ashddghjas;gjh christmas always sucks every year. but anyway, enjoy the updatee!


"Is that what they're calling me?" She wondered aloud with bemusement. It sounded like something they'd call the Shodai Hokage, not little old Sakura. If they were surprised by her strength now, what would they say about Naruto?

Merry nodded, looking confused. "Well it's true, isn't it?"

"I suppose." Sakura said thoughtfully.

Merry was still watching her with intense interest, and when he began to peer closely at her, she pulled back with apprehension.

"And can you punch the ground and make it break? And the knives? Why do you have so many? What about the swords?" As if cued by his sudden bout of curiosity, he grabbed one by the shaft and pulled it out a bit, much to Sakura's alarm, as the blade was quite sharp and Merry held it with inexperienced hands.

"Uh—Merry," She started, making to reach for it.

He pulled it away from her. "Oh!" He blinked. "What kind of writing is that? I've never seen anything like it before…"

"It's Kanji." Kakashi-sensei had given her that sword. "Merry, really…"

She wavered a bit on the log, wondering if she should snatch it out of his grip—it didn't seem too strong—or let him continue, as he hadn't cut himself yet, and really, he wasn't doing any damage. He was just being curious…

"Merry!"

Aragorn came up then, and pulled it out of his hands for her. He looked at him admonishingly. For his part, Merry seemed a bit subdued.

He handed the sword back to her, which she took gently.

"You'll have to excuse Hobbits." He said with mirth. "They are quite curious creatures."

Sakura huffed. "I figured."

"But I suppose you cannot blame them, really." Aragorn began thoughtfully. "We have never seen someone so… different."

Sakura wondered if he was trying to compliment her, or insult her.

.

.

Sakura ended up sleeping in the trees, as most Konoha ninja tended to do. They were lofty, secure, and she highly doubted she'd be seeing orcs attempt to scrabble their way up the top of the pine tree. And other ninja, well, she just didn't even need to worry about that.

It was about six or so in the morning, and Sakura had gotten a good, stable few hours of sleep. Mostly, she was more worried about the baby's fragile health then her own.

Not for the first time since she had arrived here, she was regretting her silence.

Sam Gamgee was puttering below her, and she could hear the clanging of his pots from what seemed to be miles away. She cringed. The Fellowship was infinitely lucky for their good fortune—they hadn't run into any meaningful sort of trouble yet. She wondered if perhaps it wasn't as lucky as she thought. Orc-less regions of Middle Earth weren't uncommon, but without any sort of predator? Any watchful eye?

At any rate, a bag with rations was calling out to her, so she jumped out of the tree.

Gimli squawked in surprise as she flipped down, dropping next to him with nothing more then a soft thud and the flip of her hair.

"But you—" He pointed wildly. "You were just—the tree! The tree! You were in the tree!" He sputtered. "How did you get down here?"

Sakura watched him amusedly. "I jumped." She explained slowly. Gimli, if possible, became more flabbergasted.

Aragorn was some ways behind her, crouched in front of the fire. "Good timing, too." He said with bemusement. "We hadn't any idea how to get you down—we were going to send Legolas up."

A sudden storm of tension seemed to seize the entire campsight, as Legolas turned to stone and Sakura abruptly turned and walked into the forest. Even the hobbits, the most blunt and unsubtle of creatures sensed the heavy pause. Merry and Pippin prior to the sudden halt in frolicking had been arguing with each other on how Sakura was able to kill people with the strange things they had found in her bag. Certainly, she'd be angry at them when she realized that they had been rummaging through her stuff, but the couldn't resist the allure of the small, pin like needles. About as long as a finger, but as thin as a horse-tail hair.

As she waltzed off into the dim mist that tousled the forest flooring, Aragorn blinked.

"Was it something I said?"

"Women," Huffed Gimli, as he lounged. "You just never know what to do with them."

Boromir was equally guffawed by her sudden cooling mood, sitting by Gandalf, who was smoking his pipe. "I'm still a bit in awe with the hair." He said jokingly. "Are you sure she's as good as you say?"

Legolas narrowed his eyes, walking into the forest as well. "You'd be wise to hold your tongue." He said scathingly over his shoulder, as he nimbly moved through the condensing fog.

Aragorn was a bit surprised with his elven friend's sharp words, but Legolas didn't seem to like Boromir very much, and he had the most experience with Sakura, so perhaps he was simply looking out for her honor, or perhaps just wanting an excuse to smite the Gondorian.

Meanwhile, Sakura wandered aimlessly through the deep, wet mist. From the pine tree she had camped out on, it seemed beautiful and wraith-like, moving through the woods like a silent calamity. Now that she was shoulder deep in it, she was starting to itch with the humidity. It was foolish of her to think that hanging out with the dwarf would somehow minimize the presence of Legolas.

Sure, he definitely wasn't intruding in their conversations, but that didn't mean Sakura wasn't watching him some ways in front of her, nimbly moving through the terrain, or feeling his eyes behind her, unwavering.

Conversation was inevitable, she steeled herself, hearing his light elven footsteps from behind her.

"You didn't have to run off like that," He said rather wisely, ducking swiftly under a swooping branch.

Sakura belated mused that their child would certainly be adorable, if Legolas was anything to go by.

"The smell of the camp was bothering me." She lied loosely.

He blinked at her with the vapid summer blue of his eyes. "I was not talking about now."

"Oh."

Oh.

"You should have told me before you left." He pressed on. "I would have seen you off, or at least, explained things further to you, had I the chance. It should not have ended like that. I cannot express my apologies for my—

"Honestly." She interrupted weakly. "It's fine. "

It felt like eighty-one summers past her as he watched her reproachfully. The sea in his eyes, and the smooth line of his jaw, the tendons of his neck and the mobile shoulders—honestly, this guy could pass for Adonis or something.

He looked pleading, and deeply apologetic.

Confused, she asked in a whisper," Do people like, not, you know…have sex, here?"

Her confusion was mirrored in his own, as his brows furrowed., as if he wasn't used to such a vulgar term. "No, it's very uncommon out of wedlock."

Hah. Well they were certainly part of that uncommon percentage then, weren't they?

Sakura said nothing though, only taking this information in. Obviously, they were in a state of misperception. Sakura had just sort of assumed that elves, in that respect, could be as nefarious as ninja—who were notorious for getting around—but maybe she had it all wrong.

So they just looked like ethereal porn stars but did nothing about it?

It wasn't really her place to judge, so she said nothing, choking out a weak, "Oh…"

Legolas was watching her strangely, Sakura was feeling her deep hatred for awkward conversations rise considerably, so she beckoned him to follow her. "Hey. Let's get back to camp."

It hadn't changed very much. Pippin seemed to have burned his toe, a feet which, with the dim, small fire, seemed almost impossible. After reaching the small clearing Sakura immediately made for the other side, seeing Legolas sit with a bemused, if not curious looking Gandalf. Aragorn was smoking his pipe on a rock, looking more or less entertained by Boromir's practice on a withered tree.

He fought like most men in Middle Earth, with a broad stance, a shield to cover the stance openings, and a wide sword. While some of his movements were fluid, they were mostly blockish and relied on his brute strength rather then his speed. Sakura, so used to the way of the ninja, which, if anything, relied on speed, was guffawed by this. She had seen it back in her previous time in Middle Earth, but it never ceased to surprise her.

She sat onto a rock and debated her options. She could spar with a clone, but even a light spar might be too tedious, considering there was a day of walking to be thought of.

She could try some moves on a tree like Boromir, but one look at the man and she decided against it.

The fellowship began their long trek for the day, Sakura keeping closer to Gimli then was necessary. The dwarf didn't comment on it, much more enthused at the listening ear she represented for his stone talents and tales of deep mine trenches. They trudged through a land of deep valleys and turbulent waters, great mountains rising sharply to the left of them.

Sakura had never seen so much open space.

In the Hidden Nations, there was always an outpost, some sort of town or village, a patrolling group of ninjas, telephone wires, something that took up most of the space. In Middle Earth, here were small pockets of realms where people lived, the rest was free roaming territory.

She knew that, in size, Middle Earth and the Hidden continent were about the same. But Middle Earth seemed grander, less explored… untamed, almost.

By sundown, Gandalf had lead the company up a narrow, hazarding pass through large craggy rocks, which seemed to encircle the steep mountains before them.

"We must hold this couse west of the Misty Mountains for forty days." Sakura paled at that. "If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there, our road turns east, to Mordor."

Sakura had studied the map prior, and knew that they were attempting to cross through the small gap in the mountains, aptly named the gap of Rohan, as it ended in the realm of the horsemen. She realized with unease that at the party's current pace—which was, admittedly so slow that it was nearly lethargic—this mission could really take a year, or more.

Tsunade had mentioned this, of course, but at the time, Sakura was recalling that at enhanced speed, the road from the Grey Sea to Mirkwood had been about three weeks travel (by herself, with light provisions, no hobbits, no slow walking, no rest stops…) and judging from that distance, Mordor would be about a month.

She was wrong.

She hadn't taken into account the slow pace of the Hobbits, their bumbling, unaccustomed bare feet, nor the unfamiliar, hostile terrain, blistering winds, and unimaginable amount of resting Hobbits seemed to be capable of.

By the time they had made it to the Eregion Hills, they were too tired to do much else then sleep. The Hobbits all fell in a rather adorable heap of curly hair and big feet, Sam already snoring by the time his head had hit his pillow. Gandalf had found himself a nice rock on which to smoke his pipe, and Aragorn joined him. The other three, all of which had never had much camaraderie, nor had met each other before (or were even inclined too, for that matter), all spread their different ways.

Sakura waited until after dusk to quietly sneak off, as the fire dimmed and Gandalf's pipe was nothing more then a dull spark in the dark.

She peered over the rock she had ducked behind, looking for signs of life at the dull and silent camp sight. When she neither saw or heard, she quickly pulled her shirt up, and rubbed lubricant over it. A faint green glow pulsed from her hand as she slowly rubbed it in circles.

Her eyes closed, as her probing fingers searched for a heartbeat.

It wasn't exactly the best medical attention she could give to her baby, but it was the best she could make do with.

After a few minutes, she began to worry about the aching silence that accompanied the probing.

A restless feeling overcame her, as her fingers were met with nothing. It was possible that the baby was turned over, or simply too small for this kind of procedure, and it was just as possible that the heartbeat was just not there at all.

Her hand stilled, glowing faintly green.

This was a good thing, right? This mission would take longer then she had previously thought, pregnancy was the worst hindrance a kunoichi could experience, and all it would do was slow her down and make her weak. This way, she'd be at full health, and wouldn't have to worry about the complications that came with all this…

Aragorn found her that way, moments after he had heard a stirring somewhere behind him.

He peered slowly, sword in hand, ready to slay an orc or two which could be hiding behind the rocks.

Sakura had a far off look, the dim green glow from the hand on her stomach lighting her face in a firefly-like light, looking considerably more vulnerable then Aragorn had ever seen her. It was strange to think that this warrior woman, surrounded by tales of beastly skills, a true slayer of orcs and monsters, and even said to have taken down the great dragon of Dol Guldur. While this may be true or not, either way Aragorn had a slightly warped perceptive of the woman in front of him—because she may have many elusive names and titles, but really, that's what she was.

A pretty woman with pink hair, who, at the moment, was looking quite forlorn and lost.

"You shouldn't stray too far by yourself." He spoke aloud, and the ninja jumped and rearranged her clothes.

Sakura looked over her shoulder to peer at him through the fringe of her lashes, as if to say, "Do you really think I couldn't handle myself?" But there was only silence and the dull rhythm of crickets in the distance.

"I felt like moving around." She said by way of explanation, standing and turning to look out into the vague fog.

"This is hardly the place for a walk." Replied Aragorn. "Sauron's eyes are everywhere—even when so far away from Mordor."

She watched him through lidded lashes. "Sauron?"

"The dark lord." He explained. "The original owner of the ring that Frodo is now burdened to carry."

She nodded, making to sit down on one of the rocks. "And the trip to Mordor?" She looked up, to where Polaris dotted the sky. "How long will that take?"

"It depends." Aragorn shifted uneasily. "Many weeks, I should think."

"This world is vast." She agreed, and Aragorn found he couldn't read her face for emotion.

He nodded. "Wasn't yours?"

"It doesn't seem like it to me." She thought of the journey to Wave, the harrowing week and a half it took. Or the journey to Suna she and Shikamaru had made before she left—about the same distance from Rivendell to Rohan—which had taken about two weeks. And even then, the delay was because of Shikamaru's laziness. Perhaps she was just used to faster travel.

He looked unsure of what to say, most likely taking her far off look and few words as something entirely different. "You must miss it."

"I suppose so." Maybe, maybe just a little bit. "But I'm used to travelling to far off places." She smiled then. "I guess you could say its part of the job."

"And what is that job, exactly?" A question that had been bothering him lately. King Thranduill had explained to Gandalf and he what little he knew of the land of stealth-warriors, of shinobi. Sakura had been on a mission to defend Mirkwood from Dul Guldur, so he had assumed that most of the jobs she took were quite similar.

"Well it depends." Aragorn was surprised to see a smile light up her face. He belatedly realized she hadn't smiled the whole time she had been here. "When you're young, you do a lot of stupid missions. Fetching water for a villager, plowing fields," And then, with a pinched face, "Finding lost pets."

"When you get older, the missions change." There was a far off look in her eyes as she said this. "I remember my first big mission was escorting an old man back to his country to help him build a bridge. It was the first time I had ever been far from home."

"These days I do a lot of assassinations or reconnaissance. Sometimes with a team, sometimes without." She sat crosslegged now, wondering why she was explaining so much to Aragorn. It wasn't like most of it would make much sense to him. Middle Earth clung to the ideas which they have always had—women stayed at home, men fought with honor on a great battlefield with many horses and men.

"And this is… acceptable? All this murder?" His brows furrowed. Sakura wondered if he was thinking of the elf princess Arwen, with her soft hands and unsullied, bloodless hands. Sakura supposed that was the image of women in Middle Earth, strong and confident, but never fighting, graceful and free of sin.

"It is the way of shinobi." She explained, even though it hardly explained much at all.

He looked so perplexed, she elaborated further. "Although, most shinobi aren't women. It's not uncommon, but there are more men in the field." She thought of herself, as a Gennin, wondering if she had made the right choice when her teammates and everyone else seemed so much stronger then her. "And its optional." She added, and watched the relief on his face.

He sat down with her, and she turned to face him. "Why so many questions, anyway?"

"I'm curious." He shrugged sheepishly. "I suppose we all are."

"That's natural I guess." She admitted, and the blushed. "The questions, I mean. I expected to have quite a few for me."

"There is a lot of myth surrounding you." Aragorn mused. "They say you can cut rocks with your sword, and cause earthquakes in the ground with your fists, yet I cannot find any answer as to how this could be true."

Sakura blinked. "Well… those are a little different." She admitted. "Ninja are, by trade, warriors of stealth."

And then, as she thought of Naruto. "Although many aren't very stealthy at all. But ninja are most profound in the art of chakra. What you're thinking of is chakra nagashi, an ability to channel chakra into a weapon or a part of your body, to increase its abilities."

If possible, he only looked more confused by her explanation.

She scratched her head. "Uh, it's hard to explain."

"But the night grows shorter. We'll need rest for the journey in the morning." He turned back to camp. "I would feel more at ease if I knew you were near." He added.

The pinkhaired woman sighed, and got up from her rock, to follow Aragorn back to the small clearing of rocks.


hooh ooo hooh ooo!