Set during the days when Team 7 were a genin team.


Hours

How many hours did they have to wait for Kakashi on that damned bridge? Sasuke scowled at the rising sun as he made himself comfortable against the railing.

First as usual, he thought to himself. Sakura will be around soon. Naruto will be a couple more hours. Damn it, why don't I just sleep in like the dobe? It's not like Kakashi would ever know.

Deep down, Sasuke knew exactly why he arrived on time every morning. It was because she was usually on time, too.

"Sasuke-kun!" he heard a bright voice call from his left. She ran up to him, emerald eyes sparkling despite the early hour. "Good morning!"

"Hn," was his only reply. It was his reply every morning.

Instead of pouting like she used to, she just smiled warmly and settled herself across from him, watching the sun rise silently.

He watched the stars fade away instead, being replaced by the light morning sky.

For the next three hours they sat quietly, content just to enjoy the morning. He would never admit it, but he immensly enjoyed these hours of peace. It made him feel almost normal for a moment, just hanging around the bridge with Sakura.

One morning last week, the female member of his team had become ill during a mission and was unable to come to their daily training session. He remember thinking that she was weak, and that she didn't deserve to be called a ninja if she couldn't muster up enough strength to train.

He went to the bridge the next morning like he had every other day. He watched the midnight sky fade to light blue like he had every other day. But something was incredibly wrong. He wasn't content with just sitting on the bridge alone. Those three hours had been horrible.

The next morning when Sakura came walking up to him good as new, he knew what had bothered him the day before. She was part of his routine. Her greeting helped set the tone for his day, and her quiet company made him calm and relaxed.

Even though he would never admit it, the pink haired kunoichi had become important to him. No matter how much he hated it, she had found a way to get under his skin by just being herself.

Those three simple hours were the best part of his day.