The sun gradually climbed to its zenith, and the coolness of morning slowly faded. A faint warmth belonging to early summer spread through the originally gentle sunlight. In Konoha, where the four seasons were distinct, it was beginning to get a little hot.
As the sun rose higher, the shoulders of the three young people standing on the little bridge beneath the torii began to slump.
So slow...
As their shoulders drooped, their expressions gradually shifted from helpless, blank waiting faces into the exhausted look of people completely burned out. At the same time, a listless thought passed through their minds.
They were used to it by now. If their teacher ever showed up without being late, they would probably be shocked enough to stuff several eggs into their mouths.
Still, this time he seemed to be especially late. It was their first time waiting for their teacher until every last bit of energy had been drained from them.
"Ah! Good morning, everyone!"
Just as the three were about to look utterly lifeless beneath the brilliant sunshine, a leisurely voice suddenly sounded from atop the torii in front of them.
"I got lost today."
He added that last line as though it were an explanation.
"Hm?"
Yet their reactions seemed half a beat slow. Their fighting spirit had already been worn away by the wait. Other than the handsome black-haired youth, who stood with his arms crossed in silence, the Pink-haired Girl and the Blond-haired Blue-eyed Youth merely raised their heads instinctively and looked over with weary, listless expressions.
"Hey!"
Then, after staring for a full three seconds—long enough for even Kakashi, crouching atop the torii, to find it strange—the two finally exploded. A shout filled with reproach and intense dissatisfaction rang out around the little bridge, startling