Another Direction

Could he make it in time?

Branches flew backward through his field of vision as Obito leaped through the forest. Behind his goggles, his eyes grew increasingly solemn. The light ahead became brighter and brighter, and the edge of the woods was right before his eyes. His pace kept quickening, and at some point, he had clenched his teeth tightly.

At this rate, he would be killed!

Could he make it in time?

Tap!

An anxious thought flashed through his mind. He planted a foot on a branch, and the Chakra beneath his sole erupted instantly.

Then...

"Ah!"

With a cry of alarm, his body sprang high into the air, dragging a long vine with him as he hung suspended in midair.

Then...

With a smack, he crashed to the ground, rolled several times before barely coming to a stop, and lay sprawled on the earth.

"Cough!"

He coughed lightly and raised his head, his face full of pain. He muttered, "I made it, right?"

Tap!

Just then, a foot clad in a blue ninja sandal stepped in front of his face. A black shadow enveloped his entire body, and his vision abruptly darkened.

"No, you're late, Obito!"

At that moment, Kakashi's arms-crossed figure, along with his Teacher sitting atop a large rock behind and to Kakashi's left, and Rin standing slightly uneasily to the left, slowly came into view as he looked up. Then Kakashi's lazy, irritating voice reached him. "Do you know what time the rendezvous was? Now that you're a ninja capable of standing on your own, following rules and discipline should be a given, shouldn't it?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly late..."

Hearing Kakashi's voice, Obito abruptly sat up and habitually began, "It's just that an old lady carrying luggage and walking with difficulty stopped me to