AN:
Thank You WolfDemon1000, Immortalis Cruor Elf, DreamingIn2Eternity and Ice Vixen X for reviewing!
Sorry for the long wait, and I am sure that you don't want excuses, so here is a rabbit:
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Thanks for the support and on with the show!
Rin awoke early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. Streaching, she stumbled over to a water basin and splashed some water on her face. She casually looked out a window that gave her a good view of the fields in front of Minas Tirith, and did a double take.
"Hoshi!" she cried, running out of the room, not caring that she was only in a borrowed nightgown, to find her teammate.
"Shhh!" hissed Kuro, who stuck his head into the hallway. "He's sleeping; don't wake him up,"
"But I need to talk to him!" she whispered urgently. The thick-lashed Uchiha smiled slightly.
"You can do that when he is awake," he soothed. "Why don't you come in? Susano'o is back and he needs some patching up,"
Hesitantly, the petite brunette slipped through the doorway into the other medic's room. She was surprised to find Hoshi sprawled across the end of the bed, his eyes half-open as he dreamt. The Snake Sannin's copper-skinned student occupied the rest of the bed, his face pale. Susano'o sported several lacerations across his chest, which bled through the layers of bandages. His face was grimy and blood trickled from a cut on his mouth, which was slightly agape as he snored.
"I did as much as I could, but there might be something in the wounds that is preventing them from properly healing," murmured Kuro apologetically. The black-haired boy looked ashamed because he was unable to completely heal his friend.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Rin consoled gently as she unwrapped his bandages. "His injuries don't look so bad because you treated them," Concentrating on her hand, she began to heal Susano'o's wounds. The boy stirred, squeezing his eyes against the pale green glow.
"Ai, Rin," he grumbled. "It's too bright,"
The two medics laughed as the copper-skinned shinobi awoke, giving them a scowl. "Laugh all you want," he said sulkily. "But I need my sleep. See, Hoshi knows what I am talking about,"
The pointy-eared boy snorted in his sleep, then curled up into his usual ball. The brunette medic giggled, slightly losing her concentration on the jutsu. The room lapsed into silence, with the sound of a crackling fire in the background.
"Are the civilians in their assigned places?" asked Susano'o, peering out of heavily-lidded eyes.
"Rin and Gandalf helped me herd everyone into the underbelly of the upper levels," he answered quietly. "The Gondorians were surprisingly cooperative, and the current leader of the garrison was nothing but helpful,"
The injured shinobi chuckled. "Good," he murmured, wincing slightly. "The blasted onis are just starting to creep from Osgiliath. The fight will be starting by midday,"
Rin finished healing the lacerations on the copper-skinned shinobi's chest, smeared a salve on the still tender wounds and carefully rebandaged his chest.
"What happened to Faramir?" she asked while she was wrapping up his torso in gauze.
A look of meloncoly flitted across Susano'o's dirty face. "I left one of my summons with him. I couldn't take him off the slaughter field, and the poor taicho's foot is stuck in the stirrup of his saddle. My summon can communicate with horses, which is why I left him there. When the army gets too close, the horse is under orders to return with Faramir to Minas Tirith,"
"Shouldn't the horse have fled already?" asked Kuro while craning his neck to look out of a small window. "It looks close enough to me,"
A feral grin crossed the injured genin, widening the cut on his lips. "I have to give that pointy-eared coward my thanks. I have no idea what he did, but when a wave of orcs ran out of their hidey-holes to attack us, they had not gone but twelve yards from the city when they all fell down, twiching. Heck, some even exploded! A few of the men managed to make it into the city, past the spazzing onis, without any adverse affects. In the long run it didn't make much of a difference, but the strange barrier kept the horde inside Osgiliath instead of chasing after us."
Kuro frowned, looking up from his new place by the hearth, making some tea. "Chasing you? Why, were you running away?" he asked, confused.
The bandaged boy sighed, wincing as he shifted positions. "I managed to convince a group of rangers and Faramir-taicho to retreat behind a crumbling bit of a wall, but they all got shot by arrows, that seemed to be covered in a thick clear poison. Only Faramir survived long enough for me to remove the arrows and negate most of the poison,"
"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" protested the Uchiha, waving his arms in front of him. "There is no way you couldn't have been shot. You are not that lucky!"
Susano'o smirked. "A little genjutsu goes a long way, my friend. How do you think I managed to slip off the battlefield in front of a massive army?"
The thick-lashed boy shrugged. "By flying?" he weakly suggested.
Rin chuckled. Susano'o's albatrosses were some of the least subtle summons she had ever seen, and they were certainly not stealthy creatures. The image of the goofy black and white bird attempting to covertly fly off the battlefield with its bleeding summoner on its back was definantly an amusing one. Hoshi once again spralled out along the edge of the bed, and he began to mumble.
"Nazgûl, trolls, and orcs, oh my!
Black riders on fell beasts fly,
The Age of man is over, they cry,
None the less, all will die."
"Such a cheerful fellow. Tell me, does he always make such statements?"
The three shinobi turned their heads to see Gandalf standing in the doorway. The White wizard's eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Not normally," answered Rin. "He has made a lot more predictions here than back at home,"
The Istari nodded his snowy head. "I hope you all are prepared for today," he said seriously. "After all, it is going to be a long day,"
They nodded in understanding. Gandalf inclined his head and a small smile crossed his face.
"You should awaken Hoshi, or he might not be ready for battle," he said before leaving the doorframe.
The three shinobi looked at their sleeping comrade, then each other.
"Noses!" cried Kuro. Ironically, he was the slowest.
"Damn!" he cursed, giving his 'cousin' a fearful look. Laughing, Rin shook her head as walked out of the room to her own to ready herself for battle.
\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/
Pippin stifled a yawn as he followed Denethor and his escort around the various negelected gardens in the uppermost circle. The Steward still wore a grumpy look, which seemed to increase in grumpiness as the day wore on. The hobbit's stomach rumbled, reminding him of his lack of second breckfast, elevensies and lunch, while teatime had just past.
"So much for receiving good food now that I am in one place," he thought sadly.
"Hello, Pip," greeted a soft voice directly behind him.
The Took yelped in surprise, whipping around to see Hoshi. The boy was dressed in the strange shinobi chain mail, and wore a jerkin that bore the elblem of the White tree, though his trousers were the kind the shinobi wore.
"Don't sneak up like that!" Pippin gently scolded. "While it is nice to see you, why are you here?"
The dark-haired human shrugged. "Everything we could organize is organized, and we have to wait for Faramir to return before the battle officially starts. I like this place, and it has a nice view,"
"Pippin!" called one of the dark-robed courtiers.
"Coming!" he answered, running the catch up to the man. Hoshi jogged beside him, a worried look on his pale face. They hurried into the palace, their feet clicking on the stone floors and echoing through the corridors.
"What is going on?" Hoshi whispered to the courtier.
"Lord Denethor received word that his son has returned," answered the man in a hushed tone. "I prey that Faramir lives,"
They caught up with the rest of the entorage, hurrying to the courtyard of the White tree behind the Steward. There stood a captain of the Tower guards, whose name was Iorlas. Four soldiers gently placed a streacher down by the tree as Denethor approached it.
"Faramir!" he cried softly as he knelt down to look at his son. "Say not that he has fallen,"
The blonde man had a sorrowful look in his eyes. "They were outnumbered," he replied with a hint of animosity in his voice. "None survived," The soldier looked as if he wanted to add "What did you expect?"
Denethor slowly stood up and staggered away from the responseless Faramir. "My sons are spent!" he moaned. "My line has ended,"
Seeing an opportunity, Pippin ran over to the streacher and put a hand on the light-haired man's face.
"He's alive!" he whispered with surprise.
Hoshi, who had followed him, knelt down and removed Faramir's breastplate, revealing two puncture wounds that were sloppily stitched shut. He carefully removed the stitches then took a plant from a pouch and began to chew it.
"What on earth are you doing?" the young hobbit hissed in shock.
The pointy-eared boy spat out the paste like substance and carefully smeared it on the man's wounds. "Treating his wounds properly," he snapped. Closing his grey eyes, and placing his hands gently on the injuries, Hoshi began chanting softly in Elvish. Pippin's eyes widened as an inperceptible green light emitted from his hands. Several of the surrounding soldiers were murmuring, unsettling the hobbit. The strange boy stopped chanting and began to bandage the wounds.
"Pip, he needs medicine," Hoshi said quietly. "There is nothing more I can do,"
Nodding, the dark-haired halfling turned to Denethor, who was still stumbling along, grieving for his son.
"My lord, Faramir needs medicine!" Pippin called urgently.
Ignoring the hobbit, the Steward continued to stumble along. "My line has ended!" he howled, reaching the wall of the level over looking the Pellennor.
"My lord!" he cried again, slightly miffed that his advice was not heeded and idly wondering if the man was going to fall over the wall. Instead, the Steward yelled at the top of his lungs:
"ABANDON YOUR POSTS! FLEE, FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Iorlas and Hoshi looked astounded, the latter angrier than the former. However, the angriest had to be the newcomer, who was none other than Gandalf. The wizard practically ran over to Denethor, and, as soon as the man turned around, hit him with his staff; once in the face, once in the stomach, and a finishing blow on the back, sending the Steward to the ground.
"Prepare for battle!" Gandalf commanded. With a nod, Hoshi pat Pippin on the shoulder and broke into a sprint, his hands weaving one of the shinobi's many spells. The halfling's eyes widened, realizing that the boy was about to jump off the level.
"Wait, Hoshi!" he cried, standing up. But it was too late, the dark-haired child had already leapt off the wall. A falcon's cry pierced the air as an enormous peregrine falcon rose in front of them with the strange shinobi on his back. Large, dark eyes peered out from beneith an alien helmet, its wings and body were covered in a colorful, woven armor, and its murderous talons were elongated by sickle-shaped metal guantlets. Pippin gulped, feeling like a mouse in the great raptor's eyes.
*"Ikuzo, Kublai,"* Hoshi commanded the falcon, and dove toward the incoming army.
\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/
Eldarion had been anticipating Gandalf's command as permission for the shinobi to start their attacks. The plan of attack was for him and Susano'o to bomb the incoming forces and defend the city from the air, while the two medics would perform field work. So far the seabird-summoner had destroyed five siege towers, ten catapults and a small cohort of the orcish forces. When he finished survaying the skys, the grey-eyed genin stood up from his crouching position and moved closer to Kublai's head.
"You want something?" asked the falcon with an amused tone. Eldarion jumped slightly, still not used to the giant bird's method of communication. He knew that the raptor lord could speak, but it seemed that he preferred not to.
*"Um, could you...?"* he stammered, unsure if it was proper for him to order Kublai around. The large Peregrine was already on top of the situation, and had not needed his guidance the previous time he was summoned.
"If you want something, than spit it out!" snapped the armored falcon, no longer amused. Before the slightly miffed genin could say anything, the angry scream of a Nazgûl rent through the air, forcing Eldarion to clasp his hands over his ears in pain.
"We've got company!" he yelled through gritted teeth, looking up to see the rider and its steed bearing down upon them. With a strong upward thrust of his wings, Kublai flew up to meet the Fell beast. Quickly cluching onto a strap of the falcon lord's armor, the elf-like shinobi held on as his summon swung it's talons upward to lock onto its opponent's. Only chakra and a strong grip kept Eldarion from falling off the Peregrine's back as the vicious raptor tore apart the Fell beast with its beak and talons. The Nazgûl continued to scream the entire time; the cold, piercing screech whittling away at the lanky shinobi's sanity.
"Will. you. shut. UP!" he screamed, pulling himself from his virtually upside-down position and quickly climbing up Kublai's back to the falcon's helmeted head. Undoing a seal on his red guantlets, the elf-like boy pulled out his Guan Dao and jumped onto the Fell beast's bloody back. The wind wooshed past them as both bird and beast fell out of the sky.
"Aren't you brave, little one?" crooned the Nazgûl from beneith its black robes. The rush of anger that fueled him was gone, now replaced by limb-numbing fear. The image of a young boy, hanging lifelessly from a rope around his neck, flashed across his mind's eye. Eldarion shook his head fiercely.
"Don't let their Killing Intent get to you," commanded himself. "Fight back!"
His hands lapsed into the seals for a familiar jutsu as he dodged sword blow. In retailiation, he swung his Guan Dao up into its supposed face. The scream it gave off as the hood burst into black flames nearly deafened the adopted Uchiha. He doubled over in pain, clawing at his throbbing ears. The free fall abruptly ended when the foul corpse slammed into a seige tower against the wall. The Nazgûl disappeared, giving Eldarion enough time to recover. He slowly got to his feet and stood shakily on top the Fell beast's decapitated carcass. He peered out between shafts of splintered wood to see that he was just level with the edge of the wall. After checking to see that his polearm was safely in its storage seal, the tall genin vaulted over to the battlements. Instead of his feet meeting stone, they met an orc's face, which subsequently exploded upon contact with his chakra-covered soles.
"Hoshi!" cried a voice below him. He wildly searched until his eyes landed on the person he was looking for.
"Pippin, what are you doing here?" he asked. The hobbit's short sword was coated in black blood, and he looked rather confused.
"Watching my back, for now," answered Gandalf as he slew another vile creature. "You are to return to the Citadel immediately, Peregrin Took,"
The halfling nodded, running up a flight of nearby steps. Eldarion looked around. Only two siege towers had reached the wall. The rest had either been crushed by stones thrown from the catapults or blown up by Susano'o's explosive tags. Three of the Nazgûl were currently being engaged by Kublai and an albatross, while the bandaged shinobi harrassed two of the others. Biting his thumb again, the elf-like boy carefully molded all the chakra he could muster, then ran through the seals while running toward the edge of the wall. Jumping off the edge, he activated the technique.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In a puff of smoke, a sleeker Peregrine appeared beneith him, wearing similar armor to Kublai but lacking a helmet. Eldarion landed on its back as gently as it could.
"What would you have me do, master?" asked the falcon. The summon's voice was feminine, leading Eldarion to believe that it was a female. His grey eyes scanned the battlefield as they flew along the wall until they landed on a monstrous batting ram, shaped like a wolf. He could hear the orcs chanting its name as it was pulled along to the gate.
"Grond," he whispered fearfully. His summon looked up at him, puzzled. The flaming metal batting ram was too close to the gate to use an exploding tag without damaging the gate itself. Inhaling deeply, the tall genin answered her initial question. "Drop me off by the gate, then join Kublai. He will tell you what to do from there,"
Nodding her dark head she glided over to the besieged gate. She hovered briefly over the battlements, allowing the lanky shinobi to jump off her back. His two sandeled feet safely on solid rock, Eldarion looked off toward the west.
"The sun is setting," he observed "But we will be fighting long into the night,"
"Hoshi!" cried a voice from the courtyard below. The adopted Uchiha looked down to see a smiling Kuro, a somber Rin, and a large group of soldiers. A small smile crossed his face as he jumped down and strode over to them.
"How many hits would it take for the gate to break down if they are using Ground?" asked the peitite brunette as soon as he was next to them. A wave a snickers rippled through the armored men, causing Rin to glare at them.
Stifling his own laughter, Eldarion pondered on the question. "Three to four, I believe," he answered seriously. "Either way, we will be flooded with orcs and trolls,"
Kuro shook his head. "Not if we reinforce the gate," he countered.
The wavy-haired shinobi snorted at his 'cousin's' remark. "With what? The rubble from the damaged buildings?"
The thick-lashed Uchiha gave him a hurt look. "Iorlas-taicho wasn't so mean," he said sulkily, provoking a wave of guild to flood through his adopted clan member.
"Anyways," continued Rin, giving them both an admonishing look. "Kuro could use Doton: Doryūheki to block the gate,"
Eldarion was pleasantly surprised by the information. "You have Earth-nature chakra?" he asked.
Kuro was about to reply when a booming thud sounded through the courtyard. All eyes turned to the gate, which had shaken slightly. Without hesitation, Rin shoved her fellow medic toward the wooden entrance.
"Less talk, more wall-making!" she urged. "Everyone, stand clear of the gate!"
Intrigued, the pointy-eared boy watched his fellow Uchiha carefully form the seals. He jumped slightly when Kuro vomited mud, which quickly shot up to completely cover the gate area. The shinobi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and dusted his palms off.
"That should do the trick," he said, looking very pleased. The mud proceeded to harden, muffling the sound of the ram as it it the gate a second time. Gandalf arrived on the scene on Shadowfax with more men. The Istari regarded the new barrier with surprise.
"A clever idea," he remarked. "But how long will it hold?"
Kuro removed a tag from his back pouch and placed it on the wall. "For ten to twelve hours," he said, satisfied.
No sooner did the words leave the genin's lips did the sound of splintering wood and the bellows of outrage ring through the twilight. Heavy blows fell on Kuro's mud wall, but it held. Its creator snickered and nonchalantly laid a hand on the tag. The shrieks of anger transformed into cries of pain, along with shouts of surprise from the archers defending the gate from above.
Eldarion turned to his cousin, bewildered. "What on earth did you do?" he asked.
The Uchiha removed his had from the tag. "I made it grow spikes," he answered carelessly, before being pulled away by Rin.
"C'mon Uchiha," she said lightly. "We have some wounded to take care of,"
Gandalf survayed the gate area and then turned to the tall shinobi. "Lay out a trap just in case the orcs manage to break through," he said quietly, before addressing the others in a louder voice. "For the time being, the entrance is secure and all of the enemy's catapults and towers have been destroyed. You may rest, but be vigilant, for the enemy's strength is greater in the dark. Stay away from the gate, for some traps are to be laid there," With that warning, the White Wizard left the gate area. Eldarion sighed and gazed at the innocent mud wall in the dim light, pondering which genjustu to use.