Chapter 23
Spear & Shield
Chapter 23
To be fair, she had asked the Hospital administration before she climbed up to the roof.
They had told her no, but she did it anyway. They were just so close to starting construction on the Monument, and she had to make sure all her measurements were correct.
So she utilized every clandestine skill she had, and snuck onto Hospital grounds just before dawn broke fully. The day was still dim enough to see the world in nothing but shades of blue and grey. She brought a scarf to fight off the early-morning chill, her trusty theodolite slung across her back. It had been a while since she utilized her tree walking skills, but she managed to scale the building in one slow go. She parked herself at the highest point, atop the clock tower, a warm thermos of tea in hand and a content smile on her face. With nothing but the rising sun to keep her company, Yasu got to work.
“Excuse me, miss.”
Yasu jumped, tea spilling as she slipped away from the theodolite. Her footing was lost as she began to tip backwards, an embarrassing yelp escaping her lips as she saw her life flash before her eyes.
But an arm caught around her waist in a heroic display, securing her just before she tipped over the edge. The arm that held her did not waver with strain, merely suspending her there as if she weighed nothing at all. After regaining her senses and slowing her racing heart, she dared to wrench one eye open.
Two dark eyes gaze down at her with a pronounced, furrowed brow. A round, youthful face with a full-lipped frown and thick lashes was eyeing her with concern.
Even though they had never met, Yasu immediately knew who he was.
“Are you alright?” he asked, pulling her up to standing once more. “I apologize! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
Yasu opened and shut her mouth a few times before shaking her confusion off entirely, “Ah… Yes, I’m alright. Thank you.”
He took a step back, his hands behind his back and posture pin-straight, "As penance for startling you, I shall climb Hokage tower without using my hands!" he declared.
"That's quite alright," Yasu drawled, "No harm done, no penance necessary."
He stared at her for a short moment, dark eyes wide and unblinking. The intensity of his stare was a bit unsettling. “They don’t allow people up here, you know.”
Yasu nervously took up residence back beside her theodolite, “Oh… I wasn’t aware.” She was entirely aware. “What are you doing up here, then?”
“Training!” he beamed, “I come up here every morning!”
Yasu felt her face split into a grin. Oh, how long it had been since she smiled like this. “But you just said they don’t allow people up here.”
The young boy cocked his head to the side, scratching at the bandages on his left arm, “Yes, they have a very strict policy.”
She chuckled under her breath, tucking her grin behind her scarf, “Is your name Rock Lee, by any chance?”
The boy beamed, face flushing with pride, “Yosh! So You’ve Heard the Legend of Konoha’s Wild Green Beast?!”
“I’ve heard stories, yes,” she smiled wider, “I’ve also heard you’re recovering from a very intense procedure. Should you really be training?”
Now he blushed for an entirely different reason. “Eh? Ah, erm…” his poor, honest brain scrambled to cobble together an excuse, “W-well Tsunade-sama said that I needed mild exercise to help me heal…”
“Like physical therapy?”
He nodded.
Yasu smirked, pulling out the extra thermos of tea she just so happened to bring with her, handing it to the boy. How he wasn’t shivering in that ridiculous jumpsuit of his was beyond her. Even in her usual chunin uniform, vest and all, with her scarf, she was still shivering a bit. The tip of her fingers were beginning to numb, so she tucked her hands into her sleeves.
Lee took the thermos with a tentative smile.
“Tell you what, Lee-san,” she sat back down atop the clocktower, lowering the legs of her theodolite until she could comfortably look through it while sitting. “You go on and do whatever exercises Tsunade-sama gave you--” he opened his mouth to argue, but she kept going, “--and I won’t tell anyone you came up here to train, so long as you don’t tell anyone I came up here to work.”
Lee fell silent, cupping the thermos and looking torn. While he had assumed he had caught her in the act, she had quickly turned the tables on him. Regardless, he’d rather finish what he came up here to do before the nurses saw that his bed was empty. He eventually nodded in concession, taking a sip of warm tea.
Yasu grinned, happy she had won. The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence. Yasu went back to her survey measurements, running some quick calculations to account for the shape of the mountainside. Lee began a series of stretches that reminded her of the ones Academy students did before practical drills. She kept watch out of the corner of her eye, making sure he didn’t start doing one-handed pushups or run laps.
He watched her back, openly staring as she jotted down notes, staring through the strange contraption, occasionally twisting the knob on the side.
“What kind of work are you doing, Miss?” he asked, curious. “Are you a spy?”
She hummed, shaking her head, “No… We’re starting construction on the Hokage monument in a few days. I’m just double checking some things…” she shoved her pencil into her ponytail, tucking her notebook into her vest pocket. “Just to make sure everything’s perfect.”
Lee smiled at her nodding, “Fascinating! Are you a sculptor?”
“I wish,” she sighed, “It’s more of a hobby, really.”
“Gai-sensei says that hobbies are where our true passions lay.”
“Yeah, I can see Gai-sensei saying something like that.”
His face brightened even more, coming to stand by her on the clocktower, “Do you know Gai-sensei?”
The sun had risen by now, clearing away the mist of the morning, drying the dew on the tree leaves and beginning to chase away the nightly chill. Yasu allowed herself a moment to bask in the morning sunlight, letting it warm her cheeks.
“We train together sometimes,” she answered vaguely as she began to fold up her theodolite. “But he’s been gone for a while.”
Lee grinned as he helped her down from her perch, “Yes, but he returns to the Village today.”
She paused, “Really?” She tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice, but failed miserably. Thankfully, Lee did not seem to notice.
“Yes! My teammates and I are meeting him at the gate! Would you like to join us?”
She froze, face going red, “Eh… I-I suppose I could.”
He grabbed her hand, “Good! We shall leave at once!”
“Wait-- huh?!”