The Journey of Day and Night

by depressedchildren

He would not change what happened for anything, and neither would she. They never expected to have children together, to let their pasts go. But now they find their family breaking apart due to the struggles between the free peoples and the Eye in the East. Will they forsake Middle Earth, or become weapons of change? Sequel to "The Tale of Day and Night"

5. Chapter 5: The Council of Elrond

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or Naruto; both works belong to their respective creators and publishers. I gain nothing but writing and editing experiences from this fanfic.

Full Summary: Ultimately, they would not change what happened for anything in the world. At long last they had a family, a family both had dreamed for since their genin days. Neither of them ever expected to have children together, nor let their pasts go. But here they were: content, and in peace at long last. But now they find their family, their peace, breaking apart due to the struggles of the free peoples against the Power in the East. Will they forsake the world they have so few ties to, or will they become weapons of change? WARNINGS: OC's, gender-bending.

A/N: I am so sorry for the very long wait. If I haven't updated in three months, please feel free to shoot me a PM because chances are I'm just having writer's block and need to be pressured to get over it; especially if I am continually updating my other projects. (However, if all my updates stop, chances are it's school that's getting in the way, plus writer's block.) Of course, these fanfics will be slow to update regardless because I tend to do long chapters and I'm editing two at a time, which is time consuming and exhausting, but if an update doesn't come out in five months again that's just not acceptable. Anyways, I do appreciate everyone's reviews, and if you're still reading thank you and again I apologize for the wait. Also, thank you to those who have either put this on alert or favorite ~ with love and apologies, depressedchildren

P.S. I'm not hating on Boromir or anything, but just following the book's portrayal and matching it with how the characters would react to him.

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Chapter 5: The Council of Elrond

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3017, October 18

Sasuke listened to the dobe humming to their son, Dusk. The girls had all been screaming their heads off until they were nearly five months, yet their newborn son was almost too quiet. He would glance over at his son in the dobe's arms and he would note his overly pale complexion and heavy breathing. He wanted to run a diagnostic scan, but he didn't know how to with his lame arm.

He turned to his unconscious daughter and noted evidence of a rather risky medical jutsu, one which directly transferred nutrients into the patient. The longer a patient was on the jutsu the more likely negative side-effects occurred. But he understood why the dobe had likely taught the girls the jutsu, they had no IV drips and this was the best they could do.

He had seen Tinnu but it seemed Dawn had secluded herself somewhere, and thus he had yet to see his eldest daughter since he had woken up. However, Tinnu was certainly doing her best to fill him in on what had been happening for the past several days. She talked about the large library and gardens, and of course the infamous Obasan he had yet to meet. She also gestured for the dobe to come closer before she continued speaking.

"Onee-chan and I have been teaching Obasan how to use a bow and knives!"

Sasuke did not see that going over very well with Aragorn or the elf lord who apparently was her father. The dobe however, she looked over at her daughters in surprise before her face split in half. "Perhaps I should give her a few pointers?"

"Cool!" Tinnu grinned like her mother and Sasuke found himself shaking his head.

"I'm to assume neither her father nor Aragorn know about this?" Tinnu nodded simply, as if not seeing what was wrong, and Sasuke sighed. That would be a headache to deal with when either male found out.

Even though Aragorn had trained his daughters, Sasuke knew the ranger was not at all comfortable with women knowing how to fight. To him, women were something to be protected and a companion of sorts, but not a companion one was completely honest to. In this world, women were not supposed to know the horrors of war and thus were supposed to comfort the men when they came back from battle, but they were not actually supposed relate with them about it.

In a way, Sasuke supposed, his daughters were the one exception for the ranger. Perhaps Aragorn did not always view his nieces as women because of their ability to fight, or perhaps he just accepted that they were from a different culture that he had to begrudgingly respect despite how alien it was to him. But that did not change the fact that for all other women, he was entirely uncomfortable with them being able to fight.

"Oh stop worrying so much," the dobe was grinning again, though there was still fatigue on her face, "I think it's a good thing for Arwen-hime to know how to fight."

Sasuke dropped his head back, "Of course you do, Dobe, but remember, this is a different culture and—"

"They can suck it up," she responded curtly. The dobe then cocked her head to one side and pursed her lips, "Ya know what? I think I'm going to go find Arwen-hime and take her up on that walk through the gardens," the dobe then turned to Dusk, whom she was bouncing slightly, "How does that sound? Hmm? Do you wanna walk with Obasan and Kaasan?"

"Swaddle him well," Sasuke drawled and looked over at the twins. Tinnu seemed to like sitting next to her sister

The dobe rolled her eyes, "I know that," she then began to swaddle Dusk against the autumn chill. "It won't be a long walk and I'll be sure to bring Dawn back with me."

Sasuke nodded his head, and settled down into the chair a little more, his body felt lethargic. However, when a shadow fell over him, he turned to look at the dobe looming over him. She then leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Sasuke blinked a few times at the suddenness of her action, but he noted she was smiling in relief but also tiredness.

"I'm glad you're awake," she bowed her head slightly and held Dusk close to her chest, "I missed you, Teme."

Sasuke felt a little heat come over his face and he saw Tinnu looking anywhere but at them; Sasuke exhaled and couldn't help but smile a little. He stood up and brushed some of the dobe's hair out of the way before he cupped her cheek and made her look up. She was blushing a little from her confession and Sasuke pressed his forehead against hers.

"Thank you for looking after our family," he murmured and the dobe pulled back with an annoyed look on her face.

"Of course I'd do that—"

"You know what I meant," and her embarrassed glare said she did. She looked after their family despite that others needed her help too. She put her family and her own needs first instead of everyone else's. It was quite the feat for the dobe, and Sasuke really was glad she had.

"Sh-shut up bastard," she pulled out of his touch and hurried out the door, only to reveal Aragorn prepared to knock on the door. The ranger was not surprised at the dobe's choice of words, though that was likely because he was nervous about something, and Sasuke could imagine just what had him so nervous.

Tinnu fidgeted for a moment before hopping off the bed, "I'm going to go find the hobbits," likely the girl had an idea as to why her uncle was so nervous and she wanted to give them time alone. Her guilty look said it all. She felt bad that her uncle felt guilty for Minuial's condition.

Aragorn slowly entered the room and Sasuke stared at the man for a long moment as he bowed his head to look at Minuial with remorse. Aragorn didn't speak so Sasuke sighed and spoke first, "Could you prop Minuial up," he doubted the dobe had done much with their daughter beyond bathing her. The girl's limbs needed to be moved to ensure proper blood circulation and muscle stimulation.

Aragorn looked at him in surprise for a moment before complying and propping Minuial against the headboard. Sasuke then moved to grab one of Minuial's arms with his good hand. He tried to knead the muscle but he was ineffectual using only one hand. "What are you doing?" the ranger was genuinely interested and he had his brow furrowed as he tried to determine the purpose behind Sasuke's actions.

"Her muscles will atrophy, there's no preventing that, but we can try to stimulate her muscles so that they won't become completely useless. She also needs to be moved regularly to keep her blood circulation good," Sasuke replied almost clinically. He could remember the lectures Kabuto had given him and he was never so happy for it.

Aragorn nodded slowly. He generally trusted what Sasuke had to say when it came to healing, and when he could, the ranger would implement Sasuke's practices. Aragorn tentatively reached out for Minuial's other arm and began to knead the muscles as Sasuke would have. He gave the ranger little instruction, but he still managed to do what a healer was supposed to do. Sasuke then instructed the ranger for him to gently move Minuial's arm at the various joints.

It was as the ranger was doing this that he spoke about the matter he had come in to discuss and Sasuke just kept his eyes trained on Minuial's arm as it was manipulated this way and that. "Frodo had felt as if someone had been watching us, and I had too, but I should have…" the ranger's hands stilled for a moment before he resumed the movements, "I had thought perhaps it was a spy of the enemy or… well, I should have known or—"

Sasuke cut the man off. He was annoyed and angry with the ranger but he knew his daughters well; it did him no good blaming Aragorn. "And if you had spotted them, made them come out of hiding, what then?"

Aragorn opened his mouth to say something, perhaps that he would have demanded they go home, but then his mouth fell shut and Sasuke nodded his head. "Exactly, you know that if you had told them to leave they would have just followed after you or manipulated things so that they had to stay with the company."

Sasuke made a noise at the back of his throat in frustration. The dobe had told him what had happened while he was unconscious and about the heart-to-heart she had with Dawn and Tinnu, although he wondered if they had just been saying that to her, he knew that it did sound like them. They wanted to practice the skills they had taught them. They wanted to have an adventure, even if it was at the expense of their parent's sanity.

Part of him wondered if they had driven their daughters away, but he had to push those insecurities to the side, "And if you had known they were there, do you really think it would have changed anything?"

The ranger pulled back from Minuial and looked away, "No." The word seemed to take a lot out of the man, and Sasuke could see him clenching his fists. He still felt like he was to blame, that perhaps he should have done something.

Sasuke felt the same, they all felt the same. There was no reason his family should have been in such a condition but yet it had happened; it all could have been prevented if they had done a better job as parents or the girls had obeyed them.

"The only ones at fault are the girls, the dobe, and myself—" Sasuke began before Aragorn whipped his head around to face him with his eyes wide in protest.

"But if I had visited more or taken them out hunting—"

"What?" Sasuke interrupted in a short frustrated voice, "Do you really think that would have stopped them from wanting to seek out adventure, to be heroes like their mother? Or perhaps we should have never trained any of them, then they would have never had any notions to go out and fight."

Aragorn pulled back and flinched slightly, as if Sasuke's words had struck him. He had been thinking these things since he woke up that morning, maybe he and the dobe should have completely left their heritage behind, but then the thought of his daughters being defenseless made him sick to his stomach.

Aragorn sat heavily in the chair opposite Sasuke, "They wouldn't be them then," he murmured and shook his head. His daughters just wouldn't have been the same if they didn't know the skills they knew. It was an unsettling thought to think of who they might have been if they hadn't picked up weapons and their various ninja skills. Would they have just been simple girls, only clever because of their uncle's lessons? Knowing how to fight had given them a spark, a sort of strength he struggled to find in the girls and women of Bree. He would never want to take that away from them.

So what Aragorn said was true, the girls wouldn't be them, if they hadn't been taught how to fight. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement with the man, even though this shouldn't have happened to his family, it wouldn't have gone any other way.

But what else had he expected from his daughters? If he and the dobe had gotten to them faster, or if he had not shoved his hand into that Nazgûl in frustration and desperation, he might have intervened before something happened. But they had to now live with the fact that they had not, and they had to hope, hope that Minuial would wake up soon.

"Will you help me," Sasuke asked as he moved to knead Minuial's arm muscles again, but it was no good with his lame.

Aragorn nodded and moved over to take Sasuke's place, "How does your arm feel?"

"If I don't move it or touch it, it's tolerable," Sasuke saw no point in lying, the ranger would just push him for more details and perhaps even do an inspection of his arm, which would just be unnecessary pain for himself.

Aragorn made a humming noise as he continued to knead he arm muscles. They sat in silence for a long moment in which Aragorn began to rotate the arm in various directions to help with circulation.

"Once you're done with her arms you'll have to do the same to her legs." Aragorn stilled for a moment and Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You're a healer, there's nothing improper in it unless you make it improper." Which the ranger wouldn't, and they both knew that.

"It is hard to understand the world you come from my friend. You have such advanced knowledge of the body and yet at times…how can your healers be so distanced from their patients?"

"Because they die, and being attached to the patient can cloud the healer's judgment; like continuing treatment when it is unnecessary and thus potentially hurting the patient or exhausting one's self past reason." Sasuke didn't really even have to think as those words came tumbling out of his mouth.

In Orochimaru's hideouts there was no room for bedside manner, or getting attached to the test subjects. Most of the people Kabuto had him operate on were prisoners or failed experiments, they were deemed to die already, and if they survived the operations, Kabuto just experimented on them more and had Sasuke oversee. Yet his recent patients had been his girls, and he would always be attached to them, so he had to remind himself to think clinically about their treatments too...which didn't always work.

Aragorn nodded grimly, but he moved Minuial back into a laying position and pulled the sheets back. He then began to calmly knead her calf muscles and rotate her ankle. When Minuial's comatose body had been properly looked after, the two men settled in for a quiet afternoon. Occasionally the ranger would break it up by singing some tune under his breath, and when they did speak again, it was about the recent movement in the Grey Company or a question on how best to treat a person suffering one ailment or another.

…

Dawn had crept out of her room around sunrise. She couldn't stand the silence of her room, and although there were many places for her to go to now that Obasan had showed her around, Dawn didn't feel like going to any of them. Each place—the library, gardens, or training area—were all just a distraction, and then she would feel a suffocating weight fall on her.

Minuial and Tousan were in comas. Kaasan hardly left Tousan's side and looked more worn with each day that passed. Her family was falling apart and all because they had followed needlessly after Aragorn and had confronted the Nazgûl. The hobbits could have scared the wraiths away, they could have…or at least they had been prepared to until they had appeared there by the fire.

Her parents were the strongest people she knew, but this last month had been…and Kaasan just seemed so sad and lost. Tousan was here physically but he wasn't really there, and it was hurting her mother. It was hurting all of them. Tousan had seemed so strong, so invulnerable, yet seeing him unconscious… It felt like the ground was falling out from under her, and Kaasan seemed to feel the same.

Her family was falling apart, was being torn apart, and it was terrifying. What could she do to stop this? What could she do to help? She wanted to help her mother who seemed so troubled by Tousan's conditions and perhaps something else.

Dawn hugged the pillar she was leaning against tighter, and pressed the cool stone against her cheek as she stared down at the valley wherein the rising sun peeked over the mountain peaks to the east. It made the shimmering mists in the valley below change into oranges and pinks.

She leaned more heavily against the pillar and wished for a moment that its cold and unrelenting surface was Haldarad. She missed her ranger. She missed him so much, the only person in her life that seemed stable and constant. Because now not even Tousan was constant, he was fallible too.

It was her fault though, wasn't it? They had wanted adventure and they had gone off after their uncle. They had wanted to show that they were warriors for once in their lives. They had wanted to use the skills their parents had taught them, but to what end? Their family was just falling apart after it had so carefully been put back together with Kaasan's pregnancy. And Dusk! Oh Dusk…all the traveling had hurt him too, and…she swallowed thickly, what if he died because of it? It would devastate Kaasan, and with half their family just hanging on to life…

Dawn didn't want her family to fall apart any further, she just wanted to protect them somehow. She didn't want the Nazgûl to hurt her family anymore. She didn't want anyone to hurt them ever again. She just wanted her family to be safe once more.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Dawn did not start, she had heard someone approaching, but she turned to look at the male who spoke. It was the rider from the evening before. Dawn turned back to the valley below her and glared into the curling mists.

The man laughed a little awkwardly and weakly, "I apologize for my assumptions the night before, young maiden." He gave a partial bow, which Dawn didn't react to. She heard the man shift "I am Boromir son of Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith," he greeted formally and Dawn continued to stare out at the mists.

The silence was heavy and awkward, but Dawn responded before the pause became rude. She did not want a lecture from Ojisan about picking up her father's anti-social behavior, and she knew the ranger would find out one way or another that she had been rude to a guest of Lord Elrond's.

"Dawn of Bree."

"Bree?" Boromir questioned, and in her peripherals she saw him set his hands on the terrace railing. "Where is this place? Do its people commonly visit Rivendell?"

Dawn pursed her lips into a thin line, "It is west of here, and only the rangers that patrol its boarders visit Imladris."

She saw the man smile lopsidedly, "And do you mean to tell me you are one of the rangers, or are simply here by happenstance?"

Dawn glared back into the valley, "Both." She would be marrying Haldarad someday, and she often went on short patrols around Bree, so yes, she could call herself a ranger of sorts.

Boromir scowled as he looked down into the valley, as he mumbled something like, "What unsavory folk put women into needless danger?"

Dawn turned to glare at the man, who she did note was indeed from Gondor, an observation she based on the white steward's seal he wore. "The Dúnedain are honorable men and it was with great reluctance they allowed me to go hunting with them, but then," she turned away from the man with her head raised high, "I am to marry one of their own, and he thought it best to introduce me to their life in such a manner."

"Your betrothed would risk your wellbeing?" Boromir asked aghast, and Dawn whirled around with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"It will soon be your wellbeing at risk," she hissed, before turning away to speak coldly as she stared down into the mists below, "I told you last night to not underestimate me." She paused for dramatic effect, "I could have killed you countless times in the last few minutes alone, and I can think of a hundred different ways to make your death appear like an accident."

She heard the man step back slightly in alarm but then he began to laugh weakly. Dawn let one of the kunai hidden up her sleeve fall into her hand and in an instant she had the blade to the man's jugular as she balanced herself on the railing. Boromir jerked back in surprise, but a pillar was to his back, and she only pressed the kunai closer.

"Do not underestimate me again," she hissed before sliding the kunai back up her sleeve and preparing to drop down onto the balcony below. She was mad and wanted to shoot at something for a while.

"You may have skill but not experience," the man spat these words out, and they halted her. She was about to spin around with another threat or denial, but the man spoke again, "Should Gondor fall and the Enemy reach your beloved western city, you will cower in their presence and die from inexperience."

Dawn did turn at this, "What Enemy?" she knew of Gondor, the Last Alliance and so forth, but the way the man spoke was as if Gondor was facing a war that could very well spill over into the rest of Middle-Earth. Had Ojisan left something out of their history lessons? "Not the same Enemy of the Last Alliance; he as destroyed," her brow was furrowed as she crouched on the railing in front of the man who had regained a little of his confidence and arrogance.

"The very same Enemy," Boromir pulled away from her with his head held high.

Dawn dropped her legs over the railing and sat there in silence as she processed what the man had said and was continuing to say, "Smoke has begun to rise from Orodum once more, and the men of Gondor have given their lives to keep the black army and his foul allies on the eastern banks of the Great River.

"But the enemies armies continue to grow," Boromir was frowning now, "and each year we lose more and more good men as we hold the river." The man glared down into the mists as a memory came to him, "Then the black riders came, and wherever they went a madness claimed the enemy and dread filled good men…" he shook his head slowly, "we held the bridge as long as we could, and cast it down behind us to prevent the enemy from crossing, but…"

Dawn swallowed thickly and her fists clenched as she thought of what the Nazgûl had done to her family, "Do the Nazgûl enter your battles often?"

Boromir looked up at her in surprise. He said the name under his breath, as if trying the name out and Dawn glared before reiterating her question, "Do the black riders enter the battles often?"

"Only recently, and they have not been seen for many months" Boromir said lowly and

Dawn gritted her teeth together. She wanted to make them pay for what happened to her family. After all, she now knew they could be killed, and she could thwart their attempts at every turn. She could make them pay for what they had done to her father and sister.

"That's because they have been running through the western lands," Dawn gritted out in anger as she turned around. The world had come into sharper focus and she knew she had accidentally activated her sharingan, but since the man did not make any shocked exclamations she knew he hadn't seen. She took a calming breath, though she really wanted to start shooting things.

"They have done something to you, or you have seen them for yourself?" Boromir asked slowly, his voice a mixture of growing horror and respect.

"We fought them…" Dawn found herself whispering, "and I'll make them pay for hurting my father and sister." She would never let them hurt her family again. The valley came into sharp focus again, and as she dropped onto the terrace below, the swirling mists of orange and pink were etched into her memory as she made her vow then and there.

…

Arwen watched the blonde woman walk down the secluded garden without a care in the world, though she could tell the woman was still stressed over all that had happened, but it seemed that with her husband awake, her spirits had risen greatly.

Arad was a peculiar human; that was the best way to describe her. Arwen could see a sadness in her eyes that only left when she looked down at the babe in her arms, and even though she smiled often and spoke cheerfully, it felt like she was hiding the sadness she truly felt. Arwen imagined the sadness in her eyes always returned when she was away from her family, like the way an old wound hurts when one thinks he has forgotten it. If she was to give her best guess at the cause for the blonde's sadness, it would be loneliness.

The blonde woman was chattering away about her garden in the Shire and the small one she had made in Bree. She loved bright colors it seemed, and had planted many marigolds, daisies, and day lilies in both gardens—the marigolds just also happened to keep the bugs from her crops. She also talked about these yellow roses she had cultivated in "Crick Hollow." It sounded lovely, it truly did, but she had hoped the woman might discuss something else with her.

The woman turned to her suddenly with her whiskered face split into a large grin, "So…" she began lowly, "what have my girls taught you, hmm?"

Arwen was surprised at the sudden shift in the conversation, but then she gasped in realization. The human had been waiting for them to be alone, and in deed she felt none of her escorts nearby. She felt her face heat up slightly as she moved to walk closer to the woman, "Very little. Dawn has tried to teach me to shoot, and Tinnu insists that I must know how to attack with a dagger," Arwen shook her head, she preferred bows. The thought of fighting someone close up was frightening. She would much rather keep her distance!

The blonde woman nodded slowly, "You don't know how you feel about fighting close-range, huh?" the woman asked casually as she bounced the baby in her arms.

Arwen looked over at a wall of morning glories and nodded slowly. She heard the woman sigh and Arwen's stomach clenched in sudden nervousness. She was well into her two-thousands, but the thought of this human being disappointed in her made her stomach sink and do summersaults in anxiety like she was some young child! Perhaps because she was the matriarch of the family her ranger held so dear, and she had hoped to make a friend in the woman?

"Ya know, I always hated fighting with weapons all up close and personal," Arwen turned in surprise as the confession and saw the woman examining the morning glories as well. "I still prefer to throw jutsu at people or exploding tags," she grinned over at Arwen, "and I can't resist landing a good right hook when it's deserved," she lifted up her right and had it curled into a fist. Arwen found herself laughing lightly despite the inappropriateness of the joke. "But ya know, sometimes you need to use weapons cause the enemy has more reach on you or something.

"I'm not sayin' it isn't scary, 'cause man is it!" the blonde laughed a little, "but," she shrugged, "you just get used to it."

Arwen nodded slowly, though she was still concerned. She felt safe shooting from a distance, but then Tinnu would run at her and she would freeze, even though she knew she needed to shift into close combat.

"Hmm…have the girls taught you to throw knives?" Arad asked with her head cocked to one side, "'Cause so far it sounds like you have long-range and really close-range combat, but nothing in the middle, and it's kind of nice to attack from a distance so you can shift better into close combat." It was almost as if the blonde knew what Arwen was agonizing over.

She wasn't sure what all of that was meant to mean but she shook her head slowly; they had not taught her how to throw any knives. The blond suddenly smiled broadly and held out her baby, "Here."

Arwen felt her eyes go wide as she hesitantly accepted the baby. She had never held a baby before, but Arad thought nothing about setting the baby in her arms. "Just support his head," she instructed as she pulled several sharp knives from her sleeves…from her sleeves. Arwen stared at the woman in surprise. She just pulled weapons out of nowhere, could not they cut her when they were hiding her sleeves like that?

"So these are kunai," the blonde informed Arwen, who was holding Dusk perhaps too closely in her surprise and nervousness. The baby suddenly began to fuss and she froze. What was she supposed to do?

"Calm down, it's alright, just breathe," was Arad talking to her or the baby? "Arwen-hime, breathe, you're not going to hurt him and he's not going to hurt you," she looked over at the woman teasing her and she laughed a little before breathing for what felt like the first time since the baby had been set in her arms.

The boy began to calm down, especially after Arwen began to sway in place as she had often seen the blonde do. What a precious little thing, she thought as she tentatively reached out a hand to touch the little baby's hands. He curled his ever so small fingers around hers and she laughed at how tightly he held. How stunning and amazing.

She heard Arad laugh a little beside her, "Thinking about pestering Ranger-san about having one?" Arwen straightened up and felt her face blush brightly, she was far too old to react in such away, but what the blond woman had said was-was unthinkable, especially to be uttered in the open air!

Arad chuckled and shrugged as she idly flipped the long-hilted knife in her hands. "It's alright, if you're thinking of it," Arwen wondered if this was supposed to make her feel less embarrassed because it wasn't. "I swear, for a few years there, every time I saw a baby in Bree I'd have to just stomp on the impulse to go find my bastard and demand having one," she shook her head and laughed a little, "Though they are really great," she looked at her baby and it suddenly clicked to Arwen that the woman had addressed her husband as-as bastard!

Aragorn was not lying, the woman was most…unorthodox, for the woman certainly had meant the "endearment" as an insult of sorts.

"Alright, Arwen-hime," the woman addressed her with a grin Arwen could not help but liken to a fox, "You're going to throw these knives sideways like so," and with a movement almost too fast to track, the knife went soaring out Arad's hand to embed into the wall and cut a morning glory off its stem without cutting any more flowers off the vine. The blonde then picked her way through the underbrush toward the wall and retrieved the knife before picking up the flower she had cut. She then stuck the flower behind her ear and grinned back at Arwen.

She shook her head at the blonde woman's antics but soon passed of the baby and received one of these kunai.

…

Dawn had found the archery range, which was located at the back innermost part of Rivendell. It was rather elaborate actually. It consisted of swinging targets that moved in the wind, as well as targets in a trench that required higher ground to hit. Although this was the last homely house, the sentries and scouts likely needed some way to hone their skills, and thus an archery range was created in a secluded section to at least keep appearances of this place being peaceful, and Dawn supposed it fit the bill. It was more of a challenge than any of the archery ranges her parent's tried to make, but then this was made by archers for archers.

Dawn was still angry from her encounter with the Gondorian earlier as well as the reminder of the beings who had so hurt her family. It was her fault, true, but how could she have stood by while her uncle put himself in danger when they could help? And he had all those hobbits to look after too, and although Tinnu was vainly trying to teach them how to use the knives they had founding the Borrow Downs, they were no warriors.

She let loose round after round of arrows with an angry determination she had never felt before. She fitted the bows quickly, so quickly her arms burned and her fingers bled from the string, and then she let them fly. She then began to run sideways to hit more targets. She pretended she was dodging an attack and performed a sideways roll and shot quickly. She felt several eyes on her, and one she knew was "Boromir son of Denethor." She wanted to roll her eyes.

However, new arrows started to head for her targets, and a quick glance told her that a blond elf dressed in greens and browns had drawn his bow. Dawn glared at her next target and made to hit it before the elf. It was then a race to cover the center of every target, and Dawn was surprised to see a Middle-Earthling not above trying to sabotage her shot. So she ran in front of his shots and tried to obscure the elf's view when she could. It was a surprising turn of events and-and energizing even. She felt challenged, truly challenged. But she was growing careless, especially with the farther away targets, which normally she could hit perfectly with only a second's concentration.

Dawn quickly scanned the range and noted that all the targets now had green or white arrow tails sticking out of them. All that was left were the entrenched targets behind the row of standing targets. She would have to get to higher ground, and the instant she began running to the trees, the blonde elf followed—or perhaps they made for them at the same time?

Her competitor was a quick and nimble climber, but Dawn had her abilities and only had to race at the tree to run up it with chakra. She didn't pay the elf any attention, she had to win, she just had to! So she raced higher and higher up the tree, until she propelled herself off of it in a flip. She shot upside down at the previously inaccessible targets. She had all three hit before she landed on her feet. If not for the breeches she wore under her skirt that might have been an inappropriate move.

She looked back at the blonde elf who just sat in his perch on one of the upper tree branches. He just stared at the trenched targets with an arrow still notched. She may have been out of breath, but she felt damn proud of herself.

Shaking her head, she moved to retrieve her arrows and start her practice all over again. However, after collecting a handful of arrows, the elf approached her.

"Most impressive young child."

Dawn glared at the elf, "I'm a woman." She relished the initial shock that read on his face when she spoke to him in sindarin.

"Forgive me then," he nodded his head ever so slightly, and she noted he had a peculiar accent to his speech, "I am Legolas from Mirkwood."

Dawn felt her eyebrows climb at the greeting, and she recalled Ojisan once telling her about the elves of Mirkwood. They were formidable archers, particularly their prince, whom she had just gone up against. She had missed most of the farther away targets, and so he had barely gotten more targets than her, but still. She bit her cheeks to keep from smiling stupidly because she was much better than she had thought!

"Dawn of Bree." She bowed slightly after she had regained her composure. She then turned away from the elf and was prepared to begin her practice again, but the elf prince spoke up.

"You are very fast but your movements are not very precise, you could save more energy…" and she listened as he gave her little pointers here and there to improve her marksmanship and speed. It was amazing.

However, up on the balcony Elladan sighed as he waited for the Mirkwood prince to approach him. He watched them work for nearly a half-hour on marksmanship before moving on to close range battle, likely the human child wanted to know how her fellow archer defended himself when the battle got close. After another half hour, the blonde elf finally left the girl to continue practicing her skills, which were truly quite impressive.

Elladan recalled meeting, perhaps five or six years ago, a small human child colored much the same as the child currently shooting arrows at a target. He and Elrohir had met up with the Grey Company outside of the Shire, and with them was a very small human child using a bow. She spoke sindarin with them with slight hesitation, and he had thought she was perhaps adopted by the Dúnedain, or was to be wed to one of them and had gone on hunting trips to learn her future husband's lifestyle. But now he wondered if that small child was this child shooting arrows with impressive speed and accuracy—he recalled the child from those few years ago did not have such skill.

Elladan nodded to the elf prince who came up beside him. He would perhaps question his surrogate brother about the child he had met those five or six years ago and the child that was here now.

They were not the only ones on the terrace overlooking the archery range. There was a man watching the girl with obvious amazement, but also worry.

Elladan had gone to observe one of his surrogate brother's "nieces" while Elrohir was preparing another scouting party and undoubtedly was arranging their archers and pike men. They had understood their brother's desire to keep his nieces out of war, but still the twins were angry that Aragorn would hide such a gift against the enemy—though perhaps he had not so much as hid but omitted his niece's talents? These girls had powers, skills, no other middle-earthling had. Yet Dúnadan hid their talent in Bree and once it was revealed, along with its full potential, he refused to let these human girls become involved. Though perhaps that was the fault in it all, they were girls instead of young women to Aragorn, they were nieces, kin.

Dúnadan had watched these young humans grow up from babies to young women, yet he refused to see them as such. They were not gifted warriors in his eyes but children. Though had not he and his twin felt the very same so often about the dúnedain they had watched grow up. Sometimes they could not help but view Aragorn as a child despite his nearly eighty-seven years, which was a far greater number than many humans lived to.

"What is your assessment?" Elladan asked the younger prince.

"Her speed and accuracy made up for her flawed form, but I have given the human child corrections, and if she does not fall into bad habits, her abilities will only increase. She has astounding stamina and speed as you very well witnessed as she ran up the tree. However it seems that her eye-sight has been damaged in some way; she was disappointed with herself each time she missed the further away targets."

Elladan nodded and looked at the blonde elf expectantly. What else had he found out? What was it about these girls that allowed such a small human to kill a Nazgûl?

Legolas sighed and looked down at the girl who continued to loose arrows at the targets with a frightening determination. "She truly thinks she can best the black riders of Mordor…" Elladan and Legolas turned to look at the amazed yet incredulous man a few yards from them who had mumbled those words.

"Pardon?" Elladan spoke as he and Legolas both moved closer to the human with interest.

He turned to them and blinked, though he quickly frowned at Legolas disapprovingly, "The young maiden there," he gestured with his head to the human child—because to Elladan all humans seemed like children until they grew a beard or bore a child. The older human continued speaking, "She is determined to go into battle against the black riders," he shook his head, "for vengeance it seems," he was still shaking his head though a hard look came to his eyes when he looked at Legolas, "and yet some people seem to think it is perfectly fine for a young woman to have such ambitions."

Legolas narrowed his gaze at the human, "The child was already skilled, she could rival my kin," he confessed as he looked down at the human girl. "It would be a waste for such potential to continue using flawed forms."

"It will get her killed. She should not even know how to use a bow—"

"And yet because of her sister's ability to fight, there is one less rider to worry about," Elladan hissed out. Who was this human to judge his surrogate brother's actions or the actions of an elven prince?

The man reared back with his eyes wide, "They can be killed?" The man quickly turned to the girl as if he saw her in a new light.

Elladan pressed his lips into a tight line, he should not have spoken out in anger, and Legolas looked at him almost appalled. Yes, he had betrayed his brother's wishes, but…he was angry at both men; one for hiding such talent from the war, and the other for his ignorance and brash words.

"They can be killed…" the man repeated and his grip on the railing below him increased, "I only sought counsel, but now…" the man shook his head, "The generals of the black army could be killed, and killed by this woman and her sisters…"

Elladan stared at the human. Was that what he and his brother sounded like, looked like? It was clear the man did not fully see the child below as that, a child. She was a weapon to this man now, the upper hand, a tide turner. There was a desperate yet hopeful look in the man's eyes and it was sickening, but were not he and his twin guilty of that as well? They had only backed off at the desperate look in Dúnadan's eyes, they would have been angry or pressed their surrogate brother under other circumstances.

Elladan swallowed and Legolas looked down at the girl in the range below worriedly. "She is a child, despite what she may think" the Mirkwood prince murmured before looking up at the man and speaking more firmly, "and I knew not of her intention in training so spiritedly."

"She is a gift to all the free peoples of the world, a being capable of such great feats." The man did not look away from the human child, and seemed to not hear Legolas. The insistent edge to his words spoke of many years of desperate, fruitless battle. Much like the fruitless battles Elladan and his twin went on whenever they went scouting, searching the land for goblins and orcs to kill, to kill for pain and hurt their mother had been dealt for so long.

Elladan turned on his heel and left the terrace; Legolas looked slightly surprised at his hasty exit but began following him. "She is a skilled archer," Legolas murmured as Elladan made as direct a line to the healing corridor.

"She is…" he felt sick for some reason. "She is also family to Dúnadan."

Legolas nodded minutely, "And just a child." He added as well, though he turned to look at Elladan with a hard look, "I had thought you only wanted to know her skills, but your intention had been much the same as his?" there was accusation in the other prince's voice.

Elladan did not respond, but only bowed his head, "I had wondered if it was just something about these human children that made them capable inherently at defeating the Nazgûl or…" they were approaching the healing corridor now, and his words faltered. He saw the partially open door the human family frequently stayed in.

Legolas walked with him quietly down the hall, and Elladan paused at the partially opened door. The sleeping human child was pale on the bed and her father was gently pressing a soaked rag to her head. The scent of athelas drifted over to them. Aragorn was singing softly to the girl as this was happening

The men glanced over at them, and the newly awakened father's unfathomably dark eyes narrowed at them as if questioning their purpose in the wing. Elladan repressed the urge to shudder, and quickly moved on before Dúnadan left his chair to speak with him. He would have to stop in after checking with Elrohir, but it was highly likely that they would go on one last scouting mission and the council would be postponed a day.

They came to the bend in the hallway and continued moving, and Elladan finished his thought, "Or I wonder if it was a simple matter of that child trying what we had all feared to do, what we all believed could not be done…" He shook his head and looked back at the way they had come.

He was not sure, for there was certainly something about these human children and their parents that was peculiar. Yet their parents were unable to kill a Nazgûl when one of their children had been able to. What was it? What was the secret here, what allowed that pale young human to best one of the foulest and most fearsome creatures?

Elladan moved quietly with the younger prince, and all the while he thought of how little difference there had been between him and that human from Gondor. These girls were just human children, not weapons. They had so much left to experience in life, and should not be trying to fight such terrible creatures. They should be married and starting families like young humans are supposed to. They were not dúnedain; they were humans, some special kind of human, but still human.

…

Dawn drew her bow back, the string brushed against her cheek as she glared at a target nearly fifty-yards away. If she took her time and focused, she would hit it dead on. Normally this took no concentration at such a short range. Even up to two-hundred yards she could hit a the center of a target if she gave herself a few moments to focus, but now she doubted she could do that with all the time in the world given to her. Maybe one-hundred yards would be more doable for her now if she was given a few minutes, but it was saddening how poor her sight had gotten.

Dawn paused in the motion of fitting another arrow to her string, when she heard someone approaching her. She turned slightly to acknowledge the Gondorian man. She knew he had been watching her for most of the day—really, ever since he had rediscovered her at the archery range.

She pressed her lips into a tight line and glared back at another target as she raised her bow. A second or two later than Dawn would have preferred, she let the arrow loose and it flew straight to the heart of the target. She heard the man to her side hum as if impressed. She ignored him and fitted another arrow.

"My brother can hit a scout a hundred yards out," Boromir commented with pride in his voice, but it didn't seem like he was talking to her. "He was always much better at archery than I ever was," he laughed a little, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw his smile morph into a frown—she loosed the arrow and it hit dead on.

"Father always admired swordsmanship over other skills," the man said with a sigh of disapproval as he looked at a quiver set up by the stand with practice bows. "Although," the man continued, "Faramir is quite a good swordsman—not as good as me I'm afraid," he gave a lopsided smile, and Dawn relaxed her arms as she turned to glare at the man disrupting her practice; he didn't catch the look because he was examining an arrow he had pulled from the quiver. "He is also a good leader, he inspires loyalty in his men," Boromir was saying with that frown marring his expression—yet still he did not take note of her annoyance with his presence! "Father would say that is all he can inspire in people, but I disagree," he was fidgeting with the arrowhead now, testing its sharpness, and Dawn was half tempted to leave the range if she didn't already know he would follow her again. The man turned to her then and smiled sadly, "I would say Faramir is a better man than me, wiser than his years."

Dawn folded her arms over her chest, "Are you mistaking me with someone else, Boromir son of Denethor?" she asked in annoyance, and he blinked before flashing her a bright smile.

"No, maiden Dawn, but I must belatedly acknowledge you for the warrior you are."

Dawn shifted and narrowed her gaze at the man; what had made him switch so quickly? "Really?" she asked skeptically before moving to fit another arrow into her bow and aim at another target.

"I was skeptical of what you had said, that your family had fought the black riders," he was examining the arrow again, as if he felt awkward. "And although I stand by my previous statement, that you lack experience, to have stood up against one of them shows great will and courage."

Dawn pressed her lips together in a line, "What do you really want to talk about?" she loosed the arrow and it hit dead on. She didn't want to play games today.

Boromir reached for a bow almost awkwardly, "I mentioned my brother for a reason." She glared at her next target and shot at it again. Boromir fitted the arrow into the bow and aimed, and kept aiming as he spoke, "He and I defended the bridge in Osgilith, and when I came here to seek counsel, he remained in Gondor. I fear for him each day," the man was frowning in concentration and perhaps also for his brother.

"But he and I are warriors," he said in resignation. "We have trained ourselves and agreed to die for our country as we protect it with our last breath, for we are sons of Gondor." There was pride in his last words but there was still a sad sort of resignation in his voice as he had spoken the earlier words. He let loose the arrow but it missed by two inches to the right.

Dawn swallowed thickly as she aimed at a new target. She knew that was what warriors did, what ninja do. They die protecting their country and loved ones. They take that oath the moment they don their forehead protectors and show their village affiliation, yet she and her sisters had no real village affiliation, only affiliation to their family, and she supposed the whole of Middle-Earth. But they were ninja, and she had sworn to protect her family, to protect her precious people.

Boromir drew back the bow again as he fixed his sights on another target, "Gondor is the first and last defense against the armies of Mordor. Should they break through our ever thinning guard, Rohan will not have time or be prepared to stop them." He was glaring at the target now, his jaw was tight, and then he loosed the arrow and only missed by an inch. "When the wraiths do join the fray though…" he said as he dropped the bow to his side and stared coldly ahead of him "It means we retreat and hope enough of us survive the long run back to Minas Tirith."

Dawn looked down at the ground in contemplation. In Gondor they fought for the whole of Middle Earth. They kept enemies that would hurt her family at bay; enemies that had already hurt her family. She glared down at the ground and accidentally began pushing chakra into her eyes, but she realized this fact when the ground came into startling clarity and the world slowed down.

Calming down, Dawn stopped the flow of chakra to her eyes and looked up at the tall man before her. "Tell me more."

…

Naruto froze on the terrace as she stared down at her daughter following some tall man out of the archery range. She handed Dusk off to Arwen, who was startled by the sudden burden, "Take him to my Bastard," she gritted out as Naruto hurriedly crept after her daughter. She didn't wait for a reply, and the elf was likely too startled to reply anyways.

She masked her charka and hung close to the shadows as her daughter and the strange man moved into small bit of woods ringing the archery range. Naruto flitted over to the trees and crouched on a limb above them.

"My brother organizes scouting parties, and now that those foul Easternlings have allied themselves with the Enemy, we need our scouting parties to be stronger than ever. It is mostly archers, but they—"

Naruto circulated the chakra into her feet and swung down; she was pleased by the man's startled reaction, "Mother's intuition was acting up, said you were planning something stupid," Naruto flipped down in front of her pale, wide-eyed daughter, "and not the cheating kind of stupid." Dawn gasped and shook her head vehemently in disgust; however the human behind her didn't know what Naruto was implying—too bad.

"Kaasan!" she cried out and Naruto dropped her smile as she made a grab Dawn's arm.

"How can you consider going off and helping a country you know nothing about? Especially after what you girls put your father and I through! I told you to never fucking to that again."

Dawn flinched and pulled her arm out of Naruto's girp, "You would do it!" she shouted in westron, "You were the savoir of—"

"Dawn!" she interrupted and cast a glance at the man who was just staring at them in amazement and confusion. She also didn't want to be reminded…reminded of that world where there were so many people who understood her and respected her for the shinobi she was.

Naruto shook the thought away and tried to reach for Dawn's arm once more.

"No!" Dawn shook her head and took a step away from her, "You led armies, Kaasan! You did everything you could to protect your country and precious people, so let me do the same!"

Naruto felt like she had been slapped and she stared at Dawn for a long moment. "I almost died countless times and if you think I'll let one of my children—"

"I don't need your permission!" Dawn shrieked, before looking at her with wide, almost desperate eyes, "Let someone else protect you for once," the girl pleaded, "Let us protect our precious people, let me protect you and Tousan."

It felt like all the air had escaped her lungs and Naruto just stared at her daughter, who was looking at her imploringly. The lonely orphan inside of her, the part of her that had longed to hear those very words, wanted to reach out and cry onto her daughter's shoulder. Yes, yes, please someone offer to protect her for once.

But Naruto shook her head slowly and smiled softly. She reached out for her daughter who let her cup her cheek, "Oh sweetheart," she responded at last, "It's my job to protect you, you don't need to protect me, unless you want to take my job away?" she tried to laugh at her joke but Dawn just shook her head as tears started to form in her eyes.

"But Kaasan!" she began with her jaw trembling, "You need protection too! And now that Tousan's…" she choked and shook her head violently, and began to cry hard.

Naruto pulled her daughter into a hug and held on tightly, "Oh Dawn, he's awake now."

Dawn's head shot up and nearly smashed into Naruto's chin, but she moved it in time.

"What?" Naruto just nodded to the girl's hopeful look.

"Do you still feel obligated to try to protect me in such a dangerous way?"

Dawn looked lost for a moment, and turned to look at the human who just stared at Naruto in utter surprise. She glared at the man in return, "My husband will kill you slowly for filling my daughter's head with false dire statements."

The man jerked backwards a few steps and began to sputter until he found his voice, "That was no lie. If Gondor falls, the rest of the world is doomed! Nothing will stop the Enemy then—"

Naruto glared hard at the man and his voice faltered. "I would do something, my husband would too, then there are the rangers—" He scoffed and Naruto felt Dawn stir.

"Stop, both of you!" she ran a hair through her hair in frustration. "Kaasan, if the Enemy's armies came all the way here, think of how many people would have died! There are hundreds of small settlements between the Anduin and Bree, all of them would be killed, and—" she choked on her words and gasped as she shook her head. "Oh gods, if the dúnedain are involved…I know Haldarad can fight better than most Middle-Earthlings, but he would be sent to quell the Enemy's army first if Gondor did fall."

Naruto felt sick suddenly, but Dawn kept speaking, "You can't go and fight, Kaasan, not with Dusk as young as he is!" Dawn reasoned and the sick feeling grew, "and Tousan would only intervene if the armies were right outside of Bree, plus who knows what damage the Nazgûl did to him?" Dawn shook her head in determination and Naruto felt like she was being suffocated by the sudden sickening feeling building up inside of her, "And I would never risk my sisters like this again!" It was silent for a moment before Dawn spoke again with a quiet plea in her voice, "Kaasan, I could help, I could!"

The girl bowed her head with her fists shaking at her sides, "I could protect my precious people if I went to fight down there, I could be the warrior you and Tousan trained me to be."

Naruto stared at her daughter, and if she took away the slate colored hair and replaced it with blond scraggly hair; that could have been Naruto…when she was just a boy. Naruto gasped in some air and looked away from her daughter and the ghost she brought up. But she felt so sick still because what Dawn said was true.

If Gondor fell and the armies of the Enemy spilled over into their world, there would at least three settlements between Minas Tirith and Edoras. Rohan would scramble to their defenses and perhaps the Grey Company would be there too in time, but that would be a small army to respond with, and then the elves would be dragged in and perhaps the few remaining would be killed with the humans. People would be flocking to the places still free from his Sauron's rule, which would include Bree and then there would be fighting and pillaging—tensions would run high.

But why did it have to be her daughter? If Naruto couldn't go, why did her daughter have to? What difference would one partially trained ninja do to the battle? How much of an advantage could she give? And Naruto wanted to say no to all of it, which was what made her feel so terribly sick with herself.

"No," the word was shaky but then, her resolve was shaky.

Dawn looked like he had been struck. "What? How can you say that after—"

"Because I am your mother!" the words came out stiff but shaky, "and no parent in their right mind would give their child permission to go off to fight in a war that they may not be aiding in the least. You could be cannon fodder for all you know!" she didn't know the translation, she didn't even think they had cannons in Middle Earth yet, but the sentiment was appropriate.

Dawn inhaled sharply and nodded her head once. She sped off after that and Naruto turned to man who just stared at her uncertainly.

"What country do you come from that allows women to lead armies and fight in them?" He asked carefully with his brow furrowed.

"The kind that could kill every person you care about in their sleep without raising a single alarm, and it would only take a team of three," Naruto turned on her heel and began to head out of the trees, "If I see you talking to my daughter again," she looked over her shoulder and pulled on Kurama's chakra so that her eyes flashed read and her canines elongated as she bared her teeth, "I'll show you how I crushed my enemies." She dashed away then, gone in blur.

She would have to watch her daughter carefully, and all the while she wondered what she had done to have a daughter so very much like herself?

---

3017, October 19

Sasuke looked over at his wife and eldest daughter. Something had happened again, something had broken their relationship all over again. He sighed heavily. The mood in Minuial's rom was tense again, especially since mother and daughter were fighting once more. Tinnu was braiding her twin's hair and had offered to do the muscle stimulation Aragorn had done the day before. Speaking of the ranger, he was out doing a short scouting mission with some of the elves here, and he was also collecting more athelas for his nieces.

"I'm going training," Dawn announced as she stood up. The dobe made a cross sign and a clone appeared with a puff of smoke. Dawn glared at her mother who looked back at her blankly.

"Take the clone with you." The dobe then turned back her project, which was potting athelas roots in the hopes that they would grow and they could have their own little medicinal herb garden. She would likely succeed. "Arwen-hime says this is good for burns," the dobe said to no one in particular as she transplanted a different sort of green plant.

Dawn did not like that her glare had been ignored so she hurried out of the door with the clone at her heels. Tinnu continued braiding her twin's hair while humming a tune uneasily. When she was done, she sat down beside her twin and began to relate how the hobbit's training with their knives was going; the knives acted as short swords to them. The hobbits were nimble and relatively quick, but not quick enough to pivot around their enemies.

Once done, Tinnu began to fidget and reluctantly left her twin's side to keep teaching the hobbits. He doubted they really wanted to learn since they would just be heading back to the Shire shortly, but after what had happened to their family, none of the hobbits wanted to deny the girl a distraction.

The silence that followed the young swordswoman's leave was heavy but not awkward. When the dobe didn't speak up, Sasuke did, "What happened?"

"Hmm?" the dobe asked as she mumbled a new name for the burn healing plant. He rolled his eyes.

"You and Dawn."

"Don't know what—" he glared at her and made a noise at the back of his throat, she looked up at him with a clueless look before the act fell and she pursed her lips together tightly. "Fine, we had a disagreement, and I disappointed her. She'll get over it." The dobe answered simply before she continued her little project.

"Why don't you elaborate."

"Why don't you shut up."

He stared at her and she stared back at him. It lasted a minute. Then the dobe stood up suddenly, and flashed him a cheeky smile, "Let's go walking and pretend we're seventeen again?"

Sasuke stared at his wife incredulously and scoffed, "You're not changing the topic so easily."

"I'm not changing it, I'm putting it off for later," she smiled with forced enthusiasm and Sasuke rolled his eyes but decided to indulge his wife…it was hard staying in this room, and the more he just stared at Minuial, the less hope he felt over her recovering. He was going to make himself sick worrying about her and staying in here like this; although he didn't want to leave his daughter alone either.

"I'll leave a clone in case she wakes up" and sometimes it felt like the dobe just knew what he was thinking.

As if Minuial would really wake up—no, he had stay positive somehow, like the dobe stayed positive. He watched his wife pick up and swaddle their son before they left the room side by side with a clone waiting by Minuial. Impulsively, Sasuke wrapped his good arm around the dobe's middle and she leaned her head against his shoulder. It felt nice, and when they got onto a walking path hidden beneath a canopy of trees, he really felt like they were teenagers again walking through the Old Forest. It was…nice.

…

Dawn glanced over at the dazed clone who believed it was watching over her training, thank goodness her father taught her genjutsu.

She had heard from rumors that it had taken Boromir one-hundred and ten days to reach Imladris, and now as she looked through various maps she could see how that might have been the case. Likely he had moved along the road hugging the northern side of the White Mountains, or Ered Nimrais. He then had likely taken the Green Way north through the Gap of Rohan, though perhaps after that he had followed the Bruien up to Rivendell, or perhaps he had hugged the mountain range as he traveled north, for he knew Rivendell was in the valley of the mountain range. Boromir did not know the ranger paths, but Dawn did.

She poured over old maps in the dead of night, and used her sharingan to memorize them while reading them in the dark. If she followed the same path or paths as Boromir, presuming she could run faster than a horse, it would take perhaps fifty-days. Far too long in her opinion.

Traveling by river would be faster, plus would save her energy, and although the ranger paths sometimes were short cuts, many of them were winding and took more time and care to follow. The simplest and most direct path would be to make for the High Pass over the Misty Mountains. From there she would follow the path to Mirkwood, but at the Old Pass begin down the Anduin. She knew from stories the older ranger's told that the Great River could be tricky and dangerous, plus there were ever increasing numbers of goblins and orcs patrolling the eastern bank the closer to Osgilith one got, but it would still be faster.

She could also travel down the Bruinen and take up the Greenway at Tharbad and travel south. But on that path she would begin running in the open through the Gap of Rohan and the plains; there was little protection. She could potentially follow the ranger paths off of the North-South Road, which she would always think of as the Greenway, and cut across Dunland before crossing the Misty Mountains into Fangorn forest where she could pick up the Entwash and follow it to the Anduin. Otherwise she could follow the Glanduin from where it met the Bruinen, but she would be traveling up stream, for it flowed out of the Misty Mountains. However, if she followed it to the mountains, she could pass them and reach the Nimrodel and follow that river down into the Anduin.

There were too many options before her and she had little time to consider each one in depth. Compared to following the Anduin, the path down the Burinen before taking up the Greenway would be best, safest even, but it would be a slow journey with little cover. She would rather have cover and speed—she did not want to be caught traveling across Dunland or the Westfold in winter when shelter was far away. It would take a month to follow the Anduin, if she picked it up at the High Pass and if she stopped to sleep a fair amount. It would also be very dangerous for her as the only traveler in the boat. However, she could do it, but it would be exhausting. She supposed she didn't have to travel in the river the whole time, and surely there were rocky embankments and trees that ran along the river that she could find shelter in? When the river ran too slowly she could run alongside it, or she could run in snatches and relax on the boat while ever traveling south.

In either case she needed to find a boat and she needed to get supplies for the travel. She could sneak the supplies out tonight and she could take one of Tinnu's storage scrolls. She would have to be quick and quiet. Tomorrow would be the counsel and the scouting party Ojisan had left with would be returning at sunrise. OF course there was Kaasan to consider and undoubtedly she would feel when Dawn tried to leave, but if she sent her clones, it only took one hit. She wished there was some way she could trick her mother's sensing, but she had no clue what to do. She would have to bank on speed and illusions.

---

3017, October 20

Naruto slowly pulled herself out of sleep as the morning passed in Rivendell. The whole place felt like a cocoon of natural energy and now that the teme could wrap his arm around her, she had slept peacefully and very well; even when Dusk woke up in the early morning to be fed, Naruto had fallen right back to sleep once she was back in the teme's arm. It was odd how comforting her former enemy's hold could be. How much it could make her feel like she was at home, but then, she supposed that was why they were married.

As she spread her senses outward, she noted the servants were especially busy that morning. She held on tighter to her husband and sighed as she kept sensing outward, until she froze.

"What?" the teme asked tiredly, but Naruto couldn't answer. Maybe she had just overlooked Dawn's chakra signature?

"Oh, nothing," she knew she sounded distracted and he hadn't bought what she said. "We just slept in kind of late." And they had.

"We should get food then," he began to sit up and Naruto followed suit. She was still examining each energy source in case she had overlooked her daughter somehow. But she couldn't feel the girl within the confines of the valley. "Dobe?"

She just forced out a smile, and the teme narrowed his gaze at her. "Dusk was just really quiet last night."

The teme nodded but he still gave her a suspicious look as he went over to Dusk's cradle. He reached down for the baby, likely brushing at some of his hair. Naruto took this time to get dressed and sense out which direction her daughter went. However her concentration was broken by a knocking.

"Not decent," the teme called for them.

"Lord Elrond has invited both of you to attend his Council," it was Ranger-san, which meant he was back. Naruto quickly dressed and moved to swaddle Dusk.

"What for?" Naruto asked while the teme was getting dressed.

"Your input on stealthy operations and I hoped you might dissuade other members from volunteering your family to their war efforts." She was afraid she had already failed at that but made an affirmative response anyways.

They were soon out the door and walking with Ranger-san, "Neh, we just woke, do you think there'll be food?"

"No," Ranger-san shook his head slowly and Naruto sighed while Sasuke shook his head. Ranger-san then handed the teme a pouch with a very familiar smelling plant in it.

"I think I'll go feed Dusk and grab us some food," Naruto announced and made a quick detour to the kitchens. Ranger-san looked ready to protest but the teme waved his hand.

"She'll find us." He replied easily and she watched as they continued on toward a great hall of sorts.

Naruto stood anxiously as she asked the various cooks to just put large serving dishes of food on her open storage scroll while she tried to get her baby to eat. Everyone was moving so quickly and she just was trying to find where her daughter was—oh! East, almost directly east of Rivendell and Dawn had a four hour lead. Shit. Sighing in frustration, Naruto gave up on feeding her son and handed him off to one of the servants as she fixed her dress and made two clones to chase after her wayward child.

She then stored the food, which caused surprised gasps, and took up her baby again. She heard a clear bell ring as she was making her way toward the teme and Ranger-san. Once there she came upon Gandalf, a very old hobbit, Frodo, and Sam. The latter of the group held back in the shadow of pillar and watched as "Mister Frodo" was brought onto the porch to stand by the elven lord.

Naruto quickly found where the teme and Ranger-san had seated themselves inconspicuously in the corner of the large porch-like terrace, and thankfully the teme had found a bench to sit on, so she could lean against him if she wished—which she did. There was a large table in front of Elrond-sama, and there were scattered chairs circling the table. There was that man who had convinced Dawn to run away siting by himself in the corner and she shot him a venomous glare as she sat down against her husband. There were several elves and a few dwarves as well, and they were glaring at each other with their concealed and not so concealed weapons readily at hand.

Elrond-sama as standing and gesturing to Frodo while the ancient hobbit sat down carefully in a seat next to Gandalf. "Here, my friends," he addressed all of them with a calm and pleasing tone that set most of them at ease, except the teme who scoffed slightly—this earned him a look courtesy of herself and Ranger-san, "is Frodo, son of Drogo. Few have ever come hither through greater peril or on an errand more urgent." Meaning the great evil ring Kurama was constantly making kissy-faces at, and the wraiths that had nearly killed her daughter and teme. She saw Sasuke glaring at the hobbit's waistcoat pocket where the ring resided, and she couldn't help but narrow her gaze in that direction as well.

However, Naruto was a little surprised they would so openly discuss the ring. It seemed like Elrond-sama was a knowledgeable and wise leader, but did he really want to discuss such a crucial thing in front of so many people? How did he know who among them was trust worthy? Maybe it was just left over suspicion and cautiousness from the Elemental Lands? Maybe she was just not following this fully?

"Excuse me Lord Elrond," one old dwarf spoke, "But why is a woman and her baby attending this council?" Naruto shot a glare over at the old hairy-not-hobbit, and promptly handed Dusk off to the teme who was smirking. He balanced the baby well with one arm—after all, they had become experts at that—while she undid the storage scroll, ande Elrond attempted to answer the dwarf's question.

"Ah Glóin" Elrond-sama began only to stare, along with everyone else attending the council, at the feast that appeared out of the scroll with a poof of smoke—well, aside from those who had seen her use fuinjutsu before.

"Did you have to clean out their kitchen?" the teme drawled in the stunned silence.

"I'm breast feeding, Bastard." There were several gasps and some off the elves looked like they wanted to leave, Naruto ignored them and reached down for a grape, "and besides," she said before forcing the grape into her husband's mouth, "some of this is for you too, charka-exhaustion man," he glared at her briefly but ate the grape. She heard Ranger-san sigh and look heavenward and she just grinned as she began to eat.

"Oh don't mind me Glóin-jii," she grinned at the still stunned old dwarf, "I'm just here to keep my husband in check and give advice," she flashed the rest of the council a broad smile and some of the elves and the young dwarf laughed nervously.

However it was surprisingly the man who responded to the nervous laughter, "For what, demolishing armies with demonic power?" the man looked unnerved in her presence and she smiled slowly at him.

"I'm still tempted to show you what that looks like," she responded in a saccharine tone.

She felt the teme press his lips against her neck in a smile "Love the intimidation, but what did he do?" her smile fell for a moment and she checked on her clones who were moving as fast as they could, and unlike Dawn they didn't care if they left a trail; they would catch up with her in the next two hours.

"Later," she replied and felt the teme's smile drop as he pulled away from her.

"Please refrain from making threats in this council," Elrond-sama voiced, "and the advice we seek from both Lady Arad and Dû concerns matters of stealth, should it be needed."

Naruto continued to eat and occasionally fed the teme while he held onto Dusk as the elven lord began to introduce those around them.

She could tell her husband was only half listening to the elf, but was still cataloguing the names and relations of each being on the porch, excluding Sam still hiding in the corner—someone else must have noticed him, right, or were she and the teme the only ones?

First were the Dwarves, Glóin and his son Gimli. She wasn't sure how she felt about them, though the hobbits seemed comfortable about them; however, by the way the dwarves kept their hands close to their belts, on which hung sharpened hand axes, she doubted they were comfortable with all those present. Naruto decided that if a fight broke out, they were the likely ones to start it with their ready dis-ease and trust of the place.

The teme made her take Dusk as he began to eat for himself—he was probably just annoyed that she hadn't fed him any tomatoes yet, or maybe he was just tired of being fed like an invalid or infant.

Next the elves were introduced. Erastor was one of Elrond-sama's house and he sat beside Elrond-sama and the blonde elf who had been across the Bruinen and saved her clones from possession, Glorfindel. Erastor was high up in the Elrond-sama's trust it seemed, though in the long sleeves of his robes he did hide a long, thin knife. He must not trust all the beings present either, but she couldn't fathom whom the knife was for.

An elf named Galdor sat closely beside Erastor but he was not with Elrond-sama's elves and served someone named Círdan from the Grey Havens. He seemed to really only be present to share news and messages. There were also a few more elves on Elrond-sama's council but they did not look as important and their names were starting to confuse her, she knew the teme had checked out for a bit when they were introduced too.

Naruto's attention did pique again when Elrond-sama introduced a young-looking, brown and green clad, blonde elf. Legolas from Mirkwood, and as soon as Elrond-sama had said Thranduil, Gimli looked ready to spit fire. Hmm…she wondered what that was about but maybe there was some animosity? Perhaps all elves were distrustful of dwarves, or maybe just Mirkwood elves, but then…Erastor did have a knife up his sleeve and Naruto was beginning to suspect it was for the dwarves.

Elrond-sama passed over them, and she saw Ranger-san relax at that, but Elrond-sma did not pass over the other man on the porch, and Naruto glared at the man who convinced her daughter to act so recklessly. "Here is Boromir," Elrond-sama introduced to those assembled, "a man from the South. He arrived in the pale evening two nights before, and seeks counsel. I have bidden him to be present, for here his questions shall be answered," and at the elf lord's explanation of his presence, many of those present relaxed, yet they neither seemed to notice nor care that there was a hobbit listening in on them? So weird.

She glanced with the teme over at Aragorn before shifting their gaze toward Sam's hunched form hidden behind a pillar. Ranger-san followed the movement and exhaled amusedly while shaking his head, but he did not address the council's attention or get up to shoo the hobbit. So perhaps the council did not care, or perhaps Ranger-san thought it best for the stout hobbit to be present.

Naruto tried to pay attention as messengers from all over the world related news about black armies marching once more, the black riders being spotted beyond the reaches of Mordor, and there being news of mercenaries traveling north into to Bree. She did try to pay attention, but her attention was drawn away to the clones chasing after her daughter. She absentmindedly ate and then as the dwarves began to speak, Dusk began to cry. She felt his diaper and crinkled her nose before excusing herself to change him since Mister One Arm wouldn't be able to do it.

She had heard some of this all before, but as she was leaving one thing stuck out, that dream she had had on Weathertop. A war was coming…a war had come to the south, and according to the dream, she had no choice but to flee or fight. But she had chosen neither and now her daughter was racing toward danger.

Sasuke shifted to eat a little more while Glóin began to speak of a messenger coming to the Lonely Mountain to speak with Dáin; he didn't know what the significance as supposed to mean, but he assumed this Dáin was their leader or king.

Sasuke outright scoffed when the dwarf related the messengers insurances that his master only wanted a ring, "the least of rings," that had been stolen and it would be a "token of friendship" for them to hand over the hobbit's whereabouts. Aragorn looked at him sharply and Sasuke just raised an eyebrow in response because really, how obvious could this messenger be that this "least of rings" was anything but. Plus the threats were so thinly veiled that they would not have flown in the Elemental Lands, which was ironic for a world that is so fond of talk. Surely Middle-Earthlings would be better and subtler at verbal threats than any one from his home world?

Aragorn looked like he was tempted to take Sasuke out this hearing, so he turned to listen fully to the rest of the old dwarf's words, "And so I have been sent at last by Dáin to warn Bilbo that he is sought by the Enemy, and to learn, if may be, why he desires this ring, this least of rings." So at least they found that suspicious.

"Also we crave the advice of Elrond. For the Shadow grows and draws nearer. We discover that messengers have come also to King Brand in Dale, and that he is afraid. We fear that he may yield. Already war is gathering on his eastern borders. If we make no answer, the Enemy may move Men of his rule to assail King Brand, and Dáin also," Glóin finished with a deep inhale as he waited for a response.

"You have done well to come," said the elf lord solemnly, "You will hear today all that you need in order to understand the purposes of the Enemy. There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it. But you do not stand alone," Sasuke supposed this was meant to pick up the dwarf's morale, "You will learn that your trouble is but part of the trouble of all the western world."

Was that supposed to be encouraging? It was refreshing to see a leader who did not give false hope or pretty, meaningless words, but this elf lord was not exactly inspiring much in any of them but perhaps fear—he would have excluded himself from those in fear but his dream replayed fresh in his mind and his youngest daughter was in a coma. He didn't want the armies of Mordor bearing down on his family.

The elf lord turned to the assembled persons and held out his arms in question, "The Ring! What shall we to do with the ring, the least of rings, the trifle that Sauron fancies?" Nothing, avoid its temptation, destroy it; were just a few of the immediate and sarcastic thoughts running through his mind, "That is the doom we must deem," Elrond announced.

At this moment the dobe returned, though Dusk was wide awake. She bounced him in her lap and sat beside him, though she had a slight frown marring her face. Sasuke half listened as the elf lord launched into a monologue about the rise and fall of this Sauron, and how the human prince, technically king since his father died, had cut the ring of power from Sauron's hands and taken the ring for his own—likely a fatal mistake. Sasuke had known elves were centuries old but just like Frodo, he was amazed that the elf lord remembered an event from literally thousands of years before—surely it would have gotten muddled with so many other centuries of memories.

The secluded human, Boromir, spoke up then and in Sasuke's opinion made a fool of himself. Clearly the corrupting ring was not "glad tidings," it was likely the end of this Isildur's life. And not a moment after the man sat himself down then did Elrond relate how the ring literally led to the human king's death, but when Sasuke turned to look at the man smugly, the soldier still seemed to be in awe of the ring—didn't he get that it was deceptive and-and well…evil? He felt like the dobe when he put things into black and white like that, but clearly this ring was no good yet the human was truly in awe of it.

The dobe's frown had increased as the human spoke and she began to bounce Dusk more anxiously. He caught her gaze moving over to the east and looking intently at the mountain range. "Dobe?" he began softly despite the chastising look Aragorn and a few of the elves seated close by gave him.

Elrond had just begun to discuss the passing centuries as the Ring was forgotten and men died, but he persisted in asking the dobe what was wrong, she shook he her head and just stared at the mountains. He did not appreciate her keeping things from him, but instead of pressing the matter, he turned back to the elf lord who described the fall of the men in Gondor, which would likely instigate the Gondor man into refuting some of his claims that all the valor and old blood had died in the kingdom, and surprise, surprise, just that did happen.

However the dobe shot up from her seat just as Boromir made to stand. She gave Sasuke Dusk quite suddenly and he stood up as well as he cradled their startled baby to his chest with one arm. He saw her crouch down prepared to pounce, "Dobe, what the hell is going on?" he handed Dusk off to Aragorn who had quickly and awkwardly accepted the baby.

Sasuke grabbed her arm and Boromir looked like he was afraid he would be mauled by the dobe. The dobe whirled on him and he noted she was calling on the fox's chakra, "Let me go."

He activated his sharingan, despite the drain, and glared back at her, "Not until you explain."

"Dawn is going south to fight, that's what our argument was about and why I disappointed her because I wouldn't let her go." Sasuke felt like the air was kicked out of him and the dobe easily jerked free of his hold. She then got back into her crouch, prepared to bound off in the valley below the porch.

Sasuke shook away the horror that had filled him at the announcement and got ready to shoot out after the dobe, but then she turned to look at him in surprise before Sasuke felt himself being pushed back into his chair by a chakra arm. "He's to stay here, he's still healing, and will die if he follows."

"Dobe, let me up!" Sasuke screamed at her, but then the charka hand shifted and pressed on his injured arm and he threw his head back and gritted his teeth against the pain, but strangled screams still escaped him.

When she let up she was gone, and in the distance he could see water flying up as the dobe charged down the Bruinen to the waterfall and up it. A Shunshin, the dobe was planning to chase after their daughter with a long and prolonged shunshin. He wouldn't have been able to complete that in his condition; part of it was because of the chakra cost and the second part was because of his injuries. His sharingan could counter the tunnel vision the high speeds created, but that didn't mean he wouldn't eventually smash into things. Besides, at the moment he was only able to hold susanoo for a few minutes, which he had done the days previously so that his chakra pathways had proper time to expand back to their normal capacity. He wouldn't have been able to follow the dobe like that.

Boromir blinked along with the council at him and then at where the dobe had been standing. Sasuke shook his head and accepted the crying baby from Aragorn who was trying to rock him to sleep. Sasuke took his son into one arm and bounced in place as he stared toward the mountains his wife had been staring at.

Boromir shifted uncomfortably, but spoke after a long moment, "I had hoped to speak on Gondor's behalf," he said almost lamely, "Since I am from there and you are all so far away, that perhaps you have not gotten news of…" he looked over at Sasuke and Dusk, who was still screaming his head off.

Sasuke glared back at him, "Don't mind us," he growled and Dusk hiccoughed for a moment and stopped crying before resuming again. Sasuke moved over to the corridor, though it did little for the noise. He wished there was such a thing as a pacifier. Instead he made shushing noises as he bounced in place and Boromir began to describe how his country's armies were all that held the Enemy at bay, as if the whole world would be overrun if they failed to hold some position over a river.

Sasuke blinked in sudden realization as the Gondor man went on some heroic tale of holding a bridge against what was likely a Nazgûl. No… Dusk had quieted a little but he was still distracting to some of the members present, but Sasuke had still heard just fine what Boromir had said, and he was reminded of his wife glaring at and threating the man. He walked into the room again and handed Dusk back off to Aragorn who looked at him in confusion.

"Dû?" Aragorn was now trying calm down the baby while Sasuke walked toward the soldier whose speech faltered—he had just launched into an unnecessarily wordy explanation of why he was here.

"Did you talk to my daughter about your war?" he asked lowly as he stepped forward and he heard Aragorn stand up hastily, as if to hold him back, but the ranger would hold himself back because he had a child in his arms.

The man blinked several times, "Excuse me?" his voice was nervous, and Sasuke narrowed his gaze.

"My wife is off to collect our daughter who seems to think she needs to fight in skirmishes to the south." He cocked his head to one side, "now why would she think that?"

Sasuke's movement forward was suddenly stopped as Gandalf rose from his seat and spoke, "Go back to your seat Dû, and let Boromir finish," Sasuke felt his body in voluntarily take a step backwards and he turned his head to glare at the wizard. Then he felt it, the energy forcing itself on him like a genjutsu does. He quickly stopped the flow of charka to his brain and broke the "spell."

"Do not attempt that on me again," he hissed and turned back wide-eyed soldier. Sasuke ignored the surprised gasps from the elves and continued to approach Boromir, "Now answer me, soldier," he said the word sarcastically, "Did you tell my daughter about your war and convince her to fight in it?"

The man just stared at Sasuke in horror, "Answer before I shove my fist through your chest!" Not that he could form a chidori with his lame arm, he wouldn't be able to make the necessary seals, but he could pump chakra into his arm and hand and shove that into the man's torso—it was much the same practice as what that simpering fangirl did whenever she wanted to shatter the ground.

The threat seemed to break everyone out of their stupor; well, that and Dusk was reacting to the amount of KI Sasuke giving off. "You will sit down and cease these threats," the elf lord's voice spoke out loudly enough to reverberate off of the surrounding walls, and Sasuke vaguely heard the old wizard saying something in a strange language. Sasuke felt an overwhelming—for lack of a better or more apt term—will pressing in on him and without his mind's volition his body stiffly walked back to his seat and took Dusk back from Aragorn.

He glared at the elf lord and the old Istar. They both began to chant something and Sasuke felt as if his body was locked into place and then the two wills pressing in on his own mind retreated.

The porch was silent and still for a long moment, "Please continue Boromir," the elf lord said after he had regained his composure. The bastard sat down so regally while Gandalf kept his staff trained on Sasuke with a wary look was in his eyes. The elves, hobbits, and dwarves were staring at him and those with concealed weapons were reaching for them as subtly as they could. He glared at each of them to show he had seen the movement and knew what they were reaching for, it made them freeze.

Boromir was pale still and he shifted awkwardly, "As I had been about to say," he said slowly and uncertainly. His gaze shifted over to Sasuke before speaking up, "A dream came to my brother three times, each the exact same, but our father paid it no mind until I had the same dream."

Sasuke glanced over sharply at the man. That was unusual. To have the same exact dream, it happened of course, but this world was peculiar. Sasuke himself had had a disturbing dream and he had wondered if he should believe it. If he had been in the Elemental Lands he would have thought nothing of it, but this world was different, and words held so much more power than they had in his world. There was magic here too, and so who was to say that what he had dreamt was not…prophetic in some way? The same was begrudgingly the true with Boromir then, and he glared at the man as he began to relate what had occurred in his dream.

"In that dream I though the eastern sky grew dark and there was a growing thunder, but in the west a pale light lingered, and out of it I heard a voice, remote but clear, crying:

Seek the Sword that was broken:

In Imladris it dwells;

There shall be counsels taken

Stronger than Morgul-spells.

There shall be shown a token

That Doom is near at hand,

For Isildur"s Bane shall waken,

And the Halfling forth shall stand…."

The human continued to speak about how he then journeyed here after making inquiries, but Sasuke glared at the beings who had bound him to his seat.

In his peripherals he saw Aragorn tense slightly at the first line of the poem and his hand shifted to the hilt of the sword he never removed. Sasuke gave up his attempt at glaring at the two people responsible for his condition and instead looked at the ranger with his brow slightly furrowed. He knew what such a tell meant, and knowing this world's preference toward giving things multiple names he began to think back to the history lesson Elrond had given them. It was less frustrating trying to see how everything fit together and related to each other than stewing in his confinement.

"The Sword that was broken" could very well refer to the sword that human prince had used to cut of Sauron's ring, and given Aragorn's nervous tell of checking on a sword that he had never once let Sasuke see could very well imply…well, it implied that the sword was the very same one Isildur had used.

Aragorn tensed slightly at his scrutiny and when Sasuke glanced down at the hilt of his friend's second sword, he looked away far too quickly. However, as Boromir was finishing up his speech, it seemed as if Aragorn was preparing himself for one of his own.

"And in the House of Elrond more shall be made clear to you," his friend stood up as he said this and threw his second sword onto the table. Sasuke could now see that it was broken in two pieces, for his friend had changed the scabbard to stiff leather knotted sheath instead of a full sheath as he had always had before. "Here is the Sword that was Broken!" Sasuke saw his friend was tensed as if for attack.

Boromir jerked back slightly like he had been struck, "Who are you and what are you to do with Minas Tirith?" he asked quite honestly as he began to examine Aragorn's face more closely in wonder.

Aragorn was stiff under the scrutiny and Sasuke imagined the man wished to slide into the shadows as he was prone to doing as Strider. Aragorn had only become fonder of shadows after Sasuke had taught him how to use them like a ninja.

"He is Aragorn son of Arathorn," elf lord stated, and Sasuke glared at him in spite, "and he is descended through many fathers from Isildur, Elendil's son of Minas Ithil. He is the Chief of the Dúnedain in the North, and few are now left of that folk."

Aragorn now truly looked like he wanted to hide in the shadows, especially when Boromir looked at him in a mixture of shock and respect, and Frodo shot to his feet clutching his waist coat pocket, "Then it belongs to you, and not to me at all!"

Aragorn backed away and shook his head as he sat down once more, "It does not belong to either of us, but it has been ordained that you should hold it for a while." The majority of those present looked between them in confusion and Sasuke just turned to his "brother like friend." He knew the man was the chief of the Dúnedain—Dawn traveling with them made it hard to keep such a fact quiet—but he now knew the full significance of his friend's name and title and his reluctance to give it all those years ago.

It wasn't so much that he was surprised his friend was basically daimyo, but more that he had chosen to spend so much of his time with Sasuke's family. Although, this certainly explained why he was secretive and was hesitant to disclose his true name, likely he had had assassins after him as long as he could remember. Was Aragorn just shirking his responsibilities as a leader? He knew the ranger was uncomfortable with leadership roles, even though he often performed them well. Perhaps that was indeed the case.

However, Gandalf grimly gestured for Frodo to stay standing, "Bring out the Ring, Frodo. The time has come. Hold it up, and then Boromir will understand the remainder of his riddle." Sasuke glared at Gandalf again and then that damn cursed ring.

Sasuke could literally feel the silence fall over all present on the porch as the younger hobbit dug in his waistcoat pocket and reluctantly pulled out the foul ring. The implication had been clear to everyone in the room, but to clear up any lingering doubts, the elf lord spoke, "Behold Isildur's Bane!"

Sasuke did not care for the way Boromir's eyes alighted upon the ring, and he could hear the man mutter "the Halfling" under his breath before confusion won over, "Is then the doom of Minas Tirith come at last? But why then should we seek a broken sword?" Did the man seriously not understand any of the implications?! Sasuke wasn't from this world and it was clear to him! It was all a sign of this dark enemy rising back into power and Aragorn getting over his reluctance and fear of leading! Hell! The soldier said it himself, the black arm was rising up again, so of course this also meant that their fucking enemy was coming back into power.

He wanted to be off this porch and out of this spell. He wanted to hear some news from his wife about their daughter, and he wanted to kill the soldier for putting such thoughts into Dawn's mind! And all this council did was talk excessively long and denounce the truths staring at them in the face.

Thankfully the ranger shared his frustration with the man, and even made a noise at the back of his throat before speaking up, "The words were not the 'doom of Minas Tirith'" he said almost exasperatedly. For people who could memorize long lays, and repeat almost verbatim verbal exchanges, Sasuke had to wonder how the soldier had twisted his riddle to mean that.

Aragorn continued before the foolish man could be offended, though Sasuke shook his head at the ranger's consideration, "But doom and great deeds are indeed at hand. For the Sword that was Broken is the Sword of Elendil that broke beneath him when he fell." For the only man not raised in the lore of this world, he seemed to have caught that much sooner than the damn Gondorian, "It has been treasured by his heirs when all other heirlooms were lost; the Ring, Isildur's Bane, was found. Now you have seen the sword that you have sought, what do you ask? Do you wish for the House of Elendil to return to the Land of Gondor?"

In other words, Sasuke thought with a smirk playing on his lips, the heir to the Gondor throne was asking a lord of Minas Tirith if he would like him to come and reclaim the throne. Perhaps he was taking away the various nuances, and was being too crude, but that was certainly what it looked and sounded like, though Sasuke could feel Aragorn's frustration with the man, though it was disguised by the overrated politeness demanded in this place. He glared back at the elf and Istar; he should have shoved his fist into that nuisance's chest by now.

Boromir held his head up almost defensively, "I was not sent to beg any boon, but to seek only the meaning of a riddle," he was such a proud man, and Sasuke scoffed only to receive a reprimanding look from the ranger. Boromir, however, did not see or hear the exchange and sighed as he continued on, "Yet we are hard pressed, and the Sword of Elendil would be a help beyond our hope—if such a thing could indeed return out of the shadows of the past." The doubtful look Boromir then gave Aragorn made Sasuke wish the dobe was here and there was such a thing as popcorn in this world, but then he reminded himself why she wasn't here at the moment and he glared darkly at the stupid soldier.

Sasuke wished his friend would throw decorum to the side and deck the bastard like he deserved, but Aragorn only held his head up higher even though he probably wanted to slink back into the shadows, perhaps someone should have been embracing his leadership roles with more enthusiasm… He'd have the dobe talk with Aragorn about that when she returned with Dawn.

Perhaps Sasuke should say something, but who knows, maybe the elf and Istar would silence him too? If the ranger was going to be too polite, then someone had to address the soldier's implication. To Sasuke's surprise, it was the old hobbit—who had accompanied the damn Istar and younger hobbit onto the porch—that spoke up, and he looked quite offended as he burst out into a rhyme, that Sasuke actually found himself drawn to listening to.

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken:

The crownless again shall be king.

"Not very good perhaps, but to the point—if you need more beyond the word of Elrond. If that was worth a journey of a hundred and ten days to hear, you had best listen to it." The old hobbit then sat down with a snort and Sasuke gazed at the wizened creature slightly surprised; however, the old hobbit then told Frodo he had written the lines, though Sasuke supposed he was the only one to see the exchange—he hadn't heard it but read their lips. However, Sasuke was a little annoyed the ranger had disclosed his heritage to the hobbit and not to him. But then…Sasuke probably wouldn't have understood the significance anyway and thus would have been annoyed with Aragorn for being unnecessarily wordy.

Aragorn smiled at the old hobbit before he turned back to Boromir, "For my part I forgive your doubt," and Sasuke refrained from wincing at his friend's honesty and niceness—back on Taka he would not have accepted insubordination, though back then he had been a different man and this world was different from the Elemental Lands. "Little do I resemble the figures of Elendil and Isildur as they stand carven in their majesty in the halls of Denethor. I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself," this seemed more like a statement the ranger told himself often but now told Boromir for an altered reason—clearly the man admired the long dead kings whereas Aragorn perhaps feared to become like them.

"I have had a hard and long life; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys. I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhûn and Harad where the stars are strange.

"But my home, such as I have, is in the North. For here the heirs of Valandil have ever dwelt in a long line unbroken from father unto son for many generations. Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end. Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters—but hunters ever of the servants of the enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only."

At least the man was finally standing up for himself and showing his credibility, but of course it was in far too many words. However, as Aragorn described the rangers Sasuke thought of the life Dawn wanted to enter into with Haldarad. She would someday become part of that long line of the Dúnedain, and bear more children into that world which hunted this dark enemy in various wilds. Haldarad was young still and had been kept on campaigns that spanned a small area, and as Dawn began to join the small group of rangers guarding the Shire, he continued to stay close.

Thinking of his eldest, he wondered why she would go off to fight the enemy so far from home when there were enemies close at hand she could fight and with a more reliable group of warriors around her.

When he glanced at the man responsible for this new stress in his life, Sasuke was satisfied for his far too proper friend at the slightly taken aback expression on Boromir's face. He almost looked like he regretted insulting Aragorn, and was perhaps even a touch ashamed, but only because of this dressing down he received on all fronts.

"If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played another part," Aragorn continued and Sasuke felt a smirk tugging at his lips. Despite the long talks, he was enjoying this exchange and power play. "Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say?"

Sasuke smirked as he watched the ranger undress the proud man's argument, a weak argument that had suggested his countrymen were un-thanked and defending the whole of Middle Earth. Yet even so, Aragorn sounded like he was simply lecturing the man instead of completely putting him in his place. He listened as his friend discussed the perils in the Northern lands and even mentioned Butterburr who called him the unsavory name of "Strider," but it was the Dúnedain that kept mercenaries from storming the village…Sasuke recalled the winter the after they had moved to Bree. The rangers had had their hands full with other things and wolves had begun to bay at the gates, but they only did so because of a threat marching up the Greenway in search of resources. He had killed the wolves in his amnesic state and had stopped the advancing party of mercenaries who wished to pillage Bree.

Sasuke looked away from his friend, his family could watch Bree for the Dúnedain, but then Haldarad would be moved to some other location and that would likely devastate Dawn; if Dawn should come back, that is. Damn it, he wished he was with his wife right now, but the warm weight resting against his arm and stomach held him back…their baby; not to mention the spell holding him in place.

Aragorn then finished his speech with his head held high with forced conviction, "But now the world is changing once again. A new hour comes. Isildur's Bane is found. Battle is at hand. The Sword shall be reforged. I will come to Minas Tirith." There was a minute shaking to his friend's arms, but then he clenched his fist in resolve and Sasuke gave the man an appraising look. Perhaps he was done battling with himself, perhaps the ranger was ready to leave the shadows and become a leader out in the open world?

Boromir, perhaps attempting to regain some upper hand or pride, asked perhaps the most idiotic question Sasuke had ever heard, "Isildur's Bane is found, you say," he practically sneered the words, "I have seen a bright ring in the Halfling's hand; but Isildur perished ere this age of the world began, they say. How do the Wise know that this ring is his?—"

"Shut the fuck up," Sasuke growled out, he couldn't take this man doubting every single thing they said, and making everything seem so much worse than it was.

"Dû!" Aragorn hissed and looked at him appalled while those assembled at the council just stared slack jawed. He saw the elf prince reach into his boot to pull out a knife, perhaps prepared to fight, and Sasuke noted those binding him to his seat had started chanting again.

"E-excuse me?!" Boromir stood up affronted and Sasuke stared at him blankly and remained seating with his son his arms.

"Were you not paying attention anything he said?" Sasuke glared at the chanting elf lord. "I don't know your lore but it was clear after that history lesson what the broken sword in your dream meant what it meant of the person carrying it, and we could have been saved from more talking." He heard Aragorn sigh heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Secondly, not all wars are won on the battlefield," he spat the words out as he glared at the soldier, "most of it is fought in the shadows and on the sidelines. You needlessly put my daughter into danger. She could be fighting with the Dúnedain as she has done for most of her adolescent life, and I sure as hell trust their skills far better than your men, who seem to find their task harder and harder by the year even when you outnumber the rangers at least ten to one." Boromir was about to open his mouth, outrage clear on his face, but Sasuke pressed on and began to bounce a fussing Dusk who was likely sensing his anger and reacting to it.

"As for the Ring," Sasuke jerked his head toward Frodo who shrank back. "It is filled with foul, corrupting energy, and I bet it's reaching out toward all of us with its influence."

"Dû is correct, the ring was forged out of Sauron's power and malice, and thus it holds that power and ever works to be reunited with its master," Gandalf intoned, "However, I am afraid this does not dismiss another 'history lesson' as you so eloquently put it." Sasuke glared at the old wizard who almost smiled at him in amusement or perhaps payback.

Boromir was about to cut in again and perhaps retort, but Sasuke spoke up, "It's practically noon and none of you have even begun to discuss the possible ways to destroy that thing," he glared at Frodo's waist coat pocket as he bounced his leg up and down in an attempt to hush Dusk—undoubtedly he was hungry now since Sasuke had been calming himself down.

He wished the ring had been set on the table so he could use ameteratsu on it, perhaps the flames would melt it? Though it probably needed some sort of magical incantation to destroy it or other magical means, but it might have ended this damn council and he could be free of this room. "And frankly I don't see what I'm needed here for unless we get straight to the point."

Most of the assembled beings bristled at his tone and he almost smiled at that, but Aragorn was giving him another reproachful look, and Dusk was working up to a wail.

"So set the damn ring on the floor and we can try one way to destroy it now before we needlessly go on talking."

"It can only be destroyed in the fires from which it has been forged," Gandalf intoned and Sasuke nodded, he had figured as much.

"Humor me,"

Gandalf and Elrond exchanged looks before shifting their gazes to Frodo and then back to Sasuke, "If this fails you will sit down for and wait out the rest of the talks, and you will not make any more threats on anyone, no matter how deserving they might be in your eyes" Elrond's voice was hard and his gaze tried to be intimidating. Sasuke nodded firmly and Frodo hesitantly set the ring down on the floor, though he didn't move very far away from it.

Sasuke felt his body move into a stand, "Take Dusk," he said to Aragorn, "just in case," he murmured and the ranger rushed to pick up the fussing baby.

Sasuke felt his body continue to walk forward, and although he would have wished to do this in private, that was not an option after the threats he had made. Besides, with the ring's corrupting influence the more weak-minded members would have protested and accused him; he thought of Boromir when he thought this, simply because the man seemed incapable of understanding things that were spelled out before him.

Actually, he was surprised the man wasn't protesting this course of action, though perhaps he doubted this was really Sauron's ring? Either way, Sasuke activated his eternal sharingan and quickly used his blaze release on the ring. Frodo and the old hobbit cried out in horror as the black flames just circled around the ring—he would be able to hold the technique for just shy of a minute given his current chakra levels, but he also needed to expend copious amounts for his pathways to open back up after the weeks he had spent with very little chakra.

He continued to concentrate on it while Frodo and Bilbo stared anxiously at the small circle of black flames. There were murmurs from each of the beings present about his ability but he continued to concentrate, and he hoped this display would release the binding on him, for he could have easily set them all on fire long ago, but he had resisted—mostly because he wanted the satisfying sensation of Boromir's blood running down his hands and the sound of his screams as he was slowly killed.

Sasuke frowned when he saw the power inside the ring was starting to act up, as if annoyed. And then, Sasuke wasn't sure what happened. One minute the flames were burning around the ring, and then a burst of its energy shot up into the air at him. Everything went black and there was a ringing in his ears, but for a moment he had thought, just as unconsciousness took over, there had been a flaming eye glaring at him when his eyes had rolled back into his head.

…

Naruto had made it, and in a much shorter time that she would have thought, although she had had to stop several times to retch from the disorienting tunnel vision or because she had collided into a tree. She was now a good ways up the mountain path Dawn was taking and her daughter was a couple hundred yards away. Naruto did one last shunshin and landed in front of Dawn.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Naruto had her hands on her hips and Dawn glared at her.

"You weren't going to do anything!" she shouted back in a ready position, her eyes flashed read and the three tomoe marks began to spin in her eyes. "You were just going to let all those innocent people form Gondor to Bree die, and what? Because they weren't your people, they weren't Ele—"

"It has nothing to do with that" Naruto wouldn't take that kind of abuse anymore. It had been so hard for her to agree to such a selfish thing, to put her needs and the needs of her family first. "You are my priority now, you, your sisters, Dusk, your father…" Naruto's voice cracked, "Don't you get it, you are my family and I-I thought long and hard about this, Dawn!" Frustrated, angry tears were forming in her eyes now, "I always put everyone before me, and it has cost me so much pain and sadness, and-and if I did that now, now with all of you in my life…I would be endangering all of you."

"So you're giving up being a hero for us?" her voice was low and confused.

"If I left, who would take care of your brother? He won't be able to digest animal milk at the moment, and frankly if I traveled with him I would be putting him in danger. Then do I just leave the teme alone to go off and fight with men who won't value my ability?" Naruto shook her head, "Dawn I have thought about this and struggled with myself over choosing the selfish thing over the greater good," Naruto laughed weakly, "though you father wouldn't say it's selfish to choose family, now would he? It's just me that thinks putting my own needs first is selfish," she shook her head and looked at Dawn.

The girl's face relaxed in understanding "I'm sorry…I guess I understand, but…" she murmured, and then she bowed her head and deactivated her sharingan. However, when Naruto moved to hug her, she could hear Kurama laughing in her mind.

"Come on let's get you back to Rivendell, and if you really want adventure, maybe we'll let you travel with the Dúnedain more, okay?" Dawn nodded weakly and they turned start back down the mountain "Maybe we'll even see you married, hmm?" Dawn nodded, blushing.

Naruto frowned, this felt off somehow, almost too easy and without as much fight as she thought there would be. Kurama laughed again in her mind and she went to mentally confer with him; he was just smiling but didn't say anything.

Naruto walked on a little bit more, and she felt a growing pressure in her chest but when she looked, down she didn't seen any stains. She quickly clenched her fists tightly enough to break skin, the pain cleared her vision and senses. Dawn was nowhere near her, she was indeed lactating, and when she reached out her senses she felt her daughter moving at high speeds away from her.

Her baby, the baby she had been hoping for, was likely crying for her and her grown-up baby was running away. The rage and frustration came over her suddenly and she lashed out at the surrounding landscape with a chakra tail. The rage left her quickly as she dodged the landslide she had created along with the various tress falling down around her. Gods damn it. Her baby needed her, and if she kept chasing after Dawn, the girl would continue trapping Naruto in her illusions, and all the while her little baby would be going hungry—after all, it was nearly noon and he had not fed since he woke up around sunrise.

…

"Dû!" Aragorn rushed to his friend's limp and bleeding body. The blacksmith was bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears. Dusk was now screaming in Aragorn's ear and he tried to soothe the baby as he continued to look over his friend's injuries almost helplessly.

Lord Elrond was by his side quickly then with a deep frown marring his expression. He began to chant and shook his head slowly. "What happened to him?" he asked Lord Elrond and Gandalf, the only ones who seemed to not be murmuring in wonder and terror. Frodo had hastily picked up the ring then and held the thing close to his chest like it was…precious.

Gandalf's expression was grim as he spoke, "Frodo, hold out the ring, the writing is on it again, is it not?" the hobbit nodded weakly and opened his fist. Aragorn swallowed thickly as he saw a the Mordor script glowing on the band. "One ring to rule them all," Gandalf stated as he looked out at those in the council.

Aragorn noted that Boromir looked convinced, along with most of the council, which rightfully looked terrified. Boromir was the only one who looked at the ring like it was gift still, despite what it had done to Sasuke.

"As for what the ring had done," Gandalf began with a disturbed frown marring his face, "Dû was right before when he said it was working its influence on all of us. The ring acts in defense of itself in much subtler ways. It twists the mind of all who bear it or are near it."

Aragorn swallowed thickly as he bounced Dusk and tried to soothe the baby. He knew it took a creature of strong willpower and one of an incorruptible nature to bear the ring and not be swayed by it or succumb to it, but he hadn't imagined it could influence those around it.

"But I doubt the ring could twist Dû's mind into finding the ring dear when he was assaulting it, and instead it attacked. I am sure it cost the ring dearly for such a direct assault and we will not see such an attack again; it prefers burrowing into its bearer's mind and making it too precious to discard or destroy." Gandalf's voice rose above Dusk's wails, and Aragorn noted that Frodo had paled at his words and looked down at the ring apprehensively before slowly pocketing it again.

There was a sudden echoing crash and off to the east, partway up the mountain the High Pass was in, was a rising cloud of dust and Aragorn could see the unmistakable signs of a landslide. The hobbits jumped at the noise, but then silence settled over the council.

Lord Elrond gestured for some of the hidden guard to come down from their posts, "I have done what I can for the moment, Dû will need rest. I will have a servant find—"Aragorn jerked away from one of the approaching guards who had his hands out to take the squalling baby from him.

"I apologize Lord Elrond, but Dû and his wife are not the most trusting people when it comes to their children. I will leave the council." He bowed slightly and Lord Elrond shook his head.

"Perhaps we could convene for a little while and have a bite to eat and refresh ourselves?" Bilbo spoke up almost hopefully and Aragorn felt a bemused smile come onto his face, so very like a hobbit to suggest such a thing.

Lord Elrond gave a thin, amused smile, "Perhaps we shall break for lunch," the smile fell quickly, "the council has not quite gone as expected," and Lord Elrond was looking specifically the unconscious blacksmith now being carried by the two guards off of the porch.

"Too true," Aragorn murmured and squashed the desire to glare over at Boromir. He had felt ashamed of his friend's actions, but then he reminded himself of the very different cultures they came from. Sasuke and Arad came from a world of action and concise orders and responses, and when it came to protecting their family they became homicidal.

The council stayed on the porch as servants brought out food. Aragorn walked about the porch trying to soothe the babe, but nothing worked, and Rivendell did not have any milking animals to help feed the baby. Aragorn had tried dripping some of their draught into the child's mouth but the child squalled more.

When those around him began to give him accusatory looks he even began singing every elvish lullaby he knew, but what Dusk needed was to be fed, and fed by his mother. They prolonged the lunch as long as they could before resuming the council, in hopes of Arad returning and Aragorn not having to leave.

Aragorn was about to leave when he felt the wind shift and quite suddenly a red-eyed Arad was in front of him and reaching for Dusk with clawed hands. The front of her dress was wet and she looked almost desperate. She took Dusk into her arms and before Aragorn could look away she threw the dress off one shoulder and began to feed her wailing child.

"Where's the Bastard?" she asked in a trembling voice as Aragorn looked away.

"He used his black flames on the ring and it retaliated," he responded as calmly as he could.

"What?!" Arad screamed and Aragorn flinched back but Lord Elrond spoke for him.

"Your husband only needs rest now, Lady Arad, and should you like privacy with your son—"

"What do you mean he only needs rest?" Arad snapped quickly, ignoring the offer Lord Elrond had giving—she had never been one for propriety.

"The ring's retaliation compounded on his injuries. I healed all I could, and now he just needs rest, truly," Lord Elrond spoke in a placating tone and Aragorn felt some of his own tensions relieve a little at the calm in his voice, plus Dusk was silent as he ate.

The blonde woman relaxed slightly at these words before she spotted Boromir and glared venom at him. Aragorn knew she had not returned with Dawn and that the girl had somehow escaped her mother, or perhaps the blond woman—given the state of her dress—knew she could not continue pursing one child because she neglected another that was in much greater need of her.

"Let me ask you something, Soldier-san," she quite literally growled as she approached the tall man. Somehow she was able to look intimidating despite the baby at her chest. "How will your men react to my daughter offering her bow in defense of your great city, hmm?" she asked sarcastically. "Are any of them even half as capable as the rangers, whom she has had the most experience fighting with?"

Boromir bristled but Aragorn intervened quickly, "We will be sure to have Boromir send a letter of introduction by bird if he had not sent one with her." The blonde turned to him and he flinched at the barely restrained anger on her face and in her eyes, "and I am sure there are at least a few soldiers who could match perhaps Haldarad's skill."

Arad scoffed and Aragorn looked away. That had not been his most subtle way of saying how capable he thought his ancestors countrymen were, especially since Haldarad was still quite young and thus one of the less experienced Dúnedain—though he had great potential and was only just starting his thirties.

"Maybe she can train the archers up to par," the blonde looked down at her baby for a moment before looking back at Boromir who just stared at her offended but unable to process what was happening to him at the moment.

"I may not be as outright violent as my husband, but for however long you are in Rivendell," she smiled maliciously, "I will make it very unpleasant, you'll be looking over your shoulder with each step—"

"Arad!" he knew exactly what the woman had in store for the soldier of Gondor. "Innocent people could be caught in your jokes."

She shook her head, "No, because Soldier-san doesn't know how to look for us," she grinned wickedly, which meant it would not be traps she used to torture Boromir. "And I've been meaning to teach Tinnu a few non-lethal seals" Aragorn looked over at the confused man and shook his head pityingly.

"So long as no bystanders are involved, there would be no harm," just humiliation for the man who had endangered Aragorn's niece.

"Excuse me, Aragorn but what are you consenting to have happen in my halls?" He resisted the urge to flinch at the almost chastising tone in Lord Elrond's voice.

"I'm just going to make Soldier-san walk on egg-shells for however long he stays," Arad said simply and Aragorn shook his head.

"Lady Arad has a fondness for…jokes, harmless jokes that mostly involve dyes." And fortunately she would not be using her traps.

Lord Elrond frowned at this and looked at the blonde woman almost reproachfully, before turning away from the nursing woman. "My Bastard husband would be trying to kill him, and I'd let him if you'd prefer." She had that mischievous smile on her face, as if she already knew the outcome of this talk. Aragorn shook his head.

Unlike the men, elves, and dwarves alike who could not look at her for long without turning away blushing, Aragorn was somewhat used to the woman's lack of decorum. It was scandalous for her to nurse her child so openly and in the company of all males, but Aragorn had learned to just focus on her face or the space above her head because the woman would act however she please. He supposed this seeming lack of awareness for her own body and whom she was around was impart due to the fact she had been a man, that or she simply had no shame when it came to her body.

"We've witnessed that, Madame," Gandalf spoke grimly and Boromir paled again at the reminder of the previous threats.

"And you were able to stop him?!" The blonde was genuinely shocked by this, Gandalf and Lord Elrond glanced at each other before nodding slowly. Arad made a low whistle as she checked on her feeding baby almost distractedly, "You'll have to teach me that. I usually have to wrestle him to the ground when he goes on his homicidal rampages," she looked back up at them all and flashed a toothy smile, "and it usually destroys most of the surrounding area." He supposed the blonde was talking about their life before when they had been enemies.

Aragorn saw most of the council shift uncomfortably, but the blonde continued on, "Well if you're stopping him here, the next time he sees Soldier-san, he'll kill him slowly and painfully, especially if anything happens to Dawn, and I may just join him on that," she glanced back over at Boromir who paled in his seat and shrank back from the woman.

Naruto looked around at those assembled and wanted so badly be with her teme, but this council needed to be finished. So with one last look around, she sat down and waited for the council to continue.

Elrond-sama slowly broke the silence after a short awkward moment, "Let us cease making threats on each other and look to the threat that hangs over us all." He looked away from Naruto with an almost disturbed look and turned back to Boromir, the stupid soldier, "Boromir, you had asked, before we convened how the ring Frodo had presented could possibly be the ring that had been cut from Sauron's hand,"

She knew who Sauron was and the ring's significance in relation to that, but she wasn't sure about much else the elf lord was talking about and Aragorn made a gesture that said he would explain later and she nodded as she set her face into a firm line while Dusk continued to feed.

"Bilbo," Elrond-sama said as he gestured to a wizened hobbit who was trying to look anywhere but at Naruto in fascination.

The elderly hobbit moved much more sprightly than she would have expected, and there was an excited gleam to his eyes as he stood before the council, and she quickly learned why. This old hobbit was a story teller, and true, she had heard some of his stories rendered by others, but listening as the hobbit describe his encounter with a strange creature named Gollum, she found him captivating—she didn't even mind that he mentioned every single riddle the Gollum creature asked him.

After the rather long tale, ideas were bounced back and forth as to what to do with the ring, especially since the enemy knew it had been found and was now looking for it. Of course Boromir had suggested actually using the ring to battle their enemy, and although that was typically a solid strategy for when the enemy had a powerful weapon, it would not work in this case. This "weapon" had a mind of its own and wanted its creator; they would just be harmed or corrupted if they were to use it, and she had quite loudly made her point clear about the matter; although Aragorn made a chastising noise when she had asked if Soldier-san was stupid and reckless.

It had taken a little while, but everyone calmed down after her outburst and they were able to focus on other options, like hiding it. She liked Frodo's suggestion of leaving it with Old Tom and Goldie, but then she saw Gandalf's point. Old Tom was forgetful, and he was very much invested with Golide and likely would forget about the ring, and thus it would resurface—as might be the case if they threw it in a river or the ocean. Hell, Naruto remembered a time when Old Tom had forgotten about her and the teme, and he had had his home disappear from the hill for a week! Gramps was right, Old Tom might forget about it and then one day throw it out by accident, and the enemy might pick it up again. Still it was a tempting choice, especially since he was resistant if not immune to the ring—she wasn't surprised by that, he felt as old as the energy coming out of the earth.

There options were growing scarcer, and Naruto had taken the task before her seriously. They wanted to be tactical, and although Shikamaru had done that in the war, she knew a little, and she could think of it like a prank—yeah an ingenious prank on someone who was always on guard and guarded.

"Neh, can you drop the ring from up above? Like are there any winged things you can ride to Mordor on? And then just like plop the ring down into the volcano." Naruto asked now that they were back to looking at ways to destroy it, which apparently could only be done in the fires it was forged from—it was actually kind of cool that it was made out of a volcano.

"It would be far more open as a way of attack and I do not put it past Sauron to have winged creatures to combat the eagles," Gandalf sighed and Naruto raised an eyebrow before figuring that the eagles mentioned were the one of their allies.

"Fine," she shrugged and pursed her lips for a moment, "Then your best bet," she paused and nodded her head as her thoughts were coming back together, "is going to be coming up on them silent and fast so he won't know what hit 'im. A small group, two or three tops, to infiltrate Mordor" Naruto saw Boromir open his mouth with a retort ready, "and I mean infiltrate not storm the fucking gates." There were almost horrified gasps from everyone at the council

She looked at them with her brow furrowed, "What? That's not that unreasonable!" She paused for a moment "Every place can be broken into, I broke into our chief military base and stole one of our most powerful scrolls when I was twelve," she then grinned at the memory, "Sometimes it takes a distraction, but most of the time it just takes crawling into spaces people forget exist.

"So find a secret way in, climb the mountains around it, whatever," she shrugged and bounced a cooing Dusk on her knee, "I don't know what Mordor's defenses look like and all that, but if someone has a map, I bet I can find somewhere they've forgotten about or a less looked to path,"

"And how can you do that from just a map?" Soldier-san challenged and she looked over at him slowly.

"Because there will be guards at every entrance and scouts along the roads, but they can't spare all their attention at the places that have defenses around it, more compromising defenses," she saw Gandalf pale and she felt Aragorn shift in unease, "and apparently there is one that matches what I'm talking about?"

"The winding staircase off of Minas Morgul, there is one guard tower on the Mordor side, but," Ranger-san began slowly as he shook his head, and Naruto raised an eyebrow as she waited for him to continue. He didn't, so she frowned.

"Well you could get in undetected for the most part," she shrugged, "and then you'll just have to disguise as the enemy's grunts. Ya know, learn their language, walk, mannerisms, and slowly work your way toward the mountain. Find ways to get patrol closer and closer to it." She shrugged again, "You just gotta be unremarkable and hide your scent in their blood and sweat, but don't get too boring or you might raise suspicions, ya know?" They didn't know what she was talking about, but there was a thoughtful silence after her suggestions.

Naruto looked over at the now setting sun, "I mean there really isn't much else I can tell you. Storming the place would be too risky and result in too many causalities, I have a baby and my family to take care of so I can't just fight your war for you. I need to rescue my daughter," she glared over at Soldier-san who shifted in his seat, "from this stupidness, so as much as I want to help I need to put my family first," the words felt like something bitter and dead on her tongue.

"So the best shot any of you have is stealth. Perhaps on the travel there you'll want a larger group to help, and all, you know, with scouting and stuff, but once you infiltrate, smaller numbers are better."

The silence continued on for a moment and Naruto fidgeted around as she looked at the males around, "So…?"

Elrond-sama spoke up first, "Thank you Lady Arad. I will have a guard escort you to your husband, and I ask that you and he always have a guard about you—"

"We could kill Soldier-baka in his sleep without any of you being the wiser, but I'll keep my bastard in check, and I'll just do my jokes while he's here," she then glanced over at Boromir, "but if we ever meet you again outside of Rivendell, you better hope our daughter is in perfect condition or else I'll tear you limb from limb and heal you before you bleed out, and then do it all over again before my husband has a chance to do anything."

Naruto stood up then and smiled at the council, "Sorry, just had to put in one more threat, but I'm done with them now, and if you want a guard fine," she shrugged, "They just won't be able to keep up with us." She then started toward the porch entrance.

She heard Ranger-san sigh heavily, "I will be their guard, Elrond-sama, and I will vouch for Lady Arad that she will not physically harm Boromir in your halls and she will not let Dû harm him either."

She glanced back at Ranger-san he smiled slightly while a guard came up beside her as Elrond-sama spoke "Very well, after the council, please watch them." She didn't know what passed next but soon she was led to the room they had been staying in on the healing-wing. When she got there the teme was awake but he looked disoriented and battered up.

"Dobe?" he began groggily, "Where's Dawn?"

Naruto paled and looked away as she held Dusk close to her body, "She put me in an illusion and when I broke out of it I was lactating," She didn't want to see his anger and disapproval.

She saw him shoot to his feet but then he swayed and fell back onto the bed with a groan. She swallowed thickly and moved to his side, "I may know which path she started out on but she could have changed path when she saw me following her. You're in no shape to follow her, Minuial hasn't woken up yet, and Dusk is too young and not healthy enough for such a journey." Her throat was getting tighter and tighter, "We need to wait teme, we need to."

She saw him glare up at the ceiling before he nodded slowly, "I'm going to kill that man."

"Tinnu and I will start pranking him," the teme froze at her words and looked over at her before smiling slightly and nodding.

"And then, when we see him again…" the teme began with a slow, cruel smile.

"We'll tear him apart," Naruto whispered with a nod, and the teme slowly sat up with a grimace like his head was spinning and splitting. However, the headache he must have been feeling didn't stop him from leaning in and kissing her full on the mouth almost desperately.

"Damn straight," he murmured when he pulled away.

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A Suivre