Part 18: Foul Friendship

I ran out of the manor with team 9 in hot pursuit. I didn't want to dordle and we grabbed some gas masks before going and exited through the poisonous gas boundaries. I lifted my mask off and breathed the cool air next to the forest. I threw my mask aside and looked around hoping for some kind of saying 'Gaara this way' or 'Follow this arrow for certain death' well we were going up against S-rank criminals,
"Do we know where to go?" Amaterasu asked, she really was and had always been the weakest member, if we met Makaiko things could get nasty for her,
"Lets go in to the forest, we have to go through there anyway," I pointed out, so we went just about 100 metres in when I saw her. The silver haired neko, I grabbed the back of Katsou's shirt,
"What?" he whispered,
"Everyone stop and get behind that clump of bushes," I instructed, "Hurry," we all ran to the bushes and crouched down,
"Keitii-chan what's wrong?" Katsou he asked hurriedly,
"Look over there, it's Makaiko,"
"It looks nothing like her," said Amaterasu,
"Of course it doesn't, it's a guise,"
"How do we know for sure?" I looked at Katsou, didn't he trust me?
"I'll get her to transform back, but stay here!" I said pushing Katsou back down,
"But Keitii-chan-"
"I can handle her," we looked at each other then he let go of my arm. I dodged from tree to tree and snuck up to her silently making sure that my shadow was behind me as I moved swiftly and diagonally towards her. As I got about a metre away she looked up and I let all my anger burst and punched her right in the face. She flew back then landed on her feet regaining balance. She looked up at me and seemed to relaxed,
"Thought you were dead," she said boredly, which had been the second time she'd said that, what do reckon, third time lucky?
"No thanks to you of course," I spat, "Betrayer." The anger I felt had only just started to simmer,
"It was you or Deidara." she said as she changed back to her true form. She began to examine her gauntlets; tightening the leather straps holding them in place. I knew that she'd fight back and I knew that both of us would be aiming to kill. I smirked at her when she changed back she frowned,
"Out of my way, I need to visit your family," She what?! So she leaves me to die yet goes to my family's graves?! Or maybe she knew it would provoke a reaction from me,
"What?" I glared at her, she only winced slightly, another 'demon trait' because they're so much better than humans and all that shit she always says,
"I often visit darling Sachiyo and your darling mother. I give them flowers." She pulled a bunch of flowers out of nowhere, another 'demon trick' my heart started beating fast, how dare she talk about my family in the way she was doing and treating me like some lowlife scum. She had a nerve doing this just because she was an unloving monster, more so than Gaara had been, "See?"
"Enough of this! Stop messing me around!" I snapped, if she wanted to play games then she was playing with some deadly fire,
"You want me to kill you now? Sure you don't want a little longer to live? Make amends of some sort? No? Alright then," she thought she was always the stronger one but we had actually never even had a fight nor had she seen me fight with full force. Did she even know what I could do? I wanted more than anything to wipe that stupid expression off her face and tear her limb from limb for betraying me,
"Don't give me that rubbish. You're nothing but a coward, you never fight if you don't have too. You're all talk," she was just a lowlife coward because she hadn't even dared to come back and give me some shit about leaving, because she knew that she hadn't even seen how far my anger could go, (personally I blame my father for my anger).
"It's not cowardice, its intelligence. Something you don't possess a great deal of..." She pulled the leather strap tight about her arm and started to flex her fingers, "You're dealing with an S-Rank here. It's not some stupid mission that you can walk away from unharmed." I had felt a lot of pain and been close to death before I wasn't scared and she was the one who lacked intelligence of even how to fight me face to face in a proper battle which I was forcing her to do,
"Yes but I, unlike you, have back up" I heard Team 9 jump out from behind me but I didn't stop glaring at Makaiko. I didn't want to turn my back, she was an S-rank which I hadn't even known before.

"Makaiko? Is that what you've turned out like? You're freakier than before." She turned her head to look at Katsou, they absolutely hated each other from the moment they laid their eyes on each other.
"Oh, it's you." She said disdainfully. "Look Katsou, why don't you go back to that male strip club you work in,"
"Charming as ever,"
"Indeed I am, but I personally feel that not only have I surpassed you by far, I have also acquired a rather small tolerance for people who keep me in one place too long. Unfortunately you're all humans as well, it can only end badly," I could tell the friendship we'd had was most certainly gone, because if she referred to us as separate species she was distancing herself further from us,
I scoffed, "Yeah right, bitch. Let's just get this started," I narrowed my eyes at her, I was more than ready,
"I was expecting some foul language a long time ago. Having you're precious Gaara taken away from you has changed you." She pouted. "Besides, Gaara is dead,"
I felt as though all the world would cave in at any moment, Gaara? Dead? No he couldn't be, she was lying to provoke me.
A stunned silence followed, finally I spoke up, "W-what?" I tried my best not to let any emotion tear through the words as my voice wavered. Oh she could tell alright, she grinned gleefully,
"Let's get this started then," she turned and shot backwards, driving into Amaterasu, she always went for the weakest first as almost a warm-up act. I gritted my teeth pleading silently in my head that she wouldn't kill her because I didn't want to lead her to an early grave. She gasped and whipped a kunai out trying to fend Makaiko off, she wasn't good under pressure. Makaiko threw the kunai aside and advanced on Amaterasu raising her arm to strike as she did. Ameterasu's eyes widened and she tried to jump back to safety but she wasn't quick enough. Makaiko scraped her claws across Amaterasu's stomach making a fresh open wound that bled instantly. Amaterasu yelped in pain as Makaiko kicked the wound sending her flying back in to the trees. I prayed to god she wasn't dead. Katsou stood beside me and I could see Raiden-sensei out of the corner of my eye he was still and composed, but I could tell he was thinking quickly and re-evaluating Makaiko. I hated Makaiko, she had goaded me about my family and about Gaara whom I was sure she had had a part in killing. She betrayed me, I hated her more than I had ever hated my father, I glared at her with such a ferocity I am surprised she wasn't at least suffering severe burns by now,
"I did say go," she straightened and looked at us all, her gaze steely, "I did warn you. Not my fault she was to weak to defend herself is it?"
"You killed her..." Katsou said, well I hoped he wasn't next, pulses of rage spread to every fibre of me as she stood there so bold and big headed,
"We're ninja, it's what we do. I'm an S-Rank, it's what I do... for fun." she smirked. "Show me what ya got." she beckoned to us, she was goading us. Katsou started forwards, not another person I cared for would die! I was sick of all this happening! First my family, then Gaara! And now my team!
"Katsou, stop!" I yelled, throwing out my hand. He dodged quickly to the side and darted back. She didn't bother moving, She glanced behind her as I saw Amaterasu stumble and bring a sword down where Makaiko had been but she dodged it I, she did a quick round-house kick and Amaterasu was sent flying towards us.
She totted, "Klutz."
Amaterasu quickly stood and spat out some blood. Makaiko frowned clearly annoyed, "Why didn't you just die?" she asked moodily, see told you a coward, and pure lazy. I tried to distract her from my team mates,
"Makaiko, what have you done with Gaara?" I asked, keeping my voice steady,
"I dunno," she shrugged her shoulders, "It was Akatsuki that killed him, not me. I fell in the river, almost drowned, got rescued by a childhood demon friend that betrayed my trust and let his family kill my family, then he kidnapped me and tried to get me to marry him but I escaped. But then I had a massive argument with Deidara after he kissed me, then I almost got myself killed for the second time in three days but my little sister rescued me. But her boyfriend is Rei, a friend of mine from Iwagakure. Nice chap, but not the point. Then I felt bad and went to apologise to Deidara." She beamed proudly, she was deranged,
"So you were kidnapped?" Amaterasu said, confused,
"You went to Iwagakure?" Katsou said, I hadn't told him that,
"You apologised to someone?!" I personally was most amazed by that and that she actually loved someone or had feelings,
"I was shocked too," she nodded solemnly, "I'm worried, I'm beginning to get a conscience, I blame you." she pointed an accusing finger at Amaterasu,
"Why me?!" She asked angrily,
"It's a rule that you always blame the stupid one," she shrugged,
"I've never heard that.." She said, why did she have to be so dim sometimes?
"Well, no, you wouldn't have, you're one of the stupid people."
"Hey!" Makaiko smirked before turning away,
"I need to get going." she said, gazing up into the sky, she wanted to run away. Coward! Utter cowardice, because she knew she couldn't kill me, I needed to squeeze her for information about Gaara, I knew she was lying, she had to be! She just had to,
"Tell me where Gaara is! He can't be dead!"
"Breaking your heart am I? Oh well, I don't particularly care. In any case, Gaara is six feet under, pushing up the daisies, in Davy Jones' locker...if he were at sea," she loved it, I knew she'd picked up on vital signs that I had feelings for him that made me weak but why did I care what she thought of me?
"Makaiko!" I yelled angrily, I was going to finish this here and now!
I launched myself forward pulling out a kunai, she looked surprised at my speed, that's how much she knew about my skills. She also whipped one out and we grappled and she snarled at me baring fangs, she managed to lay a kunai across my throat. But unluckily for her mine were poisoned, I was lying flat on the mossy ground breathing in the soil. She was stuck because to put the kunai in me she'd expose her neck and my kunai was poised and ready. We gazed at each other for a few seconds trying to calculate our next move. Suddenly she plunged the kunai in to my neck and flicked mine up. Then a huge cloud of smoke engulfed me and I felt the pain in my neck and the blood trickling down. The clone vanished, along with Makaiko...
"Motherfucking bloody son of bitch of a fucking whore!" I yelled, if I found her and I got hold of her she was as good as dead.
"Where did she go?" Amaterasu wailed in frustration,
"Dunno," Katsou said, helping me up,
"She's a shape shifter, you guys," I snapped in annoyance, "She could be anything by now," why had I let her get away?
"Like a rock?" Amaterasu asked hopefully as she reached down and plucked up a rather lumpy rock, god she really was a bit dim,
"Err, no, not a rock. An animal of some sort, or a person. But be careful, she can be pretty imaginative with her creations. She can also turn into a variety of smokes and liquids so be careful," she really did have a vivid imagination,
"What is she going to do, throttle us?" Katsou joked,
"Yep, if she gets the chance." I said seriously. The smile faded off Katsou's lips. We stared around the clearing all back to back ready in case she attacked us,
"Got her," Raiden-sensei said calmly, we all looked up at a tree, I hadn't even noticed him move. Something was pinned to the tree. The lizard hissed angrily. The others and I others smirked at her predicament; she was swaying back and forth in the slight breeze by her tail. We approached and stood around her in a circle. She smirked I had a feeling she would change again.
"You really underestimate me." she hissed. Suddenly wood rained down on us, Katsou threw me to the ground covering me and Raiden-sensei covered Amaterasu. I coughed and spluttered. My eyes widened in horror as I saw a huge dragon rear up above the treetops, we all just stared at it. Suddenly a huge spurt of fire flew at us and as we looked around we were surrounded by a ring of fire with trees giving way left right and centre.
Raiden-sensei grabbed Amaterasu who was pretty badly injured by now. I felt a hand grab mine and pull me through the orange and yellow blurry blaze. The gas was choking me, invisible chains formed across my chest crushing my lungs. We ran and I suddenly had to stop, I could hardly breathe. I was coughing badly and sank to my knees. Katsou grabbed me and hauled me over his shoulders.

I felt the cooling fresh air on my face and Katsou laid me on the ground.
"Keitii-chan you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I coughed, "I am gonna kill that fucking bitch! Amaterasu-san should get back to Hoshigakure, Katsou-kun you take her-"
"I'm staying with you!"
"Katsou-kun please I don't want more people I care about getting killed!"
"I'll take her back and I will come back as soon as I can,"
"Okay Raiden-sensei, just get her medical attention," he ran off carrying her,
"Now we're hunting down this bitch," he gripped my hand.