Soon enough.
Morning came.
The gates of the Ninja Academy were especially lively that day.
Returning students arrived in small groups. Some excitedly chased each other around, while others were still bleary-eyed as their parents hurried them along. The air buzzed with the energy of a new term.
In front of an old apartment building on the edge of the village, two figures had been waiting since early morning.
Sasuke Uchiha impatiently glanced at the sky again, stepped forward, and pounded on the wooden door, shouting.
"Dead last! The sun's already shining on those fox eyebrows of yours! Hurry up! Don't embarrass our trio by being late on the first day!"
A flurry of frantic movement immediately came from inside, accompanied by a muffled reply.
Soon, the door flew open with a bang, and Naruto Uzumaki rushed out with his blond hair a tangled mess, a slice of bread between his teeth and a carton of milk in his hand. He called out indistinctly.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Let's go!"
A smile played at the corners of Genya's mouth.
Naruto swallowed the bread in two or three bites, gulped down some milk, wiped his mouth carelessly, and excitedly ran over to Genya and Sasuke.
Genya reached out, draping one arm over Naruto's shoulders while trying to put the other around Sasuke.
Sasuke stiffened. Plainly reluctant, he ducked slightly away and frowned.
"Hey, Genya, don't do that... Doesn't walking around with all three of us linking shoulders feel... awkward?"
He always felt that this pose damaged his "cool guy" image as the Uchiha Clan's second young master.
Genya paid him no mind. Instead, he pulled Sasuke closer and said with a grin.
"What's awkward about it? Look how happy Naruto is."
Naruto nodded repeatedly, his smile radiant.
"Yeah, exactly! Sasuke, don't