Meeting Yondaime

Chapter 36

Please read the notes at the bottom of the chapter.

Inari

Gato's men had taken Inari and his 'friends' to a large cabin in the middle of the woods, where they were often playing poker, and drinking. 

The silver-haired man shoved Akane, Inari, and his two friends into a small closet with a window. "Get in there!" 

"You'll never have our village!" shouted Inari at him, and the other man who had scars all over his body. 

The man glared at him, scowling, and grabbed a dagger. He then shoved it into the wall, right next to Inari's head. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to cut out your tongue..." 

Inari didn't flinch and sat there with a face stern. "Hmph," scoffed the man, as he and his partner walked out of the closet, closed the door, and locked it.

Akane and his two best friends started to sniffle in the darkroom, before bawling their eyes out, snot dripping out of their noses. Inari just sighed and stood up, and put the dagger between his arms and cut the rope holding his hands together. 

"Huh?" the boys looked at Inari to see what he was doing. 

"Crying, you know, won't get you anywhere... Brother Naruto taught me that..." Inari looked at them, almost sympathetically, understanding what it felt like, being hopeless and having no courage. 

"How can you have so much bravery, Inari?" 

Inari looked at him and pulled the knife out of the wall. "My tou-san was brave...  Naruto-onii-san was brave and saved the village from Gato... I want to be like them..." Inari then continued to kneel by them and cut the ropes around their hands. "Let's go." 

Inari and Akane opened the windows and ran out as fast as they could. Unfortunately, the men had put windchimes on the windows in case they tried to escape. "Run!"

"Men, find them!" 

They ran into the woods, for about five minutes before the trio of bullies had stopped for breath. Inari looked back, to find no one behind him, before running back towards him. "We can't stay here!" 

The three began to wipe their tears again as they once again, started to sob. "I don't wanna die!" 

"I want to see my Kaa-san!"

Inari bit his lip slightly and told them to quiet down. Men rushed by their hiding place in the tall grass by a tree. He waited until they sprinted a little farther before whispering; "Go. I'll distract them." 

Akane looked at him, wiping his face nose on his arm. "Why are you doing this, all we've ever done is be bullies to you..."

Inari looked at him. "Because I want to be a hero like my tou-san..."

They looked at him, before rushing off. Inari, watched for a minute, before dashing off towards the men and then heading off a little farther in another direction, panting and wheezing from running. 

Suddenly, men rushed past him. Inari took a huge breath, before yelling as loud as he could. "Hey, over here you creep!" 

The men rushed towards him drawing their katanas and slashing as Inari ran from them. 

                                                                                            ^.^

Inari was at the edge of a cliff, below him a roaring river, and sharp rocks sticking out of the water in some places. "Hey, kid..." spoke the silver-haired man. "You might as well give up! You got nowhere to go, just let me slash you..." He drew closer to Inari, an almost psychotic smile on his face, bloodthirsty. "You know... I was going to give you a quick death... but after all the work you made me go through... I'm gonna torture you!" He laughed madly and dashed at him, the rest of Gato's men following.