Let It Burn: Death [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 21

Naruto jerked upright, spitting dirt from his mouth. He couldn't see anything from the dust cloud that surrounded him and his father.

"Hey!" the ninja shouted. "Is everyone alright?"

The Hokages groaned, Juugo pulling a slightly dazed Sasuke from the rubble he was trapped under with Tobirama. It was then they came to realize, along with the stunned army a bit further away, that they had won. The enemy had been defeated. Obito's dream was not realized. The Ten-Tail had been destroyed.

"Yeah!" the knucklehead cheered in joy. A 'whoop' also leaving his lips and falling onto his back in exhaustion. They had survived.

"Where's Mai?" Sasuke grunted. His arm stung from the amount of chakra that had been pulsing through the limb to enhance the Lightning Jutsu.

"I'll find her," Juugo said.

Moving from the Uchiha the young man searched through the destruction in the area she had last been seen. He found the Be Fong half buried under the rubble, legs pinned. Juugo began digging, soon joined by Sasuke as the Phantom Ninja was hoisted free. She begun to stir from being jostled, blearily looking around to figure out what happened. Upon seeing the once enemies, a strained laugh escaped Mai's lips in mild disbelief that this was all over. From the absent look of fear and edge in their expressions it was clear who the victors were.

Then the Be Fong's laugh began to change. It almost sounded like she was shaking, choking for breath. Blood began to trickle from the corner of the lips, face growing paler by the second. Something was wrong as Juugo propped the teen up against a bent leg so she was half in his lap offering support. The young man pressed the back of his hand against the teen's forehead.

"S-Shit," the Be Fong stammered out. Her whole body seemed to be vibrating as it shook from the lingering effects of what happened. "That w-w-was im-p-pressive."

"She's burning up," Juugo stated, bringing away the hand.

It was the stress of using that amount of chakra in such a short period of time. Everything was beginning to shut down at an alarming rate trying to conserve whatever energy was left. And it wasn't much.

"What do we do?" Sasuke quickly questioned.

By now the resurrected Hokages and Naruto were gathering around them, confused as to what was going on.

"She needs chakra, but not an alarming amount at once. That could end up killing her faster. This needs to be done slowly and with precision."

But everyone present was already low. Teetering on the brink of life and death themselves.

"She can take some of mine," Sasuke didn't hesitate.

Juugo cocked a brow. "You're not exactly fit yourself for the job."

"I'm not about to have you offer up your chakra either," the Uchiha snapped.

"That wasn't even a thought in my mind."

The side effects that plagued the young man from the curse mark sealed inside him would taint the Be Fong's own, should they attempt a transfer between them. And could quite possibly turn her into one of Orochimaru's test subjects that had been given the seal. The results would not be what they hoped for.

"Just tell me what to do, Juugo. This is no longer up for discussion."

Sasuke reached for her to take the lead. Mai grasped at him desperately with surprising strength in the still good arm. Her only lifeline. The Uchiha instantly returned the grip, not daring to let go.

"Now," Juugo instructed. "Slowly pump chakra into your fingertips to transfer her body. The dormant Chakra Strings should take over from there, absorbing it, much like what happened with Obito. I will let you know when to increase and decrease the flow."