KONOHA’S WORLD SITUATION

The white clouds seem tacked onto the sky, which itself is a deep, thickly daubed shade of blue.

It all looks terribly fake to me, perhaps because I refuse to admit it was ever real at all.

Rays of sunlight rain down, searing and blazing their way across the asphalt as they shimmer through the air.

But the heat, and the smell of the asphalt, is nothing that I can feel for myself.

“You must have realized it by now. You are incapable of remaining in this world. The queen is gone, and now, you are merely spent leftovers.”

“Oh. You again. Wish I knew why you wanted to make it that way so badly…”

Is this a conversation? Or am I simply talking to myself?

Either way, it has been quite a long time since I last engaged in meaningful communication with anyone.

Once I go back There, I suppose I’ll forget everything.

Forget talking on and on, endlessly jabbering even more than I used to. It’s just embarrassing at this point.

At the intersection ahead, marked by a cut in the trees that line the road, a girl staggers her way across the crosswalk, a vacant stare on her face.

How many times have I watched this already? How many times did I just stand there and stare?

I raise an arm, just as I always do. It’s easily within reach of her.

“Stop. This is not your world. It is ‘theirs’ now. Unless one of you can find the other, there is nothing you can do.”

The signal is flashing, but the girl does not seem to notice it.

She is right in front of me. So close, I could embrace her.

But no matter what I do, I cannot touch her. My extended hand slips through the girl, grabbing at air, feeling nothing.

“Why?!”

That fateful moment was almost here, heralded by its blood-curdling scream.

Suddenly, my view of the scene twists and blurs, as if I’ve triggered some cosmic computer glitch that corrupted all the graphics.

Looking down, I discover that my body has already ceased to exist.

“He was the one decided upon. It is over. You may have strained, and stretched, and forced yourself in here. But do not be mistaken. Your continued existence is not a product of your own power.”

“…Yes, it’s yours, isn’t it? You’re the one who gave me all this strength in the first place. How nice of you.”

“It simply happened to be the body you desired. Pure and simple. Now, go back.”

“Um, hang on. Just one more thing. Can you relay a message over to me on the other side?”

“What is it?”

“××××××××××××××××××.”

“…I can make no promises.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine. Thanks for everything.”

This is probably it, too. Right up to the last millisecond, I’ve acted like such a dumbass.

Ugh…If I could have one more wish come true…

I wish I could reach out to her again.

That girl who kicked my dumb ass all the time…