"I see you found the lass. What was she doing?"
"I do not want to talk about it," Thorin growled.
"You have some grass in your hair, Thorin."
Thorin turned and glared at Balin but reached up and pulled the grass out of his hair, "What happened," Balin asked.
"Nothing," Thorin said.
Dwalin came and sat down next to Thorin, "I'll tell you what happened, Balin. Thorin, got his arse handed to him," Dwalin said with a chuckle.
Thorin glared at his best friend.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Only that the lass proved that she's not as helpless as Thorin thought," Dwalin said and chuckled.
Thorin suddenly stood up and walked away. He walked towards a boulder and leaned against it, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe how easily the girl had manhandled him. And what were those moves she used on him? Thorin had never seen a fighting style like that before. Did the Elves train her? Thorin's blood boiled at the thought of Kumiko being around those shimmering, prancing, pompous, tree shaggers. Thorin was deep in thought that he almost missed Bombur announced that dinner was ready.
After everyone had dinner, they settled down for the night and went to bed. A few hours later, Bilbo got up, unable to sleep because of Bombur's snoring. He walked towards his pony and gave her an apple. As he stood there petting the pony, Bilbo suddenly heard something shrieking in the night.
"What was that?"
Kili listened for a moment, "Orcs."
"Orc?"
"Throat cutters. There'd be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them."
Bilbo began to get nervous and sat down next to Kumiko, who has woken up and was glaring at Fili and Kili. She realized that they were trying to scare Bilbo, "Don't pay any attention to them, Brother, I promise nothing is going to happen to you," She whispered to Bilbo, and he relaxed.
Fili and Kili snickered at Bilbo's reaction, but Thorin glared at his nephews, "You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
Kili looked down, "We didn't mean anything by it."
"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world," Thorin said, then walked away to be by himself.
"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs." Balin said then went on to explain the battle of Moria.
As Kumiko listened to the story, she found that her respect for Thorin grew. She still found him to be cantankerous and a bit aggressive, but that appealed to the Saiyan in her. Kumiko knew that Thorin could give her a good fight. Maybe not physically, but they could have some interesting arguments. When Balin finished his story, Kumiko found herself standing with the rest of the Company, paying Thorin proper respect.
"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked.
"He slunk back into the hole, whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago," Thorin said as he walked past Bilbo.
Kumiko knew that wasn't true as she saw the look that Gandalf and Bilbo had given each other.
The following day, Kumiko and the rest of the Company continued their trek through a downpour. Dori complained to Gandalf about the deluge and if he could do something about it, " It is raining, master dwarf. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."
Kumiko and Bilbo look at each other, "Are there any," Bilbo asked.
"What?"
"Other wizards," Kumiko asked.
"There are five us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, The White. Then there are the two blue wizards. Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names."
"And who is the fifth?" Kumiko asked.
"Well, that would be Radagast, The Brown."
"Is he a great wizard, or is he…more like you?" Bilbo asked.
Gandalf glared at Bilbo, and Kumiko snickered, " I think he's a very great wizard, in his way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forestlands to the East, and a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."
Bilbo and Kumiko looked at each other and dropped the subject, they continued to ride throughout the day, and eventually, the rain stopped. At sunset, Thorin called for the company to stop for the day, "We'll camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them. Oin, Gloin, get a fire going."
Gandalf looked around the ruined farmhouse, "A farmer and his family used to live here. I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the hidden valley."
"I've told you already. I will not go near that place." Thorin growled.
Thorin and Gandalf began to argue about going to Rivendell until Gandalf finally had enough and stormed off; Bilbo looked at his sister, worried that Gandalf would not return. She laid a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Brother, Gandalf only needs to blow off some steam."
Bilbo nodded, feeling reassured. But when a few hours had passed, and Gandalf had still not returned, Bilbo's anxiety began to rise again, "He's been gone a long time."
"Who?" Bofur asked.
"Gandalf," Bilbo said.
"He's a wizard. He does as he chooses. Here. Do us a favor, take this to the lads," Bofur said and handed Bilbo two bowls of stew for him to take to Fili and Kili.
Bilbo nodded and made his way into the woods; Kumiko sat down next to Bombur and Bofur to wait for Bilbo to return. Half an hour passed, and Bilbo still had not returned. Kumiko started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. At that moment, Fili came running into camp to inform them that Trolls had taken the ponies and sent Bilbo to set them free. Instantly, Thorin and the rest of the Company were on their feet, "Come on, we need to save the Halfling," Thorin growled out. He then pointed at Kumiko, "You stay here. I don't need to save two people."
Kumiko glared at the Dwarf but did not move. Thorin and the others ran towards the woods and disappeared. Kumiko paced around the camp, waiting for the Dwarves to return with Bilbo. When it became clear that something had gone wrong, she took to the air and flew to where the Dwarves had gone. Kumiko landed on a tree limb and watched as the Trolls shoved the Company into sacks and tied the rest on a roasting spit.
"Looks like it's up to me to save them," Kumiko said to herself.
Kumiko flew towards a ledge overlooking the trolls' camp and looked down on them, "I would release them if I were you," She said in a loud and clear voice.
Bert, Tom, and William looked up at Kumiko, "Who's that," Tom asked.
"No, idea."
"It looks like she Dwarf," Bert said.
"Can we eat here too," William asked.
Thorin and the others looked at Kumiko, "What are you doing, Girl? Get out of here while you have a chance!" Thorin yelled.
"I am not leaving you and my brother to be roasted alive."
Kumiko then jumped off the ledge and landed in the Trolls' camp. They immediately lunged for her, but Kumiko easily avoided their grasp. The Trolls continued to chase Kumiko around the camp while she laughed and avoided them until Bert swung his ladle and hit Kumiko in the chest, sending her flying across the camp. Thorin and the Dwarves yelled when they saw Kumiko hit the ground hard. He began to struggle to get out of the sack he was in, as were the other Dwarves. But Thorin's eyes widened when he heard Kumiko laugh and stood up as if nothing had happened.
Kumiko popped her neck and looked at the Trolls, "Nice hit, now it's my turn."
Then faster than the Trolls could track, Kumiko launched herself at them and punched them in the face. They crashed to the ground, then slowly, the Trolls sat up and looked around to see if they could spot the little female, "Up here, fellas."
The three trolls looked up and looked at Kumiko, confused as she hovered above them. The Dwarves followed the gaze of the Trolls and gasped as they saw Kumiko floating in the air, "Get her!" Bert yelled.
"I don't think so. I'm tired of this game," Kumiko said.
She then raised her hand and charged her hand. She let out three ki blast at the Trolls' heart, killing them instantly. The dead trolls hit the ground with a mighty thud, shaking the ground. Kumiko then landed and walked towards her brother, "Nice shot. Was that a strong ki blast?"
"No, I didn't need to use too much power to kill them," Kumiko explained to her brother as she cut the rope and let him out of the sack. Then she walked over to the spit where the other Dwarves were tied and lifted them off as if they weighed nothing.
After that, Kumiko untied the rest of the Dwarves. Thorin and the others stared at her in shock, awe, and a little bit of fear. Never in Thorin's almost two hundred years of life had he seen anything like that. He walked towards Kumiko and looked at her suspiciously.
"What are you?"
"Let me introduce you to Princess Kumiko Baggins. Saiyan Elite from the planet Vegeta Sai," Gandalf said as he walked towards Thorin.