My Days with the Reaper Chapter 4, a naruto fanfic

Title: My Days with the Reaper

Pairing: Naruto/Itachi… please note that this is NOT Itachi/Naruto.

Disclaimer: Gosh; stings every time I say this, but I do not own the characters used in this story! On the other hand I do own the plot.

Note: Please enjoy and don't hesitate to leave a review. This particular chapter has not been beta-read, as Redwitch0587 has been unavailable. But I'm sure we'll come back to it when we have time.

Warning: There's always going to be a slight possibility of out-of-character-ness, I can't do much about that.

My Days with the Reaper

Chapter Four

Being summoned by the King was not an unusual occurrence for Iruka. Ever since he had been employed by his Majesty to educate his young wild son, Iruka's visits to the King's study had always been to update the King on his son's progress –usually the lack thereof. The elf had always visited the King in his study with a heavy heart and regret, for his reports on the Prince's education typically left the King with a worried frown and disappointed eyes. There was no one in the Leaves Kingdom who could persuade Prince Naruto to take his education seriously; not when he was young and a wild prankster and not when he was older and a flamboyant player. Despite his best efforts, Iruka could only drill the most basic of knowledge in to the Prince's mind and hope it stuck.

But today, oh, today Iruka had great news to report. There was a slight bounce in his steps and when the heavy double doors to the King's study were opened for him, and he was greeted with his Majesty's wide, expectant grin, Iruka knew for sure that King Minato knew he had great news.

Iruka bowed deeply.

"Please," the King urged casually. "Tell me the news I've been waiting for."

"Your Majesty, the Prince has not missed one lesson in over three weeks! He's shown a keener interest in the subjects I'm teaching him and has often requested he be taught in certain topics which interest him especially."

The King nodded along, his wild blonde locks spiking in every direction, only slightly more tamed than his son's own hair. A smug grin adorned his handsome face and he made no attempt to hide it, nodding along as Iruka made his report, as if he'd known every exact word Iruka was going to speak.

"And what are these topics he's interested in?"

Iruka's own grin faltered a little. "Ugh, he's requested several times that I teach him all I know about Reapers, Your Majesty. Other times he is very interested in the Outlaw clans and their war."

"Yes," the King smiled. "I figured that was what he'd be interested in. But we have very limited knowledge on Reapers, don't we, Iruka? How long can Naruto's interest last if we barely have anything to teach him?"

Iruka smiled sheepishly. Very, very little was known about Reapers. Very little.

"I suspect he's less interested in actually learning what I know about Reapers, and more interested in making the Reaper uncomfortable. I'm afraid Naruto's gotten back in touch with his prankster side, Your Majesty."

Despite the slight setback, King Minato still maintained his smile as he shook his head. "That's alright. As long as he shows up to your lessons, and as long as he takes most of his education seriously, that's all I ask for now."

Iruka bowed his head to the King's words.

"His escapades to his many lady friends outside the castle haven't stopped, have they?"

Iruka jumped at the voice as the shadow in the corner of the room materialised into Hatake Kakashi, Captain of the Royal Guards and a self-proclaimed pervert.

Glaring at the laid back man, Iruka answered, "No, they have not."

"Oh well, I'm surprised anyone's willing to take him to bed with the Reaper looming behind him. In any case, I still count this report as one with good news. Don't take that away from me, boys." The King sat back in his massive chair, a pleased smile still adorned on his face. Having already heard the good news he's been waiting for, he considered his part in the report done.

"I suspect he only leaves to castle to visit his… friends, when the Reaper is in a deep sleep."

"The Reaper sleeps?!" Iruka claimed; shock apparent on his tan face as he looked back and forth between his King and the King's Guard. "He sleeps?!" He claimed again. "How do you know this, Kakashi?"

"I went to check up on Naruto once, very early in the morning, to find his Highness' bed to be empty and the Reaper was just floating there. I tried to speak to him, but to this day I don't think the Reaper even realised I was in the same room as he was."

"That's so…" Iruka trailed off when he couldn't come up with words to express his surprise. "Why would Reapers need to sleep? They're dead."

"I don't think it's sleeping as much as it is deep meditation, Iruka. Anything with a conscience, dead or alive, would have to have a way to keep them from going insane." The King spoke wisely. "It's difficult to comprehend with the way we view Reapers, I know. Reapers are not evil creatures. They don't kill for any other purpose then to keep the cycle of life and death turning. People shouldn't be afraid of death, but they are and they blame Reapers. It's easiest to blame those who do not care enough to defend themselves. Look at our Reaper! Naruto is calling him an 'it,' but he doesn't care enough to try to tell Naruto that he's a 'he.' He simply doesn't care for the snarky ways of a teenage boy!" He trailed off laughing.

Iruka half-heartedly, reluctantly chuckled. In his mind he tried to imagine the Reaper so deep in his sleep that he failed to notice another presence in the same room as him. He'd never known before today that the Reaper could be so vulnerable. The protective nature within Iruka had him already planning to lecture Naruto. It was one thing to take advantage of the Reaper's inability to instantly wake up, but another altogether to leave someone who had no fighting power by himself in a foreign territory, deeply asleep!

On another note…

"Your Majesty," the elf began. "Forgive me for asking, but you seem to worry so little about the Prince's life. I… I heard that you agreed readily to the Reaper's request. I'm sorry for…"

King Minato held up a hand and Iruka silenced.

"The Reaper can't kill Naruto. At this stage no other Reaper can kill him either. I'm not worried because Naruto's immunity isn't going to just 'run out' or stop working tomorrow or the next day or the next week. There is a reason for death's inability to take Naruto's soul. There is a reason for the Reaper being near Naruto at all times."

"But… the Reaper threatened the lives of everyone in the castle and Naruto's friends. He forced you and the Prince to make an ultimatum."

"No, he did not. You know that a Reaper's touch is an instant death. After a deep and thorough research I found that to be true… if the person the Reaper was touching was fated to pass. He could touch anyone he wanted, but if they weren't predestined to die, then they won't." Here his blue eyes momentarily grew distant. "This is not common knowledge. I believe the Reaper thought I was in the dark about it."

"Oh," Iruka breathed; relieved.

"Though it is important that Naruto doesn't know, Iruka. Whatever the Reaper has planned, we must let him do his work." The King's piercing blue eyes gazed deep into Iruka's own brown ones, and the elf felt himself nodding. "We mustn't interfere for any reason. This is bigger than us and we have to believe that the Reaper is doing what must be done."

"It is a matter of life and death," Kakashi muttered darkly.

King Minato burst into a fit of giggles and Iruka glared at the silver-headed pervert. These two: he'd heard that they were truly like brothers, though before today he'd never had any reason to believe it. Minutes later, when the King failed to contain his giggles and Kakashi stood there like a very smug statue; Iruka threw his hands in the air, rolled his eyes and dismissed himself.

Iruka had given him the afternoon off. It left him reeling because that's never happened before and something must be wrong or he had something planned or Naruto was dreaming. Either way, it was too good to be true. Iruka had willingly –with the actual words from his mouth- said that Naruto had the rest of the day off and could do whatever he wanted.

If this had happened weeks before, Naruto would have already been on his way out of the castle ground and into town. But alas, an agent of death tends to be a turn off and Naruto was left to wander the massive stone castle that he had grown up in.

At this moment he was trying to find Kakashi, who he knew would be his sparring partner. But as always the man would not be found unless he wanted to be found. And lately he never wanted to be found by Naruto. Maybe that had something to do with the Prince's second shadow, or maybe it had something to do with sneaking off to read inappropriate materials alone. Whatever it may be, Naruto was stuck alone with his Reaper.

He briefly contemplated finding company with his dad, but the older blonde was currently organising the annual Clan Heads Meeting, and that was not something he wanted to be involved in until he himself was King. That one was a messy business just waiting to blow up in his face.

"May I suggest going to the library, Prince?"

"Shut up. I already said no."

"I thought you were taking your studies seriously."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to spend all my spare time in the library. I'll study when I have to, alright?"

The Reaper sighed.

"You haven't touched me in a while," Naruto observed suddenly. From his peripheral he saw the Reaper snap its head up, as if suddenly reminded. "Come on, I'll even make it easier for you." He held up a large, tan hand, palms up. "Come on."

The Reaper looked at his hand, then at his face, then back down at his hand before finally up at his face again. Naruto could only tell because of the motion of its fabric covered head.

"Have you grown so confident in your immunity?"

The prince scoffed. "Please. I'm starting to think it's you, not me. I bet you're having performance issues. It's okay, happens to everybody. Well, not me, obviously, cause I'm great, but you now… almost everybody else."

The Reaper remained silent for a long time and just when Naruto was starting to think it didn't understand his allusion, it spoke. "You're disgusting."

That pulled a loud, throaty laugh out of Naruto. He dropped his hand and turned around to continue moving through the castle halls. He didn't have to look to know that the Reaper was following him. He could tell by the sound of its thick, ancient cloaks moving as it glided just behind Naruto.

"Hey, you know, I know now that you don't have a physical form and all, but you can still have your cloaks washed at least, right?"

"That means that I would still have to take them off."

"Oh, well, I dunno. Can't you come up with a way to wash them? It would really make me feel better to see you clean up or something."

"They are not dirty, Prince. They are old, but they are in no way filthy."

"You say that…" Naruto muttered off with a pout. Another long stretch of silence as they aimlessly travelled and an idea formed in Naruto's head. "Hey! You wanna be my sparring partner?"

"What?" The Reaper snapped; its voice suddenly strained and not at all its usual smooth self. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Come on, you won't kill me. And I just bet you'd like to have a go at punching me in the face."

"Yes, I would like that."

"So you'll spar with me?"

"No."

A high whine escaped Naruto's lips and he threw his hands in the air, pouting. "Why not?!"

"It would be unfair," the Reaper stated firmly, calm as if it was scolding a child. "You are a pureblood elemental. You have the wind at your command. On top of that you're unreasonably built. Do you see yet why I wasn't stupid enough to agree to spar with you?"

Naruto examined his arms, flexing. "I am not unreasonably built!" He cried at last. "Look at these! Anyone would kill to have these. I worked hard for them you know. Don't hurt their feelings."

The Reaper remained silent and just watched him while Naruto flexed his biceps alternately, unaware of the picture he presented.

"But yeah, I see what you mean. How 'bout this, I promise to not use my chakra in any way or form, so I can't use the wind. It'll be purely physical. I know I still have the advantage of all these muscles, but you'll have the advantage of not feeling any pain when I hit you. That's fair!"

"You're wrong, I do feel the pain." Naruto wilted. "But they don't last very long. Agreed."

"Yes!" The Prince yelled, punching his fist in the air.

They hurried out of the castle and onto the empty sparring grounds near the castle wall. Naruto was excited. He was always excited to fight, but for the Reaper to agree to it, it must have been as bored as Naruto was. The ground they picked had lush green grass to cushion their falls, but Naruto knew that the more he knocked the Reaper onto it, the more of that grass would die out and the more painful their falls would become. It was simply a matter of improving as time progressed to avoid falling on the hard ground.

They were alone for now. The ground was further out than the rest and it was a hot day. Naruto turned to face his opponent and dramatically shrugged off his coat and shirt. The sun was in the perfect position to make his skin shimmer and Naruto knew it, flaunting his skin and muscles at the Reaper, whom he knew didn't even have a physical body. It was immature, but he simply didn't care.

"Are you ready?" He asked it, crouching into position. "I promise, no chakra and no wind; and I never break a promise."

The Reaper didn't get into position like Naruto did, but it did raise a single hand, palms up. Looking at that single hand right then, Naruto allowed a moment to wonder if this was when his immunity ran out. If that was the case, then he was literally running to his death.

Naruto grunted and swiped an arm at the Reaper's head and, unsurprised when it ducked, followed by bringing his knee up to meet its head. The Reaper's hand, which Naruto had mistakenly taken his eyes off of, came up out of absolutely nowhere and jabbed into his side. The leg he was bringing up froze as his whole body clenched, and the Reaper backed away.

"What was that?" Naruto wheezed as he waited for his body to uncoil.

"That was me using your muscles to my advantage."

"You son of a bitch," Naruto laughed. Once he had control of his body again, he got into another position. "Okay, for real this time. I'm not playing around." The grin on his whiskered face said otherwise.

The Reaper charged and Naruto met it halfway. He threw a wide kick aimed at its middle and the Reaper vanished in dark purple smoke. Before Naruto could open his mouth to protest, it reappeared behind him and circled its arm around his neck. It yanked and Naruto collapsed backwards, though he hardly felt a thing.

"That's cheating!" He yelled from his place on the ground, waiting for the dust to settle. "You can't do that!"

"Why not? I have no legs to swing around."

"Wha… Really?" The Reaper came around to his front and Naruto looked at the place where its legs would be. All he saw were the cloaks. He looked down further to where its feet were supposed to be and found nothing. All he saw were the ragged edges of the ancient fabric. Naruto brought his arm up to lift the edge of the cloak up, but the Reaper moved away. "Okay," the Prince admitted reluctantly. "You can use your disappearing act, but no more surprises, got it?"

The Reaper nodded once.

Their third time at each other lasted longer. Now that he knew all the Reaper's tricks, Naruto could fight on fairer grounds. Naruto liked to use moves that were powerful and caused a greater damage. His body was built like Old Man Jiraiya, tall and powerful, and his moves were just as potent. The Reaper on the other hand moved swiftly and silently, jabbing Naruto here and there, before delivering the final blow which never failed to stun him. From an observer's point of view Naruto knew how he must have looked next to the Reaper: slow and clumsy. But then he would land one single punch to the Reaper's stomach and the thing would fly back several feet. Naruto was power and straightforward movements. The Reaper was all grace and speed.

Naruto was born with accelerated healing, but the Reaper only experienced pain for a few short seconds. In that regard they were equals.

In the end Naruto was just glad no one came out to watch. After a long, long time of endlessly –frustratingly- throwing punches that were either blocked or countered, and not being able to use his chakra to command the wind, Naruto threw cautions to the wind and tackled the Reaper by its middle. He took them both to the ground, which was by now covered in dead, crushed grass. The Reaper tried to use its usual poking and jabbing motion, but Naruto swatted its hands to the ground. He wanted to wrestle, if that was what it took to finally win.

"This is not sparring!" The Reaper snapped from its place on its back on the ground. It fruitlessly tried to wiggle its way free, but Naruto would have none of that.

Naruto grinned and rested all of his weight sitting on the Reaper's stomach.

"Off!" It yelled. "Get off, Naruto."

So shocked to hear his name from the Reaper's covered lips, the young prince failed to respond. He was only removed from the Reaper's stomach when he felt it buck and throw the prince to the side.

"Don't do that again," it said breathlessly.

"Why? Not like you were going to suffocate to death."

"It's undignified, that's why. How would you like a great big idiot to sit on you like a chair?"

"Oi, that was uncalled for." He got up from the ground and dusted himself off, swatting grass from his behind. "You just had to ruin the mood, didn't you?" He didn't look at the Reaper again, just got his shirt and coat and walked back towards the castle. He didn't understand why he couldn't bring himself to look at the Reaper. Something was different now. Was it because the Reaper had finally addressed Naruto by his name, and not just his title or an insulting word? Whatever it was, it now felt wrong for him to unthinkingly be calling the Reaper 'it.' It felt unkind.

With his back to the Reaper, Naruto didn't see as Itachi laid a quivering hand on his cloaked stomach, where Naruto's great weight had been on it and for the first time in twenty years, he felt as if he was indeed suffocating to death.

Iruka waited until he was sure that Naruto had successfully sneaked off into town. Then, after waiting to make sure the young prince didn't return for any reason, -all the while muttering curses that Naruto would dare to sneak out at all- he went to Naruto's room. The guards let him through easily enough; this wasn't Iruka's first time checking in on the wayward prince.

"The Reaper is still in there," one of the half demon guards warned him before he entered. "I… I don't know what it does, but it didn't follow Naruto."

And of course the guards knew that Naruto snuck out. The prince may have thought he was being sneaky, but he wasn't. Not at all. The only reason he wasn't followed in these more intimate escapades was because Kakashi himself was trailing the prince. Of course that's not to say that the Prince wasn't capable of defending himself. It was just that, Naruto and Kakashi by themselves were more than enough of a force to be reckoned with. Anyone else would only get in their way should anything happen.

"I understand," Iruka replied, nodding politely to the guards before slipping through the heavy double doors.

The room that he stood in was a large living area. It had large, comfortable seats and plush rugs. The windows were tall and slender and each had rich red curtains. Two tall bookshelves stood on the opposite side of the wall from the windows. On the opposite side of the room were the double doors that led into Naruto's bedroom.

Iruka crossed the room and knocked quietly on one of the doors, leaning in close to hear if he got any response. He did not.

Slowly he turned the knob and pushed the door in. Naruto's chamber was dimly lit, all different shades of yellow and orange. The floor was littered with scrolls and pieces of clothing. Iruka suspected that the room wasn't being cleaned daily like it used to be, not since the Reaper has made it his room as well. But still, it shouldn't be as messy and upheaval as this… not unless Naruto and the Reaper had been fighting again. Theirs were fights of epic proportions. Since neither could die and one healed incredible fast while the other only experienced pain momentarily, the most damage tend to transfer to their surroundings.

Their fights were not the same as their sparring. He'd seen them this afternoon. At first he'd been alarmed, really, but in the end nobody had gotten hurt and Naruto had burned off excess energy, which was a win for everyone. When Naruto and the Reaper sparred, things had been controlled, the air between them slightly more civil. When they fought, which happened often, Naruto's temper flew straight out the window and he broke things. The Reaper's words would turn from mocking to downright damaging. Just as well, because Iruka knew Naruto well enough to know that words were one of only a few ways he could be hurt with. And when they fought, the Reaper's words hurt… and Naruto broke things, hurling both words and objects at the death bringer.

When the pair fought, Iruka saw a side of Naruto he'd never seen before. It was unsettling to see what monster they brought out in each other.

Anyway, he was getting off-tracked. He'd come in here -into Naruto's room- for a reason, and his reasoning was there, beside Naruto's high, massive bed.

The Reaper was as he always was whenever Iruka saw him. He was long and broad, though Iruka thought all that broadness must be due to the bulk of his several layers of cloaks. In this room, where there was hardly any wind, his cloaks remained still. His head, however, was hung low.

Iruka took a moment to take him in, awed. The Reaper rather looked like a hanged man. The image wasn't helped at all by the ancient rope tide around his neck, giving his head a shape. And he was so still.

"Re… Reaper?" Iruka whispered.

When the Reaper didn't respond in anyway, not even a twitch, a giddy laugh erupted from Iruka's lips. He clamped his hand cover his mouth straight away and checked to see that the Reaper was still asleep… or as Kakashi and the King put it, in a deep meditation. He wasn't going to do anything, of course not, but he needed to see. They knew so little about Reapers that this was a new discovery. Iruka needed to see him, just so he could write that down somewhere and the world would now know that little bit more about Reapers. Although, come to think of it, the King seemed so know so much already. Then again, maybe he kept what he knew about Reapers to himself for a reason. King Minato was not an unreasonable man.

Iruka stood in the doorway, body out and head poked in. And he just looked at the Reaper.

It was disconcerting how unaware he was, how vulnerable. An army could march into the castle right now and he would still be sleeping. Iruka knew this. He knew the signs of someone in deep meditation. And yet the Reaper was just floating there, resting away as if this castle wasn't full of people who were terrified of him and may or may not act irrationally. Well, to be fair, he did have the ultimate protection of no one being able to be killed, but Iruka was sure the Reaper could experience pain. Still… this was not the place for someone who didn't have offensive powers to be sleeping so soundly.

And Naruto….

Oh, just wait til Iruka got his hands on him. What was he thinking, seriously? Iruka understood that he didn't like the Reaper very much, but he should also know that leaving him here all alone –sleeping or not- was a foolish mistake. If the Reaper got hurt –and Iruka knew there were some who were so scared of death that they would even think about harming the King's guest- then Naruto would be the one most hurt. Iruka knew his student. Naruto would never be able to live with himself if the Reaper got hurt while he was out there frolicking around. The boy needed to think about things and stop listening to his cravings.

The elf tutor sighed and clutched the door tightly. He looked at the Reaper for another long moment, taking in the still form and the hanging head, before he silently retreated.

The morning was a beautiful thing. The sun was just peaking over the thick foliage of the Land of Fire, casting a refreshing hue over the land. There was dew on the blades of the lush green grass under him. Looking down on the grass, the overwhelming need to touch it and feel it under his feet hit him, but he didn't have any feet. There was no way he could feel the grass except to touch it through his cloaked hands.

But then that would kill it. That would kill it completely and leave a brown, dead patch in its place. He didn't fully understand why that was. How could trees and grass be killed by him, but when it came to people, only those that were destined could be killed? He really didn't see the point of killing grass. Unless, in a revolutionary way, it was a trait passed down to remind Reapers of their powers. In any case, Itachi had more important things to worry about. These philosophical thoughts could wait.

Quietly Itachi let a soft sigh escape from his none-existing lips. This might've been a moment where anyone would relent and flop down onto the grass and lean their back against the sakura tree. But of course he couldn't do that. That would kill the beautiful tree behind him, and then Naruto would really find a way to kill him. He'd seen the young prince here often, had accompanied him here just as many times. This tree had sentimental values for him and Itachi would not risk killing it.

Oh, but on another note he really wanted to touch those soft pink petals.

"Hey!" The Prince cheered, coming to a stop next to Itachi under the cherry blossom tree. His hair was wild and still damp from his shower, and he wore a large, satisfied smile on his tan face.

If Itachi had a nose he would have wrinkled it in disgust, considering that Naruto had only climbed back into his room earlier this morning, smelling of sex and something else that Itachi would rather not say.

"Are you sure you've showered properly?" He said aloofly. "You still stink of alcohol and women."

Instead of being offended or angry, the prince only grinned and slapped Itachi on the shoulder, before flopping down onto the grass.

"I swear being around me has made you a better person," the blonde said, grinning as he plucked a blade of grass. "You can joke now! But I'll have you know that my shower went great. I'm clean now and everything."

"I was not joking," Itachi muttered lowly, but Naruto heard and he only threw his head back and laughed. "How do you have the energy to venture out every night?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto evaded. "I don't go out every night. Ya must'a been dreaming."

"I don't dream and you do go out every night."

Determined to not let his good mood go to waste so early in the day, Naruto said "Look, let's not talk about this, okay? I always come back to you in the morning. Anyway, I actually came out here looking for you for a reason. I have a question."

Looking curiously down on top of the prince's blond head, Itachi allowed himself an exaggerated sigh. "That's a first time," he commented. Surprised with himself, he thought about his comment and what made it sound strange. It could be that he even made a comment at all. Days prior he never would have indulged the prince with comments and questions. Days before his tone would have been so formal. But now he spoke so casually to the prince. Naruto was right. He had changed Itachi.

"What is your question, Prince?"

If Naruto noticed his sudden return of formality, he didn't show.

"Well, okay. So I noticed that you don't touch some living things like… trees and stuff. That's because you can kill them too, right?" Itachi nodded. "So then… what? You take their souls too?" An incredulous looks appeared on his face and a snort escaped his lips.

Again, if Itachi still had certain body parts, like eyes, he would use them to their fullest and roll them.

"Plants are able to be killed, but they don't contain the souls that are essential to the cycle in which Reapers maintain. We don't regularly touch plants as we do people. Plants have their own cycle. The people are our main concern."

"Even the humans?"

Itachi glared down at the prince. "Yes. They have souls too."

"I know! I just meant… I thought Reapers might only be responsible for the people of the magical world, you know? Humans don't have magic."

Itachi didn't respond and instead waited for the prince to realise how badly he sounded.

"Yeah, let's just forget I said anything. The actual point of this conversation is…" He stood up and stretched, reaching above their heads to the lowest hanging cherry blossom branch. He broke it off, brought a cloth out of his pocket, wrapped it around the limb and held it out for Itachi. "Here. Enjoy."

Itachi didn't take it for a long moment, but he did take it, slowly, and held it preciously.

He missed his brother. He missed him. He missed him. He missed him… like he missed his arms and legs and beating heart from when he was alive.

Where was he?

Well he was in the Land of Fire, that much he knew… but where, precisely?

What was he doing in there? If he was there to do his usual duty he would be out already, but he wasn't. He'd been in there for weeks. What could be holding him up? Or had he been trapped?

He heard of that. Maybe he didn't believe it but he'd most certainly heard of the possibility that the living could draw up markings and lay traps for a Reaper. It was possible that his brother was trapped and was currently waiting for his help. It was a possibility that had crossed his minds several times over the last few days. The need to be by his brother's side was staggering, overwhelming most of the times. Twice already he'd crossed over into the living world and gone to the Land of Fire in search of his brother, and twice Madara had intercepted him. The older Reaper had soothed him with calming words and reassurances that his brother was fine and safe. At that point in time he had forced his attention away from his brother and onto the older Reaper.

Madara knew how much he and his brother loved each other. He should have let him into the Leaves Kingdom to search for his brother. Instead he had made it his mission to stop him every time.

He obviously had something to hide. And if his older brother had been with him, he would have advised him to keep watch on the older Reaper. Reapers only had one job. There shouldn't be a need for any secrecy.

But if Madara had placed Itachi in any sort of danger, he wouldn't care if there were only three Reapers left. He'd bring that number down to two.

Whoo! Yay! Okay, now shower me with reviews! Please :P