the life and death of atlas burabiya.

Prologue, The Life And Death of Atlas Burabiya [2]

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"You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. What makes you think that, when faced with damnation or happiness, they would want you to have anything but the latter? And though you will not remember them, the spirit of who you were will live on within them. Atlas. The Sky-Bearer, the Red-Mane of Kumogakure. A soldier, a friend, a mentor, a brother, a leader. You leave behind your memory, your story and all that you stood for, with them. The Magnificent Tale of the Masked Man with the Mane! The Crow King who battled the Yonbi! And deep down you will never- truly- forget them. For in your dreams, they'll still be there, smiling:

Your family.

Comrades.

Best of friends.

The hands wrapped around his back loosen as she retreats by mere inches, staring into his glistening pools of emerald. His face is a macabre display of charred flesh and bone, patches of skin and muscle slowly regenerating, meticulously crafting what used to be the man's countenance. His hair, once blackened and singed at its tips, is now regaining its natural velvet red luster. Though he is horrid in appearance, she does not lose the admiration from her eyes. This is the man she loves, and her expression shows it.

She raises a single hand, gently caressing the recently recuperated side of his cheek, watching as his tired eyes flicker, staring vacantly ahead. "You've have been loved by many, Atlas. Wouldn't they all want you to continue living?" Her hand slides downward, cupping the bottom of his chin. "Trust me when I tell you that you still have much to offer to mankind, and that the fulfillment of your life's desire is nigh. You just have to carry on, darling."

The final fragments of burnt flesh on his face finish their recovery process, but his nonchalant and half-eyed stare remains the same. Tentatively, he mouths words he has yet to speak. "You're asking me... to forget them." He manages to say, his voice tinged with a hoarse growl. "I can't do that... abandoning them. I can't... I can't. Without them... please. Don't force me to do that." A single tear streams down his fresh cheek. "I don't want to go."

His heartbroken eyes meet her own, shaded with fatigue and entreatment, crestfallen yet glistening brilliantly with emerald hues. Tears have gathered at the edges, on the brink of falling, and it is then that she realizes that her pleading has failed to ease his pain. She catches his tear with a single finger, dissolving the liquid between her thumb and index, a look of sorrow cast upon her countenance. Then, slowly, she leans forward and stands on her toes- planting the lightest of kisses on his lips, before whispering:

"I'm sorry, my love. But we never had a choice."

Chapter 1, Mr. Blue Sky [3]

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With the after effects of the previous night fading away as the day wore on, the man with the red-mane adopts his usual- optimistic- attitude. What was once an unwillingness to continue without additional hours of sleep, and a pulsating headache that seemed to have no end, has now become a robust thirst for life and flourishing activity. The afternoon carries on slowly as Esau begins his lonesome walk towards the fields where his adopted cousin Junpo left the cows grazing. Though such long and solitary walks has often lead him to ponder the circumstances of his suspicious beginning on this land, tonight's stroll manages to break from that tired, old mold. The stabled steed at their ranch, having earned a day's rest for today, was left purposefully by the ranch hand. He chose to undergo this mosey.

Whatever- whoever- he once was... did it really matter? He was Esau now. Esau Matsuda, the adopted grandson to Mai Matsuda, a proud rancher and Hanasho resident. He had a life, with purpose, with peace- was there anything better he could ask for? The crickets chirped with fervor in the grassy brush that bordered the old dirt road he walked on. Though darkness had not begun its occupation of the skies just yet, the creatures seemed to know it would be arriving soon. And behind the archaic wooden fences on each side of the road, in the fields of grass that went on for as far as the eye could see, the dark severe forests swayed in the shady horizon.

He had much to live for, as Esau. He could carry on the memory of Grandma Mai's long departed son, bearing his name and bringing honor to it through his actions. He didn't have to pursue this... this ghost that haunted him in his dreams. This darkly clad figure among crowds of inky shadows, headed into explosions of fire and lava, a seemingly omnipotent power crying out for help. This man of crows, shrouded in the clouds of a mountaintop ruin, always with the running. Never, ever, stopping.

Esau shuddered.

The mere recalling of such dreams spawned such a chill down his spine that he could nary control it. Emotions swept through his essence so fast that he was left dumbfounded with the feeling, a sudden- and just as brief- conglomeration of anger, joy, distress, depression and hope. The soles of his black boots kick up small clouds of dust as he comes to an abrupt stop, tentatively raising a single finger towards the surface of his left cheek. His index catches a stray tear just before it cascades down towards his chin. He is thinking about the girl now. Joyous laughter, warm embraces.

But he doesn't know why he's suddenly so sad.

Chapter 1, Mr. Blue Sky [5]

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A light piano medley provides the first floor of the Opal Crescent with a joyous, yet contained ambiance. The crowd, though still rambunctious and rowdy at times, have managed to restrain themselves just enough to avoid damaging property again. Taking advantage of the sudden change of scenery, the red-maned man takes a moment to regain his bearings, a single arm strewn lazily across the side of his chair as he leans back. Across from him sits the man with the dark blue eyes- Gear- eyeing him with an amused but slightly nettled smile. He suppresses a laugh. "You look like shit, Esau."

"Nn." The green-eyed male responds, head lolled back as he takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. "I'll bounce back, I always do."

"You so sure about that?"

A fiendish smile spreads across Esau's face, eyes closed, face pointed towards the ceiling. "This," He retorts, not bothering to lift his head, as he holds up his bottle of liquor. "This is nothing. Amateur stuff!"

"And what about the stuff you had before that, hm?"

Esau suddenly raises his head, narrowing his eyes at Gear with an intoxicated smirk. Without providing an answer, he takes a swig of his wine.

"Ah, the plot thickens." Gear chuckles. "You poor, alcoholic bastard."

"Yeah, yeah." The half-masked male replies, placing his bottle back on the table. "What's up with you, anyway? I'm seeing you around less and less often. It's not as fun here without someone to keep me in check, y'know."

Gear shakes his head, his eyes shifting towards the crowd at the center of the floor. "Yeah, well... I've been taking extra shifts at work."

"Construction, again?"

The blonde-haired man nods, turning his cheerful gaze back towards his friend. "Someone's gotta do it. Plus, watching over you doesn't pay my bills. So excuse me if I abandon my vices for just a couple days."

Esau lightheartedly shrugs, his smile ever-present. "Your loss, man."

He remembered his first night here. The exuberant stranger that he would later have the honor of calling a 'friend', guiding him towards this beacon of rapture and freedom after a hard day's work full of unadulterated labor. He remembered the taste of his first alpine brew. the cheers he had received upon ending "Iroh's Thousand-High, Arm-Wrestling Streak", that sensation of acceptance he felt among Hanasho's welcoming community. But most of all, he remembered what a great friend Gear had been throughout it all.

Chapter 1, Mr. Blue Sky [7]

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A jingle of keys heralds the opening of the creaky cabin door, the dark but immediately distinguishable silhouette of a half-masked man slipping through as he closes the wooden entrance behind him. It is as dark here as it was in the forest outside, save for the one lit candle glowing in the other room. In range of its luminous aura, and sitting on a large Victorian chair (beside the drawer on which the lit candle resides), is the half-shadowed visage of an old woman. She sits there, knitting, regarding the late visitor with a brief glance but never pausing with her activity. This is Grandma Mai, the "Witch of Hanasho", and the woman who took Esau in a year ago.

Esau acknowledges her presence with a chagrined smile, running a single hand along the side of his face. "Morning, Grandma." He pauses for a moment, observing the prowess of her knitting ability. "Geez," He continues light-heartedly, a sense of languidness emanating from his eyes. "Are you knitting sweaters for the entire villaga, Ma? You've been at it for a while."

"Your coat, dear." She answers nonchalantly. "It takes.. time."

The red-maned male chuckles quietly, knowing his cousin Junpo is asleep in the adjacent room, and rubbing at his half-asleep eyes. "Ha, ha. Well, seems like we've got plenty of that... don't we? Nothing but time."

Though Esau is too preoccupied with his eyes to see it, the old woman immediately halts. Her dark orbs, framed by the aged wrinkles that come with one's dotage, gleam with the radiance coming from the candle's flame. When she notices the half-masked male discontinue his kneading of the eyes, she promptly returns to her knitting. Time. How much longer?

"Well, anyways," Esau continues, making his way towards the bedroom nearby, where the top of half of a bunk bed awaits. "I'm going to hit the hay. You should get some rest, too, Ma." And with that, he's gone.

But the old woman, the old woman remains. Knitting, wondering again, when Esau would leave them. Always anticipating, and taking the necessary preparations into play. After minutes of unabridged silence, she stops once more. The boys were asleep now, and they would not wake for hours to come. Knowing this, she sets her sewing needles on the drawer beside her chair, then hoists herself off the seat. Her aching feet cause her to grumble with displeasure as she walks across the room, fetching a thick woolen coat that hangs off the rack at the corner. With nothing more than an archaic copper key she retrieves off the counter of the nearby escritoire, she exits the cabin and treads off into the darkness of the cold, unforgiving night.

Chapter 2, The Other Side [2]

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Beams of dawning sunlight filtered through the besmirched window, their faint yellow radiance covering a substantial portion of the quiet room. The birds outside chirped and sang, engrossed in the reverie of a brand new day. And the man with the red-mane sat, alone, in the solace of the wooden cabin. The recurring dream that played in his mind's eye each night had always resonated with so many different meanings for him. The images, and the words, left him feeling mystified and peculiar. The emotions left him at a loss for words. As if impacted by shock, he often spent the first hour of the his mornings in thought. Conflicted between the dreams, and reality.

Junpo had been gone for hours now, having left as early as usual to tend to his chores. The ranch, and all of its responsibilities, required it. And Grandma Mai... well, he never really knew where Grandma Mai was at this hour. He had always presumed she was out gathering herbs in the forest, or taking a tranquil morning stroll. With them gone, and with him alone in the cabin, Esau felt entirely isolated. As if he were the last person on earth. As if the world had suddenly gotten smaller, and there was nothing in existence but him and the birds and the trees. A sense of trepidation fell over him, coating his entire body like a cold splash of water. And then... familiarity.

He looked up, curious eyes shifting to and fro, as if they were trying to see something more than just the wooden bars that criss-crossed against the ceiling. He tried to explain the feeling with irrational and misguided thoughts. He tried to imagine that it was nothing more than a cold snap, an icy breeze of wind flowing through the many cracks and crevices within the cabin. But he couldn't convince himself enough to stop thinking it was something more. And, tentatively, his lips parted to speak-- his tone raised no higher than a whisper. "Can you hear me? Are you there?" He paused then, reconsidering this foolish attempt, then continued. "I... I want to know who you are. What all of... this, is. Who... Who I used to be..."

And, as expected, there was no answer. He dropped his somber gaze, and chuckled as he shook his head. "Aha... Who am I kidding..." He sniffed, eyes locked on the floor, fingers clutching the strangely ornate pillow he held. There was nothing in here with him. He was all alone. And the only sounds that kept him company was that of the birds chittering outside. He would remain there, in the silence and solitude, for some time to come. Imagining the cabin, and the child, and the woman. And her voice.

You have my whole heart, _____. You always did.

Chapter 2, The Other Side [4]

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The wind that entered the cavern's dark mysterious depths echoed from within, creating an abysmal howl that resonated with a miasma of despair. From the sound of it, the cave was incredibly, unfathomably deep. But, positioned at the forefront of its entrance, Esau fails to perceive anything beyond the darkness flooding its interior. So-- against all common sense-- he takes a sequence of steps forward, his figure engulfed by the shadow almost instantly. He walks with careful and tentative steps as he treads through the darkness. His hands reach out to touch anything that is in front of him. The tip of his boots struggle not to collide with a rock strewn on the ground, whilst his feet ensure that there is ground before him prior to stepping.

Then, without warning, his hands come into contact with a wooden surface. It is smooth and, as he continues to slide his hands across its surface, he immediately realizes that it is of man-made origin. He can feel the metal hinges to a door, an intricate keyhole, and the cold surface of a doorknob. He side-steps to the right, and then promptly to the far left, as he attempts to find another way forward. But there is none. The rest of the cave is blocked by this wooden construct, and without the key required, he could go no further. Finding the entire thing very suspicious, Esau attempts to take a peek of the other side, crouching in order to place his eye at the forefront of the keyhole's opening. He sees nothing but a faint green light in the distance.

With his curiosity unsatisfied, but no room to explore, the red-maned man grunts with displeasure. "Hft." He rises from his crouched position, turning the doorknob left and right in one final-- pitiful-- attempt to unlock the entrance. The lock remains steadfast. So he walks out of the cavern, emerging from the foreign darkness, and basking his form in the sunlight of Taki no Kuni once more. He stops, suppressing an urge to wrap the white blanket around him, before turning over his shoulder to stare deep into the darkness. There was something there... he just knew it. He could feel it.

That feeling of dread that radiated within the cavern stuck with him as he walked off into the Hanasho forest, headed back to civilization. He tried to fill his mind with thoughts of his upcoming visit with Natsu, or the joyous time he would have at the Opal Crescent toward's the end of the day. But he couldn't. The thought of the cave, and even thoughts of his dream, plagued his mind unremittingly. It made him feel uncomfortable, and jittery. That feeling of the "not knowing", that sensation that told you that someone-- or something-- was watching. And that question. That incessant question:

What waited to be discovered on the other side?