When Worlds Collide
Chapter 3: Meet Miroku
After walking for nearly thirty minutes Kagome was surprised. Legolas was still carrying Inuyasha without complaint. He was currently in the lead as Kagome had said they just had to go straight until they got out of the forest. She was glad that she and Inuyasha hadn't gotten too far outside the village before Inuyasha sensed Aragorn and his friends. But Legolas's ability to carry Inuyasha didn't surprise her half as much as his hair did. I'm really going to have to ask him how he keeps his hair so shiny! she silently thought, I'll need to do whatever he does!
Now Kagome was so enthralled with the elf's hair she had no idea that Aragorn had come up behind her.
"It's not polite to stare my lady," he whispered in her ear.
Kagome yelped and spun wildly around. Her foot got caught on an exposed root and she flailed her arms for a moment before proceeding to fall to the ground. Luckily for her Aragorn had quick reflexes and caught her elbow before she met the ground. As he pulled the flustered girl to her feet he asked for forgiveness.
"I am sorry Kagome, my intent was not to frighten you."
Legolas, upon seeing what had happened walked up to the pair. "You really musn't blame him Kagome, after all, he hasn't had much interaction with other humans. He grew up around elves and because of this thinks everyone has the hearing and heightened senses of an elf. He foolishly believes everyone can hear him walking up behind them. You wouldn't imagine how many times this has gotten him into trouble."
Kagome stared at Aragorn, unsure of what to make of what Legolas had just shared with her. "Um, is Legolas serious? I mean, that seems kind of strange…"
Aragorn sighed and sent Legolas an extremely annoyed look. Legolas simply smiled innocently at his friend. "Kagome, everything Legolas was a lie except for the fact that I grew up with the elves. I do not scare every human I meet and I do not think everyone has heightened senses. Legolas was merely being his standard annoying self." Most people never really got to witness Legolas's lesser known side, put more aptly, the annoying side. Most people saw him as a quiet and mystical being who deserved their utmost respect. Aragorn would not disagree with respecting Legolas, after all, they were lifelong friends and Legolas truly was an elf worthly of respect. However, this did not change the fact that when it came to Aragorn, Legolas had absolutely no problem with showing his teasing streak.
"Finally, someone agrees with me about the elf," grumbled Gimli.
Kagome nodded in understanding, after all, she was well versed in those trying to make fun of her. What other use was there for a younger brother? "So why did you grow up with the elves?" she asked. She decided getting to know the three newcomers would prove to be nothing short of beneficial. Besides, Kagome was by her very nature curious. Which is probably why she always managed to get into such trouble, but she still would not change for anything.
"It's a long story," said Aragorn after a slight hesitation. "To make it short; when I was but a child my father and the other warriors were killed in a surprise orc raid. My mother managed to escape with me and we made for the refuge of Rivendell, a city of elves. We arrived there and Elrond, the lord of Rivendell, took us in. My mother died soon afterwards. But Elrond cared for me as a son. I grew up in Rivendell with Elrond as my stepfather and his twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, as my brothers. They called me Estel, the elven word for 'hope'."
"Hope?" asked Kagome inquisitively, "Why did they call you that?"
Aragorn sighed. "The reasoning is not important." He still hated people knowing about his heritage. Even though Kagome knew nothing of Isildur's weakness he was still ashamed of it. No matter how many times Elrond or the other's mentioned it, he had no desire to be the king of Gondor. He never walked the path of the king; he did not want to fall into the darkness that his ancestors had been reduced to.
Legolas shook his head at Aragorn. The man was still hiding from his heritage. "He was given that name because he is the hope for all men in our world," he answered for Aragorn. His friend was not going to hide any longer. Especially in a world who knew nothing of his heritage. Legolas figured that this was the best place for Aragorn to begin coming to terms with his heritage.
"Legolas," warned Aragorn.
Legolas ignored Aragorn. "He is the heir of Isildur. Isildur was the king of Gondor before he was killed. Aragorn is ashamed of Isildur's weakness and so has shied away from his heritage. He insists on only being considered a ranger."
Kagome gasped and held a hand up to her mouth. "Wow, you're really a king? That's really awesome. Man, wait 'til I go home and tell Souta and Mom I know a king! Oh…I didn't say anything to offend you Aragorn, did I? I sure hope I didn't…I've just never met a king before. It's really exciting."
Aragorn inwardly groaned. This was exactly why he didn't want to tell Kagome, or anyone for that matter, about his heritage. They became flustered around him. Once one found out about his heritage they did not know how to act around him. They couldn't treat him like a normal person. And for the ones who didn't become flustered they instead hated him for it. And tried to kill him. Aragorn was tired of defending his life just because he happened to be Isildur's heir. He was just as tired of trying to convince the others, such as Kagome, that he was still a normal person.
"Kagome, please, do not worry yourself about it," he began. "I have no wish to be the king and I am not royalty. I will be happiest if you continue to treat me like you were before."
"But, but, you're a king!" protested Kagome.
"I am not a king," repeated Aragorn firmly.
"But Legolas said…"
"What Legolas said was true; I am the heir of Isildur. Isildur was the king of Gondor in ages long past. That does not make me the king. I have taken no oath and so am still a ranger. I will always be a ranger, the path of the king does not suit me."
"Why not? You seem like you would make a wise king."
"You do not know of the weakness that runs through my veins," said Aragorn softly while quickening his pace. He wanted to escape the questions; he did not want to explain that his forefather betrayed the races of men and elves and took the ring of power for himself. He did not want to see the sympathy in Kagome's eyes if he told her about the weakness. To escape the questions Aragorn called over his shoulder, "Did you know that Legolas was a prince?" Snickering to himself Aragorn continued to lead the group through the forest.
It was now Legolas's turn to glare daggers at his friend. Why oh why did that blasted human have to bring up him being a prince? Earlier when Aragorn had called him a prince Kagome didn't notice. He was hoping to keep it that way. Figured that Aragorn wouldn't let him keep it to himself. Petty humans and their need for revenge.
Kagome now turned to the elf, her eyes wide. "Legolas you're a prince? Wow, so are you one day going to be king as well? Is that why you and Aragorn are friends?" Kagome was in royalty shock. Imagine, in one day meeting both a possible king and a prince!
"Yes, I am a prince. My father is the king of Mirkwood, the kingdom of the wood elves. No, I will not one day be king. That duty will go to my eldest brother. And finally, no, that is not why Aragorn and I are friends. We are friends because for some odd reason I enjoy having my life threatened everytime we go adventuring."
Aragorn stiffened his back. Oh, so now that elf thinks I'm the one who always gets us into trouble? It's his fault half the time too!
Kagome appeared puzzled by the latest statement. "So why does Aragorn threaten you Legolas? Do you disagree on where to go or something?"
Legolas smiled as Aragorn's shoulders shook as he tried to control his laughter. The vagueness of Legolas was really making Aragorn sound bad. Before Legolas could make Kagome even more confused, he spoke up.
"You misunderstood what Legolas meant. What he really meant to say was that when we go adventuring we, for whatever reason, tend to get in trouble. What he failed to mention was that the majority of the time it is because elves think they are indestructible and so go looking for as much danger as physically possible. It seems to fail to cross Legolas's mind that I am, in fact, a human."
"So it's Legolas that gets you in trouble?" asked Kagome, now getting really confused.
Legolas rolled his eyes at the ranger. Aragorn was obviously forgetting about the many incidents that were entirely his fault. "Aragorn, do you fail to remember that time when you insisted that we stay in that village? And that village happened to hate elves? And so I was captured? And beaten? And was going to die when you finally decided to rescue me? Are you forgetting that?"
"And I think you're purposely forgetting about that time you insisted on going left instead of right. And that left path led us right into a party of orcs. One of which shot me with a poisoned arrow. Which caused me to almost die. If it wasn't for my father's supurb healing ability I would be dead."
"Really? And how about that time we were running from some orcs and you claimed that the cave would be safest place to hide? Now what was in the cave? Oh, just three cave trolls. Who of course saw us when you tripped over a rock. Why weren't you looking for rocks? We were in a cave for crying out loud! I was forced to run for my life because you weren't paying attention! And forced me to go into a cave! That is the reason I hate caves. They always try to kill you!"
"Oh forgive me for not being an elf," retorted Aragorn. "But then I remember it was the elf that said the bridge was safe. And I trusted that elf. I crossed the bridge, the bridge broke. I feel into the raging river and was swept downstream over a countless number of rocks. All while that elf was screaming at me to stay afloat as he chased after me on his horse."
Legolas laughed under his breath at that one. He remembered that one clearly. When he had finally been able to pull Aragorn from the river the ranger tried to throw him in. Aragorn had tried no less than ten times to throw him in. Each time he failed Aragorn grew more irritable towards Legolas. But the time they reached Rivendell Aragorn was positively livid at the elf. He got revenge the next morning by placing a bucket of water over Legolas's bedroom door. Oh yes, Legolas remembered that incident.
Kagome, trying to take in all the stories, started to feel a headache coming up. These two grown men, well man and elf, are arguing like five year olds! And to think, one is a prince and the other is supposedly a future king! Must be an interesting world these guys come from.
Now Gimli was growing impatient. So many fun sounding stories, especially the one where Legolas was in a cave and being chased by a cave troll, and he had no part in them. He would have loved to have been present for that one. Anything to see the normally cool elf running for his life. Gimli laughed suddenly at the picture that entered his mind. The collected Legolas screaming like a little girl.
Legolas glanced down at the dwarf. He did not want to know what Gimli was thinking of to cause him to laugh like that. Whatever it was he could almost guarantee it had to do with him looking like a fool.
"So what you two are saying is that everytime you go on an adventure you almost wind up dying. And it is always the other person's fault. So why are you two friends again? I would think you would hate each other," said Kagome, still confused about the man and elf with her.
"Yes, it would make sense that we hate each other, wouldn't it?" agreed Aragorn. "But then I think of Legolas like a brother. He has saved my life a countless number of times, and I have saved his as well. I do not know exactly why we are such great friends, but then I wouldn't ask for it to be any different."
Legolas nodded his head in agreement and shifted Inuyasha into a more comfortable position. He immediately wished he had just kept Inuyasha's chin digging into his shoulder.
"The elf is getting tired," said Gimli. "Give me Inuyasha and I'll carry him the rest of the way. Never have an elf do a job that requires strength for they will tire too fast."
"I seem to recall a certain dwarf getting winded on the plains of Rohan while we were chasing the Uruks," brought up Legolas.
Gimli huffed in annoyance. "That was running a long distance. Dwarves are not known for their endurance when it comes to running."
"All right, enough arguing," said Aragorn, deciding to get back to the business at hand. Mainly trying to figure just what exactly was going on and. "Kagome, you mentioned a person by the name of Miroku and how he may be able to assist us. May I inquire as to who he is?"
Kagome, happy to be back on a topic she completely understood, nodded. "Of course. You've only met Inuyasha and myself. But there are three other members of our group who normally travel with us. We only separated this time because another member, Sango, had to go back to her village to repair her weapon. Miroku accompanied her and the other, Shippo, stayed at the village with Kaede. Kaede is the lady we stay with and she advises and heals us at times as well. Inuyasha and myself went on a scouting mission to see if we could hear any rumors about shards. Instead we met you three. And also got a shard as well."
Aragorn thought outloud. "So there's Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede. All of you are going after the shikon shards. Are your friends humans or are they like Inuyasha?"
"Like Inuyasha? Oh, you mean hanyou?"
"Hanyou?" questioned Aragorn at the unknown term.
"A hanyou is a half-human, half-demon. Do you recall Inuyasha saying he wanted to become full demon with the shikon jewel?"
"Yes, it sounded odd at the time but you said the enemy was coming."
"Once the shikon jewel is complete a wish can be made on it. Inuyasha wants to complete the jewel so he can wish to become a full demon. Hanyous are looked down on by both demons and humans. Demons hate them because their blood is tainted with the blood of a human. Humans hate them because they are half demon. A hanyou tends to be killed in this time, Inuyasha managed to survive and now he wants nothing more than to become full demon," explained Kagome.
Aragorn understood Inuyasha a little better after Kagome's explanation. He could now see where Inuyasha's atttitude came from. If he was hated by both humans and demons he would have had no one to turn to in a time of need. He was alone all his life; hated by all. He understood why Inuyasha found it hard to trust him and his friends, after all, who was to say they wouldn't hate the hanyou as well?
"But to answer your earlier question, Miroku and Sango are both humans. Miroku is a monk and Sango is a demon exterminator. Shippo is a kitsune. A kitsune is a fox demon that can change forms. But since Shippo is still a child his powers haven't fully developed. Most of his attacks are only illusions but they have saved us before."
"Why is Shippo no longer with his parents?" asked Aragorn, hoping he wasn't prying too deeply.
Kagome was about to respond when Legolas stopped walking. She looked at him questioningly but he did nothing but stare intently into the forest. "Legolas?" she finally asked.
"Kagome, there is a lady coming this way with a giant weapon on her back. And a small creature is chasing her. Should we prepare to fight?" he asked, a sense of urgency in his voice.
"Ah! It's Sango and Shippo!" said Kagome in excitement. "It's ok, they are who I was talking about." Kagome ran ahead and caught Shippo in her arms when he jumped up at her. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli caught up just as Sango joined Kagome.
"Kagome!" squealed Shippo, "You're back! So did you get any shards? Sango and Miroku just got back a little bit ago. But you weren't gone that long. And where's Inuyasha?" asked Shippo, speaking a mile a minute. He paid no heed to the three strangers who were accompanying Kagome.
As Kagome hugged the excited kitsune to her chest Sango walked suspiciously up to Aragorn.
"Who are you? And why is the blonde guy carrying Inuyasha?" Sango took a double take at Legolas. He had pointy ears. "And what is that blonde guy? And who's that short guy?" At the word 'short' Gimli huffed in annoyance.
Legolas laughed under his breath at the shocked Aragorn. Future king or not, Aragorn still wasn't used to people coming up to him and demanding answers to a lot of questions. And in his time he definitely wasn't used to that person being a young woman. And he also wasn't used to young women, or women at all, carrying around such a big weapon as this one did. Legolas, taking pity on his friend, answered the questions.
"The man you are glaring at is Aragorn, he is a man. The short guy, as you so eloquently put, is Gimli, he is a dwarf. And I am Legolas, I am an elf. I am carrying Inuyasha because he would not leave when danger was coming."
"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" sighed Sango. "But you're an…elf? I didn't think elves were real. No one in my village ever heard of an actual elf," she trailed off as Kagome walked up to her.
"What do you say we go to Kaede's, get something to eat," at this Gimli's eyes lit up, "and explain everything there?" she suggested.
Sango shrugged her shoulders. "All right, that sounds good. They still need to meet Miroku and Kaede as well."
Aragorn finally relaxed when he realized that the woman, Sango, was not actually angry with him but rather puzzled at the appearance of him and his friends. He jabbed Legolas in the side with his elbow when the elf dared to snicker under his breath. He really couldn't blame him though, after all, it was rare, if ever, that someone actually intimidated him enough to the point of freezing. Aragorn sighed. It was actually quite embarrassing. Here was a ranger who had fought a countless number of enemies and yet he froze up at a woman who was merely asking him questions. Aragorn blamed it on the abnormal events that had taken place. He was not scared of anyone. He took another look at Sango's weapon. He wasn't scared of anyone. But he could be scared of weapons. That thing looked intimidating.
"Yeah, still more people for them to meet. And we have to wait for Inuyasha to wake up as well. That will be fun," said Kagome sarcastically.
Sango laughed. "Who knocked him out?"
"Legolas," answered Kagome.
Sango now looked at the elf, pity clearly evident in her eyes. "It was good of you knock Inuyasha out. Everyone will realize that . But unfortunately Inuyasha wouldn't be what you call the most logical individual. He will not be happy when he wakes up. So you better prepare for defending yourself when he gets up."
"I am not worried about Inuyasha," answered Legolas truthfully. "I would much rather deal with his anger than what we would have been forced to face if Inuyasha had won."
"That's true," mused Kagome. "But I'm still glad I'm not you."
"Well should we take them to meet Miroku now?" asked Sango.
"Yeah," replied Kagome. "You know what? I'm sure glad none of them are women."
Sango laughed wryly. "You can say that again."
"Why is it good that we're not women?" pondered Aragorn outloud.
"Face it laddie," said Gimli, "You would not make a pretty woman."
Everyone laughed at that comment, Legolas hardest of all. Aragorn quickly shut the elf up.
"Maybe I woldn't make a pretty woman, but Legolas, I believe you have all the characteristics of a beautiful lady," said Aragorn with a smirk.
Yes, Legolas stopped laughing rather quickly. "I would not make a pretty woman," he huffed.
"But really," said Sango, "You will find out why you don't want to be a woman soon enough." And saying that Sango led the group back to the village.
Five minutes later the group walked into the village. They made a beeline for Kaede's hut and when they got there Miroku came out to meet them. He walked directly to Kagome. He grabbed her hands in his own and stared at her, lust bursting out of his eyes.
"Kagome! My love! Your beauty is a sight for sore eyes! How I have longed to look upon your grace these past few days. I would be honored if you would bear my child!"
Sango's reaction to Miroku's pervertedness was honed to perfection. While yelling "Pervert!" she brought her boomerang down on Miroku's head. As the monk plummeted to the ground Kagome turned to the three newcomers, a wry smile planted on her lips.
"And that," she stated, "Is why you don't want to be a woman."
Aragorn stared in shock at the monk who was nursing a very sore head. He then looked to the now fuming Sango who was replacing the weapon on her back. He finally decided that it was in fact a good, and logical, idea to be scared of that weapon.
Last revised: April 12, 2006
Notes on this chapter: The friendly bantering between Legolas and Aragorn about their 'mis'adventures is a tribute to all of the humor/parody stories about Aragorn and Legolas that are written. I definitely do love to read them, so I decided to put some of the scenarios I have read about in this chapter.