The sun had now fully risen and poured it's light over Konoha. The wind made the leaves dance and the trees sway, and it tickled the necks of the three people at the bridge.
There were supposed to be four.
"Where's the dobe?" murmured the dark-haired one eventually.
"That idiot's even later than YOU Kakashi-sensei! When I get my hands-" The pink-haired one yelled, and continued to grumble to herself.
"Perhaps he's unwell..." pondered their grey haired sensei, slouching lazily on the bridge railings, but his one visible eye narrowed carefully.
"But he's never ill..." protested the pink girl, this time her tone curious and perhaps a shade worried. She would easily deny this if asked.
Kakashi sighed, and produced a small orange book. "Very well," he droned "we shall train without Naruto today, but if he doesn't turn up tomorrow, we'll go find him."
'It's not like him to miss training...'
"Hn." Sasuke grunted and turned, and left for the training ground.
His face remained stony but his eyes [were] narrowed almost imperceptibly. He kept his mouth a thin line and didn't utter a word.
And throughout the rest of the training session, Sasuke didn't say another word.
The masked shinobi observed the two carefully, his brow furrowed (although it was hard to tell).
Sakura was nervous and clumsy, and Sasuke seemed almost entirely empty. Kakashi noted - with interest and a hidden frown - how unfocussed they had become. Yesterday, Team 7 had been...promising. There was something different. Something missing...
Kakashi stopped staring at the obnoxious book in his hands - and avoiding Sasuke and Sakura's weak swipes of course- and couldn't hide his surprise.
Naruto was missing. And it looked like he was the glue that held their team together.