Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 57

Yasu was just a chunin -- and not even a good one! Sure, she could hold her own in the field, but combat was never her strong point. 

How did…?! When…?!

He remembered each time she had run crying to their mother after he unintentionally hurt her. After every training session that got too rough. After every failed trap she set off. Or when she had gotten in the way of him practicing a new jutsu. He remembered the small bruises and scrapes and the battle between guilt and satisfaction that came with making a younger sibling cry. He even remembered all the mostly-sincere apologies. He remembered her shrugging them off, simply stating, “It’s okay. I’m tough.”

He didn't remember her ever acting like this. She hardly ever stood her ground, especially against her brothers. Saburo stood before a strong, confident opponent. The kind of fighter who knew their skill and their ability. The kind of ninja who knew they won the fight before it even began.

‘There’s no way that’s my sister…’ he thought, mouth agape at the sight of her still standing calmly at the center of the clearing. ‘That can't be Yasu.’

Their eyes met. She just smiled.

“Oh, fuc--”

He may as well have been hit by a tsunami. Saburo could practically feel his brain rattle around his skull. Suddenly those childhood memories got a little tougher to remember.

Yasu knew she must have looked smug, grinning down at Saburo as he skidded a few dozen meters across the dirt and grass, but she couldn’t help it. She was kicking his ass. And kind of enjoying it.

“You can beg for mercy any time you want!” she called out.

The response Saburo yelled back made Megumi cover Goro’s ears. 

Hurt in both body and pride, Saburo made a tactical retreat into the trees. Hidden amongst the leaves, he watched his sister as she glanced around the clearing.

At first he thought she was looking for him. But then she waltzed over to the massive branch they had fallen out of earlier. Not a care in the world on her still unmarred face (he felt the familiar swell of a black eye, as well as the sting of a split lip). She bobbed her head as she circled the fallen branch like she was sizing up a piece of quality lumber.

Yasu hummed thoughtfully, patting the sturdy tree branch with her palm. “Yeah… This'll do!” 

Still hidden, Saburo furrowed his brow in confusion. Then he noticed the shadows beneath his feet growing impossibly wider, impossibly quickly. His head snapped up to the sight of a 200-kilogram hunk of wood and leaves hurtling straight towards him.  

She had thrown the thing like a javelin, and was disappointed when her brother managed to dodge. 

“You just threw a tree at me!” he accused with a shriek, revealing his location. (Since when had she been so good at sensory?)

Yasu just pouted. “Too bad it missed,” she mumbled to herself. She would have loved to see her brother with a mouthful of twigs and bark. Although, she had nearly landed her mark. Looks like her sensory skills were improving after all!

“You!” he was suddenly behind her, grabbing her by the back of the neck, “Are!” He slammed her to the ground, “Unbelievable!” He aimed a kick at her midsection, knocking the wind out of her as his heel slammed into her stomach. “I am trying to help you!”

“I don't need your help, you useless acorn!” she retorted, grabbing his foot and throwing him off to the side.

Yasu parried a few jabs from him, evading by ducking out of reach before flitting under his arm when he tried to grab her.

Her fingers snapped around the back of his collar before he could even turn his head. With little more than a flick of her wrist, Saburo went flying back, tumbling through the air like a dead leaf on a windy day.

He stood up on wobbly legs, “Is th-that all you g-got, Yasu?!”

“You wanna say that a bit louder, Saburo?” she called back coolly, “I can't hear you over the sound of me kicking your ass.”

“You go, Yasu-nee!” Tenten cheered from the sidelines.

Neji's brow twitched. With his Byakugan, he caught every one of Yasu's superhuman moves, recognizing many of them as Gai's techniques. Usually, the mastery of such skills would take years of physical conditioning. Yet Yasu was able to put so much more behind her speed and force just by using her weird chakra. And the chakra was a spectacle in itself… it was everywhere, all at once, spreading and adapting with ease under her precise control.

He was enthralled. He was infuriated.

‘Has she been holding back the entire time?!’ Neji seethed inwardly, recalling their previous training sessions. She was nearly on par with Lee as far as strength goes, but much more refined in her technique, probably from her advanced experience. And while that chakra of her's had been chaotic in the beginning, she seemed to have much more control of it now. 

Spirits above, if this was how she fought her own brother just imagine what she could do to their enemies!

Gai hadn't once taken his eyes off of Yasu. Her skin was slightly flushed, face turning a roseier shade instead of her usual flushed peach. 

Her chakra was alive. It buzzed along her skin like electricity, filling the air with the scent of ozone.

He saw it all… the increase in strength, the unsealed speed, the swirling chakra…

She was about to open the Third Gate.

Gai had told her about the Eight Gates technique, sure… But they still had a long way to go before he began to teach her. Hell, it took nearly two years for Lee to open five. It was a dangerous technique. If not wielded properly, it can cause serious harm for the user. Gai had clear set rules when it came to the Eight Gates.

Only used when protecting something precious.

Tears filled his eyes, but he refused to look away from the beautiful kunoichi as she fought with youth and magnificence.

(And so he began to plan the rigid training program he would put her through in order to gain mastery over such an advanced technique, like the good sensei he was.)

“... Gai-sensei…?” Lee asked tentatively, grabbing onto Gai's sleeve.

“I'm okay,” Gai sniffled. 

While Gai saw the sentimental side of things, Neji was quick to see the logistics of it, “She may accidentally kill him at this rate.”

“Nah, they'll be fine,” Genma chided, really just hoping to prolong the entertainment a bit more, “Just a little friendly fire.”

Yasu was too fast for most of them to watch. Shiro’s sharp eyes were able to keep up, and Ichiro caught most of the action. Goro and Jiro waited until they saw a body crash into the ground, then cheered because it would always be Saburo. Poor Megumi covered her eyes most of the time, too afraid to look at the carnage of it all.

“This is great!” Yasu suddenly shouted across the demolished clearing while waiting for Saburo to recoup again. She was buzzing with just-barely bridled emotion, “I feel like we’re really working through some issues!”

“I fink I chipped a toof!” Saburo yelled back, clutching his jaw. “Fwhat te hell, Yasu?!”

She shrugged callously, still grinning manically, “A chipped tooth won’t seem so bad when I break your kneecaps.”

“Maybe now would be a good time to step in, Gai-sensei,” Tenten mumbled nervously from Gai's elbow.

“Hold on,” Shiro piped up from the other side of the group, “Give them a little more time. They need this.”

“Yeah,” Jiro agreed, “If you stop them now, we might be next. Let her wear herself out more, yeah?”

“We should nominate her for a jounin promotion,” Gai heard Genma mutter to Ebisu. “Anko and Aoba are already scouting for this year's round of rookies. We could win the pool this year. She could be our dark horse.”

“You're right,” Ebisu mumbled back, “We could use power like that out in the field. A little finesse training and some upgraded gear…” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “I can squeeze in tutoring sessions at five-AM every other weekend.”

“She'll be shaped up in no time,” Genma agreed.

Blissfully ignorant of the commentary, Saburo and Yasu continued to trade blows. 

Saburo was giving it his all, channeling chakra to his limbs to move faster and hit harder. He had always been pretty good at Taijutsu growing up. He never had difficulty bringing down a lower-ranked enemy before. 

But Yasu was more than he could handle.

Some fancy footwork and a well-timed shushin, he was able to get behind her once more. Saburo desperately tried to get her in a locking hold, widing his arms tightly around her middle to keep her arms pinned to her sides in a pathetic attempt to get her to just stop hitting him. 

They landed in the up-turned dirt with a heavy thud. 

A sense of vindication filled his chest, “Give up!” he demanded.

“No!” she shouted back, locking her leg behind his knee and dethroning him in one graceful move.

She sat on top of him now, putting her weight down on his spine to keep him from throwing her off. She felt hot all over, covered in a sheen of sweat and heart racing with adreneline. There was little more on her mind than "win, win, win!" She was sure she looked ridiculous, and probably a bit crazed, too. But that didn't matter to her right now. All she wanted was Saburo to finally concede and stop being such an asshat.

Yasu twisted Saburo’s arm, fisting those delicate hairs on the back of his neck with her free hand because she knew he hated it. 

And despite all the humilation, Saburo couldn't shake her off. She was just too strong.

All of her frustration-- all of it! With her brothers and those nosey jounin, with her father, with her mother! The uneeded stress of having to hide something so wonderful just because of her stupid nosey family, all of that-- poured into her voice, “You're gonna leave me and Gai alone, okay?!”

Saburo was either too tired or too weak to resist, “Okay!”

“And we're gonna go over to the teahouse and have a nice family dinner, okay?!”

“Okay!!”

“And you're gonna help me with that fencing project for the Aburame Clan next week. Okay?!”

“Okay, Yasu!” Spirits, she was gonna break his arm! “I yield!”

Yasu wanted to say more, but was suddenly lifted off of her brother by the collar of her chunin vest. 

“I think that's enough,” Gai said, voice thick with emotion and cheeks stained with youthful tears. “You both fought valiantly, but Yasu-chan has triumphed.”

She stuck her tongue out at Saburo as Gai gently lowered her back onto her feet. Saburo returned it with a rude hand gesture, mostly because he couldn't stick out his own tongue without potentially hurting his broken teeth.

Gai cleared his throat, shaking off his emotions to put back on the air of a proctor, “Match to Yasu-chan. Please make the seal of friendship in a youthful truce.” 

While the adrenaline had yet to fade, there was a new sense of understanding between Saburo and Yasu as their match officially came to an end.

The two panting siblings made the seal under Gai's watchful eyes. He didn't miss how Saburo flinched when his sister squeezed his fingers too tightly.

“Who's next?” Yasu hollered as they turned to walk back to the spectator group.

Her younger brothers promptly hid behind Jiro, while Ichiro tried to pull Megumi away for a hasty exit. “You know,” Jiro attempted to placate as she approached, “I always thought you and Gai-san made a great couple.”

The look in her eye alone was enough to scare them into compliant silence. Yasu stuck up her nose as she brushed past her brothers, choosing to rejoin the genin instead.

Tenten grabbed Yasu's arm, taking the lead  “That was so cool, Yasu-nee! Promise you'll show me that one move--”

“A Truly Impressive Display of Youthful Passion!” Lee eagerly agreed, taking her other side. “Can you spar me next?”

Yasu dusted off some dirt from her pant leg, “Mah-mah… No more sparring until after dinner.”

The group began traveling back to the village, each breaking off into small groups but still headed in the same general direction of the tea house.

Saburo trailed at the back of the group. At the front, Yasu laughed with the genin. Even the Hyuuga kid was cracking a smile. Saburo frowned as he watched the interaction. Didn't Yasu find these kids annoying?

Maybe he should have fought harder. Maybe he should have broken a few rules and used more weapons. If he had been faster in the beginning he could have--

“Defeat is nothing more than education,” Gai cut into Saburo's thoughts, voice coated with empathy yet stern at the same time. He must have noticed Saburo's tumultuous thinking. Gai clapped a hand on the other man's shoulder, “Let this be a lesson to you. Your sister is strong.”

Saburo bowed his head, not willing to meet the jounin's eye.

He had underestimated his sister. Big time.

“But there is one thing you should know, Saburo-san…” 

Gai's friendly expression stayed the same, but the grip on Saburo’s shoulder became bone-crunching tight.

“If you ever upset her like this again, she won't get the opportunity to step in and save you.” 

There was a glint in his eye that made Saburo's stomach tighten. “You will have to deal with me.” Saburo was certain his clavicle was about to snap. “Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, Gai-sensei.”