AN:

I would like to thank Purple Pallbearer and Yay for reviewing and to child-of-paradox-and-chaos for favoriting. Your support means quite a bit to me.

To answer your question Yay, Hoshi is Eldarion, a briefly mentioned character in Return of the King Appendixes. Despite his status as a canon character, we don't know much about him. I have a backstory on how he ended up with Team Minato, which will be present in later chapters.

Also, the vast majority of my Lord of the Rings knowledge is from the movie. I did read Fellowship of the Ring in middle school, but never got past that. So yes, I am following the movie plot line. It is a lot easier to follow, in my humble opinion.

Hoshi, Obito and Kakashi ran toward the fleeing Fellowship, keeping close the group. There was no time to admire the ruined dwarf city, due to the pesky goblins. The trio gagged when the stench of the goblins hit their noses.

"I am forever grateful that I am an Uchiha and not an Inuzuka," Obito managed to choke out. Kakashi nodded in agreement, looking around. The Cave oni were coming out of the floors and down the columns. The masked shinobi was mildly impressed by the creatures' climbing skills. He idly wondered how they were able to cling to the smooth surfaces without chakra. Looking around, the Hatake noted that the fiends were beginning to surround them.

Hoshi was also scanning the ceilings when his eyes caught a glimpse of yellow. He allowed a relieved smile to cross his face. Obito gave a joyful shout, for he, too had seen the flash of color

"Sensei! Rin! Down here!" he yelled while waving his arms. Kakashi nearly groaned, but he was too relieved to see that Rin and Sensei were both alive. He hoped that neither was greatly injured, so that they could get out of this strange place and return to their mission.

~•~•~•~

Aragorn was surprised that Gandalf had allowed the three boys to travel with them. They dressed strangely, and only one of them seemed to understand Westron. They could easily be Sauron's spies, for they acted quite strangely. But if Gandalf trusted them, he did as well. Aragorn frowned slightly. Hoshi, the Westron speaker, had mentioned two other companions in the boys' group. The ranger hoped that the boys didn't expect the Fellowship to help find them.

In no time at all, the Fellowship plus three were surrounded by goblins. Everyone was tense, waiting for the filthy things to strike when a shout came out of the black-haired boy. Aragorn turned and followed the child's gaze, worried. When he saw it he nearly dropped his sword.

There was a man with bright yellow hair running across the ceiling. The man was carrying a girl with short brown hair on his back.

"Sweet Eru," Aragorn heard himself swear. Never in his long life had he seen something quite like this. He looked at the boys. None of them looked phased. They simply kept their eyes on the goblins, who looked just as surprised as the Fellowship.

"Master Gandalf," Aragorn heard Hoshi say.'' The man with the yellow hair is Minato-sensei, our teacher. The girl he is carrying is Rin, our teammate."

Gandalf had managed to tear his eyes away from scene. "I presume that they are your missing companions?" he asked.

Hoshi nodded in affirmation. Aragorn idly wondered if this Minato person was an Istari. The Dúnedain roughly shook his head. Here he was, standing in the midst of hundreds of goblin and instead of paying attention, he was daydreaming! Aragorn wondered why he hadn't been skewered yet. But the goblins were frozen, their heads turned toward the opposite end of the cavern.

"Gandalf..." Aragorn looked down to see Hoshi standing beside him, eyes glued to the entrance of the cavern. It was lit up, as if a giant fire was just beyond the threshold. And then he heard it.

Thump~skeersh

Thump~skeersh

Thump~skeersh

It sounded as if large rocks were smashing against the ground. The floor shook. The goblins had scattered, retreating to their holes. Something was coming, something terrible.

"Gandalf!" Aragorn jumped as Hoshi just about crushed his rib cage and gently pried the terrified child off him. The boy's teacher and teammate had somehow gotten to the floor. Their hair and clothes were singed and their faces were covered in soot and ash. Both had a panicked look in their eyes.

Aragorn and the rest of the Fellowship turned to Gandalf. The Grey Wizard had a pained look on his face when he spoke.

"A Balrog of Morgoth," he declared. "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"