I'm Better (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 1

=== Sealing Him to His Fate ===

"No!" Kushina screamed as Minato moved towards her to try and take the newborn in her arms away.

He didn't want to do this. Neither of them did... But they didn't have much of a choice. It was clear to the both of them that they weren't going to last long. It already took a lot out of Kushina, who had just given birth to twins, had the Kyuubi extracted from her, and for trying to put down the Kyuubi with her Chakra Chains.

Minato wasn't fairing too well, either. He had lost a lot of chakra from fighting that masked shinobi and using his Hiraishin no Jutsu multiple times tonight. One of which was transporting his newborn daughter to one of his trusted Anbu who carried one of his three-pronged kunais. He didn't know where he had taken her but he hoped it was somewhere safe, unlike the place his wife and other child were in. Both new parents were exhausted. They were slipping away, they both knew it.

"Kushina… please…"

Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure, stood before his wife as she slowly turned herself away from him. She was holding a small white bundle to her chest tightly. She didn't look like she would give the baby up easily.

"Kushina... please, just give him to me." Minato tried again. The Chakra Chains weren't going to hold up much longer and the Kyuubi would be free again and that would just make everything more difficult.

"Why?!" Kushina cried as she looked into his startling blue eyes.

Minato forced himself not to look away. He didn't want to see his wife like this. But right now, he had to do something to stop the beast from going back to Konoha.

"Why?!" Kushina asked again. "Why does it have to be our son?! Why does he have to be the Kyuubi's container?! Why can't you just seal it back inside me?!"

Minato closed his eyes and told himself to get it together. He didn't want to do it either. Sealing the Kyuubi back inside Kushina wouldn't do them any good. It was taking everything out of them just to keep from collapsing and... probably dying... If they were going to die, which was certainly going to happen. The Kyuubi would die with them but it would just be revived in a few years. The best option was to seal it inside of their own son, however hideous that might sound.

"Kushina, I-"

"Don't! Just don't, Minato!" Kushina interrupted. She was crying now.

A roar sounded off behind them. The fox was getting angrier by the minute. Minato fought back a cringe as he thought about the horrific things the bijuu had done. He didn't want to think about his comrades and his home being destroyed right now. What was important was that he had to do everything he could to stop the beast from destroying everything. Even if it meant sacrificing one of his children.

He looked at his wife with a pleading expression and raised his hand to try and take the newborn in her arms. Kushina didn't even raise a her head to look at him. If anything, her hold on the baby tightened.

"Kushina…please. I know you, of all people would understand. Please…give him to me." Minato pleaded, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. To his surprise, Kushina shrugged it off angrily.

"Why?" Kushina said. "Why does it have to be our son? Why does he have to be the Kyuubi's container? You should know! You should know the pain of being a jinchuuriki! You of all people! I don't want my son to suffer the way I did!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "To maintain the balance of the beasts? Why must you sacrifice yourself? Why must Naruto be sacrificed?"

The look on her face broke Minato's heart.

"To sacrifice one's son is the same as sacrificing one's nation. You know I don't have a choice. The village expects me to save them, not as a father, but as the Yondaime Hokage." he said, steeling himself. It wouldn't do him any good if he broke down now.