Prologue

A/N: I doubt there will be anyone reading this but this is my first attempt writing fan fiction and my skill at utilising the English language is not exactly up to scratch so please forgive my grammatical and spelling errors and improper use of vocabulary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did it would be crappy because before watching Naruto I always thought Ninja were Japanese spies.

He winced as he felt his bones break under the force that his soul mate was exerting on his hand. He reminded himself for what seemed to be the hundredth time that the one crushing his hand was his wife and not the boogieman.

"Just a little more" he said through the haze of pain.

"I HATE YOU! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET ME PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE HUH? YOU TRY AND PUSH!" the lady on the bed had long fiery red hair and a heart shaped face. Her body was toned yet shapely and slim. But for now her beautiful features were marred by the look of fury and pain that contorted her face.

"But honey, having a baby was your idea remember?" the man beside her protested, wincing as she added more pressure on his already crushed hand. The man's eyes were a striking blue that seemed to be able to penetrate your very soul, complemented by his sunshine blond hair and the bangs that framed his face; his ever-present smile replaced with a grimace.

"I DON'T CARE WHOSE IDEA IT WAS!" the lady screeched and with a final agonised scream, she brought a new life into the world.

"Congratulations! It's a boy!" the doctor announced. The man heaved a ragged sigh of relief and released his mauled appendage from his wife's monstrous grip. Just as he had his hand healed, a masked entity burst into the room, breathing ragged, and sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Yondaime-sama! K-K…" the Anbu member faltered.

"What is it? Calm down and speak slowly" the now identified Yondaime urged.

"Kyuubi is attacking" the masked person choked out.

"WHAT!" everyone in the hospital room chorused, sans the lady, words laced with disbelief. The red-head was now sitting up, sweat beading her forehead, hugging her son close to her.

"You're going aren't you" she said quietly. It wasn't a question. The Yondaime just gave a brief nod and raced toward the frontlines, coat billowing behind him, the embroidered flames dancing on the breeze that was generated.

"I swear. One of these days he's going to get himself killed." The lady sighed. Suddenly, she felt liquid rise into her throat and try to force its way out. She coughed it out as a bid to prevent herself from choking on it and was startled to find that there was a fresh patch of blood on the sheets. She brought her free hand up to her mouth in a daze and swiped at her lips, finding more of the scarlet liquid staining her fingers.

"Lady Kushina! Are you okay?" the doctor inquired, urgency and worry staining her words as she took the baby from the now identified Kushina.

"Of course I'm not fine! I hurt all over from giving birth and now I'm spewing blood!" she choked as she spat out another globule of her life blood, too drained to deter the doctor from conducting a diagnosis jutsu on her body.

As Kushina's life slipped away bit by bit like the sand in an hourglass, we find her husband in his office, pondering over various ways to defeat the threat to defend his little piece of heaven, his mind racing over various probabilities a million miles an hour after having retreated from the frontlines to devise a battle strategy to take down the rampaging demon. He was on the brink of despair after going through many strategies having them all fail, when he remembered the seal he had seen in the forbidden scroll.

Being a seals master, he knew what it was and what it could do, but sadly, it came with a price, and that was the sealer's soul and a vessel as a human sacrifice. The seal would imprison the demon and save the village but in return, he would have to give up his soul and essentially, his life and be interlocked in an eternal battle with the demon in the belly of the Death God, leaving his family all alone in the world, his son never knowing the love of a father.

But a vessel was obligatory and he could not be expected to force any other parent to give up their child to carry the burden when he had a child of his own, so he was effectively chaining his son and giving him a possible future of misery and teetering on the edge of insanity and solitude. But if the Kyuubi razed Konohagakure to the ground, there would be no future for any of them. He sighed dejectedly as he pulled out the forbidden scroll and proceed to go over it, making modifications where he deemed necessary.

His hand was a blur as he scribbled down the details and necessities for the seal to work the way he wanted it to, ignoring the ruckus outside, orders being issued by captains, the screams of his subordinates falling and audio proof of the carnage the Kyuubi was causing, after what seemed like an eternity to the young village leader, he left for the hospital, the only evidence of him ever being there was the telltale flash of yellow of his signature technique. Kushina was lying in a pool of her own blood, her breathing laboured as the medic nin tried frantically to cure her of her sudden ailment when the Yondaime materialised in the middle of the room.

He took in the chaotic scene and immediately rushed to his beloved's side, urgently inquiring what was wrong. "Don't worry Minato. You know I won't die so easily. I'll fight this damn cough with all I've got. After all, I AM your wife. I know you'll find a way to defeat the demon" she whispered lovingly before falling unconscious from blood loss.

The medics continued to work on her as Minato turned around and scooped up their son, conviction and renewed determination burning in his eyes. Once again, he left for the frontlines and he knew that this time, he would not be going back. He gave his wife one last kiss as he turned his back on the one he had looked forward to spend the rest of his life with and dashed out of the room, tears flowing freely down his face.

When he reached the epicentre of the battle, he saw a sight he had never wanted to see. His subordinates, no, comrades, strewn across the village like rag dolls and were either dead or dying. He could see the giant demon towering over them all as the remaining shinobi bombarded the Kyuubi with as many attacks as they could muster but he could see that they were tiring and on the brink of exhaustion, both of the mind, body and of chakra.

The moment he arrived on the battlefield, their faces lit up with hope, determined to hold off the threat long enough for him to deal with it, even at the cost of their lives. Seeing this, the weight on Minato's heart lightened a little, knowing that even after he was gone, the Will of Fire would carry on, and the shinobi would give their lives for the sake of their village and precious people.

He summoned a gargantuan toad who went by the name of Gamabunta and could finally literally see eye to eye with the great fox. With only a tiny butterfly of doubt fluttering in his heart, he went through the ritual for the Shiki Fuiin, as the seal was aptly named, and proceeded to seal the Kyuubi into his son. With the final parting words of "I love you. Forever and always." he died.

The survivors of the battle were just regaining their bearings after seeing the chakra slough off the Kyuubi and suddenly disappear. A lone figure stood on the top of the Hokage Monument and looked down on the scene. "You were always too noble for your own good. Why didn't you let me die in your place? Idiot." the figure said, his voice cracking under the weight of having lost his favourite student and precious person. A sliver of moonlight broke through the overcast clouds, illuminating the shadow's face just enough to see a forlorn smile and the tears that etched a track down the laugh lines on his face, betraying his emotions. With that said, he turned and left, disappearing into the dark, lonely night.

It was a terrible day for all of Konoha and it would forever be remembered as a cause for mourning and yet, in a perverse way, celebration. It was the day their beloved Yondaime Hokage made his last stand on the frontlines and defended the village. His story would be told for many other generations and remembered as a hero in the hearts of many in Konoha, but this story is just beginning…

A/N: I'm really sorry if I offended anyone or you were not satisfied with it. Please give me pointers on how to improve and point out my mistakes because I have not watched/read Naruto in a long time since starting school. I am sorry if this is too cheesy for you. I'M SORRY! (I have Miranda Lotto complex {DGM:9}) I am also sorry if this was too short for you, I'll try harder next chapter. And to clarify things, Kushina died of the weird coughing disease. I am really sorry if you like Kushina because I like her too. It's just that I need her to be dead for the plot to move along.