After school, Shin-chan finished his usual training and headed home with his wooden sword on his back.
His little head was still busy wondering how Bo-chan's snot had managed to fly.
He'd tried several times to make his own snot fly too, but aside from almost getting it into his mouth, nothing happened.
When he passed the flower shop, Shin-chan suddenly stopped.
Someone was standing at the entrance.
Light brown hair, a pale pink dress.
Shin-chan tilted his head and looked for two seconds, then walked over.
"Rin."
Rin jumped in surprise, then relaxed when she saw him. "Oh, it's you, Shin-chan."
"What are you doing?" Shin-chan came closer and looked at the flowers. "Buying flowers?"
"Yeah." Rin nodded. "Teacher Ibuki seemed kind of down today, so I wanted to buy a bouquet and go visit him."
Shin-chan blinked.
"Teacher Ibuki is feeling down?"
"You didn't notice?" Rin looked a little surprised.
Shin-chan thought about it.
During class today, Teacher Ibuki had seemed a little strange. He hadn't even noticed Shin-chan fooling around under the desk.
"Oh." Shin-chan suddenly understood. "So that's what being down looks like."
"You only just realized?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded. "I thought he was just sleepy."
Rin sighed and stopped dwelling on that, turning back to the flowers.
"I'm trying to figure out what kind of flowers to buy…"
"Aren't flowers just flowers?" Shin-chan didn't really get it.
"It's different." Rin shook her head. "Different flowers have different meanings. If you give the wrong kind, it'll be embarrassing."
Shin-chan tilted his head.
"What do you mean by flower meanings?"
"It means what the flowers symbolize." Rin pointed at a bouquet of lilies nearby. "For example, these represent purity."
Then she pointed at a bouquet of roses. "And these represent love."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
"Is there a flower that means 'please don't assign homework'?"
Rin froze for a second.
"I… don't think so."
"Then what about one that means 'can I get one extra snack in the afternoon'?"
"No."
Shin-chan sighed in disappointment.
Rin kept staring at the flowers, muttering to herself. "Sunflowers… they represent encouragement and blessings… that might work… but would it be too ordinary…"
Shin-chan watched her for a while, then pointed into the shop.
"Why don't you just ask the owner?"
Rin froze.
"Huh?"
"The owner sells flowers, so she probably knows which one is best." Shin-chan said it like it was obvious. "If you ask her and she tells you, wouldn't that solve it?"
Rin blinked.
That… actually made sense.
She'd been standing here all this time thinking on her own and had never once thought to just ask.
By then, Shin-chan had already turned and walked into the flower shop.
"Hello? Is the owner here?"
Rin hurried in after him.
The shop wasn't large, but it was neatly arranged, with all kinds of flowers everywhere and a faint fragrance drifting through the air.
Behind the counter stood a young woman.
Early twenties, with long light purple hair loosely tied back, an apron embroidered with a little flower, and eyes that curved like crescent moons when she smiled.
"Welcome." She looked at the two little customers. "Would you like to buy flowers?"
Shin-chan nodded and pointed at Rin. "She wants to."
Rin stepped forward, a little shy. "Um, I want to send a bouquet to my teacher. He seemed sad today, and I wanted to cheer him up…"
The young woman's expression softened.
"For your teacher? You're such a good child."
She thought for a moment, then picked out a few flowers from the side.
"How about these? Sunflowers—they represent hope and warmth, so they're perfect for someone feeling down."
Rin looked at the bright golden flowers, and her eyes lit up.
"So pretty…"
"And add a few of these." The woman picked out some small white flowers too. "Baby's breath. It represents care, and it looks lovely with sunflowers."
Rin nodded repeatedly. "I'll take those. How much is it?"
The woman calculated and named a price.
Rin's smile froze. She looked down at the coins in her hand, then at the bouquet, and her face went slightly pale.
"Um… could you maybe make it smaller?"
The woman looked at her expression and couldn't help smiling. "Not enough money?"
Rin nodded, blushing.
At the side, Shin-chan rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, a crumpled slip of paper, and a small tuft of mysterious fur.
"I have these. Can I trade them?"
The woman looked at the pile of random items, froze for a second, then covered her mouth and laughed.
Just then, a man's voice came from nearby.
"Sakurako, what's going on?"
A man stepped out from the back room.
He was wearing a green flak jacket and a Konoha forehead protector, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Makoto, these two little ones want to buy flowers for their teacher, but they don't have enough money," Hanano Sakurako said with a smile.
Akiyama Makoto's eyes fell on the pile of random junk in Shin-chan's hands, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"This… what even is this?"
"My entire fortune," Shin-chan said seriously. "Is it enough?"
Akiyama Makoto couldn't help laughing. He crouched down and looked at the two of them.
"What class are you in?"
"Class A," Rin answered. "Teacher Ibuki's class."
"Teacher Ibuki…" Akiyama Makoto thought for a moment. "That young teacher?"
"Yeah."
Makoto turned to look at his wife, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.
"Sakurako, didn't the shop happen to have a few bouquets that need delivering today?"
Hanano Sakurako immediately caught on. "That's right. Would you two be willing to help us with something?"
"What kind of help?" Rin looked up.
"We have a few bouquets that need to be delivered to customers nearby today, but we're short on hands." Sakurako smiled. "If you're willing to help deliver them, then this bouquet will be free."
Rin's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Really."
"I'll do it!"
Sakurako smiled and took a small basket from beneath the counter. She placed the sunflower and baby's breath bouquet into it, then brought out several other wrapped bouquets, each tied with a small card bearing an address.
"These need to go to these places." She handed Rin a simple hand-drawn map. "Can you remember it?"
Rin looked at the map carefully and nodded.
"I can."
"Good girl." Sakurako patted her head. "Be careful on the way. Once you finish delivering them, you don't need to come back. The bouquet is yours."
Rin held the flower basket, while Shin-chan tucked the map under his arm, and the two of them walked out of the flower shop.
"This way." Shin-chan looked at the map and pointed in one direction.
The two of them walked side by side.
Rin looked down at the flowers in the basket, smiling.
"Shin-chan, thank you."
"For what?"
"If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be standing there outside."
They crossed one street and turned into an alley.
The moment they entered, they ran straight into someone.
Black hair. Spiky head. Uchiha clan clothes.
Obito.
He had just been passing by. When he heard footsteps, he instinctively looked up.
Then his whole body froze.
Rin.
Shin-chan.
Walking together.
Rin holding flowers.
Shin-chan right beside her…
Obito's mind went buzz.
He was doomed.
The sky had fallen.
~~~
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