Let It Burn: Life [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 8

Everything seemed to freeze, and the intent to engage vanished for an instant. All eyes were on the two in the water. The mask had been lost in the lake and gave a clear view of Mai's pale complexation as blood dripped from her pink lips.

Sai was the closest. He rushed to the Chuunin's aid to pull both ninjas out of the water. They settled on a flat rock nearby.

"What have you done?" Naruto shouted.

"You didn't know it was her either!" Sasuke shot back. Trying to keep a level head. Though he could feel his mask slipping.

"No one knew, all right!" Kakashi broke in. The Jounin needed to regain control over the situation immediately. "We will still stick to the mission, Naruto!"

The Genin lunged forward, "I'm going to beat you into the ground!"

"Naruto! Stop!" Yamato shouted.

Sakura quickly poured her chakra into the wound as it bled profusely. The water had made it look a lot worse. The red liquid soaked into the dark clothing and spread out over the ninja's skin. It had begun to stain the rockface. Mai's body began to tremble due to shock, harsh, wheezy breaths escaping the lips to gain a proper flow of air.

"Sai, help me!" she exclaimed frantically.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"I need support to make sure she's stable. Put your hands over mine and I can borrow your chakra and pass it into Mai."

He did as told, feeling warmth in his palms as Sakura used his chakra. Slowly through their splayed fingers the young man could see the wound repairing. But there was still a lot of blood. Couldn't imagine what the damage was internally. Once the flow had been staunched for the time being, Sakura allowed herself to properly inspect the Be Fong further. She needed to determine if Mai's life was still in danger. The blade had pierced between the breasts, having miraculously missed the spine by inches. It could've been a fatal blow if the ninja had not tried to twist out of the way. The Medical Ninja knew that Sasuke meant to aim for the heart.

"Can you fully heal her?" Sai's voice broke through her thoughts.

He could feel Sakura's hands shaking below his. Though her expression never wavered from determination, the Root Ninja could tell that seeing the former teammate lying under them disturbed her.

"Not fully," Sakura finally answered. "She needs proper medical attention back in Konoha–"

There was a loud explosion that drew their eyes back to the far side of the lake. Watching as Naruto chased after Sasuke. Enraged, his emotions were taking over as the Jounins tried to calm the Genin. The Nine-Tail's chakra was beginning to leak out at an alarming rate. Even some of his physical features were starting to change.

Sasuke met the blonde head on. Yet if Kakashi looked closely he could see a hint of fear in the Uchiha's eyes. Whether it was due to the fact that the tailed-beast was growing closer to the surface or the fact that Mai had been run through by his own blade the sensei couldn't be sure. Still, it was an emotion that had them on edge from his normally passive expression.

"This is crazy, why haven't they stopped him!" Sakura exclaimed.

The sound of Mai retching drew their attention back. Sai quickly turned the ninja's body on its side so she wouldn't choke. Another spike in the pressure sent a shiver down the Medical Ninja's spine.

"This is madness–! Naruto, stop!"

His claws nearly caught the Uchiha as a snarl ripped through him. The Uchiha managed to dodge. Landing on a protruding rock, Naruto pushed off with so much force it ripped the surface to pieces. It crumbled into the water. Sasuke tried to kill her. His former teammate, his best friend, his childhood friend. Then again, maybe going with Orochimaru, Sasuke didn't give a damn about that anymore. Hell, he tried to kill him too. But Mai... that was a different story. Naruto wanted to cause Sasuke pain. Because the Be Fong was his friend too. And he would be damned if he didn't get some kind of revenge. The thought made his blood boil.