Spear & Shield

Spear & Shield
Chapter 58

“Look at that stonework. It's a goddamn travesty.”

Yasu hummed in agreement, “It's like they've never seen a trowel. Check out the uneven veneer on the left side. You can see the flashing!”

“Amateurs,” Jiro scoffed as Saboro nodded in agreement.

Gai listened with attentive ears to Yasu gabbering with her brother Jiro, while Saburo walked alongside. He was mostly just nodding in agreement because it hurt too much to speak. 

Even Ichiro chimed in, “See the problem there with the angle joints? That's what happens when they hire these out-of-village companies. They don't understand how the ground settles here.”

“Probably from the Land of Earth,” Jiro agreed. “Someone in the private sector wanted to be cheap, now their building looks like crap.”

“I could re-do the brickwork in half a day. My pasting is always even. Plus Dad and I worked out that new grout recipe-- It's pretty good!”

Gai loved hearing her talk about masonry. He had never noticed the care put into the construction and architecture of his village before Yasu. Now he saw that beauty everywhere. As they strolled through the Village, the Ushi's seemed very content pointing out the highs and lows of Konoha's architecture. 

Gai followed behind Yasu, moon-eyed with a dopey smile, listening to chatter of grout and veneer units. Though, he was keeping a keen eye out for any sign of fatigue or distress after her Battle for Youthful Love against Saburo.

“Gai-sensei,” Tenten nudged his ribs with her elbow, “You're drooling.”

“No I'm not,” he denied, but wiped his chin with the back of his hand just in case. 

The group was making their way back into the Village, with Team Gai trailing behind Yasu, seemingly unsure of where to go.

They seemed content just wandering together until Ebisu cleared his throat, “We apologize for the trouble we caused you, Ushi-san.” He sounded more professional than apologetic, “We'll be on our way now--”

“Oh, no.” Ichiro grabbed both his and Genma's shoulders, “That's not how this is going to work.”

The two jounin shared a nervous look, “What do you mean?”

Megumi appeared by her husband's side with a cheerful smile, “You got involved in family matters. Now you have to solve problems the family way.”

Genma swallowed, harrowing a nervous glance at Saburo's busted face, “And how's that?”

“Food,” the rest of the Ushi’s provided in unison.

Yasu looped around, hooking her arm into Gai's, “You and the kids, too. There's enough room in the teahouse.”

Tenten and Lee cheered at the prospect of a free meal, but Neji grumbled, “Must we?”

“You don't want to?”

“Not particularly.”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you decided to be nosey,” Yasu chided, giving the back of Neji's neck a firm squeeze, “Now c'mon. You three can help Megumi in the kitchen.”

Her tone left no room for argument, and Neji accepted his fate under Yasu's firm grip.

The whole lot of them, the genins and the jounin,  joined the Ushi's at Ichiro's tea house. It went unsaid, but everyone was invited.

It was actually quite nice to have guests again. There was something nostalgic about having their metaphorical door open to their comrades. Afterall, they used to bring home hungry friends all the time. When did they age out of it? Probably because all their friends had finally gotten old enough to feed themselves. 

Huh. Maybe she should have invited Iruka. 

Still, there was something nice about the unplanned-ness of it all. Having others took the pressure off Gai's presence, especially considering that the aforementioned guests were some of the people closest to Gai. Now her brothers couldn't gang up on him. 

Really, it made all of her agonizing and anxiety seem unnecessary. 

“Can we handle a thirteen-top on such short notice?” she heard Ichiro murmur to Megumi as he unlocked the teahouse door.

Megumi had a fire in her eyes, “I'll have to improvise a few dishes, but we can make it work!”

“Will you be needing assistance, Megumi-san?” Gai asked eagerly, delighted by the thought of a culinary challenge. 

The air around them was cheery and light, as if the confrontations from the afternoon had never taken place. Even Genma and Ebisu had fallen right into the mood, jovially giving Saburo a hard time for his loss. Saburo mostly grumbled in response, shrugging off their teasing by suggesting that they go toe-to-toe with Yasu and see what happened. Neither of the other jounin had a clear response for that.

The first thing Yasu did upon entering the teahouse was grab a bag of frozen veggies from the freezer and wrap it in a clean kitchen towel. Chatter was already filling the small dining area in a warm cacophony. Gai and Megumi rushed past her into the kitchen, almost running Yasu over as they began to tear through the tiny kitchen at lightning speed to account for all the hungry mouths. He did stop to give her a quick peck on the cheek when Megumi's back was turned.

“Before I forget, you fought brilliantly,” he beamed down at her. 

Yasu couldn't help but blush, “I have a great teacher.”

“Gai-san!” an apron flew out of their periphery, onto Gai's head, “I need this meat pan-seared before the sauce cooks!”

“Yosh!” Oh, she loved it when he smiled like that, “Right away, Megumi-san!”

Yasu grinned, backing out of the kitchen with warmth filling her chest. 

She saw Saburo already seated, wincing in pain as he rolled his shoulder. Yasu knew it was time for the gross dissatisfaction that came with apologizing to her brother.

It wasn't as much of an olive branch as it was a bag of peas, but the sentiment was felt nonetheless. Saburo took the cold bundle with a muttered thanks, sighing with relief as he pressed the compress to his swollen face. 

“You gonna be okay?”

“Mffph,” Saburo groaned from behind the bag of frozen veggies. 

Yasu bit her lip, unable to look away from Saburo's face. Really, the damage wasn't too bad. Very minor, but still painful. 

“It's nothing a quick trip to a healer won't fix,” he muttered as if sensing her thoughts, “I'll be fine by tomorrow.”

Truth was, he wasn't mad. He felt chastised, sure, but he wasn't angry with his sister.

If anything, he was kind of hurt.

Why hadn't she told him about Gai sooner? The whole “boyfriend” thing had been a joke after their father told them about the disastrous miai the night of the unveiling ceremony. The brothers had a good laugh about it, initially thinking Yasu had just said that to get their mother off her case. Just something silly they could tease her about. And then Jiro said she had been out all night with Maito Gai of all people, and all sense of joking went out the window. It didn't matter that Yasu was a grown adult with agency and a good head on her shoulders. All that mattered was that his baby sister was sneaking around with some weirdo. They didn't want to see her get hurt, is all.

… And considering how this all turned out, he supposed he couldn't blame her for the sneaking.

“I'm sorry.”

Saburo dropped the bag of peas onto his lap, momentarily stunned by Yasu’s apology. “...You're sorry?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” she sighed, plopping down in the seat next to him. “I really shouldn't have reacted like that. It isn't how I should be handling stuff like this. Besides, it sets a bad example for the kids.”

The three kids in question had been forced behind the counter, furiously chopping vegtables at Megumi's command. It was a position all of the Ushi sibilings had been in, and a sort of nostagalgic reminder of their childhood.

And that's kind of what it felt like right now. Like they were kids again.

Just like menial kitchen chores, schoolyard brawls over misunderstandings were common for her and her brothers. So while Yasu still gets angry when her family tries to make decisions for her, just like she did back then. And she still wants to lash out and bite their heads off sometimes, but this definitely wasn't the way she wanted to go about solving her problems anymore. Especially if her dumb brothers got in the line of fire. 

“I should have told you what was going on in the beginning… But in my defense, everything that happened with Gai went so fast and I was worried you all would just treat him like crap… I didn't want to scare him away. He makes me happy.”

Saburo chose his next words carefully (most because he was pretty sure one of his teeth was knocked loose), “I wish you didn't feel like you had to hide stuff from us.”

She waited a moment, expression both fond and exasperated, “Our family has a tendency to over-react to this kind of thing.”

As if on cue, a plate shattered behind the counter and Ichiro’s voice began to boom from in the kitchen, sounding very much like their father. 

Yasu winced, “So what I'm trying to say is… Thanks for letting me kick your ass. But let's never do it again, alright?”

Saburo sighed, gently knocking his knee against hers under the table, “For the record, I didn't ‘let’ you kick my ass. That was all you.”

“You got a mean right hook, Yasu,” Jiro added, sliding in to the free seat on Saburo's other side. He grinned, gesturing towards Saburo's face, “You sent the big guy flying.”

She furrowed her brow with concern, brushing some of Saburo's hair out of his face to assess the bruises. Mild as far as ninja injuries went, but still… “Promise not to tell Mom?”

He held out his good arm, offering her his pinky finger, “Promise.”

“In the spirit of laying it all out…” Jiro interrupted again, “It was never the plan to marry you off. In fact, I had a five-step plan to trick Mom into living with the Fire Monks--”

Yasu cut him off with a warning, “Stop while you're ahead, Jiro.”

Jiro stuck out his tongue, but graciously left his two siblings be as he rejoined the others. Yasu watched Jiro go, unaware of the content smile that had formed on her lips.

Saburo followed her gaze, eyes trailing over the crowded dining area, suddenly unable to differentiate the different groups amongst the friendly atmosphere. The room slowly began to fill with the aroma of something delicious. A growl from his stomach almost made him forget about the bruises on his face.

Ichiro swiftly appeared, ending the moment by shoving a stack of plates and a bundle of chopsticks into Yasu's arms, demanding asking her to set the table for fourteen.  In the spirit of reconciliation, she did so with minimal complaints.

Wait a second… Fourteen?

“When did you get here?” Yasu asked with a raised brow as she set a pair of chopsticks in front of Kakashi.

“I've been here the whole time, Yasu-san,” he smiled up at her. Or, at least, she guessed he was smiling. She could never really tell with the mask on. 

She regarded the jounin with an unreadable expression, taking a moment before moving onto the next setting, giving Kakashi a gentle pat on the head as she passed. The same way she greeted his ninken when they visited her apartment in search of leftovers and table scraps. “I hope you enjoy the food, Kakashi-san.”

He thanked her politely with a smile as the others took their seats around him. 

Shiro was explaining to Lee and Neji that the most difficult cipher he's ever been assigned were 100-year-old love letters between two kunoichi from Land of Wind. Tenten had taken it upon herself to comment on Saburo’s use of explosive kunai, offering tips he seemed just thrilled to hear. Genma and Ebisu were currently being regaled with tales of Jiro's travels. Kakashi was nodding along as Goro talked about all the dogs he's met while working with their father. 

By all means, everyone was getting along. 

It was nice.

Yasu sighed contentedly as she settled down in her seat. She was a little achy from her spar with Saburo, but nothing a warm meal wouldn't fix.

Speaking of, Gai and Megumi moved in a flurry while poor Ichiro did his best to assist with bringing the dishes out. Slowly, the large table filled with dish after dish, the centerpiece being a well-improvised hotpot, surrounded by a variety of different meats.

The young genin looked ready to drool, and the jounin had stars in their eyes as they gazed down at the spread. Yasu felt a warm sense of pride, thankful she was able to help bring them together to enjoy the meal… Even if the circumstances were less than ideal.

Yasu ended up seated between Gai and Tenten, happily sandwiched along the side of the table Team Gai had claimed. Poor Saburo was across from her, struggling with the soft food Megumi prepared especially for him.

Yasu smiled, staying quiet for most of the meal as conversation floated around her.

Megumi wanted everyone's opinion on the hot pot, “How's the spice? Gai-san made this blend…”

Genma-san was stealing veggie tempura from Shiro's plate when he wasn't looking. Kakashi, the picky eater he was, secretly funneled all the bits he didn't want onto Goro's plate. “It's good, Megumi-chan!” the ten-year-old said through a mouthful.

Gai was giving her suggestions of what to try and what to pair together, eagerly waiting for a reaction after every bite. “My Lovely Azalea, You Must Try the Shabu! Megumi-chan's Ponzu Sauce is Simply Phenomenal!”

Yeah, the shabu was pretty good.

He kept insisting she eat more to regain her energy, even though she felt fine. Yasu knew she would eat until she burst if it made him happy, but thankfully the food was disappearing swiftly.

Lee and Neji were bickering over who got the larger serving of meat. “You ate your piece too fast, it was the same size!”  

“Oh, hush already!” Tenten scolded, which made Jiro roll his eyes. Yasu found it ironic, seeing as he was the instigator for most of their sibling bickering while growing up. 

At some point a familiar bottle of sake surfaced for the adults, though Shiro tried to sneak a sip or two.

“C'mon, Yasu-chan! We'll sponsor you!” Genma, cheeks red from the alcohol, pressed Yasu again about a promotion. “A talent like yours would be great in the field!”

Ebisu nodded eagerly beside him, “You're a shoe-in for a promotion, Ushi-san!”

She had no idea how to respond, “Oh, I'm not sure… My schedule is already quite full. I don't think this is a good time…”

Her pitiful rebukes went unheard, so she sat back quietly, resolutely shaking her head at the two jounin.

Yasu bashfully sunk further into her seat, finding comfort when she felt the warmth of Gai's arm slung across the back of her chair. 

And so Yasu happily sat there the rest of the night, next to Gai. They ate, they drank, they told stories… 

Hell, even Saburo was smiling by the end of it. Well, it was more of a grimace. His split lip made actual smiling impossible. Overall, the night turned out much better than expected. If she knew all she had to do to have a nice family dinner was to kick Saburo's ass (and, you know, not invite Mom), she would have done it years ago.

It was loud, it as warm. It reminded her of home, but different. Somehow more. There was laughter, there was yelling, and there was good food. Gai's arm dropped a little lower, now resting comfortably across her shoulders so she could lean into his side.

Yasu decided right then and there that there was nowhere else in the world she'd rather be.