Author's Note: Thus ends the prewritten chapters! Which means updates might slow down to one a week, though I'll try to write faster for you!

Chapter Three: Falling Slowly

Day Two: Hour Three

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he walked through the streets of the village. For the middle of the night, it was busy. The ANBU were more active than Naruto was comfortable with, but so far there was no wide-spread panic as of yet. Naruto shoved his hands in his pocket and stopped in front of his destination; the library. He wasn't sure why Kakashi had sent him of all people to be the researcher, but he figured it had something to do with the fact that he knew better than anyone else what he should be looking for.

He opened the door. "Hello?" he called softly.

"Oh! Someone's here? At this hour?" A woman hurried over to him and smiled. "Hello, Naruto-san! What brings you here tonight?"

"Just looking," Naruto lied. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone the details.

"I see, I see! Well, I'm busy working on cataloging, so if you need me, just call!"

"Thanks…" Naruto sighed and looked at the wall to ceiling shelves filled with books and the occasional scroll. A lot of the books were new or damaged after the attack. Where would it be?

"N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned around and offered a small smile. "Hey, Hinata," he muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi-sama asked me to help you," Hinata said quietly.

"He woke you up just to help me find some old books?" She nodded.

"He said you might get lost."

Naruto's smile widened some. Kakashi knew him perfectly. "Well, thanks." He responded. "Did Kakashi also tell you what's happening?"

"No."

Naruto sighed and looked around. The librarian was gone by that point. "I'll tell you, but please don't freak out." She nodded. He took a deep breath and then dove into the story of the horrific dream he had suffered, then his meeting with his father and Datenshi, ending at his final encounter where they learned the details of what to prepare for. "Kakashi-sensei sent me here in hopes that we have some scrolls that remotely mention an apocalypse like the one Datenshi says is coming."

Hinata stared at Naruto for a long moment and Naruto was beginning to regret his choice to tell her. "We're in the wrong section." She said eventually. "These are all recent books. If what you say is true, then these scrolls we're looking for would be ancient." She lifted her head. "Um, miss!" she called. The librarian hurried over. "Do you happen to have any really old scrolls here?"

The woman blinked. "How old?" she asked.

"Ancient," Naruto said. "Pre=Sage of Six Paths."

The librarian laughed and shook her head. "Hmm... I'm not sure if we have something that old in our archives… Maybe in the capitol, but nothing here." Naruto frowned. "But," she said quickly after a moment in thought, "we do have some pretty ancient texts if you want. They're written in some dead languages, so I don't know how much use they'll be."

Naruto remembered that when Datenshi had spoken another language, he had understood it. "Maybe they had illustrations," he suggested.

"Perhaps," the woman said. She grabbed a flashlight and motioned Naruto and Hinata to follow. They looked at each other, shrugged, and followed silently. She took them to a back door and then into a cellar.

"Underground?" Naruto asked.

"You bet! It's why this room survived Pain's attack." Naruto nodded slowly. They walked down for several minutes before final coming to another room. They opened the door and all stepped into what looked like an airlock for an ICU room. She turned and handed them gloves, surgical masks and coats to cover their clothing.

"A bit much," Naruto muttered.

"Of course it is!" the woman gasped. "These scrolls are ancient! The oils in your skin will ruin the old parchment, and your breath has too much moisture! We can't have you breathing on these old texts!" Finally, after Naruto and Hinata had prepared themselves to step into the room, she opened the other door. She walked around and lit lanterns on the walls.

"No electricity?" Naruto asked.

"Not really. Not for the lights, at least," she answered. "We have ways to keep the air dry down here so that the books aren't ruined in anyway." Naruto nodded and looked around the room. Scrolls were delicately placed on shelves in the walls. A small table sat in the middle of the large room. "Be careful with them, please, and take all the time you need."

She bowed and then left. Naruto looked at Hinata. "Guess we should get started," he muttered. Hinata nodded slowly. Naruto walked down the wall, reading the labels. Some made no sense to him, and others were about periods in history that he hadn't been paying attention to. "This is pointless," Naruto grumbled. It would take days to go through these scrolls and they didn't have that amount of time.

"It's not pointless, Naruto-kun," Hinata assured the boy. "We just have to find the right scroll."

"We don't even know what we're looking for…"

"I know," Hinata said, "but we have to find it."

Naruto nodded. He stopped by a certain scroll rack and reached gingerly to lift one of the scrolls from its position. He stared at the strange characters written on the parchment. Something about it seemed to draw him to that scroll. The hand writing seemed oddly familiar, like he had written it as a child and had long since forgotten how he used to write. "Hinata," he called quietly. She hurried over. "Can you read this?" He pointed to the letters that labeled the scroll.

"No," Hinata admitted after a moment. Naruto looked back down at the scroll. He could read it just as easily as he could read one of Jiraiya's books. But Hinata couldn't read it. He closed his eyes and took the scroll to the table. It was smooth marble to prevent splinters from ripping the paper. He unrolled the scroll. The characters were written meticulously. Naruto looked down at the characters silently, trying to make sense of what he was reading.

It seemed to him to be poetry or a song. It didn't make any sense to Naruto at all. He read over the words again and again, but found no meaning in them. He sighed. "Hinata," he called. The girl hurried to his side. Naruto began reading the lyrics out loud for the girl. She closed her eyes as she listened.

"It's beautiful." She whispered when he finished. "Is that what it says?"

Naruto nodded. "But I don't understand it at all."

"It's a story," Hinata whispered. "A story of two brothers."

"I thought it was about two stones in a river bed," Naruto grumbled.

Hinata smiled warmly. "Here. It says that two stones lay side by side on dry land, right?" Naruto nodded. "And when it rains, the riverbed fills with water and the water rushes over the stones, eating away at them, taking a new layer…"

"Until one stone is turned to sand for the riverbed," Naruto finished, "but the other was a diamond all along."

Hinata nodded. "The world was once perfect and the two stones enjoyed the sunlight, but then the rain came…"

Naruto closed his eyes and looked away. The song was more beautiful now. But why would he be drawn to this story? What did a riverbed of rocks have to do with any of this?

They continued to search through the scrolls, but Naruto never felt drawn to another one after that first one. "We should get going," he grumbled eventually. He looked down at the scroll that held the poem and sighed before placing it in his jacket.

"Naruto!" Hinata gasped. Naruto sighed.

"It's not like anyone else is going to read it…"

"I guess…"

The two started out of the library and Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and it was blood red. Naruto's eyes widened. It was true. Around him, the villagers were panicking slightly as they noticed the bloody sun on the horizon. Hinata grabbed Naruto's arm fearfully. "Don't worry," Naruto assured her. So it's true, he though dismally. Today the sun would burn red, bathing the world in blood. Tomorrow it would burn the living flesh. Naruto clenched his fists. "Come on! Let's go!"


Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he stared out into the horizon. It was coming, just as the man had said. Minato and Rin had been given a place to sleep, but he was certain neither one of them were sleeping. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes in worry. What were they going to do? What could they do?

"Sensei!"

Kakashi turned as Naruto ran in, putting down a scroll on his desk. The boy opened it without caring about the oils in his skin. Kakashi looked down at the text and shook his head. He didn't recognize the characters that made up the words. "What is this?"

"A story," Hinata answered calmly.

"About two rocks!"

"Brothers," Hinata corrected.

"Can you read this?" Kakashi asked, dumbfounded. Naruto could hardly read Kanji, let alone whatever language this was.

"Yeah! It's hard to explain, but it's like I've always been able to read it!"

Kakashi looked over the scroll and shook his head. "What does it tell us?"

"That rocks turn into sand," Naruto answered with a shrug.

"I think it means something more than that. What this the only scroll written in that language?" Naruto nodded. Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I don't know, then. What does a poem have to do with saving the world? There's no prophecy or anything?"

"No," Naruto muttered. Kakashi sat down. He felt like they were at a loss. No one would properly say what they were up against, and even if they did, they had a week to figure out how to stop it. He looked at Naruto and a dark thought crossed his mind. Datenshi needed Naruto. He had said it many times. Naruto being alive was paramount to this whole end of the world thing. Maybe if they…

Kakashi shook his head. They wouldn't stoop to that level. He stood. "Hinata, I want you to keep Naruto safe," he ordered. If Naruto wouldn't let him put a guard, then he was going to have to come up with a better way to do this.

"Kakashi," Naruto warned.

"That's Hokage to you, mister. I need Hinata to keep an eye on you."

Naruto eyed Kakashi for a moment. "I have an idea," he said.

"Oh?"

"Datenshi told me that I had to find the answers inside of myself. What if someone put me in a genjutsu or Ino got inside my head. Maybe there's something there that will trigger something."

Kakashi pondered the thought. It seemed like a sound idea, but putting Naruto in a genjutsu would be hard, and that didn't automatically give them access to his inner most thoughts. It was a long shot, but they had to try just about anything. "I'll call Ino."


Datenshi closed his eyes and bathed in the red sunlight. "I could not have asked for a more beautiful day," he whispered. Kiga and Haka were nowhere to be seen. "I have done everything in your name," he continued. "They can't stop it." He felt a presence beside him and he shivered. "They cannot!" he protested.

"Why?"

Datenshi turned to the small boy and frowned. "Why what, child?" he asked, annoyed.

"Why does it start now?"

"Because the Conqueror is here!"

"But he doesn't know who we are," the boy argued.

"He will," Datenshi growled. "He must."

"Shall I bring more, Master?" Haka asked quietly.

"Yes. We will need an army."

Haka nodded and started towards the end of the cliff that they were standing on. He raised his arms towards the sun and sighed before opening his eyes. They rolled back in his head and the boy screamed. The sound was chilling and shivers went up Datenshi's spine despite having heard the ghostly wail many times before.

After the pained howl ended, they waited in silence. The very earth then began to moan to response. Haka frowned. "Three more, Master," he said weakly. He collapsed and Datenshi grabbed the child before he tumbled to his death.

"That will do, Haka," he whispered. He wondered who had been brought back. They had no control over it. A manic smile spread across his lips. All was going according to plan.


Sasuke stopped to stare up at the blood red sky. It made no sense and he debated on heading back to Konoha, but he stopped himself. Whatever it was, it probably had nothing to do with them. Not only that, but he didn't want to start panic by showing up without reason.

He closed his eyes and started walking again, keeping his hand on his sword just in case.

The call of a hawk caught his attention and Sasuke turned. He raised his hand for the bird to land. It was a messenger hawk from the Leaf Village. "Maybe they need me to come back," he said with a shrug. He took the letter written by Kakashi and blinked. It was short.

Sasuke, something's happened at the village. Don't come back if you are more than 24 hours away. Get underground if you can. Naruto's been compromised.

Sasuke crumbled the piece of paper. Why would Kakashi be telling him to get underground? And who would compromise Naruto? Who could compromise Naruto? "Little idiot," Sasuke growled and turned. He could make it back to the village by morning if he ran, and even quicker if he flew.

"Sasuke…?"

The young Uchiha froze and his heart suddenly stopped beating at the sound of that voice. It was one he hadn't heard in years. He shook his head, refusing to look behind him at the source of the voice. He was hearing things, or the red sun was really another form of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He wanted to vomit and weep at the same time.

"Mother…" Sasuke breathed, clenching his fists. He finally dared to look and his heart suddenly jumped back to life, beating twice as fast to make up for the missed beats. "It can't be…"

"…you…" the woman whispered. She stepped towards him and Sasuke grabbed his sword, pulling it out.

"Don't come near me!" he shouted shakily. How had he not noticed her chakra? How had she snuck up on him? Genjutsu? He tried to dispel it, but his mother still remained. He activated both eyes and shook his head. She was there and she was alive. "How is this possible?"

The woman stared at her son and tears began spilling. Sasuke looked away. "You can't be Sasuke," she whispered. "My sweet young boy! What happened?"

"You're dead!" Sasuke snapped, stepping back more. The woman's eyes widened.

"N-no!" she shouted back.

Sasuke's shoulders dropped slightly. She was there and she was alive, and he was scaring her. "Mother… I… I'm sorry…"

Mikoto shook her head, bringing her hand to her chest. She walked towards Sasuke and this time he let her approach. She wrapped him in tight hug and for a moment, he let himself be embraced. He felt her heartbeat as he would anyone else and she was solid, not an illusion. Naruto's been compromised… Kakashi had wrote. Sasuke nodded. Something was indeed going on here.

"Mom… What's the last thing you remember?" Sasuke asked finally.

"I was waiting for you to come home from school. You were so late…"

Sasuke felt a pain in his heart. She didn't remember the attack on the Uchiha Clan… Itachi's actions or even his father's death. He swallowed the lump in his throat and his weapon clashed to the ground. He didn't know what to do or what to say. All the training in the world couldn't prepare him for this.

"We should head back to Konoha," he said finally.

"Yes… I feel that is best," Mikoto answered with a nod. Sasuke clenched his fists and turned to summon a large hawk. He had wanted to use other methods to fly, but he didn't want to scare his mother any more than he already had. The large beast opened her wings. "You learned how to summon," Mikoto commented.

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. He didn't know how to talk to her.

"I am proud of you."

Sasuke helped his mother onto the Hawk and followed her. "Have you seen father?" he asked, his mouth dry. She shook her head and Sasuke urged the beast into the air. He gripped the hawk's feathers and bit his lip.

Naruto's been compromised… Kakashi had wrote. Sasuke shook his head. He's not the only one…


"I need you to relax, Naruto," Ino snapped. Their attempts hadn't been going well. Despite Naruto's willingness to let the jutsu take effect, they had no success in entering his mind. There were blocks that Naruto himself couldn't get passed.

"I am relaxed," Naruto grumbled.

Ino turned to Kakashi. "It's not going to work," she muttered.

"It has to work!" Naruto protested.

"My jutsu has its limits, and yours are beyond mind."

"He's not trained to withstand your jutsu," Sakura chimed in from where she was sitting in the back of the room. "How can he be fighting it off when he's not even trying?"

Ino turned to Sakura and sighed. "I don't know, really. It's not him."

"Is it Kurama?" Naruto asked.

"No, I don't think so," Ino answered.

"He's subconsciously fighting it?" Hinata asked. Ino nodded. Naruto groaned and rested his head on the back of the chair. "So what do we do now?"

"If Ino's jutsu can't penetrate his guards, there's not much else we can do," Kakashi grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. Naruto stared at the ceiling. If he couldn't return back to that house then he had no other ideas. All they had were two scattered dreams, an ancient poem and a red sun that was getting close to its midday summit.

"The Sharingan?" Sakura suggested.

"We don't know where Sasuke is," Kakashi answered.

"Besides, the amount of blocks on him are worse than anything I've ever encountered," Ino said. "I'm not saying that Sasuke couldn't crack it, but I would be afraid of what would happen to Naruto's mind if we forced ourselves in. We could end up doing more damage than good."

Naruto cursed under his breath.

"I have an idea," Sakura said. Naruto looked up at her and cocked his head. "Restrain him."

"We just said genjutsu won't work," Ino said.

"I'm not using genjutsu," Sakura said. She walked towards them as Ino restrained Naruto's arms. Hinata offered a small amount of protest, but she didn't call out. "Leave me alone with him."

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.

"As I've been researching for the children's therapy clinics, I had to do some research in psychology, and I've been working with a therapist and psychologist to bring the dream to light."

"That doesn't explain what you are doing."

"If we can't get past his blocks, maybe he can." Kakashi sighed and motioned Ino and Hinata to follow him into the room with a two-way mirror. Sakura sat in front of Naruto and he looked at her.

"I don't get it," he muttered. He saw himself in the mirror and frowned. "Why am I restrained?"

"I don't know how you'll react." Sakura smiled and Naruto returned the grin. "Now, you need to relax," she whispered soothingly. Naruto's grin turned to a frown.

"Relax…? How can I re-?"

"Shh…" Sakura whispered. "Calm down." Naruto nodded, deciding that he should be more willing. "Good. Focus on your breathing." Naruto did. His breathing was, naturally, fast, as he was annoyed and otherwise worried about impending end of days.

"Focused," Naruto grumbled.

"Good, now slow your breathing." Naruto wasn't sure how this was supposed to help, but he followed her suggestions anyway. He was determined to find something that would work. He began breathing on her commands; in and out as she spoke in the same breathy whisper. In the back of his mind, he was finding this all to be a waste of time, but he didn't say so out loud.

After a few minutes he found himself beginning to relax, as she had said. His clenched fists loosened and his shoulders dropped. A few minutes later and he hardly heard Sakura. He was staring at the mirror, seeing himself in a twilight state in the chair. He cocked his head, but since Sakura didn't react to the movement, he assumed that he wasn't really moving.

The reflection moved, but Naruto had not. His mirror image smirked and stood, walking to the front of the mirror. As it approached, the color faded from it, except for the eyes, which turned red. Naruto also stood from his chair. He looked back to see that his body had not moved. He shook his head and turned back to the mirror before approaching it.

"What are you?" he asked his reflection.

"We are one in the same."

"Impossible. I've already dealt with you."

The reflection laughed softly. "Do you really think someone as messed up as you only has one dark side? Our fate is set in stone. We shouldn't be fighting it."

"I'm not going to let this world end," Naruto snapped to his grey-scale reflection.

"You won't simply be letting the world end, you will be ending it."

Naruto clenched his fist and went to punch the mirror, but his fist passed through it and it rippled like it was water. His reflection laughed, a sound that was distorted with the surface. Naruto stepped into the mirror and looked at the world he now found himself in. He was back on the ancient street. He turned, but his counterpart was gone.

"Naruto…?" He jumped and looked around. It was Sakura's voice. "What do you see…?"