AN:
Thank you Frostius for reviewing! Sheesh, never in my life have I been excited to see what come next, in my own writing! I apologize for all errors and inconsistencies in the text. I might have to warn you about the minuscule AU in my Narutoverse, but it won't be featured until later on. *Please don't kill me*
Elvish
Aragorn did not trust the group of strangers. When he had the Fellowship walk off in different directions to leave tracks to confuse the orcs and goblins, only Hoshi participated. They didn't seem to care if the orcs found their trail and were tracking them right this minute. Their leader, Minato, was often off somewhere else, writing on some sheaf of paper. The one with the silver hair, Kakashi, often stuck close to him. Obito, the child dressed in a vibrant shade of blue, walked near the hobbits. He seemed to be curious of the Halflings, as he tried to ask them questions.
"What...you..are?" he asked Pippin. The poor hobbit looked confused. Gimli translated the stranger's speech.
"He asked what are you, laddie," said the dwarf. Obito grinned and looked at Pippin expectantly.
"I am a hobbit," he said with a note of pride in his voice.
"Ho-bi-to?" Obito attempted. Pippin looked a bit put out.
"No! It's Hobbit! Say it with me; Hoh-bit."
"Hoibitu?" Obito tried again.
Pippin gave up. Merry was trying to suppress a grin along with Sam. Even Frodo, gloom itself, looked amused. The boy gave an exaggerated scowl and stomped over to the girl, Rin. She was giggling and didn't appear to be sympathetic to Obito's plight.
When the Fellowship plus five arrived at the edge of Lothlórien, Aragorn called for a stop.
The ranger turned to Hoshi. "We had made a deal with you. Before you travel any further with us, you must fulfill your part of the bargain."
Hoshi frowned at him. "And what of your part, Fellowship? A name is not too much to ask. Each one shall speak their name, and speak it truly! We will not accept epitaphs, Strider the Dúnedain!"
The pale boy's knowledge of his heritage and ranger name shocked him. But he did his best not to let it show.
"Very well then," he acquiesced. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn."
"I am Legolas Thandruilion."
"I am Gimli, son of Gloin."
"I am Boromir, son of Denethor."
"I am Frodo Baggins"
"I am Samwise Gamgee. I am often called Sam."
"I am Meriadoc Brandybuck. My friends call me Merry."
"And I am Peregrin Took. My friends call me Pippin."
A moment of silence passed before a voice spoke.
"Your names, hard to say. But we try."
It was most curious that the teacher Minato was suddenly able to speak and understand Westron. Aragorn looked him over suspiciously, noticing that there were strange lines on his ears and tongue.
"Our part of deal, we tell now." he said. The yellow-haired looked to Hoshi, as if asking him how he sounded.
"I will do my best to tell our tale, for we are quite unsure of it ourselves." Hoshi said after making eye contact with his teacher.
"The short of it is that our purpose here is to return home, and that is in another world, I'm afraid."
Aragorn couldn't believe his ears. These people claimed to be from another world! The claim was so outrageous that none of Sauron or Saurman's spies would ever think to use it.
"Now wait just a minute!" Boromir snapped out of the shock first. "If you are from another world, than how do you know Westron?"
Hoshi rubbed his head, looking rather sheepish. "I am from another era of Arda. My parents went on a trip to Harad for business. My I went with them, for I was old enough and, according to others, "needed to have an eye kept upon me". Not that it did any good. On our way to our destiation, we stopped at a town. There was an oasis outside the town and we were warned not to visit the oasis at night."
"I am guessing you did so and that is how you ended up in another world?" asked Legolas.
The pale boy nodded. "Minato-sensei found me and the rest is history,"
"I am guessing that your arrival in the mines was something along that vein." said Aragorn.
"Yes," replied Hoshi, rubbing his ears. "All we did was run down a tunnel. If we went back up it at a later date, we could go back home."
Minato's face suddenly became stony. He turned to Gimli. "You dwarf, yes? How long mines bee danger?" he asked.
Gimli responded sadly. "They have been so for quite a time. Anyway, it is a maze there. Unless you know your way underground, you will be hopelessly lost."
The yellow-haired man deflated, miserable. The students seemed to know what was so terrible, while Hoshi looked sick.
"Oh dear," he whispered.
"Is something wrong?" asked Legolas.
" 'Tis nothing that would be easily understood," he responded apologetically.
Aragorn sighed. It was like pulling teeth, trying to get information from these strangers.
"Let us get going," he sighed.
~•~•~•~
Rin inhaled deeply. The air here was fresh and sweet. Hoshi had always spoken highly of the forests of his home world. The trees were tall and beautiful. The colors were a lot lighter than the forests of Konoha, but the trees weren't as stout. But they were sturdy, and responded to tree-hopping well.
"Who lives in these woods?" she asked Hoshi. The pale child literally brightened.
"Elves, both of the Sindarin and Silvan verity," he said cheerfully.
Rin was puzzled. "Okay, but what are elves?"
"Elves are creatures of the light. They are tall and fair, and have pointed ears,"
"Like yours?" asked Rin.
Hoshi nodded. "Elves are immortal, that is, they live very long lives. But they can die if they are killed in battle or lose the will to live."
"Sounds like they kind of people Orochimaru-sama would like to research," said Sensei as he jumped past. Obito then shot past them, with Kakashi hot on his heels.
Hoshi frowned before yelling: "Don't get too far ahead! We have to stick close to the Fellowship!"
Rin smiled as Obito flipped the bird back at his foster brother. Kakashi then took the opportunity to pass Obito. The Uchiha jumped sideways, slamming into his teammate. Predictably, they fell down to the forest floor. They landed just in front of Gimli and Frodo, scaring the day lights out of them. Obito was cackling, having landed on top of Kakashi. The masked boy was not amused.
"Ger'ff!" he yelled, his demand muffled by the Uchiha. When Obito didn't budge, Kakashi shoved the boy off him.
"You are so immature, I swear," he growled before jumping into the trees.
Rin watched as Gimli helped Obito up. Obito gave the dwarf a smile and a bow of thanks before jumping into the trees.
"Rin, Obito, come here," Sensei was calling them over to his side. The kunoichi jumped over to the tree he was standing on. Minato-sensei was holding a calligraphy brush and what appeared to be ink in a flask.
"I have figured out a seal that will translate for us. Fortunately, Lady Akira is very generous with her techniques, so thank here when we return home," he explained.
Rin frowned a bit. Lady Akira was a foreign kunoichi who lived in Konoha that specialized in sound and language. It was well-known that she rarely gave out true information for free. Rin wondered what Sensei had sacrificed in order to gain such precious knowledge.
"You'll go first Rin. Just hold still,"
Rin remained perfectly still as Minato-sensei painted the seal on her ears.
"Now open your mouth and stick out your tongue," he commanded when he finished with her ears.
Rin did as she was told. She nearly gagged and bit off her sensei's fingers when the seal was painted on. The ink was nasty and bitter, tasting more like blood than ink.
"Good! Now hold your tongue in place for a bit, I'll tell you when to close your mouth. Just run chakra into your ears to activate and you'll be all set!"
Rin could already feel her tongue drying up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sensei attempt to subdue Obito in order to get the seals on. In the other corner, she saw Kakashi standing nearby. His hand were covering his lower face as his tongue stuck out, because he couldn't wear his mask when his tongue had to stick out. She heard the sound of laughter coming from above her. She looked up to see Hoshi clinging onto the tree for support, braying like a donkey with hysterics.
Minato frowned, having finished with Obito's seals.
"Now Hoshi, be nice."
"Okay, *snort* sorry, teeheeHAhaHAhaHaha!" Hoshi jumped ahead to catch up with the Fellowship, who had just passed below them.
"Kakashi, Rin, you can put your tongues back in now," he said cheerfully
Rin was delighted to place her dry tongue back in her mouth. She dug through her backpack to find her water bottle. She drank some water before asking Minato-sensei a question.
"Sensei," she asked. "Would I have to constantly put chakra into the seal on my ears in order for it to work?"
Minato-sensei looked delighted. "Ah, the brilliance of this seal is that you only need to channel chakra through it once! I suggest you do so now. Obito, you are done now!" he called back to the Uchiha.
Rin jumped ahead to join Hoshi and Kakashi, pumping chakra into her ears. She felt the fūnjustu start to work, as she picked up Gimli's conversation with one of the hobbits.
"...here's one dwarf she'll never ensnare. I've got eyes of a hawk and ears of a fox!" he boasted.
Hoshi rolled his eyes. "Lady Galadriel ensnares everyone." he muttered. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Crumbs!" he swore. "If we are to pass through this wood, we have to meet Lady Galadriel. And when we meet with her, she looks into your mind, and...crumbs, crumbs, CRUMBS!"
Rin was amused by Hoshi's rantings until she saw that the Fellowship had been surrounded by a group of people who looked like blonde Hyuugas. She assumed that they were the elves.
"Hoshi!" she nudged him. The boy looked down and gave an evil grin. Rin saw that the rest of her team were poised for action. Hoshi jumped to a tree branch above the one of the blondes. He then slowly lowered himself behind what Rin presumed to be the leader.
"Well met, marchwarden," he said in a pretty, ethereal language. The...elf whirled around so fast that Hoshi nearly collided head with him. Hoshi manage to pull himself out of harm's way just in time. The shinobi jumped down from the branch onto the ground. Gimli was chackling at the elf, applauding Hoshi's approach.
"And just who are you?" asked the elf.
"He is part of the group I had mentioned to you earlier," answered Aragorn.
The elf looked Hoshi up and down. "Well then, where are the rest?"
Hoshi gave the hand signal for 'approach'. Rin jumped down beside him, along with Kakashi, Obito, and Minato-sensei.
The group of elves looked stunned. But the Fellowship had stopped being phased after Obito's third fall.
"This is, quite unexpected," said the leader slowly. "Are you a part of the Fellowship?" he asked.
"No, but I know what they carry. Let them into Lothlórien, for things will be for the better if you do," said Hoshi cryptically.
Rin was confused. "Are they transporting a secret document or weapon of some sort?" she thought "and how would Hoshi know about it?"
But they were not given much time to ponder on Hoshi's words.
"Come with us," the elf commander snapped. With that, Team Minato entered Lothlórien.