Beads of sweat rolled off Naruto's forehead, into his eyebrows, into his eyes, onto his cheek. Splashed on the ground like tears.
"Naruto!" Sakura called. Sweet bells of delighted laughter accompanied Ino's guffaws and Hinata's shy giggles. "Haven't you had enough?"
"Yes, Naruto. Surely you're finished. Let's take a break," Neji's calm voice interjected from across the training grounds.
"Never!" Naruto thundered, almost angry. The hot, bright sun reflected in his eyes, magnifying the look of determination.
"Yosh! The springtime of youth never quits! Neji-kun, let's go!"
Shikamaru sighed and leaned back to gaze at the clouds. "I don't even know why they accepted Naruto's stupid challenge," he lied. "Summer is for being lazy, not for training!" he complained to Chouji. "None of us have had a mission for weeks."
"I know," Chouji agreed. "We should all be eating barbecue, not wasting our time here."
Only Neji and Lee were willing to train. On any other day, they could have beaten Naruto easily. There was something about today, though. Naruto was focused like never before on a prize everyone saw plainly. The two older shinobi knew what it meant to Naruto to train, and wanted to help Naruto realize his goal. They both leapt into the air, poised to attack.
Naruto yelled and jumped up to meet them.
** Not as fluid as the last one, Spring Wind. My English teacher just gave me back a paper that had "SHOW, NOT TELL" written on it in large, red letters. I think trying too hard on this one made it worse. I think I "showed" pretty well in Spring Wind, no? Anyway, this is the second in a series of four, appropriately named "Seasons". Aren't I original? The first three are one-shots, and the last one is going to be a full story. So stay tuned for my next one, Autumn Leaves!