When Worlds Collide

Chapter 8: A Cry for Help

Kagome held the splint in place while Aragorn bandaged up the man's broken arm. She couldn't believe that the man was still able, and willing, to fight with a broken arm. But then she figured when you were fighting to save your village and loved ones you would do many things you normally weren't capable of accomplishing.

"Thank you Kagome, you may let go now," said Aragorn, wiping the beads of sweat that had accumulated off his forehead. They had been working for the past several hours without a break. But it seemed every time they helped one village another five were there to take their place. He feared he and Kagome would be up all night mending the injured villagers.

But while he had been tending the injuries something had been gnawing at the back of his head. Yet he couldn't pin down what it was. And the more he tried to think about it the further he got from figuring it out.

"Aragorn? Is everything all right?" asked Kagome. "You look puzzled."

"Hm? Oh, everything is fine. So, who's next?"

A man with a deep gash above his forehead stepped forward. He also had numerous burns on his arms and legs.

"I can handle the burns if you want to stitch him up," said Kagome, picking out the herbs she would need. She was glad that Kaede had given her a fresh pack of herbs before they left. And from the looks of it she would be using them all.

"Thank you so much," said the man while Aragorn and Kagome started working on them.

"Don't mention it," said Kagome. "We are both healers so of course we would help those in need."

"No, no, I'm not thanking you for helping me. But of course I am also thankful for that. What I meant was thank you for coming to our village. I lost my wife in the first attack. Too many people have lost members of their family. These demons kill women and children with as much glee as killing men. So please be careful m'lady Kagome."

"No harm shall come to her or any of us for that matter," said Aragorn. "If an attack does occur tonight the best thing to do would be to have all the villagers gather together with the men best suited for fighting on the outside. We shall take care of most of the demons but if by chance some manage to slip by you need some kind of defense set up."

"No, we can still fight," protested the man. "It is not right for you to take the majority of the attack. We will fight alongside you."

"You have already suffered too many losses. Your village does not need to lose any more people. Let us take the brunt of the attack," argued Aragorn. It had pained him hearing about the man speak of women and children being killed with equal pleasure as men. Too many families had been torn about in this family, no more harm would come to the villagers if he could help it.

"Can you handle it? There are only nine of you, and two look to be but children."

Kagome grinned. It was a good thing Inuyasha wasn't here or else he would have thrown a fit. He hated anyone even suggesting he couldn't handle a fight. "No, I believe we'll be fine. But thank you for thinking of us."

The man, although still looking unsure, nodded anyways. "Then I shall trust you and your friends."

"We will not let you down," promised Aragorn. He tied the last stitch. "And now you are done."

"Thank you. I will go find Naoya and let him know what you think should be done. I will also see about getting you two some food as you must be hungry."

In perfect timing Kagome's stomach growled. She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, some dinner would be nice to have." She couldn't believe how long they had been working. The sun was already beginning to go down and the last thing she remembered was it being the middle of the afternoon. Time sure flew by when you were playing healer.

"Then I shall hurry back with some food. It's no good having our healers hungry!"

"Thank you," said Kagome and Aragorn before the man hurried off.

"You're doing really well Kagome," complimented Aragorn. "Kaede has taught you well."

"Yeah, she has. But there is still so much I don't know. But you act like you've been having healer training your whole life."

Aragorn grinned wryly. "That's because I practically have. You remember me saying that I was raised by elves?"

"Of course. Um…El…El…Elry…Elro…sorry, I forgot your father's name," said Kagome, her face red with embarrassment.

Aragorn laughed quietly. "Elry, huh? That's a nice one. I'll have to remember it."

"What? No! I don't want him to think of me as some stupid girl who couldn't even say his name right!" replied Kagome. "Besides, what is his name?"

"Elrond," answered Aragorn with a smile. "And he just so happens to be one of the best healers in all of Middle Earth. So ever since I can remember he has been teaching me his craft. It has saved my own or Legolas's life a countless number of times. I owe so much to my father. But I fear I am now disappointing him," sighed Aragorn. Upon realizing what he had just said outloud he silently berated himself. How could he have been so lax as to say something like that?

Kagome, not knowing if she was meant to hear the last part couldn't help asking, "How could you be disappointing him? Your healing skills are awesome. You're a very honorable man and obviously loyal to your friends. How could he possibly be disappointed in you?"

Aragorn looked up, the sadness clearly shown in his gray eyes. He was normally not one to talk about his problems. But something about Kagome made him feel at ease. "I have fallen in love with his daughter."

"Really? But that sounds wonderful!" squealed Kagome, her female high school attitude clearly showing at that moment. "I'm sure most fathers would be thrilled to have a man like you marry their daughter!"

"But if Arwen were to wed me she would be giving up her immortal life. What father would want their daughter to die when they didn't need to?"

"Well doesn't Arwen love you back?"

"Very much so. She said she would choose a mortal life to be with me."

"I can understand how Elrond would be upset to know that his daughter would die if she married you. But why would he be disappointed?"

Realizing he was sharing his shameful past a bit too freely, Aragorn fought to put a stop to it. "It is not important," he said at long last.

"Why not?"

"It just isn't! Legolas and my father are pressuring me enough as it is, I don't need any others starting in on me too," snapped Aragorn.

"You're right. I'm sorry," apologized Kagome meekly.

Aragorn sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "No, I'm sorry. I had no reason to snap at you. You're just trying to help."

"It's all right. And it looks like dinner is here!" said Kagome excitedly.

The man they had previously helped returned, carrying with him a tray with two steaming bowls.

"It isn't much," he said when he reached them. "But it's the best I could do."

Kagome stared hungrily at the two bowls of noodles with broth poured over them. A small loaf of bread sat on the tray besides them. "It looks great!" she said enthusiastically.

"Then I shall leave you two to eat. Oh yeah, I spoke to Naoya. He agrees with your plan and is now rounding up the men still able to fight. Your friends are also helping him."

"And will you be fighting?" asked Aragorn.

"Of course. My sword is still sharp and I'm able to walk. Therefore I'm fighting."

Aragorn nodded.

"Be careful," said Kagome.

"I shall my lady," he said, bowing down before leaving.

"Think he'll listen?" asked Kagome, taking a bite of bread.

"I doubt it. He lost his wife to these demons. He'll want to kill as many as possible."

"That's what I feared," she sighed.

"No use worrying about it Kagome. Let's eat then return to helping the villagers."

"Yeah, good idea."

After eating Aragorn and Kagome immediately went back to healing the villagers. After helping about another half dozen Kagome suddenly put down the salve she was applying to another villager's burns and stared worriedly into the surrounding forests.

"Kagome? What is wrong?" asked Aragorn, staring intently at the young girl.

She promptly jumped up. "Aragorn, a shikon shard is coming. We need to get the villagers out of here."

As soon as the words left her mouth the villagers still waiting to be helped were thrown into a panic.

"The demons are back! Run!" shouted one woman.

"They're back to kill again," cried an elderly man, wringing his hands together.

"My children!" screamed another woman. "They're alone in my hut!"

Kagome tried to calm them down but to no avail.

"Everyone calm down!" commanded Aragorn in a strong voice that rose above the turmoil of the crowd. Kagome was surprised; his whole demeanor had changed the moment the villagers started to panic. Earlier he had been acting like a kid just wanting to have a good time. Then when he was talking to her he had acted like a grown man with too much on his shoulders. Now she saw him as a leader. He was standing tall, one hand resting comfortably on the hilt of his sword. His eyes were filled with authority and they left no room for argument from anyone. This was the first time she ever saw him like this, the hint of the king that was in him. And she would have followed him without a seconds thought. The villagers seemed to agree with her as they immediately quieted down and huddled close together.

"Panicking will only make things worse," said Aragorn. "I and my companions will protect you, but you must make our jobs easier. You must gather in the center of your village. Stay outside as your huts are not safe. The demons will simply burn the huts you are in. Gather whatever weapons you can but don't go looking for a fight. Only fight if you must. But whatever you do, do not scatter. You will be the safest and easiest to protect if you remain in a group."

The villagers nodded, their relief at having Aragorn telling them what to do clearly evident in their eyes.

It was at the moment that the first demons broke out of the woods. At the sight of them Kagome blanched at their ugliness. And Aragorn's eyes grew wide in surprise. He quickly hid it from the villagers before they could panic again and unsheathed his sword. "Now go!" he shouted. "Stay together. Kagome and myself will keep them away from you!"

Kagome gripped her bow and notched an arrow. She stood alongside Aragorn and waited.

When the villagers didn't budge Aragorn shouted again. "GO! It is not safe for you here! Now quickly, leave before they come!"

One man unfroze and started running away. At the sight of him running the others quickly regained their senses and also ran off.

"There's so many," said Kagome. "But none have the shikon shard."

"They are poor fighters which is why there are so many. They win by overwhelming their opponents," said Aragorn tensely while watching the enemy's forces slowly increasing in number. There were a little over a dozen and the number was steadily rising. He wasn't sure how good of a fighter Kagome was so it would be hard for him to focus completely on fighting as he would be constantly checking to make sure Kagome was doing all right. He hoped either his friends or Kagome's friends would come to aid them.

"Another enemy from your world?" asked Kagome. A small amount of fright could be heard in her voice. The number was now up to two dozen. And it was still rising.

"Yes. They are orcs. Watch out for their arrows. They like to poison the tips. The same with their close combat weapons. But since you're an archer you shouldn't have to worry about those."

"Why did they have to attack at night?" complained Kagome. "I can barely see!"

"They can't stand the light. How good of an archer are you?"

Three dozen.

"I'm decent. Not fast though."

"It's all right," said Aragorn, trying his best to mask the disappointment in his voice. Where was Legolas? And Gimli?

The orc's numbers finally stopped rising when they reached around four dozen. And there was still no sign of the others.

"Maybe they're fighting other orcs," suggested Kagome, answering the unspoken question in both of their minds.

"Perhaps, but we could use a couple of them here." Aragorn saw the orcs staring at them, the hunger clearly shown in their eyes. One orc raised its weapon. They looked like they were practically frothing at the mouth as they stared at their adversaries. And why shouldn't they? There were only two of them after all.

"Get ready," said Aragorn quietly. "They're coming." He raised his sword in a silent challenge to the orc. This sent the orcs into an uproar, their screeching hurt Kagome's ears as well as scared her but she refused to back down.

When the orcs began twitching in anticipation Aragorn crouched down, ready to charge when the orcs did. They were sorely outnumbered. But then he was outnumbered at Amon Hen as well. And those had been uruk-hai. He had to have faith that his friends would show up just as they had back then.

Kagome pulled back her bowstring. It was time to test out her improved bow and arrows. She silently prayed that Legolas was as good as he appeared to be. She couldn't afford to have a broken bow. But there were so many. Even with a good bow how could she possibly help Aragorn enough?

Aragorn sensed Kagome's hesitancy. "You'll do fine," he assured her. "Just try and watch my back and not let them sneak up on me."

"I'll do my best," she said. "But I know I'm not nearly as good as Legolas. What if I hit you by accident? What if I miss and an orc does sneak up on you?" The panic welled up in Kagome's voice. She didn't like facing a battle this big without her trusty hanyou by her side.

Aragorn gave Kagome a comforting smile. "I trust you," he said. Before she could say another word he charged.

At the sight of the sole man charging them, his sword held high, the orcs went into an uproar. Half a dozen left the grouped and surged down to the lone man, their voices joining in the orc battle cry.

Aragorn and the first orc met with a violent crash. The orc bore down on Aragorn with his axe. Aragorn quickly sidestepped the incoming weapon and thrust his sword at the same time. The sword buried itself in the soft flesh of the orc's chest. Aragorn twisted it and ripped it out just in time to parry another orc's crude sword. He soon fell into the familiar rhythm of parrying, dodging, and delivering his own lethal blows. A bright flash of light suddenly flew past him, frightening the surrounding orcs for a few seconds. Aragorn saw the flash die down at the same time an orc gave a squeal of pain. He saw the orc slump over, an arrow imbedded in its abdomen. He turned his head to see Kagome notching another arrow.

"Meet my miko powers!" shouted Kagome to the ranger before letting go of her second arrow, the beam of light arching through the air before finding its target.

Aragorn stared in awe for a second. He had never seen anything quite like it. And it was coming from this small girl. When the orcs surrounding him regained their senses he raised his sword again and continued the fight.

Aragorn and Kagome kept dropping orc after orc, but the numbers never seemed to decrease. Aragorn's sword was getting slick with black orc blood and his palms sweaty. Kagome reached back to her quiver and discovered only two arrows left. She quickly used one to kill an orc that was trying to sneak up on the fighting ranger. She used her last one to kill an orc that was coming straight towards her.

When four more orcs started running at her Kagome couldn't help it. She screamed. Aragorn looked up to see Kagome with an empty quiver holding her bow in front of her while four orcs charged her, their weapons raised, ready to claim the girl's life.

In his preoccupied state an orc managed to get a hit on him. He grimaced in pain and surprise when a sword made a shallow cut on his upper left arm. He promptly relieved the orc of its head and then took off. He ran as fast as his legs could possibly carry him. Reaching back he grabbed his dagger and threw it. One orc fell. But that still left three more. And he was too far away to kill them. He could throw his sword but that would only take down one more and would leave him defenseless. He wished he had never taken his quiver off his back. But while tending to the villagers he had taken it off. And Kagome was nowhere near it. In denial Aragorn pushed on, never noticing the growing number of orcs chasing him down. He was running himself into a cage. If he stopped now he would be overrun with orcs before he could ever turn around.

Kagome stared in fright at the orcs bearing down on her. And then she saw the two dozen on Aragorn's tail as he attempted to save her. She closed her eyes.

"INUYASHA!"

Last revised: December 6, 2006