Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 24

As it turned out, “at once” did not mean “at once.”

It was more like, “at once, after two hours of haggling with medics and nurses and signing some very official-looking forms, negotiating then taking responsibility for Lee’s temporary release.”

“I understand he has physical limitations, but this seems excessive,” Yasu argued with the girl at the lobby desk, “This can’t be normal procedure.” 

The poor girl sighed, glancing over to Lee out of the corner of her eye, “It’s not.”

Yasu inhaled sharply, Lee’s bright and hopeful face quickly putting an end to her internal debate. Tersely, she signed her name at the bottom of the page. 

Something about Lee’s utter obliviousness endeared Yasu to the point of manipulation. He gave her one little grin, and here she was, giving up her free time and neglecting responsibilities.

“Alright,” she turned to him, theodolite slung across her back once more. She already felt like a completely different person than she had when she first got up this morning. Perhaps changing her vocation from sculptor to babysitter had something to do with it. “We have a few hours before I need to bring you back.”

She was beginning to think he only invited her to be his chaperon. Then again, Lee doesn’t seem like the type. 

Rock Lee gave her a shining smile and a thumbs-up, dissolving all of her suspicions, “Yosh, excellent!”

The nurses insisted on him taking his crutch, which Yasu noted he hadn’t been using when he met her up on the roof. He didn't seem to really need it.

Just as the two made to leave, she heard "Eh? Yasu-sempai?" 

Yasu turned to the entrance, seeing Tenten walk in, followed by another long-haired teen. The two approached her and Lee, each looking at her with mild surprise. 

“What are you doing here?”

Yasu wasn’t nearly as surprised to see them as they were her, “Ah, good morning, Tenten-chan. Lee-san and I were just about to head out to the gate.”

Truthfully, she thought it was really sweet Gai’s students gathered together just to greet him back to the Village. With Lee’s injuries on top of everything else that’s been going on lately, she assumed this may be the first happy reunion they’ve had in a while. 

“Yasu-sempai?” Lee echoed, joining the other two. “Why is that name familiar…?”

It was then the rooftop pair realized that Lee had taken to calling her “Miss” this whole time, never bothering to ask her name. Not that Yasu had thought to give it, either. 

"Lee,” Tenten hissed, eyes shifting from her one teammate to the other, “Yasu-sempai is Gai-sensei’s…" she waved her hand in the air, "'Friend.'”

She watched the recognition dawn on his face. All of a sudden, Lee turned to her, marveling and awe-struck. Stars were in his eyes as his mouth dropped into a perfect “O.”

“Yasu-sempai!” he declared, pointing at her. “Gai-sensei’s Blossoming Azalea!”

Frustration bubbled in her stomach as she rubbed her temples to stave off an oncoming headache.

"Student. I am his student. Just like the rest of you."

Tenten snorted, “Whatever you say, Yasu-sempai. How'd you know we were meeting here, anyway?” 

"I didn't."

“I found her on the roof!” Lee explained, exuberant.

The girl behind the desk's head snapped up to give them an incredulous glare, “On the roof…?”

“Okay!” Yasu announced, clapping a hand on Lee’s shoulder and steering the kids back towards the entrance, “We better get going!”

Konoha’s hospital lay towards the center of the Village, and was a straight shot to the Main Gate by following the central path that bisected through the whole village. 

She let the three students take the lead, trailing behind them at a comfortable pace. It was early enough in the morning for the streets to just begin filling with bustling citizens. Shops were flipping their “Closed” signs to “Open.” Food stalls began to warm up, filling the air with a mix of delicious aromas. 

Lee recounted their morning on the rooftop to Tenten, particularly the part about how he daringly "rescued" her from a nasty fall. 

“I fell because of you,” she grumbled, mostly to herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, the long-haired one smirked. As the street narrowed with the growing number of civilians, the group split with Tenten and Lee up front and the other trailing behind next to Yasu. For a few minutes, the two relented to listening to Lee’s chatter. 

It was Yasu who decided to break the ice between them. “I’m guessing you’re Hyuuga Neji,” she asked with an awkward half-smile. 

“You’re correct,” he responded, not looking at her, “And you are Ushi Yasu.” He sounded bored and unimpressed.

“You’re correct as well.”

A minute passed before he spoke again, “Some of your family has been aiding with renovations on my clan’s compound. They do good work.”

Yasu’s eyebrows shot up at the sudden compliment, “Oh. Thank you.” 

The two lapsed into an odd silence, merely trailing behind their companions at a leisurely pace. Neji kept his eyes ahead, arms crossed over his chest, but she still felt him watching her. There was an air of suspicion about him, the same sort of unease she had initially felt from Tenten. But where Tenten had been quickly won over, she had a feeling Neji wouldn’t be quite as easy.

A small, content smile appeared on her face as the final piece of this strange little group fell into place. Their steps synced up and the conversation blended naturally. Neji joined in scolding with Tenten when Lee began to ramble on about the training he would do once Gai-sensei returned. The admiration and enthusiasm in Lee’s voice filled her with a warmth she was steadily growing more familiar with. 

The gate came into view where a small group of jounin were visible, gathered around the admission desk. From context, she assumed they were the first rotation group, having been sent back as the second rotation was sent out. A few seemed roughed up, all looking a little ragged and tired. She pushed away thoughts of why groups of jounin were being sent to the border. 

Among the group, she caught a glimpse of green. 

“Gai-sensei!” Lee dashed forward, moving as fast as his crutch would allow.

“Lee!” Gai broke from the group, tears already flowing at the sight of his favorite student out of the hospital.  

The two met each other in a tight embrace, radiating callow sentiment. Neji and Tenten tolerated the spectacle from a few steps away, each chagrined and cringing.  

But Yasu stood a little further removed than them, and found the whole thing rather endearing, their reactions included. Sure, the loud sobbing was a little much, but it was sweet nonetheless. 

They continued to wail, “Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Please stop your blubbering,” Neji stepped forward, face twisted in annoyance, “You’re drawing unwanted attention.”

Sure enough, every one of the first-rotation jounin, as well as the two desk chunin were quizzically staring at the little group. Yasu gave them a shaky smile and a little wave. 

Tenten looked similarly uneasy, “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

“Tenten-chan’s right,” Yasu took that moment to step forward as well, “Let’s get out of the way, eh?”

And that’s when he finally saw her.

Gai's expression transformed from a gleaming, teary-eyed grin to a dopey smile as he finally realized she was there as well, "Yasu-chan…?"  There was something in his voice she couldn’t quite place… Something like amazement, but closer to the heart. Like seeing her was too good to be true. That starry-eyed smile grew until his eyes dropped to Tenten and Neji at her side, and he quickly changed his demeanor, "I mean, Ushi-san" he even bowed, "It is good to see you again!" His posture straightened, arms crossed and nonchalant, but still not quite meeting her eye. 

She was glad she had her scarf to duck into to cover the heat of her cheeks. Nothing could stop the smile from her face, though.

She stifled a giggle as she bowed back. "Gai-sensei," she played along, sounding as casual as possible, "I hope you don't mind that I came along." She nodded to Lee by his side, "Lee-san was kind enough to invite me."

 "Of course not!" he answered quickly, "I don't mind the slightest!"

“Maybe Yasu-sempai can join us for training, too!” Lee added eagerly. 

“Yosh! A wonderful suggestion, Lee!”

“You’re not supposed to be training, Lee-san,” Yasu sighed, hands on her hips. “We talked about this.”

“Yasu-sempai’s right,” Tenten joined her, mimicking her posture, “Tsunade-sama said no strenuous activities for another week!”

The two regarded the girls nervously before conceding. 

“They’re right, Lee,” Gai sighed, as if only just now remembering Lee's injuries, “In order for you to get stronger, you need to heal first.”

The boy clearly looked dejected, but resigned himself with a nod, “Once I am healed, I promise I will become stronger than ever!” 

The statement sent Gai straight back to being a sobbing mess, “Lee…! Your Youthful Dedication Shall Not Be Diminished By Such a Minor Setback!”

‘Minor setback…?’ Yasu thought with a frown, ‘He almost died.'

The other two shared in her grievance. 

“C’mon you two,” Tenten huffed, grabbing both Lee and Gai by the elbow, “I was promised a free meal.”

Yasu opened her mouth to bring up the fact that she had to get Lee back to the hospital, but was stopped short when Gai went, “Yosh! A Marvelous Idea! Young minds require proper nutrition to grow strong!”

“Are you coming too, Yasu-sempai?” Lee asked eagerly over his shoulder as the group began back down the main path back to the Village.

‘Well… another hour or two wouldn’t hurt…’ she thought to herself as she began to follow. Neji fell into step beside her, hands in his pockets and looking twice as reluctant.  She pulled her scarf down to lay loosely across her chest, “Lead the way.” 

“Great! There’s a teahouse nearby I’ve been dying to try!” Tenten cheered, taking point.

An electric chill shot up Yasu’s spine. “A teahouse…?”

‘Uh-oh.’