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

Full Summary: Sasuke never expected to have the children he had dreamed of as a genin, nor would he have expected the peace he felt, with her of all people. But there they were; the happy, "perfect" family. Yet all good things must come to an end. Hardship after hardship befell them, and the family he built in Middle Earth was breaking apart. At his wit's end, Sasuke has no choice but to be sucked into the struggles of the free peoples against the Power in the East. The sun has set, and night has taken over indefinitely. Warnings: OC's, gender-bending

A/N: So…I am finally updating, after what…a year? In my partially unacceptable defense…health issues I am far too young to be having kicked my ass and virtually all of my motivation. I'm still struggling on all sides with that, but I just started writing out parts from the second book and it just clicked. So…here it is.

Now…a few things to keep in mind, this world has things that Sasuke could never hope to understand or explain. Also, Sauron and the Ring Wraiths have some fairly ambiguous and terrible powers… so, I added some flair when they are mixed with a doujutsu that perfectly captures every detail of an event while giving the user an understanding of the chakra involved on some level. So…um…yeah (it made sense to me, and there have to be more draw backs to the sharingan than blindness that can be fixed by transplanting eyes regardless of how damaged they already were [oh and I suppose the Uchiha hate that Sasuke supposedly cured?]).

Anyways, thank you for everyone's continued readership; I know I do not update this all that frequently, but I really am thankful for all those who have continued to read this fic, review & critique it, favorite it, or put it on alert. I really do like writing this fic and usually put everything to the side when I finally start working on it because I just...love working with the characters. This is one of my few stories where there is a fairly healthy father-child relationship and that makes it one of my favorites to work on, but I just struggle getting the words down on paper. Anyways...thank you for the continued support over the years ~ with much love and sincere wishes, depressedchildren

Key:

"Text" westron language

"Text" either japanese or sindarin (both in the case of the girls). Now also the language of Rohan...really, anything but westron (let me know if there needs to be differentiation)

Kusanagi a name/title (i.e. Prancing Pony)

Chapter 6: The Road to Minas Tirith

3017 October 30

Sasuke was looking over the various maps of Middle Earth with Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo. Although he should have been focusing on how to get Frodo into Mordor, he kept wondering what paths his daughter might have taken.

Sasuke had received the list of missing supplies a few days ago, and had corroborated it with what the twins might be missing. From Rivendel's stores Dawn had taken several weeks' worth of rations, a bed roll, several thick blankets, and a canoe with paddles. She took a storage scroll, rope, and a few kunai from Tinnu. After receiving the list, he had asked what it would cost to…reimburse the elves for what she had taken, but Arwen had waved her hand with a somber expression—her father had a different reaction and settled on learning Sasuke's practical knowledge of medicine in exchange for supplies when he would eventually leave and for the supplies Dawn had taken.

Looking at the maps, there were several rivers Dawn could have brought the canoe for. There was the Bruinen, in which case she would follow the path Boromir had taken. This was likely the safest route, except for any lingering Nazgûl floating down the river. Although, Sasuke also wondered if Saruman might have more…nefarious plans for the coming months that might make the Gap of Rohan dangerous. Another river was the Anduin, but this would be more dangerous due to the enemies on the eastern shore. However, this path would give his daughter more cover and she could find a way to the river through many different mountain passes of varying safety. Too many possibilities lay before him, but either way he would not be able to leave until Minuial woke up.

So instead of worrying over what paths Dawn might have taken, he focused on advising the "Ring Bearer." Aragorn and Gandalf were beside him for practical references of the terrain near Mordor, though he also had a few topographical maps of the Black Mountains—they seemed more like rough estimation, but would do. They had deliberated briefly about different paths to head toward Mordor, but no decisions could be made until they knew the whereabouts of the Nazgûl that had been swept away by the Bruinen. Likely the scouts would be gone for another month at the very least, perhaps even two months. So Frodo's company would not be able to leave until then, which was unfortunate since it would be the winter months they would have to travel through.

Sasuke knew internally that he would also have to travel in the winter if Minuial did not wake up soon. This would also narrow down what paths he could take with his daughters when he went to search for Dawn—not for a moment did he consider leaving his daughters in Rivendel, mostly because he knew they would not stay here and there was no guarantee of their safety.

Shaking his head, he pulled out a map that gave a rough depiction of mountains around Mordor. Likely this was made after Gondor first occupied the area and had so proudly made Minas Ithil at the base of its western mountains. Of course, such a symbol of human pride would be the first structure reclaimed and bastardized by the enemy. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes at such…prideful, foolish actions.

Brushing such thoughts aside, Sasuke focused on the mountain range along the western boarder of Mordor. The northern slopes would get them too close to the "Tower," which apparently had a flaming, giant eye that watched all of its lands. The former nuke-nin remembered when he had activated his sharingan after the ring had attacked him back, in his mind, he could still see the shape of a fiery eye, the eye he had dreamed of weeks ago. He could not write it all off or laugh at the notion of a flaming red eye, for he had seen it and it was burned into his mind still.

No, Frodo and whoever accompanied him needed to stay away from that eye and find a path that would not draw its attention. The Black Gates were obviously out of question, and as he looked about the western range he tried to find some that were not steep. He looked over at the hobbit and vetoed another section of the mountains. It would be better to avoid Minas Morgul for the same reasons as the northern mountain range was to be avoided, but he could not find any other "safe" paths for them.

Really, the only entry a short-legged hobbit might have a chance to get through was next to Minas Morgul. "This pass, this Cirith Ungol." Sasuke tapped at the location of the pass. "How often is it watched?" He looked up at the old man and his friend. Gandalf grew grim and simply shook his head.

"No. There is an evil there."

"The enemy?" Sasuke could tell by the man's tone that it was not the eye or the keepers of Minas Morgul that made this pass dangerous, and so he waited for the wizard's response.

"No, an older and hungrier evil. Primal." Frodo swallowed thickly at the answer, but Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow.

"But unassociated with the enemy." The wizard nodded, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. "Then that would be a better option?" The question was rhetorical but he could see Gandalf would not have had an answer for him regardless, nonetheless, the wizard was not happy about this.

Sasuke then gestured to the map, "There are no other passes, and these slopes are too steep for hobbits or too open for safe travel." Sasuke pointed back at Cirith Ungol, "This at least could have a chance of getting them in unseen, and if it is infrequently patrolled they could slip into Mordor even more easily and drop down behind Minas Morgul in disguise to join any troops coming and going through Morgul." He pointed down to the road and drew a line toward Mount Doom.

"As for this evil," he waved his hand, "it's unassociated with the enemy, so they if they are caught that has little consequence so long as they can escape it. If they can pass by it or kill it, then their entry is kept secret in any case."

Gandalf shook his head slowly, "It is a…less than desirable option, but one that would ensure their secrecy." The wizard looked like he was swallowing something bitter, but he did not veto the option. Aragorn looked at the map uncertain, and he cast looks over at Gandalf occasionally.

Frodo swallowed nervously again but spoke, "G-gandalf, what evil is in that pass?"

The wizard sighed, "She is old and she is always hungry. Shelob, a giant, putrid creature that stalks the tunnels of Cirith Ungol."

Frodo looked down at the table; his fear was clear but he seemed to be thinking through the path put before him. "Could I slip past her?" he asked in halting speech before he finally looked back-up at Gandalf.

The wizard frowned, "There is no way to be certain, but I have doubt even the stealthiest could."

"This Shelob," Aragorn spoke up quietly but still clearly thinking through things. "She is the one Gollum spoke of?" there was the barest hint of a question in his voice.

Gandalf nodded slowly, "I do believe she is."

"Gollum? Why bring him into this?" Frodo asked in alarm, while Sasuke questioned when either of them had time to question that creature who escaped from Mirkwood—according to that elf…Lego-something.

"Because I feel Gollum has yet another part to play in this tale before things are said and done," Gandalf stated somberly. "Also, it may be that he has pledged his loyalty to her when he first crept into the Mordor." Frodo grimaced but Gandalf proceeded on, "He could do you mischief if he learns you intend to pass through there."

Sasuke just sighed and rubbed his face, "Then I'm not sure what other way you can go. I doubt many armies enter through the black gate that you could impersonate." Sasuke had made a vague gesture to Frodo's person. "From what I've heard, goblins you might have a chance to impersonate, but men or larger orcs…" Sasuke shook his head.

Aragorn then spoke up as well, "It is also uncommon for orcs that have left the black gates to return there; usually they are out of Mordor until they die." Aragorn shook his head slowly, "No, any armies going into Mordor would be allies the enemy has ensnared but we have no new reports of such alliances or even movements. It would also take months to hear any such reports."

Gandalf nodded sagely with the ranger and hummed in thought. "So we are at an impasse." He looked toward Frodo who did appear deep in anxious thought.

It took a minute for the hobbit to realize Gandalf and Aragorn were waiting on him—Sasuke only stuck around to distract himself from Minuial's never-changing health. Then the hobbit slowly looked up at Sasuke, and it was clear Frodo had questions for him. "I cannot commit to any plan until I know more."

Sasuke exhaled in amusement, which earned him sharp looks from the wizard and ranger—why give him such looks; he hadn't done anything wrong. "Only fools go along with a plan without asking questions or gaining more information," Sasuke gave the hobbit an appraising look as he said this.

Sasuke then glanced sidelong at Gandalf and Aragorn who both looked pleased, though Gandalf was a little surprised—had the wizard thought he'd mock the hobbit for showing warranted caution. The hobbit quickly got over his embarrassment and shock at the compliment and proceeded with his questions, "How am I to obtain disguises?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I'm assuming you might come across goblins in your travel, so steal their gear and try to find ones with helmets that cover their head completely." Sasuke paused briefly before he amended his suggestion, "Though it would be more effective if you could get gear off of some Morgul goblin or like creatures close to here," he gestured to the area on the map; it would immediately mark them as infiltrators if they wore gear from some northern company instead of a Mordor or Morgul company. "Otherwise," Sasuke sighed, "kill a few goblins when you get through Critih Ungol; perhaps wait for a patrol to go by and slit their throats when they make camp or attack them from behind."

The hobbit stared at him with his mouth open and Aragorn coughed in discomfort. Gandalf frowned slightly but did not disagree with Sasuke's advice. Really, Middle Earthlings could be so…so difficult and morally narrow.

"Honestly," he shook his head, "if you're outnumbered you don't worry about propriety and honorable conduct; you focus on surviving. So yes, that might mean sneaking up on an enemy and killing him in his sleep. Use what you have to your advantage," he stressed the last part but the hobbit didn't look at him, no one did.

However the hobbit did speak up after a moment, "I am not sure I can physically do what you suggest."

Sasuke looked at the hobbit for a long moment before shaking his head. "Tinnu can work with you on your fighting and stealth." The hobbit nodded numbly, and Sasuke spoke again, "What was your other concern?"

The hobbit just looked at the table and shook his head. "If I am trained to fight then I should not be too concerned about Shelob, though I do wonder…" Frodo looked up with an uncertain expression on his face, "does she have weaknesses?"

Gandalf nodded slightly, "All evil things are weak against light."

The hobbit nodded again and then assumed a thoughtful expression, "I suppose the only thing left to ask is how I can get past sentries of Minas Morgul and up to Cirith Ungol."

"Hug the shadows, avoid marked paths, also stick to cover," Sasuke rattled off quickly and with some boredom. Frodo seemed disappointed with this response and Sasuke shook his head, "Without physically being there I couldn't tell you, but Tinnu will work on your stealth, so by the time you're in enemy territory, you'll know how to move and where to go."

"It seems we are decided then," Gandalf was frowning and it seemed that he would rather not have Frodo on this journey or facing off against such evils. The old wizard then sighed before giving them all a wry smile, "Now if only we could get our scout reports back on the Nazgûl."

3017 November 8

So cold…

So dark…

So quiet…

She could not breathe. The cold pressed in on her lungs and her limbs. She could not move; she could not escape the darkness.

So cold…

So dark…

So quie—NO!

It had found her again! She must move; she must flee!

The black rider!

It was there again, ethereal and wraith-like. It was creeping through the void, through the darkness. Run, she must run, but the cold and the dark…it was crushing her. The wraith will pull her deeper, deeper down.

She could not move, but she tried. One hand stretched out and she dragged herself through the inky darkness. The wraith shifted and stepped closer. No! No!

Wait…something faint. Were those words? She tried to look around her but there was only darkness and the wraith.

"…awake, awake…" That sound, that singing! Where was it coming from!

The wraith shrieked and the darkness pressed closer, but she had to find that singing!

One hand in front of the other, she dragged her body forward.

"I wish… wake up, Sister." Tinnu! The words were not clear; they went in and out of comprehension but she had to find them. The wraith cried in rage but she kept moving; she had to find those words.

…

Aragorn entered Minuial's room alongside Arwen, for they were to sit with the girl for a time. Sasuke had gone to meditate and would be back shortly, and Tinnu was to work with the hobbits on their stealth and fighting soon. Aragorn had observed one of the sessions, and it was quite interesting. For one exercise, the girl had rigged a corridor with ropes and bells, and the hobbits had to make it to the end of the corridor without making a sound; Pippin and Marry failed because they would not stop talking even though they did not trip any bells, and Sam often lost his footing which sent him into the ropes. Frodo did well enough, but he seemed to second guess every foot placement.

Once in the room, Aragorn and Arwen both nodded to the girl who stood up slowly. Her expression was grim and she brushed her hands down her sister's arm before she left the room. Aragorn moved to his niece's bedside while Arwen stood uncertain near the foot of the bed. The ranger brushed back the girl's hair and felt her cool skin against his hand. He was beginning to wonder if she would ever wake up; perhaps she would just wither away and die in her sleep?

Aragorn grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips "Oh little one…" he trailed off as his throat constricted. Arwen bowed her head as she moved to stand across from him. She smiled sadly down at Minuial before she held the girl's other hand in hers and said the prayer she always did when they came to sit with Minuial.

They sat there in silence for a long moment, and minutes stretched by before they began to speak softly to one another. They recited lays between hushed words of comfort and distress. If only Minuial would wake.

…

The wraith was ever just behind her, but the words were becoming clearer and clearer! A little farther, a little farther! She dragged herself across the dark void, one arm forward and then another.

It was always so cold, so very cold, and it stole her breath, but she pushed herself forward. She must find those words.

She felt so close to it, so very close.

NO! No! Let go! Let go!

…

Aragorn shot to his feet at the first scream. Arwen looked equally alarmed down at Minuial.

"Let go! Let go!" her voice was so hoarse, and then the screaming stopped and she began to shake all over. Her body thrashed on the bed, and Aragorn could imagine her head cracking back against the head board, but he feared to touch her lest he do more harm than good. Instead he moved away objects she might hit and stood at the ready to keep her on the bed.

"Get your father and her father!" He did not mean to order or shout, but Arwen understood the urgency of the situation and quickly left the room in search of the two.

Not a minute past before Sasuke appeared suddenly with a gust of wind around him. His chest was pounding and there was a look of disbelief until he saw that Minuial was shaking uncontrollably.

Aragorn heard him curse and then the blacksmith was beside the girl. He set his hand on her head but cursed as he looked at his other hand. Aragorn was going to pull away but Sasuke shook his head, "Roll her onto her side, and make sure she doesn't fall off."

Unsure and frightened of what was happening, Aragorn did as his friend said, and then remained crouched closee at hand to ensure she did not fall. All the while hebegan to mutter calming words. When Aragorn looked for his friend again, he was gone, but not quite a minute later he was back with Tinnu. The girl was alarmed and frightened, but her father began barking orders at her in their native language. The girl kept nodding her head yet her hands were shaking and betrayed her nervousness.

Still, she mananged to move her hands in patterns and then she reached for her sister's head. The tension and apprehension in the air was nearly palpable. What would happen? The shaking began to lessen after a few moments and then it came to a stop.

Really breathing for the first time since the ordeal began, Aragorn sank back into his chair. Tinnu was panting and sweating beside her sister, but she looked relieved. Sasuke, however, regarded him with a grim expression, "What happened?"

"I was talking with Arwen when Minuial began to scream: 'let go.'" He looked at the other man in the hopes that he might have insight into this, but it became clear that was not the case. "Then her whole body began to thrash about."

Sasuke breathed in and out in a calming fashion as he ran a hand through his hair. Tinnu looked to her father for some kind of guidance, but he was still unsure. At last Arwen returned with her father in tow, and the Lord of Imladris examined those in the room with a severe expression. Aragorn retold the events and Lord Elrond simply nodded. He then looked to Sasuke who shook his head.

"I don't know what could have led to her seizure, the shaking," he added on for their benefit, for Aragorn was not used to the word in a medical context, but clearly it was used so in Sasuke's homeworld. "Usually they're caused by some shock or stimulation unless…" the blacksmith cursed under his breath again. "Could there be damage to her brain from the Nazgûl attack…" the blacksmith almost seemed to be asking the mumbled question to himself.

How could that be possible? Aragorn looked toward his niece, his brilliant and mischievous niece.

Lord Elrond only nodded his head, "Her will was very nearly destroyed by the Nazgûl." But Sasuke spoke of a physical damage, did he not, so how could...

Sasuke seemed to ponder the same question but his face grew ashen in realization. He looked to Tinnu and his face expressed his urgency, "Did your sister unlock the sharingan?" Tinnu blinked several times before shrugging. Sasuke sighed in frustration and rubbed his face with his hand.

"What is it, Friend?" Aragorn's voice was barely louder than a whisper.

The blacksmith looked between him and the elf lord before sighing and shaking his head. "Our eyes…" he began but trailed off. "They see energy but they will also remember whatever they see with perfect recall." Sasuke gazed over at his sleeping child and shook his head, "If she activated her eyes, it's highly unlikely but…it could explain…perhaps in the attack…there could be damage." The man seemed to struggle with his own thoughts, and Aragorn was reminded of how he was so often left scrambling to understand the unimaginable and fantastic world his friend had come from. Perhaps Sasuke was equally out of depth in this topic as Aragorn himself was.

"Or the memory of the wraith haunts her," Lord Elrond spoke up, and Sasuke scowled at the notion but still nodded his head reluctantly.

Lord Elrond then nodded too, and began speaking with Arwen quickly in Sindarin. He was advising her of what to do should this situation arise again, and Aragorn mouthed the chant along with his niece. Unfortunately, the power of such a chant came through the most wtih an elf speaking the words, but it could still be of use to know it.

Lord Elrond then addressed the rest of the room, "I will see what I can do to remove this memory so that it will no longer harm her, but it may take time." Sasuke gritted his teeth but nodded before he sat back down beside his unconscious daughter. Tinnu moved to lay down on the bed beside her sister and began muttering every healing chant she knew in Sindarin.

At this moment, it seemed each person in the room was caught between hope that Minuial might wake and fear that her condition was worse than they had thought.

3017 November 9

So cold…

So dark…

Voices flitted in and out of her understanding, but she thought she recognized them. The sounds were all around her, but it was so dark… so cold…

No wraith now, it was gone, but she was lost in the deep dark again.

So cold…

If only she could move. If she could summon up her strength…

The words were so close, so very close.

…

The day before they had all waited anxiously to see if Minuial might seize again, but she had not. Tinnu had barely moved from where she held onto her cold sister; she supposed she should continue training the hobbits, but her sister would need her should she seize again. Ojisan and Obasan had left late, very late, in the evening and they came back very early too. Tousan…Tousan sat quietly with his eyes always trained on Minuial for any change in her condition.

Yesterday had been tense and quiet, and the only words spoken were mumbled prayers or chants. Today everyone seemed tired, and Tinnu imagined it was because they had all hoped and feared the whole day. They had hoped Minuial might wake up but she had not, and they had feared she might seize again but had not. It was the release of stress and crushing of hope that brought this tiredness, Tinnu supposed, and it hurt.

So Tinnu held her cold, limp sister tightly to her body, and she whispered their adventures back to her because she had to keep her hope that Minuial would wake up. Her sister had to wake up; how else were they going to prank people?

"What do you tell your sister?" Obasan asked softly after finishing another prayer. Tinnu did not raise her head but she tried to look at the elf.

"I was reminding her of our pranks," Tinnu couldn't find it in herself to speak louder. Ojisan smiled fondly and Obasan looked intrigued while Tousan just smiled slightly and shook his head as if she were endearing.

"Mind you, half the time I was the target," Tousan drawled. It felt like he somber atmosphere was lifting, or perhaps they all just wished to escape from the fear and sadness. So Tinnu grinned into her sister's side and watched her father shake his head at her antics.

"Really?" Was it really such a surprise to Obaasan? "And the other half?" Obasan asked softly but with curiosity.

"Boys in the village, and sometimes Haldarad." They only pranked Haldarad sometimes and it was mostly to embarrass the seemingly put together ranger who would someday marry Dawn. She liked to think of it as a family initiation of sorts.

Ojisan laughed outright at this, "And what did you do to poor Haldarad?"

Tinnu flashed Ojisan an innocent smile, "Nothing too bad."

"Nothing bad is usually the most embarrassing pranks those two can think of," Tousan explained and Obasan covered her mouth in surprise before laughing.

"Oh, do tell me your best prank." Obasan looked excited, which made Ojisan wary, and only made Tinnu more willing to share some of their best pranks, though it was so hard to pick! There was the baker's boy, but she couldn't tell that one in front of Tousan, though it was definitely their crowning achievement. Then there was the prank against some of the GreenWayers, and Bill Ferny they got once. Oh! She knew which one to share.

"Well…" Tinnu bit her lip in thought, "there was this tween, Craggy Underhill." Tousan instantly knew which prank she was talking about began to laugh slightly. "He was kind of mean, and called Minuial a hurtful name, so Minu thought we should get back at him."

At the time, it had been one of their most drawn out pranks. First they began by grinding up some seeds they found made people have to go the bathroom badly, and they added it to his salt and sugar. That was just the first thing they did and they were going to leave it at that, but then he called Minuial and Tinnu some more bad names the next time he saw them. So, naturally they had to up their game.

The second round of pranks were the more…elaborate ones. They began by hemming his pants shorter and shorter every few days day, and they added a minor genjustu that made him think he was getting taller in comparison to everything else. By the end of the week they disguised themselves as a few of Craggy's neighbors and commented on how he was getting taller and taller every time they saw him. This led to him boasting how he was the tallest hobbit in all of Bree, but the owner of that title was very…well…

"Oh my!" Obasan shook her head slightly in disbelief, "And that other hobbit really pushed this Craggy into a manure cart?!"

"Of course, being the tallest hobbit is a matter of pride," Tinnu stated very seriously.

"The fact he had not grown and had been on the shorter side amongst hobbits had made it all… well, Craggy Underhill is one name that will be answered with jeers from now on." Tousan smiled with the rest of them.

Though Ojisan shook his head, "That is a bit mean-spirited though, the poor hobbit."

Tinnu frowned and shook her head, "No, he was mean to Minu, and anyone mean to our family is fair game; that's why you've never been targeted."

"But Haldarad has?" Ojisan replied back with an eyebrow raised. Oh…that was good point.

"And suitors, they get the same treatment too."

"And what about me?" Tousan asked and Tinnu had to huff; really, they were all ganging up on her now!

"Well that's so you don't get lazy." Tousan stared back at her with a deadpan expression while Obasan and Ojisan laughed at her response. Tinnu kept her gaze steady and refused to give up, but then her eyes began to sting a little. Oh no…they were going to close, she had to keep the staring match going!

However, Tousan blinked and then stood up to loom over her. Tinnu rolled back alarmed until Tousan crouched down with a look of disbelief on his face. "Minuial?" he whispered.

What?! A sewing needle could have dropped in the room and been heard clearly, but a moment later everyone's focus was back on Minuial. Tinnu propped herself up slightly to look at her sister's face. Her eyes were indeed open, but they were not focused.

"Minuial?!" Tinnu called excitedly, her chest swelled and she couldn't believe it; her sister was awake! She shifted to sit on her knees as she looked down at her twin.

Tousan's hand began glowing green as he set it against Minuial's forehead. He was likely doing a diagnostic jutsu, and the longer he held the jutsu the more his hopeful expression fell.

"W-what's wrong with her?" Tinnu hated how her voice broke.

"Minuial, can you hear me?" her father ignored the question and asked one of his own.

Minuial's eyes shifted this way and that, and Tinnu tried to see what she was seeing. "It's so cold…" Tinnu blinked several times at the raspy, whispered words.

"Minuial!" Tousan and Ojisan cried her name with Tinnu.

"It was so dark…Tousan," tears gathered at Minuial's eyes but they were coming more into focus.

"Minu," Tinnu cried and began to hug her sister; she was awake at last.

"W-why can't I move?" Minuial asked, she sounded dazed and confused. "It's so cold…" her voice became numb then and her eyes regained the hazy gaze they had had before.

Tousan pulled away from his diagnostic jutsu and shook his head. "Sweetheart?" he called in a trembling voice, but he didn't say anything more.

"Tousan, what's wrong with Minuial?" Tinnu's panic made her voice rise up into a shrill tone, but her voice caught as she spoke.

"T-tinnu?" Minuial called out weakly, and for a moment there was a touch of clarity to her eyes as she tried to find her, so Tinnu moved so she was right above her sister's face. There was relief there for a moment, but then her expression became pained. "It was so dark…it's so cold…" Why did she keep saying that?! Tinnu looked over at Tousan who shook his head and seemed lost. Ojisan also had no advice to give. And Obasan…Where had she gone?

"W-why can't I move?" Minuial asked again before she mumbled "It's so cold." She kept repeating herself, and she sounded utterly lost.

This was starting to freak her out! A shadow fell over the doorway, and Obasan entered the room following her father. The elf lord motioned for Tinnu to move away.

"Who?" Minuial asked in confusion when Lord Elrond appeared above her. He placed a hand on her head and began to mutter old Sindarin words. Minuial's eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious again.

Tousan stood up to face Lord Elrond, and Tinnu knew he was preparing to do something difficult. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, his voice wavered some and it always hurt to hear that in her father's voice. "I…there's nothing physically…" words failed Tousan and he shook his head.

Lord Elrond nodded, as if he knew what Tousan was trying to convey. "Physically your daughter improves day by day, but she is haunted by the Nazgûl, and her mind was very nearly destroyed by killing it. Her mind and her will is what must recover now." It was the same thing he always said, so what good did that do them? It was always just the same damn story and Minuial never got any better!

"And the shaking?" Ojisan asked perhaps coming out of his shock.

Lord Elrond shook his head, "That…I do not know." He turned to face Tousan with a grim look, "I do not know what your eyes are capable of, and for all that I know, that damage may be permanent."

Tousan inhaled sharply but nodded his head, as if he had been suspecting such. Tousan quickly sat down and looked over at his daughters.

However, Lord Elrond continued speaking in that stupid calm voice. "I will look through the old tomes and see if there is anything that can be done for your daughter," the elf lord then left the room.

Tinnu wasn't sure she understood what all was happening, what all this meant. The room was still and silent for a long time as everyone tried to figure out exactly what this all implied, but it didn't make any sense to Tinnu.

Tousan eventually broke the silence, "Dawn doesn't know, and…" he looked at Minuial before standing and heading toward a window.

Dawn doesn't know…what did that have to—oh! "Sh-she could end up like this too?" Tinnu could barely get the words out, and her throat felt as if a hand had clamped around it. She could barely breathe! Her sisters… She could lose both of them to-to… she didn't even know what the hell this was! She had to get away!

Tinnu wiped at her tears as she ran out of the room. She couldn't lose both of them like this. Would everyone in her family just-just fade away like Kaasan?!

Aragorn watched his niece flee the room with tears streaming down her face, and he felt a pressure building up behind his own eyes. A glance at Arwen showed she was not sure how to process what had occurred.

"Sasuke," Aragorn moved beside the blacksmith, and contemplated whether or not he should set his hand on the man's shoulder. He decided against it and tried to speak around the tightness in his throat, "We can try to send a bird with a message for her."

Sasuke turned on him, and brushed at the tears gathering in his eyes. He shook his head, "How do we know if it won't be shot down? How do we know where she is, and if we send it to Minas Tirith, why would they hold the letter? If she does get it at Minas Tirith, it could be too late."

Aragorn nodded to each point, they were all true. "Then what? Will you leave now?" He gestured back to Minuial, "Leave her here just when she has woken up? When she will need you most?"

He knew it would be a mistake to imply Sasuke might abandon his daughter, but he had to get the blacksmith to think more calmly. The man's eyes flashed red and he narrowed his gaze; however, the man quickly changed his eyes back to normal and held his head as if it ached. The man even stumbled slightly as if he had completely lost his bearings.

"My friend?" He guided the man to a seat, and Arwen stepped closer, perhaps hoping to be of some aid.

The man grit his teeth, as if he was forcing himself to get the words out. "After what happened at the council…when the ring attacked me…" Sasuke cursed under his breath and Aragorn could not keep his concern from showing on his face. Had there been another side effect?

Sasuke inhaled as if preparing himself, "Whenever I activate my sharingan, I…I see the eye, like a sunspot in my mind…" Sasuke shook his head. This was very grave news, for if he recalled correctly, sharingan was what his red and black eyes were. But the blacksmith hurried on, "Though I've only activated it twice now, so perhaps my eyes are still healing." However, his gaze flickered over to Minuial.

Yes…perhaps it is healing or perhaps he will be plagued by the sight of the eye forever just as his daughter was plagued by the Nazgûl. Then the implications fully sank in, and Aragorn Stared at his friend in horror. Sasuke had one arm available to him at the moment, and most of his spells—jutsu, Aragorn corrected himself—required the use of two hands. His eyes had…jutsu of their own that only took looking to create, but if the Eye kept him from maintaining his…sharingan then he would only have one arm to work with—his less dominant arm at that, though the smith seemed fairly ambidextrous.

His friend would still be formidable with one arm and no sp-jutsu, but if this was all permanent… "Perhaps you should consult with Lord Elrond?" Aragorn asked quietly even as he knew his friend would not like this suggestion, and, indeed, the blacksmith's expression soured briefly.

"I suppose I should," the man consented with minor reluctance. "This could even speed his research along."

Aragorn was slightly puzzled by this and his friend exhaled in amusement, though it was not meant to be derisive. "In healing, you learn the most from similar injuries or illnesses." Ah, Aragorn nodded his head slightly and Arwen led the smith to her father's study. Still, Aragorn wondered what his friend would do now with all of today's revelations. Would he leave his daughters here? Would he take them with him? Aragorn sat beside his niece and took her hand in his. She still felt cold as death.

…

Sasuke woke with a start and peered around the room. Tinnu slept beside her twin, her brow furrowed fitfully. Sasuke tried to find a calendar in the room but had no luck, so he quickly left the room in search of one. He felt like he was forgetting something, something he shouldn't forget. There was a servant up still, and he looked startled to see Sasuke-perhaps he had heard about what had happened at the council? (Frankly, Sasuke didn't care if he had revealed too much of his hand; his daughter had left to risk her life in a war she had no business in being in.)

"What day is it?" he asked the servant quickly.

The servant looked at him for a moment, still shocked, but quickly replied, "Nearly the tenth day of November, is something the matter? Did you have somewhere to be on this date?"

Sasuke exhaled in disbelief as he leaned against the corridor banister. The elf servant shifted uncertainly but bowed and said he would be off. Sasuke didn't pay attention and only tilted his head back to look up at the stars he could see past the edge of the roof. Today had been the ninth, but with Minuial waking up the day before and then again today, he had completely forgotten. What a terrible father he was.

"Happy Birthday, Dawn…" he whispered to the night, and wished he could see his daughter even though he was so angry with for doing this stupid and brash thing. He had practically forgotten his daughter's birthday. He hoped she'd be alive for him to see her next one…he hoped all of them would be alive come the next year.

3017 November 15

The elf lord was walking down the hallway and moving toward the great hall for yet another grand meal. Sasuke quickly slipped down from the roof of the terrace and onto the open corridor next to the elf lord. The elf did not flinch at his sudden appearance, but he did begin searching for another corridor or some other elf around.

"How has your research gone?" Sasuke asked casually, and he could have sworn the elf's eye twitched in annoyance…if the elf lord wasn't such a put together elf.

"I have sent messengers to the other elven realms for aid in this matter."

What?! Sasuke moved in front of the lord and glared at him, "What? That is my—"

"I did not disclose anything pertaining to your family," the elf lord assured with a heavy sigh, and at Sasuke expectant look the elf lord elaborated. "I merely inquired into their experience with the enemy and dream impressions, among a few other matters," he added the last part a bit dismissively for Sasuke's tastes.

"And what exactly are you expecting from that?" It was hardly pertinent and far too broad, and inquiry, and just what were the other matters?

The elf lord sighed heavily but gestured for Sasuke to step aside and they continued walking. "Perhaps I was too broad in my inquiries, but the better to keep off suspicion," he looked at Sasuke pointedly, and the smith had to nod in agreement. "Regardless," the elf lord continued, "it is often the case one will divulge more information and surprisingly pertinent information when given less restrictions. My fellow healers may have insights about the enemy's ways."

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, "It's not like they will write a book for you on this, or were you expecting your messenger to bring back a book?"

The elf lord looked at him unamused, "Yes I am, likely they will be references and journals that tell of the experience."

Sasuke had not thought of that. It would be first-hand accounts that the elves collected, and would share with each other. Perhaps that would be useful, and the elf lord might even find a similar case out of that.

Sasuke's brow furrowed and he pressed his lips together in thought. "What theories do you have so far?" He tried to read the elf lord, but all he received from his efforts was the impression that he annoyed the elf again. "Are we still working with some sort of living memory of the Nazgûl, that the impression its energy made on her created a—"

"Yes, Dû, that is still one of the primary theories, but until I know what the enemy is capable of…" the elf shook his head and then gestured to the great hall, "Now will you be joining us this evening?"

Scowling, the former missing-nin shook his head and stepped back. The elf lord didn't show his relief, but at this point the elf lord knew Sasuke did not join the others for dinner and instead liked to take his supper in his daughter's room.

"Then I bid you a good night," the elf lord turned on his heel and left the corridor to make for where dinner would be served. Sighing, Sasuke turned back toward Minuial's room. The girl's strength was slow to come back, but it didn't matter, she hardly had the…the will to do anything. It was so…painful to see his usually exuberant child so…still even when waking.

He returned to the room to find Bilbo Baggins by her bedside with Frodo and Tinnu. The old hobbit was sharing some story and giving Frodo advice for his own journey. Likely the hobbit had finished his training with Tinnu and the older hobbit had suggested they stopped to visit with Minuial.

Minuial was lucid at the moment it seemed, for she smiled faintly at the hobbits as they spoke. She could turn her head now, but she didn't have the strength to sit up. She turned her head to face him, and he hoped that meant she had sensed him. "Tousan," she greeted.

Tinnu smiled slightly over at him as he came to sit on a chair near the bed. He reached out and held onto Minuial's hand, but her smile began to dim. The hobbits shifted from side to side uncomfortably, for they knew what was coming with Minuial's change in behavior.

"Well, I suppose we should be moving now, eh Frodo my boy?" Bilbo stood up with a surprising exuberance for his age. "I suppose it's near supper now."

"Yes, I suppose it is," the younger hobbit gave them a faint smile. "I wish you a speedy recovery Minuial," Frodo stated with a nod of his head. "Should I stop in again, perhaps bring Merry and pippin?"

Minuial nodded slowly, her expression strained. "I would like that," she murmured.

The hobbits soon left and Tinnu sat fidgeting on her sister's bed, and Sasuke had to wonder if this would the fate of his family? He stood up and kissed his daughters the on the head.

"The elves should be brining food soon, and you may be able to have solid food again," Sasuke tried to smile but it was forced and grim. He quickly turned and began to move toward the door.

"Solid food…" Minuial murmured before looking away. "I'm so tired," she murmured, and Sasuke froze on his way to the door. He had heard the servants coming down the hallway, and they would be there soon but…

"It's so cold…"

Sasuke could not stop from flinching at her words. He should have expected it to come when her voice began to fade off and her eyes became unfocused. She was seldom lucid for very long, but he hoped the moments of lucidity were growing.

The servant knocked on the door, and Sasuke reluctantly went to answer it. Tinnu followed him and together they brought the trays of food in. All the while, Minuial looked lost as she repeated her words over and over again.

Closing his eyes heavily, Sasuke exhaled slowly. "How long was she…?"

"Not quite a half hour," Tinnu murmured. "Before that she was a sleep."

Nodding slowly, Sasuke gestured toward Minuial, "Why don't you prop your sister up." Hopefully she wouldn't start seizing while they fed her…that had happened a few times now. Part of Sasuke was glad the dobe wasn't here to see this; she wouldn't have needed this sort of heart break. But then…if the dobe was here and she was her old vibrant self…she would have done something, found something to do.

Sasuke had always thought he might lose his daughters to husbands and children of their own, and he had had feared he lose them to death. But this…this he had never thought of…He had his daughter physically there but she wasn't there. His brilliant, mischievous baby girl… And Dawn…she could end up like this too, all because of the eyes he gave them… Perhaps there was more than one curse on his family?

Regardless, he had to warn Dawn so that she would not end up like Minuial. Perhaps Minuial would heal with time, but for all he knew, the damage was permanent. Already, Dawn nearly had a month lead on him, and he was not sure how much longer he could safely wait here while his daughter possibly killed herself against a Nazgûl.

3017 November 22

Aragorn could not believe his friend. He would be risking Minuial, who really was just barely recovering, on a potentially dangerous journey. They had not yet heard back from their scouts and so the Nazgûl could be anywhere—though it was unlikely they would target his friend and his family, but there was the possibility. Aragorn had tried to reason with the blacksmith, but Sasuke was right: who could keep Tinnu from following him and abandoning Minuial in Rivendel, and what assurances did he have that she would be fine or safe here?

He may understand his friend's reasoning and perhaps agree to some extent, but he did not like the situation at all. Still, he would try to find his friend the safest path possible.

"I'm not backtracking to Bree to pick up the Greenway," Sasuke vetoed the idea.

Now if only his friend could see what he was trying to do, and what a struggle it was for him. "That is the safest way to travel with a wagon. All other roads will be too rough and will break the wagon."

"Then perhaps we should run it," Sasuke shot back.

"But then Minuial will be exposed to the elements even more. A wagon will ensure she has some protection from the wind," Aragorn shot back.

The smith ran a hand through his hair in frustration before nodding his head in concession. "And going along the base of the mountains is just as dangerous because of orcs and running too close to Isengard," his tone was tired and said he knew this fact but did not like it.

"What about the river?" Sasuke asked after a moment of silence.

"I did not know you were a waterman."

Sasuke shot him a baleful look before shaking his head, "The Loudwater, or whatever, is deep enough for a canoe, right?"

"Once you are a few miles south of the ford, yes," Aragorn nodded his head slowly and eyed his friend. Although it was deep enough, there were shallower spots and hidden rocks. The river could be treacherous. However, his friend was focused on the fastest and safest passage to Minas Tirith—though Aragorn was of the mind that Sasuke could not have both and must sacrifice part of one for the other.

"The river's fast too," Sasuke murmured mostly to himself, "and I can pick up the Greenway down by this…Tharbad?" he tried the name out and clearly did not like it as he pointed to the bridge on the map.

"Then after that you will be traveling along the North-South Road through the Gap of Rohan," Argorn agreed. "But there are many leagues between here," he pointed to Tharbad, "and Minas Tirith. Winter is also fast approaching." He looked up at the smith then, "Minuial will need some protection from the cold, but if you take the river south you will not have a wagon at your disposal."

Sasuke exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't suppose we could pass down the river fast enough so that we can make it to…was this called Edoras?" the man asked tiredly—Aragorn often imagined his friend read the various names on maps but never bothered trying to say them or figure out how they were pronounced.

Aragorn smiled encouragingly at his friend as he nodded. "Yes, Edoras." However, his expression quickly sobered, "I would not rush the river, should you take that path. The Bruinen can be treacherous at night, and although the waters become deep to the south, there are still rocks that could tear the boat."

Sasuke nodded slowly and tipped his head over the backrest of the chair. He could see his friend thinking over the different paths, almost as if the maps were in the air above him and he were plotting his path. He narrowed his eyes suddenly and Aragorn wondered if an idea had struck him. The man sat up straight and began to head for the door.

"What is it you have just thought of?" Aragorn turned to address the man and Sasuke paused in his exit.

"Well I doubt we could take a wagon down the Bruinen, with those rocks, but if it could fit into a storage scroll…" The man's face contorted as if he doubted it could work. Indeed, a wagon was quite large for their magical storage paper.

Sasuke's face became thoughtful again, "I suppose the matrix would have to be adjusted for the…but that could destabilize—" the smith promptly shook his head and began moving toward the door. Aragorn could see a look of longing and regret in his friend's eyes; a look which Aragorn had begun to recognize. Sasuke missed his wife, and wished she was here. He smiled sadly after his friend and supposed he would be off to discuss his plans with Tinnu, though she would not be as great of an asset as her mother might have been.

…

Tinnu crumpled up another sheaf of paper. This was going to go nowhere. One change to the capacity on the storage array, and the whole thing could blow up, or worse becoming like a black hole—not a physical black hole, but a figurative one from which they would not be able to get whatever they put in back out. Stabilizing the storage scroll after making the modifications would be just as awful. Hmm…

"Neh, Tousan?" She called as an idea struck her. "Could an Uzumaki spiral array stabilize the seal enough to allow the capacity expansion?"

Tousan raised an eyebrow and pondered the idea. "Depends which one and how many spirals. It would have to match up in number to the circles already within the array." Another sigh and she knew her father was beginning to second guess his advice.

Tinnu tried to smile over at her father, "If we're wrong, we only lose a storage scroll."

Tousan scoffed and shook his head, "Do you want to lug all the rations, and equipment by yourself for who knows how many leagues." Tinnu frowned slightly, right…that would suck.

"Neh, Tousan, do you remember how to make seal paper?" If they could experiment that might work in their favor…

"We'd have to imbue it with chakra," he replied slowly and tiredly. "I think your mo…" he looked away from her and closed his eyes. Tinnu scooted closer to her father and set her head on his shoulder while she warped and arm around his good arm.

"We'll figure it out, Tousan."

He nodded slowly before focusing back on the task at hand. "I believe she began making the paper herself and weaving chakra into it through the process." So it would take some time, days even.

"Would it be worth it?" Would they make it to Dawn in time?

Tousan looked away again in thought. "Perhaps we should try to send a message on the off chance; I doubt we'll be ready for another week yet and she could already be there."

Tinnu pulled away from her father and frowned. He was always sighing now and days, and he looked so tired. Hmm… what would Kaasan do? Ah! She quickly squashed her mischeivious grin and narrowed her eyes as if examining her father.

"Neh, Tousan, I think you're going gray."

"What?" he turned to her abruptly.

Tinnu closed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest in her best imitation of someone sage giving advice. "You've been stressing too much about everything and now you're going gray." She then opened her eyes then and grinned broadly at her father as she chirped: "Maybe you should relax more."

For a moment Tousan stared at her before his features relaxed and he shook his head. With his good arm, he pulled Tinnu back into a hug and set his cheek against her head. "In times like these…that's hard to do."

Tinnu frowned; her plan hadn't really worked. "Maybe..." she began, "Mabye Onee-chan won't run into any Nazgûl for a while, maybe they're back with their master licking their wounds."

Tousan hummed for a moment, "Perhaps."

Tinnu had to hope for both of them. All of this anxiety and stress would do them no good. There was so much bad happening already, that they couldn't worry about what bad might happen; it would be too much…too much for them to handle. It'd do no one good to fret about what could happen, they had enough to focus on, enough to work through. If they could make sealing paper that would let them experiment and see what worked and what didn't; they had to look at the brighter points like that.

3017 November 28

The sun had yet to rise over the valley and the morning mist shrouded the Bruinen like a shimmering fog. The roar of the river broke the stillness of the morning, and just behind the peaks of the mountain range was a pale pink and orange glow. The Last Homely house stood amongst tall trees and rocky slopes, but it was also shrouded by the spray of the waterfalls.

As Sasuke stood at the mouth of the valley beside the roaring Bruinen, he thought of how the dobe would have loved this place. Maybe…if she came back, if they survived what was ahead…perhaps they could come here? The Valley of the End meets Konohagakure. Although it burned him to see the resemblance to that damn village, he decided to think of how this place was place of healing and had done what it could to heal him and his daughter. It would be a bitter-sweet sight for both of him and the dobe, but she would love to see it all the same and walk through its gardens.

"What are you think of, my friend?" Aragorn asked softly beside his elf lady. If Sasuke had had his way, they would be the only two to see him off, but the elf lord was also there to fulfill what Sasuke assumed were his host and lordly duties, along with Gandalf. The hobbits would have likely been there too to see them off if Sasuke hadn't stopped Aragorn and the old wizard from waking them.

Sasuke looked at the others round them and turned away from his friend and the sight Rivendel presented. "Nothing of importance," Sasuke murmured after a moment. Tinnu looked at him with a frown and he imagined the ranger was looking at him the same way.

"Was it Kaasan?" Tinnu asked softly, and he could hear Aragorn make a noise of understanding, likely recognizing the word mother.

"Why would you say that?" Sasuke shot back, but Tinnu only smiled sadly at him.

"Because you always look so sad when you thinkof her, and you miss her," Tinnu said this quietly and innocently. She was so genuine too that it reminded him again how quickly his daughters were growing up yet still had more "growing up" to do.

Sasuke shook his head slowly, but he could not keep the smile off his face. Tinnu was a perceptive one, and she was growing wiser every day. Part of Sasuke wondered if she would need him much longer, for guidance or comfort.

"We should be going," Sasuke stated as he shifted Minuial on his back with one arm. Her hands were tied in front of him and he carried her in a recovery position on his back. They had tried waking her several times but she was still asleep, even now.

"Yes," Gandalf stated from behind him. "You have many leagues ahead of you, but perhaps our paths will cross once more." Sasuke did not like the feeling of certainty that came with the old wizard's words. It was like he had predicted the future and there was this weight and truth behind his prediction.

"I hope not," Sasuke breathed and the old wizard looked at him oddly for a long moment. "I want my family out of this war." The old man nodded his head slowly in understanding.

Aragorn and Arwen came forward then. Arwen said a few words in elvish, likely some sort of farewell thing before she smiled at each of them and nodded her head slightly. "It was…I am so glad to have finally met all of you," her smiled faltered, "though the circumstances were so grim. Perhaps our next meeting will be a happier one?"

"Yes, perhaps," Tinnu replied while Sasuke merely hummed. It was hard to think their life could improve after all that had happened so far.

Argorn then set an arm on his and gave him a grim smile, "I wish I had done more to protect them, my friend, and I wish I had kept your family from all of this." Sasuke nodded his head and knew the ranger did regret all that had passed.

Aragorn then reached past him and brushed Minuial's hair back. He looked pained for a moment but then moved to Tinnu and the girl hugged him tightly as they whispered goodbyes in that elvish language. The elf lord came up to Sasuke then.

"I will continue to research what I can; I understand that you cannot wait any longer, and I wish you speed on your journey."

Sasuke nodded and a pointed look from both Aragorn and Gandalf made Sasuke respond. "Thank you for your hospitality," he bowed slightly, though it was awkward with Minuial on his back. "And thank you for…trying to heal us, and continuing those efforts." Lord Elrond nodded and stepped back in line.

Aragorn turned to Sasuke once more, "I hope that when these dark days are past we can meet again."

Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth tug up, "That would be good." Nodding again, Sasuke fully turned to the Bruinen, and Tinnu shifted her pack beside him. It was time then. They would travel down the river for several miles until the waters were deep enough and then they would canoe. The river would afford them some protection and would be a swifter path than running along the base of the mountain. It would also conserve their strength for any dangers that lay ahead, plus they would know they were going in the right direction. The river was fast and strong, and flowed roughly as fast as Tinnu could have run anyways.

Their attempts at sealing paper were hit and miss, and Sasuke cursed himself for letting the dobe take over that task after their initial success. Still, he and Tinnu had made some that worked, but most of them were wasted on faulty seals that often imploded—there were several new clearings in the Trollshaw because of these experiments. They had one successful expanded-capacity storage scroll that fit the wagon and canoe, and Tinnu carried her original storage scroll that held most of their other supplies (supplies courtesy of the elves like camping pots and pans with bowls, rations, eating utensils, a tent, and more blankets).

Once they picked up the Greenway at Tharbad, Sasuke would be pulling the wagon, which really was more like a cart that Minuial would barely fit into. Still they would make due, and protect Minuial from the winter wind. Sasuke also would not be able to go at his full speed because the wheels would likely break under that kind of strain. It would be long and time consuming journey, but they should reach Minas Tirith perhaps in two months' time—perhaps less if they could travel at night.

"Tousan?" Sasuke halted on top of the river, and Tinnu looked over at Minuial in surprise. "Where…? Why…?" her voice was thick with sleep.

Sasuke thought what to say but words escaped him, however Tinnu cut in, "Dawn went off to fight more Nazgûl but we have to stop her or at least warn her not to use her sharingan."

"Oh…" Sasuke could hear it coming in his daughter's response, "It's so cold…"

"We know, Minuial," Tinnu replied with a wavering smile, and they continued running, conscious of Minuial's condition and prepared to subdue her if need be. This would be a long, long journey.

3017, December 12

The river and the Tharbad crossing were behind them by a few days. The something-something marshes (because Sasuke couldn't bother to remember what they were acutally called) were to their left still so they had perhaps another…gods at least another week of running unitl the Gap of Rohan. How many days had it been already? Two weeks… wasn't it?

They had run at night along the shore of the Bruinen when they dared, but they had to make camp whenever Minuial would begin to seize—it was happening less frequently but the episodes were growing more intense, which worried Sasuke. There were seldom any orcs near the river, but Sasuke had heard wolves some nights and something that sounded like a wolf but he knew instinctively was not one—it was worse he imagined. Fortunately they had not come across any and the farther south along the Bruinen they went, the less they heard those creatuers.

When they camped at night, they tried to find trees to take refuge in, but they were always restless, and there were fewer and fewer trees to find refugee in. Some nights, Sasuke would be the sole guard of their little camp, and in the morning he would sleep in snatches in the boat while Tinnu guided them. Now on the road they could not do that, but it was no matter.

Unfortunately, with the weather growing colder, and Minuial unable to regulate charka to warm herself, even if only marginally, she was beginning to shiver each night and day. Tinnu even requested extra cloaks for her sister, but they only had blankets which they wrapped around Minuial tightly—she was already cold as death, and Sasuke feared what might happen if her body temperature dropped any further. So Tinnu often huddled in the wagon next to her sister to help her conserve body heat.

It had been two weeks…hadn't it been? What day was it even? They had left the 28th, so it was the 11th? No… Sasuke began to count the days in his head before and paused mid step.

"Tousan?" Tinnu asked, likely she had felt the slight jerk when he had stopped for a second. He continued running forward.

"How long have we been traveling?" he asked as raced across the beaten path of the Greenway. The harness like straps where a horse normally would be was against his chest and he used his body to push the wagon forward; this allowed his hands to be free and to flow behind him.

"I don't know, ages," Tinnu said tiredly, and Sasuke woudl have laughed except for the fact that there was a reason they were traveling like this.

"What day is it?" he asked and Tinnu sighed heavily.

"I honestly don't know; they all started to blur together."

They had hadn't they? It seemed like an ongoing journey with no end in sight. How wouldn't the days blend together, but he couldn't forget this day.

…

That night at camp, Sasuke had caught a few rabbits for dinner. There was hardly any meat on them, but he had made a soup with it and he dug up some edible roots to go with it, though he was lucky to have found them. Tinnu was singing to her sister while the food cooked and the girl slept.

Once the food was prepared they ate and then woke Minuial. The girl looked around confused but quickly accepted where she was. "How far today?" she asked weakly in japanese, and he could hear guilt in her voice, perhaps because she had not been able to contribute in the journey.

He smiled softly at her. How could Minuial think she needed to contribute, she only had to get better. She still couldn't feed herself and she could barely sit up by herself, though she struggled each day to do so when she was lucid.

"We've passed, what were those marshes called with the river that runs down from the mountain?" he gestured to the girls and Tinnu quickly piped in.

"Nîn-in-Eilph" She sipped some water from her canteen before smiling over at Minuial who gave a feeble smile back. "We're nearly to Dunland."

Sasuke shook his head, "I would say at least a few more days from those borders and then we will have to be careful."

The girls nodded, Minuial more weakly than her sister. The girl just seemed to have…to have no will to do much of anything. It was so disconcerting to see…but at least she was lucid for longer periods of time when she was awake.

Minuial did manage to look up at the night sky and raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Did you make camp early, or have I woken up earlier?"

Tinnu gave a forced smile before gesturing to her father, "We did make camp really early today. Any reason?"

Sasuke smiled slightly at them before he gestured for Tinnu to hold up the bowl of soup for her sister. As he fed Minuial, he looked at his daughters and knew his expression had softened in fondness. "Did your mother tell you about when we attempted to see what Scarecrow looked like under his mask?"

The girls both looked at him with wide eyes but they shook their heads slowly in negation.

"Well, your mother and our….teammate," it was harder than he thought to say this, but it was their birthday and he had no other gift to mark this day by. Sasuke shook his head to get past the discomfort of remembering and speaking about Konoha and his team. "Well, they had theories about what Scarecrow looked like." It made it easier to talk about them if he used the dolls' names and spoke in westron; that way it felt like any other story he told them about the Shire.

"Tousan…" Tinnu began but trailed off uncertain how to go on.

"You don't need to…" Minuial was frowning and Sasuke set down the spoon back in the bowl and Tinnu lowered it uncertain.

Sasuke sighed before he looked up at his daughters, "You two don't know what day it is."

The girls frowned in confusion, so Sasuke proceeded on, "Happy Birthday."

Their mouths hung open in shock, and though Minuial was often too tired to pay attention to what day it was, Tinnu had no such excuse. She looked over to her sister and held her hand in hers. "We're fourteen" she exhaled in disbelief and Minuial gave a weak smile.

Seeing her smile inspired the same thoughts in him, and the mood immediately plummeted. His baby girls were fourteen but one might never be the same…she might always be…like this. Perahps they should learn to live with it and not lament, but his clever little girl… Would she experience the rest of her life in small moments between lucidity and whatever place her mind went to?

Sasuke coughed to clear away the tightness in his throat and he gestured for Tinnu to raise the bowl of soup up agian. The soup would get cold if she didn't eat it soon, and she needed to keep her strength.

When he brought the spoon up to her lips, she looked at him with her brow furrowed, "Tousan…"

He smiled at her sadly, but pushed on with the story. "So…your mother, she convinced me to join in their attempts to de-mask Scarecrow. I think it was when your mother said Scarecrow might be hiding giant front teeth and fish lips that I agreed to help them."

The girls laughed weakly at that and he shared the rest of the story. The whole night felt bitter-sweet. It was not a happy birthday, but they tried to move past that.

3017 December 24

They had entered Dunland a week ago and they were nearly to the Ford of Isen; after that they would be in the Land of Rohan. He wasn't sure if that meant they were safe, but he would still feel better if they were out of these hilly lands spotted by abandoned and savaged huts.

As soon as they had stepped foot into Dunland, there were crows surveying their travels, and he did not like the look of them. He would have wished to travel under a genjutsu, but Tinnu was not as proficient at them as Dawn, and he was incapable of performing a henge with one hand. So he bore on and hoped these crows were not as intelligent as he feared they appeared. They made him think of scouts that reported back to their master of travelers' comings and goings.

However, they had not been harassed yet, and they were nearly to the end of the Dunlands. But each day he saw growing evidence of Gandalf's news about Saruman, and he wondered how long they would be allowed to travel unchecked and unmolested through these lands when it seemed the inhabitants of these lands had been driven out. Each day they drew closer to the Ford, they saw smoke rising from Isengard. One day, the valley in which the Orthanc stood, was open to them and the tower stood out stark against the steely grey of the mountains. He could not see anything clearly from the road but it appeared as if a forest had been clear cut away from its base, and the smoke rose from the ground. Well…that or there was an army amassed around the tower, but he was fairly sure those were tree stumps and not people.

Other than the crows they had not met any other malicious creatures, which Sasuke knew was fortunate. Of course, once they entered Rohan that could change. Gandalf had said Saruman had betrayed his order and was in an alliance with the enemy. Plus, the Nazgûl road horses from Rohan, which could mean that they work for the enemy, perhaps in conjunction with Saruman. It certainly would create a vice around Minas Tirith, for they would not have any allies coming to them with enemies on every side, and it appeared that Rohan had already snuffed out one of their neighbors (he always felt unsettled by the abandoned huts he saw scattered on the hills).

…

By dusk they were near the Gap and consequently close to the ford; however, Sasuke did not feel safe in the least. He had watched the mountain and hill slopes anxiously the whole day. As they drew closer and closer he thought he saw movement on them. People traveling perhaps? It set him on edge and he motioned for Tinnu to get into the wagon with her sister. He had two options. They could run past it and on through the night, perhaps using the cover of darkness to hide from whomever might be in the mountains and amassing forces, or they could camp here and wait for the light of day. Waiting would give whatever enemies might be in the mountains time to gather, or they could be ambushed in their sleep—though Sasuke would likely see the enemy coming long before they arrived…

"Tousan?" Tinnu asked softly from where she crouched over her sister. He had slowed to practically a walk.

"I thought I saw movement ahead on the slopes above the ford." Sasuke noticed his breath rose in a condensed cloud in front of him and so close to the mountains the winter child grew stronger; he could feel his sweat beginning to freeze. Wiping at his brow with his good arm, he looked back at his daughter.

"If there are enemies, they could ambush us in the night whether we travel or not. If they attack us at our camp then we will see them coming and have an advantage, but there's no guarantee any enemies would come to ambush us out here when they have the advantage of higher ground by the ford."

Tinnu nodded grimly, before adding onto what Sasuke had said, "And if we wait until we have light then they could have gained more numbers, and we would lose the cover of night."

It seemed decided then. Sasuke highly doubted the enemy would give up their high ground to ambush them in a place where they would be more exposed. However, they coudl not wait for more of their forces to amass there. Perhaps the best bet would be to rush past them, though if they ran slow the wagon would make less noise. That or they could seal the wagon and carry Minuial as they darted through the night shadows and made it to safety. It would depend on Minuial.

Sasuke stopped completely and felt the wagon lurch against him from inertia. He the flipped into the wagon bed and crouched over Minuial. "How is she?" he asked as he felt her temperature—she was still cold. He could also feel her body shaking minutely through his touch. She had so many blankets wrapped around her yet she still shivered in the cold.

Tinnu ran a diagnostic scan and furrowed her brow in uncertainty, "She seems stable." But that could change in a second with a seizure. "She probably needs some water and maybe some of that dried fruit we have left in our rations." They hadn't stopped since Minuial had woken up by herself in a terrified state earlier. Tinnu had eventually calmed her down with some elvish chant but they hadn't been able to feed her then, and that had been around Mid-day, so of course she would be hungry and thirsty.

Sasuke nodded and gently shook Minuial. The girl did not stir and he tried again, even sending a jolt of healing chakra through her system to wake her up. Nothing, and then, "Tousan? It's so cold…" and her teeth chattered together to emphasize this statement.

Tinnu looked at him expectantly and he sighed heavily. "Stay with your sister." In this state of being she would get her seizures. "Wrap her in more blankets too." He did not like how cold she felt or how she was shivering. Perhaps they would risk the wagon. With the mountains so close together they would carry off some of their chill down into the valley—as he had already witnessed even being this far from them.

Sasuke jumped back into his position and once Tinnu said she was okay, he took off again, but at a slower pace to make the wheels creak less.

3017 December 25

The moon had already set some time ago, and Sasuke imagined it was some time after midnight by the time he reached the gap. He could practically hear men in the trees on the slopes of the mountains. He could hear their breath and the stretch of a bowstring as arrows were fitted into place, so he had slowed so that the wagon would make as little noise as possible across the rocky path.

Walking in the dark he could practically hear men move down the grassy and rocky slopes in the dead of night. Their feet crushed the grass beneath them, and in the dark of night—even now that the moon had set—he could see shadows passing on the slopes around him. It was tense, so very tense.

"NO! NO! Let go!" And arrows began whistling in their direction.

Shit! Sasuke began running even as Tinnu began muttering a chant in Evlish. Glancing behind him he saw a glow of green from Tinnu as she tried to stop her sister's seizing. Sasuke also saw lights flying toward them and he cursed again when he realized whoever were on the slopes lit their arrows on fire. He could already see where the trajectory would land, and he didn't need a sharingan to see it. He also knew the wagon was not maneuverable enough to change course suddenly without tipping over, and then his daughters would be trapped under the structure. Worse yet, he could not substitute the whole thing because of his arm, and Tinnu did not have the chakra for such a large substitution.

"Both of you get out!"

Tinnu gasped and likely saw the arrows flying her way, and he heard her flee just as the arrows struck home and lit the structure on fire. Sasuke quickly leapt in front of his daughters with his Chokuto drawn. They were several yards in front of the burning wagon with their backs facing Rohan. From the two slopes he saw figures moving toward them and there were pinpoints of light likely from the ends of burning arrows.

A glance at his daughters showed Tinnu was shaking as she desperately said the elvish chant. Minuial continued to seize violently with her head in her twin's lap.

"Tinnu, you need to get over your panic."

The girl gasped in air, "I-I know." Sasuke saw arrows approaching, most were far off the mark but a few would hit him or the girls, so he quickly moved and cut the off their path. He only needed to move slightly to one side or the other.

He could hear more than see men running toward them, but once they reached the valley floor he could see their bodies moving, though he could not make out any features. He wouldn't risk activating his sharingan only to be disoriented and harmed by that burning eye, not when a wrong move could mean death for his daughters.

Tinnu made a noise of frustration that came out as a hopeless whine, "I-I can't do this."

"Yes you can, breathe." The girl had never had to perform medical ninjutsu under stress like this situation, and Sasuke just knew her chakra was acting erratically in response to the situation, which would not help her efforts. "They're just weak middle earthling men. There is nothing to fear, and once Minuial is stable we can run."

Sasuke cut away and deflected more arrows as the melee fighters drew closer. He could throw kunai and such but he had one arm and too few kunai. He would have to retrieve them from the bodies which would only slow them down when they left, and Sasuke would not potentially endanger his daughters by moving away from them to take out all the men here.

The melee fighters moved in front of the wagon and he saw that they wore pelts and wore their hair long and in a matted mess. They seemed like…he wasn't sure, but there was not a single horse in sight, so were they the horsemen or not? Sasuke gripped his sword tighter, and it felt odd fighting with one arm. More arrows he cut to the sides. He heard Tinnu breathe deeply a few times, but he still could feel her anxiety.

Closer…they were coming closer. A few more feet and he could attack before jumping back to protect his girls while Tinnu tried to get her chakra under control so she could stop her sister's seizing. Now…

Sasuke pumped chakra into his legs and he practically vanished from the men's sight only to appear next to one, his sword extended across his body as blood sprayed out from under the man's leather and pelt armor. Sasuke "disappeared" again as the man next to the newly fallen attacked at where Sasuke had been. Sasuke was now at the other side of their ranks, and quickly stabbed underneath the left arm of one man; consequently, slipping into the weak point in the arm and striking the man's heart. He flitted away again and stuck the next man down with a slit across the throat.

Then Sasuke heard more arrows whistling toward them and he leapt back in front of his girls to cut or deflected them.

The men stared at him for a short moment before screaming in rage, their rotted teeth clear due to the blaze the wagon let off. They shouted something in an odd language as more arrows approached. When they began to circle around him he knew what it was they had said; they had seen his weakness for his daughters and they were going to expoilt that by bombarding him with arrows and surrounding him with their weapons.

"Hurry, Tinnu." The girl nodded and began to form green chakra around her hands. Minuial was still seizing, but Sasuke could tell Tinnu had more control over the technique and it wouldn't be long now for it to be a success. The girl had pushed aside her fear and shock to focus.

Several of the arrows aimed for him embedded into the men before him, but they gave no cries of protest—so they had no qualms with harming their own…if these were the men or Rohan…Sasuke was surprised such men existed in Middle Erath.

Deflecting and cutting down more arrows he darted forward and stabbed one man through the heart. Another came to charge him and he quickly parried his strike before kicking him in the knee, shattering the kneecap and sending the man to the ground screaming in pain. He dodged more strikes and quickly came back to his daughters' position in time to cut away more arrows. They were coming closer now, but so were the volley of arrows.

Sasuke dove to the side and held his sword out as he ran in front of the line of men. He went through three and left deep cuts in their sides before one man had a sword up to block the attack. After losing so much momentum and only having one arm to grip the sword, he had to back away instead of ending in a deadlock. But still, there were three more downed men.

Another volley and the men were practically right on top of him. He was jumping and flipping from side to side to protect his daughters. He deflected swords and kicked the men away when he stopped their blows. More men were hit by arrows now too, but they had what they wanted now; they were in a tight half-circle around Sasuke and his daughters.

If he could make clones there would be no problem, but he was becoming stretched thin; it was all he could do to keep them from forming a complete circle around him. Then there was the ring of metal against metal, and Sasuke turned around in alarm only to see Tinnu had deflected an attack with her tanto. Sasuke was being overwhelmed by these men and one had slipped past him to attack. Fortunately, Minuial was no longer shaking but she was unconscious and breathing hard as she shivered on the ground.

There were more men coming up behind them now, but if they could clear away these men then they could run further into the West Fold and perhaps lose them. Though he was still alarmed of these rugged, dark men; were they really the men of Rohan?

Tinnu kicked the man away before stabbing another in the neck with her tanto. She then drew her katana and they began to circle around Minuial to stop blows and deliver their own. Within another two minutes the men were down, but their reinforcements were approaching. Tinnu was panting heavily and she was shaking. The blood on the ground steamed and Sasuke knew both of them probably looked frightful from the blood splatter.

Sasuke quickly sheathed his sword and bent down to pick up Minuial with one arm like she was a toddler agian. Tinnu surfaced from her shock and immediately began to help him secure her against his chest. Before long, they began running east as fast as Tinnu could go. By sunrise the ford was well behind them, and they finally stopped. Minuial was shaking almost uncontrollably in his arm, and Tinnu began coughing loudly.

"The air" she racked in more air but coughed, "so cold." She winced and Sasuke felt it too, the air was cold and harsh; it left their throats raw and the coppery tang of blood seemed to creep into their mouths. Tinnu then began to shiver as she tried to wipe away her freezing sweat.

Tinnu looked back toward the ford, "Our supplies…they were on the wagon."

Sasuke knew that too, but he had been in such a rush to be in front of his daughters to intercept the arrows.

"W-we've stopped?" Sasuke was surprised to hear Minuial's weak voice call out.

"For the moment, we need to continue on."

"Wh-where is the w-wagon?" Minuial asked as she shivered violently. Tinnu helped him warp the blankets closer around her.

"We were attacked by men," Tinnu responded and Sasuke glared ahead of him. If the winter became too much, where would they find refuge, and without supplies…

"We should stop at the first settlement we see," Tinnu murmured and coughed again in the cold air.

"I'd rather avoid the ones who attacked us."

Minuial and Tinnu both looked confused. "The R-ro-rohirrim attacked you?" Minuial sounded incredulous while Tinnu just shook her head.

"Those men had dark hair and no horses; they didn't even bear the crest of Rohan," Tinnu explained.

"But they're men at the boarders of their land, not orcs."

"C-could be mountain men…t-the one's they drove away," Minuial managed to get out over her chattering teeth.

"Or they could be in an alliance with them and Saruman," Sasuke called back before sighing. "Tinnu, would you help me arrange your sister in recovering position."

The girl nodded and did so but she did not look happy and the girls shared a look as Minuial was rearranged onto Sasuke's back with her hands tied in front of him. "We could at least try to see if we're welcomed, maybe we can get supplies?" Tinnu suggested softly and Sasuke sighed heavily. They wouldn't make it to Minas Tirith without supplies, and if all else failed, they could steal what they needed.

3017 December 26

By midday they came to the first Rohan settlement, it was a league or two north of Helm's deep, and Tinnu was thankful to see it. All the running in the chill air had created a persistent ache in her chest, and she was bone tired from the non-stop running, even though she knew she had the lucky end of things. Her father had been running every day and sometimes all day and night for the last two weeks, while she could rest in the wagon with her sister. She had to marvel at his ability to push on, and how little fatigue he showed by the end of each day.

Tinnu coughed as they slowed down and she could breathe more deeply. It hurt breathe in the freezing air, but she needed the oxygen and had the opportunity to really breathe. With these plains as they were, the settlement would be able to see them clearly for a far distance off, and it would alarm people to see them running at speeds they had probably seen only horses run. So far, they had had the fortune of distance and the rolling hills, but now they would soon be at crest that lead into a valley the settlement resided in.

She could tell by how her father shifted Minuial on his back that he did not want to be here in the open. He did not trust the people of Rohan, but Tinnu had to believe there were some good people left…that Sauron's taint had not corrupted everyone in this area.

It would be perhaps an hour until they reached the settlement at the pace they now went. A strong gust of wind swept up the hill and she shivered as she pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Her teeth chattered loudly together, and her body shook in an attempt to conserve body heat.

Her father glanced back at her for a moment, and smiled slightly. "Try circulating your chakra through each limb slowly. Feel your tenketsu open at the influx of chakra."

What odd instruction, but Tinnu did as he said with much consternation. How did one feel their tenketsu opening? Regardless she tried to slow down her chakra circulation and tried to feel it flow through her. She walked clumsily along the grassy slopes that hide rocks from her gaze, but after five minutes she felt her limbs warm slightly. She was still cold, but it was better than before.

They kept trudging forward and Tinnu felt the wind shift, and could smell snow on it. She looked over at her father as she shivered. He could smell it too if his furrowed brow as any indication. "We'll probably need to spend the night."

"If they prove none hostile."

Tinnu bit her lip and it was silent the rest of the walk there. Her limbs almost hurt more from the walking than all the running, perhaps because her chakra had reinforced each stride before but now this was purely her own muscles working after so many hours of running.

As they approached, she could see they had garnered a crowd. The men and women had flaxen hair and wore dark colors with thick cloaks or shawls wrapped tightly around them. The houses were mostly wood but some had a stone base while the roofs were often thatched. She saw multiple gardens outside the houses, and she could see several chicken coops.

They came up to the road leading into the settlement and they stood shivering before the crowd of people that blocked the way into the settlement.

They said something in some odd language that she had never heard before. Tousan addressed them regardless, and his tone was bored, "We seek shelter from the incoming storm."

The crowd shifted and some of the people eyed them warily. "And who do you outsiders be? You come from the west and covered in blood," one man sneered; he was older than most and his long hair was graying. Tinnu deduced he was an elder and often looked to for guidance in this settlement.

"Yes, we were ambushed by some foul men in pelts and leather armor. They destroyed our wagon and we have walked here from the Ford." She could tell her father was annoyed but he was putting on an act for these people though he stilled eyed the cautiously. This was also his way to judge their affiliations, Tinnu realized quickly.

"The mountain men?" A woman gasped in horror, and there was a ripple of unease and fear amongst the crowd. Then more people began to speak up, their voices shrill or shaking in terror.

"The mountain men have taken the Ford!"

"How many days past was this?"

"How did you escape?"

"Did you fight them all on your own?" The questions were fired at the same time or at the heels of past questions and Tousan backed up slightly in the face of their insistence. These people were beyond anxious, and they were desperate for any news, though some showed them caution while others just wanted to know how long they were safe in their homes.

Tinnu stifled a cough as she watched her father freeze at all the queries—he had never been much for communication. It was her turn then. "They ambushed us as we passed the Ford around dusk," Tinnu spoke up for her father. "We ran through night, and have hardly stopped for rest since then. That was some two days past."

Some looked at them sympathetically and began to make way as if to welcome them into the village, but others eyed Tousan suspiciously.

"And how did you escape the ambush; you could be a spy of theirs perhaps you took some poor man's clothes after you killed him!" Those who had parted for them froze and turned their eyes to watch them as if they were suspicious and could not be trusted.

Another man came forward and glared down at Tousan, "Or are we to believe you took on the mountain men all by yourself?"

Tousan met his gaze evenly without flinching. "There were others in are party who did not make it. I managed to flee with my daughters, but we had to fight our way through." Tousan moved aside his cloak and motioned for Tinnu to do the same. "We will not die without a fight."

Many of the men and woman nodded in grave understanding, and the people parted to let them in. "And was this one injured in the escape?" an elderly woman asked.

Tousan nodded slowly but said no more, while another perhaps began to explain their accommodations. "I'm afraid there is not much, but we have barn and the hay is warm. We could even allow a fire but it must be carefully tended."

"Of course," Tinnu replied for her father while he answered questions about how many Wild-Men there were. Mountain men, wild men…it was all the same thing. They were men the Rohirrim had driven up into the mountains and Dunlands, but they now seemed to be fighting to reclaim their land.

As they walked through the settlement, Tinnu wondered if they could rest for a few days and regain their strength before moving onward.

That evening they were given a meal by an older woman who had lost her sons and husband to the Wild Men, and they were fortunate for it now that most of their supplies had burned up. And as the rest of the settlement fell asleep, she and her father sat next to the fire with their backs against bales of hay. Minuial was to the side but a little farther away from the fire—she had been lucid for a longer period that night before she had succumbed to those haunted thoughts and then fitful dreams, so now it was just Tinnu and Tousan.

It was still cold and draughty in the barn, and Tinnu could not stop her shivering. She was so tired too, but she was almost too cold to sleep. Her limbs ached in a way she had never experienced before and her head felt heavy.

"Go to sleep. I'll watch the fire."

Tinnu was surprised at the break in the silence and turned to look at her father, "What?" He wasn't looking at her and instead was focused on the fire in front of them. His eyes had deep bags under them and his face was thin. He needed the sleep too, he did.

"No," She shook her head in determination. "You need rest too, so why don't you sleep first."

He looked over at her with a wry expression on his face before he shook his head, "I've worked on less sleep than this." She was going to protest but he continued speaking "But I promise to wake you in six hours and you can be on watch until the storm settles."

She glared at her father in an attempt to express how serious she was, "You better." He smiled slightly at that before he motioned for her to move. However, she hesitated. If she slept, what would she see? She had killed those men, and perhaps they were deserving and foul…but she had taken another life… It was different than she thought.

She felt her father's worried gaze on her and she looked over at him with a weak smile. His worried expression smoothed out in recognition and he nodded his head slowly. Was he going to tell her something? She waited patiently for him to speak, if that was in deed Tousan's intention, but he didn't.

Looking down at the ground in uncertainty, Tinnu moved next to her sister and unwrapped several of the blankets. She then hugged her sister, while Tousan moved to finish wrapping them in the blankets. However as he did so, he mumbled, "I'm no good at this."

She turned her head to look at him, but he was already sitting back down, so she turned back and burrowed her face against her sister's neck. Then her father took a breath as if to prepare himself. "You've probably moralized your actions, and you should." There was a silence but she could tell he was just thinking what to say next. "Those men would have killed you and your sister; there's no question in that." He paused again before sighing, "Maybe the dobe would say you should feel remorse over it, but why? As long as you don't grow to like it..." Tinnu heard a rustle and knew her father had shrugged. "Regardless, you can talk to me about it," her father finished almost lamely.

Tinnu nodded slowly but didn't try to verbalize a response; she couldn't with how tight her throat felt. So she just nodded and hid her face against her sister until she eventually drifted off too tired to even dream.

3017 December 28

Helm's Deep was below them and its troops began running up to meet the refugees. Sasuke watched as the survivors of the settlement gave exclamations of gratitude at seeing the…fortress?

The storm had kept going strong for a full day and then it created blizzard conditions on the plains. On the twenty-seventh there were wild men spotted maybe a league out and Sasuke was roped into helping the elderly pack their few possessions for the Deep—mostly provisions and blankets. In return, he was given some provisions and new clothes, so he and his daughters could eat for another day and appear less bloodied.

Perhaps an hour after seeing the enemy, the people were all set to make for Helm's Deep; they were not even going to try to defend their homes in the face of the party they had seen. The snow was deep still but it would likely begin to melt soon, or so he hoped, for the progress had been dreadfully slow in the foot and a half of snow, even with horses to plow through it.

Now the settlement lay behind them burning and Sasuke had been sent toward the rear to defend while Tinnu and Minuial had rode with a woman toward the Deep. Sasuke doubted these Mountain Men—or whatever these Rohan people called them—were the same ones from the Ford. Sasuke would have imagined the storm and blizzard would have slowed their pursuit, plusd it seemed to him that those wild men held that position over the ford to keep people from going into or coming out of Rohan. No…this was likely a raiding party that had been caught in the storm, but had managed to find shelter somehow. They probably would have attacked the village the day before in the dead of night when none would be the wiser, but their plans had obviously been derailed.

During the flee to Helm's Deep, Sasuke had had to cut away a few arrows that had been aimed for the fleeing refugees, but it was not for the awe it inspired in the refugees he guarded, but rather in repayment of the food and clothes given to him. There were even a few Mountain Men, perhaps scouts or just fighters sent ahead, who had caught up to him. They had been dispatched easily, though he had dialed back his speed, which made it all a chore. Still, his charges were safe at Helm's Deep at last.

"Are you sure you will not stay the winter out in with us?" one of the older men asked as the refugees were guided down into the Deep.

Sasuke looked at the man blankly, and was fully conscious of the fact he eyed Sasuke's sword as he talked. He was just another weapon to these people. Beside, he had his own reasons for not wanting to stay in Helm's Deep for the winter; one was Dawn perhaps falling into the same condition as Minuial or worse.

"I said I would get word to Edoras of the Wild Men attacks," Sasuke responded curtly, and the man nodded grimly before bidding him and his daughters goodbye.

It was eastward then, through the snow and cold. He wondered how his girls would fair in these conditions; already, Tinnu's cough had grown worse. Perhaps they would have to stop at a few more settlements before they gave their message to lords of Edoras.

3018 January 2

Sasuke shifted Minuial higher on his back; her unconscious frame shuddered against him. Tinnu coughed beside him and shivered violently despite her attempts to circulate chakra throughout her body to maintain heat. He was beginning to feel a cold coming on too due to their exposure to the elements, but there it was in front of them at last.

They had come to the mouth of vale, wherein stood a raised shape like some lonely sentinel. They would have to move closer to see more, but what he could make out from the rise in the valley a glimmer of gold at its highest point. He could also see a pale river cut through the vale as it flowed down the mountain and likely went to join the Entwash into the Anduin. He could also make out the thin trails of smoke rising from the structure in the distance. Fire meant protection and warmth. A shiver went through him as well despite his efforts to retain body heat. However, they had some ways yet to go.

Tinnu coughed violently and for a long moment; it almost seemed like she was coughing up a lung. Each cough sent a cloud of condensed moisture in front of her. Pneumonia, bronchitis…he wasn't sure which afflicted his daughter, but they needed to get out of this weather. Not for the first did Sasuke wonder if Dawn had found shelter, or even made it to her goal; perhaps they might even find her in Edoras?

They could have arrived at Edoras sooner, perhaps days sooner, but Sasuke had tried to keep his girls out of the snow and cold as much as he could. In addition, Tinnu was insistent on them warning any settlements they came across—she was so like her mother in that regard—so they sometimes had to run a league or more off the road to do so. Nonetheless, their warnings had been received by people ushering them in for more news and his girls could sleep protected from the wind and in the company of a fire.

But still…Tinnu's coughing had grown worse and Minuial's moments of lucidity were affected by the cold; she lapsed more frequently into her haunted mutterings. Though, perhaps her declining stability was correlated to her health? Sasuke was not sure, but he did not like his daughters being so exposed out here.

The first settlement they had come across after they had parted from the refugees at Helm's Deep had been attacked in pale morning by a fairly small raiding party that went ahead of the main force. He and Tinnu had protected the house they had stayed in, but eventually all survivors had to flee on horses with smoke heavy in the air around him as their homes burned to the ground, but they left knowing that small raiding party had died.

However, the smoke probably had only worsened Tinnu's condition, along with the sudden change in temperature, but they had pushed onwards once they reached the road and again parted ways from the refugees. Fortunately they had not come across more Wild Men since that day, even when they stopped at other settlements.

His daughter's coughing fit ended with Tinnu bent over as she tried to catch her breath, but each inhale was painful due to the cold air. "Just a little further," Sasuke breathed, his own teeth chattering in the cold.

Tinnu looked at him tiredly, but nodded. Her chest heaved and her face was so awfully pale except for her wind burned cheeks. It was just a little further and then they could thaw out their numbing limbs. Gods…if Dawn was still out in this weather… He just had to hope she wasn't.

Unfortunately, at this point, Sasuke and Tinnu could not race toward Edoras because they were likely a visible speck on the horizon now, so if they moved too swiftly only to slow down nearer the building…well, it would only make them more suspicious and subject to scrutiny. This mean they must begin the slow drudge down into the vale; their feet and legs sinking into the snow for effect. Tinnu drew closer to Sasuke and they drudged their way to toward the large settlement through more than a foot of snow—likely the valley had collected more of the snowfall than the plains.

"Almost there," Sasuke breathed out every time his daughter would cough violently next to him. He hoped Minuial would not catch what her twin had; he was not sure if the girl's immune system had been damaged by the Nazgûl—it would be so like their luck if that was the case.

Perhaps after an hour of this he could make out Edoras in more detail. Spiked wooden walls enclosed the place, but thatched roofs peaked above the walls' height. And there was the golden roof of the Golden Hall. Even in the pale winter daylight the roof shone and truly looked like it was made of gold. But Sasuke's eyes were drawn to the smoke filtering up from the various chimneys and openings, and he felt a surge of motivation. He moved a little faster through the snow and Tinnu stumbled after him.

The sun rose higher as they made their trek down into the vale, yet no one rode out from the gates to see them. So it was only with some shock that when the main gates finally loomed ahead of them, they were shut. This contradicted what the smaller settlements of the West Fold had told them of Edoras, and yet he was almost expecting this when no one had rode out to check on the refugees. Tinnu looked over at her father anxiously, but he shook his head slightly; perhaps they were guarding up in case of an assault from those mountain men—he had to tell himself that as continued forward.

Closer and closer they came, but the gates still did not open. Why? Surely they looked like any other refugee. Perhaps the guards of Rohan did not expect them to make the trip and without any animals, but they could lie and explain their horses had been injured in a raid the day before by the Wild Men, and they had had to let their mounts die in the snow.

Perhaps they would have seen more welcome at Helm's Deep, but it was farther from their goal. Minas Tirith lied to the East along the range of mountains Edoras stood near; to seek refuge in that Deep would only delay them. The place would also be overflowing with dying and sick refugees who could aggravate his daughters' illnesses further. Food would also be scarcer for most of the rations would go to the active guards and he may even be asked to join the defenses despite his lame arm (he had shown to quite a few of the refugees how capable he still was with that arm). In that kind of environment, even Tinnu might be encouraged or at the very least feel encouraged to aid in the defense of Helm's Deep for their refuge there. No, Edoras was a better option, plus Tinnu liked to remind him that they had promised to warn the King of the Wild Men attacks.

Yet now they were a yard away from the gates and still it was closed; not even a sentry came out to greet them. "Tousan…" Tinnu whispered feebly with uncertainty in her hoarse voice.

The smoke said people were within the walls of the settlement, so it was not as if the place had been vacated. Sasuke could also see movement at the look-out towers. Were they preparing for an attack? Or had they shut their doors from further refugees? Sasuke grit his teeth together slightly and shifted Minuial so that she resided more securely on his back.

They were right outside of the gate but no one opened it. He could hear men in metal plate shifting just behind the gate. Tinnu looked over at him anxiously with uncertainty clear on her face. He might have given her some words of comfort if he did not fear how that might make the guards on the other side of the wall react—whether he spoke in Westron or Japanese to her.

Coughing to clear away the built up phlegm, Sasuke then raised his voice, "We seek shelter in Edoras." His voice was hoarse and his teeth chattered; overall, he sounded cold and weak. He glanced sidelong at his shivering and coughing daughter. He had hoped she might pick up the diplomatic matters, but she was letting him handle things.

There was some more movement and shifting from behind the gate, and Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance. He could jump this stupid gate and enter that way; he didn't have to deal with this shit, but… He didn't know the Rohirrim's customs and it would not…behoove him to offend them. So he glared at the gate and forced out his next words.

"We have traveled…" how would the Middle Earthlings phrase it? "Traveled many leagues," he settled on that. "We need shelter from the cold, and we come bearing news from your outlying settlements." His teeth kept chattering and Tinnu was coughing more frequently. Still there was no stirring, no movement that indicated someone would open the gate, but a look at his pale and violently shivering child made him grit his teeth and swallow his pride. "Please."

There was more shifting but no moves to open the gate. He couldn't believe this; it was like some kind of petty juvenile act he would never have expected of Middle Earthlings. "God damn it!" He screamed at the gate, "My daughters could die out here, you bastards!" So much for their hospitality; he didn't even care if the use of his native language offended them or made them more wary.

He glared at the gate and wanted to add some spiteful words about them also letting their people die; however, there was a commotion quickly traveling up to the gate. Sasuke could hear a young man's voice carry over the crowd; although a normal human would not have heard it. "What are doing, open the gate!" Sasuke did not recognize the language but he could hear the inflection of outrage; a look at Tinnu showed an equally clueless response to the words. Minuial was dead to the world still, so even she would not have insight into these matters.

"But Lord Théodred," someone started in a faint voice, "your father—"

"And there are girls dying," the same young voice spoke in a commanding yet chastising voice. Sasuke assumed the young man was in some position of power. Perhaps a general or commander, perhaps a lord?

What Sasuke presumed was the same guard spluttered in uncertainty as the commotion drew closer, and Sasuke began to relax marginally. It seemed someone was likely going to help based on the reactions; still he signed for Tinnu to be prepared. The girl's hand shakily moved to her sword that was hidden by her cloak. It could be that the young commander was for them entering the village, or the spluttering guard had been about to let them in when the young commander stopped him.

Another guard, he assumed it was a guard, spoke up as the metal clothed footsteps drew closer. "My young Lord, this could be a trap or an enemy, they speak some odd language and clearly were cursing us." Caution and paranoia was in this guard's voice, perhaps he gave the young commander a warning.

"Perhaps because you keep the gates shut as if no one is here," the young man shot back in annoyance.

Tinnu looked over at Sasuke and he shared a look back at her. He may suspected the young man was in their defense, but it would be best to play it cautiously. He moved slightly in front of his daughter, and if need be he would cut through whatever threat appeared before him. In kind, Tinnu moved slightly into his side, and a glance at her showed she was looking meaningfully up at the guards standing resolute at their watch in the towers at the corner of the wall. Of course, the guards were becoming suspicious by his lack of action.

"Please!" Sasuke shouted, for dramatic effect, "My children will die in this weather, and the news from the settlements is grave."

He could hear the heavy metal covered footsteps coming closer and closer to the gate. "It could all be a trap," that guard persisted, "some trickery," he whispered. Sasuke recognized the paranoia easily. Perhaps they were considered a danger to the young commander; this may solidify that the young man was to help them, though he did not know for certain.

Internally scowling at the measure he had to go to, Sasuke played up the pathos appeals. "We were attacked by Wild Men and lost much of our supplies, and have since been hounded by their raiding parties," he cried to the gates even though the people beyond could hear him just fine. "Please, we just seek shelter!"

"If there is trickery," the young lord whispered to his guards, "then they will be surrounded and easily dispatched." The inflection in these words he was less certain about. It seemed as if the young man was assuring the guard of something, yet it did not sound dismissive.

Tinnu moved closer to his side and held more tightly to the hilt of her katana but otherwise did not show her unease. Finally, there was more movement from the guards and the gate began to open marginally, just enough for a few guards to come through. Sasuke tensed marginally, his muscles prepared to move at a moment's notice. Tinnu was equally tensed and was trying to suppress her coughs.

A cursory look revealed who was the young commander, although there were several young men in the assembled group of armed and armored men. All them had fair hair that were in impractically long braids—in Sasuke's opinion. Their armor was polished but one young man's armor was polished more than the others and it had a different level of craftsmanship.

The young commander did not speak, but an older guard came forward and tried to intimidate him. Sasuke met the man's gaze but did not challenge him in any other way; he had played the pathetic card enough but he would not test his luck. Tinnu watched the man cautiously and pressed even closer to Sasuke as if afraid, but the former missing-nin knew it was to get a better angle of attack.

"You do not speak our language, do you?" the man asked in that odd language from before. Sasuke just stared at him blankly.

"Are we allowed in?" he asked in Westron.

"It is the will of Théoden King that none should enter his gates, save those who know our tongue and are our friends," the guard stated.

The young commander looked annoyed about something and Sasuke felt his patience fraying. Tinnu was barely keeping her coughs at bay, and Sasuke's own shivering was beginning to get worse, not to mention Minuial...

The guard was prepared to go on but Sasuke intervened. "Look!" he snapped as he glared at the guard. "I do not speak your language, so are we allowed in or not?" he snapped.

The same guard sighed, "You are outsiders who do not even speak our tongue." Yes, that was the obvious; now what was this man's point. "You could be spies of the enemy, assailants who intend to do harm to our King."

He could respect the paranoia, although it was annoying to be on the recieving end. Still…it felt at home to him, and Sasuke began to relax. Tinnu felt that and relaxed slightly as well. "We seek shelter that is all," his words adn tone were softer, calmer.

"Then why not seek it at Helm's Deep?" the guard asked stonily, "Why come to Edoras?"

"Because we intend to make for Minas Tirith." The men looked surprised by this, but the guard looked ready for a rebuttal.

"To weather the winter at Helm's Deep would be the same as to weather it here." After a brief pause the guard continued, "You came from the West and so it would not have hindered your journey to stay there."

Sasuke glared at them, "Dozens of refugees flock there a day because of those wild men." He looked at the assembled men pointedly but none of them drew the conclusions he hoped they would, and only the young commander was concerned about his report. But before he could elaborate, the guard spoke up.

"Then you would have company," he remarked.

"They are sick and dying; it would be a danger to my children." Not to mention with all the people staying there, there would be food shortages.

The other guard eyed Minuial and Tinnu warily, "And are they sick? Will they bring a plague here?"

He felt Tinnu tense at his side, and the girl struggled to suppress her coughing but it was getting worse and more obvious despite her efforts.

The guard scoffed and the young commander looked uncertain. "We could hear her coughing before; we cannot risk the health of our people for outsiders."

Sasuke breathed slowly in and out; if not for these nearly desperate circumstances he might have done something foolish. Through gritted teeth, Sasuke spoke, "She needs rest and shelter. We've traveled from Bree; do you know how long of a journey that is?"

The guards were reaching for their various weapons at the hint of a threat in Sasuke's voice, and even stepped back from him; perhaps he was exuding some killing intent as well, but enough to warrant that reaction.

"And the unconscious one?" The guard said more uneasily.

"Rest, she needs rest and time to heal without the stress of travel." The guard looked at him incredulously. Time to lie then. "She was hit in the head by a Wild Man, and she has been troubled since then." The young commander and some of the other guards were affected by this, but the paranoid guard held his ground, which was commendable and made Sasuke feel reassured about the safety of this place.

"And if you were attacked by these Wild Men, how will you compensate for your shelter here?" the pragmatic guard inquired, again commendable yet annoying to be on the receiving end, adn the man had a point. Sasuke had not stopped to grab their savings when he left Bree, and even so, such currency would have been destroyed in the ambush along with their other supplies. However, looking at guards' uniforms, he could see their weapons and armor needed some more work. "I am a weapons' smith by trade, and could be taught armory."

The young commander spoke then, "Why do you not use your right arm?" So the young man was observant and saw he was only shifting his daughter or making gestures with his left hand.

Scowling, Sasuke stated in a clipped tone, "Injured in the attack." He then turned back to the pragmatic guard, "My daughter knows the trade as well and would assist me. I also do basic smithing jobs too."

"A blacksmith, really?" the guard raised an eyebrow at this and shook his head. The young commander sized the shaking Tinnu up and down before he looked over at the guard. There was an exchange between them in their odd tongue and some pointed looks thrown to each other before the young commander turned to them with a genial smile.

"My Father will decide if you may stay in Edoras on the condition of your services as a weapons' smith." It hung unsaid that they would be watched closely. Sasuke also suspected they would have few amenities or comforts if they stayed here beyond a roof over their heads.

"Now," the young commander spoke quickly, "what name are we to call you by, blacksmith?"

Sasuke regarded the young man for moment before he replied—he knew the longer he waited the more hesitant and distrusting they would be—"Dû, and this is my daughter Tinnu."

"No father's name?" a guard whispered and Sasuke scowled slightly.

"Forgive me if I knew no father to be named after," he shot back, and the guard looked perfectly scolded. The young commander shifted slightly, before he led the march through the village.

They proceeded through the gates with five guards surrounding them. Tinnu traveled behind him, and Sasuke knew it was to guard her twin from any attempts. The young commander came up beside him and Sasuke knew there was going to be a conversation he would not be able to leave.

Though as they wound up the well-trodden path—likely made so for the horses—to the Golden Hall, he noted they had drawn a crowd of forlornly dressed men and women. However, Sasuke looked past thehm adn took in his surroundings. He could see thier homes were wooden structures with horse-like designs in the woodwork. The thatched roofs made him think of the less well-made homes in Bree, but it would be shelter. There were three stables, and two armories, but only one well near the center of the settlement. Sasuke observed various weak points in the walls that could be shored up with more wood and metal crossings, and he noted ways to escape if things went bad—there were less guards on the North western side, likely because of the mountain's slopes were closer at that side, and thus no batallions would be forming over there.

He took in all these things as the young commander attempted to glean information about his encounters with the Wild-Men. The first few questions were simple and easy to answer: where did they attack you, how many of them were there, what kind of weapons did they carry, did they have any distinguishing marks or symbols. With each answer the young commander would grow more concerned, but it was clear he was connecting Sasuke's "report" to past intelligence on this topic. The guards around them also seemed to grow more and more concerned.

Then the young commander looked at Sasuke and took in his sword peeking out from the end of his cloak, "Did you alone fight them off?"

"No." If he said yes, he would likely be enlisted to their defense, lame arm or no. A few the guards laughed under their breath behind him but the young commander only nodded soberly.

"Did you lose many of your party in those raids?"

Sasuke remained silent, unsure how he should proceed. Fortunately, the young man took his silence as an answer and the snickering stopped immediately. Sasuke could feel the pity directed toward him, and with each cough Tinnu tried to stiffly, their pity grew. He remained stoic though and somehow refrained from expressing his annoyance.

"Your wife…" the young commander began and Sasuke could not stop from flinching at that. Oh god, the dobe… he missed her so much… "…I see," the young commander looked away from him and Sasuke hated how all the men around him shifted uneasily about him. He could feel the pity they directed at him like a palpable force, and it was beginning to piss him off, though it was better for them to assume he was a widower.

"Father," Tinnu murmured behind him. She shifted and when he looked down he realized she was holding onto his numb hand. "Kaasan will come home; she has to."

He nodded but he could feel the guards' wariness at the foreign language.

"Is that the tongue of Bree?" the young commander asked, though it was clear he doubted that.

"It is the language of my ancestors," Sasuke stated quietly; he felt exhausted and his bones ached from the cold and shivering.

Finally, they came up the Golden Hall and another Rohirrim stood guard. "What is this? It is the King's will that only those who know our tongue or are friends may enter and seek counsel with the king. None are welcome here in days of war but our own."

The young commander made a placating gesture before he spoke back to the man, "He is a weapons' smith who has traveled from Bree. He has lost many including his wife on this journey and he only seeks refugee for him and his daughters in return for his services."

"Do you have proof of his skill at all? He could be lying or a spy," this new guard appraised him warily and seemed not to find anything worthy in Sasuke. He also watched Tinnu with disgust as she shivered and coughed behind him. Minuial's unconscious state made things worse as well, though he imagined if she was awake and muttering, things would be much worse.

"Then let us ask him," the young commander responded curtly and the man straightened slightly. The young commander then turned to Sasuke, "Do you have any samples of your smith skills?"

"Yes," he grabbed his sheathe and tugged it out of his belt to present it before the guards.

"I see you are armed," the guard the commander had spoken with stated calmly. "You will need to leave your weapons out here before you may enter the hall.

Sasuke scowled at the notion, though he could be dangerous enough to escape without them, as was Tinnu. "Then we best have our weapons returned to us when we leave. Should they be missing—"

"Us?" one of the guards laughed behind him, and Tinnu shifted as she coughed behind him. He could practically feel her anger and annoyance.

The young commander raised an eyebrow at this, "Does she even know how to fight?" He was simply incredulous but it came off offensive.

"Tinnu do not act rashly," Sasuke gritted out in annoyance, the girl made a noise at the back of her throat before going into another fit of coughing.

"Wait," a guard spoke up behind them with laughter in his voice, "does this mean his daughter helped him fight off the Wild Men?" Several of the guards began to laugh and the young commander began to smile as well but he eyed them both up and down in an appraising fashion. Why were they all laughing, the other settlers understood and could accept that all should know how to die on a blade than die cowering in the shadows.

"Did you make your daughter's weapon as well?" the young commander asked while the other guard gestured for their weapons.

"Yes," Sasuke responded again while glared at the man. Like Tinnu, he was barely keeping himself in check. These insolent, chauvinistic bastards. He was beginning to not want to stay here, but what choice did they have. Although, Sasuke amended, even Aragorn had been…reluctant to encourage his daughters fighting and had been uncomfortable with Naruto's skills as a warrior, so what else could he expect from less honorable men? The people in the settlements might have had a different outlook because they were all at the risk of their homes being taken, but the people here had the protection of walls and more guards.

Tinnu revealed her tanto and katana as well as the few kunai she had on her person. She then helped him remove his make-shift weapons' pouch that had not been claimed in the fire. The guards held up the kunai and shuriken and laughed. "What are these supposed to be?" on asked.

"Projectiles, but the knives can be for close range fighting as well." The men laughed, but the young commander ignored them in favor of Tinnu's sword. He unsheathed Tinnu's katana while the one guard unsheathed Sasuke's chokutō

Another guard laughed while the two men examined the make of the swords, "You call those blades of grass swords?!" one laughed. However, both the guard and the young commander were not laughing for they saw the quality of weapons, which reassured Sasuke. However, Tinnu did not see the impressed looks.

"They cut open plenty of Wild Men with ease," Tinnu shot out and the guards only laughed more.

"Tinnu, let them make fools of themselves. The ones with brains will recognize our skill, and only they are worth our time." He could feel the girl's indignation but she moodily turned away from those who tried to harass them.

"Yes, Tousan."

The two men sheathed Sasuke and Tinnu's weapons. The one guard spoke, "Do you have any other weapons on you?" Tinnu shifted slightly and the guard caught it. He raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Well?"

Sasuke sighed as Tinnu looked at the ground guilty, "We lost the rest in the ambush, and she still regrets not retrieving them." They had lost their few seals in the fire, and the girl did truly regret it.

The guard eyed them suspiciously, but saw the truth in their words and only nodded. They were then lead into the long house.

For a major focal point of the city, it was grim within the great hall. There was just this feeling within the air, and it set Sasuke on edge. They were escorted in further with four guards surrounding them. They stopped at the large fire pit roaring near the center of the hall. Tinnu immediately helped him get Minuial close to the hearth while the young commander and the guard he had talked with outside the hall went toward the end of the room. They stopped before a throne.

There was an older man and a young man there. The younger man sat on what Sasuke assumed was an advisor's seat. There was something about the man that made Sasuke uneasy. He appeared cunning, and his demeanor reminded Sasuke of Kabuto in small ways. The "advisor" seemed like Kabuto in the sense that Sasuke was not sure where his loyalties lied, and there was something cruel and greedy about the man. To what ends was this man loyal, and to whom? The King of Rohan, Saruman? Who?

Then there was the older man, whom Sasuke assumed was King Théoden. He could see callouses on the man's hands and other evidences of him once being a warrior, but now the man seemed…withered. There was strength in him still, but it seemed…repressed. His features were pale and his appearance unkempt. His eyes looked out at his hall but did not really look.

Something didn't feel right about any of this. The young commander and guard argued with the advisor and the king remained passive. Something truly was not right about this.

Sasuke made to look over Minuial's condition as he spoke to Tinnu, "Place a henge on my eyes; something does not feel right here." The girl swallowed nervously before coughing more.

She bowed her head and placed her hands in her lap so that they would be hidden by her cloak. She quickly flashed through the signs and Sasuke could tell the jutsu took hold. He began to activate his sharingan. The eye was there still and it…it hurt. But he looked up at the king and somehow managed not to gasp.

Seeing past the eye with great effort, he could vaguely make out tendrils of some energy moving through the advisor and onto the old King. The energy centered around the King's brain and as the world slowed, he caught the King mimicking what the advisor had said before. He instinctively could tell it was not in their favor. However, Sasuke could not get the old King to look at him, which could allow him to break the connection without holding ont his dojutsu for longer. Already his head was spinning adn the eye...he couldn't hold his sharingan for more than a few seconds in the face of this crushing headache. He deactivated his sharingan, and instead looked to Tinnu.

"Try to break the genjutsu on him," Sasuke whispered as he closed his eyes against the pain. Even with his eyes closed he could still see the impression of the Eye. Those few seconds had been the longest he had held his sharingan since the incident in Rivendel, and he was not sure if he could do that again—his head felt like it was splitting.

Tinnu bowed her head with her brow furrowed; however, the girl held her hands together and he felt her chakra ripple through the room toward the old King to disrupt the genjutsu on him. Odd…she was constantly sending out the stream of chakra as if she could not just disrupt the hold on it.

Sasuke cautiously observed the old man closely and there was no apparent change in his demeanor. The minutes dragged by before Sasuke noticed anything different. The King's eyes began to really see again, and Sasuke could tell the old man was no longer weakly parroting the advisor's speech. The advisor seemed confused but did not seem alarmed by this. At last, the young commander bowed to the King and moved over to Sasuke with a smile. Tinnu was still concentrating and was even beginning to sweat from the exertion.

"That is enough," he called and the girl let go of her attempts with a sigh of relief.

The young commander greeted them then, "My father has agreed to let you stay, but you will work for the smith for lodging and food." Basically an indentured servitude for their stay here. Sasuke then realized that the young commander had said father in relation to the King. Well…

The prince, it would seem, gestured to the guard from before, "He will show you to your know lodgings and explain the situation to the smith."

The guard came forward and introduced himself, but Sasuke didn't care to remember it. When Sasuke did not give his name, the guard shifted slightly, "We have not been introduced yet, sir."

"He is Dû, and these are his daughters Tinnu and Minuial," the prince introduced them for him since it was clear Sasuke had not replied. The young commander then smiled slightly to him, "And I am Théodred, son of Théoden. Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, but in these times of war we must be cautious," the young man's expression became slightly strained and even a little tired.

Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. "War does that," he began and decided to end on a middle earthling note, "and the wise...are cautious." Tinnu smiled up at him slightly and the guard seemed shocked by Sasuke speech.

"I'm surprised a smith would share such sentiments," the young commander stated.

"Hn," Sasuke nodded calmly before his gaze was pulled away toward Minuial.

The girl's eyes were fluttering open and she looked around the room in a feverish daze. "Tousan?" she asked weakly.

He quickly knelt beside her and felt her skin. Still cold yet her eyes were glassy as if she was sick. "Where?" she breathed out in confusions, "Are we in Edoras?"

"Yes, sweetheart, we are." He smiled slightly and she gave a relieved smile before her eyes dimmed and became lost. "It's so cold…"

Tinnu was quick to sooth her troubled sister with the elvish chants, and their audience were surprised by all that was happening.

"I thought she had been struck but she seems…" the young prince trailed off and Sasuke gritted his teeth as Tinnu's chanting grew softer and Minuial's eyes began to droop closed; where they goingot be thrown out now?

"Some injuries are not so easy to recover from," Sasuke tried to speak more firmly, but his voice fell toward the end into a whisper.

He then straightened and took the sleeping girl back into his arm as if she were a small child again. "She needs a place to sleep and recover," he said slowly, and the guard nodded. He then led them out of the building.

Tinnu took their weapons when they left the hall and the guard immediately introduced them to the man they would be working for. After that, he was shown to where they would be staying. Only then could he could speak to his children alone. Minuial was barely lucid, but being in a warm place under a sturdy roof had helped in a small way to revive the girl. They fed her and stimulated her muscles before they settled into a heavy silence in which they feared Minuial would seize.

Tinnu broke it after a long moment, "I don't like it here."

"Is this about their reaction to our weapons?" and consequently her ability to fight, but Sasuke left that off. Minuial asked them what they meant and he quickly relayed the story, which made his other daughter glare at the wall.

Once he was finished, Tinnu looked angrier than before, and Minuial looked mildly annoyed, which was disconcerting because she was usually as expressive as the dobe. Scowling, Tinnu muttered, "Thanks for reminding me in detail, Tousan." But the girl began coughing more and she was distracted from her anger.

Minuial smiled vaguely and stared off to the side, "You could get back at them with pranks," she murmured.

"I would rather that neither of you did anything to kick us out, even if we don't like this place," Sasuke replied dryly, but not even Minuial could muster her usual devious smile when he accused them of being little hellions.

However, Tinnu had not stopped coughing and Minuial looked at him worriedly. So Sasuke promptly got up and left the room to retrieve the kettle set up by the communal fire pit. It was still full and hot, so he quickly went back and picked up one of the cups they had received upon coming to this building. He poured hot water into the cup before returning the kettle. He brought the cup back to his coughing daughter and she took it with some reluctance—they had nothing to make tea with and so she had to accept it as it was.

She continued to cough, and Sasuke supposed he would have to see if there was any honey stored up somewhere he might be able to trade for. He then checked Tinnu's temperature and began to do minor one-handed scans, while Minuial watched her twin anxiously.

Tinnu coughed while he did the exams and it was clear there was build up in her lungs, shit. He didn't know many medical jutsu for illnesses, only injuries and home remedies, but those would do little good. Tinnu looked at him worriedly, but he tried to give her a reassuring smile to both his daughters. He and the dobe had always had good fortune when it came to illnesses; nothing was ever more severe than a cold, but then…they had done everything they could to keep their daughters healthy.

Athelas? They had some left, not much, but some… It was the go to remedy for when things were out of his depth, but Minuial needed it as well… Perhaps he should ask the women in town for suggestions. But for now it would seem fluids and rest were in order for Tinnu.

They were grim and quiet in the room as Tinnu helped Sasuke arrange bedrolls and blankets. Minuial observed them with sadness and regret for she still did not have her strength, and so they were looking after her in all these different ways. She also had the majority of the blankets but Tinnu would receive some more now that they were indoors; his daughters needed the warmth more than he did. It was a little draughty in the building but they were fortunately close to the communal fire, so its heat traveled to them easier than some of the rooms farther away.

"I think we're in a sick house," Minuial broke the silence once everything was in order and Sasuke nodded grimly.

"I know…" he had heard the coughs and groans their whole time in this place, but it made sense to stick them here where they could not infect anyone else.

"I wish…" Minuial began and her voice sounded tearful, "I want to help…"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he grimaced, "I know, dear. I know"

"I-I hate being weak…"

"You're not weak Minu," Tinnu shot back. "You're the bravest, strongest person I know."

"Am I? Because I just feel like some invalid." Sasuke felt like he had been slapped and he knew even Tinnu was speechless at this. "Just some burden,"
Minuial mumbled as she tucked her chin down against the blankets.

"Never!" "Don't ever think that!" He looked at Tinnu who had spoken at the same time at him, and Minuial looked at them in surprise.

Sasuke moved over to hug his little girl and Tinnu joined him so that he was holding both his baby girls to him, though he could only wrap an arm around one of them.

He pressed a kiss against each of their heads and then rested his head against Minuial's "You will recover. You have been each day, so don't start thinking those sort of things. We will always…" He trailed off because how could she not know this? He tried again, "You two are my babies, and taking care of you will always be my joy."

His girls cried together and for a long moment they stayed like that, but Minuial's strength was quickly failing her and she was beginning to succumb to sleep. So Sasuke tucked his girls in because they let him, and he moved toward the door.

He sat with his back against the wall next to the door and was prepared to guard his children from any nefarious attempts. He had his sword near at hand and although he closed his eyes, he was alert. The twins' breathing was beginning to level out and the sounds of the night drifted to him. There was the howl of the wind coming down from the mountain and moving through the streets of the settlement. The other occupants of this house were coughing and as he inhaled he could smell…sickness. It was and odd scent but he could recognize it. Of course they were shoved into some sort of sick bay, and he could not really blame them except in a petulantly irrational way. He would have to go around and see what was contagious and keep his daughters away from those people.

"That advisor and the king…" Tinnu's mumbled words floated across the stillness of the room. Her voice was hoarse from the coughing and expressed the weight of her fatigue. The girl was half-asleep but this topic seemed to keep her awake, whereas her sister had fully succumbed to sleep.

"What had happened?" he asked when it seemed she was not going to go on; he was curious why she had held the 'kai' for so long.

"Well…" the girl paused to cough and Sasuke winced at how painful it sounded it. "I couldn't get it to all go," Tinnu finally mumbled. "I found the other chakra and I tried to disrupt it but it kept…it kept…I don't know…" The girl shook her head as she struggled to find words for what had happened. She began coughing again and Sasuke reached for the water pitcher to refill her cup.

When the coughing stopped, he got the girl to sit up and she began to drink the water before she laid back down. The coughs still came of course but they were not as severe after the water; at least for now.

Sighing, the girl stared up at the ceiling before she looked back over at Sasuke and resumed her observations. "That other chakra… it was like it could outmaneuver me. It kept finding ways around me, and I could only…chip away at it."

Sasuke frowned at this news. The only…mind control he had seen had been when he first traveled with Gandalf. The old man…it was hard to describe how that other will had come over him and made him move back toward Bree. Was it only Gandalf who could do that, or were other…wizards—Istar was what he called himself, right?—capable of such things.

Saruman… Gandalf had said he had betrayed their order, had betrayed all of them. Isengard was close enough to Edoras that perhaps… So in the end eve Edoras was not safe. They had to leave if Saruman could control the King of these lands.

Sasuke was roused from his thoughts by Tinnu. She began coughing again; her body physically rose off of her bedroll with the force of the coughs. His little girls… They couldn't keep traveling, not in this weather and not in the condition they were in. Sasuke could only hope they were inconsequential to Saruman, and he would let them stay here.

And now for something extra

October 28

Naruto hummed a lullaby to herself as she braided and re-braided her hair. She could feel Tsunade-baachan and that paranoid Hokage down the hallway, and based on how their chakra was fluctuating slightly, she imagined they were arguing. It was obvious what about, but Naruto couldn't bring herself to care.

For the twelfth time she undid her braid and braided her hair again. She missed braiding her daughters' hair. They had begun to let her do it more often, but they still complained she was too rough with them, but there was something soothing and intimate in braiding their hair for them. It was a moment where she was still allowed to do something for her girls who were already so independent. The thought sent a pang of regret through her because she was here when she should be there with her daughters.

And the war… whatever war there was. Naruto could remember the final battles, the fields of dead shinobi and undead ninja, the white Zetsu… Surely Middle Earth war would not be so awful and hopeless? Though…wasn't all war filled with hopeless moments? The odds always staggering. Every man and woman struggling every inch through blood and muck, and sorrow…

Smiling bitterly, Naruto thought her daughters wouldn't have to see war in such a peaceful place as Middle Earth, but she was wrong. What war, with whom? Naruto's lullaby cut off abruptly as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Naruto needed to be with her family; if not for the war then hopefully for the recovery.

Naruto gave up on the most recent braid and began again, though this time doing a more complicated weave—some kind of lover's knot. Really, she just needed to keep her hands busy in part to distract her from her thoughts and because the place was sooo boring; especially after she finally got to see Gaara again and talk about the joys of parenthood with him.

Gaara…Her hands stilled and she smiled sadly at the thought. He had grown so much…They were what? Thirty-four, thirty-five? Yet Gaara seemed old like Ranger-san. There was a fatigue in his eyes and there was hard won wisdom too. He had seen much in his life and seemed so much older. He looked the part too.

Had Naruto grown much in the intervening years? The gaunt face reflected in the window was young still; there were only a few crow's feet, but no other wrinkles. The teme had frown lines and a crease in his forehead, crows' feet too, but she had so few markings of age. The eyes that stared back at her out of the glass were tired, and did look old, she supposed. She and the teme had that to mark their age, and perhaps cast them as much older than they were. They had had these eyes since they were seventeen, and she had never known why they were so…aged.

War. It did this to them, and now it would do the same to their daughters, and she would be absent. It was like the two years after she had regained her memories. Her babies would grow up without her seeing them. They would change and perhaps not for the better.

Naruto bit her lip and looked up at the reflection again. She could see the tears shimmering in her own eyes, but she noticed something else. Her eyes were old for another reason, she realized. They were old because she had lived; she had a family and had seen her children grow into adults. It was a good kind of aged, she decided. So she began to hum again her lullaby and resume her braiding.

Perhaps she and the teme had turned out alright in the end?

…

Kakashi couldn't back down now, but as he stood outside the door to Naruto's room he wanted to change his mind. Ino sighed impatiently behind him and perhaps he did deserve such a response; after all, she was the head of the information department and gong on six months pregnant.

He had argued with Tsunade time and again. Ino was the most qualified even if she was pregnant, but he wished her father were still alive so he could do this. Inoichi was distanced and cold; he Kakashi could have trusted to give an unbiased review. Ino proved to share his characteristics over the years, except in the face of the Konoha 9. He had argued for another Yamanaka, but they needed someone Naruto trusted or else the Kyuubi might do something nefarious. They also needed someone skilled enough, and Ino did fit the bill.

The Yamanaka head had thrown herself into work after Sai and Hinata began to seek comfort in each other. Her drive for cold professionalism only increased when Sakura… Her professional life became her only life, and she a superior ninja for it.

However, she was growing too old and she was the head of her clan. She had cousins, but they were not as gifted as her and it was clear that if she died the Yamanaka clan would not be the same unless she had a suitable heir in place. Thus, as Hokage, he had ordered her have a child to preserve her clan. She found some donor and assumed this as any other mission, which showed to him she could not be easily moved by such sentimental things as raising a family.

Still…part of him feared bias resided in her.

"Hokage-sama," she droned, unimpressed with his hesitation. "If you have changed your mind, I have paperwork to do and interrogations to oversee…"

Kakashi shook his head. "No Yamanaka-san," the woman had insisted on the formality after Sakura…

He turned to her then, "This is not to be spoken of to anyone." He stared at her and knew she understood what he meant—this was his tenth time stressing it since they began walking over here. "In fact, consider this an S-class secret."

Other than tilting her head slightly, Ino showed no other signs of intrigue. Her curiosity in such matters had been curbed over the years due to the fact she handled such secrets often in her line of work. Her gossip behavior had also curbed except when she was in the field doing intel gathering, then she as any other gossip—they had found several infiltrators through her acting like she had in her younger years.

They entered the room then, and Ino stood by the door as she waited to be instructed. There was no recognition on her face when she saw the blonde on the bed, though that was likely because Naruot had his back to them and he was making some sort of complicated knot with his hair. He was humming that lullaby again too.

Kakashi moved to the foot of the bed and stood there until the blonde finished humming and he was acknowledge, though Kakashi knew the blonde had heard him enter and had chosen to ignore him.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto turned to face him. He was less skeletal but still unhealthily thin. "Yes Hokage-sama," he droned unimpressed. His eyes caught Ino in the corner and widened slightly but he otherwise did not react. A glance at Ino showed she had not reacted beyond a small show of surprise.

"Yamanaka-san is here to have a conversation with you." He then turned and moved toward the door. He signed to Ino that he wanted a full debrief and if possible to review of what she had found.

Naruto watched the paranoid Hokage leave and then shifted her gaze to Ino. She was clearly pregnant but she held none of the softness she had found when she herself was pregnant or when Bree women were pregnant—except for the few who just viewed it as a chore.

Ino moved forward, her expression stoic as she sat down beside Naruto who stared back at her. "When are you due?" Naruto asked as she pushed past the pang of jealousy. Here Ino was pregnant and it was clear she didn't even want to be—part of Naruto rationalized there could be very good and tragic reasons why she was not thrilled to have a child, but the larger part of her irrationally hated the other blonde.

Ino sighed, "End of January." She then looked at Naruto critically, like an interesting puzzle. "So you are the one occupying Tsunade-sama and Hokage-sama's thoughts."

It was Naruto's turn to sigh, "Yeah." It was awkward. This wasn't the bubbly Ino he knew; this woman was too cold and distanced.

The silence stretched as Ino continued to eye her with her pale eyes, and Naruto began to fidget. "So… Do you just want to get this over with?" She had to wince at how the question came out but it was finally out. Mentally, she shot Kurama a desperate plea to keep information about how to get to Middle Earth from Ino's purview—Naruto had a sinking feeling she might have to trick Kakashi into sending her home at this rate.

"I suppose, but is there anything I should be warned of?"

Naruto shrugged, "Nothing comes to mind." She then laughed a little sheepishly, "I mean, being a woman and having children is probably the biggest surprise you'll…They didn't tell you that," Naruto realized when she had seen Ino express her shock in a relatively open way. This was surprise considering Gaara had known.

"Pardon? Are you delusional?" Ino said this in a clinical fashion as she reached for Naruto's charts.

"Do your jutsu and you'll see for yourself," Naruto was resigned to this happening and was pleased to hear Kurama agreed that they should keep quiet about returning home—he probably only did so for his own ends but that was beside the point.

Ino eyed Naruto oddly for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Very well. Perhaps you should arrange the bed so that we can face each other but you can lay there comfortably." She said this as she got up from her chair and dragged it to the end of Naruto's bed. Naruto dutifully adjusted the top of the bed so that she was reclining slightly.

They then stared at each other and it was clear she was preparing her jutsu. "Oh," Naruto added, partly because he had forgotten it was a surprising thing to everyone here and partly to spite Ino for being pregnant when Naruto had lost her own children, "Sasuke is the father."

Ino paused for a good two seconds in her hand signs before resuming them. Then Ino began rummaging around in her memories while Naruto stared at the fox in her mindscape.

…

Ino carefully picked her way along a wooded, slightly overgrown path as it twisted and opened into a new clearing that led to a new memory. The foreign language was annoying and tedious as both Naruto and Sasuke expressed when the small man in the yellow hat began to teach them. One thing she was certain of, wherever they landed was primitive yet beautiful, and Naruto had not been pulling a prank on Ino.

A part of her, Ino thought she had long ago snuffed out, had flared with jealousy at how pretty a woman Naruto was. She was not jealous of the blonde jinchuuriki for ending up with Sasuke; in fact, she felt sorry for him/her. Sasuke had turned out to be a monster, and it was clear the two's past interactions carried over to their amnesic life together. How could the blonde be in a happy relationship with them; in fact, who could ever be in a happy relationship with that psychopathic murderer?

Ino quickly went through each memory for any sign of Sasuke manipulating Naruto, but it seemed there had been no sharingan influence over the blonde. There was also no indication how they came to be in this odd place. Mostly, it seemed Naruto and Sasuke had a physical attraction and some tenderness towards each other that was born out of their peculiar circumstances. It was bothersome and annoying to skim through their various horny teenage episodes, but she still picked through them to see if Sasuke manipulated Naruto in any sort of mental way.

Ino ended the jutsu when she had come to Sasuke and Naruto moving to a place filled with little, fat, hairy people that Ino had initially mistook for children. When she pulled back, she was fatigued mentally and she felt the fetus kicking her bladder.

Sighing in annoyance, she set her hand on it and shook her head. Naruto blinked out of whatever daze he/she was in and gave Ino a painful smile. "Let me guess? Kicking you? And probably on your bladder; you can use my bathroom."

Ino paused for a millisecond at the blonde's insightfulness but nodded minutely before getting up to use the restroom. When she was back out the blonde humming a lullaby again as he/she braided his/her hair.

"I've been pregnant four times," the blonde whispered tearfully in a quiet voice Ino would not have associated with Naruto.

Ino frankly just wanted to report her initial findings to the Hokage and soak her feet before she came back later in the evening for round two. She was skimming through years and years of memories, it was going to take at least a week to scan all seventeen years if not two weeks since she was working alone.

Still…the blonde might give up information that could be crucial to Ino's job, that being: determine or indentify subject's allegiances, stability, and possible tampering.

Ino pulled the chair up to the side of the blonde's bed and sat down as she waited for the jinchuuriki to go on. He/she did in a wavering voice, "The last two died… and…" The blonde genuinely began to cry, sob even, into his/her hands.

Hesitantly and perhaps a little awkwardly—Ino had been out of practice for years—she reached out and patted the blonde on the shoulder. "Why was it dead and inside me?" the blonde asked almost brokenly. "And why are you pregnant when you don't even want it!" The blonde jerked away to glare at her with anger and spite that Ino would not have associated with Naruto.

Ino was taken aback by this and bodily moved away from the blonde while he/she spat insults and spiteful things. It was bad enough she was restricted to desk work and oversight; she had been thrilled at the opportunity to do some actual hands-on work, and now she was on the receiving end of this!

"Shut up!" Ino yelled as she backed herself against the wall. "You don't know what you left us all with! It was like the world shattered when you disappeared and nothing made sense anymore!"

Naruto seemed to realize what she had been saying and horror dawned on her even as tears still fell down her face, but Ino couldn't stop. The feelings she had thought she had killed after seeing everyone struggle to move on only to hurt themselves with every attempt…it all came tumbling out.

"Gods, Sakura!" Ino gasped into her hands as she finally let the tears fall; tears she had held in for a decade. "I lost my best friend because of you!" Ino screamed. "A-and Sai…we were…but he…"

Ino's legs gave out under her and she slid down the wall to cry into her hands. "I really liked him but no…" Ino shook her head and began wiping at her tears with her sleeve as she sniffed at her now running nose. She glared hatefully at the frozen blonde, and pushed the wrods out. "Sai had to go be you, and Hinata needed a husband, so I was left alone while my best friend kept looking for you until she went crazy."

Ino breathed deeply and regained control over her weaker emotions. She then struggled to stand now that she had more composure over herself. Naruto moved to help but Ino's glare kept him/her in place. "So don't you dare lecture me or spite me for not wanting this thing," she gestured to where the fetus was—likely it was panicking from her strong emotions. "Hokage-sama ordered me to have a child because maybe," she scowled and shook her head as she imitated what the sharingan user told her "I threw myself a little too far into my work to even focus on a family because I had fucking job to do."

"Ino-cha—"

"Don't you call me!" Ino snapped at the blonde who looked thoroughly cowed and remorseful. She hated when people called her that because it was always lies…no one knew her well enough to call her that anymore. "You don't get to call me that." The silence that followed her quiet but harsh words was heavy.

Ino breathed slowly a few times and then wiped at the last of her tears. She then walked toward the door before she turned back to the blonde, "I will be back in the evening to continue reviewing your memories."

...

November 9

Ino walked, more like waddled, into Naruto's room. The blonde was looking out the window and fidgeting with her hair. She had more meat on her bones than when they had met, but she was still thin, too thin. Over the past weeks, Ino had come to accept the fact that Naruto was a woman despite presently being in a male body. The memories and how the blonde talked about herself all pointed toward her accepting her life as a woman.

Ino dragged the visitor's chair to the end of the bed but the blonde didn't move to lay down on the bed, which was annoying. For the first week, the blonde had kept trying to apologize by saying her words were unacceptable and due to the hormones; Ino ignored each one and went about business. The blonde eventually got the message that Ino would not talk to her anymore by the end of that first week.

Also by the end of that week, she had seen some ten or so years, and somehow Naruto was still amnesic while Sasuke clearly was not. The sickeningly domestic memories between her and Sasuke were…annoying and only accentuated what she could have had with Sai someday. It pissed her off, made her feel sick, and also made her want to cry.

Still… there was no evidence of control, manipulation, or tampering. But she had to keep going through them despite how useless this all seemed.

Really, this felt like a slap in the face because Naruto had everything in that other world. She had a husband who clearly loved her while amnesic and still was tender toward for just having his children. Naruto had children she loved and had wanted, and she didn't have to work so hard. No…everything was easy for her and her family. There was even some guy Sasuke had befriended and took over what should have been the Konoha 8 (9 including Sakura)'s role as aunts and uncles.

"It's Dawn's birthday," Naruto whispered before she finally turned and laid down on the bed. Absentmindedly, Ino remembered that, but she didn't care.

Ino sat in her chair then, but the blonde spoke up much to her annoyance. "I know you hate me for so much, and I don't blame you." The jinchuuriki then looked away from her unimpressed look and stared out of the window sadly. "I wish none of you would have gone through that pain, but…I love my children and it's so painful to be away from them, especially on their birthdays."

"I'd like to be finished by dinner time," Ino quickly cut in before Naruto could say anymore. The blonde sighed and smiled at her sadly before settling into the bed.

During that session, Ino realized what the blonde had been trying to convey. Ino saw and felt the blonde's anger, betrayal, self-hate, remorse, and confusion. The Kyuubi had been sustaining her amnesia, but when it was finally lifted; Naruto had initially wanted nothing more than to return to Konoha. Naruto fled to that woman, Goldberry, and sought comfort there, but thoughts of her children eventually made her return. Ino was overwhelmed by the emotions, but she reminded herself to be cold and detached from it. When she had removed herself from the foreign emotions she was could not understand it fully and didn't care. What she gathered was Naruto's feelings for her children drove her actions in returning to Sasuke and her girls.

The memories with Goldberry were not as closely combed through but they were still examined. What she gather from it was that Naruto held loyalty to Konoha and still did when she returned to Sasuke, which was when Ino stopped the session.

Ino stood up to leave once she reoriented herself after the jutsu. Naruto just looked out the window with a sad yet wistful look on her face. "If you knew my childhood…then maybe you'd understand how important they are to me," Naruto whispered, still not looking back at Ino.

Ino just shook her head and left; it didn't matter and wouldn't matter in the end.

...

November 28

Kakashi rubbed his face tiredly as he looked down at Ino's completed report. It was already a week and a half old, but the story didn't change. With no outside influence, Naruto had shifted his focus from protecting Konoha to protecting his children. Sasuke appeared to have no desire to pick up his past plans though he still held a grudge against Konoha. He had direct dialogue from an exchange between them on the anniversary of the end of the war. It was also the day Naruto began to commit to this new world and try to start a family with his memories intact at the conception.

Kakashi could see in the report that the blonde was sinking into depression at this point and the miscarriage only worsened things before the stillbirth. Even with the report in front of him and seeing some of the memories for himself; it was hard to believe or accept. Naruto was just no longer Naruto.

There were also no clues as to whether Konoha secrets were being shared or spread, but Ino found evidence that the only thing close to chakra was found in those connected with nature. However, Ino did not know the foreign language in the memories, which Sasuke and Naruto used to interact with other people. So he was now having her learn the language as best she could, but at this rate Ino would be giving birth in Naruto's room while in his mind.

Kakashi didn't know what he had hoped to discover in this report, but it wasn't in there. He didn't want to have to treat the blonde like a traitor but there seemed to be no other choice at this point. He would wait until Ino came back with a more thorough report that included the interactions Naruto had had with the people of that other world.

...

December 12

Tsunade watched the younger blondes in the room. She was checking up on Ino who was making notes on some of her translations. Naruto was reluctant to teach Ino but eventually gave in; likely he…she realized it would help her in the long run to be cooperative.

Tsunade gave up on trying to help the blonde sort out…her gender, and had even allowed…her to use a henge now that she was at a healthier weight. However, the blonde had to take the illusion off during every check-up.

Tsunade sighed heavily as she stood up from where she had been sitting. Her muscles protested at the movement, and Tsunade feared she might have to walk around with some kind of support, like a walking cane.

"He's doing fine. Healthy as can be," she assured the younger woman who only nodded with partial interest. This made Naruto wince and then glare out the window while shaking…her head. It was still frosty between them and probably always would be now.

Ino asked for some clarification about one word or another and the atmosphere remained awkward and tense. From what Tsunade had learned, the blondes had had a fight the first day they met again. Both had some pregnancy hormones floating around and words were tossed around that shouldn't have been. Apparently, Ino let the other blonde in on the state of affairs, but Naruto seemed to know not to ask for details. Perhaps…she realized she didn't "deserve" them because she had left them and would leave them again given the chance.

Naruto said something quietly and Ino rolled her eyes in annoyance. Then the blonde began to sing something and…why did that sound like a happy birthday song? She looked over at Ino who was toroughly annoyed at this point.

"I don't care about your twins' birthday," the pregnant woman eventually snapped before getting up and heading toward the door.

Naruto quieted and looked out the window again with a forlorn expression. The silence was tense and Ino left the room with a slam of the door. Tsunade wished she knew what was going on. Who was this…woman on the bed and where was the boy who convinced her to become Hokage? He'd be able to fix whatever spat was going on between Ino and him. Though maybe it was for the best that things weren't fixed?

...

January 2

"Congratulations Yamanaka-san, you have a healthy boy."

Sweating, panting, and numb below the waist because of the burning pain, Ino didn't want the doctor to put the baby in her arms. However, her limbs were bone tired and she couldn't muster up the strength to tell him to go the fuck away. She didn't look at the baby even when it was set in her arms, and she just focused on breathing.

It was an early and difficult labor. The whole New Year's Day, after two in the afternoon, had been spent in labor. She didn't want to see the thing she had had to have; she didn't want to see her failures in life reflected back at her through some stranger's face. She didn't want to think of what she could have had, and she knew she would when she'd look at the baby.

Then the baby began to cry loudly. The doctors were away from her cleaning the tools they had used to sew up the tearing, and others were filling out forms.

"Just shut up!" she cried feebly as he looked down at the baby. Cleaned up of the blood and birthing fluids, there was this little… His eyes, though dilated, were hers and consequently her father's. His chin…her father's… Although he looked a bit like an alien with his huge eyes, she could see her father in him.

"Sh-sh-shhh," Ino stuttered out a hush, shaken by the sudden feeling welling up inside of her. Perhaps…perhaps he wasn't as much of a stranger as she had thought. Perhaps he wouldn't be a reminder of her failures.

He kept crying and Ino had no clue what to do, but then a nurse came and took him. To Ino's horror, her hands reached out after him, so much that she had actually started to sit up in the bed which sent shooting pain through her whole system.

Wh-what the hell?! What was going on?! What was wrong with her?

She felt overwhelmed with these feelings, and she was so confused. She didn't want the baby and she still thought of it as her duty to her clan and Konoha, but…she wanted to hold it… What if the nursery place wasn't secure? What if some bloodline stealer just barged in there and took him?! She needed to protect him from-from what? Well, she didn't know what but she just…she just needed to protect him.

Ino realized slowly that these feelings weren't new to her; she had felt these same emotions while looking through Naruto's memories—there were differences of course but…

Ino shook her head; it was probably just stimulated by having experienced those emotions by proxy. She doubted it actually meant anything…but still…she kept looking at the doorway the nurse had gone through.

"Yamanaka-san?" a nurse called her attention, "Your son's name; shall we document it as Nanashi?"

Ino blinked once and then twice before shaking her head impulsively. She had told herself she wouldn't put any thought into the boy's name because she didn't care but… "I-Inoichi." The nurse was clearly surprised, but wrote down Ino's impulsive choice.

Even hours after, Ino still could not believe what she had said, and she hoped she would not regret it. But somehow…when she disobeyed doctor's orders and left her bed to look in on the nursery for her son…she didn't think she would regret it.

TBC

A/N: This whole chapter was dramatic, and there was a lot of traveling…sorry (although the books have a lot of traveling in them too). I don't imagine there being much more to this fic… Really it's Edoras and Helm's Deep, then the time between that and the Fields of Plaennor, and then the ending stuff. In my head that feels like three maybe four chapters but who knows with how I write… I'm hoping to update in winter, but this might be a summer only update because of the time it takes and my present state of…everything (fucking medical issues and lack of general motivation).

Now the likely points of contention… So, I know there are women who do not care for motherhood and do not care to have children—that's totally fine and completely cool/acceptable. I'm not trying to say that having a child completely changed Ino's character after everything that had happened, but now she can start to empathize with Naruto like Gaara could, and that was all I was trying to get at (plus how Sai marrying Hinata might have impacted her). I also know that people who have not had children could sympathize with Naruto too, but I just haven't written them in yet (Tsunade could maybe be seen as one but she has some work yet to go through).

Other, probably big, point of contention: the thing with Minuial and consequently Sasuke. I explained at the beginning and throughout the chapter why (sorta), but I know some people will be rather annoyed that I "took away" Sasuke's sharingan. Honestly, I feel like it levels the field a lot more, but it doesn't have to be permanent (regardless it will be fixed when Elrond learns what's going on/the Ring is destroyed). This could be temporary while his sharingan heals from having the eye of Sauron burned into its photographic memory, which might be after Helm's Deep, or even before it but that would make the most desperate (and consequently [I thought] poignant) part in the trilogy…meh. I'd rather he not have the thing that could shoot out walls of black fire and a wind skeleton because that still makes him pretty broken even with one arm, but I know that removing his overly powerful dojutsu just makes him not Sauske to some people even though he can still trounce most middle earthlings solely based on speed. And Minuial… perhaps some people think she should have woken up sooner because Eowyn was maybe out for a few days, but Eowyn was 23, Minuial was 13 almost 14…she's not as developmentally stable or strong.

One last point, Dawn's story and journey. I can write up a chapter for that and post it as a one-shot or after this chapter if people are interested. Frankly, because she's an oc, and I personally find it hard to read stories where OCs take main character roles, I didn't write it in. Oh and I know there are continuity issues because I never gave any of the OC's birthdays because that's just how I wrote it…yeah…I will someday correct that… ANYWAYs, thank you for your continued readership ~ with love, depressedchildren