Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 17

“So she had been following me for--” another dodged kick, “Over an hour!”

“We’ll have to work on her stealth!” he threw a punch.

“That's exactly what I said!” she caught it.

The two jumped away from one another, landing on opposite ends of their private wasteland.

Yasu was panting, half-covered in dirt, half-covered in sweat. Today’s training was technically more low-key than their usual brawls, but it was also requiring a lot of concentration on her part. Her new technique was far from battle-ready, but she was getting there.

“But I still don’t understand why she was following you in the first place,” Gai leapt off the ground, disappearing in the air and reappearing directly behind Yasu.

She spun quickly, catching the elbow he had swung at her, using her chakra to send him spinning away. 

“She wanted to know if I was 'worthy.'”

“Worthy of being my student?!” Gai practically gasped in excitement as he regained his balance, pausing to strike an enthusiastic pose.

Yasu pulled a face at his ridiculous assumption. “No,” she growled, provoking him with a round-house kick. He countered with a sideways chop. She was able to catch the blow with her arm, using the force to reverberate into a strong swing.

Gai landed, stumbling slightly.

‘I’m getting good at this,’ she thought with a smirk. “No, she was under the impression we were dating.”

Yasu shot forward for an offensive run, expecting Gai to dodge. But the heel of her kick landed solidly right on the side of Gai's head. His neck snapped to the side, but he remained standing, perfectly frozen. 

"Gai?" Yasu questioned, landing nearby. She remained tense, thinking this may be a new sort of tactic. 

But, for once, Gai was not thinking of training. 

The word "dating" was ringing through his head like a temple bell. His jaw went slack, eyes white and blank, staring off somewhere far, far in the distance.

“...Gai-sensei?” Yasu tried again, creeping forward, arms raised defensively.

His face was beet-red from the bottom of his neck to the tips of his ears, practically smoking from the uncomfortable temperature his body had reached.

“Gai…?” she jabbed a fist forward, tapping a light punch to his right pectoral.

Still no response.

Gai was no longer there, his soul having long since left his body. His brain raced, bemoaning thoughts of his precious little students conspiring against him. 

‘How could they think that?’ his mind screamed, ‘What sort of sensei would I be?! With little Yasu-chan…?!’

“Oh, come on,” Yasu chuckled nervously, dropping her guard and taking a small step back. Gai looked like he was ready to implode. His muscles quivered from tension, yet he remained ghostly still. “Stop playing around, Gai-sensei… It was just a joke.” 

The longer he stayed still, the more uncomfortable she got. 

“T-tenten-chan was just doing what all girls her age do,” she tried to explain, brow furrowing with worry while her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Just some teen gossip, that’s all…”

‘M-me and Y-y-yasu-chan?! Unthinkable! Not my darling little student--’ 

But that was the thing, wasn’t it? Yasu wasn’t a genin assigned to him, in need of his guidance. She was a fully-grown chunin, trained and capable without a jounin leader. He had merely taken her under his wing after seeing her potential--

He recalled what she had said just hours before, “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

His hands, creaking like aged wood, reached up and gripped his hair in terror. ‘Have I transgressed the sacred student-and-sensei relationship?! Have I tarnished my reputation as a teacher, a molder of young minds?!’

Except Yasu wasn’t much younger than him. She was an adult, a fully-fledged shinobi, and a rather exceptional person. She had a moderately successful career. She was hard-working, smart, talented, and pretty cute, too.

‘No, no, no, no, no!’ he chanted inwardly, attempting to physically shake the thoughts out of his head. 'My precious student...!'

Yasu knew a mental breakdown when she saw one. And considering the heavy topics they’d been discussing thus far, she was a little shocked that this is what broke Gai.

She pursed her lips, wondering if she should feel a little insulted that he was this distressed at the notion of them in a relationship. Not that she blamed him, really. He was way out of her league. He was an incredibly accomplished shinobi, and one of the most powerful ninja in the village. He was kind, compassionate, and so incredibly caring. He had seen a potential in her no one else ever had… Plus once you got past his goofy personality, he wasn’t bad looking, either.

So Yasu decided to get through to Gai the best way she knew how.

She punched him.

She channeled her chakra into her backfoot, swung back, and punched him right in the face.

It was probably a little harder than she intended it to be (she blamed her lack of control over her new technique, and certainly no other reason), but it was effective. Gai went flying, landing several meters away, crashing into the dirt.

“Are you okay?” she yelled.

“I’m okay!” he answered, giving her a thumbs-up.

Yasu couldn’t help but smile, dropping her stance and shaking her head, “Maybe we should call it a day?”

Gai got up, shaky, but unharmed. “Agreed!”