"Baptized in Flames"

Sakura felt herself beginning to tire as she rolled for cover behind one of the few trees dotted around the arena. Trees were indeed flammable, and would not serve as cover against the fire breathing lizard from Hell.

Charmander unleashed yet another blast of flame that missed the pink-haired girl by a hair, this was getting very frustrating. He managed to dive to one side and avoid one of those pesky throwing knives.

Sakura knew she had to get in close, and knock this lizard out, but he appeared to have an unlimited supply of fire power at his disposal. She jumped out from behind the burning tree, letting fly with a kunai that missed by a good foot.

Charmander took aim at the ground where he assumed the girl would be moving to, catching her right in the knees with a fireball. Her scream only made him ease his head up a notch, and let another ball sail for her midsection.

Sakura felt the skin sear on her kneecaps, as she hauled hard to the right, juking out of the path of Charmander's attack that would have hurt very much. She flicked a smoke pellet into the sky, enveloping the distance between the two foes in blackness.

It took a second for Charmander to realize what had happened, and that cost him dearly.

Sakura's fist took the lizard upside the head, this sent him spinning through the air to collide with the arena wall. Sakura raced after her foe, watching him struggle to his feet, that tail lashed out to cut her off.

He could tell that he was hurt bad, his left eye was swelling shut rapidly, despite the fact she'd hit him upside the noggin. His tail wouldn't keep her back for long, she was pulling out something else from her waist pack.

A flash-bang pellet was not standard issue for Genin, but Sakura had convinced Kakashi to buy her one. She ducked the thrashing tail, lobbing the pellet into the wall, it went off like a bomb.