The Perils of Dimension Hopping | A Naruto/LOTR Crossover

Chapter Eleven: The Scruffy Ranger Called Strider

The inn was warm and lively, and there were many guests in what Sakura was now calling The Pony Inn. She clutched Madara's hand, careful not to get separated, especially since they were so small, and the adults were so big. Though there were a few little adults here and there, like the ones they were travelling with – and they seemed to receive their little adults fairly well. Sakura presumed Frodo to be ordering accommodation and food for however many nights they were due to stay. It wasn't too bad of a place, she decided. It certainly beat sleeping on the forest floor, if only because then Madara would use her as a mattress rather than it being the other way around. Madara was sinfully comfy, and Sakura wasn't too sure how she felt about that fact. His hand was slightly warm and sweaty in her grasp, but she made sure not to let it slip from her hold. She couldn't lose him again. She could still remember the fear she'd felt when the tree had swallowed him, and this time there'd be no Tom Bombadil to save them.

Sakura eyed the inn, watching as Madara did the same, albeit much more thoroughly.

'Danger?' she inquired, curious as to whether he'd sighted any potential threats she hadn't.

'Man. Corner," Madara gestured sharply, drawing her attention to the scruffy-looking man who was eyeing their party with thinly concealed interest. Though he was focused more on the small adults rather than the pair of them.

'He looks scary,' Sakura mused, and Madara sighed deeply, pulling her closer until their shoulders were touching. 'Think he'll try something?'

'Possibly. Keep a watch on him.'

Sakura startled as he let go of her hand abruptly, scrambling to grab a hold of his shoulder. 'Where are you going?'

Madara threw off her hand. 'To relieve myself,' he signed furiously, skin flushing red, and Sakura dropped her arm back to her side as though she'd been stung. She blushed, knowing she could hardly follow him to the bathroom and back. That would be far too weird. Instead, she simply stayed there, listening as they sang songs and drank beer, blinking when Frodo vanished all of a sudden. Frodo and Madara were both gone, and Sakura pouted. She was fine. Absolutely fine. Her gaze drifted over to the scruffy man, and she blinked in surprise when she soon after spotted Frodo speaking with the man. The same Frodo who'd mysteriously vanished. Had the scruffy man been involved in that? She could only wonder, being unable to understand a single word they spoke as she sidled closer towards them.

Madara appeared next to her then, as quiet as a ghost, and Sakura almost jumped at the welcome sight of him. 'He's made his move,' Madara told her, as if she couldn't see that fact herself, and she rolled her eyes.

She wasn't that oblivious. 'No kidding. Do we follow?'

He nodded, and Sakura grabbed a hold of his hand again as they hurried after where the strange man was taking their all-important travelling companion. Together they followed, and eventually they were joined by their other travelling companions who went to confront the scruffy man in front of them.

Their interaction was strange, but the two shinobi-turned-baby-elves hung back, uncertain of what to do. Language barriers were such a pain. At least in the Elemental Nations there was one common tongue between them. Here that wasn't the case.

Sakura could only watch the conversation go on, relaxing ever so slightly when the small adults did. The scruffy man didn't seem to be a threat. Not that Madara relaxed his guard in the slightest, small sharp eyes fixed on all the weapons the man had about his person. Was he some sort of warrior here? Sakura mused, tilting her head as she evaluated the man quietly – her companion no doubt doing the same. But Madara was better at it. He always was. That was why she needed him.