Drums of War
Title: Drums of War
Fandom: Naruto
Character: Namikaze Minato
Theme: Gong
He could hear the screams in the distance, the dying sounds of his companions, his friends. Clutching the small, wrapped bundle to his breast with an almost desperate need, the man ran, the deep clanging of alarm klaxons sounding at his heels.
Dong....Dong...
Not towards the conflict, to where those he knew, those he loved, were counting on him. That was what a Hokage would do. What a great shinobi would do. What a brave man would do. Run headlong into danger, into the insecurity of life and the deathly weight of the knowledge of what he had to do.
But right now, he wasn't any of those things.
Right now, he was only Namikaze Minato, widowed for all of 10 minutes, the final memory of Kushina's tired face in his mind as she held his hand weakly, her body too exhausted from the fighting and the birth of their son to hang on any longer, her brilliant blue eyes fading as she smiled that gentle smile that was only for him, telling him that she understood. That their son would be the one to save them all.
Dong...Dong...
He was a husband bereft, a man floundering in the sea without the anchor that had always grounded him since that first day he'd looked in her eyes and known that somehow, he'd make her his. He was a father, staring down at the warm, wriggling body of his son, knowing the sacrifice that he was about to make, and the life that he was condemning his innocent child to.
Dropping down to his knees, Minato held the infant -- Naruto. That was the name they'd decided on -- tightly to him, gritting his teeth against the tears glistening on his face in the firelit glow of Konoha, crying tears of flame behind him as the Kyuubi's might ran unchecked across the village. Why did things have to be this way? Why couldn't there be some other way, some way that could avoid this?
Dong... Dong...
He could hear the gongs, the frantic chiming of alarm bells and tolls, sounding in the night for anyone who heard, sounding for him. Their Hokage. Their protector.
It wasn't even that he cared for his own life. When he'd taken the mantle of Hokage, Minato had accepted that his life would one day be forfeit for the village, as any Hokage's life should be. He had pledged his life to the service of the leaf, and it was in that service that he would die.
It was all about Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, for the boy would be the vessel through which Kushina's memory lived as well. Drawing a shaking, shuddering breath, he fixed her face in his mind, traced a finger down Naruto's cheek as he stared down at the sleeping baby. It wasn't fair, wasn't right. But... it was the only way. His son would be the village's saviour, while he himself became it's sacrifice.
Dong....Dong...
Pushing himself to his feet, the Yondaime Hokage turned back towards the village, bathed in the firey glow of Kyuubi's chakra. One step, then another, his footsteps in time with the beating of the heavy brass circles. Now, the time for running was over. It was time for the Hokage to take his place in history.
Fandom: Naruto
Character: Namikaze Minato
Theme: Gong
He could hear the screams in the distance, the dying sounds of his companions, his friends. Clutching the small, wrapped bundle to his breast with an almost desperate need, the man ran, the deep clanging of alarm klaxons sounding at his heels.
Dong....Dong...
Not towards the conflict, to where those he knew, those he loved, were counting on him. That was what a Hokage would do. What a great shinobi would do. What a brave man would do. Run headlong into danger, into the insecurity of life and the deathly weight of the knowledge of what he had to do.
But right now, he wasn't any of those things.
Right now, he was only Namikaze Minato, widowed for all of 10 minutes, the final memory of Kushina's tired face in his mind as she held his hand weakly, her body too exhausted from the fighting and the birth of their son to hang on any longer, her brilliant blue eyes fading as she smiled that gentle smile that was only for him, telling him that she understood. That their son would be the one to save them all.
Dong...Dong...
He was a husband bereft, a man floundering in the sea without the anchor that had always grounded him since that first day he'd looked in her eyes and known that somehow, he'd make her his. He was a father, staring down at the warm, wriggling body of his son, knowing the sacrifice that he was about to make, and the life that he was condemning his innocent child to.
Dropping down to his knees, Minato held the infant -- Naruto. That was the name they'd decided on -- tightly to him, gritting his teeth against the tears glistening on his face in the firelit glow of Konoha, crying tears of flame behind him as the Kyuubi's might ran unchecked across the village. Why did things have to be this way? Why couldn't there be some other way, some way that could avoid this?
Dong... Dong...
He could hear the gongs, the frantic chiming of alarm bells and tolls, sounding in the night for anyone who heard, sounding for him. Their Hokage. Their protector.
It wasn't even that he cared for his own life. When he'd taken the mantle of Hokage, Minato had accepted that his life would one day be forfeit for the village, as any Hokage's life should be. He had pledged his life to the service of the leaf, and it was in that service that he would die.
It was all about Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, for the boy would be the vessel through which Kushina's memory lived as well. Drawing a shaking, shuddering breath, he fixed her face in his mind, traced a finger down Naruto's cheek as he stared down at the sleeping baby. It wasn't fair, wasn't right. But... it was the only way. His son would be the village's saviour, while he himself became it's sacrifice.
Dong....Dong...
Pushing himself to his feet, the Yondaime Hokage turned back towards the village, bathed in the firey glow of Kyuubi's chakra. One step, then another, his footsteps in time with the beating of the heavy brass circles. Now, the time for running was over. It was time for the Hokage to take his place in history.