A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

I call after him, but he doesn't stop.

He storms out of the Tower doors, and I hurry after him.

"Lloyd, will you just stop and talk to me?" I yell.

He makes no intention of doing so.

"Grr." I make a hand sign and two of my shadow clones appear right in front of Lloyd, stopping him dead in his tracks, right before he reaches the tree line.

They both look him straight in the eye with hard stares. He doesn't push past them, and I sigh in relief.

It was remarkably hot out, and when I step out into the suns ray's, I break out into a sweat almost immediately. Both of my clones poof out of sight when I reach him.

~~*~~

Rakuyo was sitting in a chair out in the hallway, his head buried in his hands when the doctor lightly places his hand on his shoulder.

The doctors expression was anguished and pained, and it tore Rakuyo's heart apart.

"I'm so sorry, Rakuyo," the doctor whispers sorrowfully. He shakes his head, a nonverbal answer to Rakuyo's fears. "We did everything we could..."

"She's..." his voice catches in his throat, and he forcefully swallows. Tears spill from his eyes almost instantaneously, and his breathing becomes shallow and uneven. His legs almost give out underneath him as he tries to stand, but he manages to keep his balance.

He walks into the room and the medical ninja's were just starting to pull the sheet over his mother's face.

"Wait..." he barely says. His voice was raspy and low but the med-shinobi's back off all the same as he approaches the bed.

"Let him have some time with her, everyone," the doctor pronounces. They all walk out and Rakuyo was left alone with his mom.

Tears were still falling down his face, and they hit the sheets one by one. His mother's face was so peaceful and still. His heart squeezes in his chest.

He bites his lip and clenches his fists , trying heard not to cry out or scream. 'Why...? Why!" He grips the edge of the bed, and puts his head near his mother's.

~~*~~

"Kimina I don't want to talk about this. Just--"

I interrupt him. "Lloyd, don't be so hard on yourself."

He turns towards me. His expression was still unreadable but there was anger in his voice. "How can I not be hard on myself? I just lost this preliminary match, and now I can't advance. This is humiliating!"

A moment of silence ensues as I ponder how to reply. The wind blows between us, and I hold back my hair from getting in my face.

"Just because you lost this match doesn't mean that its over. Going up against him..." I shake my head.

Flashback

Orochimaru smirks and makes a hand sign. His neck stretches from his body and his head races towards Sasuke, with a malicious and hungry expression. He opens his mouth and sinks his teeth into his neck.

“Sasuke!” Sakura shouts.

“No!” I yell the same time as Sakura.

Orochimaru’s neck then condenses back to his physique and Sasuke grabs the back of his neck and falls down between Sakura and I, writhing and gasping in agony.

“Think of this, Sasuke, as a little parting gift. Very soon, you will come and seek me out and you will desire the power I can offer you.” The demon starts to sink slowly into the tree.

End Flashback

"This whole match just proved how weak I still am. I should have at least been able to defend myself more."

"Sasuke,"--his name was like poison on my tongue--"this wasn't his normal power. It was that damn mark. There was no way you could have won, Lloyd." I hated to admit it, but it was sadly true.

Something flashes across Lloyd's features, but I couldn't tell what it was exactly. He looks past me then, and I turn to see Naria sensei standing in the entrance way's doors.

"I'm sorry, Kimina,"--she begins--"but the preliminary rounds are over and you are needed inside to be told what is going to happen next."

The wind whips around me and Lloyd was gone in an instant. I stare at the place where he was just standing moments before.

"Kimina," Naria sensei calls. "He'll be fine. You can talk with him later; we all can."

I walk past her back into the Tower, but she doesn't immediately follow me. I notice she was gazing at the trees, her attention focused on something.

"Sensei?"

"Hmm? Oh." She closes the door behind her. "Come on."

We walk back into the previous room where all the matches were held. I see that all the genin that was advancing were standing in a straight line facing the Hokage Anko, Hayate and Ibiki sensei.

"Kimina, I need you to tell me the basis of your next challenge later on. There's something I need to do now."

I only nod in response. My instincts were telling me that something was up, but I remain silent. For now, anyway.

I walk and stand in between Naruto and Shikamaru.

"I commend you all for making it this far," Hayate declares.

"Here, including Sasuke, we have seven Leaf ninjas, and three Sand," the Hokage observes. "And now here are the explanations for the final round. In this final challenge, you will all display your strengths and power you have achieved thus far. These final rounds will commence one month from now. This is to provide suitable preparation."

Neji's eyes narrow. "What do you mean?"

"Simply this, in conclusion to announcing the outcomes of the preliminary matches to the each country's leaders, we must also have time to prepare the summence for the final selection."

"So, what's the point in all this?" Kankuro blurts annoyingly.

The Hokage continues. "You will need time to get to know your opponent. In these previous rounds you were fighting an unknown enemy but it it going to be different this time. In order to make this far, we are giving you each a month to learn new tricks."

'So, I could be going up against anyone here?' I look to my right, at Gaara and Neji. I even think about going up against him. What if I even went up against... Naruto?

"Now, there is one more important thing to take of," the Hokage says.

Naruto sighs. "Let's get on with it."

'Impatient as ever,' I say internally and with a shake of my head.

"All of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding."

Anko nods and walks up to Shino, who was standing at one end of the line beside Naruto.

When she gets to me, she makes a face. Out of curiosity, I note. I pull out a piece of paper. It was the number 9.

Ibiki sensei speaks now. "Now since everyone has one, going from left to right tell me the number written on your slip of paper."

Shino was first. "Six."

Then Naruto. "One, of course."

I roll my eyes and smile. "I have nine."

"Eight," Shikamaru says.

Yuroi was next. "Ten."

Kankuro. "Five."

Gaara. "Three."

Temari. "Seven."

And Neji was last. "Two."

The Hokage smiles. "Right. Now, I am going to tell you how the final selection tournament is going to work."

"What?" Naruto blurts.

"So, is that what the numbers are for?" Shikamaru asks.

The Hokage nods. "Ibiki, you may reveal which ninjas have been paired up."

Ibiki turns the board in his hand.

My mouth drops open. Naruto clenches his hands next to me.

"Is that all this is... a tournament?" Temari questions.

Shikamaru sighs. "So, if this is a tournament, is there gonna be one winner? One of will only be able to become a chunin?"

"It's quite the contrary actually, there are going to be several judges, including me. Through this tournament, the judges will be able to evaluate your abilities. They will then decide if any or all of you possess the abilities of a chunin. Even if someone loses their first round, they can still become a chunin. Does that answer your question?" He smiles again. "I thank you all, now let us all adjourn until next month."