Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 12

Boulders were being hurled at an amazing rate, one would think a meteor shower had landed on Earth. 

With each stone that landed, Yasu became more and more certain that the terrain of this area would be forever changed by their training.

“Stop dodging!” Gai barked from across the clearing, hurling another rock. 

He was in full sensei-mode, demanding perfection and an inhuman amount of repetition from her feeble mortal soul. When he said, "Give it your all!" he damn well meant it.

“I can’t--! Help--! It!” she hollered back, twisting through a whirlwind of flying rocks. “I--! Told you--! It’s a reflex!”

One of the smaller rocks flew too fast for her to dodge, and bounced off her shoulder. 

"Throw it back!"

She frowned, reaching for the fallen rock.

"That's not what I mean! Throw it back with your chakra!"

He made it sound so easy. Like she was just supposed to know how to do it by instinct. 

Another small rock bounced off her body. “Gai-sensei, I can’t concentrate if you keep throwing rocks at me!”

Abruptly, the rainfall of rubble stopped.

“Hmm… You may be right.”

Yasu let out a sigh of relief, “I think we’re going about this from the wrong angle. I won’t be able to do it out of pure defensive need alone. Instead, let’s build up to--”

“Leaf Whirlwind!!”

Yasu caught the first kick with her forearm, but the second kick was sent to her knees, too fast for her to follow. Before her body even hit the ground, he sent a third kick to her side, sending her skidding a few meters away.

Her body skidded to a stop along the ground.

“I’m okay,” she mumbled into the grass, sparing Gai a quick thumbs-up.

She was answered with a disappointed sigh. “No, Yasu-chan. Absorb and deflect,” Gai repeated slowly with accompanying hand gestures. 

She stood up, shaking off a bit of dirt and grass. With a heavy breath she nodded, “Yeah, yeah… Okay. One more time.”

There was a feeling forming in her gut she didn't like. Normally, she only felt disappointment in herself when it came to architecture. The work she did with her hands outweighed any work she did as a ninja. Being a shinobi was just an add-on, and an optional one at that. She never really felt this way about her ninjutsu... Maybe because she never really tried this hard. She didn't want to say she actually cared about developing her technique, but she knew for sure she didn't want to let down Gai-sensei.

A glaze of determination set in her eyes. Gai saw it, too.

She nodded, "Alright. Let's do this."

He flew at her, only slightly slower than his usual speed. There was no discretion in his form, clearly wanting her to follow his movements. He leapt up from meters away, arching down to her while spinning through the air. One leg stretched out, winding up for another mean-looking kick.

Yasu concentrated, lifting her arms in front of her defensively. She lined up his kick, and focused.

She imagined her chakra gathering in front of her, envisioning it as a fluid mass. She could feel it rushing to her arms and inflating to a protective shield. She felt the pressure of his kick, and let it travel through her system. Their energy melded together, colliding and merging like the rapids of a river.

But this time, hers were stronger.

She allowed the power of Gai’s hit to rush in and dissolve into her system. At first, it felt overwhelming… Her body screamed at her to release the energy like she normally did. Holding it was painful and more difficult than she thought it would be.

Sweat began to pour down the side of her face and her arms shook with great effort. Gai saw her struggle and increased the pressure as much as he could as his other foot landed on the ground.

Yasu slid back, the soles of her sandals dragging up the grass she stood on. Her knees quaked to hold her stance-- he wasn't letting up!

If only she could just…!

With every ounce of strength she possessed, Yasu pushed back...!

...And promptly crumpled to the ground.

Gai’s leg finished its follow-through, only barely not colliding with the side of Yasu’s head. 

“I can’t do it,” she moaned from the ground, clutching her suddenly pounding head. “I don't think I can do it.”

She felt hands on her shoulders, and looked up to see Gai crouched before her. There was a soft look on his face, care and pride filling his dark-grey eyes. 

She felt her shoulders relax beneath his palms, instantly calm under his reassuring gaze.

“There's no shame in accepting your limits, Yasu-chan. It’s okay,” he told her with a gentle squeeze. “Do you want to try again?”

She blinked back tears she hadn’t realized were gathering in her eyes, “Yes, please.”

He helped her up, squeezing her hands reassuringly in his, “Failure is all a part of learning, Yasu-chan. Without failure, we never improve.”

On some level, Yasu felt like she was a little too old to be hearing that. But on another level, it made her feel a lot better, so she took it. 

She cracked a half-smile up at Gai and nodded at his encouragement, “Alright. One more time.”

Gai resumed his spot at the edge of the field, and Yasu stood in the middle.

For a moment, she felt utterly vulnerable. She didn’t have her little secret any more. Her back wasn’t up against the wall, and no one stood by her side. She was open, waiting, and ready for an attack. Even now, she was doubting herself and her technique. What if it didn't work? She didn't trust herself to be able to do it.

But she trusted him.

Swallowing her uncertainty, she said, "I'm ready, now."

He smiled back at her, then took a single breath.

Gai came charging at her, back to his usual speed and ready to do some damage. She had no time to configure her chakra, so she surged forth and met him at his hit.

The pair clashed like storm clouds, shaking the area around them with a thunderous "bang!"

There, she was finally able to hold him.

She felt the force of their clash ring through her chakra system. For a moment, she was sure she wouldn't be able to hold it...

Until she saw the fire in his eyes. It was the same fire she felt in herself.

Her limbs trembled with the effort of holding him back, and he responded by pushing harder.  

Biting her lip with determination, she summoned every ounce of strength she possessed. The force she was struggling to contain suddenly surged forth, exploding through her palms. 

A white light engulfed them both, and Gai went flying.

There was a horrible crash and the air clouded over.

“Oh no,” she gasped, eyes growing wide in horror.

A plume of smoke, dust, and rubble surrounded the area where Gai had smashed right into the boarder wall. She could make out the crumbling cracks webbing out from where he landed, but couldn’t see him.

“Oh no, oh no, no, no, no!”

She bolted to the wall, flying through the rocks and dirt, desperately seeking a crumpled lump of green and orange lodged into the brickwork.

“Gai-sensei!” she cried, “Are you okay?!”

Gai was bent into a strange pose, embedded entirely into the wall. Her hands shook as she reached out to him, gently grasping his shoulder and yanking him down. His dizzy expression wobbled as they tumbled to the ground below with matching painful groans. 

“Gai-sensei? Gai-sensei!” she cried, flipping him onto the soft grass. His eyes were dark and bleary, blinking up at her with an unfocused gaze. 

Her brow was tented with worry, mind racing to recall the symptoms of concussions her old sensei had her memorize. She pulled his eyelids, frantically snapping her figures to get him to focus. 

'Please be okay, please be okay,' she chanted in her head.

"Eeh…?" he gasps hoarsely, "Y-yasu-chan…?"

"Gai-sensei!" This time she cried in relief. 

All the wind was knocked out of her a second later as two iron-strong arms wrapped around her neck in the most enthusiastic embrace she had ever experienced.

"Yosh!" Gai cheered (right in her ear!), "A Most Wonderous Display of Strength from my Youthful Student! You Are Truly a Blossoming Flower of Beauty, Yasu-chan!"

Yasu's muffled words were muttered inti the crook of his shoulder, "...T-thank you, Gai-sensei… Are you sure you're okay?"

At this, Gai began to tear up, "What have I done to deserve such kindness from my wonderful student?" He started to rock side to side in the grass, dragging Yasu with him. Her footing was lost immediately, and the two wound up awkwardly tangled, rolling in the dirt. "I assure you I am well, Yasu-chan. Don't you worry!"

Yasu forced her head up, having to prop her chin on his chest to look him in the eye, "Please let me go," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks flush red.

Gai pouted, eyes still shining with prideful tears, but did as she asked.

Yasu sighed as she straightened herself out, sitting back on her knees. Her concern had gone from "panicked" to "mild," but it seemed like Gai was bouncing back. "Are you sure you're okay?" she pressed once more.

A sparkling, confident grin accompanied by a wink and his signature thumbs-up assured her. "No worries, Yasu-chan. I'm tough."