Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Lord of the Rings; they belong to their respective publishers and creators. I gain nothing from writing this but a creative outlet and writing/editing experience.
Summary: Kakashi was a relic of the past, a time where children were prepared for a war they were unlikely to live through; in fact, his career had revolved around the keeping back the threat or war. His brief tenure as Hokage only showed just how dated he was in this new era of peace and technological growth. So...this seemed fitting, a fitting end for a man who had known war for most of his life.
A/N: So this chapter was originally going to include Aragorn et al. but then it was getting super long so I broke it up. I hope this chapters seems reasonable. It will probably be the last update until May. As always, thank you for everyone's readership, responses, and support. I am glad you all have enjoyed it thus far ~ much love, depressedchildren
Chapter 3: Anger in battle can blind or cut
Kakashi heard the raised voices from within the Long House, a rather unusual occurance. It was mostly Wormtongue yelling, but the raspy, distanced voice of King Théoden also broke through the din of yells. Kakashi was standing on a thatched roof a few houses away from the hill, but he did have exceptional hearing (especially when backed by the slightest bit of chakra) and could make out the angry commotion if not the actual words. As the commands (or so Kakashi presumed) reached a fevered pitch, Lady Éowyn had fled the longhouse through a side exit.
Kakashi frowned slightly; Lady Éowyn was pale faced and more than a little worried or alarmed. Kakashi bounded across a few roofs with just the minutest amount of chakra in his leaps. Soon he was on the stone porch/landing beside her with his back touching the wall of the Long House. He was partially obscured from view by the shadowy overhang, and he hoped those who spotted the Lady would assume a guard had come outside with her.
"Lady Éowyn?" He was closer now and could hear Wormtongue more clearly. Ah…it seemed scouts more loyal to the failing King than their Third Marshall had reported the rogue band of Rohirrim hunting down the orcs to the far north of their settlement.
"They will execute my brother for treason," Lady Éowyn got the words out in short, breathy bursts as she fought back tears. "I will have lost two brothers in so short a time." The realization broke a damn in her and she fell into the side of the building as a few tears escaped her eyes.
"There are tribunals, yes?" Kakashi got the words out quickly. It was…painful to see someone as strong as Lady Éowyn break in this moment. It was as if whatever…magic Wormtongue had weaved on the King had finally sapped the hope out of Kakashi's student. "They will jail Lord Éomer first," Kakashi reasoned, but Lady Éowyn just stared numbly in front of her.
"Sensei…" she whispered as she shook her head. She then turned to look at him, and the tears were now dried on her face. "With the sway that-that worm has on my uncle…" She shook her head as her lips drew into a line of bitter disgust, "no."
"Then we must hope the worm is stopped before your brother returns," Kakashi looked out at the horizon and wondered how much time that gave them. Perhaps a day or two?
Lady Éowyn furrowed her brow for a moment and something hard came over her expression. She slowly looked up at Kakashi and something fell into his stomach like a heavy rock. "Sensei…"
"No," he shook his head, and she looked marginally surprised.
"You know what I would ask of you?" she asked breathily, perhaps too shocked he could read what she intended to ask.
"You are angry, scared, desperate—I know that look well, and the answer you have come to, you will regret someday." The hard, almost dark look in her eyes did not go away, and her expression began to harden.
"Please." She said this simply with no waver or hesitance.
Kakashi narrowed his eye and shook his head once more, "I will not do that Lady Éowyn." He would not assassinate Wormtongue. It would lead to Kakashi's incarceration and execution, for he did not doubt the worm's hold would remain on the King or that he would be begged as the murderer. Such consequences would also mean he would not be able to protect Rohan as he had vowed beside Théodred's corpse.
"Surely—" she persisted, but he cut her off.
"You think it will do us all well, but it will not." Kakashi shook his head once. "Whatever spell Wormtongue has on King Théoden will undoubtedly remain even in—well…" He looked away again.
Éowyn clenched her fists tightly at her side. "Then my brother shall die."
"Or he may arrange a coup," Kakashi whispered, and Éowyn's eyes widened as her mouth fell open. He looked back up at the young woman and nodded his head slowly. "If you can sneak away from the worm's gaze, speak to the peasantry. I will do what I can for the time being."
Éowyn inhaled sharply through her nose and nodded slightly. The desperation that would have driven her to kill (or otherwise ensure the death of) Wormtongue was still there, but it changed slightly in the face of this new possibility.
"We must not harm my uncle," she murmured, and Kakashi nodded his head curtly. They both stiffened at the sound of the side door creaking open. Kakashi quickly jumped away with a chakra empowered jump and slid down far side of a roof to hide from whomever came out of the long house.
Over the course of the next few days Kakashi did what he could to sow the seeds of…well, rebellion. It was treason, but he picked the people carefully. The villagers he spoke to remembered fondly King Théoden before this madness set in, and they feared for the Third Marshall's safety upon return from avenging Lord Théodred. King Théoden was no longer the man these people remembered, and they knew (or at least suspected) Wormtongue had some hand in his change. They would prefer Lord Éomer ruled the Rohirrim, not a man who was under some spell and possibly leading them to their deaths with his insular and isolationist politics. Lady Éowyn had not come out to meet with the people yet, but it would only be a matter of time until Wormtongue's watch of her faltered somewhere.
…
Once Kakashi's health returned, along with those injured in the healing tent, the young Lord explained they would be returning to (what Kakashi presumed was) their capital: Edoras. Kakashi's body was still far weaker than he had ever felt before, and his muscles ached from the advent of lost chakra. Still, he was able to move around sufficiently, and he should be able to take care of himself if things came to a fight.
Kakashi heard raised voices and recognized the term the men around him called Kakashi behind his back. He did not know what the word meant exactly, but he recognized it and presumed it meant nothing good. There was an older and deeper voice than young Théodred that rang with authority and inspired angry annunciations from the other soldiers. Perhaps a rival commander who was unhappy with commander Théodred's decision to keep Kakashi within their camp?
Young Théodred made some form of protest and Kakashi could hear the scuffle from just outside the tent. Perhaps because of their age difference Théodred did not protest or fight as much as he should have. However, once both men entered the tent, he realized why the young lord might not have fought so hard. These men were related by blood, and they were perhaps brothers judging by their familiarity. He nodded to both men from his seat.
Éomer had drawn a sword and had it pointed at Kakashi. "Get up foreigner spy!" the man shouted and he heard that familiar word again but could not place it.
Kakashi narrowed his gaze slightly as he tried to infer what command the man gave, likely he was to get up or kneel; Kakashi did not know which.
"Éomer," Théodred pulled on his brother's (?) arm and his tone carried some exasperation and annoyance.
"We cannot allow this foreigner to be in our camp nor return home with us to Edoras. He may bring enemies down upon us." The man, Éomer (Kakashi presumed), spat out in disdain.
"Trust me cousin," Théodred reasoned, "he is not some spy. He is lost and no longer has a home."
"And why do you suppose that is?!" the young lord's relation shot back with a distrusting gaze set on Kakashi.
Kakashi, for his part, raised an eyebrow as he cocked his head to one side. He was trying to figure out what exactly they were arguing about, but he gathered from context and body language the man did not trust Kakashi and feared the former Hokage had something nefarious planned.
"Éomer, let my father decide his trustworthiness." Whatever the young lord said put a stop to the other lord's protests and he narrowed his gaze again.
"So be it, but he is not to be armed on the way back and he is not riding with our men." There seemed to be some sort of concession there, though Kakashi felt a stipulation had been tacked on.
"So he is to be given the dead's horses or dragged behind us?!" young Théodred protested something. The first part of the protest got a nasty scowl from Éomer but his expression quickly evened out.
"Yes, he drags behind us or you put your life in his hands and let him ride with you," Éomer then stormed out of the tent. Théodred's jaw was set and his gaze was hard but eventually he just shook his head.
He turned back to Kakashi and sighed. "Forgive my cousin," he said slowly so Kakashi could catch all the words. The former Hokage nodded slowly.
"Cousin is what—eto…eto…"Kakashi licked his lips as he tried to think of what word he wanted to use but he didn't know the word and ended up shaking his head. So instead he grabbed a fire poker and began to trace a family tree into the ground.
Théodred's eyes widened in understand, and he shook his head when Kakashi pointed to brother. Théodred took the poker and drew the necessary lines to indicate Éomer was his cousin. Kakashi nodded his head and the man then began explaining family relations to Kakashi. Before long, there was commotion throughout the camp and the distinct sound of people packing things up.
"Can I help?" Kakashi asked in stuttering speech, but Théodred only shook his head and told him to wait. So Kakashi did so but eventually staggered out of the healing tent as people began to take it down. Then he was face-to-face with a horse which sent off anxious energy in his presence. He watched armored horse warily in return. This was clearly how the men here fought and traveled, and Kakashi would undoubtedly have to travel by it too considering his lacking chakra.
Young Théodred came up behind Kakashi and was laughing. "He will not harm you," and his tone was reassuring so Kakashi got the gist of what he was saying. With Théodred's coaxing, he eventually reached out and stroked the large animal's mane. The horse calmed down at his touch and he found the creature wasn't too different from his ninken; in fact, these warriors treated their horses like ninken.
However, being on a horse was very different from being beside it. He was behind the young lord and very tense atop the creature. However, Kakashi would not be able to protest as they soon set off. He was only thankful he had to ride with Théodred or he may very well have fallen off of one of the riderless horses.
…
When Lord Éomer did return with some fewer riders but a larger force than had left with him from Edoras, he was not received well. He was immediately seized even as the other riders were greeted with tears of thanks and relief. Kakashi watched as the nervously faithful guard to King Théoden took him up to the long house and removed his weapons. The Third Marshall was treated like a criminal and not the nephew of their King. Perhaps he was though? He had acted treasonously, yet also in defense of their people.
Once the returned settled down, Kakashi had to focus on his work. He made sure the horses were watered and fed before he brushed their coats and checked their hooves. Some of the soldiers stayed behind and help him and the other stable hands, and that was when the murmuring began. Yes, Lord Éomer would be executed for treason. The King had forbade him to take so many of their forces out beyond their walls. The conversations were hushed and stifled cries of indignation rose from those faithful soldiers. Surely the King knows Lord Éomer has no ill-will toward him or his people. Surely he knows the soldiers are just as at fault.
Kakashi closed his eyes as the conversations continued and by the time all the horses were taken care of, rumors reached them that the execution would be at dusk, only a few hours away.
Kakashi caught the attention of some of the more vocal and faithful soldiers to Éomer, and explained what was set in motion. If enough of the commanding forces appealed to the King and asked for a trial, it would ensure there would be no execution that day. He watched anxiously as dusk approached and nearly a contingent of ranking officials beseeched the King to imprison the traitor and wait for a trial. Kakashi watched from a the shadows of the long house—having snuck in with the men—and saw this appealed to what slivers of the old King remained.
Lord Éomer, and his highest ranking supporters were all thrown in prison—the latter added by a twitchy Wormtongue who smelled rebellion brewing from them. Kakashi snuck out with the other men.
Wormtongue had acted on fear, and his fear left a power vacuum in the ranks of the Rohirrim. It would only weaken their forces when war came; however, this also had the benefit of keeping people in line. After all, all of these "traitors" would be executed once the tribunal had come and passed, and likely Wormtongue was ensuring only those he had his thumb over would be part of the judging committee.
Thus the mood was grim and wary throughout Edoras. It was such a stark contrast to when he arrived on the back of Lord Théodred's horse. Kakashi had been escorted by wary guards, but he could remember the people of this village had a curiosity about them and this sort of happiness in their movements that was only tempered by the collective hardships they had faced. Now…now he saw no children peeking around corners or playing in the streets. Now everyone wore dark colors instead of their faded blues and greens. Everyone watched over their shoulders and cast fearful gazes about their neighbors. Everyone suspected each other of betraying their "treasonous" actions to the King and they too would be executed with time.
Still, Kakshi found the brave souls congregating within the largest stable. They spoke in hushed voices in the dark. He crept in amongst them, and knew they could all easily hide with their faithful horses if guards came to check on any noises they perceived to come from here.
"This cannot stand," one man murmured—he had ridden out with Éomer. "The King must know the danger we face."
"True, those orcs…Urukai, they were not like anything we had ever faced before," another rider whispered, half haunted, half indignant.
"They were also in the company of goblins bearing the mark of the eye," yet another rider whispered, his body tense. The other men and the few women present all tensed at the mention of the eye.
"It is clear King Théoden is no longer…" Kakashi began as he tried to find the right words, "in control. Wormtongue has some…spell on him."
The others nodded grimly, though they moved about shiftily and acted as if thunder (or some other thing) would strike them down where they stood for saying any such thing of their king. Kakashi rushed to assure these people that he was just as reluctant to say such things.
"I remember King Théoden before Wormtongue. He was…good, strong. Leader for the people—he knew what to do even in the face of such terrible enemy." Despite his awkward speech and missing articles, the men and women around him understood and nodded grimly. "Lord Éomer share much of…the same qualities" Kakashi slowed down his speech to ensure he got the article he otherwise would have missed, but he felt he had conjugated something wrong. Rushing his speech never boded well grammatically.
"True," a woman spoke up slowly, "he has arranged much in preparation for war." The others nodded around them.
"Tell me," Kakashi began awkwardly, "are there rites of succession? Does one do combat or…" he trailed off as he thought of the word he wished to use, "contest rule before…a court?" He hoped his questions were clear.
The men looked from one to another uneasily, and the women frowned in uncertainty.
"There have been duels for rule of the country, but…" one of the riders shook his head.
"If Lord Éomer becomes King in such a way, he will not have the respect of the people," another rider stated. Kakashi nodded slowly.
"Even if a champion fought in the place of the King?" Kakashi asked carefully for clarification, and the grim faces he received were a response enough.
"I will speak with Lord Éomer," Kakashi said after a long moment. "He may have insight for us." Those around him looked surprised and Kakashi only gave an eye-smile in return. "I will not be seen by guard." He received some skeptical looks but they eventually passed.
Their small group talked for a moment more in hushed voices about how to find those loyal to Lord Éomer and where to meet next. Soon they were exiting in twos between guard rotations. A woman waited behind and came up to Kakashi. Fraela he believed she was called.
"Grim Traveler, the dog you trained for me had delivered a litter, would you take them and train them for war?" He blinked for a few seconds before nodding. She gave him more details and soon both of them left the stables after the guard rotation passed. This would make a third litter to train, but he was up for the challenge. Likely theses were winter dogs and so they were old enough to fight now. He remembered the first litter he had trained when he came to Edoras.
…
After his almost intimidating interview with King Théoden, Kakashi had been allowed to work in the stables and he had his own small home. It was not luxurious by any means, but he had lived in worse conditions. He had also become rather used to the horses and had even begun some training with them. The young lord was amused by his quick adaptation to their culture but what other choice did Kakashi have.
However, a few months into his new residency, Kakashi came across his first dog—likely they had avoided him until they were more certain of him. They were a different breed than he was used to; they were shaggier haired and less trained. Still, he found himself missing Pakun and Bull…he missed all of his ninken. So after work, Kakashi had taken the dog to one side and began working with it; of course, its owners saw them when he had just ordered it to charge him and trip him.
It was a soldier and his son who saw this and they were at first alarmed their dog would attack anyone, but Kakashi quickly set their minds at ease. With a single phrase in Japanese, the dog stood down and looked up at Kakashi expectantly. He smiled, "Good job, boy." This was in Rohirrim's speech and the dog began to playfully wag its tail. "Go see your master," he told the dog in the same language. The creature gave a bark and hurried over to the boy, still wagging his tail.
The soldier raised an eyebrow in surprise before promptly leaving with his son and their dog in tow. However, the next day Lord Théodred and the soldier returned with the dog. Kakashi was asked to show what he had done with the dog. A few commands in Japanese later, and the dog was attacking him again.
"You trained dogs back home?" the young lord asked, and Kakashi only nodded. "What did you train them to do?"
Kakashi took a moment to process the question fully, but finally answered. "They search, fight, protect, ah…." He didn't know the right word, "eto, eto…eto." He opted to mime it when the words escaped him.
"Message carrier?" the young lord questioned and Kakashi shrugged since he was not familiar with those words either.
"Do you have to use that odd language?" the soldier asked at this moment, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow in uncertainty. Lord Théodred clarified for him, and Kakashi nodded his head slowly in understanding.
"It help dog, ah… battle and home," no that wasn't clear, and Kakashi sighed. "Difference in battle and home. Different language help with that." He knew he was missing some minor things in his speech, but he believed he had made something coherent. He might understand the structure, but the small things, especially those that were different between his language and this one, still escaped him. Both men nodded in understanding and then Kakashi received a proposition he had not expected: would he train the dogs in the village to fight, and train their owners to make those commands.
Kakashi could only smile and nod his head. He finally got be work with dogs again, and although they weren't his ninken, they would do.
…
Sneaking into their barracks without using much chakra was harder than Kakashi thought it would be. There were several moments where he waited in a shadow while a guard surveyed the area around him. His heart beat wildly, for he was unused to such difficulties. He could be caught and then what? Wormtongue would have his head too, and Kakashi had vow to keep.
Kakashi made it to the lower level stairwell of the barracks when he saw a door leading to the prison open. As the guard began to enter the stairwell, Kakashi quickly attached himself to the ceiling, but he did have to use a little bit of chakra to stay in place—more as an added measure, but still. Once the guard had left the stairwell, Kakashi dropped back down and hurried to the door. He cracked it open and saw one guard at the far end.
Within the prison, there were several places he could hide, but he would not be able to engage with the prisoners unless he got closer to them. Which meant he had to distract the guard. Kakashi managed to get into a decent enough hiding place as he contemplated this. Normally he would just put a genjutsu on the man but he needed to conserve what chakra he had.
There were some pebbles here and there, likely brought in with the guard's shoes, and he supposed he could throw one into the door, but he would have to open it again. However, what if that alerted more guards and then where would they be? If he knocked the guard out physically, people would know someone had come to speak with the prisoners and that would increase security in the prison and outside of it. Kakashi supposed he could have also seen if Lady Éowyn would do the contacting, but the guards would pay close attention to their speech and everything they said would be reported back to the Wormtongue—there was also no guarantee she would be given visitation rights to her brother.
What to do…what to do…?
Despite the late hour, the guard looked fresh-faced, so there was no guarantee the man would fall asleep anytime soon. Kakashi also didn't know what plants in this world could be used to make a sleep inducing agent, so what option did that leave?
It would be best if Kakashi put an illusion on the guard, but he couldn't do that every time he came to speak with Lord Éomer—it would eventually kill Kakashi. What to do… He would have to make this one conference with Lord Éomer worth it, but how?
…Lady Éowyn… he could set up a mundane code for them. He could teach it now to Lord Éomer, and then teach it to Lady Éowyn. She could plead with the King (Wormtongue) to speak with her brother before she lost him. Yes… but what code? It would have to be innocent enough…perhaps memories from their childhood?!
The door leading from the main level of the barracks opened again, and a guard came back down. The two guards talked for a moment or so before they switched off. So Kakashi had a window of about ten minutes…
Once the stairwell door closed, Kakashi wove through the necessary handsigns and soon the new guard was under his illusion. Kakashi quickly crept over to Éomer's cell, although he was panting slightly from the effort it had taken to make the illusion.
"Lord Éomer," he whispered before having to throw a pebble at the man to get him to wake up. He woke with a start and with an almost wild look in his eyes. Then his gaze alighted on Kakashi and his eyes widened in surprise.
"What do you do here?"
Kakashi shook his head, "Wormtongue will pick men against you for tribunal," he stated quickly and whenever he did speak fast he always missed things in his speech. "There are men willing to follow you—you make better King at this point."
The man reared back in alarm and shook his head. "No…I couldn—"
"Isengard will raze Edoras without strong leader." That shut up the man, but he still shook his head.
"On my way back, I came across a strange company. A man, an elf, and a dwarf. They may come here and they may bring aid," he almost seemed uncertain, or perhaps it was just desperate hope Kakashi was misreading.
"So we wait for them?" Kakashi could not keep the incredulousness out of his voice.
"Perhaps," Éomer replied, almost as if he was questioning himself. He then shook his head. "Regardless, the tribunal is not for a week?" he guessed, and Kakashi nodded slightly. "I anticipate this company arriving sooner."
"Fine," Kakashi did not have time to persuade the man otherwise. "Lady Éowyn will keep in touch. You must have innocent code though, perhaps childhood memory?" The blonde man was confused for a moment before his eyes widened and then narrowed.
"You will not drag my sister—" he began to hiss, but Kakashi cut him off.
"She has contemplated hiring me to kill Wormtongue, she may be driven to do it herself if left idle." Éomer inhaled sharply and then nodded.
"So be it." They quickly hashed out a code, but as they were coming to the end of it the lord saw the guard standing dumbly near the cell. "What have you done to him? Is he in our favor?"
Kakashi shook his head but did not answer. He believed his time was coming to a close anyways. "She will be here as soon as she can. Feign sleep before the other guard comes."
Kakashi then crept back to his initial hiding spot and released the genjutsu. A minute passed and then a new guard came down. They talked for a minute or so and switched. Once the new guard settled down, Kakashi snuck back into the stairwell. He listened carefully for movement before he moved into the barracks proper. A few more moments when he was nearly caught passed, and then he was out of the barracks.
Kakashi only breathed out in relief when he was several houses away. He knew he had relied heavily on his chakra when he was in the elemental lands, but this infiltration mission only drove home how much he used to rely on it. He was exhausted and his nerves felt like they were frayed. Everything he used to do with such ease was now immensely difficult—even with people less perceptive than he was used to.
When he made it back to his hovel, his hands were still shaking. He found a bottle of some brew a neighbor had given him for their trained dog—he had not seen the point in explaining he did not drink and so accepted it in the end. Kakashi took a swig of the alcohol and nearly gagged. It was bitter and had a distinct aftertaste of mildew. Still, a few sips later and his shaking lessened.
For a former Hokage, it was ridiculous that little infiltration mission had alarmed him so much. Perhaps he was out of practice? That or the humiliating fact he could have been caught and killed because he could not use his chakra as much as he normally would have in that scenario. Worse…if he had gone about it how he normally would have, he would probably have died… Either way he could have died. Died from being caught or died from using too much chakra. Despite not fearing death anymore, there was something unsettling about dying from doing what he did best or not doing it well enough. Moreover…Lady Éowyn… He couldn't leave this world with her still under the threat of Wormtongue. She was his student, and he had always had a sort of over-protectiveness for them. Sometimes…well, it even felt parental in nature.
In many ways, Kakashi supposed his shakiness came from the familiar situation in such an utterly different world. It was so similar and yet it was distinctly different from anything he had ever tried before. Yes he was stealthy in nature, but that didn't mean he could just stand in front of a guard and not be seen—at least without the aid of an illusion. He also had to consider who all would be put in danger by his own failure. Kakashi tiredly rubbed his face and put the drink away before stumbling to bed. He was exhausted and more than just physically.
…
The young lord laughed along with his cousin, Lady Éowyn. They were teaching him to ride as they ran the dozen or so dogs Kakashi had trained. They had gone past the valley Edoras was located in and were nearing the closest settlement.
Lady Éowyn kindly gave him some pointers with her eyes full of mirth when Kakashi nearly fell off the horse for a third time. Yes, it was so funny how he could not ride these animals. Hands clenching tightly to the reigns, they pushed the horses and dogs further. Part of this was to raise the dogs' stamina but also follow their trail even if they got too far ahead of the dogs.
Eventually they rested at one of the outer settlements, and would likely stay the night. Kakashi trained the dogs later into the evening than his companions, as such, the young man and woman quickly went to sleep in the quarters their host had cleared for them. Kakashi eventually went to the barn and made sure the dogs slept after the exercise before he decided he would sleep with them. It was not that cold out and the hay was warm. He had slept for at least a few hours when he heard something outside the barn. There were three people, they were creeping through the settlement, and he could hear the crackle of a fire, but it was small—perhaps a torch?
Kakashi woke fully when he heard the barn door open. He quickly got into position to view the intruder and, by the look of him, he was a Wild Man. Théodred had told Kakashi about these men, so he also knew the man was too far into the West Fold. How did he get this far? Was this a scouting—the man was going to set the barn on fire Kakashi realized when he saw the man preparing to lower the torch into a pile of hay.
Kakashi quickly gave a shout to the dogs as he jumped into the man's field of view. He quickly attacked. The Wild Man was initially surprised by the yell and jerked his hand back and spun around in time to get punched in the gut. Before the man could drop the torch, Kakashi wrested it from the man's slack grip and threw the torch out of the barn and onto the dirt path outside where it rolled before sputtering out. However,, the Wild Man had now regained his bearings and began to draw his sword.
Kakashi managed to jump out of the swords reach before he ducked under a wide arching slash. He told the dogs to flank and they all rushed the Wild Man. Kakashi managed to get a punch in before he had to jump back again. The front of his shirt ripped open as he narrowly missed another attack, but one of the dogs was not so lucky and gave a pitiful cry. Still another dog managed to get a hold of the enemy's leg and bite hard. The man cried out in startled pain. This gave the other dogs their opportunity, and Kakashi joined them.
The former Kage quickly hit several pressure points in the Wild Man's arm, while the dogs began to charge. The man let go of the sword in a gasp of pain before he began to scream as the dogs took him down. Kakashi quickly ordered for them to kill, for their confrontation had garnered attention from the other Wild Men who had accompanied this scout. The first Wild Man's cries tapered off into wet gargling noises while the dogs formed up behind Kakashi with their teeth bared and hackles raised.
The sword in Kakashi's hand was much heavier, duller, and longer than he was used to. He went through a few kata but they were awkward with the sword, so he mimicked the Wild Man's movements in their earlier fight and the sword was easier to handle. That was annoying; Kakashi had been so looking forward to obtaining his own weapon here once his probationary period was over. Even with the King's consent to stay in the village, Kakashi had felt eyes on him wherever he went, and he had never been given any weapons to defend himself.
The Wild Men had managed to light one house on fire, a farm house, but now both of them were coming toward the barn to see what was taking their ally so long. Kakashi signaled for the dogs to charge the two figures approaching, for the former Kage saw the settlement waking up and rush out of their homes. Some even began to set up a line from the well to the farm house.
In the charge at the Wild Men, two more dogs fell but six managed to take down one of the men. Kakashi rushed the last one.
Swords clashed, but Kakashi was stronger—even if he was not pumping chakra into his limbs to augment them. Their deadlock had given one of the remaining dogs time to latch onto the man's leg and tear out chunk of muscle. The Wild Man howled and pain and cursed at Kakashi who quickly slashed with a back handed motion at the man. The Wild Man managed to parry and attempted a counter attack, but Kakashi rolled out of the way quickly went for another attack while he signaled the dogs to circle the man.
The Wild Man looked between Kakashi and the kill circle around him. The man was going to do something desperate—he could tell by the look in his eye. Then Kakashi saw, as if he had a sharingan, as the man turned to run through the dogs while swinging his sword almost wildly at them.
Kakashi would have shaken his head at the man turning his back on him, but instead just ended the man's life promptly. As he pulled the sword out of the man's chest, he saw Lady Éowyn and the young lord had joined the other citizens in the chain heading to the brightly blazing farm house.
Kakashi looked at the dogs who were still growling and had their hackles raised as if another threat was going to appear out of nowhere. With a word, he had the dogs standing down, though they were still tense.
Kakashi crouched down and tore off a piece of the Wild Men's clothes and held it out to the dogs. He ordered them to track and one-by-one the dogs did as told. Hopefully they could calm down from the battle if given such a simple task. The surviving dogs began sniffing around the settlement, and Kakashi kept a close eye on them. He followed them to the edge of the settlement and then kept following them as they picked up the Wild Men's trail. The former Hokage could see the tracks in the earth that coincided with the dogs lead, so this was indeed the trail and there were only three wild Men.
They followed the trail for a half hour until they came to the Wild Men's mounts which they had left tied to a make shift stand of sorts. Kakashi had the dogs stand down when he saw them begin to move further westward. The dogs sat and Kakashi began to examine what he could off the area round the horses. There were indeed only three Wild Men, no other horses with them. The horses went west. If there were more Wild Men, they were farther West. Kakashi moved back to the horses and found a sheath still attached to the horses saddle and so put his sword into it while reassuring the animal he meant to harm. From there, Kakashi untied the reigns from the stand and began to lead the horses back after telling the dogs to follow.
By the time he returned to the settlement, the farmhouse was smoldering and the roof had collapsed in. Lady Éowyn and Lord Théodred appeared exhausted and worried by the dead Wild Men and dogs. They saw him approaching and relief flashed over their faces. "We thought—" Lady Éowyn began before shaking her head.
"I found…their" he thought that was the right word, "horse thirty-minute walk from here," Kakashi stated in his less than articulate speech—wait was he supposed to add something to show count and possession? The foreign words still felt so clunky and odd on his tongue, and conjugating anything correctly was miracle for him, plus all the nonsensical things in the language he could never figure out.
Théodred only nodded to Kakashi's words, and the cousins approached to examine the horses and their satchels. "These are horses from the herd," Lady Éowyn remarked in a mix of surprise and indignation. Théodred made no response, but his lips pressed into a thin line.
Kakashi moved to the dead Wild Men's bodies and began to search for any orders on them while the two cousins searched the horses. However, he stilled in his actions when Lady Éowyn spoke up in shock and alarm. "What are you doing?!"
"Orders could be with person. You search for orders too, yes?"
She furrowed her brow for a moment, but Théodred quickly answered, "Yes I am doing so but they are just recently dead." The young commander shifted in unease, and Kakashi stared back at him blankly. What was the problem?
Théodred sighed and turned back to what he was doing. Lady Éowyn was appalled by this and began having quick words with her cousin which left Kakashi to riffling through the bodies. Wait…was this some respecting the dead issue? These men were the enemy; how did such morals apply to them? Shaking his head, Kakashi finished his search and found a small leather-bound book on the second Wild Man he searched. He promptly gave it to the young lord and moved onto the last Wild Man who still lay by the barn door.
Kakashi found nothing and quickly returned to the cousins, who had the dogs obediently sitting around them. The dogs looked a bit macabre with the blood around their paws and muzzles; he'd have to wash each of them, and he'd have to gather the dead dogs and burry them. He stopped in front of the cousins and would have put his hands in his pockets if he had pockets. He'd have to invest in pants with pockets—surely Middle Earth had some.
Lord Théodred was still reading through, what Kakashi assumed was, the Wild Men journal while Lady Éowyn stoked the mane of the horse nearest her. Kakashi crouched down and beckoned some of the dogs over to him. Giving praises in the languages of Middle Earth, he began to give each dog a good head rub while also examining for any injuries. One had a lost a tooth somehow, while another had a cut over the eye.
"You fought of those men with the dogs." Lady Éowyn spoke up quietly, while her cousin worked through the journal as quickly as he could. Kakashi nodded once. "You know how to fight then?" Again Kakashi nodded and the woman nodded but she furrowed her brow slightly, "Yet you have no weapons of your own?"
Hmm…now how to explain his probationary status since he didn't know that word in common or the language of the Rohirrim. "I am new to Edoras," he started slowly, "ah…no one trust me with weapon."
"That is not the case," Théodred said like he was half listening and half frustrated at whatever he was reading. He shook his head and closed the journal, though kept a finger in the pages to mark the page. He then looked over at Kakashi directly, "People trust you but you have not asked or bought weapons for yourself so most people assume you do not know how to use weapons and therefore do not offer them."
It took a moment for all of that to process but Kakashi raised an incredulous eyebrow. It would have been that simple? Though Kakashi did not make much as a stable hand or through training the dogs—hell, he'd probably lose money because of the deaths and injuries—so he probably couldn't afford a sword.
Théodred shook his head again, "I have not found much of anything in this journal yet. I will have to take a day to sift through everything, but the night is pressing on and we should all get back to sleep.
Kakashi nodded his head, "I…" he thought how to conjugate the next verb before continuing, "will tend to dog before I go to bed." He thought that came out all right. Théodred nodded his head and beckoned Lady Éowyn to follow him back to the house they were staying in. Kakashi was left with the dogs, which he reassured, petted, and treated as best he could before he left the barn. He wondered though…why had a scouting party of Wild Men come all the way out here only to light a settlement on fire? What did that do for them? They were too far away from the bulk of their forces to maintain any hold on the settlement, and surely news would have reached Edoras if a large band of Wild Men had crossed their territory? What purpose could this attack have served? He shook his head and finally joined his traveling companions in the building.
…
Lady Éowyn managed to slip away from the constant watch of Wormtongue and his men. She met Kakashi in the stables along with those who also saw the doom bearing down on Edoras. She kept her hood up and quickly moved into one of the deeper shadows, just as Kakashi had taught her.
The meeting would be quick for they only had ten or so minutes before a guard came around the stables. So once Lady Éowyn joined them, they dove into the updates. "Éomer believes the only way to be accepted as king peacefully is for Uncle to name him as successor," she stated after they had finished the more mundane matters—like relaying details on their stores and other equipment being sent to Helm's Deep.
"We know as much, did we not—a combat trial would not be acceptable in these times," one older guard said with a sigh, but they had still hoped to pursue that thread in case it might yield something.
Lady Éowyn nodded and elaborated on what they each were thinking. "Uncle has lost much of his strength and there would be little honor in his win. Éomer also believes such a duel would be barbarous and lead to future soldiers challenging his reign," this added a new level of complexity to pursuing that thread, which was a shame.
"Wormtongue would never let the King name Lord Éomer successor before the tribunal," Kakashi added, though he did understand the Third Marshall's reasoning, and it was solid. Wait… "What if he threatened Wormtongue until he passed successorship?" It was a foolish idea, but the coward would likely do anything to save his own skin.
"Once we release Wormtongue, those who assisted Lord Éomer would likely be killed for treason," one woman stated grimly.
"True, but what about an uprising? Or changing the rule to a…" Kakashi had no clue what electoral was in their tongue, "a council who chooses or the people chose the leader?" Everyone within the meeting were taken aback and alarmed by this prospect. These people needed a strong leader, but blood line would not be enough. If blood line was ever enough, then the Hokage would have always been Senju, but the council and elite ninja knew they needed someone to strike fear into their enemies but also lead the country onto prosperity.
Lady Éowyn sighed heavily and shook her head. They had little time left before a guard came by. "My brother is still convinced aid will come to us, and we have exhausted our other options. Until Hamlin can find other guards sympathetic to our cause, we can move no further in helping Éomer escape the prison."
Those in the meeting nodded in understanding. It was silent for a long beat before Kakashi motioned everyone to duck behind the stable walls. The guard passed by and after a minute, people began leaving in pairs. Kakashi held Lady Éowyn behind.
"What is it Grim Traveler?" she asked as she eyed the last of their secret council leave.
"Lady Éowyn got away from Wormtongue's gaze and she should make the most of it." Kakashi pulled his sword out from its sheath and handed it to her.
"The patrols have increased; there will be no place we can go Sensei." Kakashi only eye-smiled and gestured about them. Lady Éowyn shook her head. "The stables will not have enough room."
"We will not spar. You will do kata." It was funny how she could get annoyed at him for these cheerful response—it was like having genin again.
The young woman frowned at the word but he began to demonstrate and she nodded in understanding. He then began to show her the kata Théodred had shown him once Kakashi had gotten his own sword. He also taught her the kata he had modified from home to use with the broad swords. They kept at it for nearly an hour, breaking when patrols moved past the stables.
After one such break, Lady Éowyn smiled over at him with her hair matted against her forehead. "I have missed this Kakashi-sensei. I thought I had nearly forgotten the feel of steel." He had missed teaching too, and he could see this was a kind of cathartic release for her.
He let the silence settle for a brief moment before asking: "Does Lady Éowyn envision she is hacking Wormtongue to pieces?" The young woman froze at his words with her eyes wide. Kakashi couldn't resist it; he felt the laugh bubble up inside him, so he let it out in a low chuckle lest he attract guards.
The young woman began to blush slightly and looked away from Kakashi almost annoyed, "You should not joke of such things."
That only made him chuckle more. "But I was serious," he managed to get out. "Lady Éowyn's response is humorous." She looked over at him sharply with her lips pressed together tightly and her posture spoke of indignation.
"And why is that?!" she practically hissed.
He regained his composure, but his eye likely showed he still felt some mirth. "Because Lady Éowyn was thinking just that but she feels it is bad to imagine attacking one who haunts her every step." She look scared now, and Kakashi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Lady Éowyn, there is no shame in anger, especially when warranted, but you must never let anger blind you." He shifted slightly and wondered if he should speak of home; a look at the young woman said he should.
He swallowed and tried to gauge if Lady Éowyn really needed to hear the story. The woman looked almost scared of herself and her own thoughts—damn it. He tried to start speaking and had to cough slightly to get his voice to start working. "You know I had taught before," he began almost conversationally, and the young woman nodded, though was thrown but the seemingly random change in conversation.
Kakashi licked his lips as he found it suddenly hard to speak about his genin team. "When I began teaching them," he started slowly, "they were hopeless." Lady Éowyn raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "One girl, she thought only of a boy on the team," Sakura was always the easier one to talk about, but it was still hard to get the words out. "She did not train seriously until the two boys left."
"The boys?" Lady Éowyn prompted after a moment, and Kakashi took a deep breath.
"One was like sunshine, so bright," Naruto could make any terrible situation turnout a little better, more so if he had to punch anyone. However, the boy's optimism was not the only thing Kakashi had had to deal with at the time. "Unfortunately, people in the village did not see this and distrusted him. He was lonely all his life." Éowyn looked down at her lap, perhaps feeling empathy for the lonely child Naruto had been.
"The other boy was lonely too," Kakashi began slowly again once Lady Éowyn had processed his words. "He lost everyone in his family, and he swore revenge. He hated weakness, especially his own and began…ah" how did he phrase this, "he did not like the other boy being as strong as him." Hopefully that captured what the issue was. "His anger began to take over, and his search for power…" Kakashi looked down at his lap where his hands lay, and he clenched at the fabric of his pants. "He nearly killed the other boy and hurt many others to sate his revenge and anger." The words were slow but still came out clumsy.
Lady Éowyn looked up at Kakashi after this though and looked more than a little surprised. "Did your wayward student ever come home, or was he forever lost to his hate?"
Kakashi's expression lightened at this and he shook his head. "No, the bright boy, he helped the other come back home and leave his hate in the past." Granted, they had to blow each other's arms off afterwards but they still came home in more-or-less one piece.
Kakashi shook his head. "What I mean to say, Lady Éowyn, is…" how to say this? "Anger has its place, and men like Wormtongue should be dealt with, but let anger rule and you will lose everything."
The young woman blinked a few times as she processed his words, and finally she nodded. "So anger can be a focus, but I must not follow it always." Kakashi nodded and the young woman smiled slightly. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei. Shall we—"
Kakashi motioned her to get down and a few seconds later another guard passed by—had it taken him so long to tell that story? Lady Éowyn sighed after the guard left.
"It has gotten very late. Morning is only hours away. I must go, Sensei." She nodded to him before giving him back his sword. She then began making her way back to the longhouse.
Kakashi went to his own hovel afterwards but found he could not sleep, so he opted to instead sit on the roof of a building which had a decent view of the valley below. It was from that position, as dawn turned into early morning, he saw the three dots on the horizon move slowly toward Edoras. Given the pace he judged they would be there by mid-day and he could likely nap in the meantime. Perhaps these were scouts returning?
TBC
A/N:
Again, probably no updates until May or mid-may. But there will probably be only three or so chapters left depending on how many flashbacks I put in. Thank you for reading ~ with love, depressedchildren