The sun beat down on Naruto's back and neck as he walked slowly through a quiet street of Konoha. He looked up and cursed the harsh light as it fell on his skin and seemed to weigh him down like a thick blanket; he stumbled slightly as it rolled over him. He looked up, squinting at a large clock mounted onto a tower a few streets away. The sun glanced off the face, but he made out the position of the hands.
Damn it, he thought as he willed his feet to move faster. He picked up his pace little by little, allowing his body to adjust to the speed before jumping atop a building and running over the roofs. He turned his eyes away from the sun as he jumped gaps, his feet sending regular jolts up his body in rhythmic motions. He saw the two teens waiting at the bridge – as usual, Kakashi hadn't turned up yet. Naruto jumped down from the tree he was in, intending to run the 300 metres of open space, but as he landed his knees gave way and he dropped heavily to the ground. He frowned as his face made contact with the twig strewn grass.
Sasuke watched Naruto jump from the building roof and onto a large oak tree. He flicked his eyes up to the soundless blue sky and watched a cloud float idly by before hearing the sound of feet hitting grass. He turned his head, smirking, expecting to hear Naruto shouting as he ran towards them – his eyebrow quirked to see Naruto falling instead. Sasuke made to go over, but stopped as he watched Naruto push himself up from the grass, a confused frown on his face. Dobe, he thought as Naruto resumed his journey towards the two standing figures.
"Naruto reached the rest of his team with a sheepish expression on his face."'Heh…" He ran his hand over the back of his head and through his spiked blonde hair, grinning.
"What was that, Naruto?" Sakura asked, smirking. "Landed funny?"
"Yeah! Must have been!" Naruto smiled and leaned against the bridge arms. He looked up at the sun once again, wincing at the light. "Am I late?"
"No, dobe – do you see Kakashi?"
Naruto frowned at the insult. "No."
He put the back of his hand to his forehead and leaned more heavily against the wooden barrier that was supporting him, watching Sasuke idly stare up at the sky. A bird flew past and he envied the freedom it must feel and experience – that bird would just take it for granted, though it knew little better. Naruto sighed at his teacher's lateness once again. He pondered the stupid excuses that Kakashi might come up with. emMaybe a unicorn really has eaten him this time/em, he thought and smirked at his own foolishness.
He glanced at Sasuke's vacant expression, and then at Sakura who was unconsciously mirroring it; he suspected that his own face was twisted into a similar 'bored-out-of-mind' look. They waited. The sun continued to shine brightly and harshly down on them, tanning their pale skin and making Naruto feel sluggish. Kakashi popped out of nowhere, book in hand, shoulders slouched, feet together, face covered. Well at least he won't be getting burnt in this sun, Naruto thought exasperatedly.
He stared at Kakashi, frustrated; he knew that the other two were doing the same. Kakashi smiled cheerily, lifted one flattened hand up and opened his cloth covered mouth, no doubt to spurt some useless fictional excuse that was both a waste of breath and a useless endeavour on his part – none of them would believe him. He decided to refrain from doing so.
"Let's go then!" he said and jogged towards the river. "On-water sparring practice, today." The three teenage ninjas followed briskly, Naruto trailing slightly behind.