I'm really surprised actually by how many people saw this… quite a handful! I'm glad y'all stopped by to read this.

TGD

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or Naruto.


As he tracked the hobbits and the Ranger to a small dell called the Troll Fells, Sai could feel some warmth rising within him. To put it into words, he decided, it burned at the base of his throat and bubbled in the pit of his stomach, and the heated prickle of it was all over his body.

Anger noun: a strong feeling of grievance and displeasure. Yes. That was how he felt. Angry for letting the hobbit Frodo get hurt. Angry for not being more involved in trying to keep all of them out of harm.

Sai sped over the tree tops, scouting for danger. At length, he withdrew his drawing scroll from his pack and perched himself on a branch. Swiftly painting several ink mice and birds, he endowed them with artificial life and watched as they vanished into the forest night. The wind felt very comforting against his bare midriff, and he inhaled the scent of greenery feverishly. It was at that time that he smelled the Black Riders once more.

They regroup quickly, he thought. By now, Sai could recognize their scent anywhere, a pungent smell of death and decay that clung to anything they touched. They would kill anything that got in the way of their prize, their goal. Their mission. Sai allowed a crooked, bitter half smile to twist onto his face, against his better training. That be the case, how different from them… am I? he asked himself, before suddenly suppressing the thought. Suddenly, he felt much better, more relaxed. Although he hated to admit it, this was when he felt best: with nothing in his mind but the mission. No feelings to get in the way. Yes. He was just like the Ringwraiths. A tool in the hands of his client and in his greater leader. That was him.

An ink hawk spotted irregular activity and relayed the images back to Sai, who closed his eyes as the wave of information entered his mind. A tall, beautiful dark haired woman was gliding into the rocky clearing Aragorn had set up camp in. Her ears were pointed. Without effort, Sai remembered the information he'd acquired and identified her as an elf. Though a different "species" from men, the immortals tended to throw their lot in with the lesser beings, and were therefore not a threat.

This elf, when examined for any traces of power, seemed to shine with starlight. Most of it was concentrated at the base of her throat, radiating from a twisted silver pendant. The Evenstar. Sai thought absently, before realizing that the elf maiden was pulling Frodo up onto her white horse. He moved like a shadow, closer so that he could hear their whispered words.

"If I take Frodo on my horse, I can get to Rivendell faster, and to my father. You know he could be saved. It is not too late, Estel." The girl said, looking up into the ranger's eyes.

"Arwen. There are Black Riders up ahead, and the matter of the mysterious light on Weathertop… I cannot afford to lose you. Neither can your own people. Get yourself back to Rivendell and call reinforcements." Aragorn whispered, twining a rough hand into her slim fingers.

"Frodo is already beginning to fade. We cannot linger any longer. We cannot lose the ring bearer." Arwen answered. Finally, reluctantly, Aragorn consented, and with a thunderous gallop, the horse sprang away into the forest with two riders on its back. Sai was after them like an arrow from an elven bow, without even a shaking branch to indicate he'd ever been standing on it.

The other hobbits and the ranger were safe. There was no reason for the Wraiths to attack them. It was their true objective that would be ruthlessly hunted, pursued, and killed. The Ring bearer.

The sun was rising from the east, but to Sai it seemed as if someone had drawn a smoky veil across the sky, and the pure warmth of the glowing sphere did not reach his pale face. Arwen, the elf, rode on across the weathered forest, skillfully guiding the horse, dodging trees and maneuvering over loose ground. It was here that the Riders found her, and they spurred their horses forward to close the distance.

Silence was obliterated with an explosion of sound; the noise of groaning, shrieking horses and hissing Ringwraiths filled the morning air, as well as the sound of grumbling hooves striking the rocky ground. Arwen's eyes were dark with defiance as she also urged her horse on. To fall back would mean death.

Ignoring a twinge of pain from exhaustion that traveled up his leg, Sai drew several kunai and shuriken from a hidden pouch, each of them equipped with a length of steel wire. He threw them through the trees, weaving a metal web that glittered faintly in the false sunlight. In his reading, he knew that the Wraiths had poor vision and relied on other dark senses to guide them to their prey. The Riders would never be able to sense the fine wires.

Arwen spared a quick glance behind her to check the progress of the Ringwraiths. To her surprise, three of the evil horsemen were struggling in a mess of spindly tree trunks and branches, surrounded by a barely detectable glimmer of some kind of string.

However, the other Ringwraiths, after seeing the blunders of their companions, had somehow gotten by the trap and were bearing down on her.


Sai's heart plummeted in his chest when he saw Arwen move toward a barren stretch of land. Without the trees to shield him, he would have to resort to using a jutsu to camouflage himself with his surroundings. On the other hand, using his chakra here might alert the Ringwraiths to his presence, if his suspicions were correct.

There was no time to waste. The Wraiths had almost caught up with Arwen, and the least he could do was draw some of them off. He cast the camouflaging technique, his image flickering out of view. At the same moment, his heartbeat pulsed irregularly, warning him to the drain in his chakra system. If he didn't stop to rest soon, he'd be drained to zero and die.

But he didn't care if he died. He was a tool, and tools were never truly alive to begin with. A few of the Riders, confused by the sudden flux in energy nearby, veered away to investigate the source. Just as he planned. Sai's fingers whipped through seals, finally ending with: "Water Style! Water ball jutsu!" He took in a deep breath, letting the chakra build inside his body until he released it into a great blast of water from his mouth. The Riders screeched with hate and terror as the liquid splashed over them, and in their haste to move away, caused the horses to fall beneath them on the uneven ground.

Once again, Sai's heart gave a throb. Now he could feel better if he died, if he felt anything at all. Arwen had gotten away, splashing noisily across the Bruinen river. Here, Sai let the jutsu fall as he entered the scant tree cover growing alongside the river. He was panting now, his body occasionally giving spasms from strain, but he managed to drag himself under the relative shelter of a scraggly bush.

The last Riders stopped at the edge of river, hesitant to go on. Their leader ventured a little into the shallows.

"Give us the Hafling, she-elf." it grated. Arwen drew herself up courageously, brandishing her sword above her head and causing her horse to rear a little bit.

"If you want him, come and claim him." she retorted. The Wraiths drew their swords.

"Then you will die." The horses plunged into the river, coming straight for her. Sai tried to move, but he couldn't. Numbness was licking at his arms and legs, and darkness ate at the edge of his eyes.

Arwen, though, had plans of her own. Looking down at the water swirling past, she began to chant, words that swelled with power. With a shuddering crash, the river swelled, a huge torrent of water gushing forth in the shape of galloping horses filled with crushing boulders and trees. With cries of anger and pain, the Wraiths were washed away downriver.

Sai lay his head down on the rocky bank and closed his eyes. At least Frodo was safe now. Darkness rose to greet him like an old friend, extending a warm blanket that covered his mind like fog and clouded up his thoughts. He let himself drift into this darkness, losing himself in its emptiness until he felt no more.


Is Sai dead? Well, I don't intend to finish this fanfict anytime soon! Please read and review.