Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Lord of the Rings, they belong to their respective creators and copyright holders.
Summary: The Elemental Lands was not the first place Kaguya went to; no, she had traveled to many different lands and one would suit Zetsu's needs perfectly. They needed a docile, vulnerable, and easily controlled jinchuuriki-what better way to achieve these outcomes than leaving the child among the peaceful, weak-willed hobbits of the Shire. His plan might have worked if any other hobbit had discovered the babe and Konoha wasn't so hard-pressed to recover their stolen Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.
A/N: Why am I writing another LOTR-Naruto crossover? The idea would not leave me be, so here we are. I would love to bounce ideas off people, so if anyone would like to beta or just discuss things, I'd appreciate it-feel free to DM me. I have plans but trying to get them written down is...a struggle. Anyways, hope y'all enjoy ~ love, depressedchildren
Prologue
It was gentle, moonlight nights like tonight that Frodo missed Bilbo most fiercely. Frodo paused at the crest of the Hill and looked out in the direction of the Brandywine River. Buckland, the lands of his childhood, was far away, but still the young Baggins imagined the River was twinkling at him in the moonlit night. Was it trying to beckon him like it had his parents?
Frodo supposed he could understand the appeal of boating on a night such as this. All seemed calm and held an almost ethereal beauty in the gentle light of the moon.
Frodo closed his eyes as his heart ached for his parents and guardian. Bilbo helped Frodo accept his parents' passing, but now he was gone, and Frodo did not know if his guardian lived. A part of him new the old hobbit did, and with how "well-preserved" (as the gossipers called it) he was, perhaps Frodo would see him again?
Still, it did nothing to ease his loneliness.
"Master Frodo?" The young voice of Samwise Gamgee brought a smile to Fodo's lips. He turned to see his gardener and friend a little further down the path. "Is everything alright, sir?"
"Everything is fine, Samwise," Frodo replied softly and let his gaze roam over Hobbiton. The heather had bloomed and carpeted the hill below while stonecrop lined the path beside him. Would Frodo ever grow tired of the Shire's beauty?
"If you say so, sir," the younger hobbit replied skeptically but he did not press the matter.
"I think I'll go for a walk," Frodo murmured just loud enough for Sam to hear him.
"Well, don't be out too late, Master Frodo," the young hobbit replied before turning down the path toward his home.
Frodo stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to walk toward a small cluster of trees away from the heather. On the other side of the trees would be a small field of sage, it would surely be an excellent place to reminisce and watch the moon move across the sky.
He was off the path now and heading steadily toward the trees. The tall grass cushioned his footfalls and hid countless insects that grew quiet with his approach. The trees in the small copse were beginning to turn yellow and red. Frodo smiled up at one low hanging branch and shifted it out of his way. However, as the hobbit began to move into the small grouping of trees, he heard a cry.
Was that his imagination? It was such a faint sound. It came again, louder and more distinct: the cry of an infant. Alarmed, Frodo realized the infant must be near. He dropped to his knees and began to push the undergrowth aside as he searched the thicket. The more noise he made, the more the infant cried.
Fordo gasped as his hands touched cloth. There was a movement within the cloth and a louder cry. Leaves covered the babe, and it was half hidden under a patch of alyssum. It was crying more loudly but settled some when Frodo took the babe into his arms. It must be cold, he thought as the infant pressed against his chest.
"Whatever are you doing out here, little one?" he asked the infant before glancing around the copse for any clues. The only disturbance to the brush was from Frodo. Did the child come from the ground itself or had someone placed it here? Who would do such a thing?
The infant gave a weak cry, and Frodo quickly left the cluster of trees to move toward Bag End. As he walked home, Frodo began to hum a song he remembered his mother would sing to him. The infant began to quiet again and looked up at Frodo with wide blue eyes.
Frodo carefully opened the door to Bag End and moved to the smoldering coals. He had gone to the Green Dragon for a pint but had apparently been gone longer than he anticipated. So, carefully holding the babe to his chest, Frodo stoked the embers and added a few twigs. They caught, so he quickly added a thin log.
Now with more light and warmth, Frodo examined the infant in his arms. Birthing fluids were dried to the child's skin, and while its face was ruddy from the earlier crying, its skin held a healthy tan. Frowning, Frodo brushed at some of the dried substances. The infant had fair hair and there were scars upon its cheeks. How strange.
Frodo managed to light a few candles before he set to heating a kettle of water. He then carefully unwrapped the blanket from the child's body and frowned further. There was an intricate circle on the infant, the boy's, stomach. Frodo briefly wondered if the symbols within the circle were Sindarin, but they looked like no language he had seen before.
"What is this, little one?" Frodo asked as he gently touched the markings on both the infant's face and stomach.
The boy gave a cry of discomfort, and Frodo quickly wrapped him back up. He then checked the temperature of the water and found it to be warm enough. He poured it into a small basin and began to dip a spare cloth into it so he could clean the babe. As the time passed and the grime washed away, Frodo wondered who could abandon a newborn human. How had one of the big folk gotten into the Shire and how could one leave a newborn out in the elements? Was it the symbol on the infant's stomach or the scars on his cheeks?
Frodo was pulled from his thoughts by the infant tugging at his hand and pulling a finger into his mouth. "Hungry, aren't you?" he asked the infant and smiled sadly. It would be a long night, but Frodo no longer thought of those he was missing.
Outside of Bag End, a lone figure watched the movements of the occupants within. "These people are peaceful, the container will grow up weak here" the figure stated with a broad grin.
Another figure appeared, as if from thin air, but it was hunched over. "I thought you were supposed to do as I say," the newcomer said with a hiss of pain. "Sensei nearly killed me, and you make me cross-cross-whatever to be here?!"
"This was the first world the Juubi came to, but the warring Valar got in her way, so she moved on."
"She?" the injured male asked.
"Worry not. This container will grow weak, far weaker than it would have been if left in Konoha. When it is time to extract its bijuu…" the figure smiled, its sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight, "it will be an easy victory."
The hunched figure practically snarled. "I don't see why we couldn't keep the container with us. It accomplishes the same thing as taking it here."
"No it does not," the first figure snapped. "Leaving the Kyuubi container here prevents unnecessary attachments. Attachments one might develop because the container looks like one's sensei."
The injured figure bodily flinched but said nothing else in protest. The first turned away in a self-satisfied manner before reaching out and grabbing the injured male's arm. "Let us go home," he ordered. With a barely suppressed noise of frustration from the injured one, the two figures then vanished into a single swirling point.
TBC
A/N: The rating is subject to change, especially when we look in on the Konoha side.
