Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 53

“Move it.”

“You move it.”

“You idiots, there’s no room.--”

“Ichiro should move!”

“I can’t! Jiro’s stupid elbow is pushing me into Shiro!”

“Mpff bpffm bffm!”

“Sorry, Goro. Didn’t see you down there.”

It was a beautifully seasonal day in the Village of Konoha, with the sun shining in a nearly cloudless sky and a cool breeze drifting through the many trees of the forests that surrounded the quiet hidden village. By all means, it was a day of tranquility and peace. Today was also the day where the Ushi brothers had finally snapped.

It was bound to happen, eventually. Ushi family boundaries were blurry at best. And after all, Yasu was their only sister. Besides, hiding in a tree wasn't that unusual for a group of shinobi to do. Sure, the binoculars and camouflage were a little much, but effective nonetheless.

“I still don’t see them!” Megumi, who they had brought for posterity’s sake (and because she wouldn’t take no for an answer), cried a bit too loudly. The resounding 'shhh!' had her whispering, “Where are they?”

“The clearing over there,” Shiro pointed, “That’s Training Ground 47. It’s a popular spot for genin squads.”

“Those little specks?”

“Yeah. Yasu’s off to the side sparring with one of the genin. The rest are practicing water-walking combat by the looks of it.”

“A little cold for that, don’t you think?” Ichiro frowned. “Seems kinda cruel.”

Saburo nodded in agreement, “I’ve heard his training regimen is brutal. Even other seasoned jounin think he's extreme."

Goro pouted, "Yasu never wants to train with me."

"Yasu never wants to train, period."

"Well yeah, considering you all just used her for target practice." Megumi's comment initiated an uproar of muttered excuses and half-hearted guilty cringes.

"We weren't that bad."

"Remember when we hung her by her feet from the Naka River Bridge?"

"And that time when Saburo lit her hair on fire?"

"Which one of you set off the explosive tag in her closet?"

"Gods above…" Megumi sighed, "It's a miracle she survived you lot."

"That's besides the point, we're here to--"

An Earth-shaking crash drew their attention back to the field.

"Holy shit!"

Shiro's hands slapped down over Goro's ears, "Jiro!"

"Sorry-- but did you see that?!" Jiro hissed in disbelief. "Gai just created a tsunami by punching the lake."

Sure enough, the water level had gone down about a meter, maybe two, and the grassy shoreline was flooded and muddy. Yasu was still on the bank, now looking a mixture of annoyed and amused as she taught two of the students a simple chakra trick to dry their clothes. Gai was laughing joyously with the other one of his students, slicking back his soaking wet hair without a care.

“You know,” Megumi chirped from beneath Ichiro’s arm, “I see it now. He's kind of hot!”

“Gross,” seven voices chimed in response.

Wait… Seven?

Shiro lashed out of reflex, whizzing a dozen kunai in the direction of the newcomers.

Kakashi caught three without a trace of effort. Genma merely tilted his head out of the way, allowing the kunai to stick harmlessly into the tree behind him. Ebisu was the only one who actually put in the effort to deflect.

“Who’re you?’ Jiro sniped with a twisted frown of displeasure.

Genma’s eyes narrowed at his tone, “Who’re you?”

Saburo loudly cleared his throat, stepping forward between the two groups, “Genma-san, please excuse my brothers here. We didn't mean to be overheard."

"Well, you made it all too easy," Ebisu snorted, adjusting his glasses. "Honestly, it's surprising they haven't discovered you interloping yet. Care to tell us why you're spying on Konoha shinobi?"

"Personal reasons," Shiro offered vaguely.

Genma scoffed, "You ought to be doing a better job. I'm sure they've noticed you by now."

Megumi, utterly devoid of any knowledge or respect of the three men before her, merely shrugged, "I doubt it. They're in love. They won't notice anything but each other."

Ebisu tossed the woman a wry look and rolled his eyes, "Well, I can't speak for the chunin, but Maito Gai and his team are a highly-skilled combat team. Even the genin should have spotted you by now."

"Have they?" Shiro whispered to Goro, who had long since commandeered the binoculars.

"No. Now they're seeing who can punch the lake the hardest. I think the green kid's winning."

Ichiro sucked in a deep breath of frustration, "Alright, you caught us. I promise you we're not up to anything sinister. We're just keeping tabs on our sister."

"Your sister?"

"The chunin," Saburo clarified, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

Genma and Ebisu shared a look. Kakashi seemed to be ingnoring the confrontation completely, having joined Goro with his own pair of binoculars.

No one could deny that the situation was getting complicated. The older Ushi brothers were growing nervous. They knew it was only a matter of time before Yasu would discover their location. After all, there were nine of them now. It was hard to miss that many people in one tree.

Saburo shifted uneasily, "So what do we owe the pleasure? It's not often Konoha's top shinobi are together at once."

Ebisu leveled the group with an unreadable stare from over the rim of his glasses, "Same as you, I suppose. We want to know what your sister wants with Gai."

"Well if I had to guess…" Megumi giggled suggestively, nudging Ichiro with her elbow who replied with a nauseated expression.

“We’re just gathering intel,” Saburo answered vaguely.

"What for?"

“Well we have reason to believe Gai’s intentions aren’t as innocent as we thought. We’re considering an… 'intervention' of sorts."

“A bold assumption,” Kakashi drawled from the back, contributing to the conversation for the first time. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

"She spent the night at his place."

Ebisu reeled back with an appalled gasp while Genma let out a low whistle, "Good for Gai. I didn't think he had it in him."

"Hey," Jiro now stepped forward, "Watch it. That's our sister."

"Well maybe you should be looking into your sister's intentions more than you should look into Gai's."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you think it's odd that a reserve chunin like her is fraternizing with a shinobi of Gai's caliber?"

"I don't care for what you're implying, Ebisu-sensei," Saburo replied darkly. "Our sister's not like that."

"You all seem to be in agreement that they're incompatible," Kakashi hummed with a neutral tone, stoking the metaphorical fire.

"Well yeah," Saburo continued, "But not because Yasu's some opportunist looking for an easy promotion! She has an established career of her own. If anything, he's taking advantage of her."

Genma mulled over Saburo's words, focusing on the intensity with which he spoke, "...I don't think Gai is actually capable of deception."

"Well guess what-- neither is Yasu!"

Saburo's fiery defense sparked something in the air. The tension snapped. Nine voices started speaking at once.

"And frankly--"

"Did you know they--"

"He's wears a jumpsuit--"

"She has a cat--"

"Look, I need that curry recipe--"

"But he is kind of hot--"

"You are literally stalking them--"

"Listen to me--!"

"No, you listen--!"

"...Why are you yelling?"

The cluster of tree-dwellers froze, all nine voices cutting at once. Equal amounts embarrassed and annoyed, they realized their little group had suddenly grown by three.