The Grim Reaper

A/N: The moment you've all been waiting for! The grand unveiling of the Gods of Death. This chapter once again isn't very long again! I got this one out quickly because my muse went insane and also I couldn't keep my lovely reviewers in suspence any longer than necessary.



Mija: Another long review! Thank you! Don't worry all your quesions will be answered soon enough :D Your guesses were fantastic and I was almost tempted to switch to your suggestion of the council! Thank you for beng so enthusastic about this story, your love makes me want to write all the more!



The_Widow: I personally don't have a preference on NaruSasu or SasuNaru. I think in real life it's not that easy, so why make it like that if fanfics xD The two lovely boys will both get a turn but I'm thinking the first time will probably be SasuNaru- altough I'm not too sure just yet! I loved your guesses and I hope you like my choice in Gods.



Lane: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far :D

"First of all, Terry Pratchett is ace, and mort is awesome. Good reading choice!

And second of all, you do him justice."

Terry Pratchett is a genius, I am mere scum compared to him. Due to you enthusatic review and desperate pleas for more. Here you go! I've updated damn quickly even if I do say so myself xD You say your a weirdo? A little madness never hurt anyone! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!



Munez: I'm glad to hear that! :D



Warnings: Laguage, although I'm not sure if there's any in this one xD



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The large mahogany doors loomed before him. The short walk along the silent corridor seemed to have taken hours as he approached his doom. It was now or never- although never would have been preferred. He hadn’t felt worried when he’d left his home, the thought of saving Naruto gave him an adrenaline rush. Fire had been racing through his veins as he But now, faced with the oppressive door and soon the people beyond, he was man enough to admit he was scarred. What if he couldn’t persuade them? He’d be punished- would they strip Grim Reaper status from him? They’d given him this position and he’d let them down.



Nobody lets the Gods of Death down and gets away with it.



But worse than that, would he have to kill Naruto properly? It felt as if his whole physical being revolted at that idea. He’d rather die himself. Sasuke didn’t understand the protective feelings he had over the blonde, but he was never one to question his feelings- he’d rather just ignore them. He pushed his feelings to the back of his mind to consider at a later date and focused on the situation at hand.



His fist hovered above the door, preparing to knock. He took a deep breath to prepare himself and not at all to delay the torture ahead. He hesitated for too long. An impatient voice called out from beyond the door “Sasuke we haven’t got all day.”



He took another one of those calming breaths, not that he needed it of course, and opened the door to his doom.



Three chairs were set out behind a large wooden table, although only two were occupied. Another chair was placed in the middle of the room clearly meant for Sasuke. He crossed the room, the sound of his feet hitting the floor was the only thing that disturbed the silence. Sasuke sat and stared beyond the two men before him at the black walls. He hated this room, the black walls, the dim lighting- talk about maintaining a stereotype.



“Well Sasuke, I assume you know why you’re here.” The cold voice echoed around the large room.



Sasuke nodded in response, he’d considered lying and avoiding the inevitable for as long as possible, but as his dark eyes locked with red ones he changed his mind. He regarded the men before him with both respect and fear. Sitting in the centre of the table was the pale, spiky haired man he knew as Madara. He sat, a cruel smile on his face as he stared back at Sasuke, red eyes blazing- he loved to play with his victims. Madara was considered the leader of the Gods, hence his position at the table. His word was law and anyone who disobeyed it, lets just say it didn’t end well or without bloodshed.



Sasuke looked to the man’s right and glared at the person he considered his nemesis. Itachi sat with the usual indifferent expression on his pale face and wasn’t even looking Sasuke’s way, as if too important to even look at the other man. Itachi was, in every sense of the word, Madara’s right hand man. And that fact alone grated on Sasuke.



Sasuke’s and Itachi’s relationship had never been a good one. When the position of God of Death had opened up they’d both applied. Sasuke had completed every task exceptionally well, as had Itachi. It had all boiled down to a final task, one in which Itachi had cheated.



Sasuke still hadn’t gotten his revenge for that.



His attention turned to the one empty seat. He quirked an eyebrow at Madara at the third man’s absence.



“Where’s Orochimaru, he’s never one to be late.” Especially to see me. Sasuke added in his head. He was glad to have something other than himself to talk about at the meeting, so in Sasuke’s eyes Orochimaru’s absence was a blessing.



Madara’s feral grin widened and his red eyes appeared distant, as if reliving a fond memory.

“Orochimaru will not be joining us today. Or ever. He has recently received a demotion of sorts. However his replacement will be here soon.”



Sasuke didn’t know whether he should feel relieved at that Orochimaru was no longer a God of Death or annoyed that he hadn’t been considered as his replacement. He looked over to Itachi, who appeared to be glaring at the door- patience wasn’t one of Itachi’s virtues.



Madara let out a sigh and stared down at a book in front of him, before looking up at Sasuke all traces of humour gone from his face. Even that menacing grin had gone.



“Lets get down to business then. Sasuke we’ve received a report that we are one soul short. Now we are obviously curious to know why you didn’t free the soul. What exactly is your excuse? You know we don‘t tolerate mistakes, you’re a Uchiha, you know the rules and you should follow them.”



Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his chair but didn’t lower his gaze, he had more pride than that! How did he answer that though? Well I found this man asleep and when he woke I decided he was too pretty to kill? He didn’t think that’d go down too well. He could lie of course, but he couldn’t even think of a suitable lie.



He was saved from answering as the large doors swung open loudly and a cheerful voice cried out in the semi-darkness

“Sorry I’m late, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around.”

A breeze caressed Sasuke’s face as a man dashed by him.

“Jeez, why’s it so dark in here?” The mystery man asked. With that there was a quite click and the room was illuminated, burning Sasuke’s eyes at the sudden change. When the blurring and stinging subsided he allowed himself a closer look at the newcomer.



Familiar blue eyes regarded him, curiosity sparkling within them, then he turned away and began walking to his position at the grand table. He strode over confidently, a wide smile in place, he hit Madara on the back in a friendly gesture that made Sasuke’s eyes widen. Nobody touched Madara. Ever.



“Hey, Madara, aren’t you in my seat?” The carefree grin only widen whilst Madara glared back at him. Clearly this man had a death wish. To Sasuke’s surprise Madara stood and dipped his head in acknowledgement.



“I was just keeping the seat warm for you Minato-sama.” He responded, the words laced with sarcasm whilst he sneered at the bright eyed man. Minato, as Madara had called him, merely laughed loudly and dropped down into the now empty seat. All Sasuke could do was stare. What did this mean? Was Madara no longer the leader? How? Why? What did this blonde man do to have snatched the position as head of the God’s of Death?



The blonde man leaned back in his chair and rested his hands behind his neck in a gesture that was all to familiar to Sasuke. His eyes swept over the features of the newly appointed leader and was startled to see how similar he looked to Naruto. There were differences of course, his face was more angular and less chubby, his eyes were smaller and weren’t a innocent looking as Naruto’s. Although the bright, shaggy blonde hair and the sea blue eyes were unsettling. However it wasn’t Sasuke’s business and he knew better to question these things. Instead he sat in silence and waited to be addressed. He didn’t have to wait long.



“So Sasuke Uchiha, seems you’ve made quite a mess of my arrangements. So Soul Number 1246321 struck a chord with you hey? Madara picked the soul to free, Itachi decided the day and time and I decided where it should go once it was free, depending on the kind of life it led of course-” He glanced down at some paper before continuing. “-And it seems this one was going to a ‘better place’ as it were. All you had to do was free it and make all our hard work worthwhile. So what’s the problem then?” Minata tilted his head in a puzzled gesture as he regarded Sasuke with brilliant blue eyes Sasuke was certain he’d seen before.



Sasuke relaxed. For some reason this man put him at easy, even though he was clearly being told off the tone and the general air of the man before him suggested he didn’t really mind. In fact if Sasuke had to guess he’d say Minato seemed amused with the situation. Sasuke decided if there was ever a time the plan would work it’d be now.



“I’m lonely.”



Minato raised a blonde eyebrow, a silent request for him to continue.



“The soul I met. It was different. The hourglass had already intrigued me more than it should have. I was already attached. Then I met him. I didn’t feel lonely after that.” Sasuke continued, eyes remained only on the blonde man- he had a feeling if he looked at the other two he’d either lose his nerve or his face would melt off due to the glares. They were Uchiha’s, Uchiha’s didn’t feel emotions or connections. To say such things had damaged the Uchiha collective pride.



“Well, well, well. I guess this changes things then. So you want to keep him for a companion? Well, death rates are increasing due to terrorism and things like that. Sadly there are a lot more people dying. So I guess we could use an extra pair of hands.” He shot another dazzling smile at Sasuke. “What’s this guy’s name then?”



“Naruto Uzumaki.”



Minato froze. His smile slide off his face, and he visibly paled. He sat like that for several minutes before turning to his left and grabbing Madara by the collar. Rage had twisted his handsome face into something feral and murderous, he looked like a true God of Death.



“Naruto! Why didn’t you tell me Madara!?”



“You were bound to react violently. His death had been preordained before your arrival. I can’t change these things Minato you know that. We see the hourglasses and make note of the death day to be revisited before the final order. We do not decide who dies Minato, we merely make sure they do.” His voice was cool and indifferent, he didn’t appear to even register Minato’s tight grip and increasing rage.



“How? How was he supposed to die?”



“Arsenic poising. It was meant to take affect whilst he slept.”



“So murder then!?” Minato released his grip from Madara, his body still shock with the rage that tore through him. “Who? Who tried to hurt my son?”



The dots connected themselves as Sasuke realised the Naruto and Minato were father and son, it explained the violent reaction and similarities in appearance. Would this effect Minato’s decision? Would he order Sasuke to stop harming his son and let his soul be at peace?



Itachi spoke up for the first time the entire meeting, his icy voice thick with impatience.

“Minato, you know we don’t know that. Stop being foolish, he was bound to die at some point. Can we return our attention to the situation at hand?”



Minato took a number of minutes to compose himself before he refocused his attention on Sasuke. His blue eyes hardened, they scared Sasuke more than the red of Madara’s.



“This changes nothing. You need a companion and if my son is the one you want then fine. I agreed before, I cannot disagree because of personal attachment.” His expression soften and a small smile graced his lips “Sasuke Uchiha I will always be indebted to you. You saved my son from death, although what laid beyond would have been pleasant for him I wouldn’t have seen him again. You brought him back to me. Thank you.”



Sasuke had, had a lot of surprises that day and yet he couldn’t stop himself showing the shock at those words. He had saved Naruto? Would Naruto see it as being saved or would he be angry at Sasuke? Did Minato think what Sasuke had done was right, or was it that he was just glad his son hadn’t been harmed?



“You have one week to bring him back to your home. He will have to agree to serve as a Reaper for all eternity just as you did Sasuke. Which in turn means he has to agree to stay by your side for eternity. If he finds either idea repulsive you are to free his soul. We cannot allow you to keep a mere pet.” Madara said, setting the terms.



Sasuke nodded. If Naruto didn’t want to stay he wouldn’t force him. This had been the only option Sasuke could see working, he couldn’t leave him in the Earthly Realm and he couldn’t bring himself to kill him- making him a companion and comrade seemed like the best solution. However if Naruto wanted to be freed he’d do it without hesitation.



“Well I think we’re done here. We’ll summon you again soon to see how things are going.” Minato smiled brightly again- the anger had gone as quick as it had come.



Sasuke stood. Bowed deeply and turned to leave, he was halfway to the door when Itachi’s voice made him turn.



“Oh, Sasuke, when you bring your new friend back I expect to be invited to the welcome party. After all the other Gods would love to meet him.” A smirk crossed his lips as the other men agreed with him.



Sasuke nodded and hurried out of the room. Once safely away he slumped against the wall. He thought he’d gotten away scott free but no Itachi had to ruin everything.



He shuddered.

Throwing a party for the Gods.

That was the worst punishment of all.



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I know what your thinking- that’s Kakashi’s line! But I always thought Kakashi had to get it from someone and Minato seemed the sort of person to have taught that sort of behaviour.



Sorry if you don’t agree!



The Uchiha's seemed the obvious choice. I hope throwing Minato in there suprised you guys. My thought was there must be a God that has to choice where the souls go. I always thought Minato would see the good in people and make the right choices. He didn't become Hokage for nothing xD



Once again sorry if you don't agree.



I’m not sure if I like this chapter as much as the others. What do you guys think?



I'm already starting my next chapter called Offer, you can expect to see Naruto in this one. It'll be out within the week :D