Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield 
Chapter 8

It was seven AM the next day. 

She was ready for him.

Well… She tried to be ready for him. But preparing for Maito Gai was like preparing for a hurricane. You prepared for the worst, hoped for the best, but at the end of the day, it’s out of your hands. 

She woke up at six-thirty, made herself a hearty breakfast. She packed her best gear, wearing her favorite combat vest and best pair of sandals. Once satisfied with her armor, she ran to the nearest training area to start warm-ups.

It was seven AM sharp when she caught a whiff of ozone and was promptly knocked sideways with the force of a tsunami.

Her whole body tumbled feet over head, rolling to a stop at the opposite end of the field.

“Good morning, Gai-san,” she greeted through a mouthful of dirt and grass as she rose from the ground. 

“And A Good Morning to You, My Most Marvelous Student!” he beamed with a level of pride she was unfamiliar with. "Training early, I see! The morning air is good for the warrior spirit!"

'Warrior spirit, my ass,' she growled inwardly.

If she didn't know better, she would have guessed Gai had gotten up even earlier than she did. Did he even sleep…? How could someone even have this much energy this early in the morning?

She stood up, planting herself with a firm stance. He was practically shining with glee, clearly appreciating her sudden enthusiasm. 

Yasu brushed off her shoulders, shaking some fallen leaves from her combat flak jacket. She looked up to her opponent with an uncharacteristic smirk, cracking her knuckles.

“I’m ready this time, Gai-san.”

Like a bolt of lightning struck them, they were off.

The two collided, impacting hard enough to send a short shock-wave through the ground before breaking apart. As if they had the same plan of attack, the broke apart in tandem and made for the trees.

Gai was fast. Faster than any opponent she had faced before-- even that pair of brothers from Mist she ran into on a rendezvous mission years ago. She dodged his kick by bending her knees and launching sideways, landing meters away. His heel struck the ground with a snapping ‘boom!’, leaving a meter-wide crater in the mossy ground.

“Yosh!” he declared, spying her instantly, “I’m impressed. You’ve improved, Yasu-chan!”

Her heart fluttered at his declaration, and she had to force down the warm feeling of praise. Her cheeks were red, her face was hot and tingling. Oh gods, she couldn’t let him see her flustered!

So she punched him. 

Or, at least, she tried to. 

Her speed was no match for his. He dodged effortlessly by simply leaning sideways with a precocious wink.

Yasu grit her teeth and twisted her body, swinging both her legs into a crippling sweep-kick right at his knees. The momentum sent her rolling sideways again. 

‘Now recoup,’ she thought, pushing upwards with her arms and disappearing into the trees. ‘He’ll ambush again…’

She felt it on her right, too fast to dodge.

She caught his punch in both her hands, his hand burning hot with chakra and friction. It was her anger that contained the blow, rather than letting her system absorb it. That burning heat transferred to her, racing up her arms before she forced it back, draining it directly back at him, letting the force of his hit reverberate in their hands.

Her arms shook with effort, but she held fast.

It was only for a moment, so fast she nearly didn't catch it, but Gai's ever-confident grin dropped into a thoughtful frown. His brow furrowed, eyes dripping to concentrate on their joined hands. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong. Or maybe she could make a witty remark about catching him off-guard.

...Until the branch she stood on snapped, sending them both plummeting to the forest floor.

The two bounced away from one another, each landing on their feet. Yasu glanced at the branch, noting the base was well over three meters in diameter. The fact that it had shattered so easily with an indirect hit told her Gai wasn’t going easy on her.

‘He’s serious,’ she thought as the debris settled around them, 'It's now or never…’

She leapt away again, putting some space between them. 

"You like bets, don't you?" she huffed, failing to hide the manic desperation in her tone. "Are you up for a challenge, Gai-san?”

From across the field, she saw his eyes gleam, “A challenge, you say?” He pointed at her, “What sort of challenge are you proposing, Yasu-chan?!” He was literally shaking with excitement. 

She bit her lip, sending forth a silent prayer that this would work. “We spar. No weapons, taijutsu only. First to be knocked out or concede loses.”

Those eyebrows of his shot up, “A battle of attrition, then?”

She could tell by his grin that he was intrigued by her offer. So far, they had spent most of her “training” on evasion. His ambushes were strategic, and a little more reckless than he probably should have been. He had been testing her silently, slowly ramping up his attacks to see just how much she could take. Besides, he seemed to really like beating her up.

Part of her knew it was a crazy gambit. She was challenging a taijutsu master in hand-to-hand combat. But she was ready to risk it. She only had one ace up her sleeve so she might as well use it.

Her muscles began to tingle as chakra pumped through her system.

“So what do you say?” she pressed, already taking a stance.

“It was not my intention to duel you,” he replied coolly, also dropping into an offensive pose. “Rather to teach.”

Yasu wasn’t deterred, “Practical use is the best way to learn.”

“I am intrigued by your offer, Yasu-chan. Rest assured, I will not harm you.”

“I told you before,” she crouched, readying herself to pounce. “I’m tough.”