The Will of Fire

[There are rustling sounds and several beeps, as if random buttons are being pushed. A voice fades in and out.] 

-is this? It was working fi- [*crack!*]   Oh! Cra- [*rustling and then more frantic beeps*]

What does this function do? I just want to turn off the broadcas-

[*message tone beeps*]







[OOC: ^_^ Leave a message, and Minato will get back to you as soon as he figures out he has voicemail. XD. Please make a note as to whether it is IC or OOC. Thanks.]

[The screen is still, blades of grass visible on the sides, as if the Hitomi has been tossed onto the ground. Broken light streaming through the treetops obscures anything beyond the grass, until even that is shadowed by a sudden drop of red. A shaking hand appears and feebly wipes it away, leaving a viridian smear.

Minato's face suddenly appears, blurry through the rusty stain of blood, hovering over the screen as if he's keeping himself from collapsing on top of it. His hitai-ate is missing, and long blond bangs--stained with something even darker than humanredness--hang over his pain darkened eyes. Minato grunts and grimaces, before turning his face away to spit something out--a discolored mass of unknown filth.

He takes a shaky breath--a wet sound that gurgles up from his chest--and blood drips from his split lips. He closes his eyes, steadying himself, but the fine trembling of his frame and breath undo his efforts to appear unaffected.]

Am I back?  [Minato's questions hoarsely, a muddled mess of hope, suspicion and confusion. Home. Konoha. He needs to get back -

He collapses, the screen obscured by the torn black fabric of his sweater.]

[He looks worn, and there's a slightly dazed look in his eyes--he's thinking too many things at once. Behind him the scenery is complete destruction. There's no doubt there's been a rather fierce struggle just moments before, the dust still unsettled. After a moment, blue eyes refocus and the look he has now is heavy and piercing.]

Itachi. I need you to come back. Kakashi just took down the barrier and attacked me. Sasuke and I were able to restrain him but there's something wrong. Kakashi didn't recognize either of us--and he tried to kill himself once we had him down. We can't risk awakening him unless there's a solution at hand.

Madara-- [He bites off his words as the stress boils up, and it takes a moment to calm himself.]

Madara's done something to Kakashi. [There's a moment of silence as Minato looks away worriedly, as if looking at something offscreen. When his gaze returns, there's a pinch to the corner of his eyes that reveals just how unsettled he is.]

Come back. Help him.

Please.

[His eyes are blue fire but his face is hardened stone. Yondaime is angry beyond belief, but he can't do anything but supplicate himself to his enemies because it's Kakashi's life that's at stake. So he's here, addressing Konoha's worst enemy, forcing the words out.]

Uchiha Madara-dono. [His voice is surprisingly calm and undisturbed--respectful even. He pauses, debating all the things he wants to say but knows he can't.]

Yesterday you apprehended one of my shinobi, Hatake Kakashi. I would like to open negotiation for his safe return. [Be cautious, he tells himself, but somehow he knows this is all useless.

Words are even more useless to Madara than they are to Pain. Because Madara is without mercy.

Still, Yondaime tries. And now he waits and hopes--and stokes the fury within him to towering but controllable heights, because he needs to be ready, to be strong for whatever awaits him.]





[ooc: this post is future dated to the evening of Wednesday, July 29th]

He has no real sense of time, but he knows that the periods of wakefulness during his enforced slumber have been occurring with decreasing gaps in between. And the brief glimpses he catches -- snapshots, bright and heady with emotions and colors -- of the world shaped by his last sacrifice are enough to tell him a story. A sad but inspiring one, defined by losses and triumphs just as great.

Sandaime is gone. Jiraiya, too. Even Kakashi. But Naruto is not alone, because there's always been something special about the boy -- so lost and grossly impugned -- that draws people to him. He changes them -- a spark of humanity in their hateful breasts that grows into love -- and that's why Minato believes Naruto will change the world. It's more than just a father's pride.

So even though Minato has never met his son, has never talked to him, still he thinks, "He's the one." He'll do what all the previous Hokages couldn't. It's with this pride that he grabs onto the strong wrist that used to be so small in his hand, and shoves his son away from tearing the seal apart and releasing the monster within.

Because that monster with its dark, seductive whispers -- "I'll save you." -- will devour his son, ( and Minato won't allow that. )

[Minato wakes sprawled upon his bed, sight blurred with tears and knows that his dream is not just a dream. It was bittersweet, but good nonetheless, and it's one he'll savor because it's the last time Minato will see his son for a long time to come.]

 

( {He is legend.} )