Hope Flies on Wind-bent Wings

when we were all apart

A/N: It's obvious by now, but this chapter kicks off the identity swap plot. Just as a reminder, like I said at the top of chapter 1, my reason for this was to write literally anything, and get myself unblocked by having a good old wacky time. Is this realistic? No, not at all. Is it a reach? Yes. Am I going to try convincing you this makes perfect sense? Nope. Because it doesn't, and that was never my concern.

With that out of the way, let's dive in! :D

#

Obito lay in the dark, dusty space above the armory check-in area, wedged between the support beams. He mentally ran through the plan one last time.

It was a very basic one. A small team of ANBU had tracked the Kiri hunter-nin retreating toward the western border countries. Once they crossed over, they would be much harder to find.

Obito would jump to a secluded area they'd camped at one time after the Kannabi bridge mission. From there, he could move along the border until any clues turned up.

If he found the hunters, he would follow and wait for an opportunity to steal the book back. If nothing else, maybe the ANBU would provide a good distraction.

But if nothing turned up, he would return home. That was the deal.

Obito closed his eyes and concentrated on where he wanted to land. He was careful not to make any noise or movement when he slipped back into his kamui dimension.

Without stopping to pause, afraid to feel the drain hit before leaving, Obito tried to step out.

In that moment, something in the world shifted strangely. He tried pushing forward, but lost his balance in the dark in-between. His heart stuttered. A wave of dizziness overtook him. Obito pressed a hand to his chest and fell back into the solid world.

He'd re-materialized high above a steep, rocky hill. He only had a second to take everything in before he hit the ground feet-first and slipped. Gravel and sharp stones dug into his legs as he slid uncontrollably, sending a wave of rocks tumbling down with him. Obito hissed and managed to push himself back to his feet and hop down to the rapidly approaching grass below.

He stumbled a little, but managed to stay upright. After landing and regaining his balance, Obito looked around.

The scenery around him was muddy and bland. It didn't seem like the Land of Fire's vibrant forests, nor did it look like the lush grasslands that gave the Land of Grass its name. He'd fallen out somewhere along the way.

He'd felt the rejection coming, but he chose to fall out in the regular world instead of within kamui. Despite what he told Tobi, he wanted to recover outside, where he could at least keep searching.

Obito picked up a rock with his good hand and squeezed it to see if he could push it through the space between. Nothing happened. He tossed the rock away.

A short distance away, the land continued its slope downward, gravel making way to short, brown grass. Obito walked to the edge of the descent to get a better look into the distance.

Below, the slopes all around the area were ribboned with flat, tilled strips of land completely barren of whatever had once grown there. In the distance, he could see a cluster of low, round stone buildings. Enough for a small village.

Obito hesitated. If he'd landed on the Fire side of the border, he could ask for help, or at least figure out where he was. But on the other side—the lands of Rivers, Rain, and Grass were not hospitable to outsiders. Especially ones from the Five Greats.