Chapter 7

Chapter Inspiration: Imperatrix Mundi by Jo Blankenburg

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Belva and Mai stood there assessing the new enemies. Feeling the path of their strings to predict where the former Clan members would strike first.

"Everything that I've taught you is useless," Belva muttered under her breath. "They will know all of your movements, be one step ahead."

"Then I guess it's a good thing we will be as well," Mai answered back.

The sensei sighed. "They have years of experience on you despite dying far too young. As you should know every member of your family has their own technique they developed after learning the basics. And I don't have time to run through each of their profiles for you."

"I wasn't ever particularly interested. If it was that important you should have said so in the past."

The woman shrugged. "Didn't think it was important. Never imagined we'd meet them again in this life. And you never asked."

"My mistake," her eyes rolled. The past never seemed to be kind, so it was always meant to be left behind to move forward.

Mai's arm threw up to the right suddenly. As if pressed against a great weight being held off.

"Hmm, she's a strong one," Momo mused.

"I expect nothing less from Hisoka and Suzu's heir," Shin said.

The twins moved forward on their own accord. Belva was the one to cut them off, the three at a standstill. Both sides gripped at each other's Chakra Strings to hold them in place.

"It's definitely been a while, Master," Momo stated. "Hope you haven't gotten rusty with us gone."

"Not to worry, I've been kept on my toes these last few years."

"Belva," Shin spoke up. "Stop me."

Her eyes narrowed in determination. "You have my word. I will."

"You better." [song ends]

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Chapter Inspiration: Anthem of the Phoenix by Two Steps From Hell

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Mai stared at her parents and uncle, unable to concern herself with what her sensei was doing. Yet that didn't mean she was completely blind to their battle should one try to attack thinking there was a blind spot.

"Three against one..." the teen murmured. "I've had worse."

"No, you haven't," Yuji stated.

"You'd be surprised whom she's been up against," Kakashi spoke from his position. Missing Ninjas, S-Ranked criminals, Jounins, ANBU, Akatsuki – it was only now he realized her list of opponents were endless. Still, nothing could every really prepare her for this.

"Good, then this will not be an easy battle."

Her brows narrowed, "Hell no."

The man was jerked through the air with such speed it startled the enemy. Seeing as how the teen was still holding back what remained of their first attempted surprise attack. Slicing through the strings it freed up the arm as Mai swung both around cutting into the earth and uprooting trees and hidden rocks. The adults followed the motion to hold the flying objects at bay, giving Mai the distraction in order to maneuver through the debris, short blade in hand. She was intercepted flipping over the strings meant to capture her. The metal scrapped against a long sword that came dangerously close to the neck. Throwing the weapon away the Be Fong went racing between her parents, landing on the ground crouching low. Turning on a foot the strings clung to the shoe of the leg kicking out to swipe at their lower limbs. Hisoka managed to evade, but they latched onto Suzu, throwing her into the ground. A cry of pain escaped the woman's lips upon impact that made Mai's gut wrench.

"Listen to me!" Yuji shouted. "We can't control ourselves, but your mother is managing to hold off our puppeteer! As expected. Her will to fend off Genjutsu attacks were impressive in our lifetime. The walls in place are strong! Even Uchiha had difficultly when facing her."

Uchiha. There was that name again.

"Hit her with everything you got," Hisoka agreed. "Do not hesitate for a moment or we will kill you!"

With the twitch of a finger Suzu was dragged across the ground before being thrown into the trees. Many snapped in half in her wake from the force. Turning she locked blades with Yuji once more as the scrapping of metal produced sparks.

This battle was something to behold as the shinobi marveled at the sight of the clashing former Clan members. But they were careful not to shift too far from position. Many felt a tug of the strings latched onto their clothing or a nick to the skin that produced blood as a warning. They didn't dare waver, watching in awe as Mai managed to catch Hisoka mid advance. However, in order to hold him in place it rendered one arm useless, the other forced to face Yuji alone. And if Suzu managed to pull herself from the forest she'd be in a difficult situation.

"You are worthy," Yuji stated.

The comment drew Belva's gaze for a moment, temporarily distracting her as Momo attempted a sneak attack. A foot landed in the enemy's gut, throwing her across the ground before Belva barely managed to block a deadly blow from her former lover.

"Don't be distracted," the man stated. "Even if she's your student."

Damn whoever was controlling them.

Mai was twisting and turning through Yuji's Chakra Strings, brows narrowed in concentration to keep her father down.

"But it all ends now," the uncle stated.

It was too late to realize what he had planned and analyze a way around it. The trap had been set and snapped, as the invisible strands came to rip apart the target. There was no room to avoid it. Yuji meant to decapitate the teen.

At the last second a hand slipped inside, just as the threads were pulled taunt. The back of the digits pressed against the skin of the throat, digging in and causing the teen to gasp of breath.

"Mai!" Sakura shouted as her teammate was brought to her knees.

Yet through her predicament, the Be Fong refused to let go of her father. Yuji's strings tightened. How they weren't ripping through the exposed flesh remained a mystery, but those who could sense chakra clearly saw the coils that wrapped around every inch of Mai's skin like a glove to protect the surface. Though there were a few beads of blood surfacing on the neck where the edges slipped through the cracks in the self-made armor. At least the situation had stationed the uncle, for Mai was fighting against it. Based on her skills he didn't doubt she'd escape if she found the correct opening.

Oh god, she couldn't breathe.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing!" Gai barked at Kakashi. "We have to do something or else she'll die before our eyes!"

Of course, the young man knew that. Anyone could clearly see Mai was slowly losing. The army behind him began shifting into an attack to support their outnumbered comrades.

"Take one step towards them and you will be ripped to pieces!" Kakashi snapped. The Third Division were still caught in the Be Fong web.

"We don't care if we die trying to save them!" Rock Lee declared.

"But it wouldn't just be you. Once the strings are triggered it will cause a chain reaction and we'll be dead in minutes."

No solution on how to escape this predicament was coming to mind. Cursing under his breath they had to stand there and wait. Hope. One thing was sure. That he would rush forward and sacrifice himself if it came down to it. None here had experience fighting up against a Be Fong. He would be the most well equipped to enter the situation. How long he would last was the question.

Belva clenched her teeth, eyes flickering between the teen and her enemy. "Shin, fight it!" she shouted.

"I'm trying," he stated.

"Well try harder!"

The woman refused to allow the student to die in front of her like all the other Be Fong members. But there was no way to move around her opponent with him at the puppeteer's mercy.

"Stop it!" Suzu shouted. The woman shakily pulled herself from the broken trees, legs sewing together the final pieces of the regeneration. "You're killing her!"

"It is not my intention to do so!" Yuji snapped back.

"Mai, hold on!" Sakura shouted. What the hell were they going to do?

Momo was moving. And through the haze of lack of oxygen, Mai noticed her intention even before she shouted,

"Brace yourselves!" to warn the others.

The woman had managed to slip through their defenses. They were going to lose everyone in their division and with horror Belva realized that if something wasn't done now–

"Push through me!" Shin shouted in his former fiancé's face. His sister's path of destruction was clear. "Rip me apart! I am no longer alive, do you understand! I'm dead!" Something sparked in her eyes, the corpse sensing a change. "Do it!"

And the short sword in hand managed to unarm the man before slicing clean through his body.

"Dome formation!" Kakashi ordered. Those with Earth Chakra didn't question his reason beginning to perform the hand signs.

With a staggering breath the younger Be Fong braced herself before the hand at the neck ripped through the strings with such force it threw Yuji off balance. There was one question that rang through the mind of the resurrected Clan members as the teen threw herself into an offensive position: how had she managed to slice through such concentrated chakra by a higher-level ninja with her bare hand? Unless... her ranking was higher than they anticipated. Momo's attack never hit, but they watched as the woman's form tensed, eyes widening.

"What's wrong, Momo?" Hisoka asked.

"I can't... move..." They could see the struggle by the way her muscles twitched and nothing happened.

"She's attached her chakra to the ends of Momo's strings," the man mused under his breath. And turned the woman into her own puppet.

Belva smirked. "Well done, Mai."

The twin's limbs then snapped together, constrained before falling over to the ground with a thump. The sensei's head turned towards the Binding Squad.

"The web is down! Bind him up!"

"Are you sure?" Ensui asked.

"Positive... but none of you do anything stupid and rush in without guidance. There's no telling if it will come up again." It had been the Executioner Twins duty to hold them prisoner for the kill and with them incapable of escaping.

Pulling the wrappings free the ninjas rushed forward to seal the enemy. Shin chuckled, her attention shifting towards his crumpled figure on the ground.

"Dangerous as ever," he stated with a smirk. "We never did get a chance to say a proper goodbye when everything happened. But I am glad you survived. I've never stopped loving you, Belva."

The breath got caught in her throat, trying to keep the tears at bay. Crying wasn't a weakness, but there was no time to mourn the dead when so many lives were on the line. No matter how much you loved them.

"Goodbye, Shin."

A loud explosion had them whirling around, watching as Mai's feet slid across the ground with Yuji not far behind. The puppeteer wasn't letting up for a moment hoping to rip one of the Leaf's strongest ninjas to pieces. His Chakra Strings were deadly accurate leaving no room for error on her part or else she'd lose a body part, or worse. Still, the various patterns in which the chakra was laying were growing tighter, more elaborate where normal movements and formations were becoming difficult to perform. Fist slamming into the ground the fingers that were holding Hisoka down buried into the dirt in order to free the arm as Suzu joined the fight once more. There were too many strings to perform the same counterattack when dealing with the mother as the next set of chakra traps was going to kill her.

The strings contorted the Phantom Ninja's body at such an odd angle it was unexpected. The Kekkei-Genkai had acted on their own to protect the host seeing as how the position she was once in had not given her the ability to do such a thing. That awe and hesitation was just what Mai needed in order to allow the strings to rip the woman apart.

Yuji managed to escape with missing arms, which they immediately began to regenerate. But the teen's eyes were set on the one opponent who was left vulnerable moving Kakashi through the air for the final strike with her Chakra Strings. Understanding the split-second decision lightning formed in his palm before driving the fingers through Suzu's chest and effectively pinning her to the ground. This effectively halted the regeneration process. But her attention wasn't on the Jounin, instead staring at her daughter.

"You've become completely immersed..." Suzu whispered.

It was clear to see now, the chakra pumping through her veins. It could be the only explanation for everything. That level of skills took years to master, and a member of the Clan could only hope to achieve such a thing well into their mid-forties. For someone of Mai's age... it was unheard of. And yet the woman could never be prouder.

"Bind her up!" Kakashi shouted.

"Mai!" Suzu cried out as the seal began to wrap around her destroyed form. It caught the teen's attention, still holding Yuji and Hisoka at bay. "I love you!" And those were her last words.

The statement seemed to snap something in the teen. The strings squeezed the brothers tightly before ripping into them. The situation made her decision clearer on how to proceed as Belva stood off to the side to offer support should the time call for it. But upon seeing the dark look in the teen's eyes she dared not interfere for the time being. The woman knew that expression and whatever was to come wasn't good.

Sakura could feel the gentle tug on her uniform in warning that it was coming soon. And Kakashi was ready as well for the next wave. The Medical Ninja had to trust the Be Fong and completely give into the process. Not fight it. She'd gladly offer her assistance and put her life in Mai's hands. [song ends]