Obito Uchiha hated distractions. At least, that’s what he told himself whenever his gaze drifted again—again—across the training field to the girl standing beside Kakashi. She moved with the same sharp grace as her older brother, the same cold focus, except she smiled more often, and when she did, it threw off Obito’s whole rhythm.

She shouldn’t have been here, technically. She wasn't officially on their squad, but Minato-sensei let her join training sessions now and then—“to keep up,” he’d said, “in case she makes Jōnin soon.” Obito suspected it had more to do with Kakashi’s hovering protectiveness and her raw talent. She had a knack for chakra control that made Rin visibly envious and a wit that could shut even Obito up mid-sentence.

And that was the problem.

Obito ducked as a practice kunai zipped past his ear, courtesy of Kakashi himself. He barely managed to deflect the second, landing in a crouch and gritting his teeth.

“You’re slow today,” Kakashi said flatly, brushing dust off his sleeve.

“I’m not slow!” Obito snapped, eyes flicking sideways—too obviously. She was laughing at something Minato had said, wiping sweat off her brow with the edge of her sleeve. The sight was enough to completely short-circuit Obito’s brain. Again.

His stomach twisted in that annoying way it had been for weeks now, ever since she tagged along on that mission to the northern border and nearly outmaneuvered two bandits before Obito had even drawn a kunai. It wasn’t just her skill. Or her smile. Or the way she called him "Uchiha" with just enough teasing to make it feel different from Kakashi’s usual disdain. It was…everything.

And it was humiliating.

She was Kakashi’s sister. Kakashi, the same guy he constantly butted heads with, the genius who made Obito feel like he was always chasing shadows. Crushing on his rival’s sister? That was just asking for trouble. What would Rin think? What would Kakashi do? Obito didn’t even want to imagine it.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

He scowled deeper, tightened his fists, and charged at Kakashi with twice the force. Maybe if he hit him hard enough, the stupid feeling would go away.

It didn’t.

Not even close.