I do not own Blue Exorcist or LotR.
Heading back down the mountain was just as bad as going up, if not worse. Rin basically cuddled the Hobbits the entire way down, and when the pass was large enough, had Kuro grow to carry them. To say Rin was relieved when they made it down was an understatement. Both he and Kuro basked in the sunlight, much to the amusement of the others.
He was lying on a sunwarmed rock, watching the Hobbits practice their swordplay.
"How do you make your fire?"
He flopped over to see Legolas staring down at him curiously. He blushed and sat up, sitting cross-legged next to the elf.
"Umm, it's kind of a family thing." There. Vague, but still an answer.
The elf nodded, understanding in his eyes as he asked, "Is that why your ears are similar to elves?"
Rin's eyes widened, then he oh'ed. "Are you the one that told Elrond?"
The Prince nodded.
And… I'm not even annoyed.
"Wow, I wonder why." Kuro rolled his eyes.
?
He readjusted his headband out of habit, and turned back to the elf after having looked at Kuro during their impromptu conversation. Legolas was staring at the Hobbits, something that looked like regret on his face. "They are too young."
Rin looked at Merry and Pippin who were laughing as they wrestled, having dropped their swords. Merry is what, 38?
"37."
He looked back at Legolas.
"Rin elves are immortal." Kuro deadpanned.
The Mirkwood Prince noticed Rin's attention. "Yes?"
"How old are you?" Rin blurted out before his brain could sensor his words.
Rin was now very embarrassed.
A smile flashed across the elf's face. "2, 931."
Rin … nodded. He was now determined not to suffer anymore during this conversation.
"My half-brothers are older." Why. Why do I even speak.
The elf raised a brow. "Are they."
"Your brain filter needs replacing, Rin."
"The walls… of Moria!" Gimli announced.
Rin gaped up at the huge cliffs.
I want to climb it so bad.
"No, Rin."
Gandalf had decided that the only thing keeping Rin Okumura alive was his cat.
Rin walked near Aragorn in the back, having just finished carrying the Hobbits in turns.
"You have experience fighting." The ranger stated.
Rin nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I do."
"Do you mind if I ask why? You don't look to be more than 17 years of age, if I had to guess, yet you fought the Nazgûl without hesitation."
He frowned slightly. I'm twenty.
The half-demon shrugged, staring ahead at Legolas who was near the front but he knew could still hear them. "They reminded me of things from home."
"Demons?"
Rin spun to stare wide eyed at Aragorn.
"That is what you named the Nazgûl when you were unaware of what they were."
Oh. Okay, that's okay.
"Yeah, that's what they're called."
"And they are not simply misnamed orcs?"
Rin bit his lip. Dangerous territory, here. "Some might have been."
Wow, an actual lie.
The ranger looked at him for a few seconds more before nodding.
They were walking along the side of a black lake.
"Rin, I think there is a Kraken in the water."
Rin looked at his cat in surprise.
How would you know that?
"They have a weirdly distinct smell."
Do I even want to know?
Kuro shrugged at his question. He jogged up to Gandalf, and told him what his Cat Sidhe had said.
The wizard nodded, and called to the rest of the Fellowship, "Do not disturb the water! An agent of the Enemy lies in the deep."
Legolas quickly caught Merry, who was about to slip into the shallows.
Crisis averted, Rin thought.
Gandalf pointed his staff at the door that had appeared in the moonlight. "It reads, Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter."
"What do you suppose that means?" Pippin asked.
Rin laughed. "Well, I bet the password is either friend or enter."
He received wide eyes instead of laughs like he expected.
"What?"
Boromir looked at him with surprise obvious in his features. "How did you make sense of the riddle so quickly?"
Rin stared at him. It was a joke. "I , umm… "
Gandalf turned to him, eyes sparkling, and said, "Would you do the honors? In elvish, I suspect."
Rin blinked at him. -"Umm, friend?"
There was silence, and then a rumble as the heavy doors opened.
Holy shit I did a thing.
"Holy shit you did a thing."
Rin kept to the back of the party as they traversed the mines, a small flame lit on the tip of a finger, per the wizards request. The dead dwarves had been less of a shock to him than to some of the others, since he had smelt the decay before Gandalf had lit his staff.
"But the goblins that killed them are still here."
Uggh, don't remind me.
Goblins were something that Rin had experience with.
"I have no memory of this place."
Rin stared blankly at the wizard, before plopping down on the cold rock. He missed the sun, and risking a real campfire probably wasn't the best idea. He yawned.
He half - heard Frodo and Gandalf talking about something that was following them, but his exhaustion prompted him to take a nap instead of listening in.
He was shaken awake what felt like two seconds later and they continued on their way.
Rin sneezed.
Oh no.
Rin had decided that the only thing worse than walking through cold, dark mines full of dead dwarves was walking through cold, dark mines full of dead dwarves with a cough.
He positively collapsed when they decided to stop for the night, not seeing the concerned glances he was being sent by the others in the Fellowship.
"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria."
The half-demon looked on in pity as Gimli wept at the graveside. His cough had subsided, although he still felt rather dizzy. He mumbled the few prayers he had learnt at the Monastery, as he was taught to. (Even if it didn't matter in this world.)
Boromir looked around the room nervously. "We need to leave, we cannot afford to linger." Rin surveyed the empty space, any awe he might have felt at the architecture unnoticed due to the dust and decay. He watched Gandalf pick up a heavy tome clasped in the hands of one of the skeletons and begin reading.
"They have taken the Bridge and the second hall; we have barred the gates...but cannot hold them for long...the ground shakes...drums in the deep...we cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. Will no-one save us?" The Istari paused, then, "They are coming."
Rin stared at the wizard. That has to be the creepiest thing I have ever experienced.
No one noticed as Pippin reached out to touch a skeleton resting on the edge of a well.
Loud, loud crashes followed.
Rin will now freely admit that he jumped at least 10 feet into the air. God, what timing.
He almost flinched when he saw the Look that Gandalf was giving the guilty Hobbit.
"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity."
The half-demon frowned. That's a little harsh.
There was no return sound in the next seconds, so the group relaxed.
Rin and Legolas heard them first, but the rest of the party was soon to follow. A deep, ominous, roll of drums, reverberating through the mines.
Rin glanced at Frodo's belt, which held Sting. The short sword was glowing with a blue light.
"Orcs!" Legolas called to the group, and they quickly moved into action, barricading the doors as best as they could.
"They have a cave troll!" Boromir called.
Rin unsheathed his sword. He didn't slip into his demonic form, (Not yet.) but he lit the sword with his flame.
The doors were blown open with a shower of splinters, and Kuro entered his larger form, growling and leaping at the orc horde.
Rin attacked, swiping through the monsters like they were butter. They howled as they caught fire, and he increased the intensity further. He saw Legolas being swiped at by the -Oh crap, that's the troll-and leapt up to stab Kurikara into the thing, only to be swiped away by the chain it held.
Oooooof.
An orc growled and charged him, but he was quicker, swiping away at more of their number.
"Rin!"
He looked over to Kuro, who was yowling and attempting to leap at the troll who was-
"No!" He yelled, as the troll stabbed down at Frodo. He was there seconds too late, stabbing Kurikara down into the thing's neck, which roared as it caught fire and was further mauled by Kuro who had arrived as well.
He stood silently beside Legolas as Aragorn checked the Hobbit's pulse, and when Frodo awoke he gaped at the (Magical?) Hobbit. Kuro, who had shrunk down to normal size and was mewling sadly, stopped and pranced up to Frodo, rubbing against the Hobbit as they found him to be alive.
When Frodo revealed the armor, Rin was floored. There's armour that can protect you from troll stabs?
Drums rang out again.
"We make for the bridge of Khazad-dûm, quickly." Gandalf urged and they fled the room, Legolas and Aragorn pulling Gimli to his feet to run. They moved as quickly as they could considering the hobbits' shorter legs and made it onto a crumbling staircase. "Run!"
Rin picked up Sam as they ran, since he had the most gear of all the Hobbits, flinching as an arrow flew so close to his head that it brushed his ear.
Gandalf led them to a huge chamber, ominous pillars reaching to the ceiling. They made it some of the way through, but goblins began to scutter down the pillars, and the Fellowship was quickly surrounded by numbers in at least a thousand. He put Sam down, so he would be able to fight.
Then Rin felt it. As the Goblins began to scutter away from the group, and Gimli cheered in victory, Rin whispered aloud. "No."
Legolas turned to him, but he didn't notice. "No, that's not possible." It felt like… Like he was fifteen again, and the Gehenna Gate had just been opened in the monastery. It felt like the absolutely overwhelming presence of Satan.
Then he saw it, and despite still very present fear, he felt some small relief at the sight of the huge, orange flames.
They ran. When they reached a gap in the stairwell, Rin grabbed onto Merry and Pippin and leapt across, followed shortly by Legolas, who crossed the gap with ease, and Gandalf who was steadied by the elf. Rin put down Merry and Pippin, before leaving over the heads of his companions back to the other side of the stairwell.
More of the old path fell into the deep as Gimli completed his jump, pulled safely to the other side by Legolas.
Rin grabbed onto both Frodo and Aragorn, carrying them across just before the remains of the bridge fell into the chasm.
They began to run again, but he saw Gandalf pause and stopped with him, getting an idea of what was about to happen.
The Balrog approached without a sound, the only exception being the crackling of flame and scraping movements.
Gandalf yelled and slammed his staff against the stone. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun!"
Rin growled and leapt at the demon as it flinched back from the Wizard's light. He wreathed himself in his flame, any control that he had once held disappearing, except perhaps that which kept his sanity. A huge stream of blue flame met the Balrog, and it fell back as Rin jumped off the burning metal of its chest, catapulting himself back to the group. As he did so, the thing swiped out with its sword, cutting through his side. He slammed into the wall above the Fellowship and the dark of unconsciousness met him like an old friend.
Honestly, I didn't want to have Rin attack the Balrog, but there is literally no way he wouldn't, and I really want him to stay in character. Rin is really umm… impulsive. It seems like a lot of the people reading this haven't really read the LotR books, much less the Silmarillion, so I wanted to say that no, Rin really is not a match for a Balrog no matter how op he seems sometimes. Also, thoughts?