Because he was worried about being late, Obito set out early and arrived under the cherry blossom tree in the park.
Carrying the snacks he had carefully selected for Nohara Rin, Obito looked around expectantly.
Unlike his habit of being late, Nohara Rin was very punctual, hardly ever making people wait beyond the agreed time.
But today seemed different; as it was almost time, yet there was no sign of Nohara Rin. However, Obito did notice a few familiar figures.
"Could it be that this park has become quite famous lately? Why are Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai here too?" As the distance shortened, Obito confirmed that he was indeed seeing his friends.
"Even Guy is here; is he jogging by?" At this moment, Obito spotted a green figure.
Obito was a bit surprised; in his impression, Might Guy wasn't the kind to casually stroll around such parks.
What puzzled Obito even more was that Might Guy and the others were all heading toward the cherry blossom tree.
"What a coincidence to see you guys at the park too." Obito waved and greeted them with a smile.
Not seeing Kakashi, Obito's mood remained calm, and he continued to have optimistic hopes about what would happen next.
"The park? No, Rin said she had something going on and asked me to come." Yuhi Kurenai shook her head and said.
Instantly, Obito's expression froze, and the smile on his face slowly faded; it wasn't the two-person date he imagined.
"Me too." Might Guy nodded, indicating that he was also one of the people invited by Nohara Rin.
"It seems like we were all invited by Rin. It's quite rare to gather us all. Could it be something really important?" Asuma stroked his chin and speculated.
Asuma glanced around and found that everyone was familiar with each other, with no strangers present.
"Haha, probably." Obito scratched his head awkwardly with his left hand, subtly placing the snacks he was holding in his right hand behind him.
"Maybe she encountered some difficulty."
Although Obito felt awkward enough to want to sink into the ground, he didn't blame Nohara Rin. Instead, he began to worry about her.
After all, Nohara Rin never mentioned bringing him here for a date; it was just Obito who assumed she wanted to date him.
"Besides, not inviting Kakashi means that I'm still trusted more in Rin's heart." Obito comforted himself.
Kakashi not being there was a small relief for Obito.
If Kakashi were present, he might likely see through Obito's thoughts and tease him.
"Sorry everyone, I'm late."
At this moment, Nohara Rin's voice suddenly appeared. Obito turned to see Nohara Rin, holding a stack of papers and running while catching her breath.
"Just a few minutes; it doesn't count as being late. Rin, no need to rush," Obito quickly said when he saw Rin out of breath.
Upon hearing Obito's words, Nohara Rin slowed down and jogged to the group.
"Making these took more time than I expected, which is why I'm a little late." Nohara Rin took a deep breath and raised the papers in her hand to explain.
It was known that Nohara Rin had also cultivated breathing technique for some time, and being this out of breath indicated she must have sprinted here.
"I see, I wondered why punctual Rin was late this time." Obito chuckled and looked at the papers in Rin's hands, the cause of her delay.
"Gift planning for Kakashi's promotion to Jonin (secret mission)..." Obito read the bold letters on the poster-like paper in his mind word by word.
Seeing the carefully drawn chibi Kakashi on the seaside, Obito went silent. For some reason, even the snacks in his right hand suddenly felt unbearably heavy, so heavy that even Obito, a ninja capable of breaking a tree with one punch, couldn't hold them anymore.
With a thud, the snacks Obito was holding fell to the ground.
Obito didn't bother with the snacks that fell on the ground. At this moment, his face felt burning from embarrassment, and his awkwardness reached its peak.
What he thought was a two-person date was actually Nohara Rin finding a way to celebrate Kakashi's promotion to Jonin.
He thought Kakashi wasn't invited because he was more trustworthy, but it was because Rin wanted to surprise Kakashi.
To make a good impression, he arrived early and picked out snacks girls like, while Rin was late because she was drawing a poster for Kakashi.
The pain was too much.
Even though standing in the sunlight, Obito felt a chilling and twisting pain deep in his bones for some reason.
The sight of the girl he liked working hard for another boy was too heartbreaking for Obito; he even found it hard to look at Nohara Rin. Instead, he looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, filled with indescribable sadness.
"Obito, you've dropped something." Nohara Rin came to Obito's side, picking up the bag of snacks.
She had heard the sound right away, but she didn't expect Obito to be in such a daze instead of picking it up.
"Oh, oh, thank you, Rin." Obito snapped back to reality and thanked her instinctively.
"Goodness, you're almost a Jonin now. You can't just zone out like this during a mission." Nohara Rin said with a face of bemusement.
"Mmm, mmm." Obito's smile returned a little.
Nohara Rin was worried about him; Rin cared about him!
"By the way, are these snacks you specially bought for everyone, Obito?" Nohara Rin handed back the snacks, casually asking.