Chapter Title: 'Creak and Crumble, Reel and Stumble, Fall to Pieces'
Belonging To: 'Conscious Dreaming'
Author: Miss.Yamapi.Kara
Genre: Drama, (Romance), Science Fiction
Warnings: None outstanding
Rating: T
Base: 'Naruto' by Masashi Kishimoto
Chapter Summary: 'So close' is never close enough.
Chapter Soundtrack: 'Find the Words' Mad At Gravity
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership over the manga, anime or other variations of what I know as 'Naruto'. I am gaining no profit from this piece.
I have no intimate connection to mentioned established institutes/universities/brands/other names that may be used in this story.
I do not claim ownership over the songs named above.
All material other than the above-mentioned is claimed as the sole property of myself.
Heads Up: If necessary, action will be taken to protect my own writing. It would be greatly appreciated if fellow avid writers, all readers or general persons would respect the content of this document and not copy it. If it is desired by anyone to use any part of the text on the page, I would bid him or her to contact me and it shall be discussed.
Miss.Yamapi.Kara
Author's Note: Don't hurt meee! I'm too... penitent to die? hopeful My goodness, this was hard to write even after refreshing the idea in my mind. I'm very sorry to have been gone so long. I will try to be more consistent from now on.
This chapter is dedicated to everyone who made it possible for 'Find the Words', performed by Mad At Gravity, to reach my ears.
Proceeding...
Conscious Dreaming
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: Creak and Crumble, Reel and Stumble, Fall to Pieces
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7:52pm : GMT+1
Zurich, Switzerland
AdvanceTech Building, Centre of Development, 23rd Floor
Having failed miserably in tracking both the account and movements of the mysterious user, the young man sighed heavily.
He was still sitting at his desk, socked feet resting on a pile of finished reports, and toying with a length of broken cable.
'How can that happen? He was in my development quarters..'
His failure puzzled him and he began to wonder if maybe he didn't understand The System anymore.
"Alice, baby, don't betray me."
Blue eyes pleaded with the monitors glowing before them.
Maybe it was a glitch in the program. Maybe he hadn't really seen anyone. Maybe it had been his imagination.
But he knew it wasn't.
He knew that person had been there, and he knew that person.
'Don't I?'
As he wrapped the piece of cable around his hand, he stared at the headset.
So many hours.
The cup of tea was ice-cold.
Sakura had scolded him before she left. Of course, she had turned around and apologised and said that she was just really worried about him.
He thanked her and sent her home.
As good a friend as Sakura was, she needed to understand he wasn't a helpless child.
He had the ability to win his battles.
The cable dropped to the office floor and newly unoccupied fingers reached for the headset.
'Ok, one more time...'
2:52am : GMT+9
Kobe, Japan
Kobe University, Heisei Dorm, Room 201
Having failed to fall asleep almost four hours earlier, the young man stood by his dorm room window, leaning his forehead against the glass.
His arms were crossed and covered by a thin jumper. His forehead felt cool and his eyes were closed.
'I'm not going to be able to sleep until I go back.'
He opened his eyes.
"But I don't want to."
Black eyes wandered without seeing.
It was possible that it had been an illusion. A mistake of his brain brought on by recent stress. A reflection of meaningless images in his mind.
But he knew it wasn't.
He knew his dreams weren't hollow, and he knew the person in them.
'Don't I?'
He turned around slowly to take in the state of his room.
Organised, not a thing out of place.
Except for the headset that lay in the far corner.
Having left his afternoon English class and attended the next two without incident, he'd returned to his dorm with only one thing in mind: sleep.
Sleep and forget.
But that proved impossible.
He stared at the headset. He knew he had to go. He knew he wanted to go.
'Just do it.'
... If I told you
That the crowd was all ears
Could you find the words to say.. ...
The place was bright this time.
It was a children's playground during early morning.
The sand was dark with melted fog and dew drops clung to the red elephant slide. Sunshine-yellow swings were still as a portrait, and so too was the green shrubbery around.
Black eyes looked up at the sky to find it pale like blue powder, but seamlessly smooth.
The boundaries of the playground were hidden by a floating wall of white that swirled as the young man stepped near it.
He believed that he should stay and wait; after all, the first meeting was made in a random place, it may well happen again.
He chose to wait on the purple see-saw.
He rested at the fulcrum.
'What do I do if he shows...'
... Would you laugh or would you fall to pieces?
Would you lie or would you run? ...
'What was my plan again?'
Less a battle strategy, the programmer played with The System's co-ordinates.
He was waiting for a number that would catch his attention.
There.
Command prompt. Deep breath.
'Let's go.'
... Could you find the words to say.. ...
His first thought on entering the playground was one of serenity. The air was light and cool.
His second was one of triumphant turmoil.
Blue eyes met black.
... If I told you
You could take home the prize
Would you know the game to play? ...
The one in white and black turns and runs.
He knows this is his only chance to escape.
His only chance, before he turns around and concedes.
High speed; wind; thump, land foot and balance, don't fall off; keep running, keep jumping; just leave.
The forest is once again dark.
The moon will not shine until the next break in the canopy.
It must be far away.
He hopes it is far away.
... If I told you
You had the world on a string
Could you tell which way to pull? ...
The one in orange and black starts chasing.
Again.
Chasing as if he has never known otherwise.
And yet, he despises it.
Chasing, running, chasing.
There is no sound; no branches snapping, no leaves crunching.
No mistakes being made.
He realises now: if he is to reach his target, he cannot follow in its footsteps.
His path is deviated.
... If I told you
That your life was a glass
Would you know when it was full? ...
A pale hand grasps the sword at his back.
He feels uneasy somehow.
From his right, too fast to react; he is knocked sideways and his sword is pulled away.
He lands hard on a branch too far below. His ankles pain.
Now from the left, too fast to react; he feels a heavy weight push him back.
His hair fluttering in front of his eyes cuts his vision into two, four, two fields as he falls the short way to the forest floor.
He lands again hard, but his face remains removed from pain.
The body pinning him to the ground prevents resumed evasion.
Blue eyes stare down from above; rough hands render the others' immobile.
"That's what you get for underestimating me."
Black eyes are emotionless from below; his fists clench and relax, clench and twist.
"Let me go or die."
The forest is dark. There is no light.
"I said I'm never going to let you go! Open your ears, bastard!!"
... Could you find the words to say.. ...
Slip. One mistake.
A hand shoots up towards his throat-
Everything was dark.
No, not dark. Gone.
He tore the headset away and looked around frantically.
"Sakura?!"
She was standing over the keyboard, hands poised in mid type.
She had disconnected him from The System.
Her eyes were worried and wet.
"I knew you'd still be here! This really has to stop, you don't know what you're doing to yours-"
"I know exactly what I'm doing!!"
Even though he didn't.
He was panicking.
He couldn't believe it.
One in a million. Who knows what number he'd magically rolled to win and find that man again.
He was livid.
He shoved his feet into his shoes, pulled his jacket from his chair, and pushed past the woman to leave the office.
He pulled his headset off and laid it onto the bed next to him.
He stared at the wall.
His heart was pounding.
His chest felt as if it were burning.
One hand rose to feel the beating through his shirt.
He sighed and fell back.