces. They weren't there.

Standing shakily, he rushed to the ramen shop as fast as his legs could carry him, worry for Teuchi and Ayame pounding into his skull. His chest began to hurt from the running but he forced himself to breathe. He needed his kunai.

A scream sounded up ahead and Zaku reached the front of the shop, staring inside frantically. The back door was open but no one inside.

"Help, please! Someone help!"

That was Ayame's voice. She screamed again and Zaku saw shadowy silhouettes move past the back door. Panic filled him and he raced around to the back, stopping in fright as he saw two Sound-nin backing Ayame into the alley's dead-end. Every eye turned on him and he froze.

He couldn't do this. Zaku wasn't a fighter. He was a runner. His mind flicked to the last time he'd run and he saw the stranger's smirking face. That man had been wrong about him. Zaku didn't want power or glory or a way to vengeance. He just wanted warm food and a roof over his head.

But this was Ayame. She'd shown him kindness even though she had every reason not to. Both her and her chichi had taken pity on him when no one else had and he would pay them back. He swallowed nervously and clenched his small fists, taking a deep breath.

"Well, look who we have here," one of the ninja taunted, "a little hero here to save the day. What will you do, little hero? Will you stop your princess from dying? I don't think so."

Ayame sent him a pleading look. "Go Zaku! Just go!"

"Aw isn't that sweet. You're not going anywhere. Hold the girl. I'll get the boy."

The first ninja pulled a kunai and a strange-looking contraption from his belt, chuckling behind his covered face as he approached the boy. Ayame was held tightly by the second ninja, one hand over her mouth and the other holding her wrists behind her back. She shook her head and shouted something, but it was muffled against the gloved hand.

Zaku didn't know any fighting moves. Once he'd seen a boy his age practicing tai-jutsu but that was years ago. He had no skill with chakra and he was small and skinny. What was he supposed to do? Well, the one thing he couldn't do was abandon Ayame to die.

His heart threatened to burst as the ninja came closer. Clenched fists relaxed and he fixed the ninja with a steely glare, one he hadn't used for many years. The ninja didn't falter in his step. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Zaku launched himself at the ninja, fists flying wildly. An ear-splitting scream escaped his throat and he tried to punch and kick with all his might, aiming wherever he could reach. The ninja blocked his feeble attacks with ease and pressed the kunai against his throat, forcing him back against the wall opposite the shop. Zaku tripped over his box of pebbles as he was pushed back onto his cardboard bed, but the threat of the kunai held him steady. The ninja forced him onto his knees and laughed.

"Look at you now little hero. Can't save your princess, can you?" Then the ninja grabbed Zaku's right hand, held it on the wall above his head, and brought the strange-looking contraption crashing down.

The urchin fought back a scream of pain. His ring and pinkie fingers on his right hand were now attached to the wall, spikes within the contraption embedding themselves into his fingers. If he tried to move it would tear at his skin and bones and he would lose his fingers. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and he gritted his teeth against the pain.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" the ninja whispered softly. "Well little hero, let's say we make you watch your princess die and then we kill you nice and painfully. What do you say?"

Zaku couldn't speak or he'd let the pain show. He couldn't show weakness. The ninja laughed and stood, loping over to where Ayame was held captive. Zaku slumped on his cardboard bed and felt the blood from his hand dripping down into his hair. Well, he'd tried. He'd tried to save Ayame but it hadn't worked. Now they would both die because he hadn't tried hard enough.

"No Zaku!" Ayame shouted in terror, freeing her mouth for a moment. The second ninja slapped her and she cried in pain, kicking and screaming against the inescapable hold. No one was coming. They were going to die. Then, after they were dead, another urchin would move in behind the shop to take Zaku's place. Boy, they would get a surprise when they searched through his box of pebbles and found the kunai hidden at the bottom.

He gasped. That was it! Using his free hand, he pushed the box open and grabbed the rusty kunai, holding it in a shaky hand. What could he do? He couldn't throw it, and even if he hit one of the Sound-nin there was still another. For a second he dropped the kunai and grasped at the contraption, trying to pull it from the concrete wall. It didn't work. He wasn't strong enough. Taking the kunai, he tried to hit at the contraption and knock it away, but only succeeded in nearly ripping his fingers off. He glanced at the Sound-nin as they laughed at Ayame, taunting her before she died.

There was only one option if he wanted to save her and he didn't like it. But it was his only choice. Zaku took a deep breath and gripped the kunai tightly. If he didn't live through this, hopefully Ayame did. She deserved to live. She was the kindest person he'd ever known.

He brought the kunai above his head and used all his strength to slice it through his two trapped fingers, separating them from his body.