Well, I believed they wouldn't die right then and there, so I made this little one-shot, which is divided into two parts.

My first attempt at a one-shot.

UPDATE (6/28/15): Okay, so I found some minor mistakes, so I corrected them and reposted the story. I know that in the anime, Kushina still had time to entrust Naruto to Sandaime, but when I wrote this fic, that episode wasn't out yet- meh, why am I even explaining. THIS IS A FANFIC! XD

For the best canon pairing, MinaKushi: Beyond the Bounds of "Till Death Do Us Part"

Enjoy~

Onyx Eyes, Crimson Hair

"Minato..."

"Kushina."

Our voices sounded thick with blood.

We laid side by side on the bloody ground, she facing the sealing altar, which held our peacefully sleeping son, and I facing her back.

It seems I won't be seeing her face and her bright onyx eyes for the last time.

What a shame.

I'm really surprised that I don't feel the slightest pain anymore, considering how sharp the Kyuubi's claw which went through me and through her.

The numbing from that jutsu, it must be.

I kind of wish I could give the numbness to her, so that I would bear all her pain, so that the last moments of her life would be free of suffering.

Her long red hair—our 'red thread of fate', she called it—flowed and became one with the red liquid that came from our own bodies.

But enough of that.

"We're still going to see each other again, right?"

Funny, how she still tries to assure herself that we will, indeed, be seeing each other again. She knows full well what effects the Shiki Fuujin has, being in the clan that invented that very sealing technique.

But...

"Yes, I promise."

Even I would like to believe that we will be together again, and I'm willing to wait.

No matter how long.

"Do you swear that by your name?"

Now she wants something like a declaration of fealty.

But...

I chuckled at that, "Yes. I, Namikaze Minato—Konoha's Kiiroi no Senko, Yondaime Hokage, and most of all, husband to Uzumaki Kushina and father to Namikaze Naruto, swear by my name."

I gave her what she wanted, nonetheless.

'Father', huh? I'm positive that Naruto won't even recognize me as his father, but that's okay... I'm in no position to protest against it.

The sealing was my idea after all.

I thought she'd be very pleased by what I just said, but instead she cried some more, her frame quivering.

I forced my left hand to move and reach for her hair, and stroked it when I succeeded.

"Kushina, no need to cry... I promised, right? Don't you believe me?"

"I do. I really do, Minato."

That reminded me of our wedding vows.

Man and wife.

I didn't want to slip away from my wife.

My light and beacon.

"That's good to hear. Then I'm going now."

"But!"

"I hope to see you soon, Kushina, when I find a way to bust from the Shinigami's stomach..."

Actually, I don't hope to see her soon, because that would mean that the Kyuubi had enough power over Naruto to make him sprout the 8th tail, thus freeing the piece of my chakra that I sealed in him.

Really bad news.

"Now isn't the time to joke about that, dattebane!"

Oh, I'm going to miss that verbal tic of hers.

"Goodbye, Kushina. I'm sorry... Omae wo aishiteru..."

Sorry for everything I failed you in.

Maybe we weren't destined to live a long and happy life with our son in this time, but I do hope we would have our chance in the next one.

I love you, forever, over and above 'till death do us part'.