Middle-Earth Adventures Chapter 6
Hina was fascinated by lembas, the Elvish way-bread. It wasn't so much the fact that it was a new type of bread that made her wish to study it, but rather how perfect it would be for missions. One bite and supposedly your stomach would be full, and it was sweet like the milk buns from her home's bakery. It didn't help that it smelt like freshly baked bread no matter how old it became. She just had to know how it was made, and so she'd casually asked for a recipe, only to be politely laughed at while the Elves serving her explained that you could only make it from a mallorn tree's fruit. And the Elves, being Elves, had decided to keep the recipe secret.
For a supposedly kind and long living race, they were stingy as dragons about hoarding their knowledge , she thought a little bitterly. She could understand Shinobi keeping their secrets, because they were hostile to each other, and something this big could be used as an advantage in war. But there was no war between Elves and Men here. Hina figured the Elves could have done a whole lot of good by sharing this recipe. One would assume solving world hunger would be something the Elves would do willingly.
They unfortunately did not stay for much longer. The next day Hina had gone to bother the Elves with making her new kimonos. It was a simple robe like garb and so it wouldn't take long for them to make it. Unlike her travel companions she did require changing her kimono every day. She didn't want to stink to high heavens like Aragorn did. She was no Ranger and no Lady either, but she enjoyed keeping her hygiene too much. Now only if she could steal away some toothpaste, because this world was going to give her yellow teeth at this stage. Once she went back to the Elemental Nations, she vowed to visit a dentist first thing.
Then she went and practically strong-armed Celeborn into giving her a stack of Elvish paper. That hadn't been so hard to do when the Elf had been agreeable, but it was still a nerve-racking endeavour asking favours from someone who married that scary lady. Hina shivered at the thought of Galadriel. She was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. Something about the all-seeing, power that Galadriel possessed made Hina wholly uncomfortable. She knew smart people, but what the Elf-sorceress possessed was no mere knowledge.
Hina ate the boring old fruits and vegetables that the Elves so enjoyed eating, wondering why they couldn't pass through a Dwarven town for once. She would have liked to have some 'meat of the bone' as Gimli would say. Not that she wasn't fascinated by the Elves, but it remained that the Elves were a little beyond her culturally. She could not quite understand how an entire people were so unified in their temperament. It was somewhat unnatural, but she decided to attribute it to their long years. Maybe everyone just ended up behaving similarly once they hit a thousand years of boring old life. Hina had only lived about fifty years now, and she was eager to end it once her work was done. She could scarcely imagine having to suffer a thousand years.
"Hina, where are you going?" Sam asked.
"To the docks," she replied pointing away and raising a brow.
"Now you aren't going to slink away like a common thief, are you? The Lady Galadriel would like to bless us on our journey away and we can't be spitting on her hospitality," Sam chided.
Hina scratched her nose awkwardly. She was, in fact, slinking away like a 'common thief'. She pouted a little as Sam took her by the hand and led her on like she was some petulant child. Hina didn't want to face Galadriel. The scary Eld lady was nice, but Hina had stolen a mallorn seed after slinking around and finding no written document on how exactly to bake lembas. She would be lying if she said she regretted stealing the seedling. It was something she thought would help a great deal of people back home, not to mention Taichi would love the idea of such a thing.
Unfortunately for her she couldn't find a logical reason to say no to Sam and ended up following the little Hobbit to where the Fellowship were waiting. Hina stood a little nervously by the Hobbit as she sensed the overwhelmingly bright presence of Galadriel make her way down the stairs by the left end of the clearing. She strode down, slowly, and elegantly, long white gown glistening behind her as her ethereal smile seemed to catch everyone's attention.
"Your journey ahead will be a test of strength. I can only hope to aid but a little in your quest," Galadriel announced, as she waved her hands in a motion for her servants to come.
Hina noted a few Elves come behind her holding various equipment. Galadriel gestured first for the Elf in their group.
"My gift for you Legolas, is the bow of the Galadhrim, worthy of the skill of our woodland kin."
Hina had to admit, the bow was incredibly beautiful. It looked ornate but not overly so, and she knew just how light Elvish materials were. Legolas pulled the bow experimentally and smiled much like a child would after opening a Christmas present. Hina had never seen the Elf so childlike in his expression before. Of course a bow had to do it for him, she thought fondly.
"These are the daggers of Onolorin. They have already seen service in war," Galadriel continued as her servants handed over the silver blades to the Hobbits.
Pippin looked at the blade in his hands with not just a little bit of trepidation. He held the firm weight of it and almost felt a little sick. What little battle he had seen had taken all appetite for its glory from his thoughts.
"Do not fear Peregrin Took," Galadriel said, as if hearing his inner turmoil. "You will find your courage. And for you Samwise Gamgee, Elven rope made of Hithlain."
Sam took the rope respectfully, but he turned to see the daggers his friends had received and felt a little left out. Despite knowing it was childish to feel jealous, he couldn't help but feel so.
"Everyone out of us, got shiny daggers," he voiced meekly.
He quieted down almost instantly when Galadriel smiled amusedly in his way, reminding Sam she had the great gift of foresight that he really wasn't in a position to question. The Elf maiden made her way next to Hina who she looked down at knowingly. Said girl craned her neck away, entirely too flustered to look the Elven maiden in her eye.
"Hina daughter of Noritaka, you have taken something that is not yours," Galadriel said bluntly.
Hina huffed her fringe out of her face, grumbling a little guiltily, as she pulled out the seedling from her pocket. Gimli besides her grunted in disbelief before hitting the back of her head in reprimand. Hina let out a grunt of pain, holding her wounded head and pride as she pouted. And there went her dreams of planting a Mallorn tree and making some bread. To her surprise Galadriel didn't keep the seed, instead she gestured for one of her servants to bring a silver box and leather-bound book her way. They opened the box and Hina saw dirt inside. Galadriel put the seedling inside, closed the box, and handed it back to the surprised child.
"The mellyrn grow tall, their leaves shine golden, but for it to truly prosper it must be surrounded by the encouraging song of Arda."
Hina frowned in confusion. Arda was this world, and so maybe it was a fruitless effort trying to grow it back home, but she could try anyway. Maybe she just had to play it music herself to grow it. Maybe if she set up a speaker system next to it… She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd almost missed Gimli simping over Galadriel, enough to make his gift be her hair.
"—Except to look upon the Lady one last time, for she is more fair than all the jewels beneath the earth," Gimli said.
Hina had to admit that when it mattered, Gimli did have a way with words. No one had ever been that romantic with her in either of her lives with such compliments. Galadriel did not fluster, instead she laughed with a genuine joy.
"Actually there was something… but one strand of your hair, to remember you by," Gimli mumbled in embarrassment.
To Hina's surprise Galadriel cut off three. She figured it must meant something important, considering Legolas's bow was strung with Elven hair. Maybe it made for great crafting material. Hina had no idea what Gimli intended to do with just three strands, although she wasn't about to question it.
Then next Boromir was gifted with a rather fancy golden belt made out of intricate metal leaves. Hina had to admit, it really pulled his whole outfit together… although she wondered why Galadriel couldn't give him some enchanted chest armour instead. She looked up at the Captain, and the humour from her thoughts left almost immediately at the dire implications of it. She bit her lips and looked down with a frown on her face while Galadriel pulled Aragorn away to talk to him in private.
Frodo was given the last gift. It was a small crystal bottle.
"Farewell Frodo Baggins. I give you the light of Eärendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out."
Hina's attention turned to Boromir who had come by her and Sam. He pulled up his new belt with a kind of amused, weary smile on his face, looking a mixture of confused and mildly humoured.
"A rope, a seedling, and a belt… I feel we may have gotten the shorter end of the deal here," Boromir noted.
Hina snorted in disagreement. "Talk for yourself. This is only the first step to an eternal supply of that famous Elvish waybread. It's a gift that will keep on giving."
"It's a mighty gift indeed. I just have rope," Sam said a little unsurely.
"Who knows maybe it will save your life," Hina pointed out.
"How will a belt do any of that," Boromir asked with a frown.
Hina turned to the man and looked on with dread. A belt wouldn't do anything. It was a pity gift. Boromir was set to die and Hina knew it, but this time she was here. She put a hand on the man's arm, catching his attention.
"I'll be your armour and shield," she told him with conviction.
Boromir just chuckled, ruffling her hair as if she'd told him a joke before he left. Hina held her head in growing frustration. For once her thoughts were too troubled for her to note the discomfort that action brought her, instead her mind was full of worry.
"Come on then, we still have a journey to make," Sam said.
Hina nodded and followed along, her mind festering with worry.
"We travel down the Anduin, which would lead us on the path North of Mordor," Aragorn explained.
"Take them by surprise from a back gate huh. I do like that idea. I have illusion techniques that could pass us off as Orcs… although you might find them unsavoury," Hina said, trailing off with a wince.
"More of your magic?" Boromir asked.
Hina nodded. "Illusion spell if you will, although I am not a master of Genjutsu and so I often use a more physical method of blending in."
"We should worry about that when we get there. We still have a way to go before we can be planning so early," he pointed out.
"Gimli is correct. For now we stick to the river," Aragorn said.
Hina grabbed a boat, hoisted it up easily enough and strode on by. The looks of shock she received made her raise a brow, and then she turned and noted that the boats were being carried by two men on either end.
"Oh woe me, my hands are jelly. Can a big strong man come help carry the weight?" Hina asked with a giggle.
Gimli was the first one to laugh and the others followed suit. She put down the boat and helped the others drag it into water, and they were staring again. Boromir shook his head in disbelief.
"You weren't lying when you said you can walk on water did you?" Merry asked in wonder.
He must have missed her doing just this during the battle with the tentacle monster, but she couldn't exactly blame him for that, what with all the chaos going on.
"Yup, and you lot were doubting my sheer awesomeness last night," Hina said with a grin. "I am all powerful!"
She giggled like a maniac, earning her a few amused glances. She knew she was being overly dramatic and childish, but it just helped ease the tensions and she would be lying if she said having the body of a child didn't occasionally make her want to act like one, even if just instinctually to come off as less threatening. Eventually though she sat down with Gimli and Legolas on their boat, so as to stay far away from Frodo and the ring as possible.
"In your lands can everyone do the things you do?" Legolas asked.
Hina huffed. Admitting she wasn't the only one who could walk on water would definitely ruin the mysterious nature of her talent and take away its charm, but for the first time in a long time she didn't have to lie. She was in the company of people so far removed from her world that secrecy was almost stupid. So she decided she didn't want the usual smoke and mirrors deceit and trickery that had become such a staple in her life.
"Yeah, if you want a run down on how our… magic works I can explain it to you."
"You can explain magic?" Gimli asked in wonder.
"Aye, it's not the mysterious kind the Istari wields."
And so Hina went on a basic explanation of how chakra worked and how the elements tied into one's nature. She showed them a few basic ninjutsu using wind and fire, her two elements and went onto explain that she was training to use all the elements, and that it was rare to find anyone who wielded them all. Well she childishly wanted to be the Avatar, and so a large part of her admitted it was because she wanted to make the ultimate elemental jutsu combo, but another part of her knew she was doing it to catch up to Orochimaru.
"Your world must be a wild one, if all learn to use such dangerous magics," Gimli noted.
"Oh it is. War everywhere all the time. The last one lasted for six years. I spent half my life fighting in it," Hina admitted.
"But you're—"
"Fourteen now I think," Hina said with a frown as she realised, she hadn't been counting the days and her birthday probably past.
"So young," Legolas said sadly.
"I don't want your pity. Everyone fights and dies as children where I'm from. They were as much Shinobi as any adult," Hina said getting a little angry.
Kusari had died a noble death. It was tragic yes, but she'd learnt to stop feeling like it was a waste. His life wasn't a waste, and if she were to die tomorrow hers wouldn't have been either.
"My apologies," Legolas whispered.
"Me too," Hina said, subduing her anger and getting left with deep sorrow. "It's just… I've watched my teammates die in battle before they even reached into their teenage years. Their life wasn't a waste… It was—maybe let's not talk about this. Tell me Gimli about the festivities of the Dwarves. I want to party with your people one day!"
Gimli noted the change in topic and was happy to help distract the normally up-beat girl with tales of their drinking parties. Legolas gave his input on how a real celebration should go, with joint singing and tales, to which both Gimli and Hina stuck out their tongues in distaste.
"A real party has drinks and challenges and fighting!" Gimli exclaimed.
"Exactly! And a really good spar where the winner takes all your clothes," Hina chuckled.
"That's a fine idea indeed!"
Legolas just shook his head at the two heathens he was stuck with.
It was by nightfall that Hina smelt something off. She turned to look behind her and scowled. The smell of Orcs. They were so foul they smelt about a billion times worse than Strider did after a month of no bathing.
"I smell Orcs in the air," she cursed.
Legolas turned and frowned too. "I felt an ill omen in the air too. We should tell Aragorn and Boromir."
"I smell and feel nothing," Gimli chimed in as he frowned.
"That's because we're more awesome than you," Hina chuckled, earning a light punch to her shoulder from the bemused Dwarf. "Ok, ok, just kidding. I'll just jump off and warn them."
Hina jumped onto the water and ran towards Aragorn and Boromir's boats. They turned to look at her in confusion.
"What's wrong Hina?" Aragorn asked.
"I smell Orcs behind us," she warned. "Normally I wouldn't pick up their scent, but the wind is blowing our way and there are lots of them, judging from how potent it is."
"You judge this all from scent?" Aragorn asked.
"I was trained by an Inuzuka… well do you trust me?" she asked.
"Of course. This is bad news. We will have to continue going."
"But even we need to rest or when the Orcs do attack, we'll really be dead," Sam said tiredly.
"That's true… it doesn't look like they need rest like we do," Hina said with a frown. "I'll set traps on the way. Maybe that will slow them down."
"No," Aragorn said urgently. "The last time I let you of on your own, a Nazgul cut off your arm. You will stay with the group. We will simply rest little. Go to your boat."
Hina frowned. She had promised to listen to Aragorn, and she didn't intend to lie to him again, so she reluctantly nodded and went back to Gimli and Legolas. They were beginning to become like close friends of hers, and their banter was just gold. It was apparently an odd thing for an Elf and a Dwarf to be friends. Hina thought that the whole opposites attract thing was true, because their relationship reminded her mildly of Guy and Kakashi's. Their banter also helped ease her mind of the ring whose call had become unbearable. It took her a moment to realise it was because of her enchanted omamori that its call had amplified. Somehow the omamori's magic had taken over the world's magic but neglected the ring's. This was probably what it felt like to everyone else too. With that horrible thought she continued on their journey down the river.
The next day Hina was met with the sight of something truly amazing. Gimli gasped besides her, and Legolas looked up in quiet reverence. It was almost like something out of a fairy-tale, and it was bigger than even the Hokage mountain in its size. As they passed the rocky canyon, they came upon two massive statues, their arms stretched out in a regal pose.
"Who are they?" Hina asked.
"The old kings of Gondor," Legolas answered, ever the pool of knowledge in their group. "Isildur and Anárion. They hold out their weapons in defiance against Mordor."
"And Isildur was the one who brought about the fall of the Kings?" Hina asked, trying to piece together their history.
"Aye, the last great kings of Men," Gimli said.
"Not the last," Legolas replied, his gaze turning to Aragorn.
"I keep forgetting Strider-san is the descendant of a King," Hina mumbled. "He just looks like a vagrant to me. Maybe one day if you lot decide to take baths and pluck your eyebrows, you'll finally look the part."
"Pluck our eyebrows?!" Gimli asked aghast. "What kind of madness is that?!"
"What you think my brows look this beautiful without some care. If Legolas can do it, every man should," she said, raising a brow in defiance.
"I do not pluck my brows," Legolas chimed in.
Hina gasped as she drew her face closer to the Elf's. She squinted her eyes and scowled before huffing and sitting back down.
"Elves and their bloody genetics," she grumbled jealously, to which Legolas just laughed.
And so they travelled onwards jabbing idly at each other and poking fun. Ever so subtly Hina could hear the whispers of the ring further away, always there in the peripheral, and she wondered if the others felt it too. She never asked, afraid they would truly leave her behind if she did… and then what… she was not ready to go back home. Not when she had tasted the sweet freedom of this world and the goodness of its inhabitants.
Eventually they settled down by the shore at night. Hina had taken her leave by Aragorn's permission to go and scout behind to see how far the Orcs were. She sped through the treetops, glad to be back in her element under the moonlit shadows of the forest. It was an hours sprint that she found the Orcs had settled down for a moment, but they hadn't built camp. They looked a lot stronger than the ones she had seen before, with big burly builds, and their numbers were high. She didn't think she could take out this group on her own. While she was strong, they were too spread out to butcher quickly, to clumped together for methodical assassination and she was still light on chakra from keeping the Ring out of her head.
So she made her way back. It was best to outrun them rather than to confront them anyway. She jumped down silently onto the ground and made her way towards Aragorn, who she tapped gently on the back. Said man spun around, drawing his sword to her neck in alarm, before he noted who she was, and the tension released from his posture turning into irritation.
"Don't sneak up like that," he cursed.
"Sorry, old habit," Hina apologised, before her gaze focused back on the direction of the Orcs. "They come 200 strong. I do not think it's wise to confront them."
She could logically confront them with their aid in watching her back, but the idea of Boromir dying made her wish to simply outrun these Orcs until their next safe destination.
"And we have another creature on our tail too," Boromir noted, as he looked from around a large stone wall.
"Gollum," Aragorn said as he sheathed his sword and turned to the river.
"He's been following us for a while now," Hina agreed, noting her lack of any beef jerky. She had given it all to the man.
"I hoped we would have lost him on the river, but he is too great a waterer."
"And if he leads the enemy to our whereabouts, it would make the crossing even more dangerous," Boromir pointed out, before he turned to Aragorn. "Minas Tirith is the safer road. You know that. From there we can regroup. Strikeout to Mordor from a place of strength!"
Hina stiffened as Aragorn did, his defensive, suddenly antagonistic posture catching her off her guard. He turned a little too sharply towards Boromir.
"There is no strength in Gondor that can avail us," he said.
"You were quick enough to trust the Elves!" Boromir pointed out heatedly, before he shook his head in disbelief at Aragorn's reluctance. "Have you so little faith in your own people?"
"Boromir—" Hina began, hoping to quell the situation when the man glared and continued on.
"Yes, there is weakness, there is frailty, but there is courage also, and honour to be found in Men! But you will not see that!"
Aragorn turned to leave, but Boromir grabbed him harshly by his cloak, keeping the man in place. Hina jumped into the middle, pushing the two men away from each other before a fight broke out.
"Enough!" she hissed, turning to glare at Boromir.
"Do not defend him Hina. He is afraid! For all of his life he has been afraid! Living scared in the shadows in fear of who he is, what he is!"
"I will not lead the ring within a hundred leagues of your city," Aragorn hissed before turning and stalking away.
Hina watched on worriedly as Boromir put a hand to his head. In the back of her mind she heard a whisper too, a voice calling out for her to reach it, to grab its power and to end this conflict altogether so that these people she had grown to care for could rest easy. She looked to Frodo's direction and wondered if she could end it all, simply take the ring and keep it for herself. She could leave with it to the Elemental Nations and then there would be no issue. She wished for it desperately, wanted its power to mould it to her will, but her thoughts were taken back to the agitated man in front of her.
"Boromir, I understand… Aragorn he fears, and his fear of Men is what keeps him down… as a simple ranger and not a king of Men," Hina struggled to say, trying desperately to find the words to convey her thoughts. "But he is right. If we take that ring to Gondor, our mission will not be so secret any longer and there will be eyes on Frodo… on us."
Hina didn't want to voice her true worry; that Boromir would turn on them once he reached there, as well meaning as he was, that he would take the ring for his people and in doing so give it to Sauron. He was just human, she reasoned, just a vulnerable, fragile human. She was so much more than just a human, she was a Shinobi, with strength far more than the average soul, forged in war and battle and hardened by loss and terrible experiences. She could handle it while he couldn't. She could take it away… away from all the people who wished to see it gone.
Boromir looked at her with a frown on his face, stepping closer and leaning forward in frustration. Hina took a step back at his sudden aggressiveness.
"And what will he have us do then? When we reach the Black Gates of Mordor, when but 9 people walk into the den of a sleeping beast, with a great eye watching the land like a hawk does its prey?! What then? Not even your magic will help us! What good did it do for Gandalf—"
Hina stepped back wide eyed and then realised Boromir had crossed a line there. He seemed to think so himself and reeled himself back so as to not be towering over the girl. He put a hand to his face and pushed back his hair, as if coming to himself.
"I am… sorry. That was uncalled for," he apologised, voice trembling slightly.
Hina put a comforting hand on his arm and smiled weakly at him. She didn't take it to heart. She would have if she thought Gandalf was dead, but she knew for sure he would come back—she had to believe it. He had been the Fellowships guiding light, a waypoint in the uncertainty of their route, and now that he was gone the group felt disoriented. She felt it herself, and she was sure Boromir felt it too. He was losing his composure and was being called by the ring. All the more reason to take it away, Hina thought.
"You are on edge Boromir-san. Lay down and rest now," she said gently.
She turned to leave but then she looked back at the man uncertainly. She didn't often find the right words to say. She was better at taking action than talking things out, but sometimes she found that people should use their words.
"I know there is weakness in us, but you're right, there is also strength," she said with a pause.
Because although Boromir had said it himself, she wasn't so sure that deep down in his heart he believed his own words. She wasn't so sure she believed it either.
Finally after another two days of travel they reached their destination. Hina helped Aragorn pull the boats to shore.
"We cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the North," Aragorn said as heaved the last boat to ground.
Gimli was smoking his pipe, not looking like he thought the plan made much sense at all.
"Oh, yes, just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks. And after that gets even better; a festering, stinking marshland, far as the eye can see," Gimli replied back sarcastically.
Ever the one to not note humour, Aragorn continued on. "That is our road, I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."
"Recover my..." Gimli said in disbelief to which Hina patted his shoulder and just made him more indignant.
"We should leave now," Legolas said urgently.
"No. Orcs patrol the Eastern shore. We must wait for the covers of darkness," Aragorn replied.
"Not if the Orcs coming in from the south won't get us first," Hina replied worriedly.
"Hina is right. It is not the Eastern shore that worries me," Legolas replied as he looked into the Parth Galen forest.
Hina was once again going to offer her services to place some traps around the Orcs when Merry dumped a pile of wood-fire and called for their attention.
"Where's Frodo?"
Hina looked around in alarm. She had been trying so hard to ignore the Hobbit, that she hadn't noticed him leaving. Then her heart dropped as she noted Boromir's shield by the tree. This was where he would die…
"Frodo," Aragorn hissed in worry.
"No time to waste! I will go ahead!"
Hina shot forward so fast she practically disappeared in a gust of leaves to their eyes. She jumped across the trees, closing her eyes as she took in their scents. She smelt Orcs, and fear, and the pulling corruption of the ring, and despite herself she jumped down at Boromir and shoved him away from the Hobbit he was cornering.
"Let me go child!" Boromir hissed.
Hina didn't let him go. Instead she twisted him around and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground and she turned around, to bring her trembling hands up to her sides, as she too felt the sudden and impossible to ignore urge to sniff out Frodo and grab the ring for herself.
"Don't you see what it's doing to you? It's twisting your thoughts," she cried.
"No! I see your plans! You intend to take it for yourself! You're the offspring of the enemy brought here to take the ring to Sauron!"
"I would see it gone!" she disagreed as she pushed Boromir to the ground and turned around to spot Frodo. "Gone from Middle-Earth! I will take it away!"
Hina jumped to her feet and strode to the Hobbit who was backing away. She ignored the fear in his eyes, focusing instead on the ring he was holding protectively in his hands against his chest.
"Give it to me Frodo. Middle-Earth will never see it again! You don't eat, you don't sleep! I see it in your eyes—the tiredness in your step! Give it to me and I will take that burden. I will take that ring to Sauron and smite him in his own domain!" Hina exclaimed
Take it. It is power. It will give you the strength to make men kneel before you. You will be powerful, strong, a protector. No one will force you to do anything anymore. It will make you a master! A master of your own fate! You will tell others to kneel. It will be you! A powerful master, a protector of your precious people. It will protect the precious!
Precious? Hina staggered back, only to feel a weight crash into her from behind, throwing her face first into dirt. She kicked the body off her, tossing Boromir away and then turned back to Frodo who had fallen too.
"Give me the ring Frodo! Give it to me!" she urged, stumbling towards him.
Hina made to grab the ring when suddenly the Hobbit put the ring on his finger and disappeared. She was dropped once more to the ground by a hand on her ankle and she looked up in shock at the empty space in front of her.
"Frodo?!" she cried.
She turned around to see Boromir but no Frodo and no ring. He was not a pretty sight, nor was she. Their hair was dishevelled by their brawling on the forest floor, and spit had dribbled down their chin in their madness, but now they could only feel a dawning dread.
"Frodo?" he asked desperately.
Hina whipped her head around and realised he had gone truly now, run away in their distraction. She shot off Boromir's side and stared numbly at the ground. What had she done? What… she felt the calming embrace of her father. She gripped the dirt under her hand as she felt the warm embrace of his familiar presence.
It was deceiving you. You were never the master. The ring makes you believe you are.
Hina let out a choked cry as she realised what she had done. Besides her Boromir scrambled to his feet in the same realisation.
"Frodo… oh what have I done?" Boromir asked, his voice cracking in grief. "Frodo I'm sorry!"
There was something so wrong about watching the proud Gondorian cry and sniffle like a child. Hina had also curled into herself, deeply terrified that if Frodo had stayed a moment later, she would have done worse than what even Boromir had tried. Said man having seen her in her state came to her side, and with trembling hands pulled her towards him in worry.
"Hina—Hina, are you ok… I-I didn't mean—" he whimpered.
"The ring… it called to me too. I would have hurt you for it," Hina said into her hands.
"This weakness permeates us all," Boromir said defeatedly.
Hina felt pathetic beyond reckoning. Her limbs were failing her, trembling as she was in Boromir's equally shaky arms. The ring had almost enthralled her to its whims. Her mind had never been so overtaken by anything.
UTSURO. UTSURO!
NO! She was not hollow! She was not the plaything of higher men. Not a slave anymore, she reminded herself… Yet she could feel the cursed seal on her neck pulse angrily at the energy she had felt before, only the omamori she palmed calmed it's rageful chakra. She was a slave, she realised with growing dread—a slave to power and a slave to Orochimaru.
"It feels so hopeless," she said trembling.
Why did it feel so hopeless? She'd never felt such a debilitating emotion before… it reminded her of all the worst moments of her life—of killing her own parents, of watching Kusari succumb to the poison in his veins, of leaving Anko to her betrayal. The ring was that and so much more. She would have succumbed to this draining emotion if she hadn't smelt a familiar foul smell.
"Orcs," she whispered, as their scents and sounds hit her nose. "Orcs! We must go!"
Hina tried to stand, but she fell down. Boromir stumbled to his feet as well and hauled her up beside him. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
"I will not be bested by some ring," he said in reclaiming determination.
"Imagine that, a fashion accessory defeating our combined awesomeness," Hina managed to joke forcefully as she pulled herself together. Then the two got up together and put their minds to the task at hand.
Hina ran besides Boromir, unwilling to let him out of her sight. She knew he would die here. She remembered joking about it in a different life. Cat always found it amusing that Sean Bean died in all of his roles, but looking at the man next to her, an entirely different face from the actor, a person of his own—Hina was reminded that it was no joke. She didn't remember much, but her skill alone should save him. She wouldn't let him die. None of her teammates would ever again.
They ran down the length of the hillside, past the trees and shrubbery, and towards the scent of danger. Hina worried the pace in which she was forced to travel with Boromir would potentially cause someone's death. That's when she heard the familiar sound of Hobbit.
"Oi come here!" she heard Merry and Pippin scream to call the attention of the Orcs towards them.
"What are those Hobbits thinking?" Hina hissed as she ran and jumped hard enough to give a chakra enhanced kick right into an Orc's head.
She got into her circle walk stance and growled lowly as she stood in front of them.
"Look a little girly!"
"Let's kill her and then eat her!"
"Oh that's funny," Hina snorted. "You think you can even scratch me you shrivelled up scrotum-faces!"
The Orcs roared in challenge, but Hina simply shot forward and ripped one of their heads off with her bare hands and then grinned as its black blood spilled across her face. Then in quick succession she began engaging the Orcs in a Taijutsu battle, getting down in her beast stance and making it harder for them to hit her. She was going too fast for them, and even though they wore pretty thick armour, she only needed to find the soft flesh of their skin to rip out their throats and shove her fingers into their eyes and through the brain.
But they were too numerous in number and before long Hina was being flanked from the back. Before she could be slashed Boromir blocked a blade and killed the orc behind her.
"They're stronger and faster than any Orcs I've fought before," Boromir noted with a frown.
"Well then they'll just have to realise that us Humans are the strongest race!" Hina shouted back cockily.
Boromir seemed to rally behind her blasé confidence. Hina knew she inspired that kind of feeling on the battlefield, like nothing could touch anyone while she still held breath, but it was a lie—a lie she acted out because it was better to die confidentially, then to die cowering in fear. Then she and Boromir began their onslaught on the Orcs.
Total Concentration Breathing! Tiger Palm Form 2: Beast Flare Form!
Hina shot through the coming enemies as Boromir sounded his horn and urged the Hobbits back. She took out ten Orcs in quick succession, before spinning in the air and catching the arrow of one that would hit Boromir. She snarled as she dropped to the ground, low on all fours and let out a feral growl towards the Uruk-hai that she knew would be the death of Boromir. Its ugly face was painted a white that she would happily turn black with his blood.
And then with speed unheard of Hina, in a blur of movement, danced and weaved her way around the orcs, taking out her Elven blade for the first time to cut their throats in quick succession. Before she could hit the final Orc, and their no doubt leader, he caught her blade with his own and Hina jumped back in surprise. He was fast! She grinned. A challenge was always welcome. She jumped down with more vigour as she took the beast in armed combat, something she was unused to, and it struggled to parry her blows, but she was tiring and used its falter to kick its legs down from beneath it and cut its head from its shoulders.
Hina grabbed it by its hair and held up the head. She could see Boromir stare at her with astonishment in her eye and she grinned back lopsidedly.
"You cleared them all out," Merry said in disbelief.
"No, I think there are more that way!" Pippin said pointing behind the girl.
"Where's Frodo? We need to get him and Sam to safety and then we can dally," Hina asked urgently.
The Hobbits fell into a silence and Hina exchanged worried glances with Boromir, a deep guilt running through them in that moment. Hina looked down at her traitorous hands and then kicked a tree in rage.
"No, he's not dead! He went away!" Pippin explained quickly.
"By himself?!" Hina asked in shock.
Before she could press for more information, she noted Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn running their way, followed by another troop of Orcs on their tail. She and Boromir quickly joined them in battle. There were too many and she knew they were going to be overrun soon, and her chakra was exhausting quickly as she used it all to propel her wind walker technique. Soon she was panting and then she heard Legolas shout in distress. She pushed him out of the way only to take a hit to the head. Hina fell down with a groan, blood seeping down onto one eye and blinding that side. Seeing double and cursing, she ducked out barely away from another blow. She probably had a concussion—a Shinobi's worst nightmare considering it messed with their chakra control.
"Hina!" the Elf shouted, grabbing her, and making away.
"The Hobbits! Worry about the Hobbits," she hissed.
And then when she turned around, she could not see them, and the Orcs were running away, no doubt with the Hobbits who they had come specifically for. She cursed as she struggled to her feet. She tried to dredge up whatever chakra she had left, but it had all drained after taking down so many enemies, and all she could do was watch as Legolas protected her, and she was reduced to an average fighter who happened to also be extremely disoriented.
Eventually though they managed to wade through the enormous number of stragglers, and after killing her last Orc, Hina fell down in a heap and huffed tiredly. The Orcs had gone! She had allowed them to leave with the Hobbits, and Frodo had left on his own too.
"Sam, where's Sam?" she asked desperately.
"He must have left with Frodo," Boromir whispered in defeat.
Hina threw the dead Orc slumping down on her to the ground in anger. She was too exhausted to run ahead and cover ground… and then what? They would no doubt regroup with a larger band of Orcs, who she wouldn't be able to fight on her own. They had Merry and Pippin, two very adorable, vulnerable Hobbits, who could barely protect themselves.
"If we are quick, we will catch Frodo and Sam before nightfall," Legolas reasoned.
Hina and the others turned to Aragorn, but he simply shook his head, and stayed where he was. Hina was once again reminded that this was Frodo's quest. She felt lost, and unsure about her own position now. She'd always assumed they would travel far and wide like some real-life D&D group, but it seemed that was not meant to be. Instead she had betrayed their cause… tried so foolishly to take the ring for herself not having realised her own folly until the ring-bearer made away on his own.
"You mean not to follow them..." Legolas said in realisation.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn replied grimly.
A silence befell the remainder of the Fellowship. Everything seemed to have gone south so quickly. Gandalf's death had been a precursor to their fall. It seemed one by one they were splitting. Now Frodo and Sam had left alone on their path to Mordor, and the other two Hobbits were captured. Hina wished for Gandalf's presence in that moment. With him had left hope and reassurance… and she couldn't quite understand why.
"Then it has all been in vain...the fellowship has failed," Gimli wailed, voicing Hina's concerns.
"Not if we hold true to each other. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death, not while we have strength left," Aragorn says determinately. "Leave all that can be spared behind... We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc."
"Yes!" Gimli shouted eagerly.
"They'll wish for death once we catch them," Hina agreed, wiping the Orc blood on her face with a growl, only serving to smear it across her face more.
"I… I have failed the Fellowship," Boromir admitted, bringing their attention back to him. "I attacked Frodo and tried to take the ring."
He looked defeated as he fell to his knees. Hina leaned against the tree behind her and put a hand on her face to hide her own shame.
"I have as well. I fought my own friend like a rabid dog for that cursed thing," she admitted remorsefully.
Without the enchantment on her omamori, Hina wouldn't have even realised her own stupidity. Boromir had somehow managed to shake himself from his weakness while she had needed aid. She silently thanked Galadriel, before putting a comforting hand on the downtrodden Boromir. He held her hand, squeezing it back in an attempt to comfort.
"Then it is good that he is far away," Aragorn said gently as he helped Boromir up, and put a hand on Hina's shoulder. "Regain your honour Boromir son of Denethor, Suzuki Hina. We will rescue the Hobbits we can, and you will believe to stay true to the cause."
"It feels so hopeless," he said in defeat. "Gondor is yet to fall, and we have lost our way."
"There is yet hope as we breathe. I will not allow Minas Tirith to fall while I still hold breath. I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you—I will not let the White City fall, nor your people fail," Aragorn promised as he gripped Boromir's shoulders sturdy.
"Our people...our people," Boromir corrected the man in growing strength. "I will follow you, my brother, my captain… my king."
Aragorn looked up in disbelief but when Boromir took him in an embrace, he returned it with similar vigour. Aragorn had for so long rejected his heritage, thrown aside the idea of being King. It was not who he was, he told himself, because it had been easier to run from that burden than to embrace it. He had feared failing like Isildur had, like all Men did, like Boromir did in that moment. But maybe there was hope beyond that failure for Men, to be redeemed, to find peace. Aragorn knew then that he would have to take up his call now. He could not hide behind the name of a Ranger.
Then the man Hina had seen whimpering not a moment ago, looked for a moment like he had his strength back. She wished she could say the same. Whatever the ring had done to her had made her lethargic and oh so nihilistic, and as her chakra eluded her, she felt all the weaker. All she could do was keep up with the men in front of her. In a day or two she would be ready to run properly, but she feared by then Merry and Pippin would be lost.
"Now will you allow yourself to be healed? A lesson learnt?" Legolas asked Hina.
"No way, it's just a head wound. I'll be fine," Hina said stubbornly. "Let me wash the blood off and then we will begin our hunt!"
"That's the spirit!" Gimli agreed heartily.
And so the remainder of the Fellowship went on their way to bring back their missing Hobbits, and Hina left with a heavy heart reminded of her failures.
A/N
I swear trying to update these days is so hard. Can never seem to find the time. But here's a another chapter for you. I'll try and be more consistent in the future. Leave your thoughts in a review if you can! It will help me see where I can improve and what I've done right!