Chasing You

8. Clouds

Drinking can be fun.

Really fun.

The alcohol conquered his brain, dominating his thoughts and actions as if it were its own. And that can feel good.

Really, really good.

Not being in control all the time.

Being carefree.

Not giving a shit about his surroundings, but living in the moment as if it's his last day on earth.

It feels...euphoric almost.

Key word- almost .

He feels like he's on top of the world, like a voyager who traveled through the rocky mountains of Iwa and fevered Suna deserts, who finally reached his peak. It's a high that he doesn't want to come down from.

So yeah, maybe it was kind of euphoric.

Because the feeling of euphoria...is the feeling of delight and joy. One feels light, like a cloud. All weight has been lifted. And once that happens, he's able to float. Float so high that he becomes one with the clouds, until he reaches the blueness of the sky, or the yellow of the sun.

Or maybe he can reach something better, and veer out further into space. Perhaps reaching the unknown colors of the cosmos and hoping that its vibrant colors consume him entirely.

Too unrealistic? He doesn't think so.

Because it feels really good. To be so carefree.

Because then he doesn't feel so lonely. That feeling disappears entirely. He won't feel like he's missing any part of him, because he'll be whole. Expectations and standards of who he's supposed to be are nothing but words; they don't feel as heavy anymore, they don't hold depth and meaning. Because like a cloud, he can float and drift away until the sun finds and greets him with warm and welcoming arms, congratulating him for accomplishing his goals, for proving those wrong who underestimated him.

Maybe Shikamaru was onto something, because being a cloud sounds fucking amazing...at least in the moment. It sounds super unrealistic, that he knows. But when was Naruto Uzumaki ever a rational guy? He's a visionary who looks to the stars, because he knows that his parents are watching. His master, grinning. His genius, observing. They're all watching from the stars above, waiting for him to achieve the achievable.

So yeah, he's a visionary with goals that still need completion.

Everyone he's defeated had a logical reason for what they did. He has logical reasons too, but that's not the point. Logic and order are good sometimes, sure. But nothing ever goes wrong with spontaneity and altruism.

But nevertheless, he digresses. Those are tangent thoughts speaking.

So going back on track-

Drinking can be fun. It can be euphoric, in some twisted way. Because one minute he's experiencing the highs of an alcoholic beverage, swimming in the buzz, and if he's lucky enough, drowning in the cosmos of colorful bliss. And in the next minute-

It happens.

Reality pulls on his leg, sending him underneath the cosmos, back into the blue hue of the Earth's atmosphere where he falls.

His body is descending from the sky at a fast rate, the clouds watching him fall with sullen auras, and suddenly he doesn't feel as light anymore.

The weight that wasn't there before is back, and as he falls, the weight clings onto him like cacti. It will hurt to pry off. It claws at his back, pierces deep into his shoulders. And the weight doesn't care if he's already falling from the sky, because when he comes down from the high, he must fall. There's no escaping it. And during that dreadful fall, he must endure the hit of all consequences being thrown at him, no matter how bad the damage is.