A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

The sun rose higher in the sky, morning quickly turning into the afternoon.

"Not so far, she says! Oh my goodness!" Lloyd exclaims tiredly, crawling up the inclined path, his hands grasping the gravel dirt to pull him forward. "It feels like we've been walking for days!"

"Well, it could be worse. It could be... raining or snowing or something like that," I tell him, panting through my words, crawling up the steep hill beside him.

"Almost there." Lloyd pulls himself up the last few inches. "Phew," he sighs out in relief, collapsing atop of the inclination.

"Made it," I breathe out, collapsing also, my head leaning against Lloyd's arm.

Naria sensei walks past us, her eyes watching us with enlightenment. "All right now. Get up, you two." Rakuyo then walks up behind Naria sensei, his hands in his pockets and his face diverted from Lloyd's and mine. At the sight of him, Lloyd jumps up immediately, with my head crashing to the ground. He crosses his arms stubbornly over his chest with a small humph, and looks away from me.

"Come on, Kimina. Get up. It wasn't really that difficult or tiring of a walk," he scowls.

I leap up at his statement. "What! You've got to be kidding me! Who was the one that was complaining the entire way? And besides" --I cross my arms too-- "I wasn't even tired at all. I just didn't want you to feel bad climbing up that bluff all by yourself, is all."

"Yeah, right. Anyway... what! Where's the village?" Lloyd practically yells in disbelief. I take my eyes off him, and look around at our surroundings. The terrain looked exactly the same as it did the last few miles, with its same dirt road and endless yards of trees surrounding both sides.

"What are you talking about?" Naria sensei retorts, amused again. "We still have awhile to go."

"Oh boy," Lloyd and I both groan out in exhaustion.

Naria sensei smiles and points behind her. "All we have to do is cross this bridge, and we'll be there in no time." I gaze around at the bridge Naria sensei had indicated, which was just up the path more. It was short in length and appeared to be very old. It swayed from side to side and creaked with every step we took as we walked across it. Before I knew it, we were all on the other side.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Naria sensei asks, her arms held out in an openly gesture, her face beaming.

I glance back over the cliff's edge, down at the rushing river below. "Um...yeah." I gulp. Hopefully we could be able to find another safer route home.

Lloyd bursts out in laughter at my staggered tone. I roll my eyes, stepping beside Rakuyo.

"Let's keep going. We don’t want to stand around here all day. We should be there…" Naria sensei stops short of her sentence, and turns towards the trees on our left, her expression unreadable. "Look out, Kimina!"

In seconds, Naria sensei moves in front of me, her hands holding my shoulders. In that same second, two shuriken fly out from somewhere in the bushes, both hitting her in her upper back. She flinches slightly, but composes her features immediately, turning around to where the weapons were thrown from.

"Naria sensei... your hurt..." I gasp, staring at the shuriken sliced deep within her back, the blood dripping carelessly downwards.

"Hehe. That was very impressive of you to use yourself as a shield to protect your student," a manly voice utters from the shadows.

"Stay behind me, everyone!" Naria sensei orders firmly, taking a couple steps forward. "Show yourselves!"

At her demand, five men appear out of their hiding places. Two jumping down from the branches, and the three others walking out from the bushes.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you guys showed yourselves. The Five Brothers of Treachery," Naria sensei affirms unfaltering.

'Showed themselves?' I repeat Naria sensei's words in my head. What was going on?

The tallest of the men walks up casually to Naria sensei, a playing smile pulling at his lips. He bends his head down a bit to her level, his dark eyes piercing, his short red hair blowing lightly in the warm breeze. "How do you know of us?"

Naria sensei answers blatantly. "From stories. You five are well-known in the Village Hidden the Leaves."

The tall man laughs boisterously, the others snickering behind him. "Oh, but where are my manners" --he begins politely-- "my name is Kion and I am the eldest and leader of the Five Brothers of Treachery." He then turns his back to us, and gestures to his brothers from left to right.

"This is Hachi." He was very gangly-looking, with chin lengthened black hair. "Botan" --the shortest of the five, with gold colored eyes and short grayish white hair-- "Toshio" --average looking with shoulder lengthened tan hair-- "and Yasu," Kion concludes conversationally.

I didn’t want to admit this, but I couldn’t help noticing. Yasu was the best looking of his four brothers. He was ivory-skinned, with high prominent cheekbones. His hair was the longest amongst the others, a very deep violet that reached down to his waist. His dark blue eyes found mine, and he winks playfully. I look away promptly, trying to not have my knees buckle in anxiety.

"We were just so curious as to why Leaf shinobi ninja would be doing so far out of their province," Yasu tells us impassively, his eyes never leaving my face.

Kion chuckles at his brother. "Now that I think about it though," he establishes seriously, turning back to Naria sensei, "you do look very familiar. Have we met before?"

"Not likely," she spats restlessly. I could sense that she was lying; the way her tone rose and then lightened in just those two words.

"Hmm. Okay then." Kion smiles pleasantly, then gestures to Botan and Hachi. Both of them take a couple steps forward, the two of them standing directly behind Kion. Rakuyo stiffens next to me. I glance at him, but I couldn't see his expression.

"Botan, Hachi, we will be taking this one. And I want the two of you to take care of these three Leaf village genin. That shouldn't be a problem," he states steadfastly.

"Of course, Kion," the one who winked at me, Yasu, confirms without hesitation.

"And I'll try not to prolong their suffering. Try," Toshio asserts with a smirk.

"Hah! Good. Now why don't you be a good little jounin and come with us." Kion reaches towards Naria sensei, his features vicious.

Naria sensei smacks his hand away. "What makes you think I'm going anywhere? Don't underestimate me."

"And don't underestimate me. And I didn't think I asked you," he retorts scornfully. It happened within seconds; Kion leaps forward and secures Naria sensei in an iron grasp.

"No," Naria sensei shouts, reaching a hand back to us, her expression completely overwhelmed. And then they were gone. Botan, Hachi, Kion and Naria sensei all disappeared into thin air.

"Naria sensei!" I yell hoarsely, my legs starting to fail me. I gasp out in shock, feeling a sharp pain to my chest. Before I knew what had happened, I was flown backwards into a tree.

"Kimina!" Rakuyo shouts my name. I gasp out again, this time in pain. I tried to open my eyes, but my vision was blurred, from the agony that was radiating through my body and from the tears that were starting to form. I force my eyes open a second time, and Yasu's form solidifies in front of me.

"Oh... I hate to have to hurt such a pretty face," he mockingly states, tightening his hold around my neck.

I close my eyes and cry out in anguish. I couldn't do anything; I was too weak. I was weak.

"Kimina! Ah!" Lloyd's fatal scream echoes through the area.

There was nothing I could do; I was going to die. That thought was certain, as the tears pooled down my face. My head was throbbing unbearably, and I could hear the blood pounding at an alarming rate behind my ears. I was going to die here.

"Kimina!" was the last thing I heard, Lloyd's cry out for me, before the darkness engulfed my consciousness.