Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 4

Yasu had been wrong in believing the interior had been damaged (save for one loose floorboard that she refused to believe had been there before). Otherwise, the inside was just as she had left it, ready for furniture and people and whatever else needed to be housed.

Public projects were her favorite… Much more satisfying than the private jobs she did. 

‘Back, forth, back, pull. Back, forth, back, pull. Back, forth, back, pull…’ 

Polish was a builder’s worth. Dovetail corners, properly sanded grout, smooth and perfectly level surfaces. This was the standard she had been taught, and she would not allow any standards to waver… Unintended ninja ambushes aside, her creations were made to last.

The smell of burning friction from her sanding mixed with the fresh late-autumn air, creating an aroma she could call "perfect." Stone filings gathered in a light layer on the floor, stirring in the breeze that filtered through an open window. Sweat was gathering on her brow and her knees ached from kneeling for so long, but she was happy. 

Yasu stepped back into the daylight with cognizant pride. The building was done, and she could report to the Hokage.

The freshly-plowed path that led away to the entrance of the grounds was still soft beneath her feet. But just as she stepped onto it, an odd feeling stirred in the pit of her stomach.

The perfect smell of fresh air and sanded stone disappeared, being replaced with the faintest hint of ozone.

“Strong Fist...!”

She had no time to register what she had done, only enough to block and evade. Adrenaline shot through her chest like a spear, ripping through the relaxed calm she had worked herself into.

Instinct and training took over her body. She thrust her arm out in a heavy palm-strike, but did little more than change the trajectory of the attack. She felt the sheer force in the form of a sharp pain to her elbow, but it worked. The body of her attacker went spinning back into the tree line, barely glancing by the roof of the barracks before crashing into a nearby tree. 

There was a moment of silence as dust and dirt began to settle. Hesitantly, she leapt onto the freshly-shingled roof of her building for a better view and hopefully some insight on what the hell just happened. 

Then she heard a noise.

The tree trunk snapped with a deafening crack! as it began to careen downwards-- right on top of her building.

‘No way in hell!’ she thought with ferocious determination, leaping into action at once. The bark came slamming down against her palms, scraping the skin to shreds, but she somehow managed to catch the falling tree before it had a chance to even tap against the roof. 

Leaves and twigs rained down around her. With a painful groan, she summoned the entirety of her strength to feebly push the tree a few meters clear of her lovely creation. 

It landed solidly with an earth-shaking thump.

She let out a breath of relief, placing a hand on her chest to help slow her racing heart.

'Yare-yare…'

The spirits must be angry with her. How else could she explain all this bad luck?

"Yosh!" a voice proclaimed from the tree line, "What a Wonderful Display of Youthful Strength!"

She spun, immediately honing in on a beaming smile, “Eh? Maito-san?"

"Ushi Yasu! Your miraculous display of defensive ability has caught the attention of Konoha's Glorious Green Beast!"

She flinched. She knew she had sensed misplaced enthusiasm.

It seemed Gai-san was back to his normal antics. What happened to the humble mess of apologies from the previous evening? Where was Hatake-san to reign him in? Had he really just thrown a tree at her after last night’s fiasco?

“What do you mean?”

Surely, she had done nothing worthy of catching his attention. In fact, one of her more notable traits was just how unremarkable she was. She was a chunin, a reserve ninja who spent most of her time in the village walls. She wasn't from a clan, nor did she bare a kekkei-genkai. Just another nameless ninja in Konoha. Wholly unremarkable.

And even though she had never spent a significant amount of time with Gai before last night...she had heard plenty of stories. 

The taijutsu master, the unrelenting teacher, the unstoppable Maito Gai. Stories whispered to her in the shady corner of her favorite bar, the rumors that spread through halls of the Hokage Tower… On reputation alone, she knew her and Gai were never meant to associate.

Perhaps that’s why he re-introduced himself every time they met. 

Yet here he was, bounding over with a level of enthusiasm she had never experienced before. There was not a time in her life she could recall someone being so excited to see her.

“Even with the element of surprise, you still countered my attack! Your resilience is incredible!”

She looked down at her palms, noting that the top layer of her skin was shredded, but not bleeding. Still, it stung a little. 

“... You attacked me on purpose?”

Without skipping a beat, he puts a hand to his chiseled chin with the most dubious smirk he could manage. “Yes! I needed to surprise you to truly test your strength!”

She cocked her head, distinctly recalling how he shouted the name of his technique. Then her eyes strayed downward to the massive tree fallen on the ground. 

“You threw a tree at me.”

“And you deflected quite marvelously!”

Yasu wasn’t sure if she was angry or simply confused. Either way, she was getting a dizzying headache. 

“I was protecting my building,” she grumbled, kicking off a twig off the roof. 

“A most wonderful motivation! You must protect your passion!” his eyes literally glittering with tears. 

She frowned, utterly and completely confused by the person in front of her. Quietly, she leapt from the roof, landing off beside the fallen tree. “Do you hate me, Maito-san?”

"Eh? N-no! Of course not!"

"Have I offended you in some way?"

"Why, Ushi-san, you haven't at all--"

"Then why are you attacking me?"

She saw the devastation in his eyes. Apparently Maito Gai's weakness was a disapproving tone and a stern stare.

“I was merely testing your abilities through the element of surprise!”

“The only abilities you’re testing is my ability to not take offense!”

The noise he made was heart-wrenching. “No, no, no! You misunderstand!”

She sighed, crossing her arms, “Then explain why you’re attacking me and my building.”

They walked towards one another, meeting halfway between the barracks and the treeline, shielded on nearly all sides from any prying eyes that may stumble upon them.

“I don’t believe you realize how remarkable your talents are, Ushi-san,” he began in a serious tone. Although, there was a glint in his eye she was beginning to recognize as “trouble.” “It’s rare for a ninja to be able to take my attacks head-on. Many elite jounin have difficulties combating my taijutsu. My strength alone is unrivaled except by perhaps the Hokage, Tsunade-sama.”

'He sounds cocky,' she grumbled inwardly.

Yasu crossed her arms as well and regarded him with the same level of serious-ness. “I’m aware. Your reputation precedes you, Maito-san.”

‘In more ways than one,’ she added silently.

“Yosh! Your compliments humble me, Ushi-san!” he grinned, giving her a thumbs up and not sounding the least bit humble. 

Her brow furrowed in confusion, wondering what part of her sentence he took as praise.

“It is exactly this reason why I have chosen to undertake you as one of my dear, illustrious students!”

“... Pardon?”

He rounded on her, his excitement and enthusiasm being literally unable to be contained physically. 

She crouched, chakra beginning to flow in preparation for attack. “I’m not a student, I’m a chunin,” she corrected, teeth clacking nervously.

“Fear not! I, your noble sensei, am plenty qualified! It is never too late to advance your learning!”

“But I don’t want to advance my learning.”

Well, at least not her ninjutsu. But what were the chances of Gai knowing anything about fine sculpture?

He gasped, reeling back dramatically, “How can you say such a thing?! Why, continuous learning is detrimental to being a great ninja!”

There was something in his words that struck her with conviction. 

Realization bloomed in her chest like a dead weight.

He… he was completely delusional.

Feeling desperate, she dropped into a fighting stance, taking a few deliberate steps away from the edifice she was so proud of. “I don’t want to fight you, Maito-san. There is no way for me to beat you, but I will defend myself if you attack,” her confident words were betrayed by shaking hands and a wavering voice. 

Who was she kidding? She didn’t stand a chance. On strength alone, Gai had her beat a thousand-to-one. And now she saw the pure insanity that was behind that strength. He would surely destroy her. 

“That’s the spirit!” he cheered, falling into a similar stance. “A lively spar is just what we need to assess your potential!”

Before she could utter a single word in protest, a round-house kick flung her sideways.

Her whole body went flying into one of the larger trees, lodging her in a tangle of branches, limbs, and leaves. The startling revelation of going from standing to trajectory shook her world to a dizzying state. She took a moment, remaining perfectly still in her strange and crooked position in the tree. 

“I’m okay!” she called out of reflex; a Pavlovian habit her old sensei had instilled in her.

“Wonderful!” a blur of green appeared on an adjacent branch. “But try to block next time.”

‘Is this happening? Is this really happening?’ she stared at him sideways (and a little to the left). 

“Maito-san… I’m going to hit you now.”