Author's Note: So... I have no excuses for how long it has been. I have tons of reasons, mainly finals and personal drama, but no excuses. I sat down to try and write this chapter daily for awhile, but I just couldn't. I finally managed to hash out the last half this morning and got it ready. Thank you so much to everyone that has stuck with me through this, I know it's been a bumpy ride. Without the PMs and reviews telling me to get my butt in gear this chapter would not exist. I hope this is adequate compensation for everything. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my attempts to win the rights in court failed so this is still just fanfiction.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Chapter Seven

It was strange, how Legolas instinctively knew where Sakura was. There was a bond far stronger than anything they had ever experience between the pair. As he approached the outcrop of rocks he detected the sound of weeping coming from the crumpled mess that was Sakura. Legolas's pace quickened as he closed the distance between Sakura and himself. Her arms had wrapped around him before he had the chance to speak. The pinkette was grateful that he simply held her as she cried into his chest. He held her as she sobbed violently, her body trembling. As the sobs slowly waned away he whispered to her in elvish. She took comfort in his soft tone even though his words meant nothing to her. "Edlothia, do you wish to speak about what is bothering you?" Her response was a shaky breath and a nod. As she began speaking her gaze darted down to the ground in embarrassment. "It seems so silly, looking back on it. Perhaps I ought not to bother you with my…" She stopped as he hand lightly grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. Slightly reddened viridian eyes met warm blue ones full of affection. "Alright. All my life my teammates have left me behind. I know they were simply trying to protect me, but I am a Shinobi and I deserve the right to protect myself. They even insert themselves into my personal life and try to make decisions for me, just like everyone else in Konoha. Here I have freedom and I am treated as an equal, someone that can take care of myself. I'm content, I love it here, but now that everyone is here I feel guilty for wanting to stay here for the rest of my life even though I don't really have a good reason to return! My parents died a long time ago, my marriage was called off, and now I'm seen as a bartering tool!" Legolas was silent for a moment, processing what had been revealed.

"You wish… to stay here?" A pretty pink blush spread across Sakura's cheeks as she nodded shyly. "Edlothia, you most certainly are welcome! I would gladly introduce you to my people when this is all over! I cannot guarantee a particularly warm welcome from my father, but with time he will surely adore you!" Sakura smiled at the excited elf. In the end, her reasons to stay outnumbered the reasons to leave.

"Why would you father not welcome me, if I may ask?" Legolas's smile slipped from his face. He shifted uncomfortably. "Legolas, if you do not wish to share it is fine…"

"No. You should know. We had an… argument of sorts many years ago." Sakura silently encouraged him to continue. "It was over a series of blunders he had made during a vital time. It was the quest Gimli's father was on, to reclaim a dwarven home from a dragon." Sakura's eyebrows, at this point, were attempting to escape into her hairline. "I'll explain about the Dragon another time. Anyways, there was an elf, Tauriel, who had been my friend from childhood. She was captain of the guard, and I thought she was my true love." Sakura tilted her head.

"I thought elves could only…" He interrupted her.

"We can only truly love one person, but there can be others, to a lesser degree." Sakura nodded in understanding before motioning for him to continue. "She did not return my feelings, but my father thought she was of inadequate ranking to marry the prince of the Woodland Realm.

"To make matters between Tauriel and my Father worse, as she had a habit of breaking rules, she fell in love with a dwarf. His name was Kili, and he was the youngest member of the line of Durin. She was banished for disobeying my father after I followed her. And then, right before the final battle finished, Thranduil, my father, told Tauriel she was not in love. I think she was, but that is beside the point.

"At the end of the battle the dwarf king, Thorin, was dead, along with his two nephews Fili and Kili. Tauriel was heartbroken. It has been several years since then, but my father and I have never fully mended our bond. He destroyed Tauriel and his inactivity was a contributing factor to the death of those three dwarfs." Sakura looked at Legolas sadly before wrapping her arms around him in a comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry!" Legolas simply responded by wrapping his arms around the ninja and laying his cheek on his head. They stood like that for some time, listening to the bustle of the soldiers and the drumming the sheets of rain. The peace was broken when Sakura tensed as the she felt the shaking of the earth beneath. The couple looked at each other and nodded before going their separate ways; Legolas to the armory and Sakura to her team.

"How's the lass?" The blonde elf glanced at the dwarf standing next to him before focusing on the men around.

"She's fine. I think, if we survive this, we will have many more adventures as a group." The dwarf grinned before looking at the men, his eyes following Aragorn as he examined a battered sword. Both were aware of the silent ninja standing near them, listening keenly to the conversation. Shikamaru internally sighed to himself as he realized Sakura had elected to stay in this world. Deciding to not think about the rest of Konoha's reactions he looked at the feeble army.

"Farmer, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers." Gimli nodded in agreement.

"Aye. Most have seen too many winters."

"Or too few. Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes." The men in the armoury fell silent as Legolas continued to speak to Aragorn in elvish. "Boe a hûn: neled herain dan caer menig!" (And they should be. Three hundred against ten thousand.) Aragorn's face became dark as he looked at his friend.

"Si beriathar hýn. Amar nâ ned Edoras." (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras). At this point Legolas moved closer to Aragorn, his voice harsh.

"Aragorn, men i ndagor. Hýn ú-... ortheri. Natha daged aen!" (Aragorn, we are warriors. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!) Aragorn recoiled and shouted loudly.

"Then I shall die as one them!" Everyone in the room watched the man as he stormed out of the room. Legolas moved to go after him, but Gimli stopped him with his hand.

"Let him go, lad. Let him be." The blonde elf stared at the door, sorrow filling his eyes. He regretted his actions, but part of him knew that he could not regret his belief in what he said. The odds were against their success, their survival. Sighing lightly, he turned from the doors to face Shikamaru. The ninja lazily made eye contact with him.

"We have devised a strategy, based upon our intel. You will be stationed on the wall along with him," the pineapple head gestured lazily towards Gimli. "There will be a battalion of archers with you. In the small courtyard behind the wall there will be a larger group of fighters, along with Shisui, Kakashi, and Aragorn. Naruto and Sasuke will be stationed in the hills, waiting for the signal. Sakura and I will be front and center." Legolas nodded. Of course there were other components to the plan, but he knew that it was not vital for him to know every detail.

"I assume you know where the entrance to the caverns that are housing the women and children are?" The lazy man didn't have the energy to answer and let his eyes speak for him. "If the walls are breached we should have a contingency plan to keep the Uruk-hai from massacring them." Shikamaru looked thoughtful. Clearly entrenched in thought, the ninja lazily bit his thumb and flashed through some hand signs. The resulting pop and cloud of smoke startled the men of Rohan as they jumped away from the ninja. As the smoke cleared everyone stared at the grey mass of feathers sitting on the floor, large yellow eyes staring up at Shikamaru.

"Was it truly necessary to wake me, Shikamaru-gaki?" There were several high-pitched shrieks from the soldiers as everyone scrambled away from the talking owl.

"Daichi-sama, I need you to find Naruto and have him send a kage bushin here at once." The owl blinked once before shifting. Muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'troublesome brat' the owl took off and flew through the open door. Legolas snorted as he realized Shikamaru's summon was a bird with the man's personality.

As the ninja and the elf stood in companionable silence, waiting for Naruto's kage bushin to arrive Aragorn stalked back into the room. The man quickly slipped into his armor. As his outstretched hand went for his sword it was pressed into his hand. Aragorn's head snapped up to see Legolas, the sword clearly a symbol of peace. He accepted the sword with a slight smile.

"We have trusted you this far. You have not led us astray. Forgive me. I was wrong to despair." Shikamaru tilted his head as he watched the interaction between friends.

"Ú-moe edhored, Legolas." (There is nothing to forgive, Legolas.)They shared a smile before clapping one another on the shoulders. Shikamaru approached them as Gimli entered the room. He walked towards the trio, struggling with his chain mail.

"If we had more time I'd get this adjusted." He grumbled before successfully forcing the article down, its hem hitting the floor with a resounding thump. His eyes flickered up to meet three pairs of thoroughly amused eyes. "It's a little tight across the chest." Shikamaru snorted before turning to the door. Seconds later Naruto appeared in the door way. Aragorn and Gimli exited the armory as Naruto started babbling.

"Nee, Shika, why do you need me? Sasuke-teme told boss not to waste too much chakra with me so I can't perform any awesome tricks." As Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply the clone noticed Legolas and pointed at him, eyes wide. "Ehhhh! You're the one dating Sakura-chan! What are you doing?" Shikamaru snapped his fingers impatiently.

"Baka, I need you to act as a guard. Do you remember seeing all the women and children move into the tunnels?" The blonde nodded, glaring at Legolas out of the corner of his eye. "You are to guard those tunnels in case the walls are breeched. If they are, you must get Shisui or Kakashi to create a clone and guard the entrance while you lead the civilians through the tunnels. Do not let any harm come to them." The clone jumped.

"Yosh! I will protect them, dattebayo!" And with that he disappeared, leaving a muttering Shikamaru and a mildly exasperated elf.

"Troublesome baka…" The pair left the armory and headed towards the wall. Before departing from the blonde the pineapple head put his hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I know Sakura wants to stay here." Legolas's eyes widened at the man's admission. "This place is better for her. In Konoha she was always being protected and was seen as the sweet medic who lost her fiancée to clan politics. Here she can make a name for herself. I want Sakura to be happy and if she stays here there is no doubt that somehow we will make traveling between our two worlds easier. Just… take care of her. Do what no one else she has had a relationship with has been able to do." Legolas nodded, understanding the disjointed ramblings.

Sakura had been sheltered and over-protected her whole life. People had pushed her in the corner when the situation became dangerous, completely ignoring her talents. She didn't need to be protected; she needed to be treated as an equal. She needed to be cared for, but never protected when she was perfectly capable herself.

As these thoughts rushed through Legolas's mind Shikamaru meandered towards his post. Sakura passed him as he got there, making a beeline towards the elf. Shikamaru watched as they spoke in hushed tones before Sakura stood on her tiptoes and quickly placed a kiss on his lips. The kiss had been short and sweet and loving. Turning away with slightly red ears Shikamaru let his thoughts drift to a certain Suna Kunochi. Lost in thought, he vacantly returned the smile Sakura gave him as she stood next to him. Shikamaru did not return to the world of the living until he heard the grumbling of a certain red-headed dwarf.

Sakura sighed as her companion jolted as Legolas and Gimli bantered good naturedly. Shikamaru had been in his own little world, no doubt thinking about the Kazekage's sister.

"You could have picked a better spot." The ninja watched as the dwarf bounced up and down, attempting to see the sea of Uruk-hai approaching. Legolas smirked as Aragorn moved to stand next to them. "Well lad," the dwarf spoke to Aragorn, "whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night." There was a crack of thunder as lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the massive army before them.

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." The man knew that group also encompassed Sakura, his friend for many months, and Shisui, who he had grown very close to over the past two months.

"Let's hope they last the night." Gimli's disheartening words shot a pang of anxiety through the ranger, who began pacing in front of his troops. At that very moment the rain became heavier. The deluge created a haze as Sakura's eyes focused on the Uruk-hai leader as he stepped onto a rocky outcrop. She nudged Shikamaru and nodded towards the creature.

"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" (Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!). Aragorn's shouts carried through the ranks. At the same time the Uruk-hai leader lifted his sword into the air and let out a disturbingly animalistic cry, effectively silencing his troops.

"What's happening out there?" The dwarf asked as he jumped up and down, straining to see over the ramparts. An impish grin overtook Legolas's face.

"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?" The dwarf chortled and the elf faintly detected the light laugh of Sakura. His eyes met hers as she smiled at him. As the leader of the Uruk-hai cried out to his army Sakura mouthed something to Legolas, causing shock to register on his face.

I love you.

Before he could think of an appropriate response an arrow was loosed by an old man. Shikamaru watched it travel with deadly accuracy, piercing the neck of an enemy. The thing squealed in pain as it fell. The lazy ninja watched the leader; a smirk lighting up his face. Slowly, Shikamaru brought his hands together to form a familiar seal, while Aragorn shouted frantically in elvish.

It was time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I know I danced around the actual battle, it's just really hard to write. I am terrible at fight scenes, so expect the next chapter to be a mixture of battle and other situations. The second part of my trilogy has got maybe three or four chapters left, so hopefully it will be done soon.

I would love to know what you think! Reviews help me write and fuel my muse. I hope I'll be back within the next couple of weeks. I love you all!

-MinekoTakashi