(Strider's POV)
A/N: Here's Chapter 2 of 'Of Elves and Ninja'. Just so people know, I have enough for maybe two or three more chapters written out already, but past that I'm going to have to try and stay ahead. School's interfering a lot, so if I don't update for awhile, that's why. Anyway, I'm really glad to see that people like this story. For anyone that's looking for a really good LOTR crossover, check out 'The Leaf that Found Its Way' by indogirl7. It's how I got the idea for this story! And without further ado, Hinata, disclaimer please! n.n
Hinata: Ah……O…….o……..o………Overlyinspired d….does n…..n……n…….not own N….n…..Naruto or L…..l………..l…….l………lord of t…t……the R……r……rings. Arigatou. :bows:
(Strider's POV)
Strider had been shocked when he returned to Weathertop and heard the screeches of Nazgul. The blades that he had given the hobbit would not have been enough for them to stay alive for long. He had lit a torch as quickly as he could, drawn his blade, and dashed up the hill. As he mounted the crest of the hill, he saw the Witchking pulling his sword out of a screaming Frodo. Sam was stunned, having been thrown into a rock, and Merry and Pippin had been carelessly tossed aside. To his surprise, as the Nazgul reached out to take the Ring from Frodo, two figures leapt out of the rubble, each holding a sword. For a moment, Strider thought that the two were elves, but as he watched them fight, it was obvious that they had never heard of Nazgul before. He set the one closest to himself on fire, and watched as one of the people yelled something to the other.
Soon, to his amazement, the one that had spoken threw something at one of the Nazgul. It exploded in a huge burst of flame. The other one threw something at another one, and it too exploded. The two Ringwraiths that were left both decided to gang up on one other the people, and he/she (Strider couldn't really tell), managed to shove one back and turned to deal with the one behind him. The Nazgul had gotten inside the person's guard, and Strider was sure that they were doomed, until they reached out with their left hand and deftly poked the Ringwraith, looking as if they had done this a million times. Surprisingly, the creature stumbled back, and Strider set it on fire. The other person exploded the last Nazgul, and it ran. Strider ran over to Frodo, who was on the ground, still screaming. His friends were crouched beside him.
He slung Frodo over his shoulder and ran over to the two people. When they turned to look at him, he could see their eyes. Both of them were disconcertingly blank. No pupils at all. He could also see that one of them was male and one was female. They looked like they were related, possibly brother and sister. They also were very young, probably about seventeen or eighteen. The girl was gently holding the boy's hand, examining it. The tips of his fingers were purple, and he was shaking slightly. Strider told them to follow him in the Common Tongue. The girl shook her head, apparently not understanding. He tried again in Elvish. Another head shake. Finally, he just gestured for them to follow him. The girl said something to the boy, and he nodded. Then the girl ran over to a large rock and pulled two packs out from beneath. She strapped the boy's onto his back.
Strider led the rest of the hobbits and the other two down the hill, catching Bill the pony on the way by. Frodo was moaning quietly from Strider's shoulder, and his eyes were glazed over. The boy and the girl were keeping pace with him, and looked like they could probably go faster, even though Strider was running almost as fast as he could. He took the opportunity to study them. They both had long, dark hair. The girl's, however, had a slightly purple gleam in its current light, and the boy's was jet black. They each had a blade on their backs, and a pouch strapped to their right thighs. Their packs were large, and looked heavy, but they didn't seem to mind. The boy's right arm and left leg each had bandages wrapped around them. Also, the boy had a headband with a strange symbol on his forehead, and the girl had the same headband around her neck.
"Strider, what can we do?" Sam called from the back of line as he led Bill.
"We have to get to help from the elves." He called back.
"But we're six days from Rivendell!" The hobbit called back.
"I know!" Strider yelled.
"Strider, how do you know that we can trust those people?!" Pippin asked, almost falling over.
"They saved you, didn't they?" He responded. "And one of them got hurt. He needs Elvish medicine to heal his hand." Merry and Pippin looked over at the two people that had rescued them. The boy was holding his left hand tightly against his chest as he ran.
The group ran for days, only pausing for about two hours a day. Frodo was steadily getting worse. He was completely delirious, and his face was white. The boy's hand was completely useless by that point, as was almost half of his arm. Purple tendrils were winding their way through his pale skin, and with each passing day, he slowed down a little more. The girl had to help him keep going because everytime she let go, he started to sway. Then, on the fifth day, Frodo got really bad, really fast. Strider lay him down on a blanket and pulled his tunic open to check the wound. The skin around it was an extremely dark purple. There wasn't much time before Frodo became a wraith like the Nazgul.
"Sam, have you heard of athelas?" he asked.
"Athelas?" The hobbit's face had confusion written all over it.
"Kingsfoil," Strider said the name in the Common Tongue.
"Ah, it's a weed." Sam shrugged.
"But it may help to slow the poison," Strider said. "For Frodo and the other boy," He glanced over at where the other boy lay limply on the grass, eyes closed. The girl was crouched beside him, one hand resting on his cheek. Sweat was beading his face, and he appeared to be having trouble breathing.
(Ninja POV)
Hinata and Neji had kept pace with the man for five days, but Neji was getting much worse. The hobbits were all obviously worried about their friend, but they all dropped asleep the moment that the man let them stop. By the fifth day, Hinata had to help Neji even stand. Whatever the poison was, it had spread. Neji couldn't use his left arm at all, and purple tendrils had wound their way up his arm. Even though it appeared to only be in his arm, it had traveled to his lungs and possibly his heart.
When the man called a stop and lay the little person down, Neji fell where he stood. His eyes were tightly closed, and breathing hurt. He felt Hinata's hand on his face as she attempted to rouse him enough to get some water down his throat.
"Neji nii-san, you need water. Please, drink." Her hand slid under his head enough to lift it off of the ground. She held out the canteen, but he couldn't lift his arm enough to take it. Finally, Hinata rested his head on her shoulder and poured some water into his mouth. She watched as the man and one of the little people left, seemingly looking for something. Maybe that something would help Neji. He stirred slightly, and opened his eyes.
One of the little people came over and sat down in front of them, curiosity written in every part of him. He reached out and tugged on Hinata's sleeve, saying something. All she could do was shake her head. How was she supposed to know what the thing was saying? When the man and the little person returned, there was someone else with them. A tall man with fair hair and blue eyes knelt down beside the hurt little person. He had a beautiful brown horse with him. It looked around, an intelligent gleam in its eyes. Hinata's Byakugan could see the person's chakra. It was pure white.
"Neji nii-san, look at his chakra," She whispered. Anything that would get him to focus. She could see him attempt to build up his chakra enough for his Byakugan, but he was forced to let it go with a quiet moan. The man turned to regard the cousins with wise blue eyes. He walked over to them and crouched down in front of them, brushing Neji's hair away with one hand.
Hinata instinctively pulled Neji closer to herself to try and protect him. She wasn't giving him to a total stranger with odd chakra, especially since she couldn't understand what he was saying. The blond man turned to the other one and asked for something, holding out one hand. At this close distance, with his long hair not in the way, Hinata could see that his ears were pointed. The other man gave the person in front of them a small plant with tiny white flowers, saying something that sounded like it was urgent. The man in front of them gave him a patient look, and turned back to them. He ripped a piece of the plant off and chewed it carefully, soon pulling it out of his mouth and grabbing Neji's left arm. He turned it palm up and said something to the dark-haired man, who came over and cut a long slice through Neji's hand. Hinata immediately lashed out with her free hand, knocking the dark-haired man over and startling the blond one.
He said something that was probably meant to soothe her and pulled Neji's hand toward himself. Hinata saw her cousin's eyes flicker open and widen as he saw who was touching him. The man carefully began to push the plant paste into the gash on Neji's hand. Hinata held her cousin as he screamed, eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"Neji nii-san! Neji nii-san, breathe!" She ordered frantically as he arched out of her grip. The blond man caught her cousin and lifted him, standing up as he did so. Hinata stood as well, wondering what was going on. The blond man turned to the dark-haired one and said something. The other one nodded.
The man gently unstrapped Neji's pack from his back and lay it down on the ground. He started to lift Neji onto the horse, but Hinata shifted her own pack around so that it was on the front of her, and tugged on the man's sleeve. He gave her a confused look, and she gestured to her back. He hesitated, and then laid Neji across her back. She sank slightly from the extra weight, but regained her balance soon enough. She pointed to Neji's pack, and made a questioning noise. The dark-haired man picked it up and strapped it to the pony's back. Hinata gave him a smile and turned back to the blond man and the horse. The injured little person was lifted onto the horse, and the blond man mounted behind him. He said something to the horse, and it started off at a gallop. Hinata bolted after him. She could actually keep up with a horse under normal conditions, but having Neji on her back and a heavy pack on her front was slowing her slightly. As it was, she could still keep up, but it took more effort than it would have.
The man gave her a surprised look that she had managed to keep up, but kept the horse going. Suddenly, to Hinata's horror, there was an unearthly shriek. Hinata looked up at the man on the horse, and he was looking slightly worried. He glanced down at her and asked something. She gave him a confused look. Was he asking if she could go faster? He was probably keeping pace with her because he thought that she was going as fast as she could. Hoping that she was right, Hinata sped up, running as fast as she could. She was far outstripping the horse. The man gave a feral grin and yelled something to his horse. It immediately leapt forward to catch up with her. Another shriek filled the air. Hinata glanced back and saw nine, NINE, of the things that had attacked them before, mounted on black horses, and rapidly catching up.
"Neji nii-san!" She called back. He stirred slightly and lifted his head.
"Hai?" He asked drowsily, eyes flickering.
"Neji nii-san, look behind us!" She felt him turn slightly on her back, and he tensed. "Can you toss a few exploding tags back? Please?"
"I can't aim well..." His head slumped back against her shoulder. His strength was fading fast, much too fast.
"Please! Neji nii-san, focus!" She pleaded. She felt him rouse himself slightly, and soon she heard him sliding a kunai out of his pouch. He threw it behind them, trying to aim through the haziness of his vision. Neji had to focus chakra to set the tag off. He built the chakra up, and whispered the activation word. A large explosion told them that he had been successful. The man on the horse whirled, looking alarmed. Hinata managed to tug on his pants slightly and shook her head. It was fine. Their pursuers weren't doing anything. Hinata, much to her horror, felt Neji fall against her back again. He had passed out, and now he was just a dead weight. He couldn't support himself at all.
The man on the horse led them through a large forest, and Hinata took to the trees. She could go just as fast above as below, and it felt much safer anyway. On her back, Neji remained limp. His breathing sounded forced, and felt odd against her back. It didn't have the correct steady rhythm that she was used to. The creatures pursuing them shrieked again and Hinata somehow found the strength to speed up. They quickly came into view, nine ghastly figures on horseback. The man on horseback swerved in and out of view, dodging around trees and leaping over rocks and logs. Soon, he led them to a river. His horse plunged across, and Hinata followed, stopping on the other bank when the horse did. She gave the man a confused look. Shouldn't they keep going? He returned her look with a reassuring one of his own. Hinata actually felt better and stayed where she was. Soon, the black things came into view, racing toward the river. Hinata felt her sense of panic return, and she took a step backwards. The man gave her another gentle look, and she stopped. He would protect her. She could feel it.
The creatures continued to advance, and the frontrunners hooves were in the water when the man began to chant something in another language. It sounded like the one that the dark-haired man had tried to talk to her in. He chanted, one hand raised, the other clutching the little person. All of a sudden, Hinata heard roaring water, and she turned to see a huge wave of water rushing down the river. Even as it came toward the black things, the crest of the wave formed itself into the heads of racing horses. The black creatures tried to flee, but the water bore down on them and pulled all of them and their horses under, rolling them over and over. As soon as the creatures were under, the river calmed itself. Hinata stared at the water until she heard a gasp from on top of the horse. She turned to see the little person seizing up, gasping for air. The man shouted something to the horse, and it wheeled and dashed off. Hinata followed as best as she could, but she was growing weaker, and Neji still hadn't stirred.
When she stumbled, the man on the horse didn't even turn, and Hinata forced herself to keep going. She had to find help for Neji, and safety and information. Her determination couldn't last forever though, and eventually, her legs gave out. She fell, dropping her cousin. As she tried to rise, her legs just wouldn't hold her, and she began to cough from the strain. Soon, blood was spotting the ground in front of her. Nearby, Neji's breathing was harsh and labored. He was deathly pale, and his eyes were shut.
"N...N...N...N...Neji nii-san," She gasped. He had to wake up, and she had to get the vials in her pack. She clumsily undid the straps with one hand and let it fall, digging through it to find her medical kit. It had the vials that could stop her coughing. Soon she had it in front of her, and she managed to open a vial and pour it down her throat. The coughing ceased. She stood, shaking slightly, and closed her pack up. If she couldn't move Neji, she could at least try and make him comfortable.
Suddenly, he started to gasp for air, and soon he was spasming. Hinata crawled over to him, and held him tightly against her chest. The poison, whatever it was, was killing her cousin, and he was in agony. His eyes shot open, but it was clear that he couldn't see her, even though she was crouched beside him. He clutched tightly at her coat with his good arm, moaning in pain. Hinata felt her eyes starting to water. Neji was her cousin, and she had always thought of him as invincible, the same way most children regarded their fathers or older brothers. Seeing him after the battle with the Sound-nin had been almost unbearable. Seeing him now, holding him, when he was so vulnerable, was tearing her heart to pieces. What could she do? Her cousin was dying, and she was too weak to take him anywhere. Hinata felt the tears that had been building in her eyes start to fall, and she leaned her head on Neji's good shoulder. Her vision went hazy from tears, and then Hinata fell into blackness.
A/N: So, what do you think? o.O R&R please! For Hinata's self esteem!
Hinata: (blushes)