Do as the Middle-Earthlings Do

by It's-Kraggie

When in Middle Earth, do as the Middle-Earthlings do: Sakura finds herself in the midst of Middle Earth, immersed in a war she has no part in, saving a world and people she doesn't know, and why? Because Naruto would be disappointed in her if she ever got back and told him she hadn't...

9. Chapter Eight

When In Middle Earth: The edited, revised and face-lifted edition:

When in Middle Earth, do as the Middle-Earthlings do.Sakura finds herself in the midst of Middle Earth, immersed in a war she has no part in, saving a world and people she doesn't know, and why? Because Naruto would be disappointed in her if she ever got back and told him she hadn't...

Chapter Eight:

In which they are found.

Disclaimer:

The Lord of The Rings, it's associated characters and components are copyright and property of its author J. R. R. Tolkien, the actors that played them, and the director of the trilogy of films of the same name, Peter Jackson. The character Sakura and any components associated with the manga and anime 'Naruto' are property and copyright of Masashi Kishimoto

The story continues:

"Why is Stranger so cross with you?"

The question was so blunt, and unexpected, that Aragorn outwardly started. He looked down to meet Pippin's upturned face, only to find the hobbit sporting a distinctly concerned frown and Merry barely a step behind, bearing the very same expression. His face twisted guiltily. Aragorn averted his gaze upward, as much to avoid those worried gazes as to look for a hint of pink among the foliage. Sakura was nowhere to be seen however, and he sighed minutely. In the two days since the elves had joined their party, he had seen her but four times. At all times she kept up her scout. Only when they halted their flight in the late hours, and again before the dawn saw them set off again, did she appear to tend Frodo. Each time she appeared from another direction, and even Glorfindel's keen eyes and ears couldn't mark her path 'til she landed. He had attempted to offer his aid in some measure of recompense, but was met with only a stoniness that he, personally, had never received from Sakura before, and he soon retreated. Glorfindel aided her when she would allow it, but then only insofar as redressing his wounds required. To all other ends she enlisted only the hobbits, who seemed to be currently in her favour. Or, at least, more so than anyone else.

Merry, Pippin, and Sam complied immediately and without question, following her instructions without pause. So far she had utilised the entire contents of both her own, and Sam's, water skins to employ her incredible poison-extraction, whilst the sturdy Halflings held their kin down. He and Glorfindel could have done the same with half the effort, but the little medic would glare them down if they so much as moved toward her patient. Aragorn grimaced slightly. It was abundantly clear that Sakura's ire had not abated. He found that he could not truly fault her for it – she had told him enough of her world for him to see that trust was rare and highly valued for one such as her. She had every right to feel betrayed by him. And for two beings who had yet to prove themselves allies in her eyes, no less.

"Strider?" Pippin questioned again. He frowned remorsefully.

"I took advantage of her trust in me to force her into a position she is neither comfortable nor content in," he admitted. Guilt surged within him anew at the confession.

Pippin and Merry gaped.

"You did what?"

Whatever Aragorn had expected from the hobbits, this was not it. They looked utterly flabbergasted. Pippin's little mouth had dropped so much open that he almost thought the hobbit could catch small birds in it, let alone flies.

"What on Middle Earth would you go and do something like that for?" It was Merry that voiced the thought first, Pippin nodding vigorously in indignant agreement. "You're the only one she does trust!"

Aragorn was not entirely sure how to respond to that. As it was, the smaller hobbit quickly interjected his two cents, and he found himself for the first time completely speechless in the face of Pippin's self-righteous indignation.

"If she had even half as much trust in me as she had in you, I'd treasure it! Not abuse it!" said Pippin hotly, looking – to Aragorn's mind – unreasonably offended. "Especially seeing as hers is so hard to come by!"

"Given that you are very little threat to her Mr. Took, I hardly think that she needs to trust you," replied Aragorn somewhat snippily. He was already feeling guilty enough as it was without these hobbits presuming to lecture him on it, not least when he couldn't for the life of him figure out just when Sakura had become such a matter of their concern.

"From what I have seen neither are you," Pippin sniped right back, looking cross. The Ranger flinched. He couldn't truthfully refute that. He was strong, and physically he was bigger than her, but every day it seemed that the girl unveiled some new power. He was growing more and more aware that his peaceful relationship with her so far had been much less to do with Sakura being unable to harm him and much more to do with her simply not choosing to do so. It was hardly a point that he wished to argue with the hobbits however.

"Perhaps not," he said lowly, "though I do wonder at your caring so very strongly, little hobbits?"

They bristled, at his subtle emphasis on the word 'little' no doubt, and drew themselves up, much to his private amusement.

"And why shouldn't we? She saved our lives," said Merry.

"More than once," interrupted Pippin.

"She's saving Frodo," said Merry.

"Exactly," said Pippin, as if this clinched the matter. Apparently the only prerequisite for scoring oneself some hobbit-loyalty was saving other hobbits, Aragorn mused silently, and just a little critically.

"Well, I am sure your support means the world to her," he replied blandly, and quickened his pace to draw level with Arwen again.

He ignored the knowing look she gave him in favour of scanning the treetops again. He hadn't meant to be quite so callous toward the hobbits, but as was oft with Men, in his anger at himself he had taken it out on the nearest available outlet. In this case, two rather defensive hobbits, whom despite good intentions, had far less claim to Sakura's loyalty than he had. Or perhaps far more, he amended the thought gloomily, acutely aware that between his guilt, his worry and his distinct lack of sleep, he was being utterly unreasonable. Arwen's light hand on his arm drew his attention back to her.

"My, my, what must this girl mean to you, I wonder, if a little cold treatment prompts you into arguing with hobbits of all creatures?" The elf-maiden teased softly. "Perhaps if I am to have some of your attention I should do the same?"

Aragorn sighed heavily, and moved his hand over hers to interlace their fingers, squeezing gently.

"I am sorry Arwen," he murmured in Sindarin, "Guilt weighs heavily on my mind, and worry, and foreboding." He offered her a weary smile, "I promise that once we are once again safely ensconced within fair Rivendell, I shall bestow all of my time and attention on you alone. Together we shall walk under the trees and take our meals under the sun, and as dusk approaches we may watch the sun fade as we once did every day. Do you remember?"

"I do," She whispered softly, "And how wondrous it will be to do so again, my love. But I do not presume to hold all your time to myself," here she brushed the pad of her thumb across the back of his hand in a familiar, comforting caress, "The girl feels wounded by you, does she not? Give her time, dear man, and space. She will forgive you eventually. Regardless of race, women are the same after all, and most especially when they are slighted."

This time his smile was less weary, full of gratitude, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Arwen unclasped their hands in favour of slipping her arm through his, and laid her head on his shoulder, smiling serenely up at him. "Now," she murmured, "Tell me, why do they call her Stranger?"

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The clone hopped idly from tree to tree, keeping herself directly above the white horse and it's increasingly sick occupant. She saw Aragorn search the trees more than once, and was not a little smug that he had yet to see her. But then, she was behind him, and as a clone constructed entirely of chakra she was virtually weightless, meaning she was even more silent than her human counterpart. This was precisely the reason that the clone was the one shadowing the group, while the real Sakura brought up the rear – she didn't particularly want to be seen. As yet she had no reason to trust these 'elves' and she was loath to let them out of her sight, especially since she didn't know the extent of their capabilities. The woman knew how to use a sword and the ashen-haired male knew some medicine, but that was the extent of her knowledge. And unlike hobbits, who were entirely too trusting in her personal opinion, she wasn't about to let her guard down just because Strider thought they were alright.

Hearing her name (or 'Stranger' at least) her attention was caught. The clone allowed herself to speed up a little, and soundlessly slipped from tree to tree, following a conversation between Aragorn, and Merry and Pippin. What followed caused her pink eyebrows to slide nearly into her hairline.

"- half much trust in me as she had in you, I'd treasure it!" the smaller hobbit was saying. Well, that was interesting…She was vindictively pleased to see the Ranger looking guilty.

The exchange concluded quickly, and she narrowed her eyes as Aragorn sped up to catch the lady-elf.

'Oh yes,' she thought with a mild sneer as she saw him take her hand, 'he thinks she is quite a bit of alright.'

The clone snorted indelicately and dropped back to Frodo again. Her real self would certainly be interested to know that when the clone was dismissed. She filed the matter of Merry and Pippin under 'Not important yet – deal with later', and set to Frodo-watching once more.

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Sakura was rather proud of her latest genjutsu. Of course, she still wasn't certain that they worked on Ringwraiths, but the horses were fair game and would almost certainly be relying on sight, which was precisely what this particularly nifty little illusion targeted. It was quite brilliant in its simplicity really. In fact, it wouldn't appear any different at all from the real forest, absolutely identical in fact, except for one tiny little detail. That detail being that in the illusion, three neat little sets of hoof-prints and eight sets of footprints would be clearly visible hurrying in completely the wrong direction. Yes, Sakura was proud of that one.

Satisfied, she took to the treetops once more, stopping now and then to carefully brush away any real prints, and periodically checking behind her. Her senses were heightened to incredible sensitivity by the chakra thrumming through her system and as she breathed deeply, letting her sense widen and expand, she clearly felt the presence of her own muted chakra in the form of her four clones. One ran ahead of the group, but had yet to disperse or send back a warning, so it seemed all was safe that way for the moment. Some metres to the left and right, two more clones flanked the party, while one monitored their patient from overhead. She frowned as she felt that one move forward out of position, but it soon dropped back. Sakura decided to simply leave it be and find out what it was about later. Sakura let go of the breath and felt her field of awareness narrow back to normal proportions. It was a particularly helpful little meditative technique that she'd picked up from Hyuuga Hinata – not a jutsu per se, and not nearly as good as the byakugaan, but useful.

Carefully springing from tree to tree, Sakura made sure to keep her chakra balanced and regulated so as not to disturb the branches. Even fallen leaves could make a trail after all. She contemplated sending one of the clones to check on the road, certain that if they weren't being followed through the wilderness then certainly the Riders would be headed along that way – no doubt aiming to catch them at the 'last bridge'. From what she had seen on the map, they would have to rejoin the road and take that route at some point or another, as there was simply no other way into Rivendell. Great tactics from a defensive point of view, she gave the elves that much credit, but distinctly inconvenient for Ring-bearers on the run. They wouldn't be able to hide in the trees forever.

She gave some thought to this. Mentally, she drew up a picture of the map she'd studied and tried to work out how far they had come so far. At last however, she decided to wait. It would definitely benefit them to do it when they got closer, but for now she elected to reserve her chakra. She had in fact expended very little. She'd used the boost from the soldier pill to create the clones, thus barely touching her own reserves. Furthermore, she hadn't expended any chakra on Frodo either. In fact, each time 'she' tended him, it had in fact been another clone. Using a different one each time meant that she didn't need to use any of her own, while preventing the clones from losing too much and risking their dispersal. So far she'd used four of them, the fifth would attend to Frodo when they stopped tonight, and she would finally do it herself in the morning.

Contrary to what the academy taught, using chakra wasn't just about control, but strategy and forward planning, as Sakura found. Of course that meant Naruto would still never master it perfectly, but he had so much chakra anyway that it hardly mattered…But thinking of Naruto brought a lump to her throat, and homesickness wasn't something she had time to dwell on just yet. So she firmly pushed that thought to the back of her mind and forced herself to concentrate on what she had to do.

Two days without pursuit was too….convenient.

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On the third day there were still no signs of pursuit.

Glorfindel, in all his wisdom, pronounced Frodo's condition to be stable – or rather, that he wasn't getting any worse.

The hobbits were glad.

Sakura was suspicious.

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On the fourth day, they approached the road. Still with no indication of pursuit, Pippin ventured the opinion that perhaps the Ringwraiths had given up, or else that they thought Frodo dead and thus they needn't bother any longer.

Glorfindel agreed that this was not unlikely, but cautioned against letting down their guard.

Aragorn was uneasy. He told them not to let their guard down at all – it would be foolish to assume the road safe, and most especially the Last Bridge.

Sakura said nothing. But at night, she held a meeting with her clones. It was short, and very little was actually said. And in the morning the hobbits were glad to see that 'Sakura' had rejoined them on the ground and would be walking with them from then on. They didn't know that three more 'Sakuras' were flanking them with their weapons in hand and their senses on alert.

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In the latest hours of the fourth day, so late as to be almost early morning on the fifth, the real Sakura left the group behind. She followed the road to the bridge, and there she stood upon the rail and gazed into the churning water of the Bruinen. There, Sakura did not bother to search the ground; for there are many reasons for horse-prints to be on a road, and one cannot guarantee that any one horseshoe means what one thinks it does; nor how long they may have sat there in the dust with no rainfall to clear them.

Instead, Sakura sat. She perched on the railing like a strange, foreign bird, closed her eyes and allowed her awareness to stretch out like a net. She summoned her mental map again, and slipping into a meditative state, took stock of her surroundings; the river below her; the swell of the bank on the other side; thick, close-knit trees (that the map labelled Trollshaws) which stretched across the plain from river to river, and at last gave way to rolling hills and coarse grass.

In the earliest hours of the fifth day, Sakura prepared.

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They had been walking for hours, Sam's weary feet told him, when Frodo began to groan. It was an awful sound, worse even than when he'd first been stabbed, the likes of which they'd not heard in days. Sam's head whipped up, and to his horror he saw that his master and friend had taken on a deathly pallor. His brow was drenched with sweat and his chest heaved with laboured breaths. He let out a noise so agonised that before he knew it, Sam was by his side with his hand in his own, and garbling barely coherent entreaties for Stranger to do 'something, anything, please'.

Frodo seemed to choke, his eyes flying open only to stare wildly into nothingness. And he was cold, so very cold. He seemed as if he was having a fit. His fingers clenched painfully around Sam's, only to slacken but a second later, and then clench again. His hands were shaking. Glorfindel and Stranger rushed to his aid, but nothing either of them did seemed to have any effect. It was as if something foul had overtaken him and was repelling any attempt to curb it. Merry and Pippin looked on in horror, while Sam was openly sobbing.

And it was amidst this confusion and alarm that three more Sakuras dropped from the trees onto the verge. They stood where they landed, in a loose triangle surrounding the group by the road. None of them so much as twitched at the sudden shouts of panic and shock. Only Aragorn recognised the technique for what it was but in such a situation any hope of explaining was lost.

The Sakuras didn't bother trying. In fact, the identical girls seemed to ignore the rest of the group entirely, focussing only on their doppelganger.

"They've found us," one growled from behind them, to the Sakura by Frodo. She promptly swore in a language none of the group understood.

"How many?" The same Sakura barked out.

"Four," replied yet another Sakura, grimly.

"They're coming down the road from the East," the last interjected. "They'll be on us in less than an hour, if we don't move fast!"

This triggered an entirely new bout of alarm and panic among the hobbits, only tempered momentarily by the sudden, barked command of "Disperse!" from the central Sakura and the equally sudden disappearance of the three clones. Pippin coughed, waving smoke away from his face with a look of abject shock.

"Who! What?"

"No time," the remaining Sakura barked at him, "We have to move now."

For once she and the elves were in complete and utter agreement. Glorfindel re-wrapped Frodo's shoulder tightly, while the Sakura clone clapped a hand over his forehead and injected a strong dose of chakra to his nerve-pathways. The hobbit gasped, and lay still.

"I've numbed the pain, but it's only temporary," she explained impatiently as she and the elf hoisted him more firmly into the saddle. Glorfindel made to mount behind him but he was tugged suddenly backward by the slim hand of his lady.

"My Lady-" he protested, but Arwen cut him off.

"I am the faster rider," she stated bluntly.

"And the more valuable," Aragorn growled behind her. "It is Frodo that the Wraiths pursue; only with him will you be in danger."

"It is true my lady," Glorfindel entreated, "Let me take him; there is no horse in Rivendell to rival Asfaloth in speed."

"Then I shall ride my own horse into danger if I must!" The elf-maid snapped, "We waste time arguing!"

"I agree," snarled Sakura fairly shoving Glorfindel and Aragorn out of the way. Arwen took their momentary distraction as opportunity to hop up and without a word she turned Asfaloth's head and urged him onward.

"Arwen!" The two males called out in distress.

"Take care of the hobbits," Sakura's clone shouted, and took off abruptly after Arwen on foot.

It took her a grand total of three bounds to catch up to the speeding Arwen, and took to running parallel with the horse. Arwen spared her a shocked and bewildered glance, before turning her attention to more important matters, namely Frodo. Together they flew down the road, dust and pebbles flying up behind them in a wicked cloud. Sakura, despite her distinct lack of equine knowledge, could see that the elvish horse was uncommonly fast. He was spurred on by his master's whispers of "Narulim Asfaloth," which Sakura guessed to mean something along the lines of "Go faster," not that it particularly mattered. They just needed to get as far as the bridge…

In no time at all, the tramping of hoofs sounded out behind them. The wraiths had caught up. Muttering a curse, Sakura's last clone turned her head to warn Arwen, only to realize that the elf woman was peering in fear over her shoulder and must have had already heard them. Did elves have better hearing than humans? She shook off the thought and turned her attention to the danger at hand.

"Get to the bridge!" She called to the elf, "I'll hold them off."

Arwen didn't need telling twice. With a sudden burst of passionate elvish she spurred Asfaloth into yet a faster pace, galloping without restraint toward the river. The bridge, the girl had said, but there were still the Trollshaws and the Ford to cross before she would reach Rivendell with Frodo, and time was short. Behind her, Arwen heard a shout that sounded something like "Cha!" followed by a resounding boom. Alarmed, she looked over her shoulder, only to see the four Riders rearing up at the edge of a freshly-formed chasm in the road.

They rallied, charging around the sides or springing across. With determination, Sakura's clone summoned another wave of chakra and stomped. Earth flew up around her as the Wraith's reeled back with a screech. Only this time, there was an answering screech from ahead.

Arwen's blood ran cold. An ambush.

Why had they not thought where the other five were? Could they have been so blind? Stricken, for a moment Arwen wheeled the horse about in a sudden stop - he protested, rising on his hind legs and pawing the air with a shrill neigh.

"Whoa!" she cried.

"Keep going!" shouted the Girl. Sakura sprang out of the dust cloud and slapped Asfaloth firmly on the rump. "Go!"

Her shout was drowned out by Asfaloth's high pitched whinny as he darted off again toward the bridge, hooves pounding the road so hard and fast that Arwen almost thought he'd send up sparks. "Narulim Asfaloth, narulim!" she called again, regaining her wits as the river came into view. The bridge was open, and bare, and she almost wept with joy to see it unbarred.

The clone panted as she ran, barely ahead of the pursuing Ringwraiths. She could feel her chakra waning, and she grit her teeth, concentrating everything she had on staying solid, just until…yes! The bridge was in view. She watched as Arwen charged down the bank and over the wooden structure, leaving it clattering in her wake. The elf looked back as she reached the other side, just in time to see the pink-haired girl wave – and promptly vanish in a cloud of smoke. Arwen's eyes widened in alarm, but there was no time for concern over the girl. The Wraiths had reached the bridge. With a cry, Arwen dug her heels into the horses flank and shouted again to him in elvish. But this time the horse needed no spurring. As the first of the Ringwraiths reached the very middle of the bridge a sharp cry rang out – "Kai!"

A deafening explosion rent the air as a neat row of exploding tags – taped to the underside of the bridge – detonated simultaneously. Asfaloth bolted away from the noise and fire, while Arwen yelped and threw herself over Frodo to protect him from falling debris. There was a terrible screeching as one of the Wraiths was set alight, while another was borne by its mount - turned mad with fear and pain – straight into the river.

A dull thud sounded close beside her and in an instant the elf slid her sword free of its scabbard and swung.

"Oi!" Sakura yelped as she ducked, the blade swishing harmlessly over her head. Arwen looked gobsmacked – which is a rare and incredibly undignified expression for an elf – the girl was running along beside the horse as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Sakura simply looked disgruntled.

"Where…? How…?" the usually eloquent elf was speechless. "How did you do that?"

"Forward planning," the ninja muttered. She glanced behind to see two of the Black Riders on the near bank of the river, having urged their horses through the water in the absence of a bridge. Damn, that hadn't worked as well as she'd hoped. The other two however, were further behind, one of which was still trying to put its robes out without getting washed downstream. She didn't doubt they'd catch up.

"Oi, elf," she called to Arwen, who darted her gaze between Sakura and the road, clearly unwilling to take her eyes off either. "Expect an ambush," Sakura continued grimly. Arwen clenched her jaw, but nodded sharply. Neither could quite suppress a shiver as the cry of a pursuing Wraith sounded out, shrill and cold. It was answered by another, unmistakeably from the depths of the trees ahead. Arwen caught her breath.

"They are waiting in the trees ahead," she breathed.

"Five of them," Sakura answered bluntly, not missing a step. Arwen looked to the girl then – she ran with her arms held stiffly behind her, head slightly ducked. She knew what the Wraiths were, and what they could do, and how many there were; and yet did not look afraid. Rather, she looked fierce and indomitable. Fixed firmly on the tree-line, Sakura's eyes burned with cold determination – right now, she was well and truly in 'ninja mode'.

"So, five ahead and four behind," Arwen stated, keeping her voice steady, "You have a plan, I take it?"

"Whatever you think you see, keep riding," Sakura warned the elf cryptically. "And think fast."

The trees grew steadily closer.

The road cut a more or less straight track through the small wood, with thick, dark trunks rising on either side. Here and there, resilient patches of grass rose among the roots, and above their heads the branches reached out for one another, cutting out large patches of the light. But the scenery was lost on Arwen as they charged under the canopy and into the dimness of the wood. Asfaloth's sides heaved with exertion, his flanks foaming with sweat. Frodo wasn't looking much different, with eyes wide and glazed and his skin so pale as to be almost green.

"He's getting worse," Arwen whispered, fearful for the hobbits life.

"They're getting closer," was the grim reply. "Concentrate on the road, and remember what I told you!" Then, suddenly, the space formerly filled with Sakura was empty and the girl was nowhere to be seen. Arwen looked about wildly for a moment, only to gather herself, and redirect her focus as the Ringwraiths again screamed behind her. Only, this time, there were more than one answering cry, and they came from all sides at once. Arwen's heart pounded, but she did not take her eyes from the road. The girl must surely be about to pull off another amazing feat but Arwen had no clue as to what she was supposed to be looking for.

Sunlight flashed in her eyes through the occasional breaks in the foliage, leaving spots in front of her vision as the light changed rapidly from dim to bright, dim to bright. But she couldn't afford to slow down and she had no hand free to shield her eyes. Arwen resolutely clenched her jaw and focussed on the ground in front of Asfaloth, mindful of the girls parting words. 'Concentrate on the road… Whatever you think you see, keep riding'. Then, a glint; the barest glimmer of sunlight reflecting off…something. Momentarily startled, Arwen searched the ground for any hint of armour, weapons, anything that might indicate a Rider in wait, but found nothing. The ground glimmered again as she passed through another patch of light. And then she saw it.

A wire, so thin as to be nigh invisible to any eye less keen than an elf's, ran parallel to the road from tree to tree. Had her eyes not been down and the sun not come through when it did, she'd never have seen it at all. Which begged the question, how long had it been there? And more to the point, what was its purpose?

The shrill shout of a Nazgul drew her eyes up and around. Through the trees, it came crashing toward her, and she did not need to look around to know another, if not more, was closing in on the other side. Arwen's gaze dropped instinctively to the wire. On a whim, or perhaps instinct, she spurred Asfaloth forward again, only to turn him abruptly into the trees with a sudden shout for him to jump. The horse obeyed instantly, soaring over the wire.

The horse of the charging Nazgul was too large and heavy to turn as quickly, and its momentum too great. The Rider instead rode in a short arc onto the road and curved back into the trees again, picking up speed to catch the elf, while it's counterpart on the other side of the road kept to its course and simply galloped straight across. Or at least, that was what they expected to do. The horse on the near side hit the wire seconds before the far horse. The wire was pushed forward, and twanged against the exploding tags which were stuck to the backs of the tree trunks. They detonated. All along the road, the tags went off. Larger trees fell into the road, narrowly missing the Four following behind. Smaller trees exploded into wood chips and sharp shards of bark which set alight and rained down upon the Riders. The wood was a mess of flame and smoke and shrapnel. The horses panicked and reeled back. The Rider on the far side was thrown from its horse entirely as it reared up in fear.

The explosion was so loud that Arwen's sensitive ears were left ringing. She craned her neck back, searching for a spot of colour, fearful lest her companion had gotten caught in the explosion. Such was her distraction that she didn't even notice the ground falling away beneath her, 'til Asfaloth jerked to a halt on the very lip of the precipice. She cried out aloud in her shock and fear, seeing the ground suddenly drop away into a yawning chasm, its bottom lined with sharply pointed rocks. How was it possible? Her heart pounded and her head fairly swam at the height. Frantically she looked to either side but could see no way to get around it, and it was far too wide for Asfaloth to jump. Frantic fear seized her heart….

"Don't believe what you see! Ride forward!"

The girl's voice came from seemingly nowhere, and Arwen looked about for her wide eyed and trembling. Ride on? Was the girl mad? Could she not see the fissure?

"Whatever you think you see, keep riding!" came the voice again, louder and more commanding.

Arwen frowned – whatever she…thought…she saw? The ferocious pounding of hooves and furious screeching of the enraged and pained Ringwraiths bellowed out from the smoke. Arwen turned, looked upon them, and took the deepest breath.

"Jump, Asfaloth," she whispered.

The horse snorted and backed up a few paces. The Rider's burst from the smoke and trees. Asfaloth ran and leapt.

Arwen shut her eyes tightly, only to gasp as she felt Asfaloth land on the solid earth barely seconds later. She looked in wonder at the earth, twisting around to see the Riders and their mounts halted fearfully on the edge of absolutely nothing. The ground in front of them was whole, and bare of even a twig. Her eyes widened in wonder. It had been nothing more than an illusion. Had Sakura done that?

A smattering of leaves fell, brushing her arm and causing Asfaloth to shy, momentarily, jolting Frodo. The hobbit groaned painfully. And suddenly the space beside her was once again filled with pink-haired human girl. She looked annoyed.

"Didn't I tell you to keep going?" she snapped. "You wasted time – it won't hold them off for long. It only works on the horses and right now it looks like they are most scared by the things on top of them!"

Arwen had no time to reply. At that instant all nine Black Riders charged through the trees behind them, left and right of them, closing them in.

"Guess we found the other two," Sakura muttered, as they began to hem them in, one riding close enough to reach for Frodo. She snapped her head around and glared at it over Frodo's head.

"Shanarooooo" Sakura growled the word as she took a running slide under Asfaloth's legs and came up under the Nazgul's horse on the other side; a hand glowing with Chakra. The Rider swung its blade toward her, and she dived forward, slapping the horses legs out from under it as she went. She caught herself on her hands and snapped herself into a quick-fire sort of forward roll back onto her feet. Guilt sprung into her as the poor animal let out a cry of terror, falling in a painful tangle of limbs, but she resolutely pushed it back. This was no time for a conscience, and really, the poor thing should have started running away as soon as the explosions started.

She used the nearest tree as a springboard to draw level with Arwen again, and tossed kunai at the two Riders who had gotten close. The aim was poor but it had the desired effect. They fell back, and the dense spacing of the trees now forced them to adopt a two-per-row type formation. Unsure as to where the road was but not particularly caring if she ruined it; Sakura gathered chakra into her fist and dropped back behind Arwen's horse. Violently, she punched the ground, sending a wave of dust and earth away from her. The Wraiths scattered. Arwen looked back in awe as the ground shifted.

"Keep going!" Sakura's voice came over the smoke, and she once again spurred Asfaloth on in elvish.

"DUCK!" - Arwen barely registered Sakura's shout, before she threw herself over Frodo and buried her face in Asfaloth's mane. She felt the air whistle around her ears as something large flew overhead and landed with a deafening crash behind them. She sneaked a peak, wondering how Sakura had even gotten in front of her, and was stunned to realize that it had been an entire tree. Sakura landed deftly in the dirt beside the horse and continued running as if she'd never missed a step.

"Try to lose them," she panted.

Arwen nodded grimly, steering Asfaloth through the dense wood, weaving tightly between trunks and jumping fallen trees. From the corner of her eye she saw Sakura jump upwards and take to the treetops. Sakura was getting worried. She was never more thankful than now that she'd conserved her chakra. As it was, she was already using a steady stream of chakra to keep up her speed running, whilst simultaneously expending it in rapid bursts as she tried to hold back the Black Riders. Her traps had failed, and she couldn't use her techniques so effectively in near-constant motion - it was frustrating. They just kept coming back.

It occurred to her in the oddest of moments that Asfaloth must have incredible stamina for a horse. He'd been galloping near flat out almost this entire journey from river to river. The horse must be exhausted.

Arwen couldn't quite contain the cry of joy that sprang to her lips as the road ahead became bathed in light. The end of the forest was near. The ground began to slope downward toward the riverbank and even now she could hear the frothing waters of the Ford. She burst from the trees and charged downhill, aiming for the water. The river flowed fast and free through a steep canyon on the one side and away down to the plains on the other – the Ford itself was little more than a shallow swell where the banks and the river alike were shallow, and the River could be crossed. Asfaloth's hooves pounded down the dirt bank, slipping slightly in the mud, and finally with one great leap they were in the water, the spray soaking the horse's flanks and Arwen's dress. Asfaloth slowed as he reached the opposite bank, trotting calmly to the other side, and Arwen drew her sword as she turned to face the oncoming Wraiths. They were on her land now, and here she had more power than they knew.

The Nine crashed through the undergrowth. They halted their steeds as they reached the water – the horses heaving with exertion, foaming at their mouths and bellies, and turning their pitch coats grey.

There was no sign of Sakura. Agitated, her eyes searched the trees, to no avail.

"Give up the Halfling, she-elf." The Rider's guttural voice sent shivers down her spine. Arwen's voice carried across the river.

"If you want him, come and claim him!" Her eyes were determined as she held up her sword in defiance. In the crook of her arm, Frodo groaned pitifully, his eyelids fluttering. His condition worsened with every passing minute in the presence of these foul beasts, and she was acutely aware that he might already be beyond saving, for all the good that Sakura and Glorfindel's healing had done. The Nazgul flooded into the river.

Then, with a tremendous battle-cry, the pink-haired girl flew from the treetops in a graceful arc. Alarmed, Asfaloth took a few steps backward before Arwen calmed him. She watched in amazement as Sakura flipped herself over in mid-air and landed with cat-like grace on the water. On the water. Arwen could clearly see the fish swimming below the girl's feet. Her hands were bristling with metal – wickedly sharp throwing stars, she would later find out – and the soles of her boots were glowing green. Sakura slid into a defensive stance, eyes flitting across the Nine as they moved further into the River. She smiled nastily as she noticed one hanging back – it had a dented breastplate. Oh good, someone remembered her.

"Sakura!" the elf called from the bank, and the ninja frowned to hear her name from this stranger's lips. She ignored her call, making a shooing motion over her shoulder. Arwen called again, telling her to get out of the River. Sakura frowned as she felt water around her ankles. Her feet hadn't moved, which meant her chakra hadn't failed, so what-? Arwen's voice echoed in the canyon, in a strange tongue that Sakura could only assume to be elvish. The chanting echoed, resounding over and over again into one disharmonious roar. And yet, that roar sounded less like voices and more like…water? Her eyes widened in realization – Arwen was flooding the river. Even as she thought it the water came crashing around the canyon wall, taking the form of charging white horses in the spray. In the seconds it took for Sakura to take in the flood, to acknowledge Arwen's frantic calls of both her and Frodo's names, and to take stock of the Nazgul fighting to get themselves and their terrified steeds out of the water, Sakura had made her decision.

"Arwen!" she shouted across the river, using the elf's name for the first time. "Take Frodo to your father. Go!"

And without further ado, she darted across the water, leapt over the Nazguls' heads to the opposite bank, and let loose her volley of shuriken. They screamed and clawed at their hoods, falling backwards into the flood. The horses screeched in pain, stumbling and falling. Punches and kicks flew, all but destroying the bank completely, driving them back over and over, until just one remained. Its armoured hands were digging into the mud to anchor it to the remains of the bank, its mount was lost…and its breastplate was dented. Sakura's face twisted into a grin.

"You and me mate," she whispered, and with chakra filled hands she seized hold of its hood and flung them both into the raging water.

…and lost. Also known as: "In which Asfaloth is clearly the superman of horses."

No horses were actually harmed in the making of this chapter, though many came close, much to the distress of the horse-loving author.

To be continued…

For your benefit, changes (if they're not obvious) made to this chapter include:

Almost everything. In fact, apart from about 700 words or so it's all entirely new.

Also, 7000 words, that may just be a record in chapter length for me. Don't get your hopes up too high though; I suspect that this is a one off. :/

~Devi1OnUrShou1der~