Rin froze for a second, then smiled. "Really?"
"Really." Shin-chan reached out again. "Let me try one more just to make sure."
"No!" Rin pulled the cloth bundle protectively into her arms. "These are for someone else."
Shin-chan withdrew his hand in disappointment and looked at her serious expression. "Then why did you ask me to come with you?"
Rin paused.
"Because... you were there that day too," she said softly. "If we're thanking someone, we should thank them together."
Shin-chan scratched his head. "But I don't think I really helped much."
"I did help," Rin said. "You were the one who told me to ask the owner, and you were the one who led me inside."
Shin-chan thought about it. That was true—he had gone in first.
"And besides..." Rin smiled a little. "I'd be kind of nervous going alone. It's better to have someone with me."
Shin-chan looked at her, then spread his little hands. "Alright. Honestly, I can never say no to you."
The two of them walked side by side.
After a few steps, Shin-chan suddenly stopped.
"Oh right, where was that flower shop again?"
Rin stopped too.
The two looked at each other.
"I forgot," Shin-chan said.
"Me too..." Rin's face turned a little red. "I only remember the general direction."
They fell silent for two seconds.
Then Shin-chan suddenly pulled a wrinkled sheet of paper from his pocket.
Rin leaned over to look.
It was a hand-drawn map, all crooked lines and circles, with a few messy words scribbled on it.
"This is...?"
"The map that owner gave us last time," Shin-chan said. "The flower delivery map."
Rin's eyes lit up.
"You still kept it?"
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it.
"I guess?"
"What do you mean, 'I guess'?"
"Well..." Shin-chan looked at the paper. "I don't know why it's still in my pocket. It just... showed up when I needed it."
Rin looked at him and suddenly didn't know what to say.
He seemed to forget everything, and yet somehow, he kept everything.
Shin-chan spread the map open, studied it seriously, then pointed in one direction. "That way."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded. "Because the barbecue place is over there."
Rin's mouth twitched.
"You remembered because of the barbecue place?"
"Of course." Shin-chan said it like it was obvious. "The barbecue place is important."
Rin sighed, looked down at the bundle in her arms, then at Shin-chan glancing around beside her.
She had serious doubts about whether the direction was right, but there was nothing else to do, so she followed him anyway.
After walking a while, Rin finally couldn't help asking, "Shin-chan, are you sure this is the right way?"
Shin-chan looked down at the map, then up at their surroundings, then back at the map.
"Yeah."
"But we've been walking for a long time."
"Almost there, almost there."
Rin followed him a little farther, half believing, half not.
Then the smell of grilled meat drifted over.
Rin looked up and saw a shop at the corner with red lanterns hanging outside and a big sign overhead.
Barbecue Restaurant
Shin-chan stopped and pointed at it. "We're here."
Rin froze.
"We're here?"
"Yep."
She looked at the barbecue place, then at Shin-chan, her expression deeply complicated.
"Shin-chan... we're supposed to be going to the flower shop."
"Yeah."
"This is a barbecue place," Rin said flatly.
Shin-chan looked at the barbecue place.
Then at the map.
Then at the barbecue place again.
"Oh." He nodded. "Right."
Rin stayed remarkably calm. For some reason, she had kind of expected this.
Shin-chan scratched his head, turned the map around, and started studying it again.
Rin stood there with no real hope left.
At this point, the flower shop had to be closed already.
She looked down at the bundle in her arms, a little disappointed.
Then suddenly Shin-chan looked up.
"This way."
Rin blinked. "You're sure?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded and was already walking. "Come on."
Rin hesitated, then followed again.
They'd already walked this far. A little farther wouldn't matter.
"We're here."
Rin looked up.
In front of them was a small flower shop. All kinds of flowers were displayed outside, and a light fragrance drifted through the air.
Rin froze.
They had really... found it?
She looked at the flower shop, then at Shin-chan.
But Shin-chan was already walking inside.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Rin quickly followed.
The flower shop still smelled just as nice as before.
Behind the counter stood the same owner they had met last time.
She was trimming flower stems, but when she heard them, she looked up.
Seeing the two small figures in the doorway, she froze for a second, then smiled. "Oh, it's you two."
Rin stepped up to the counter, held the little cloth bundle out with both hands, and bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much for last time!"
She straightened up again, her face a little red, but her eyes serious.
"The last time I wanted to buy flowers for Teacher Ibuki, you didn't charge me, and I really wanted to thank you."
She held the bundle out farther.
"These are cookies I made. I hope you'll accept them."
The shop owner looked down at the small bundle, then at Rin's earnest little face.
Her expression softened immediately.
"You sweet child..."
She reached out and took the bundle, then opened it and looked inside.
A dozen or so cookies were stacked neatly inside. They weren't all perfectly shaped—some were thick, some thin—but each one had clearly been placed there with care.
"I made them myself," Rin said quietly. "It was my first time, so they might not taste that good..."
The owner picked one up and looked at it, then at Rin.
"May I try one?"
Rin nodded hard.
The owner put the cookie in her mouth.
Chewed.
And her eyes curved into a smile.
"It's good."
Rin's face lit up instantly. "Really?"
"Really." The owner nodded. "It's a little sweet, but sweet in a very nice way."
She looked at Rin with a warm smile.
"Thank you, child."
Rin lowered her head and said softly, "I should be the one thanking you."
Then a voice suddenly cut in from the side.
"I want to say thank you too."
The owner turned and saw the little boy in red standing there, looking at her with complete seriousness.
"Thank you for not charging us last time," Shin-chan said. "Even though I didn't really help much."
The owner froze for a second.
Shin-chan continued, "And your flowers were really pretty. After Teacher Ibuki got them, his mood got better. Well, only for half a day, then he went back to normal in the afternoon."
The owner couldn't help laughing. "Then next time, should we buy flowers for him again?"
"Okay." Shin-chan nodded. "But next time, can it also be free?"
"Shin-chan!" Rin cried out in embarrassment.
The owner laughed out loud.
She came out from behind the counter and crouched down in front of them.
"I'll accept the cookies." She said it seriously. "They really are good. Thank you, both of you."
Rin nodded, face red.
From the side, Shin-chan added, "I tried one, and yeah, they really are good."
The owner froze and turned to Rin.
Rin's face got even redder.
"H-He stole one on the way here..."
The owner's smile only deepened.
She stood up, walked over to a shelf, and picked out two flowers.
She handed a little daisy to Rin.
"This is for you. Thank you for remembering me."
Rin accepted it with both hands and thanked her very seriously.
Then the owner handed a sunflower to Shin-chan.
"This one is for you."
Shin-chan took it and looked down at it.
"Can you eat this?"
The owner laughed and shook her head. "No, but you can look at it."
"Oh." Shin-chan nodded and held the flower up in front of his face. "It does look pretty nice."
Rin whispered from the side, "Shin-chan, you're supposed to say thank you."
"Thank you," Shin-chan said immediately.
The owner laughed and patted him on the head.
"You're welcome."
By the time they stepped out of the flower shop, the evening sky had turned a deep orange.
Rin held the little daisy in both hands and walked very carefully, like she was afraid she might damage it.
After a few steps, she suddenly stopped.
"Oh right, Shin-chan."
"Hm?"
Rin pulled out another tiny cloth bundle.
"What's that?" Shin-chan asked.
Rin held it out to him.
"For you."
Shin-chan froze.
"For me?"
"Yeah." Rin nodded. "Thank you for coming with me today. And for last time too."
Shin-chan looked down at the little bundle in his hands.
He opened it.
Inside were several neatly arranged cookies.
They looked exactly like the one he had stolen earlier.
"Rin."
"Yeah?"
"You're my best friend too!"
Rin froze, then laughed.
"Didn't you already say Kakashi, Uchiha Toru, and Guy are your best friends?"
Shin-chan answered with complete confidence, "There can be ties!"
Then he had already picked up a cookie and stuffed it into his mouth.
"It's good."
At the far end of the street, around the corner—
A bandaged figure stood there.
Obito had originally come out to buy medicine. He happened to pass by here.
And then he saw it.
Rin.
Shin-chan.
Rin giving Shin-chan cookies.
There was a l
oud buzz in Obito's head, and all the color slowly drained from his face.
The sky had collapsed again.
Last time it was flowers, and that had turned out to be a misunderstanding.
This time it was cookies.
What would it be next time?
He leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky, his eyes empty.
Why...
Why was it always Shin-chan…