A fresh layer of snow lay across the forest, delicate ice crystals catching the early morning sunlight and sparkling like a million tiny diamonds. Bird song echoed through the trees, the sound carrying further without a canopy to smother it. On the ground, nothing moved, the large predators which gave the forest its ill omened name still sleeping.

Well, most of them.

The monochrome landscape was suddenly blessed with a spot of color as a human child burst out from beneath the snow, hands raised high above her head as she stretched and let out an obnoxious screech. Small animals previously disguised by snowy white camouflage abandoned their cover as they ran from the massive lump that was the fallen tree. The child climbed out of the snow, standing on top of the ancient arboreal corpse and brushing rapidly melting snow from her golden hair and bright red clothing. Then, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled.

"Good morning, creepy neighbors!"

If there were humans around to hear her, they gave no indication of their presence.

She huffed, not really expecting a response but disappointed all the same. "Whatever. I don't need neighbors, anyway."

She jumped down, landing atop the fresh snow without sinking, her weight supported by the chakra she instinctively channeled to her feet. Folding her hands behind her head, she left the forest behind, her gait unhurried and her expression unconcerned. Far above her, silhouettes indistinguishable from the dark branches of the naked trees, her 'neighbors' tracked her path, eyes obscured by the porcelain masks which set them apart from the rest of their Village.

They're still there.

Yeah, she knew. And she wanted them to know she knew. Wanted him to know she knew. It might have been better to keep her awareness a secret, to hide it away until she could weaponize it against him, but that wasn't her nature. She'd lived an entire life shrinking away from conflict, masking her true feelings for the sake of the people around her. Maybe it was because she'd lived so long alone, and then with a man as abrasive and outspoken as Roshi, but she didn't have it in her to pretend like that, again.

It was ironic, really. Once again, she found herself in a position where other people were invested in her body and how she used it, determined to force her into a mold that her very soul rejected. While she was immensely grateful that, this time, she could actually stand to look at herself, the weight of outside expectations was icky and gross and way too familiar.

Even Sakumo, who she knew cared about her in some capacity, had ideas about how she should live her life, where she should live it, and for whom. Memories of her own father, a living caricature of machismo who scowled at the merest hint of effeminate behavior, had her fleeing out of his range as fast as she could.

She leapt up onto the fence surrounding the Forest of Death, sighing as she looked out onto the Village. There were things she needed to do if she was really going to live there. Roles she had to accept and play to the best of her ability.

Ugh. Why did she come here, again? She missed Roshi.

"I'm not a coward!"

The voice echoed across the snowy field, snapping Beni from her musings. It was high pitched and angry, clearly a child's. What were children doing out near the training grounds so early in the morning?

"Oh, yeah?" Another voice demanded. "Then prove it! The Forest of Death is full of monsters and man eating beasts, but my brother says most of them hibernate in winter. If you can spend a whole hour in there without getting eaten, then we'll leave you alone."

Ho. Is that bullying I hear?

It sure sounded like it.

Beni stood and walked along the top of the fence toward the voices. It wasn't long before she came across a group of children, their dark clothing in stark contrast to their winter backdrop. From where she stood, she could easily pick out the red and white fan that heralded the Uchiha Clan.

Wow. So, they were born assholes. Good to know.

Three taller children stood facing a smaller one, cornering their target in classic bully formation. The leader put their nose in the air with a huff.

"I bet you can't even manage ten minutes. The Anbu will hear you crying and come rescue you, like the coward you are."

"Shut up," the victim yelled, falling for the instigation without a second thought. "I can do it! And when I do, you'll have to apologize!"

"Come on, kid, ask for more than that."

The sneer on the lead bully's face slipped as the group all looked up at Beni where she stood on the top on the fence. Confronted with an outsider, the antagonists looked a lot less confident. Beni jumped down, landing lightly on the snow beside the littlest Uchiha. She pointedly didn't look at him, instead meeting and holding the bully's gaze, using her superior height to her advantage.

"I heard the whole thing," she said with a smile. "And I'm willing to stand as witness to the bet, as an unbiased party. Still," she shrugged, rolling her neck and popping the joint in a display of disinterest. "An apology hardly seems like a proper prize, considering the very real chance of death involved."

"Who are you?"

She looked at the boss bully evenly. "You mean you don't know? Huh. You must not be very important if the Clan hasn't told you."

The kid bristled, her insult landing exactly as intended. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Beni let herself smile. Was this what normal kids were like? Han was younger than her, but still very mature. She was hardly a proper example, but she knew she wasn't the most mature person, herself. Even so, these kids were…predictable. Annoying, predictable babies.

"Well?" She turned to the kid she was defending, taking in his wide eyes and the orange goggles perched on his head. "You're the one risking your life. You should demand something more valuable than an apology."

The child looked uncertain, shifting their weight from foot to foot, the snow caving beneath them while their kinsmen stood atop it without issue. So, this one was either younger or lesser skilled than their bullies, or both.

"Then," they began, voice trembling with emotion. "You have to fix baa-chan's roof! You're the ones who broke it, anyway!"

"Tch," the taller kids all looked away, clearly guilty but unwilling to admit it. "Whatever."

Beni crossed her arms over her chest, leveling a glare at the group. "Good. Then I'll witness it."

"We don't even know who you are," one of them groused beneath the cover of their scarf. The other two nodded in agreement, looking at her suspiciously.

"Me?" Beni shook her head while clicking her tongue, once again setting them on edge. "Ask Mikoto. Maybe, if you're important enough, she'll tell you."

She was glad she finally managed to remember the Uchiha woman's name. Something about it nagged at her, though. Was she an important character?

"You know the Clan Head's fiancée?"

Oh. Oh. Fuck.

"Yep," she replied, hopefully concealing the panic rising in her at the notion that she might have erased fucking Sasuke from existence. "I know her stupid boyfriend, too. And they'll both believe me when I tell them all about this bullshit you're trying to pull."

The bullies were starting to look a little green around the gills, but their leader didn't back down.

"Fine," they spat. "But none of that matters if he fails."

"I won't," the smallest kid there insisted. "Just you wait, Sora! I'll prove I'm not a coward!"

With that, the child turned around and stomped through the snow toward the fence. Beni watched as he managed to squeeze through a hole, disappearing into the trees as the Forest swallowed him whole. Then, she turned back to the group, all pretense of kindness gone from her face. She stepped toward them and they stepped back, sensing some of the danger she could easily be, if she wanted to. The leader even fell, landing on his ass in the snow.

With a derisive snort, she shunshined away, running back into the Forest she only just left.

The Uchiha was still marching around, cute face scrunched in the most adorable expression of determination Beni had ever seen. She came to walk next to him, her boots leaving no impression on the snow.

"So," she began, smiling as they jumped in response to her voice. "What's your name, kid?"

"Why do you want to know?"

She raised her hands, surprised by their defensive tone. "Hey, chill. I'm on your side. Those brats are assholes. My name's Benihime, if it helps."

The kid turned to look at her, dark eyes considering. "I'm Obito."

Well…fuck.

This…this baby was the miniboss? But…he was so precious! So tiny and demanding protection! How could he possibly turn out so evil?"

Madara.

Oh, yeah. She forgot.

A fire lit itself in her gut as she looked at the adorable child in front of her, his expression scrunched even further as she took so long to respond.

She had a new reason to stay.

"Ah, wait," she shook her head to clear it, setting aside that revelation for later. "You are a boy, right?"

He looked at her like she was insane. "Obviously, yeah!"

"It's not, though," she replied with a shrug, once again placing her hands behind her head as she took the lead. "Kids all look the same at our age. Clothes don't mean anything. Plus," she turned on her heel and began walking backward, raising an eyebrow at him. "We're shinobi. What we see isn't always the truth."

He stewed on that for all of a second, accepting her words with an ease only a child could boast. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Wonder of wonders. Now, if only the adults in her old world could be so accepting.

"So," the future Mizukage said sheepishly, scratching at his cheek. "Are you a girl, then?"

Ah, she'd set herself up for that one.

Ignoring the pang of past dysphoria his question brought up, she smiled at him. "Yep."

"Oh."

The air between them was suddenly awkward and Beni floundered for a way to fill the silence.

"So, Tobi," she began only to immediately falter. Wrong name, shit. "Does this happen often? The bullying, I mean?"

He didn't seem too off put by the sudden nickname she'd thrust upon him, and only shrugged. "I guess." He kicked at the snow with a pout then glared at her with obvious suspicion. "Why are you following me, anyway? Why do you care?"

Excellent questions, Choumei grumbled in the back of her mind, his raspy Batman voice somehow more pronounced. I thought we had plans.

They did—er, she did—but they could wait. It wasn't like one more day without a formal Academy education would kill her. Besides, she couldn't just leave a kid to wander around on his own.

What if her neighbors got him?

"Well," she drawled, elongating the vowel as she put on a show of thinking over her answer. "I hate bullies. There's a lot of things I can ignore, but bullies aren't one of them. As for why I'm following you," she shrugged. "I live here, so I figured I could give you a hand."

Obito stopped dead in his tracks, mouth opening and closing like a landed fish. When he found his voice again, it was filled with more incredulity than a child his size should be able to produce.

"You live here," he repeated, face twisting with offense when she nodded, amused. "Why? What about your family?"

She shrugged again, unconcerned. "Don't have one."

An angry buzz in her pocket corrected her sharply.

"Ah," she pulled the giant beetle from her pocket, showing him to Obito with no small bit of pride. "Aside from Mushi, of course."

The Uchiha boy stared at the beetle, looked up at her, then suddenly looked very, very sad. "I'm sorry," he said, voice smaller than he was. "Baa-chan always says I should think before I speak."

"It's fine," she said, placing Mushi back in his warm pocket. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. It is weird that I live here all by myself, but it's what I'm used to."

That…did not have the intended effect.

"That's even worse," Obito insisted, angry for some reason. "Don't you get cold? What about food? Aren't you lonely?"

Benihime suffered the barrage of questions, answering each of them easily and honestly as they continued through the forest, Choumei chiming in whenever her neighbors or a predator decided to move. Once she'd explained some of how she'd lived before coming to Konoha—though not much, considering her invisible audience—Obito became very quiet.

She let him be. If he had something to say, then he would say it. In the meantime, she just kept walking. The thoughts she dismissed earlier resurfaced, demanding her attention.

This was Obito. Kakashi's best friend who rose from the dead only to be one of Kaguya's pawns, sacrificing his life at the last second in one hell of a rushed redemption arc. Sure, he was used, but so were a lot of people. He still instigated the purge of kekkei genkai from Kiri, still stole Nagato's eyes, still did a whole lot of reprehensible things.

But, that was a different Obito. An angrier, more traumatized Obito, manipulated and gaslit until he was a completely different person to the adorable kid behind her. Wasn't one of the reasons he was so easy to use the fact that he had literally zero friends aside from Rin? That was why he was so fixated on her, right? That is, supposing he functioned like most humans and the 'Sharingan picks one person to love and everyone else can die, lol' theory wasn't true.

…what if it was?

Fuck.

"Hey, Beni."

She hummed in acknowledgement, taking a moment to set aside her thoughts before turning to their main subject. "What is it?"

"You can come live with me, if you want."

Her mind went blank, the words echoing in her empty skull as she stared at him.

"Huh?" She said intelligently.

Obito looked away, blushing cutely. "Baa-chan says kids should have adults to take care of them. If you don't have any, then I don't mind sharing."

…

Of all the misguided, adorable, acts of kindness…

She smiled at him, the expression genuine. Just yesterday, she ran away from someone offering her a home, but when he did it she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Tobi," she said sincerely. "But I'm alright. Living out here is a choice that I made. Besides," she assured him. "I have adults. They're watching us right now."

The boy spun in place, trying to catch a glimpse of her neighbors, and she laughed.

Yeah. Like hell she was letting him be twisted into something he should never have become.

"Hey, Tobi, can you tell me about the Academy? I'm supposed to register for classes later today."

"Woah, really? I'll go with you!"

"Thanks."

Like. Hell.