A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

Lloyd's P.O.V.

"Wonder what their talking about," Kimina says absent-mindedly, gesturing to Kakashi and Sasuke down on the floor.

"Probably to watch out for me," I retort, elbowing her arm playfully.

She rolls her eyes. "Not likely."

I snort. "Why you say that? You don't have no more confidence in me?" I smile.

She keeps serious though. "No, that's not it at all." Her eyes stay on Sasuke. On his neck...

"Kimina," I say, breaking her of her thoughts.

She looks at me then. "Don't be too overconfident in this battle, Lloyd. Just try to keep your head."

I take a hold of her arm and move closer to her. "Is this about the mark that's on his neck?" I ask in a hushed whisper.

"Yes, it is," she replies a little too harshly.

My eyebrows raise in surprise.

She sighs. "I'm just worried about you is all."

'I'm not the only one your worried about though,' I realize silently.

"You remember what..." she falters, and then clears her throat, "You remember what Rakuyo told us about him. About the terrifying power he evoked and all from that mark?"

"How do we even know if that's all true?" I blurt out."

"Rakuyo wouldn't lie," she says almost immediately, narrowing her eyes.

'Damn, this whole mark thing really has her on edge,' I say to myself. 'And I don't blame her, considering that this Orochimaru guy also has his eye on her.'

"That power is seriously dangerous, Lloyd," she continues. "Be careful of it."

I nod in understanding. She almost smiles. Almost.

"Hey! Are you coming down here or what?"

Kimina and I look back down onto the floor. Kakashi was already walking back to his other students, and Sasuke was standing alone, gazing back up at us with an annoyed look.

I smirk. "Hell yeah I'm coming down!" I jump down into the arena.

As I walk towards him, I purposefully come too close and brush him out of the way with my elbow.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see his hands ball into fists at his side, and he lifts one arm in the air. I start to turn around towards him, ready for any attack.

"Hey! Do not start until I have said begin!" the proctor, Hayate, yells.

"Humph." I continue walking in the other direction, and stop about ten feet from Sasuke.

Hayate sighs. "Alright. We have for this tenth match... Sasuke Uchiha and Lloyd Yukohama. Now you may begin!"

~~*~~

Rakuyo stares at his mother. He shifts restlessly in the upholstered chair, but he never takes his eyes off of her.

Nothing had changed since he got there about two hours ago. She hadn't moved; she was still in a coma-like state. Her heartbeat was still beating slowly, too slowly.

Tears well up in his eyes again, but he keeps talking to her, finding it the only way to keep his tears at bay.

"You know, this is only the second time I've been in a hospital." He laughs, but it sounded forced. "I never went to hospitals when I was a kid, because I didn't like them." He smiles. "I was scared that if I went in I would never be able to come out. But you already know that."

He moves the bed sheets from over her hand and holds it with both of his. He was shocked to feel how cold she was. Like a dead body. He pushes the thought out of his mind.

"The first time I was in a hospital was just on my first and recent mission, with Naria sensei. Lloyd was in it. He's been roughed up pretty badly in the fight we had with the Brothers of Treachery." The hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the sound of the name. "I never told any of this because you seemed to not have the time to listen to me. I only told you that we succeeded in the mission. But that was alright. It was nice to talk with you, even for that short time."

A beeping in the back of his mind begin to go faster and even faster. His brow furrows as he contemplates as to what it could be. His stomach lurches as he figures out the source. It was her heart monitor. It was pounding wildly now, out of control. He chest rises up and down with the beat, in rapid succession. Sweat breaks out over her face and neck.

Rakuyo stands abruptly, knocking over the chair. "Nurse! Help! Doctor! Please!"

The same doctor rushes in with three medical ninja's at his heels.

"What the hell is happening?" Rakuyo yells in horror. Blood starts pooling from his mother's nose and ears.

"The poison has reached her heart," the doctor states.

The words he just said seemed foreign to Rakuyo, like he couldn't comprehend them. No, he understood, it was just he didn't want to. "You... you have to do something!"

"We will! But I am going to need you to leave this room," the doctor responds. Two medical ninja's rips the hospital gown from over his mother's chest.

"No! I have to stay!" he shouts. His vision is blurred with tears.

The doctor gestures briefly to one of the other ninja's, and a pair of arms grabs Rakuyo's shoulders and walks him out of the room.

He could right back, and stay in the room by force if he wanted to. But he didn't have the strength to. Plus, fighting would just mess things up more.

The man closes the door behind Rakuyo, leaving him alone in the hallway. They also needed everyone they could get to help his mother. They needed to...

~~*~~

He runs up on me and I dodge a punch and miss a kick. I throw several punches of my own, and he dodges every one. I kick my leg up and he bends backwards, and I barely miss him.

He stands back upright, and I duck and dodge his outstretched kick. He jumps back out of the way of another one of my punches.

I was already on top of him when he landed, my arm held back to try for another blow. He dodges again and does a back flip, giving more distance between us.

We were both quick; both the same speed. So, this battle wasn't getting anywhere with just hand to hand combat. We haven't landed a single hit on each other yet.

I smirk and make a few hand signs. I inhale. 'Fire style: Fire Incinerator jutsu!' I exhale a huge amount of roaring hot flames.

Sasuke tenses for a brief second before jumping off to his left, bit a bit of the inferno catches his pants leg. He winces.

'He's getting slower,' I note.

"What's happening?" Naria sensei says aloud. Kimina looks back at her, worry in her expression.

Sasuke recovers and makes a hand sign too. I ready myself, but something happens. Pain crosses his features, and he grips his left shoulder.

'The mark,' I assume.

Sasuke falters and stumbles back a step, his guard down. I don't waste a second.

I charge him, my arm held back behind me. He only stares at me coming, unable to move.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screams above us.

At the same time, my fist connects with Sasuke's cheek, and he flies back and crashes into the wall behind him.