Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 36

Yasu’s body shot up, every muscle going from achingly relaxed to painfully tense in the span of a millisecond. She spun, ready for an attack, only to turn and meet the fiercest glare she’s ever seen. Her heart stopped when she looked into his eyes, hardly able to see past the miasma of animosity that surrounded him. Despite being on the receiving end of some of his most brutal battles, Gai had never been scarier than he was standing right there.

‘So that’s why they call him a beast…’

He was statuesque in his stillness, grounded like a shrine stone, emitting an aura she had never felt before. There was a fury in him she wasn’t prepared to see. But he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking just to her right, eyes focused on the small crater Lee had created. His glare ran along the length of the sealed crack, easily following the rather noticeable line in the grass where the crack had been sealed. 

“G-Gai-sensei…?” Yasu stuttered, finding her voice again. 

He still wouldn’t look at her as he marched over to the mountain ledge. Despite the way he was prowling like a predator, she couldn’t find herself to be frightened of him. Instead, she was just a little wary of what he might do next. She took a small step closer to the edge, subconsciously putting herself between him and the kids.

“Eh?” Tenten echoed, pausing her work to peer around Yasu's feet, “Gai-sensei?”

Yasu spared the children a quick glance, noting their worried expressions. Tenten’s lips were pulled into a tight, nervous grin, while sweat began to gather on Lee’s brow. Neji remained still, his shoulders square and tense as his typical expression sunk to a deep frown. The sanding blocks were loose in their hands as their task was forgotten as they began to panic.

The air was thick with a strained silence as four pairs of eyes watched the jounin walk the length of the crack. 

Yasu was growing more and more nervous. She shifted slightly, tentatively taking a step to cut him off, but he wouldn’t even look her way. He marched straight past her to glare over the side, pinning the three (practically shaking) genin with his sensei-glare.

“So what happened here?” Gai asked, his voice low and serious. He crossed his arms over his chest, bearing down on the three teens with the sternness of a disappointed father. 

“Ah!” Yasu squeaked, rushing to his side to place a complacent hand on his arm. “It’s nothing, really. Your students decided to play human pinball…" she gave him a light-hearted smile, gently tugging him away from the visible damage, "Things may have gotten out of hand.”

A chorus of squawking genin erupted beneath their feet, each eager to explain away their current predicament. 

Gai's sharp stare shut them up just as quickly.

Yasu shook her head at the children, placing a hand on Gai's shoulder to lightly push him away from the edge. Her small touch did the trick, casting his attention away from the teens to focus on her. His eyes softened as they dropped to her face, carefully assessing her for any sign of distress in her earnest expression.

She sighed inwardly, relieved to know she could quell his ire so easily. "Just a little collateral damage, that's all," she murmured good-naturedly. She tried to keep her tone neutral and firm, but her smile gave her away. Gai recognized the sparkling light in her eyes as a very Yasu-specific type of amusement.

She couldn't condone the kids for their recklessness more than she already had. Sure, they may have destroyed an iconic monument, but no one was actually hurt. But how could she be angry at a group of kids acting like kids?

“Yasu-san…” Gai said her name without his normal amount of fondness, his tone stern yet compassionate. His formality reminded her of his misguided apology from earlier that morning, which caused a frown to pull at her lips. “Their foolishness will not go unpunished.”

Despite what some of his colleagues think, Gai wasn’t proud when it came to punishing his students. Typically, his disciplinary methods stemmed from trying to push his students harder and helping them achieve their full potential. However, the situation of them imposing on Yasu and destroying her prized creation was too severe for him to ignore.

Yasu peered down at the teens, giving them a sharp look. Their scrubbing promptly resumed as they eagerly took the out she offered. 

“I think they’ve been punished enough," she shrugged, returning to her seated perch with a grunt of effort. "The damage is reversible. No harm, no foul."

Gai came up to Yasu’s flank, arms crossed over his chest, mouth pressed into a deep frown.

“They ruined something you worked hard on.”

“Accidents happen.”

“You’ve been working on it for weeks, even before construction began.”

“So what’s a day more?”

“There was no need for this to happen. They were being foolish and almost destroyed a Village monument.”

That may be an exaggeration, but he had a point.

Yasu pursed her lips, “Let me ask you something… If anyone else had carved this, would you be this upset?”

His thick brows furrowed, “I’d like to think I would.” He paused, lowering his voice, “Why? …Do you think I’m overreacting?”

Yasu smiled up at him, absently wondering if anyone else had ever made him question his own conviction. She was used to him being so confident in his own resolve, it was funny to think she made him ask to begin with. Reassuringly, she shook her head, “No, I’m sort of flattered you’re upset. I take it as a compliment to my work.”

“It should be,” he agreed, staring down at her. “You’ve done an amazing job. You should be proud.”

Yasu gave him one last grateful smile before nodding, “I’m not mad at them. You don’t have to be, either.”

She had never seen Gai genuinely upset before… but it was kind of cute. She couldn't help but feel flattered at the idea of him getting so defensive on her behalf. She was also very glad she was able to stave off any anxiety from the whole event. In fact, it seemed too comical now for her to take it seriously.  

Everything sort of just fell into place as Gai sat next to her, swinging his legs over the ledge and sparing her a sideways smile. 

Truth be told, Gai was in too good a mood to actually be truly upset with his reckless students. He knew Yasu well enough by now to know that forgiveness was in her nature. Hell, him nearly destroying another one of her creations had been the start to their friendship. Perhaps this would be a bonding experience for her and his team. 

He sent the group one more stern look before leaning back and letting them finish their punishment in peace.

“Yare-yare…” the chunin sighed, pulling him from his musings as she flopped back onto the cool grass, “I’m so tired…”

He smiled down at her sprawled form. “Mah, Yasu-chan, I thought I taught you better than that. Where’s your youthful energy?” He said this while taking in the dirt caked on her hands and the dark circles under her eyes. When he noticed her exhaustion this morning, he assumed it was simply to do with the early hour. Now, she looked almost withered. Her clothes were dirty and tattered, her hair frizzy and falling from her trademark ponytail. When she turned to him, her eyes were bloodshot and slightly glazed, but still very much shining in their usual way.

“It’s gone,” she moaned, stretching out her arms and cracking her spine satisfyingly. “In fact, I’ve died. Please kindly drag my body to the undertaker.” One arm flopped uselessly in his direction, “Or just throw me in the trash. Whichever you prefer.”

Gai rolled his eyes at her antics but didn’t stop smiling, “I would never. You at least deserve a proper burial.”

Her head tilted over so she could look up at him. Her expression melted, morphing to match his with an affectionate smile, “You’re too good to me.”

He couldn’t stop the flush that spread across the bridge of his nose. He cleared his throat, averting his eyes and absently scratching his cheek. “You work so hard,” he huffed, keeping his voice low. “I want to make sure you're rewarded for your efforts."

Yasu shook her head, heaving herself up to a seated position with an embarrassingly loud grunt. She sighed as she settled her elbows on her knees, absently wondering how she was going to get herself home in such a state. Her legs felt like lead, frozen and stiff, set in her hips like rebar. Exhaustion was a silent killer to shinobi. There was a reason chakra pills were mandatory when out in the field. Physical weakness and lack of energy lead to vulnerability; and everyone knew a vulnerable ninja was a dead ninja. 

Her hands began to absently rub her aching calves, "That's a nice sentiment… but I work hard for my own sake. It’s not for gain."

His heart stilled at her words. Overwhelmed, it stuttered and skipped it's rhythm. Blood surged to his face and ears as a thick lump formed in his throat.

Gai swallowed, grateful that Yasu kept her gaze low and couldn't see whatever dumbstruck emotion had been slapped across his face. 

He felt the overwhelming urge to grab her hand. He wanted to sit closer, just enough that their shoulders would brush up against each other. The thought alone sent another wave of heat crashing through his veins. But what if she didn't want that? Could he hold her hand instead? Would she let him touch her if he asked? All of their affection so far had been heated and spur-of-the-moment. This was new. Were casual touches okay now? Or would that be too much? 

His mind whirled.

Yasu was blind to his turmoil as she rolled back into the grass and shut her eyes to the sky. "So long as I'm proud of what I've done at the end of the day… That's all that matters." Her speech was slowing, words slurred slightly at the end. 

Gai swallowed thickly, pretending to scratch his nose to hide a blush. "That's, uhm, very admirable."

Yasu hummed in acknowledgment, sending him another closed-eyed smile. 

The pair let the night settle around them. The sun had finally set, and the two silently accepted that their plans for the evening would be forgotten for now. Instead, they basked in what their evening had become, letting themselves simply enjoy one another’s company.

"I'm glad you came back…" For a second, he thought he was hearing things. "I really wanted to spend more time with you…"

Yasu's words were softer than the breeze, her lips hardly moving as she mumbled into the twilight. The rest of her lay still and her eyes remained closed.

Was she asleep…? 

He couldn’t be sure. "Of course I came back. We had plans, didn't we?"

"Yeah," she scoffed tiredly. "Had."

He chuckled, slumping forward to rest his elbows on his knees, hands laced together. He knew this would be the perfect spot to get in a round of one-armed pull-ups, or maybe even a quick meditation session. Yet something kept him anchored to that spot, grounded in that moment, either unable or unwilling to leave it by moving.

He ignored the sly looks from his students, each of them having an ear pointed in their direction. The four-meter crack they were sanding was just about smoothed over. They'd probably be done by now if they weren't so busy trying to eavesdrop.

"Dad n' I will finish up tomorrow. The unveiling is in the afternoon…" she yawned. "So there's that…"

"Exciting!" Gai grinned. "My Heart is Pounding With Youthful Anticipation!" 

Yasu cracked open one eye, shooting a grin up at Gai, "You can look now, if you want. She won't look much different tomorrow."

He shook his head firmly, crossing his arms over his broad chest, "You've worked on this for weeks. The suspense of viewing the final product will make the unveiling all the more satisfying."

"You'll be there for the ceremony, then?"

"Of course," he said plainly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Can we come, too, Yasu-sempai?" a hopeful voice called up from below.

Yasu paused to haul herself upright, this time suppressing her low grunt. "Of course you can, Lee-san," she cocked her head to the side, "You're all welcomed, if you want to…"

After all, it was a public event. It’s not like she could stop them. 

“Ah…” she hummed thoughtfully, sliding down the mountainside to land beside the teens. “Looks good.”

Sure enough, the crack was filled and flattened (perhaps a bit too much?), but nothing Yasu couldn’t fix with a quick jutsu and a little elbow grease. That could wait until the morning, though, she’s had enough for the night. The thought of another early morning made her slump against Tsunade’s cheek. “Thanks for your help,” she told the kids with a genuine smile, “I’d be here all night, otherwise.”

Gai stared down at the four, watching as Yasu praised their hurried efforts, as they apologized once more for the damage, and how they simply agreed to pretend it never happened. Any previous disappointment dissipated entirely. By all means, the evening was shaping up better than he would have ever thought. He couldn’t think of a place he’d rather be than here with his students.