Slight AU meaning no Uchiha massacre, no mishaps from the "Kakashi Gaiden" and a tweak in Obito's and Kakashi's age. Tenten is eight, Obito/Kakashi are sixteen.
once upon a wraith
She appeared like an apparition out of the mist; pale, frozen, and somewhat hauntingly beautiful.
Obito knew she wasn't dangerous by simply looking into her cold-tea eyes. They were large, very innocent, very captivating.
She did not ask for his help, did not plead for him to rush to her aid—the gash on her arm shouldn't have worried him so much, as it had already clotted, and she didn't seem fazed one bit by it, but it did, and he reached for her thin elbow slowly, as if to say he wouldn't harm her.
Her hair was loosely hanging in two buns off the sides of her head, tangled and matted with mud and leafs, and Obito brushed her overgrown bangs back behind her ear, fingers ghosting over her smooth cheek.
"What happened?" he spoke gingerly, voice turned down a few octaves lower than the norm. She didn't reply, only met his curious and semi-worried eyes with her own slightly brittle ones.
He kneeled down, pulling her along with him. Obito waited until she was resting on her knees comfortably before taking her damaged arm to inspect it, dismissing the chilled skin prickling beneath his touch. "It's a good thing Rin gave me that medical pack the other day..." he chatted while unhooking said pack from his belt and ripping it open, retrieving a large antiseptic wipe and a roll of gauze.
They spent the moment in silence, him cleaning her wound while she stared intently at his motions.
After tying the ends of the gauze, he patted his work lightly, grinning to himself. When he looked up to the child he was startled to see her placid features morphing into a large smile, eyes creasing happily. "Thank you," she voiced, and Obito took note at the confidence she held for her age. The Uchiha nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"No problem! Wouldn't want it to get infected now would we?"
She shook her head, standing up to brush her shorts (like it would help, they were covered in at least three layers of gunk). He wondered what she had been doing before stumbling in to the secluded area where he had stopped to wait for his teammate. Surely she was from the village, seeing as they were only about one kilometer from the gates.
He was about to ask her when she spoke again, her sweet voice mixing in with the afternoon birds' song. "I'm glad to know there are some cheerful Uchiha shinobi roaming about. Most I've seen are formal, unpleasant, and dreary."
Obito blinked at her words, watching as she bowed her head shortly after and disappeared behind the bush she emerged from. He was about to follow her (what a strange child she was) when Kakashi jumped down into the clearing, annoyance lacing his voice as he glared at the back of his teammate's unruly head.
"Do not ever attempt that idiotic trap on me again, Obito."
The teen simply nodded.