Chapter 19

Chapter Inspiration: Mercy by Hurts [from 2:28-End]

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It was no longer attached, the limb lying a few feet away as blood gushed out of the stump that was left over. She couldn't even scream or cry, staring at it and going into shock. The arm was gone. The arm was gone.

"Mai!"

A hand forced her to look away, staring up at Sasuke with wide eyes. Her body was beginning to shake from the trauma.

"It's gonna be all right. Just look at me. Look at me!" he ordered when her head went to turn away.

There was no possible way this was happening. And the Uchiha did not know what to do, but he had to stop the bleeding before she died of blood loss. Ripping off a section of the uniform he tied it tightly just above the wound. Yet there was little effect as the teen began wheezing, struggling to breathe. He had never seen her so terrified before.

"Naruto! We need Sakura!"

The Nine-Tail's chakra exploded.

"Now!"

His attention turned back to the Be Fong staring up at the sky.

"Stay with me, Mai! Stay with me!"

But everything was growing hazy.

"I will not allow you to die on me, you got that?" he shouted. "I've watched too many people close to me die and you will not be one of them!"

The fox roared as Mai gasped, heart rate increasing.

"SAKURA!"

There was a loud pop, causing his head to whip back around and watch as visible strings began flowing out of the stump. The tendrils, when the tips touched, created a crackling sound before the energy repelled them away from each other as they continued their search for something. Moving across the ground they reached towards the severed limb. Looking in the ninja's eyes it didn't appear Mai was even present or in control over what was happening.

The strings, Sasuke reasoned. They were acting on their own since the host wasn't able to function.

The strings began wrapping around the stump of the arm as more protruded and sought out a target. And as they began to line up to the severed limb, the strands stopped just before touching the bloody skin. Rearing back, Sasuke watched as the Chaka Strings roughly penetrated the muscles, veins, and skin as chakra surged down the lines. Now, Mai screamed as the limb was jerked across the ground. All Sasuke could do was pin the teen down as she thrashed back and forth. In order to prevent Mai from hurting herself further.

She was crying, the free hand gripping onto the front of his uniform for some kind of support and stability. The sound that came from the ninja's throat was something that he never wanted to hear again. The emotion was pure agony. It was burning as the edges lined up and strings began looping around the shattered bones to reconnect them. Then chakra began wrapping around the skin and stitched it back into place. The Uchiha could not believe what he was watching. How was that even possible? It didn't stop there as the sewing finished. The Chakra Strings caused the skin to sizzle, soldering the tissue so everything was reattached. The smell of burning flesh made the Uchiha want to gag, holding his breath.

Finally, it was finished, Mai's cries dying down, breath shuddering. A whimper escaped her lips, unable to fathom what had just occurred. [song ends]

"Obito..." she managed out. "Where's... Obito...?"

"One thing at a time, Mai," Sasuke said. "You just had your arm..."

He couldn't even continue to finish the sentence.

"You're fine now. It's reattached itself."

But not everything could be in working order. He didn't say it though, yet knew she was aware as well. A person didn't just immediately recover after going through something like that. She needed a healer. A proper medical team to check over the damage and from the amount of blood loss might need a transfusion. But they were nowhere near the others.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, having buried the Jinchuuriki for the time being. "What happened?"

"I... It's hard to explain," he answered.

"I want to sit up," Mai spoke.

Slowly, the Uchiha helped her, having to support the Be Fong as a head rush hit her from the blood loss. She looked sick, skin paler than it should be.

"What needs to be done?" Naruto asked.

"We need a distraction," answered the First Hokage. "So we can hit him all at once."

"But we already tried combining our attacks."

"Not at the same intensity," Minato answered. "We've been trying to combine it all in one direction location, but if we can hit him from all sides, we may stand a chance."

"Then let's do it!" Naruto shouted.

"Who will distract him?" the Third Hokage asked.

Obito was beginning to pull himself free from the rubble. The skin was heavily damaged from Naruto's vicious attacks.

"I will." All heads turned in the Be Fong's direction. "I can hold him down," she promised.

"Mai, out of the question," Sasuke intervened when she tried moving away. "After what just happened to you, that's a good idea."

"I'm the only one who can do this."

His teeth clenched in irritation over the fact that she wasn't thinking about her own health and safety.

"You just had your arm cut off!"

"And I'd gladly do it again to protect you!" she shouted right back.

There was a beat of silence that followed.

"Can you move your arm?" Minato asked.

"Huh?" Naruto questioned, glancing down at the limp appendage. Surprise couldn't even describe what he felt seeing the limb reattached. The whole reason the Nine-Tail chakra broke through to such an extent was due to the sight of the life-threatening wound. The Jinchuuriki had hurt someone close to him. But now, somehow, it was whole again.

"When did that happen?" the blonde wondered.

"Later," his dad said. There was no time to waste. "But can you move it?"

"Of course," she answered. She'd make it move if she had to.

"I don't agree with this," Sasuke muttered.

The teen looked him in the eye. "I'm not asking you to. But it's the only chance we've got to hold the Ten-Tail down."

"You need to go to the healing tent–"

The rogue went ignored.

"You've got a plan?" the Second Hokage questioned.

"It's forbidden... but in this war where every law has been broken, I can make an exception," she offered. Mai looked to the Uchiha once more. "You have to let me go. But no matter what happens, don't hesitate for a moment to kill him."

"Mai..."

There were so many things he wished to say to her in that moment. The fear of not seeing his childhood friend again when this was all over taking over. The Be Fong could be reckless by placing her own life on the line in order to protect others. And he hated her for that, wishing she'd think of her own safety for once and sit out. Allow others to finish the job instead.

"We need to move, now," Minato stated.

Sasuke sighed heavily, "Just stay out of the target range from him so you're not caught in the backlash."

The Be Fong nodded as his grip released. Mai stumbled for a moment, collecting herself as they separated to take up their positions. She couldn't make eye contact with the Uchiha as she left because the Phantom Ninja couldn't promise him that she'd be out of harm's way. Nothing could be predicated in times of war.