Chapter 1 Beta'ed by: the incredible, prodigious and phenomenal: CherryBerry12 (AN: if you like Karin you should def check out her page!) and adrieunor

Rated: M; violence, swearing and sex

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I speak Japanese. I promise that I don't use five dollar words the entire story, just the first couple of paragraphs.

Summary: Semi-SI OC, Non-Mass AU, Shisui x OC

AU: Non-mass

Chapter 1: Falling

War is ubiquitous. It occurs as easily as blood soaks deserts, grassy plains, and canopied forest floors. Only the dead have seen the end of war. Only the living bear the memory of its cost. The wheel of time in its constant revolution dips into the crimson pool of the drained life-force of men and women who die too young in the wake of war.

It can be said that in every universe there is a parallel. The Fourth Shinobi War claimed 40,000 shinobi lives and that of countless civilians. Yet the wheel turns. The wars in the Middle East have claimed 500,000 total lives as of this writing. And the wheel of time turns.

10 Oct 71, Juubi Battleground, Fourth Shinobi War, Shisui Uchiha

The explosion was all around him, chakra shooting up from the roots of that kami-forsaken god-tree with the intensity of a thousand paper bombs. He and Itachi ran to the last location of Team Seven. In the distance, they expected to see their mad ancestor but instead saw a woman glaring menacingly as her white hair wrapped around Naruto and Sasuke. All he and Itachi could do was watch in horror while they moved closer as the ground opened beneath Team Seven inside of the crater.

They should help; they needed to move faster. Itachi was barely staying on his feet, his chest wracked with tremors and suppressed coughs. Shisui knew Itachi would surely die if he had to perform another jutsu. The month-long war had taken its toll on his body, and the disease normally kept at bay by Tsunade-sama would finally claim its victim. He was not in a much better position, chakra-depleted and concussed he would cause more harm than good if he interfered. He'd be no more than a fly, but damn them if they didn't at least try.

In the split second it took for the portal to open and swallow Team Seven whole, it vanished, almost as quickly as it had appeared. In the same instant, Shisui saw the sky above them open with a second dimension, a woman fell from it with a scream. He didn't think; his body moved on its own, his heart recognizing who was falling before his brain had a chance to catch up.

10 Oct 2019, Afghanistan, Post-9/11 Wars, Katya Miller

In the moments before an IED goes off, there is silence. The point-man knows they fucked up. If ever there was an 'Oh-Shit' moment, that was it: the realization that it was not just a plastic bag, it was a pressure plate. The moment your eyes open from blinking, everything around you is consumed by flames and in this instant, your subconscious prepares your nerve endings for the pain of metal shrapnel piercing your body.

She saw the fire and could almost hear the shrapnel whistling towards her when a force pushed her backward. The next moment she was falling through the sky. A primal need to scream ripped through her as she plummeted to the ground. Spots danced before her eyes and the edges began to blacken from the lack of oxygen in freefall. She landed with a soft oomph and opened her eyes to the rough green fabric of a flak jacket. Looking up to find Shisui's face instead of her guardian angel or Saint Peter was jarring, to say the least.

"Katya? How…how the hell are you here?!" Shisui asked as soon as he landed on the ground with a roll.

Eight Years Earlier

"Come to me…" a soft feminine voice whispered through his dreams. He followed the sound as best he could and was led to a large wrought iron door. He hesitated, wondering if he dared to open it. Perhaps it was a genjutsu, after all. He flashed his sharingan just to be safe: no genjutsu. "Come to me…" the voice insisted. 'Might as well see what the dream-giver wants,' he thought sarcastically. He opened the door to a large forest. The trees were ancient and wild; they swayed in the breeze and cultivated chaotic rows of bright wildflowers amongst their roots. The sun shone through their boughs as morning birds sang to the melody of a nearby stream. For the first time since he was eight years old, he felt at peace.

He heard soft singing close to the stream. Following the source of the sound, he stood and hid in the boughs of an oak tree to watch as a teenaged girl no older than he was singing to the fish in the water. Even from a distance, he could tell that she was petite. Light blonde hair fell to her shoulder blades in thick waves; her face was tan, but he could tell that she was naturally pale. She was making a chain of wildflowers that were piled on her blue skirt. The thing that struck him most was what she was singing. Over the babble of the creek, he heard her sing, "I saw the devil today. He looked a lot like me. I looked away. I turned away…" Hearing such a dainty-looking girl sing about looking like a devil made him chuckle.

Unfortunately, it also gave away his position and startled her. She jumped up and held tight to a small enameled pocket-knife, ready for any threat. Her hazel eyes narrowed as Shisui jumped down from his perch and approached her cautiously, his hands in the air.

"Yare yare, I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. Um…jeez…" She backed away quickly as he moved forward, her flower chain trampled underfoot. He stopped his approach when he saw her trepidation and decided to try another tactic. "My name's Shisui Uchiha." She looked back at him, unimpressed with his introduction. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Yeah, sorry. Um. I'm fifteen. I like sweets, my best friend Itachi, and early morning runs. I don't like…snakes and coup d'états." He said it lightly, and she giggled at that, as he intended.

Lowering her pocket-knife, but not unfolding it she started, "My name is Katya Miller. I am also fifteen. I too like sweets, hmm…I also like music and math. I don't like…disloyalty or spiders." She shivered at the last bit and he smiled. "It's nice to meet you Shisui." She held out her hand and shook his. When she smiled and touched his hand, he swore to all the gods that he had met his soulmate.

"So, what is this place?" Shisui asked tentatively.

"Oh, this place? I don't really know but I've been calling it the dreamscape. I um…thought I was the only one in here. Usually, I just fall asleep and the gate appears. Then when it's about time to wake up this place just kind of…fades away. You're the first one I've seen though…I wonder if you're part of my imagination too?"

"Uh no…I'm real. Maybe you're part of my imagination? You do look like my dream girl," Shisui said with a saucy wink.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Katya deadpanned back. "We should be able to figure this out through deductive reasoning. You do know what deductive reasoning is, right?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah sweetheart, I know what that is. Fine. I'll start then. You already know my name. We're the same age. Oh, what's your birthday? Mine is the 19th of October."

"Hm. No luck there, I was born in January."

"What, no date?"

"No, I don't want you to steal my identity. How do I know you aren't here for nefarious purposes?"

Shisui stammered, "Ne-Ne-Nefarious purposes? What the heck, sweetheart, I ended up here the same way as you!" Shisui's face turned red as she lowered her head to hide a grin.

"I'm messing with you, Shisui. Well, we've established that we're born on different days. Location, then perhaps? I live in the Ozarks, in the countryside. I was born at the Harrisonville Municipal Hospital. You?"

At this, Shisui started looking even more confused than he previously did. Where the heck was the Ozarks? "Well I was born in Konoha…I have no idea where the Ozarks are though."

"To be honest, I don't know where Konoha is or even what that is…oh, don't feel bad about not knowing where the Ozarks are. We're a fairly small area tucked away in the middle of the continent." As soon as Shisui started conjuring up images of dry barren land in the belief that she was from Wind country she shattered his misconception. "It's truly beautiful in fall. I love the colors of the leaves on the trees. It's also when the bugs all die. They're kind of a nuisance. I love sitting in the oak tree on my grandfather's farm just to listen to the creek and watch the crawdads swim in the bank."

"Uh. The middle of the continent is a desert…"

"There are seven continents, dumbass. I would have thought you'd figure out that the Ozarks were in the middle of North America. Hmm…maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were."

"There's one continent, Katya." The sounds of birds in the trees answered him as they both sat on the edge of the creek, wondering how that would be possible.

The girl quickly jumped up, startling him from his seated position, and started to pull him by his wrist. Noticing the determined look on her face, he gave minimal resistance and went along with her. The forest became dark and deep and the trees grew wilder. The sounds of any wildlife had ceased until they found themselves at the mouth of a cave. Katya looked nervous and reluctant to enter which instantly put Shisui on edge. Out of instinct he activated his sharingan and peered into the depths.

"Um…I've only entered once. It's terrifying to go in. The last time I went, it was like all my deepest fears had started pressing on me. But in the back of the cave, when I felt sure that I would never make it out to the other side, I found a place that showed what looked like another world…I don't know how best to explain it… But maybe this is the answer? Maybe…damn this sounds crazy… maybe we're from different worlds," she whispered the last part and stared at the mouth of the cave. 'I mean people in my world sure don't walk on walls or blow fire in others' faces...well unless they're using a flame-thrower…' she thought to herself.

Shaking her head and squaring her shoulders she took one step towards the cave then turned to face her new friend. "I'll admit that being here scares me, but I will go if you do." She held out a hand to him and together they walked into the darkness.

As they walked through the dank caverns and passages, they saw their own fears preying on their mind. Shisui felt the loss of his childhood friend acutely and the blood of many lives and their spirits pressing in on him. He felt the weight of having to support his own parents and having no other option than to accomplish missions that he was much too young to handle.

Katya felt the sting of loneliness and betrayal, the emptiness of abandonment. She recalled the feeling of her father's death and her mother's descent into depression and addiction before she was placed in the care of her grandparents. She heard the shuffling of a thousand bodies and could only imagine that they were arachnid in nature as she began to cling tighter to Shisui's arm. In response, he pulled her in closer, in part to help assuage his own fears.

"It's close, just up ahead, Shisui…" she whispered in the dark. "Do you hear it?" He gave a barely perceptible nod in response.

"Come and see…a different world…a different realm…a different time…all souls are one…we are the old…" A voice carried in the air of the cave as they arrived at a wall that blurred at the edges, as though it were a deep vertical pool, opening and closing the view of different worlds. Shisui walked up and touched it briefly with one finger and a different world than that of his home appeared. He briefly heard Katya gasp in the background as the image became clearer. He saw an old rusty red building with paint chipping off the side. In front of that was a dirt patch and what appeared to be a hitching post, similar to those he'd seen on missions as a boy. The image switched to a two-story house with partially boarded windows and a dilapidated porch. In the background, he could see livestock and a chicken coop that was in better repair than the buildings around it.

"That's my grandpa's farm…but…it should be nighttime right now…and that coop is a lot newer than the one we have." She traced her finger over the side of the house and the image rapidly switched, causing her to jump back in astonishment. In front of them were miles of forest. They saw Shisui himself standing in front of a small group of Kiri-nin while two men lay on the ground screaming. "Oh my God…why are they screaming?"

"This hasn't happened…" he began to pull the girl behind him as they backed away from the mirror. 'I suppose it could happen though...Kiri isn't exactly stable at the moment,' he thought.

"It can't possibly show us the future. That's ridiculous…I think…I think we need to leave…this doesn't feel right…"

"Agreed…" The duo ran back out of the cave into the forest and didn't stop until they reached the glade.

"Well, I must say that was spooky…" Katya attempted to joke.

Shisui nervously rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I gotta say that I don't usually expect to travail haunted caves when I'm in the forest with a pretty girl," Shisui joked back, attempting to put her at ease.

"Oh, so you get lost with girls in the forest often, then? Do you have your wicked way with them too?" Katya teased.

"Nope, not often, only the really pretty ones."

Katya started laughing, "You, sir, are an incorrigible flirt."

"Well, thank you, I try." Shisui gave a dramatic bow while Katya clapped indulgently.

"I think it's time to go, Shisui…we're starting to fade. I hope to see you again, so long as we don't go back to that cave."

"'Till next time. Ja ne!"

One Week Later, Dreamscape

Katya was sitting quietly on the creekside with a book in her hand. One of the best things that she discovered in this world was that anything she imagined would appear. She made the most of her time by literally studying in her sleep. Shisui crept up quietly behind her and startled her. The book flew into the creek as the shinobi bent over cackling.

The blonde teenager glared at the boy. "Go get it," she commanded.

He tapped his finger to his chin before grinning. "What do I get if I do?"

"Don't know. But I'll tell you what you get if you don't."

Shisui walked to her other side before smirking again, "Oh, and what's that, my sweet Katya-chan?"

"A swift kick to the backside."

"Hmm, I don't think you would be able to catch me." Shisui flickered away, retrieved the lost book then flickered back. Katya stepped back quickly in surprise as his grin widened.

"You're on drugs! Oh my God, I knew there was something wrong with you!"

The teenager held his hand up in front of his face as though casually inspecting his nails. "What, you mean you can't do that? Or this?" He stepped out onto the water surface while the girl gawked at him. "Wanna join me?" he waggled his eyebrows and held his hand out in invitation.

"You threw my book in the water, and you expect me to join you?"

"Well, yeah. Girls normally get charmed by this kind of thing…" he rubbed the back of his head with his hand sheepishly. Katya raised an unimpressed eyebrow before turning back to her sopping book. Shisui crouched down in front of her before taking the book in his hands and warming the pages with chakra until they were mostly dry. His fingers grazed hers before he handed over the book. They both blushed slightly at the contact.

"Thanks, 'Sui."

"Sure thing, Kat," he said with a genuine smile. "Explain it to me?"

Katya's eyes lit up, "I'd love to."

One Month Later, Dreamscape

The dreamscape was calm, its blue sky devoid of clouds and the wind whispered gently through the trees. Shisui decided to meditate on a boulder in the middle of the creek. He reveled in the feeling of the sunshine and peace that permeated the entire dreamscape. It was rare, if not impossible, for him to find this at home. He heard a rustling motion as his favorite blonde walked up to the waterside before taking a seat on a nearby log.

It had been over a month since Shisui had first been called to the dreamscape. Katya was the most interesting girl he had ever met. For one, she didn't moon over him like the village girls tended to do. His fan club was half of the reason he stayed either in the training ground or his apartment. He felt like he could talk to Katya about anything. They talked about their favorite plants and books. They shared their hopes and dreams for the future and their dislikes. What he really loved was the mild friction that sometimes arose in their conversations. His new friend would always puff up like a proud parakeet before arguing with him.

"Hey, Shisui!" she called from the creek bank. He waved back in response before standing up on the boulder and walking to the water's edge.

"I will never figure out just how you do that, will I?" Katya pouted. His gaze lingered a moment on her lower lip before he shook his head to get rid of that thought.

"Hmm, maybe." His face lit up as an idea suddenly came to him. Extending his hand, he looked at her expectantly. "Trust me, Kat. Come join me."

The girl looked at his hand dubiously before taking it. He pulled her in close to his body. After settling her hands on his waist he moved his own to her elbows. "Put your feet on mine," he whispered in her ear. Katya closed her eyes tightly as she waited for him to drop her. He walked slowly on the water's surface and stopped in the middle of the current. "Open your eyes." Katya peeked open one eye experimentally before opening the other.

"Oh my God. This is amazing." She looked around and saw the fish swimming beneath her feet. A genuine smile bloomed on her face as she looked up at him. 'You're amazing,' he thought to himself.

"Huh?" she asked. Upon realizing that he said his thought aloud he lost control of his chakra and they both fell into the water with a loud splash. Shisui popped up quickly and looked around for Katya. He began to panic when he realized that she hadn't surfaced. Holding his breath, he dove down below the current when he felt someone touch his back.

They both came to the top of the water. Katya sent a small tidal wave in his direction, causing him to go below the surface again to dodge. When he came up for air he noticed that she was laughing.

"So funny…" he said wryly.

"I thought so. I can swim just fine, ya know."

"I can see that." Without warning, he sent his own massive wave towards her. She splashed at the water before trying to make her way towards the shore. "Oh no, you don't! Come back here, Kat!" Shisui grabbed the back of her shirt to pull her towards himself when she lost her stride and bobbed under the water. He quickly put his arms underneath hers and pulled her up. "Sorry. I didn't mean to put you under. I forget how short you are."

"Shisui."

"Yeah?"

"Get your hands off of my boobs. Now." The shinobi quickly acquiesced and moved his hands to her waist instead.

"Oh shit, I didn't even realize! I'm so sorry."

7 Years and 6 months Previously in Konoha, Nakano River

"You have checked for genjutsu?" Itachi asked seriously, activating his sharingan and looking over at his friend carefully.

"Obviously, Itachi. I think I'm in love with this girl. I've never even met her in the real world, but she's so amazing." Shisui said, falling back into the grass with a lazy smile on his face. "And it can't be a genjutsu because I go there voluntarily. There's like this big gate that opens up every time I want to go. She's like a ray of sunshine every time I see her…"

"It sounds like she insults you every time you see her," Itachi grumbled and threw grass at Shisui's face. Truthfully, Itachi was concerned for his friend. He felt as though Shisui was losing his mind and his grip on reality.

Two months passed by before Shisui found the courage to kiss Katya for the first time. He knew that he was wrong for wanting her. His father would be less than pleased if he were alive. There was so much drama going on with his clan that he couldn't help but want one thing for himself. Later he would wonder if it was too much to ask of the world.

Present Day

Shisui gently lowered her to the ground, making sure that she was steady before he let go. She looked around in shock. The area around them was a blackened wasteland as far as her eyes could see, weapons were strewn about and mummified bodies hung from the branches of a large tree. The smell of ash and ozone was thick in the air, but the most terrifying thing was the silence that rang around them.

"This is not where I was a minute ago…where are we? Did I die? This looks a lot like hell…but then how are you here?"

"You mean you don't know?" Shisui replied, baffled.

"No, one moment I stepped on an IED, the next I felt my body pulled backward. I thought it was just the explosion…"

"This is my dimension… I still don't understand how you're here…not that I'm not happy to see you. I'm just really…shocked…I mean the gates to our dimensions are locked to each other. Wait a second. You stepped on a bomb? On patrol? You told me you wouldn't take risks! You said it was basically a long holiday from reality!"

"They needed an extra body, and I was the right rank. You don't have room to say anything, Shisui. I've seen you in the mirror taking more risks than necessary…" She practically whispered the last part. "We're both fighting wars…Why does the air feel so heavy?"

"Damn it, Katya. Stop changing the subject. You almost died!" Shisui started to stew in his aggravation when he noticed Itachi walking closer to them. Before he could even think it, Shisui interrupted his thoughts, "It's not a genjutsu; it's her." Itachi gave a slight nod. He had already confirmed that his best friend was not under a genjutsu when he approached but figured that this gave Shisui a way to avoid thinking about his soulmate's possible demise.

"This should not be possible. How did this happen?" Itachi looked at them both.

"It's possible that it's inter-dimension travel. But it seems rather coincidental to have corresponding explosions on both dimensions. But I just…I don't know. I don't know anything. How is this possible? What is the point of all this? Why now? Why not earlier? Why here?" Katya started hyperventilating, "After all this time. After everything that's happened. Why now?"

"These are all questions that we will find the answers to later. Right now, we need to move and find out what is happening. Team Seven might still need help, and it appears that the remaining Hokage and we are the last lines of defense. Can you move? I'll need to carry you; you won't be able to travel at the same pace as us." Shisui directed the question softly to the distraught woman in his arms. Sobering herself and wiping her face, she gave a nod. With a considerable amount of embarrassment, she climbed on his back at his invitation. They arrived at the same time as Minato and apologized for their tardiness. Shisui lowered Katya to the ground with a brief kiss to her forehead before holding her hand and maneuvering himself between her and the Hokages. "It'll be okay," he whispered.

"To verify Madara's status and find out what happened, we should use his lower half to revive him with the reanimation jutsu. Then we'll make him talk," Tobirama stated matter-of-factly.

"To do that we'd need a living sacrifice!" Hashirama exclaimed in outrage.

"Even if we were to revive Madara there would be no guarantee that we would be able to hold control of the jutsu. Shisui and I did not find Kabuto by mere chance. Nagato Uzumaki was reincarnated and had the free will to tell us the location of the jutsu caster before the caster was able to reassert control over him. Madara himself is proof that this jutsu has a weakness to those who are reanimated with a strong will." Itachi stared blankly at the Second Hokage, almost daring him to continue talking about using a living sacrifice. "There has been enough death here today. If Kaguya does return, we must be prepared. Resurrecting Madara does not serve a purpose in this."

At this moment the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo, corporealized from the lower half of Madara's body and emitted a large burst of chakra. The woman in Shisui's arms lost consciousness from the sheer magnitude of energy emitted. Shisui looked to the Yondaime Hokage and signaled for help.

"Ah, she'll be okay, Uchiha-kun. I'd be willing to bet the Kyuubi to Kumo she's just chakra sensitive." Minato whispered and winked at the younger shinobi while Hagoromo started to tell the tale of Indra and Asura and the story of how the bijuu came to be to the others around them.

"A sensor? Yondaime-sama, she's not a shinobi."

"No, she's not." Minato paused to look at the sky then returned his gaze to the young man. "Usually, chakra-sensitive civilians live far from hidden villages anyway. I used to hear tales though, of the rare civilian fainting during larger shinobi battles, if they got too close. It happens. I wouldn't worry too much about it. The human body is amazingly adaptable. The fainting response is the brain's way of shutting down from too much input. Besides, she's not a normal civilian, is she?"

"No, I suppose not." Minato smiled at Shisui again before turning his attention to Hagoromo.

AN: This is the Prequel to "The Game of the Gods'". Please leave a review. :) Thank you so much for joining us on this amazing ride! Polite comments are always welcome in any shape or form, as is constructive criticism. So long as it is just that: constructive.

Direct quotation from Episode 463 of Naruto Shippuden; Direct quotation in the introduction by George Santayana

Posted: 20 Oct 2019

Updated: 27 May 2020; a special thank you to adrieunor for her character analyses! And of course, thank you to CherryBerry12 who is an amazing person and edited not only the original chapter 1 but took the time to go through it a second time. She's awesome!

8 June 2021: Wow. It has been a long road to get here. I'm currently working on the main work 'Game of the Gods'. Will I come back and rewrite this prequel? Yeah, probably. Someday. There's so many other projects that I'm excited to get to. I feel my writing skill have improved drastically since this was last updated. Even though this work is finished, please leave a review and favorite it. Let me know what you thought. What are your guesses for the future of 'Game of the Gods'? What'd you like? What didn't you like?