A Hatred That Will Never Bloom Into Friendship

"Shadow clone jutsu!" I yell out; with six exact copies of myself appearing around me.

'Hmm. So, she is good with using the Shadow clone jutsu. But their not just apparitions... there actual solid clones. I never thought that I would see a genin of her level mastering this type of advanced jutsu. Impressive,' Naria thinks with a smile.

"Hmm?" I notice Naria sensei glance up in the direction towards the sky, a smile on her face.

"What is she looking at? Shouldn't she be more worried about my shadow clones... instead of something in the sky?"

"Look out!" Rakuyo screams loudly, suddenly grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from my positioned area.

"Hey, Rakuyo! What are you...?" I stop mid-sentence, completely stunned, just as a huge amount of fire envelops Naria sensei and all of my shadow clones. I look up to where the attack came from, and see an overwhelmed looking Lloyd carelessly hovering in the air.

'He used the fireball jutsu. But what was he thinking? If Rakuyo hadn't pulled me away... I would've been hit with the full blast of it as well,' I think, clenching my fists at Lloyd's stupidity.

"Ha! Looks like I got her!" Lloyd shouts down to Rakuyo and I, delighted with himself.

"He's wrong," Rakuyo says simply.

"What are you talking about?" I question, dumbfounded.

"Just wait," he answers me, closing his eyes with a small sigh.

Lloyd's P.O.V

Still hovering in the air, I gaze down at my two teammates; looking a bit confused and perplexed.

'Hey. Shouldn't they be applauding me or something? I mean... I did get her, didn't I? What's up with them?' I ask myself puzzled.

"The fireball jutsu? Very remarkable," a voice behind me speaks.

Knowing exactly who it was, I smirk valiantly and reply, "You haven't seen anything yet. Not from me at least."

"You do have confidence, I'll give you that. But having too much confidence always isn't a good thing," Naria sensei tells me in a serious manner. Anger rises up in my chest, and I turn to face her. I try landing a punch, but she merely just blocks my attempt. A sharp pain then courses through my body, as she quickly delivers a blow to my stomach (again), sending me flying into the cold ground below.

End Lloyd's P.O.V

"Lloyd!" I scream stunned, watching hopelessly as my teammate hurtles towards the ground.

'Man, there's nothing I can do,' Lloyd thinks helplessly, as the thought of it being over races through his mind. But just before impact, his body stops suddenly in mid-air.

"What... what just happened?" he asks bewildered, while looking behind him at the ground just inches away from his face.

"Why don't you take a look at your body a bit closely?" Naria sensei yells down to him. He does exactly what she said, and glimpses over his physique, and quickly notices a tiny thread wrapped around his lower waist.

"Whoa. How did she do that?" Lloyd asks himself astonished. He follows the thread and sees the other end of it tied around Naria sensei's right hand. She instinctively takes out a kunai knife, and easily cuts the thread with it. Lloyd hits the ground with little impact, and Naria sensei lands on the ground distancing herself fairly from the three of us.

"Lloyd! Are you okay?" I ask apprehensively.

"Yeah... I'm fine," he answers, standing up reluctantly. "Listen you two, I need you guys to just leave the rest to me. Well, it’s not like all of you tried at least.” He glares at Rakuyo. “Kimina, just stay back for now.”

"What? What are you talking about?" I retort confounded.

"Just let me handle this on my own. Alright?" His voice rises.

"What? What is your problem? First you destroy all my clones... now your asking us to just watch from the sidelines?" I question infuriated.

"Your clones were in the way," he spits back. 'Besides... I have to do this. She humiliated me. I can't accept that...' he thinks solemnly, remembering the occurrence.

Flashback

"Oh really? You really shouldn't get so cocky. Not knowing what the enemy's ability is on the field on battle, could lead to your downfall," she tells him, disappearing into thin air. "This is why you should never underestimate your opponent! It will lead only to the position that you are in now! If this was a real fight... then you would be dead already!"

End Flashback

"Alright, here I go," Lloyd says faintly, while smirking assuringly at Naria sensei.