June XXXX

"Ne, aniki, Is Rin-nee here yet?"

"Not yet,"

"Okay... What about now?"

"No,"

"... Now?"

"You've been asking me for the last ten minutes. You're so impatient, imouto-chaaan~" Obito gushed with a patronizing grin, squatting down from the front window to squeeze your chubby cheeks, riling you.

"Etae! Etae! Aneke, let gew!" Yelping, you swatted his hands away, before rubbing your cheeks soothingly, whilst half-heartedly glaring at the older child. "I can't help it; it's her first time to be late. Also, you promised you'd stop doing that last year!"

"Hehe, exactly! That promise was only for last year," He teased, booping your nose before you swiped at his hand again.

"What?! You can't do that!" You exclaimed, pouting.

"Well, I'm taller, stronger--"

"But not smarter," You muttered to yourself, but he heard anyway.

"I'm an academy student, I am smarter," He gave a confident grin, while pointing a thumb to himself (his denial is unreal). "And older, so I can do whatever I want, my sweet lil (Y/n)-chan!" Your brother chaffed, before attempting to pinch your cheeks again.

"You're only seven! That's not how it works!" Shielding your face, you inched away from his slow progressing reach.

"You can't know how it works because it's not you who's older," He beamed, as he continued reaching out for your face.

"I'm telling Rin-nee you have a crush on her!" And like that, he reeled his hands away from you as if your words burned him. "Hah, that's right! Wouldn't want her to know, would you now?" It was your turn to slyly grin, as you knew he can't deny your claims, as you've witnessed his idiocy in the act of love, first hand (how Rin-nee missed it was beyond you).

"Mou, my imouto is such a petty snitch," The noir dramatically lamented, hunching over, as his peppy aura transitioned into a depressing one, the proverbial gloomy mushrooms appearing. "It's not my fault that your baby fat is irresistible,"

"Rin-nee should tame you everyday because you only listen to her, and then you'd behave,"

"You make it sound like I'm more of a pet than a brother,"

"If you continue being exasperating, then maybe I'll consider it," You huffed, as his gloomy mood immediately disappeared and was then replaced with amusement. Smirking, he teased.

"Wah~ Exasperating-- That's a pretty big word, (Y/n)-chan! You sure know what it means?"

"Irritating," You flatly stated.

"Very good!" He patronizingly praised.

"Unappealing,"

"Doesn't quite mean that,"

"No, these are the other things you are," You corrected, rather too seriously to Obito's opinion; you looked so convinced!

"Oi!" Your brother squawked out indignantly. "You're too young to be this sassy,"

"Anyone would age faster if they hang out with you, aniki," You snickered, as it was his turn to pout. Before he could think of a comeback, you looked at the front window and exclaimed excitedly. "Rin-nee's here-- oi!" And like that, your brother's mood turned a 180 and zoomed to the front door with genin speed, wanting to greet the brunette first.

He was so quick to leave you-- you were supposed to greet her together!

... Ah, well, it's a good thing she wasn't really here yet, you mischievously mused to yourself.

Once exiting outside as fast as your short, pudgy legs can bring you, a confused Obito met your sight, as he futilely looked for the girl whom you announced her arrival earlier, but was only met with passing Uchihas.

"Ne, aniki, what was that again about you being smarter?" You purred, as he then caught on to your mischief.

"You lied to me!" He cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at you. "Your own brother!" He dramatically pretended to wipe a tear away from his eye, despite wearing his orange goggles.

"And you left me behind without thinking twice, but you don't see me whining," Shrugging, you wryly smiled. "Also, lie is such a strong word. I prefer the term tricking you, as a test on how well can you identify deceit, as a good shinobi."

"That's called lying, you lil snake."

"Face it, the reason you failed my little test is because every time I mention Rin-nee, all common sense leaves you," You snickered, recalling how excited your brother looked to exit the house. "You-- pfft, you didn't even bother checking the window before you ran out here!" You laughed heartily having to hold your stomach, as Obito's cheeks and ears turned red in embarrassment. "You're-- haha! You're so whipped!" His face now resembled a tomato, as do yours from laughing too hard.

"You-- You shut up!"

Ceasing laughter, you straightened up, wiping a tear away, but a smile still remained on your face.

"Why don't you just marry Rin-nee already?" You blatantly asked, as if just inquiring about the weather. "That way, she can live with us, and then tame you to behave everyday-- we both win!"

"Gaaghh! For someone so smart, you don't know the weight of what you're saying!"

"So you admit I'm smart,"

"Yes, but I'm smarter--"

"Than a peanut," You cut in, grinning.

"That's it!" Obito then took a threatening step forward, making hand gestures to reach out for your cheeks, not intending to hold back, as you took a wary step back.

"W-wait, Rin-nee is here!" You warned, looking behind him, before your eyes darted back to him, as he only smiled deviously.

"Nice try, imouto-chan! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!"

"What's this I hear about fools and shame?" A new but familiar voice cut in, making your brother pause on his tracks, and look behind, screeching in surprise.

"W-wah! Rin-chan!"

Sending a haughty look at Obito, you smirked.

"Hehe, fool." Before he could properly process what you just said, you immediately ran towards the newcomer, and greeted her enthusiastically with a grin and open arms. "Rin-nee!"

You had the honor to befriend Nohara Rin, when Obito introduced you to her when you were a one year old. Of course, it's not that you actually befriended her, as you were still working on your speech and motor skills; it's more like: Rin took turns with your brother to look after you, whenever baa-chan isn't available. You easily warmed up to her positive aura, and she became the older sister you never had.

"Hey! How are you today?" Rin greeted back, her radiant smile having the purple patches on her cheeks stretch with it. Welcoming your upcoming hug, she did not falter when your small form latched onto her-- a testament to the intense physical training she gives herself.

"Why were you late? That's usually aniki's specialty!" Your blunt remark predictably received a reaction from Obito.

"Oi!"

"Sorry, I was actually looking for Kakashi-san to celebrate his promotion as chuunin with us," The brunette explained herself, before putting you down. "But he's on a mission right now, so it's just us,"

"Kakashi? Who's that?" You looked at her quizzically, tilting your head, the side of your cheek brushing the rim of your high-collared shirt.

"He's the guy from our class who graduated in a year, last year," Obito explained, nearing you and Rin. "He's a Hatake and a prodigy. He's six now, I think. I guess it's pretty cool that he became a genin at five, but of course," He pointed at the Hokage Mountain with a confident grin. "I'll be the future hokage!"

"I doubt that," You deadpanned.

"Eh?! Why?!" He cried out, as Rin continued to watch you two banter, amused.

"Pick a number between one and ten,"

"Four! Because I'll be the Yondaime!"

"Yes, and that's also the number of your IQ," You chuckled, as Rin bit back a laugh.

"You're so mean to your aniki," Obito sulked dramatically (as usual).

"Well, if Konoha were to one day unfortunately fall unto your hands, as your sister, I'll be sure to watch over so you won't send it ablaze under your reign," You smiled, nudging your brother, as he genuinely smiled back, already able to read under the lines. Based on Rin's eyes, you knew she understood too.

I'd be there to support you, was what you subtly said.

On your way to buy dango and hang out by the park, you continued to talk both their ears off regarding anything under the sun. Even when you were too busy babbling, you didn't miss the way how Rin looked at Obito differently, as Obito, himself, would steal glances at her whenever she's not looking.

You wonder how much she has heard of your conversation with your brother, before you spotted her.

~*~*~

August XXXX

Your first meeting with Hatake Kakashi was entirely coincidental; it went like this:

You have two years left before you can apply for the academy, but you've yet to receive any forms of formal training. It's not that you're really required to know the basics in advance, you just want to get a headstart among your peers.

You meditated and practiced basic chakra exercises like the forehead leaf-sticking, tree-walking, and you're still working on water-walking. Learning from watching other genins train was helpful; even more so that you can get tips from available books and scrolls, as chakra can be studied theoretically, however, learning fighting styles is a different story. You can imitate pictures from books, from people, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you did it wrong or right, ergo you can't correct yourself.

Walking by an unoccupied training ground, you planned on practicing the Uchiha katas that you've seen Obito perform whenever he trains (you'd want him to teach you, but he told you there's no rush). The area is kind of isolated and hidden, and probably not used as much as the other training grounds, based on the seemingly untouched greenery (a typical training ground usually sports scorched earth and scarred trees).

A silver material glinted from the untrimmed grass, when you passed by a certain spot, instantly gaining your interest.

You neared the source of the light reflection, recognizing it as a sword of some kind. You're not really adept at identifying swords, but you know it's too short to be considered as a katana-- that's all you know.

Picking the weapon up, you immediately noticed that it's a bit heavier than it looked. You examined the sharpness of the blade, and even loosened your grip to test its weight in free fall. For your final test, you gripped its hilt and made a few swings, and was impressed on how light and easy those swings were. With its good quality, you're sure its owner must be looking for it, and you plan on returning, but...

Filled with childish wonder, you pretended to fight an imaginary enemy, voicing out sound effects while doing so.

"Put that tanto down, you look ridiculous," Gasping, you instinctively swung the weapon towards the source of the unfamiliar voice, behind you.

Predictably, you missed.

Recovering, you then realized what you just attempted to do.

"A-ah! Sorry, I swear I was gonna return it to its owner!" You exclaimed, before bowing down in a complete ninety degree for a split second, before facing the newcomer.

He looks a bit older than you, maybe two or three years. The boy was, well... He looks like a stereotypical ninja, with his mysterious mask, matched with his midnight blue zip-up shirt and pants. You guess that his green shuriken-patterned scarf threw you off a bit, as it clashes with his supposed aesthetic. You're unsure if his eyes were an onyx black or a really dark gray, but his hair--

"Wow, your hair is white!" His left eye twitched at your blunt remark.

"It's silver!" He corrected harshly. "Also, give me the tanto back; it belongs to my father,"

"Oh, right! Sorry!" You immediately handed the weapon back to him, before he proceeded to inspect it. You then took notice of the hitai-ate on his forehead. "Woah! You're a genin?!"

"Chuunin, actually,"

"Wow! Please be my teacher!" You implored, bowing once again.

"What? No," He immediately denied, his brows furrowing. "What makes you think I'd wanna train you?" You straightened your back, thinking for an answer, as you scratched the back of your head. Hesitating, you replied.

"Uh... experience?"

"My skills won't improve from training you. You need years of training before you can even be at my level. Even then, I'd probably far surpassed you by that time," He stated as a matter of fact, as your mood soured at the implication that you weren't worth his time.

"Years of training, huh? How long have you been training to be a prat?" And there goes your serrated tongue; the stranger's eyes momentarily widening at your audacity.

"I'm a chuunin; you can't address me like that," He reprimanded, eyes steely with disapproval.

"Ah, my bad. How long have you been training to be a prat, senpai?" His eyes narrowed at your feigned innocence, as you batted your eyelashes expectantly.

"You know insulting me wouldn't convince me teaching you," The boy crossed his arms, as you only huffed, crossing your arms with him.

"True. I'll just find someone better,"

"You won't find anyone better. I'm the youngest chuunin there is," He boasted confidently, as you merely shrugged, showing indifference.

"Youngest doesn't mean best," You pointed out, riling the boy. "After all, being able to lead and teach is a requirement to be a jounin," He narrowed his eyes.

"What are you saying?"

"As far as I'm aware, jounins usually have a genin team to guide and teach," You lectured, recalling the training you've witnessed around the training grounds. "You don't have what it takes to be a jounin, as you clearly have no patience for children younger than you, and I'm only a few years younger than you. Who is to say your charges won't be younger than me? Tutoring me is good practice,"

"Then I'll teach someone else," He said, trying to spite you.

"Ah, but jounins don't get to choose their genins; the hokage does," You mentioned, smirking. "Are you saying that you'd rather deny the hokage than teach the chosen genins if at least one rubs off on you the wrong way?"

"No!"

"Then, this is a practice for your patience! Teach me, I swear I'll be good and actually listen!" You begged, your once cold eyes easily transitioning to a pleading look.

"... Fine, but I'm only teaching the basics." That's good enough for you!

"Congratulations! You'll be a fine sensei one day!"

"Whatever, Uchiha." Oh, right, names.

"I'm Uchiha (Y/n), and my sensei's name is..?"

"Hatake Kakashi." Oh, it's the guy your brother talked about months ago. Huh...

Oh.

"Please take good care of me, Hatake-sensei!"

"Take care of yourself."

Surprisingly enough, he was actually an effective teacher, and true to your words, you were an exceptional student. When his father, the White Fang, learned of his side hobby, the Hatake patriarch showed glowing approval, which only encouraged Kakashi to better his performance as your tutor (it shows that he heavily admires and respects his father to do this much). Your kata knowledge is no longer blank, your chakra control has improved drastically, and now, he's teaching you the academy jutsus.

The next thing you know, his teachings lasted for a year, and has still yet to end.

You like to think that he eventually enjoyed your company, and wordlessly became his friend.

~*~*~

Obito and Kakashi only became rivals when they became a team, for reasons I'd invent (*cough* Minato's attention *cough*). So, no hostility from Obito yet! Sakumo is still alive btw, so that explains why Kakashi isn't an uptight bitch yet. for now, he's just a bitch.