A Vengeful Miko

Chapter 4

Kagome gasped in pain and surprise as her back met the hard, wooden wall. She stared at the man holding her against the wall trying to sense his aura, and figure out why it seemed so familiar. The man glared at her, using one hand to keep her pinned to the wall, and the other to hold a knife to her throat. She heard the hobbits yelling for the man to let go of her, and she saw them brandishing their daggers wildly. She simply looked at the man expressionlessly, searching his face. Kagome would have slapped her forehead, except it didn't seem to be an appropriate thing to do at the moment. She realized why this man seemed so familiar; he was the same one that had been staring at her across the common room.

The man glared at her for a few more moments, wiggling the cold metal against her neck menacingly, before asking: "Who are you?" "I could ask the same to you," Kagome answered defiantly, looking into his eyes. This just seemed to infuriate the man further, and he shook her, moving the knife closer so that it cut into her skin, making a thin red line of blood across her neck. "Answer me!" he snarled. "What business of it is yours? On what grounds do you question me?" She inquired calmly.

He didn't have to answer her question, in fact, he could have hacked her head off right there, but something told him to wait; it might be worth it to see what happens. "I have promised to protect them," he stated simply. At this, Frodo stepped forward. "Who binds you to this?" he asked, cautiously, still not entirely trusting of this mysterious stranger. The man looked now at the hobbits. "Gandalf," he said truthfully.

Frodo took a step closer, all caution forgotten. "Gandalf sent you?" Frodo asked, wide eyed "Why has he sent you, and why can't he come himself?" "He has matters elsewhere to attend to, and he asked me to come in his stead, and guide you to Rivendell," he replied. The hobbits all nodded apparently thinking it an acceptable answer, and visibly relaxed.

Kagome, on the other hand, still against the wall, was getting more and more fed up with this. She needed to know what was going on. It was bad enough that there was a knife being held to her throat by a mysterious man, but now she was apparently stuck in the middle of some big, suspicious…thing, and she didn't even know what was going on! "It would be rather nice if someone could tell me exactly what is going on here" she said suddenly, startling everyone. They jumped and looked at her, as if they had forgotten she was there.

Sam, remembering the situation Kagome was in, looked to the man pleadingly. "Please sir," he begged, "don't harm Kagome. She has been our companion the last few days, and has agreed to travel with us for awhile. If she wanted to harm us, she could have done so many times." The man looked suspiciously at Kagome for a moment before reluctantly letting go of her and removing the knife from her neck. After taking a moment to steady herself, she bowed to Sam. "Sam," she said, "This is the second time you have helped me. I cannot even begin to thank you." Sam only blushed and turned away. The man was still looking at her suspiciously when she turned to him. "I still do not understand what is happening, but my companions trust you, and that will have to be enough for me." She stated. The man nodded once before replying, "I will have to say the same to you. I do not trust you completely, but if what the hobbits say is true, than my doubt may be unfounded, but it is not safe to trust everyone these days," then as if in an afterthought he said, "you may call me Strider." "Well met, Strider," Kagome said, bowing to him. "And to you, Kagome," he replied, also bowing. The hobbits watched the exchanged in confusion, but it quickly dissipated when Kagome said, "Let us retire to our room, and then perhaps you could all explain to me what is going on." They agreed, and Kagome turned and began leading the way up the stairs, to their room.

When they entered the room, Strider began to walk around the room, peering into the closet, under beds, and in the shadows. Kagome observed him as he inspected the room. "There is no one there to overhear us, you don't need to look," she told him. He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "And how do you know this?" he questioned in a voice heavy with suspicion. She shrugged. "Feel free to look, but there will not be any one hiding in the shadows." The ranger ignored her, and continued his search, but gave up and sat down on a chair by the fire after finding nothing.

"I believe we should hear your story first, Kagome, just so that we can be positive that we aren't telling you anything that we shouldn't," suggested Merry, who was now sitting on a on a rug on the floor. Kagome looked to the other group members for conformation. They all agreed. She allowed a small sigh to escape her lips, but agreed that she would probably do the same in their shoes. She was about to begin her story with her missing friends, but she couldn't do it. Memories flickered through her mind; flashes of Sango, Shippo, Miroku, and Inuyasha. The last one was the reason she couldn't tell them. If she told them her story, she would have to relive his death, and what happened to her friends. She wasn't ready yet for that. She didn't think that she ever would be.

Kagome turned away from the hobbits and man so that they wouldn't see the sadness reflected in her eyes. She took a moment to get her emotions in control before speaking. "I cannot tell you where I come from, or how I got here, only that I cam to this Middle Earth by mistake, and I search for a way home. Maybe if I travel with you, I can find someone who can help me," was all she said. "Can you help us though? Do you have any skills that we may be able to use?" asked Strider curiously. She nodded. "I have some skill at archery, and I have some other powers that might prove useful to you, if you decide from now that I trustworthy," she answered.

Frodo was surprised to notice that the young woman's usually emotionless voice now had an undercurrent of deep sadness. Something must have happened that she was reluctant to speak of, and she seemed slightly desperate to join the group, if not to join their cause, then to at least find some way to get home, no matter what the cost. This decided him. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason why she should not join them, and she may even help. "I think she is trustworthy," he declared, looking around at his companions. "I agree," said Sam. "And so do we," spoke Pippin for himself and Merry. Strider was still looking at Kagome with his head cocked slightly to the side, considering. "You are welcome," he said, "but you may want to know our part of the story before deciding." Kagome nodded.

"I believe the story is Frodo's to tell," Strider said, looking across at the hobbit. Frodo took a deep breath before beginning. "Many years ago, my uncle Bilbo went on a journey, and came back with a golden ring. When Bilbo left, he gave me this ring. It can make the wearer invisible, and prolong our life, but only for its own sinister plan. Gandalf the Grey, a wizard, was the only one to realize it for what it is. It is the One Ring. It is the Ring that the Dark Lord Sauron forged for himself, so that he could rule Middle Earth. When he was defeated long ago, the ring was not destroyed, and as long as the ring lives on, so does his spirit. There is only one place where it can be destroyed, and that is Mount Doom, in Modor, a very dangerous place, far away. Sauron is now searching for the ring, so he can be all powerful, and he set his dark minions, the ring wraiths, to retrieve it for him. I alone cannot keep it safe, so I and my friends travel to Rivendell, an Elvish city, where it can be safe for a while."

Kagome took a minute to take in all this information. It seemed that the burden that Frodo carried was not less important than the one that she carried, as she once thought. She was now even more determined to join the group, and not only so that she could get home. She felt the need to help Frodo and the group, even just to share the burden. She looked up, only to find the group looking at her expectantly. "I will join your group if I may, and I will try to help in any way that I can," she said, looking at Frodo as she said this. He nodded, as he had expected this.

Strider spoke up: "Now that we have decided, there is a letter that Gandalf wanted me to give to you." He took out a piece of paper from his cloak and handed it to Frodo. Frodo looked at it for a moment before opening it. He read it through slowly, and explained what it said to the other members. "It says that he had some urgent business elsewhere, and that we can leave him a message here if we like. Also, it explains that Strider is trustworthy and that his real name is Aragorn."

"Now that everything is resolved, we should get some rest. We need to leave at first light tomorrow, and we will be traveling through out the day," Strider told them, standing up. The hobbits grumbled, but did as they were told, and Kagome followed silently. They didn't sleep in the beds, which were by the windows and the door, but instead in the small parlour room together by the fire. There had been rumors of men in black in the village that night, and it would be safer in the parlour than by the windows.

Kagome woke up early the next morning feeling edgy, and slightly afraid. She wasn't the only one apparently, as Frodo kept looking at the door s if something was going to burst it open any minute. Strider opened the bedroom door, and let he others enter with him. Windows had been forced open and beds ransacked. Everything else destroyed. They all knew what had happened: the black riders. They left soon after, gathering their packs and all the food they could carry.

Strider explained to the group that they were going to Weathertop. They should be safer there than another place, and they would be able to see all around. The trail was hard on the hobbits, who were heart broken that they were not going to be allowed any extra meals, but easier on Kagome. Her wounds had mostly healed due to her Miko abilities, and she no longer felt any pain. In fact, it was almost a relief to be traveling again. It was something familiar to her, and kept her mind on the trail, so she didn't have to dwell so much on the past.

They ran into several other travelers on the way, but not very many, as most were afraid to be on the road because of the shifty characters said to be there lately. It took them two days to reach Weathertop when the finally got there, and Strider said it would take two more to reach Rivendell. They were at Weathertop only to rest, and make sure they were not being followed, and nothing more. The next morning they would leave and be on their way.

They mad a small camp at the top of the hill, and settled down to rest. Frodo, Strider, and Kagome stood at the edge of the hill and looked around at the road below them. "Look," Frodo said suddenly, pointing downwards. Five black specks were moving slowly along the road. The riders were near.

The group made a small fire on hill so that they could cook their food, and they all crowded around it. Kagome was nervous. They riders were near. She hadn't encountered them yet, and didn't know what to expect, but from the way the other members described them, they were not anything to joke about. It got dark as night drew later, and the feeling only grew stronger. She tried not to let the others see her mood, but she couldn't help it. She was fidgety, and kept getting up to pace around the hill, looking down at the landscape. She was doing this when several tall, black figures became visible against the dark night sky. They walked slowly and silently up the hill, towards the camp.

Kagome backed up to tell the others, but they already seemed to know. Two other figures were already at the top, swords in hand. Kagome stared, wide eyed, before scrambling to reach her bow and arrows. She heard the hobbits and ranger draw their own weapons. The hobbits, unused to battle, shrank down in fear. Kagome drew her bow back farther, gathering her Miko powers. All of the figures drew into view now. There were five of them. Five ring wraiths, completely surrounded them.

Whew! This chapter took me a really long time to finish for some reason. The first page took me three hours! Everything after that came a lot faster, but that first page was crazy.

Anway…

I fixed the error in chapter two with the bow and arrows. In the first chapter I said that she didn't bring them, but in the second, it said that she had them with her. It's a mistake, but all fixed now! Thanks to iyfanatic for pointing that out.

Kagome/legolas is still winning, so if you want another pairing, vote. Also, If there are anyone has suggestions for the story, please tell me in a review.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added me to author alert of favorite story list. At least some people enjoy it and like it enough to keep reading. Thank you all!