Hope Flies on Wind-bent Wings

wolves in sheep's clothes

The rain fell in a steady patter around Obito and the Ame shinobi.

Obito wasn't sure what to do. These people called themselves Akatsuki, but they weren't the same Akatsuki he and Naruto were trying to fight in the future.

The one who'd attacked first had accused him of being a Kiri spy. They might know something about Kiri's movements. But was it worth getting involved with them without knowing how it might alter the future?

They were waiting for him to say something.

"Where did you come from?" the blue-haired woman beside Yahiko prompted.

Obito threw all caution to the wind. "I'm—I'm not a spy. I'm actually chasing some Kiri hunter-nin right now! I don't want any trouble with you guys. But they took something from me, and it's really important I get it back. Have they been through here? Which way did they go?"

"You're chasing them? Does that mean you're from Konoha?" Yahiko narrowed his eyes.

Obito took a step back. He was too far behind, too unsure about what was going on. "...No. But they came through my village."

"You hesitated just now! You're clearly lying," the swordsman behind him accused.

"No, I'm not! I just don't like telling strange gangs of shinobi who I am!"

Yahiko stepped forward, and the two flanking him followed. "Alright, everyone calm down. Kyuusuke, you're not helping. Let's call a truce, okay?" He held out his palms to show they were empty. "For the past few weeks, those hunter-nin have been squatting in abandoned towns like this one all along the border. We heard about their attack on Konoha. Whoever you are, we won't harm you, and maybe we can give you the information you want. But in exchange, you have to tell us who you really are. No aliases. No tricks."

Obito hesitated. Yahiko waited, gaze fixed, unwavering.

Obito still didn't know what was going on, but it seemed like this Akatsuki wanted to cooperate. If the hunter-nin were using abandoned border towns to hide out, maybe that's where they fled back to. Maybe there were more clues to find here.

He glanced at Kyuusuke as the swordsman walked around to stand with the others. Then he looked back at Yahiko.

If he told the truth, they might attack. If he lied, they wouldn't help. Either way, he might get chased out and end up at square one.

He cursed mentally.

"My name is Uchiha Obito," he muttered.

Recognition among the group was immediate. He saw them shift, frown, murmur. Obito wished, not for the first time, that his clan's name was a little less infamous. Hiding it would be a significant lie. Saying it ended up... like that.

"If it's true, we can't let him go," a man with a topknot said from within the group. "The Uchiha wreaked havoc on our lands. That's why there's never enough damn food to go around now."

Obito took another step backward.

"Be quiet," Yahiko said firmly. "That was in the second war. We've had decades to get back on our feet, but that hasn't stopped us from slipping even further."

"This was a bad idea," Obito said. "I'm just gonna—" He turned around and pushed into the space between.

He was only trying to escape into kamui. And for a moment, he succeeded. The world around him became the darkness of in-between.

But then he felt a stab in his eye and his heart lobbed off-key once more, and he fell back out into the ordinary world as if the dimension had spit him out.