The sheet Shuhei had handed Takuya received a response on the third day.
Not a direct response. Takuya did not take out the sheet or say what was written on it. He only changed the afternoon training location, moving them from the classroom to the narrow corridor behind the Konoha Police Force. One side of the corridor was a wall, the other a waist-high wooden railing, beyond which they could see the small training ground. No one was on the field. Only several rows of footprints remained, their edges frayed by the wind.
Kiyo stood at the entrance to the corridor, first looking at the wall, then at the railing. "Is this a good place to run away?"
Morita Yu said, "Why is that the first thing you think about?"
"In narrow places, you always have to plan your route first."
Listening, Che found that unexpectedly sensible. The narrow corridor really was uncomfortable. When people stood both in front of and behind you, your way out became very thin. This was not like a classroom. Jokes bounced off the walls, and even voices became narrower.
What Takuya had brought today was neither a water basin nor a line of fire, but a stack of blank route sheets. There were no names on them, only a simple route: side entrance, registration desk, old cabinet, rear corridor, small training ground.
"Today, you'll practice recounting a route," Takuya said. "You'll walk it only once. When you return, draw the route you actually took. Do not add places you didn't pass through."
Kiyo breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as we're not lighting anything on fire."
"You'll lose points if you take a wrong turn too."
"Then maybe fire would be better."
The first pair was Morita Yu and Saori. They entered through