Summary: (LotR crossover) After the deaths of the Fourth and Rin, Kakashi joins ANBU to be a lifeless Shinobi tool. The Third who's worried of this, sends the young ANBU on an unlikely S-Rank Mission to the large continent known as Middle Earth…
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything of Naruto and LotR, do not sue! They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.R.R Tolkein respectfully. I only own my twisting plot that intertwines with Tolkein's masterpiece, if I did own them… I wouldn't be writing Fanfiction… per se…
I'll put this note on every chapter:
Japanese ((text))
Elvish Xx … Text … xX
Any Japanese will have a translation next to it or somewhere in the same chapter.
Author Notes:
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! (Throws Kakashi plushies at everyone) I didn't expect over 80 reviews, eleven C2s, and over 90 alerts already in the 4th chapter for this fic! But really, thanks for your support, ideas, and contributions in the reviews! I really appreciate it! This fic makes my efforts really worthwhile, I'm trying to change the bad views of badly written crossovers; and hopefully I'm making a difference here. Sorry for the HUGE delay, but something bad happened to me in February and I ended up having no access to a computer…
Ano… you could say the cause of my delay was because a flood HIT my house. Just say, it felt like you're in a sinking Titanic and water was already up to waist and steadily flowing up my chest T.T T.T It's a good thing my CPU survived since I evacuated that first on top of my tall cupboard, luckily my LotR books survived coz I forgot 2 put them away (most of my other books were destroyed, including my Harry Potter Books 2-5, the 1st and the 6th were okay, (sighs) that sucks), I had to do this fic chapter on pen and paper. Fanfiction writing works wonders when you're waiting in a refugee camp, seriously, it calmed me down…sorry for the rant, I just want to say did not update not because I was out of ideas.
I know I promised two chapters, the words for this chapter isn't long… I decided to break the chapter into two to give you guys a breather in reading. So I should get the next chapter soon. (two weeks if I'm not busy and my betas are not busy).
Thanks and My Introductions for my two new Betas Sherlockian Slytherin and Tsukiyomi the Kami: Thanks for your AWSOME help! I think I would have never managed fixing up the spelling/grammar and bump me with plot ideas mistakes without you two!
PLUS I've got my previous chapters checked up (big thanks to my betas again!) and it's now with an intro quote (for each chapter)! It kind of describes what happens in the chapter. So if you want to read this fic with a new light, try reading from Chapter 1 if you got the time.
Anyways, you're probably wanting to read the fic now…
Enjoy!
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Chapter 5: 'Back into the Wild.'
"I tend to think that what drives us is not so great. As the goals of the past haunt your present, when hell seemed a finer word. And you truly wish to love, to forgive, but will not yet let go." – Timothey Astoneu.
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He was dizzy, tired, exhausted, bleeding, and most of all… torn inside.
Blood and sweat was all the shinobi could smell now.
Hatake Kakashi looked back at the destroyed land behind him. Trees were torn apart, ripped from the earth, and on fire… bodies of the dead littered the grounds; the whole place had been turned into a massive graveyard. The young jounin could only stare at the devastation the Kyuubi had caused. He had been in many battles during the Shinobi Wars, but this was something entirely different. One demon had caused all this, and Kakashi didn't know what could stop such an indomitable force. Kakashi tried to calm his beating heart that was hammering inside of him with no avail. He didn't want this to happen… it wasn't real… it just couldn't be. He wanted to stop right there and black out of the nightmare and wake up in his bed and say it was all just a dream.
"Kakashi! Kakashi? Are you alright?"
The young jounin looked up to his sensei, the Fourth Hokage. He only shook his head, for once in his entire life… on that day, he had truthfully admitted he wasn't okay. He was still standing there but his legs were shaky and ready to give up on him.
"Just a little farther Kakashi. Hold on, we need to seal the Kyuubi as soon as possible." His sensei urged patiently.
"…Okay… sensei…" Kakashi said gasping for air. The both of them had been following the shinobi who were getting the demon's attention away from Konoha.
Though Yondaime looked calm outwardly, Kakashi knew it was just a facade as he could feel his sensei's worry for him and most of all… the sadness that came out in waves.
Rin had just died. She was dead. Kakashi had cried over her dead body. It was the first time he had cried since his father's death. He had lost a teammate…again. The team was back to only him and his sensei, just like before; just like the old lonely days.
As hard as it was for the 13 year-old shinobi, it was even harder to look into his sensei's eyes when the Yondaime found out about Rin. The Hatake knew his sensei was killing off those emotions that were threatening the Yondaime to have tears in his eyes. His sensei had to stand tall, and be strong when others were in pain. He had to give hope to those who were in despair, for he was the Hokage.
Even most of the villagers had died in the demon's attack. Though his sensei was masking all his pain, Kakashi knew Konoha's Yellow Flash was at the brink of despair. Those feelings that were pouring out from him… feelings of how he failed as a Hokage for the people he was supposed to protect. But that sorrow didn't stop him. There was something there that kept the Fourth Hokage going. Kakashi didn't know what it was, but it was there… driving his sensei to push himself forward…
FLASH
"Kakashi, I want you to throw these kunai as near to the Kyuubi as possible. From there, I'll start sealing the Kyuubi."
"I… c-can't…" Kakashi choked. "You'll… die…"
"Nothing can stop that now," the Fourth said gently.
Kakashi was hesitant; heck, he was confused to death. He felt a large headache coursing through his head. The young jounin was now wishing it wasn't him right there; he was wishing he was anywhere but here. It was a situation that had haunted him since he was seven years old. Why did stupid old fate have to play its strings on him? There Kakashi was again; caught in the middle of two painful choices.
The Mission… or the life of someone he cared for.
"……………………………"
Kakashi looked up at his sensei as his large hand messed up his damp and dirty silver hair for the last time.
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Middle Earth
West of Eriador
Camping site
Few weeks after departure…
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Kakashi woke up with a jolt, and suddenly realized he was in a camp. Thankfully he didn't scream or did anything out of the ordinary. His breathing was hard and cold sweat poured down his face. 'Damn, why are those dreams becoming so frequent?' Kakashi wiped his face as he tried to calm himself. The ANBU looked around the camp to see only two of the three rangers on watch were awake, two others were missing from their sleeping spot.
As the shinobi's eyes scanned the whole area that was still as the dead of midnight, he decided he wanted some time for himself. He knew he couldn't sleep after having that dream and maybe it was better to stay up till morning.
Kakashi walked away from the camp quietly. Avoiding the sleeping rangers and elves that were in his way, the shinobi leapt into a tree, and body flickered into another tree that stood a few meters away.
Looking behind him, he saw that only two rangers were on the lookout. The other two must've been off somewhere. He knew he couldn't go too far away from camp, so the only place Kakashi could think of to go to was the river nearby.
As Kakashi arrived at the river, he untied his hitai-ate and washed his face with the cool water. Afterwards, the shinobi immediately slumped into a sitting position on a large boulder nearby, sighed, and stared into the river. His left scarred eye was visible, but he kept it closed to stop from wasting chakra.
The ANBU couldn't help but try to think about his sensei's last words.
He had forgotten them.
Out of all the missions and all of the training he went through with his sensei, the oddest thing was… he had forgotten the last words that Yondaime had ever said to him. No matter how many times he had that same dream, the ending of the dream always ended up blank. This of course bugged Kakashi to no end; he felt guilty for not paying attention to his sensei during his last moments.
Kakashi scratched his head in frustration as he tried to remember it. 'What could have sensei wanted to tell me?' the shinobi thought as he bit his lip. One thing for sure, it must have been important.
The operative only gazed into space as the night wind gently blew his silver hair. It had been three weeks since they had traveled into the wild; three weeks with a small group of fourteen, consisting of elves, rangers, and one shinobi. And so far they had not found any remains of the wraiths, only evidence that they had fallen over the waterfalls and into the rivers were their long black cloaks. There was no trace of what had happened to the wraiths themselves.
They had disappeared into thin air or without a trace. Kakashi assumed it would take quite a while until they could get back to their previous forms, though they won't be riding horses. Frankly, just two days ago they found the corpses of the horses the wraiths were riding. 'I guess their steeds weren't the undead after all,' Kakashi concluded. Although on the inside the ANBU was deeply disturbed how the horses were bred to be under the wraiths' commands. Just being near the wraiths unnerved the shinobi; he couldn't imagine how normal steeds would come near the wraiths.
Yet that posed another problem. If their horses were killed off, could the Dark Lord Sauron have other steeds for the wraiths? Kakashi predicted that Sauron would most likely have other steeds, and somehow they were going to be worse than horses. For now, it didn't seem to be important to find out where the wraiths had gone. At least that was what he guessed from his client's behavior these few days.
Aragorn had been more restless about finding the path towards the east than worrying about the wraiths. The ANBU would have to agree with his client, worrying about something that you couldn't change or predict was the same thing as sitting in a rocking chair. It gave you something to do, but it didn't get you anywhere. Mainly most of the rangers had agreed with their leader, as for the elves… they were more worried about the enemies at hand. Kakashi couldn't blame them though, if anyone knew the most about the orcs and the wraiths, it would be the elves. However, since they were working in one company, their task seemed to be divided and to the ANBU's judgment, their teamwork was less effective. It was better off they divided into two groups, the only consequence was that their numbers would be too small to ward off a group of orcs. Either way, safety was the first priority, so they had to risk going slower.
A sudden rustle behind him pulled the young shinobi from his reveries. Kakashi's ears perked up though he had not moved from his position. He knew he was being watched all this time since he left the camping site. And he was glad he kept a low profile in not doing anything suspicious, being an ANBU operative meant you had to be aware at all times for any unwanted enemy spies tracking you down. Yet Kakashi didn't put up his guard on a maximum level, as he knew the chakra fluctuations that came from the bushes had to be the rangers.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. Surely rangers hid themselves pretty well when it came to the wild. Yet Kakashi couldn't help but comment on how their chakra were flashing brightly like neon lights. However the concept of chakra usage in Middle Earth was alien to its inhabitants. Even the eldest of the races (the elves) in their Elder days (a term for long ago) did not use their chakra to their fullest potential. The elves' concept of chakra was 'magic', similar to what the Istari (Wizards) used. Still, even the wizards used a severely limited amount of chakra… or it was only 20 percent of their chakra capacity.
Sensing that two rangers were watching him now, Kakashi decided to teach them both some 'etiquette' and how they should never even try to sneak up on a shinobi from behind. Apparently, rangers weren't aware that elite shinobi had perfect control over their bodies, such as appearing to let their guard down. It was one of the basics of being a shinobi so that you would gain the attention of your enemies while your teammates would get them from behind instead.
The ANBU closed his eyes as he pinpointed their locations through their chakra output. 'Pretty close, but not close enough for the Mizu bunshin to attack,' Kakashi concluded. At least both of them were facing in the same direction. He then turned his back on the rangers, put his hitai-ate on the ground, and quickly made a seal that would have not been seen from their point of view.
'Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!' (Water Clone Jutsu!)
About five meters away, his water clone smoothly emerged itself from the water. Kakashi smiled with the knowledge that his hard training had paid off. His next aim in water clone making was to form them in the blink of an eye. But for now, at least the clone was out of sight.
In a flash as the clone was formed, the shinobi did a substitution jutsu. In his place, the clone acted as the decoy, while Kakashi went in pursuit of the rangers. He found them and crept lightly on top of the branches to position himself just above the rangers.
Kakashi watched the two interested rangers as they were observing his clone.
Aragorn was the closest to his clone, while Halbarad was the farthest. Yet it seemed the younger ranger's curiosity had caught up with him as he quietly crouched and made his way towards Aragorn. To a normal person they were quiet enough; to a tracker-nin, it was more than enough of a giveaway. The two rangers were now conversing with each other as they examined his clone.
Kakashi grinned at the two, considering what was in front of him was basically the most pathetic attempt in trying to spy or even to surprise a shinobi. 'Now, who should I ambush first?" he wondered.
The operative looked down again at the postures of the two men. One thing was true; he didn't want to waste too much energy on the task. Having decided on his target, Kakashi leapt from the tree and landed on his unsuspecting victim.
'CRASH!'
"Oomph!"
"Didn't Oji-san warn you to never try to sneak up on a shinobi so recklessly?" Kakashi grinned at Halbarad, who was at the moment struggling in Kakashi's leg lock bind. His client could only stare at him blankly.
Aragorn in confusion looked at his bodyguard, "Aren't you supposed to be-"
Before he could question him further, Kakashi pointed at his clone to show the rangers the clone suddenly disintegrating into water. Kakashi waited for them to take the information in.
"What was that?" Halbarad questioned in disbelief.
"A Mizu Bunshin or in your language would be a water clone."
"The same one you made at the Hoarwell River," Aragorn realized.
Kakashi nodded, "It's an elemental ninjutsu to confuse or lure enemies into thinking they have stalked us, when we're the ones who are actually stalking them." That was simply one use for bunshins, but the ANBU felt it was enough of an explanation. Kakashi didn't want to get too technical on how they were able to use chakra and were a complete replica of the user while being able to move independently. People in Middle Earth simply weren't too bright when it came to chakra usage.
The two rangers were silent. It was then Halbarad who broke the silence and decided to leave to report their group in and not missing. Although he was looked content in leaving the shinobi and the client together, Kakashi was aware Halbarad was slightly disturbed to see the scar on his left eye, as he was not there when Kakashi made his first introductions in Elrond's study. The ranger may have not seen the Sharingan, but maybe it was an answer for him why the shinobi always covered his eye with the headband.
Kakashi speculated that most likely he would tell the other rangers, and maybe the elves too, about the scar on his left eye. But he didn't mind really; at least they won't ask weird questions. Well… asking would be an understatement; relentless nagging would be the two words to describe the situation. The ANBU was aware they were highly curious about the shinobi; one of them even asked about his eating habits as he always wore his half-mask. Usually, when they ate together a Kage Bunshin was substituted in his place in the camp. The real him basically was somewhere nearby, eating the same meal. Aragorn never protested about the habit though, since he was probably the one to notice there was always an extra plate when someone washed the dishes by the river.
The ANBU then strolled calmly to get his hitai-ate and lifted it from the ground. He looked at the leaf insignia embedded on the metal plate. For some reason, those frequent dreams he was having made him homesick.
"Kakashi?" the ranger asked.
"Hmm?"
"Are dreams bothering you lately, Kakashi?" Aragorn asked carefully.
Kakashi only gave him a blank stare as he analyzed the situation. He had a feeling Aragorn knew about his nightmares as he always took double night shifts as they journeyed in the wild. The ANBU even started to plan on whether to hypnotize his secondary client into forgetting he ever asked that question, but soon dismissed it as Halbarad might remind him in the morning that they had both talked about something important the night before.
Aragorn noted that he was getting into Kakashi's personal territory, as the boy would not answer his question at all. He nervously fidgeted the Evenstar pendant around his neck.
"Why do you hesitate in front of Arwen?" Kakashi shot back his own personal question.
That completely took the ranger off guard, and then… a staring contest ensued. How long they stared at each other, they both didn't know. Even if it felt like hours, Kakashi estimated they had been staring at each other for 10 over long and quiet minutes; though there was a possibility they could have taken longer. Oddly enough, neither of the two was showing any signs in giving up; somehow there wasn't much tension between them. They both knew their questions were too personal to begin with, however, there was a feeling between the shinobi and the ranger that the situation was either going into a conversation or would end in silence.
"It seems the both of us are heading into personal territory," Aragorn said.
'You started it,' Kakashi accusingly thought.
"I'll let you decide, Kakashi. Personal information for personal information, or we can leave the conversation and never speak of it."
Kakashi stared at Aragorn in sudden wonder at how he was treating him as more of an adult than a child. If he were talking to a child, he would have left the conversation straight away then ask. The idea of trading personal information seemed fair and beneficial for the mission, though Kakashi was not sure to share his own past with a stranger he had known for only a few weeks.
"The first option… I guess…" Kakashi said hesitantly as he looked to his client. He didn't really believe he actually said those words himself, but maybe he could keep his dream out of the conversation.
The heir of Isildur stared in curiosity. This was the first time he was seeing Kakashi's insecurity; it portrayed his true age. Aragorn only gave a small smile before they both walked down to the bank of the river and sat on the large rocks. There was another moment of silence before there was further conversation. Seeing as Kakashi was quiet, Aragorn decided to start first by replying to Kakashi's last unanswered question.
"I'm never sure of myself whether or not to accept my lineage. Arwen knows I've always preferred to be an exile. I was never sure-"
"That you deserve the throne of Gondor?" Kakashi asked, startling Aragorn, and quickly added, "I overheard the discussions in the council."
"Aye," Aragorn said quietly.
Aragorn couldn't help but be curious about the shinobi. For someone so young, Kakashi was an enigma. He never really did reveal much about himself, despite having spent the last three weeks in the wild together. A normal person would expect a 14-year-old boy to be more talkative; in Kakashi's case, it was the opposite. None of the company knew anything except that Gandalf had hired him from an entirely different side of the continent and was there to be the ranger's bodyguard. Perhaps his odd eating habits and that he never took off his face mask were some bits of information, but that was pretty much it. Kakashi was distant, and kept his own feelings or any other matter to himself.
The ranger had noticed on how deliberate the boy was in not wanting to get close to anyone. When he looked at Kakashi, there was a feeling of hesitance. Aragorn had no clue what caused it, but it showed clearly in how little Kakashi bonded with others. The question that had been bothering him was: why was Kakashi avoiding the presence of others in the company? The ranger knew he was in no position to demand the fourteen year old shinobi the reason why he was so detached to everyone else, but he did wish that Kakashi would be more open to him. Aragorn was the client, but that didn't meant he shouldn't care about his bodyguard's well being.
However, the Dûnedain in his own way respected and at times envied how Kakashi was moving his life forward as he worked without much complaint, and in amazing cases, with a great deal of patience. During the trip, he had never burdened anyone of the company, many times he was helpful as he was willing to take on any tasks, withstand the stubbornness of the elves and the adults (rangers), and simply did his job to a standard the ranger never thought of.
One would expect a 14-year-old to be inexperienced in the wild, but Kakashi proved otherwise. Aragorn swore Kakashi's tracking skills would have taken years or in fact decades for himself to learn. The other rangers and elves were shocked at Kakashi's expertise as well, and one thing was true; the young shinobi was indeed a prodigy. Still, the shinobi didn't talk much and preferred to keep quiet unless there was a certain task or someone wanted to talk to him.
Some of the elves had said maybe because the ANBU wasn't a talkative person. The rangers even suggested that, well, maybe all shinobi were that way. To Aragorn, both reasons made sense, considering none of them knew much about shinobi. But the heir of Isildur had to disagree about how the shinobi were generalized to act just like Kakashi. Aragorn realized that not all of them were alike by Gandalf's description of the Hokage's cheerful personality.
In a way, watching Kakashi and comparing himself to the young shinobi made Aragorn evaluate his own person dully. He had his own destiny, his destination obviously in front of him, but here he was complaining, acting as though his legs were sliced off, and stuck in a state of exile. Alternatively, the shinobi who was far younger and had no particular destination to go to, was willing to go on anywhere the road took him and didn't seem to care at all what obstacles lay in front of him. Now, who was the one acting like the child?
"What is stopping you on your road Aragorn? It's there, right in front of you," Kakashi reassured his client, which snapped Aragorn from his own thoughts.
"…I… don't know," Aragorn answered lamely.
"You don't know, or… you don't want to move?" Kakashi hinted though his eyes wore a seriously bored look.
Then, for that moment in time Aragorn without much thought, laughed. The shinobi gave him a rather dubious and incredulous look as if his client had gone insane. After Aragorn's laughing session ceased, he gazed back at the young shinobi.
"Did Gandalf mention how good you were at reading people?"
"A couple of times," Kakashi shrugged. He was still confused whether what he had said had a positive or negative affect on his client, as he found himself utterly lost in which way the conversation was heading. 'Well, Oji-san did mention he was a typical person to head into a problem without thinking,' Kakashi thought. 'Maybe that explains his unpredictable behaviour.'
"It's funny really," Aragorn chuckled. "Here I am at the age of 80, knowing that my road is in front of me, but I'm not moving, and I know it's important but I don't wish to move. And right in front of me is a boy who may be more mature than I am. I have it admit it, Kakashi. I'm rather envious of you and how you're able to move on without much complaint."
Kakashi felt he wanted to rewind that scene, still in shock on what he had heard. Aragorn? His client? Was envious of him? Utterly ridiculous. He chose to ignore the ranger's comment completely and thought of getting back to the main topic, "Really, what's stopping you?"
Aragorn looked at Kakashi's serious facial expression with a sigh. 'Blunt as always,' Aragorn thought. But for some odd reason he liked it. Other times when he shared his thoughts about his lineage with his foster father and brothers, they gave him advice but never possible solutions. Arwen, Legolas, and Halbarad were more compassionate, supportive, and even would go to great lengths to help him; yet in the end they were mostly disappointed in him for not making his move to take the throne of Gondor. He wondered if Kakashi would act the same way they did if he told him his reason.
The heir of Isildur looked again at the shinobi who was patiently waiting for an answer or any kind of reply. "I do not wish for power," Aragorn said tiredly. "Or rather, I'm afraid of it. Not fitting for the next King of Gondor is it?"
Kakashi disagreed, "No, it's fitting for any wise leader. Immense power is frightening."
"Why do you think it's frightening?" Aragorn questioned.
"It's because if you can't control it, it will get out of hand, and it may hurt those you care for." The shinobi answered logically. "And also, the one you hurt the most is yourself. It's selfish, but true."
The Dûnedain only stared in realization how those words were so obvious that it didn't even occur to him to actually say them when he spoke with his foster father, brothers, and anyone else.
"Now the question is, what or who's making you think this way?" Kakashi questioned.
Aragorn then only said, "Isildur's Bane. It is because of him the Ring survives till now."
'Isildur's Bane,' Kakashi thought. The shinobi was aware most of the elves had been whispering about it during the Council of Elrond. To the elves it was considered the largest mistake mankind in Middle Earth had made, that men indeed were creatures that had the greatest desire above all for power and in the end would lead them to their destruction.
"His blood runs in my veins, the same weakness flows in me," Aragorn finished bitterly.
Those words had caught the shinobi's attention immediately. He was now seeing a mirror image of himself before Obito changed his way of thinking. Kakashi remembered how he was burdened by his own father's shame. Konoha's White Fang had made his team's life his first priority instead of the mission. The mission's failure was so great a cost for the war that his father couldn't bear the shame and ended his own life. Even after the death of Hatake Sakumo, it was Kakashi who had to bear the shame on the Hatake name afterwards.
Kakashi remembered those times when people would stare with cold and hateful eyes at him. All they could only see was his father's shadow; they couldn't care less about the younger shinobi's feelings. Like any child would have felt, Kakashi strived hard to change their image of him. The ANBU cursed to himself how in those days he turned impassive and followed rules strictly no matter what the cost; in his own way he turned into what others expected of him, and not who he truly was. Yet in the end, it was his own struggles that managed to change everyone's perception that he wasn't just a copy of Konoha's White Fang, but he was an individual with a legend of his own to make.
Notably, Kakashi would have thanked his sensei, Obito, and Rin for helping him overcoming such a feat. It wasn't exactly pleasant swallowing down every bit of truth that your father was an outcast from the rest of the village. Apparently Aragorn was facing the same situation Kakashi had those few years ago, though the ranger's version went through more than ten generations in his family. Sure, there was plenty of help from people around him, but it seemed none of their advice was waking Aragorn up from that nightmare. 'Well, one thing left to do,' Kakashi thought. 'Wake him up.'
"Aragorn?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes?" the ranger asked curiously.
"Sorry."
'WHACK!'
The Dûnedain hadn't expected the ANBU to actually give a heavy blow to his right cheek, and he ended up falling from the rock he sat on, landing about a meter away. Aragorn grunted in pain as he touched where the shinobi punched him. Despite being small, he sure packed a punch. It looked like Gandalf wasn't kidding when he said that Kakashi could rival the adults in his own village.
"The truth is painful, but it's necessary." Kakashi simply said. "Take that blow as an analogy Aragorn, you can't stay in the shadows forever."
"What are you expecting me to do?" Aragorn asked, still holding his right cheek.
Kakashi gave him a bored look, "Try. Get out of those shadows Aragorn, Middle Earth isn't going to wait, neither is Sauron going to wait in conquering the whole continent that your forefathers and the elves built."
"I never asked to be the King of Gondor and Arnor."
"No, but those people are asking you to be their leader, they want you as an individual, not Isildur himself. Boromir may have well been correct that Gondor doesn't need a king, they don't need a leader who blames himself for the past," Kakashi said defiantly.
Aragorn was deep in thought, and asked one remaining question, "Who do I fight for, Kakashi?"
He was expecting Kakashi to say, "for Middle Earth" or something along those lines.
"For yourself," Kakashi stated clearly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's alright being selfish once in a while."
"…" Aragorn accepted that answer with shock.
"But more importantly, you fight for your precious people." Kakashi advised. "If you can't do it for Middle Earth, you could at least do it for Arwen. You love her don't you?"
Aragorn couldn't help but gape at the younger one. Out of all the people he asked about his problem, a foreigner was the one who had correctly guessed how he had felt and more surprisingly provided him with an answer for him to move on. Not to mention the person was only just over 1/8 of his age. The greatest wonders were found in the strangest of places sometimes.
Aragorn only smiled at the shinobi, "You're positively an expert in moving on Kakashi."
Kakashi at this point was not too pleased at what Aragorn had said. "What are you talking about?" Kakashi asked. "I'm not an expert."
"And why not?"
"Just because I'm moving, it doesn't mean I'm going somewhere," Kakashi exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air.
"I'd like to try and understand Kakashi," Aragorn replied gently.
Kakashi knew very well it was his turn, and he was now regretting he had agreed to this deal in the first place. But he didn't have a choice. Well he did make a promise to his client to tell his story in exchange for his client's, and for crying out loud, he had punched his client in the face! Any loyal shinobi would never have done that to an S-rank mission client and survive without facing a demotion. Plus it wasn't polite without exchanging something private for another in return. Somehow the dirt between his feet looked interesting. He knew this time Aragon was waiting for him.
"I'm moving, but I'm literally going in circles," Kakashi said extremely fast and nervously.
If you weren't used to conversing with Kakashi, Aragorn would have sworn anyone else would have missed the words completely or maybe the whole sentence all together, since he was far more edgy in talking about personal matters. Aragorn's eyes sharpened when he digested what Kakashi meant, one word could describe it.
Ironic.
To Aragorn's situation, yes, it was the complete opposite of Kakashi's. He had heard from Gandalf that shinobi were drifters; they didn't need a destination seeing as they were off mainly on missions that required one to always travel. If destination was not the problem then…
"Kakashi, have you ever talked about this to your family members? Like your mother?" Aragorn questioned.
A dead silence and then a sudden answer.
"I never knew her."
"Your father?"
"Died after a mission when I was seven."
"Your siblings?"
"I don't have any."
"Your teacher and friends?" Aragorn said desperately.
"…they're all dead."
Aragorn felt as though he had just been dealt with another blow on the head but this time it was an even larger one. Gandalf had warned him before the mission that Kakashi might be sensitive if someone asked about his personal life. The ranger now had a very good idea why, the reason was simple… he didn't want to be reminded of all the pain. Kakashi had lost too much, in too short a time.
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything- I should- We should head back to camp," Kakashi said hastily, kept his face down, stood up, and started to walk away.
"Kakashi," Aragorn raised his voice.
Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks.
Oh, boy was he going to get it.
"Turn around. Face me."
The ANBU knew that was a command. Not a request. He should have never punched his client. How could he have been so stupid? No matter what happened now, either he was going to get punched himself, glared at, or even lectured at, he may have well deserved it. The shinobi turned around and cringed as he was expecting the worst.
A sudden flick of movement and a gasp…
Kakashi was too shocked to say or do anything. He stood there as rigid like a frozen statue. He had expected Aragorn to be angry; to be mad at him, to even hit him. But what he didn't expect was…
…a fatherly embrace.
"I'm not mad at you, Kakashi." Aragorn said softly as he felt the shinobi stiffen. "The reason why you keep on going in circles is because there's no one left to guide you in the right direction. Am I correct?"
"H-hai," Kakashi replied too quickly to even notice he answered his client in his own language.
Aragorn lightly laughed quietly, "Relax Kakashi, I'm not going to hurt you."
Kakashi slightly relaxed, though he was still nervous; no one else other than his father, his sensei and Rin had ever hugged him. He had missed this feeling so much in a way it sort of comforted him. Shinobi were meant to be tools, and since Kakashi had long been one, he wasn't sure how to deal with emotions.
This time, Aragorn slowly let go of the boy, still kneeling, had his hands on Kakashi's shoulders and faced him at eye level. The ranger figured that the shinobi had forgotten to close his left eye in all the confusion. Aragorn only looked at it for a short moment. It must've been painful to lose an eye at such a young age, although it worked in conjunction with his right eye, the Dûnedain wasn't sure whether Kakashi could see. The bloody red colour, odd spirals on the irises, and the long thin scar on the left eye reminded Aragorn, should he rule or ever become the King of Gondor and Arnor; he would make sure that children would not have to carry weapons and go through what Kakashi had gone through.
"How about we make a deal, Kakashi?" the ranger offered.
"A deal?" Kakashi asked as his curiosity was overcoming his nervousness.
"We both know we have ironically opposite weaknesses. That's why I want your help in pushing me forward," Aragorn responded. "And the least I could do in return is to guide you in the right direction."
"But- I-"
"I'm not forcing you to make your decision right now, Kakashi. In fact, I'm not sure myself about the deal," Aragorn sighed. "But, I'm willing to take the risks."
Kakashi looked into his client's eyes; there was a spark in them now that had been missing before. Yet, was he willing to take those risks too? The ANBU knew just as much in getting too close to a client could be disastrous in a mission. You never knew what might happen in the future, in the worst scenario he could die or his client would.
Playfully Aragorn took Kakashi's attention by surprise yet again by nicking his hitai-ate from his hand. In a rather hilarious moment, Kakashi tried to take his headband back only to have Aragorn's outstretched hand hold his head back as Kakashi was waving his hands trying to reach with no success since they were too short. The ranger watched admirably as Kakashi's normal calm face mask turned into a pout-like glare and there were evident signs he was going to pop a vein on his head. It wasn't too hard what his face said; he definitely wanted his hitai-ate back.
"You look much like your age now," Aragorn laughed and smiled warmly, which, in turn was replied by a scowl from the shinobi. "Hold still." He then carefully closed Kakashi's left eye and tied the hitai-ate over it and around his head in a comfortable knot. Kakashi cursed himself that he had forgotten to close his left eye without realizing it. He also definitely decided to never let his client make fun of him again. There was definitely not going to be a next time.
"Done," Aragorn said as he looked proudly at Kakashi. "Thanks for helping me and… for telling me the truth."
"Uh… anytime," Kakashi said hesitant.
"Let's head back to camp then," Aragorn reminded the shinobi. "The others might be looking for us." Aragorn stood up and made his way to the dirt road path that led back to camp.
Kakashi paced himself behind his client deliberately, as he thought what might be the outcome of the deal. 'Risks, huh?' Sure, he had taken plenty of risks when he joined up in the ANBU. Maybe he overdid it, but he never took any risks when it came to sorting out his personal problems. He knew he would literally neglect his own feelings for the job, in fact, he was moving on without his feelings, Kakashi chuckled sadly in his mind, 'Looks like I'm more of a tool now. I wonder what sensei, Obito, and Rin would think of me now.'
"Could I take the risks?" Kakashi asked in wonder.
--------------------------------------------
-FLASHBACK-
--------------------------------------------
A brightly coloured festival sparkled that night as Konoha celebrated another "New Year". The Ninkai War was over and peace had eventually come as the long awaited reward. The Leaf Village could finally celebrate and relax as it was filled with people laughing, drinking, lighting fireworks in the streets, and in particular places… gambling.
"Sensei's going to gamble?" Kakashi said unbelievingly as his eye twitched. That didn't sound too good.
The Toad Sennin only laughed proudly, "That's right! And if he loses, well…" Jiraiya gave the Hatake an angelic wink, "…just say I'm going to make him hitch a girl."
"But Jiraiya-sama, sensei's not the 'hitching' type of person," Rin argued and then sighed. "Or more specifically, the girls are always trying to hitch him."
Kakashi and Rin stared at one another as they both had an image of their sensei being chased by a mob of kunoichi and shivered disgustedly. 'Urgh, freaky.'
"Like you gakis (kids) know everything," Jiraya said boredly. "Hey, this isn't just any gambling game. It's strip-poker."
The Toad Sennin only howled in laughter as the faces of Konoha's Yellow Flash's students turned into an awful shade of purple. It was an indication that they certainly weren't too keen on imagining the outcome, especially how the women would react.
"Hey, hey!" Jiraiya clapped his hands in front of the two. "Snap out of it, you both are too young to think of what you're thinking."
'Then what was the point of mentioning it in the first place?' Kakashi grumbled inwardly, yet he chose a better response. "What are you up to Jiraiya-sama?"
"Jiraiya-sama is up to something?" Rin asked awkwardly.
Jiraiya slightly cringed at the Hatake boy. It looked like his student was right about how Kakashi was very sharp. Like father, like son; Sakumo when he was still alive also had a 99.99 percent correct guessing rate. Jiraiya thought not-too-fondly of the White Fang's tendency to know where Jiraiya was when he was off 'information collecting' (read peeking in women's bath houses). That was one of the ways he'd get into trouble by Sarutobi-sensei.
"He's trying to make us participate in a bet." Kakashi added. "You could be more straight forward."
'Definitely a copy of Konoha's White Fang,' Jiraya nodded inwardly. "So what will it be?"
"Sensei loses and ends up being mobbed by women," Kakashi said immediately and calmly. The Hatake knew very well just how bad his sensei's luck was when it came to gambling. It was just second to Tsunade-sama. Meaning… yeah, he was totally jinxed when it came to gambling.
"Count me in!" Rin giggled. "Sensei loses and gets multiple dates!"
Kakashi and Jiraiya only stared at her blankly. Young girls and their love fantasies…right…
"Well, I'm saying he'll lose and still stay bachelor." Jiraiya said.
"Why are you all betting against him?" a voice behind them said.
"Safest bet." They said in unison without noticing who was behind them.
Then Sandaime Hokage looked at them unbelievingly, "I'd never thought the Yellow Flash would have his own students and sensei all betting against him."
Kakashi and Rin looked towards the sky as if some fireworks that had been lit distracted them. Jiraya sweat dropped in front of his sensei.
"Well, then. I think I shall take part as well." Sandaime said cheerfully.
Jiraya only gave the Sandaime an outraged look, while Kakashi and Rin looked curiously at the elder shinobi.
Sarutobi then betted, "He'll lose and I think he'll find himself a bride."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A few weeks later…
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"Why did we agree to that stupid bet?" Kakashi grumbled as he mopped the floor.
"But didn't you agree to that bet in the first place, Kakashi-kun?" Rin said as she was also mopping on the other side of the room.
"I did, but I wasn't taking it seriously and… I don't remember about agreeing on a punishment of cleaning the whole Hokage Tower!"
The two shinobi caught a glimpse of the part of the tower they had not yet cleaned. No justus were to be used (including speeding techniques); all done by hand, and there were more rooms yet to be cleaned. One floor took an insanely long time, but the whole tower? That would take most likely three days at least.
They both sighed.
"I'm glad Sensei finally got married." Rin said excitedly. "I also heard from the hospital his wife is going to have his first child!"
Kakashi only gave her a bored look and went back to the task of mopping the floor.
"What's the matter Kakashi-kun?" Rin asked. "Any parent would be thrilled to have their first child."
Kakashi shook his head, "No, it's not that."
"Then the problem is…"
"Its just, he's a bit too chipper for his own good," Kakashi commented.
Rin rolled her eyes, "You're over exaggerating it, Kakashi-kun."
"Am I?" the Hatake cocked a amuse eyebrow. "I mean, has anyone noticed that our Hokage is abusing his Hiraishin no Jutsu and 'flashing' out of nowhere in front of unfortunate people who have a high rate of getting a heart attack?"
There were plenty of shocked screams echoing in the distance from where the two stood…
Rin sweat dropped, "Well, I don't know who but…"
"Sandaime Hokage was a victim. It's the reason why he's staying away from home and seeing people around Konoha, basically to avoid sensei 'shock-flickering' in front of him." Kakashi stated grimly.
"How do you know?" Rin questioned.
"I saw sensei put a seal in the Sarutobi Clan mansion the other day," Kakashi said as a matter of fact.
Then there was a flicker in the room.
"EEEEEPP!" Rin screamed.
"Gomen (sorry), Rin! Hello, Kakashi!" The Yellow Flash smiled with a large grin on his smug face at his two students.
"Sensei! Can't you come in a little slower?" Rin pouted as she tried to recover from shock.
Kakashi only looked at his sensei and nodded in agreement. He was fortunate to not be shocked since his sensei used it on him so many times before. His reaction was just the same as Rin when the Yellow Flash used it on him. Luckily, compared to Obito and Rin, Kakashi had spent more time training with his sensei.
"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you. How about we eat out together like old times?" the Fourth offered.
"But we haven't finished mopping," Kakashi said.
"What were you saying, Kakashi? The tower looks fine to me," their yellow haired sensei said as if nothing was wrong with it.
The next thing you knew, the room they had been mopping for the last three hours was clean and all the furniture and parchments were tidied. The two students only stared at the cleanness of the room. Rin even checked every floor to find every single room to have no spec of dust. It seemed the Yondaime cleaned the whole tower in a 'flash'.
'…'
"Shall we eat then?" the Yellow Flash said. "There's a new place called Ichiraku Ramen, the meal is on me!"
"Okay!" Rin exclaimed happily.
"Sure," Kakashi said and thought, 'Well, I wouldn't mind if sensei abuses his Hiraishin no jutsu to help us.'
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
At Ichiraku Ramen…
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
At the Yellow Flash's newly-discovered ramen stand, it seemed a lot of Rin's kunoichi friends had shown up to eat there and she joined their side of the table. Meanwhile, Kakashi who had finished his bowl of Ramen only looked at his sensei eating his bowl hungrily.
"What's with that look Kakashi?" the Yondaime asked as he slurped the last bits of noodles into his mouth.
"Why did you take a bet that you knew you would lose?"
His sensei chuckled, "I thought I could win."
"You thought?" Kakashi said awkwardly. "Sensei, you know you're horrible in gambling."
"Just because an outcome turns out badly means it'll stay bad forever."
Kakashi leaned his head in question.
His sensei messed up his silver hair, which Kakashi reacted by rolling his eyes, "At times you need to take risks no matter how absurd the situation is. Even then it's those out of the world situations, sometimes they're the ones that are the most rewarding for our hard work."
--------------------------------------------
-Back to the present-
--------------------------------------------
'Taking risks has the most unpredictable outcomes, huh?' Kakashi thought of Yondaime's actions that had led to his marriage.
Certainly, Kakashi knew he wouldn't have this sort of chance when he was in the shinobi nations; it was a chance that shouldn't be missed. He doubted that if he finished the mission he would get another chance. In fact, Middle Earth did seem to affect him in a sort of a good way. If there was something good, then why not take advantage of it? If this was the place he could get his past sorted out then…
"Aragorn?" Kakashi asked.
"Hmm?" Aragorn turned his head. "Yes, Kakashi?"
"I'll take the risks," the ANBU simply said.
"It looks like we have a deal. From now on, we'll be supporting each other," Aragorn replied, glad that his bodyguard was agreeing to something.
--------------------------------------------
The Next Day…
--------------------------------------------
The next morning, Kakashi was doing what he usually did… tracking. Aragorn had noted that somehow Kakashi seemed to make a little effort in staying by his side a little more often and try to converse with the others. Despite having a reputation in the company as being a very patient child, the ranger couldn't help but feel sorry for him as his two foster brothers asked the shinobi too many questions for their own good. It didn't seem that hundreds of years of living staved off their curiosity even a little.
Well… it was more of everyone who was curious about the shinobi, besides, he did come from a country that none of them knew of. Kakashi again was showing signs of hesitance; thankfully, Aragorn had managed to talk to the young shinobi as to why he was secretive about where he came from. From what Kakashi told Aragorn, it was all about security. The ranger remembered that Kakashi was part of the ANBU, legally making him an operative that held or had access and even know important information about his nation. It wasn't that Kakashi wanted to keep everything about his land away from the company, but he had rules to stick to during the mission while he was in Middle Earth about leaking too much information.
Aragorn tolerated that, but the twins weren't helping much with the situation as they had a tendency to get on the shinobi's nerves. If one wanted proof of how the shinobi was rather annoyed, you wouldn't actually see it on Kakashi's face. It wasn't odd that Elladan and Elrohir were falling into traps that Kakashi unsuspectingly hid around the camp. Most of the traps were harmless (getting leg-hanged from a tree); Halbarad suggested that it was Kakashi's way of paying back. The other elves and rangers simply took that as a warning not to question too deeply.
The Dûnedain definitely agreed with Gandalf that Kakashi hid his real emotions very well… too well in some cases. The night before, Aragorn was probably lucky enough to notice Kakashi being bothered by the dream he was having. Basically last night Kakashi had his guard down, from what he was seeing now… the shinobi gave no indications of any weaknesses or wasn't intending to make the same mistake in front of everyone else.
Every time Aragorn had the midnight to morning shift in the watch, he usually saw Kakashi leaving the campsite or basically saw him moving into a nearby tree. It gave an indication to Aragorn that his bodyguard was constantly being haunted by a dream. Of what dream, the shinobi had yet to tell the ranger. All of that needed time to work itself out, and from the looks of Kakashi's actions, Aragorn knew it was wise to keep it out of the way as they still had an important mission at hand.
Yet Kakashi seemed to want to tell at least something to the twins so they would leave him in peace and leave him to do his job. He just wasn't quite sure about how he would filter the information. Kakashi was in a foreign country after all, which meant there was a chance that general information considered in his country was considered classified in Middle Earth. The heir of Isildur suggested telling them about the fundamental knowledge that all shinobi had on a general scale. At lunch, while most of the company was eating, Kakashi told them the basics of what the shinobi society was about.
On the ground, the shinobi started to draw the following line-up of the ranks that existed in the Shinobi rank system.
Hokage
ANBU
Jounin
Tokubetsu Jounin
Chuunin
Genin
Academy Student
Aragorn then listened to his young bodyguard intently as he explained the corresponding ranks in his village. For one thing the ranger could conclude that shinobi had more of a military system than a governing system. In fact, a shinobi village was considered as an extended military force of the main country. The main country of The Land of Fire had their own troops, since shinobi were considered as the 'Special Forces'.
All shinobi started as Academy students and were trained the basics of ninja arts such as ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Later when they graduated they became Genin or low rank ninjas and were put into a four-man cell consisting of one Jounin-sensei and three Genin and sent on missions in order to train. Afterwards, they would take exams to become Chuunin (middle rank ninjas) and eventually could be promoted to Tokubetsu Jounin (high rank ninjas who had one special ability) or Jounin (high ranking ninjas who had mastered all aspects in the shinobi field, such as taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, stamina, and chakra proficiency).
The ANBU were considered as the elite group that mainly recruited shinobi from Chuunin rank if they were considered special, talented, or worthy to be under the direct order of the leader of the village. Their main tasks were basically doing the most dangerous of all shinobi missions in teams or for experienced Jounin-level ANBU they could do the mission in twos or in rare cases go solo.
Then there was the 'Kage' or 'Hokage' according to Kakashi's country. The Kage was the highest rank any shinobi could achieve and considered to be the leader of the village. Basically, their job was to govern, lead, and secure the safety of the village and its inhabitants. Only a select few were able to achieve this status, as many of them were known to have inhuman capabilities. Aragorn wondered how powerful the Kages were, if Kakashi could actually push the Witch-king of Angmar right down into a river… how would a power of a Kage compare to Kakashi? He got a straight answer from the ANBU that he (Kakashi) would rather run or he'd most likely die in less than ten minutes.
The topic soon got even more interesting as they started to discuss how the geography of the nation and jutsus had played a large role in the naming of the villages and in some cases determine on what was the name of the Kage. Apparently the rangers and the elves weren't too sharp on what countries and lands existed beyond their borders.
Well, considering Middle Earth had been isolated for so long from the rest of the world, that it didn't seem odd that they didn't know any of the geography beyond their own country or territory. 'More explaining to do,' Kakashi sighed inwardly.
From his backpack, Kakashi took out a large scroll and rolled it out in front of them, showing a map of the continent of Middle Earth on the left side, whilst the Five Great Shinobi countries on the right down corner. The ANBU watched as the elves and the rangers were immediately entranced as they looked on the map of many countries. Aragorn and the rangers notably were talking about the number of countries that surrounded Middle Earth. As for the elves, they were more interested how the countries came into being.
"So, where is your country?" Elrohir asked.
"Right here," Kakashi pointed on the most southern east side of the map.
Elladan's eye twitched, "You mean, you traveled all the way from there, to get to Middle Earth?"
Kakashi looked at the elf with a bored glare, "Pretty much." On the inside Kakashi noted, 'Like, duh. What? It never occurred to you I'm not from Middle Earth?'
"So what does this have to do with your Kage and jutsus or techniques?" Halbarad asked the main question.
"A whole lot, really," Kakashi said. "My village isn't just the only shinobi village around, there are more than a few, but it's considered to be one of the largest."
"Well, I think we need a fair explanation," Aragorn stated.
"These countries here," Kakashi said as he waved his hand over one area of the map, "…are known as the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Each of them is named after the five basic elements in ninjutsu, consisting of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Thunder. As for each Kage, they are named after their element, since my Kage is from the Land of Fire, thus he has the title of 'Hokage' or Fire Kage. Land of Wind would be Kazekage and so on."
"So, these countries are ruled by the Kages then?" Elladan asked.
Kakashi shook his head, "Actually, no. Each country is ruled by a lord called a 'daiymo', and has its own military forces. Shinobi villages as I said before are considered as a 'special force' or an external force of the military. Yet the rank of a Hokage is considered on par with the lord of the nation."
Elrohir nodded as the information sunk into his mind, "Hmm, why do you base your country names on elements? I'm rather curious why anyone would want to name their country the Land of Fire or is your country full of volcanoes?"
"Not necessarily. Naturally it distinguishes the abilities of what elemental jutsu they can do," Kakashi explained. "Mist-nin who come from the Land of Water are usually water manipulators, they can control water for attacking and defensive purposes, like creating mists and fogs to confuse their opponents. Therefore their Kage would be the Mizukage or the Water Kage. Although that isn't always the case, it's more of a generalization."
"So since you're from the Land of Fire, does it mean you can manipulate fire?" Elrohir questioned unbelievingly.
"Yes."
"Meaning, you can actually breathe fire out like a dragon for instance?" the other twin implied.
"…Yeah." Kakashi gave them a bored look.
This of course created many murmurs from the others; too many of them weren't really all that convinced that the boy in front of them could breathe fire. Well, who would really? For any normal person who weren't shinobi, they would be thinking of a fire-breathing dragon first. You compare a fourteen-year old boy and that reptile… it just wouldn't make any sense.
"You think you can show us? You know, light up the fire for camp tonight?" Elrohir said mockingly at the shinobi.
'Like I would waste chakra for something like that,' Kakashi thought. What was he? A matchstick? He only gave the twins a look on his face that clearly told them 'no'.
Ignoring the last question Kakashi continued, "But not all shinobi just use their country's elemental jutsus, in some cases a shinobi could do more than one element or a mixture of elements."
"A mixture? Would your village might be a candidate?" Aragorn asked.
Halbarad cut in, "How do you know, Aragorn?"
"Out of all the countries, many of the symbols portray their element while others don't. Your village does not bear the symbol of fire," Aragorn said.
Kakashi nodded, "True, my village has an insignia of a leaf. Thus its name is 'Konohagakure' or Village Hidden in the Leaves, which does not relate to the Land of Fire. The hitai-ate or headband in your language that I wear on my head is how shinobi show their affiliation to a certain village."
"But how does it get the name as a leaf shinobi village?" Halbarad wondered out loud.
"The First Hokage was the one who built the village. He had a certain ability that had the mixture of water and earth based elemental jutsus. By combining them both, you get wood element jutsus."
"Wood element?" Elrohir raised an eyebrow.
"An ability to manipulate and grow trees." Kakashi pointed out. "Konoha's walls are trees, the village itself is surrounded, and dominated by large trees because of him."
"A human who can control trees?" Elladan said in wonder.
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at the elf, "He may have been human, but not all shinobi have such abilities. Naturally it comes in certain generations of a family, or you could say it's inherited through a specific bloodline."
"Well… you could at least show us one of those elemental jutsus," Elrohir countered in a sweetly mocking manner.
'I can't believe he said that,' Aragorn slapped his head mentally.
'…' Kakashi gave Elrohir a blank stare.
Halbarad only gave a look to Aragorn that Elladan had not given up his hopes in knowing about Kakashi more.
Kakashi only perked up an eyebrow, '…Well if they're that curious, I guess they can find out soon enough. How about…now.'
Then all of a sudden Kakashi looked as though he 'teleported' into thin air. Confused as to where the shinobi was, the rangers and elves were looking frantically where he might have gone.
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!" ( Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique!)
Without warning two hands clung onto Elladan and Elrohir's leg from the earth and pulled them into the ground. And the result was two unlucky elves with only their heads emerging from the ground and a satisfied shinobi with a smirk on his face.
The twins only stared in horror as they were stuck in the ground, and with a very tight fit they could barely move. Now they were both looking at the shinobi with accusing faces.
Kakashi simply cocked an uncaring and smug eyebrow, "You were curious and literally begging for me to do an elemental jutsu in the first place. That was an earth elemental jutsu by the way. Now, I have a scouting task to get back to." In a flash the ANBU had body-flickered to the front of the company and went back to doing his job. Lunch was over anyway, and it was back to work. Aragorn only smiled at his two foster brothers who were implanted in the ground, left them there, and decided to help his bodyguard. Those two hadn't really been much help in the past few days anyway.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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Not an extremely long chapter, but there you go! It's supposed to be around 15,000 words… but I think I'll break it up so I could update frequently too. So what do you think? Comments, reviews, or got ideas of your own? Just post in a review to tell me how you feel! If it's going at a slow pace (the plot), sorry, I don't want to rush ahead. Crossovers are the hardest things to write. The main rules of crossovers… avoid OOC-ness because you're already screwing up with two fandoms together. Plus you got to give every character the same amount of spotlight as possible. Hard, eh?
Middle Earth in WarsOkay, I think there's still some people who aren't satisfied that Middle Earth's wars aren't even compared to those in the world of Naruto. Again it's mainly got to do with the books NOT the movie. The movie only relates to the War of the Ring, not the previous battles that Middle Earth went to. In the past Middle Earth suffered tons of wars… not just normal weapon to weapon clash, but even with the present of demons (like the Barlog in the first movie that Gandalf fought), dragons, to large spiders and you add the coming of diseases plus plagues. For any country around Middle Earth, that's no tourist attraction; better to stay away then get involved.
I'm estimating that the barlogs' powers are equivalent to the bijus in power, and yes they were huge mind you… the one that we see in the first movie is one of the last remaining Barlogs in Middle Earth at the time and is in fact the weakest. When I read it from the book 'A Guide to Tolkein', I gaped at that. From what I read, Barlogs are commonly as large as the Kyuubi demon in size and possibly near in power too. Then you still had dragons that were monstrously powerful and intelligent (Tolkein's version of dragons). To shinobis that's nearly the same as fighting 10-20 bijus, one Kyuubi demon is enough to nearly wipe Konoha; thanks to Yondaime it didn't happen. Middle Earth on the other hand had its help from the wizards, High Elves (these elves were powerful as wizards), and the Valar. That's a lot of help than just one powerful Hokage. So in a way, Middle Earth's history is far longer than the Shinobi Nations; yet when we get to the War of the Ring, the large powers of the past had dwindled (Both good and bad). The end of the War of the Ring was marked as the time where all of the wars in Middle Earth ceased.
Thanks to everyone who sent a private message in checking me up while I was away from ffnet. I was starting to worry no one cared about the fic, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!!
A special thanks to keight-T who sent me a happy birthday email on the 1st of March! Like it says in my profile, I have an odd birth date that's the same with Aragorn from LotR and Ronald Weasly from Harry Potter. Freaky, neh?
Next Chapter:
Chapter 6: 'The Free Folk of Middle Earth'