A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

Naruto throws his fist into the air. "Yes! Finally!" He almost knocks over Sakura down when he (with too much enthusiasm) drops down from the railing onto the floor.

"Hey, watch it, Naruto!" Sakura yells.

Sauske shakes his head at her. He then looks closely at her face, at the bruise darkening her pale cheek.

"Woo-hoo!" Naruto cheers. He glances up at me, and puts two thumbs in the air.

I don't return the gesture. I feel so torn up inside from this intended battle. The two people I cared for going up against each other.

Naruto stares back at his opponent, and balls his fists in determination.

His chosen rival standing across from his smirks, his cockiness vibrate in his expression.

Shikamaru sighs next to me. "Naruto is definitely going to lose this."

Ino nods in agreement.

I stand undecided, even though Shikamaru's statement irritated me.

Naria sensei glimpses my way. "It's starting."

Hayate coughs. "Alright, so we have for the ninth match... Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka. Begin!"

"Come on, Kiba!" Lloyd shouts beside me.

I glare at him. He smirks back.

"Oh, boy," Naria sensei sighs. "There's a full-scale battle going on down there, and also one up here."

I roll my eyes and turn away from Lloyd. 'Let's go, Naruto.

Kiba crouches on all fours and races in a blur at Naruto, and elbows him in the stomach with intense force. Naruto flies into the air and lands hard on his back.

"Naruto..." Sakura gasps. He doesn't move.

"Whoa, didn't think it would be over this quick," Shikamaru sighs tiredly.

I clench the railing in tight fists. "It's not over yet," I say in assurance. No way in hell was that single hit going to be it for Naruto. I smile as he stands to his feet.

Kiba smirks. "Hmph. So, you could take that hit, huh?"

Naruto smiles. "It's gonna' take much more than that to defeat me!"

"Ha, alright. Then that's what you'll get!" Kiba growls. He takes out a couple pills from his weapon pouch and feeds one to Akamaru and then takes one himself.

"What were those...?" I hear Sakura ask. I hear Kakashi's voice answering her, but I drone him out as I watch Kiba's teeth and claws grow long and sharp, and his chakra power increases. Akamaru turns into a clone of Kiba, with the same profound chakra.

"Whoa..." Lloyd says, impressed.

The real Kiba glances up at me for a split second, before both of them charge at Naruto with a new found speed. Naruto dodges and dodges. He jumps into the air to avoid them coming at him all at once.

Kiba yells with a grimace, "Man Beast: Ultimate Tai-Jutsu!" Both Kiba's become mini tornadoes, spinning and spinning in quick, tight circles. Naruto, suspended still in mid-air, cannot hope to dodge this attack. One Kiba brushes against him, shreddingt the front of his jacket. The other collides against him in full force at his back.

Naruto slams down onto the floor. Blood spurts from his mouth as his body rolls over onto his stomach.

"Naru..."

"Naruto!" Sakura shouts over me.

Silence.

I stare at his unmoving form, my mouth hanging slightly open.

Sakura yells, "Get up, Naruto!"

Both Kiba's land several feet away from Naruto's unconscious body. The real Kiba chuckles. "Ha! Too bad for you, Naruto. You said you wanted more and that's what you got! How the hell do you expect to be the Hokage when your this weak?"

My eyes narrow, and my fists clench once more around the railing. "Kiba." His name feels like a whisper rolling off my tongue, but it was clear and terse. Heads swivel in my direction, some teary-eyed, some curious, others impassive.

Kiba hesitantly meets my gaze, but when he does I could tell from his eyes that he regretted what he said, but it was too late for that. "You're wrong..."

Naruto's body begins to stir.

I smirk. "You're wrong about him being weak."

A soft rasp sounds at my window.

I groggily open my eyes to a dark room. The moonlight shining through my window was blocked by a silhouette.

"Kimina."

Automatically at the sound of him saying my name, I shout out of bed, my tiredness long gone for the moment. I rush to the window and slide it upwards as silently as possible. He climbs in and lands beside me with a small thud. His yellow hair glows faintly in the pale light as he stands up.

I close back the window while he takes a pillow and one of the many blankets off from my bed. He situates himself on the floor, and I climb back into bed.

"Thanks, Kimina..."

My expression turns melancholy. "You don't have to thank me for this, Naruto." He sighs. "So... you had that nightmare again, huh?" It was stupid of me to ask that question; of course he did.

He nods his head, and pulls his legs up to his chest.

My heart aches at the sight of him, like it does every time I sneak him into my room at night.

"That's... that's why I want to become Hokage." He looks up at me, his blue eyes now determined. "Because when I become Hokage, everyone will have to respect me. I'm so sick and tired of everyone ignoring me and talking about me like I'm a freak." I flinch at the word. "They all expect me to give up; they want me to. But I won't. I won't ever be weak. I won't ever give up on my dreams, no matter what."

"I know you won't, Naruto. I'll even help you."

He smiles. "Thanks, Kimina," he repeats genuinely.

I smile back, and also yawn. "Well, we both need to get some sleep. We do have school tomorrow, after all. And you have to leave earlier before my mom comes in to wake me."

"Yep, I know, as usual," he says with a lop-sided grin.