Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

The Grapevine

Kakashi knew Obito and Rin didn't run into him by "coincidence". They knew his little Sunday routine at the training grounds and he knew about their orders to post guard at the gate nearly on the other side of the village. It was Minato's way of forcing Obito and Rin to stay together for little more than a few minutes. He watched them blandly as they shuffled on their feet and said their excuses. "We thought dinner would be good. We were just on our way and thought to invite you. You should be done with training right?" Rin rambled politely.

Obito's grin was a tad too tight. "Yeah, whatever she said." He mumbled.

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes and wiped off the dirt stuck to his shirt and trousers. Obito and Rin took the cue to lead the way and walked eagerly to the food district, a street of the main market monopolized by restaurants and takeouts. Kakashi generally avoided it for how crowded it was and his sensitive nose would rather save itself from all the smell too. He liked the more secluded pubs where the shinobi winded down from there overdrawn missions. It was more private and personal and familiar enough to completely let go of constant paranoia.

Rin decided a crowded sea-food restaurant was perfect for their "team dinner". There was no back-seats to have an eye on the entire room, not enough distance from the next table to hold private conversation, and not quiet enough to want to talk at all. Kakashi would ignore their antics on any other day, but for some reason he felt especially moody today. He had been trailing rumors about the Uchiha for weeks now and still found no concrete sources of where they stemmed from. He knew all the rumors, all those who spoke it, where it was spoken, but never where it started. For all that he was trying, he was getting nowhere, and now his teammates were too busy trying to avoid each other to take anything else seriously.

Without a word he turned and walked to a more empty restaurant. Obito called out after him but Rin stopped him. Kakashi didn't bother to check the name of the restaurant or what they served or if it was about to close. Either way, he would make them sit in awkward silence until they decided to finally talk it out. The restaurant was nicer than he'd have imagined. It had a soft environment and dim - but warm - lighting. There was only another table or two with customers, but they all minded their own business. He took them to the table by the side window and sat down like he was never going to move again. Obito and Rin had no choice but to accept their fates.

"This place is nice." Rin tried for small talk.

Obito scrunched up his face as he looked over the menu. "What the hell is caviar?"

Kakashi stared at them. Obito frowned more deeply and Rin could only look anywhere that wasn't his deep black. "Either you guys fix whatever it is or I won't get involved with anything having to do with any of you again." Kakashi knew why Rin would be hesitant to be with Obito. They'd discussed in a previous meeting that Obito's feelings for Rin could be a trigger for the seal on his heart, and her being killed would make him more compliant to the seal's influence and more so if Obito were to kill Rin himself. As for Obito, he'd been avoiding Rin even before the incident and even more so now that Rin was being obvious about her discomfort.

Rin finally looked at him in the eye and saw that this had indeed dragged on for too long. If none of them took the initiative, nothing would change. She wrung her hands together on her lap and gazed sideways at Obito who seemed to have the same realization. But for all he's been through, he was still an overgrown child that needed someone to be his guide. As Rin struggled to respond, Kakashi glared the waiter away. "I... Confessed to Obito." Rin finally managed.

Obito sputtered in his seat and nearly fell backwards in his chair. The other customers looked back to them in curiosity, but moved on quickly. "Wh- are you really going to tell him?" He sounded as though the world was ending.