Team 2/3 Handoff

Ren stood with his arms tightly crossed, shifting his weight as his gaze flicked between the treeline and the mountain.

"They're late," Ren snapped.

Mona's response came quickly.

"No surprises there. They have the longest distance to cover and the worst team to cover it. Nana's tiny legs have to take two steps for every one of ours."

The monkey girl's comment came with an accompanying demonstration. She held up two fingers, scissoring them rapidly through the air in an exaggerated imitation of Nana’s tiny legs. The performance had Taiki openly laughing while Ren cracked a reluctant smile.

Taiki chimed in next.

"Nana's small but she's fast. I'm more worried about Zig. He really struggles with physical stuff. Once he gets here we'll probably have to wait an extra hour."

"Why?" Ren asked.

"For his soul to catch up to his body."

This time it was Mona who burst into laughter. Ren's composure held, buckled, and broke against the relentless barrage of his teammate's merriment. Ren allowed himself to laugh in spite of the worries eating away at him.

Once the laughter tapered off, Ren's expression grew serious again.

"In any event, we have to make up for lost time. Everyone is counting on us. Be ready to-"

"They're here!" Mona interrupted.

Ren and Taiki turned to look.

Nana ran at the head of the pack, legs furiously kicking up dirt as she pressed forward with an expression of stoic determination. Her head was sticking forward and her arms held behind her, forming a sort of arrowhead for maximum aerodynamic advantage.

Zig was stumbled forward like a zombie, face beet red and glistening from the sweat pouring off of him.

And then there was Momika.

Oh, Momika.

She ran in perfect, glorious slow motion. Chest leading the charge and delivering a captivating physics lesson simultaneously. She wore a triumphant winning smile that went entirely unnoticed by Ren and Taiki. The rest of the world simply faded away.

Then it returned all at once, more gray and hairy than before.

"Huh? Mona? What happened?" Ren asked.

Mona lowered her hands from in front of both boys' eyes.

"I said it's time to go! Get the scroll already!"

Ren looked down to see Nana with an outstretched hand bearing the scroll. Eyes narrowed judgmentally at the all too easily distracted shinobi.

Beside her, Zig was collapsed face down in the dirt, mumbling "Never... again..."

Momika was striking a heroic pose, hands at her hips, eyes pointed down the mountain at the trail her team had just conquered.

Ren finally took the scroll.

"R-right then. Team, lets head out!"