A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

Well, I was right in saying that something was wrong. And that something only brought nothing but horrifying memories.

"So, there was this pulsating power around Sasuke when he woke up?" I ask inquisitively, trying to keep my breathing even.

"Yeah, it was like nothing I ever felt before," Rakuyo replies seriously. "There was nothing but dark and powerful chakra flowing through and around him...almost evil..."

"Evil?" Lloyd repeats, both eyebrows raised.

"So...what happened next?" I press on hesitantly.

"Sasuke jumped into the fight against the Sound ninja."

First, you have to destroy the Sound shinobi who serve me.

Rakuyo continues on. "But he wasn't himself. The dark chakra was controlling him, fueling the evil nature." He sighs.

Very soon, you will seek me out in desire of my power.

"Did he...did he defeat the Sound ninja?" I ask in a whisper.

Rakuyo shakes his head, and I feel my shoulders relax a bit. "No. Sakura stopped him before things got too out of hand."

I felt Lloyd's eyes on me then, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. I look back at him.

The dark power was coming from the black mark that demon Orochimaru had put on him.

Rakuyo must have noticed the exchange. "What is it?"

~~*~~

"Sakura, you have to promise you won't tell him."

"I won't, Sasuke. But why are we keeping it a secret from him?"

"I don't want him worrying about nothing," Sasuke states plainly.

"Sasuke, this isn't nothing,"--her eyes dart to his neck--"what happened with Orochimaru isn't nothing!"

Sasuke's face hardens. "Don't tell him, got it?"

Sakura hesitates. "I...alright, I won't." Her gaze flickers downwards. "But I...wonder what happened to Kimina." Sasuke doesn't say anything. "I hope she's okay."

"Hey! Where you guys go?" Naruto yells for his teammates.

Sakura rolls her eyes and walks out from behind the tree into Naruto's view.

Sasuke stands there for a few seconds more, his eyes narrowed into slits. You bastard! What did you do to him?

~~*~~

I told Rakuyo the same thing I told Lloyd, and he took it all in with a perplexed expression.

"There's nothing we can do about Sasuke. It's all his problem. All we can do is watch out for that bastard Orochimaru," Lloyd declares in the silence between us.

"That's true, especially since we know that he has his eye on your healing power, Kimina," Rakuyo says to me.

"And I don't even know why," I mutter to myself, my voice cracking a bit.

My eyes dart to the right of us. I could have sworn I saw a shadowed figure behind those trees. The same figure, it looked like, I saw after Ryron got free of my trap.

My heart races a bit in my chest. We needed to move.

"Hey, you okay?" I turn and look into Lloyd's green eyes. "There's nothing to worry about. We'll figure out all of this stuff down the road. In the meantime, we need to focus on getting the other scroll."

"Yeah, your right," I agree in a hurry. I sigh in relief, ready to get away from this spot. I didn't see the shadow anymore, but a eerie feeling had settled in me. I stand to my feet same as Lloyd and Rakuyo, and as we jump away on the branches I could feel a pair of eyes following us...but I didn't dare look back.

He chuckles lowly, watching the little genin team leaping away. "So, little Kimina, nothing gets past you, does it?"

"I would watch it Yasu if I were you. That little girl has some spunk in her," the man warns him with an amused smile.

Yasu laughs out loud at the ludicrous statement. "You really crack me up, you know that? I will admit though that their
strength has grown from when we first met, but it isn't nothing if you don't have the courage to back it up with. And my little precious tries so hard to be tough, but it's all just a rehearsed act. Deep down she's simply terrified. You saw the horror in her eyes, in her voice, when she heard that I still was alive!"

"Now, all we have to do is use that fear against her. But...what of the other two?"

"You can take of them. All I want is her...all alone." Yasu smiles vehemently.

"Hey, now, I want a piece of the girl too."

"Well, destroy the other two quickly and then you can. Now, let us go. I've seen all I want to. Time to start putting the plan into motion," Yasu commands bitterly.