Conversation

Every morning, she would arrive at the time arranged by Kakashi-sensei to find Sasuke already there. Naruto was always five minutes late and Kakashi-sensei could be anything from fifteen minutes to four hours late.

But these five minutes were precious to Sakura. Time where it was just her and Sasuke- it meant the world to her. Every morning, she would try to initiate a conversation- bid him a good morning, ask how he was. His answers were always brief and he never reciprocated any of her enquiries. On days of greater desperation, she would remark on the weather, or hazard a guess at just how late Kakashi would be that day. He only ever grunted an acknowledgement that he had heard these comments.

And so, while these conversations were brief, they were important to Sakura because although he spoke little, she could learn more about him from the few things he said, the way in which he answered, or his body language, and this helped her to feel a little closer to him.

And although she didn't know it, these conversations were important to Sasuke too. They were his first interaction with someone each day, his first exchange with anyone since leaving his team after the previous day of training.

These conversations meant the world to him too.