Summary: Dalzen Morino gets sent into the future, where he once again meets Taylor Hatake, the older Sakumo and Kakashi. The conflict of how to get him back to his time arises and they struggle to find the jutsu again.
A/N: A fanfiction to amuse Caliko (creator of Coushander) and I (creator of Into The Past). Her idea, so thank her for the idea. I never thought about it! And she's the one to get the idea stuck in my head so we're working together on this to create a fanfiction for our amusement. Poor Dalzen, doesn't know what's coming at him. And by the way, this is the redo of "Mirai E". :)
Genre: General
Disclaimer: Caliko owns Dalzen, Coushander, Saru-Shin, Kano, Takato and any others. Taylor Hatake, Daiichi Endo, Yuri Kimura, Kenji and Ayumu, and Kiiro Oshiro belong to me. Any other random characters might be Kishimoto's.
Into The Future
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Chapter One
Back To The Future
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It was a quiet morning in Sunagakure; clear, blue skies, hot temperatures already, a slight breeze but it wasn't a cool breeze. Rather, the breeze was just as hot and showed no signs of cooling down. Of course, we're talking about a desert. It doesn't usually get cool to begin with, unless it's nighttime when it gets to about 40 degrees fahrenheit. The temperatures weren't as stable as Konoha's temperatures, but at least it wasn't muggy as hell every other day and raining about the same amount. Like every summer. It was normal for it to be muggy and humid and awfully hot in Konoha, while it was normal for it to be just plain hot there in Suna. At least, that's what 51-year-old Dalzen Morino had noted in the past two years he'd been there and other times he'd been in the Land of the Wind.
It was early that morning that eleven-and-a-half-year-old Sakumo Hatake found a messenger bird outside his room. The boy had just woken up when he saw it, and at first he wasn't sure what was there, then it hit him that it was a messenger bird. After he finally realized that, he opened the window and took the letter that the bird held and realized it was from the Hokage to his mentor. Once he realized that, Sakumo started dashing through the place he and his team were staying at until he found his sensei, Dalzen, in his room getting ready for another day in the Sand. Sakumo stood outside his door and listened Dalzen move around for a moment before he started knocking on the door.
"Sensei! Sensei!" he tried to snag Dalzen's attention.
Quietly, Dalzen zipped up his vest and then opened the door, frowning down at the kid. What in the hell do you want? he wondered.
"Yes, Sakumo?" he sighed.
"The Hokage sent you something," Sakumo told him, handing him the scroll.
Dalzen took the scroll, somewhat surprised.
"The Hokage?"
Sakumo nodded.
"Mhm."
Sighing, Dalzen opened up the scroll and read it silently to himself. Dalzen, I need you to come here so I can give you a special mission. -Nidaime. He sighed a bit in irritation. The Hokage needed him for a special mission? What could this special mission be?
"What is it?" Sakumo asked.
"I'm being asked to make a quick trip back to Konoha," he sighed.
"Will you take me with?"
"No, Sakumo!" Dalzen grabbed his gear and slung his bag over his shoulder. "It's only for me. You need to stay here, okay? I'll have Murasaki keep watch over you guys."
Dalzen began walking out of his room and he headed for the door. Sakumo followed quietly.
"I'll be back within a week, okay Sakumo? Tell Keiko that I'm gone."
"Yes sir," Sakumo looked down and sighed sadly. He never wanted to take Sakumo on anything except missions like this, or at least that's how he felt.
Dalzen bowed slightly and left to tell Murasaki and then the Kazekage.
.
On his way back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Dalzen saw two Tower genin (which of whom looked oddly like Uchiha, despite the color of their hair) with an usually big scroll. He just glanced at them and looked forward again, not wanting to ask what two Tower genin were doing out in the desert. One boy, with blonde hair and freckles dotting his cheeks, looked up at the tall man and snickered.
"Hey Ayumu, let's use this one on that guy over there," he whispered, pointing at a jutsu and then at Dalzen.
Ayumu, a boy with sandalwood-brown hair, looked up.
"Yeah," he grinned with agreement. "C'mon, let's trail him and do this, Kenji."
Both Ayumu and Kenji jumped up and followed Dalzen at a distance until they got the hand signs for the jutsu down. Then, they confronted him.
"Hey you! With the jet-black hair!" Kenji called out.
Dalzen stopped, looked over his shoulder and turned to face the genin.
"What do you two want?" he asked.
"Now Ayumu," Kenji hissed. "While he's distracted."
"What?" Dalzen said with an edge of irritation.
"Wanna see something cool?" Ayumu asked.
"No, not really," Dalzen grumbled bitterly. "Don't you two kids have something better to do than to bother a genjutsu expert like me?"
"Nope!"
"Oh, that's just great," Dalzen sighed.
Ayumu began a series of hand signs and they seemingly disappeared. Dalzen furrowed his eyebrows in irritation.
"Troublemakers," he grumbled in irritation. "Kids...what can you do about them?"
Something felt off and he noticed a little bit of the landscape changed. There were new rocks on the ground, not there before. And, it felt oddly humid. Alrighty then, he thought. Must be a genjutsu. Okay, I'll play along with it.
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Sixteen-year-old Taylor Hatake was returning home from a mission with her teammates, Yuri Kimura and Daiichi Endo, when Dalzen found them.
The mission itself was nothing much, just taking a lost item back to someone that visited the Leaf. And oddly enough...the mission took longer than they had expected, since they were ambushed on their way to that person's village. As usual, Taylor took the brunt of the injuries because she was the leader of the group and because she was trying to protect her comrades. Boy, she takes after her father alright. For a week, she had to rest before they could make the return trip home because she landed funny on her ankle and sprained it badly, and also was knocked out from a lack of chakra. When she finally woke up, she was told what happened and she laughed at it.
"That's so typical of me!" she had laughed.
They stayed at a motel that wasn't very popular, but it was still a good place as it was nice and quiet (and also had a hot spring, to Taylor's delight), until she could walk without crutches. When she could, they immediately left. Unfortunately for Taylor's teammates, she still had a bad limp so they had to walk slow so she wouldn't get upset at them for leaving her behind. Taylor almost always got mad if they started speeding up.
"Stop leaving me behind you little shits!" she'd exclaim at them. "You guys suck."
"Sorry!" they'd stop and wait for her again, but she knew they'd do it again just to tick her off.
"So...Taylor...want to get ramen?" Daiichi asked Taylor as they walked down the path to the village that morning.
"I've had enough ramen for one week," she groaned, hugging her sides at the thought of another bowl of ramen. "I just want steak that my grandpa makes. Besides, after I get this report to Tsunade I'm going home, taking a shower and I'm gonna pass out on the couch. I'm no where near hungry."
"Man you suck," Daiichi sighed.
"I'll come with you, Daiichi," Yuri offered.
"Awesome!"
Taylor sighed heavily.
"I don't get why y'all love ramen so much," she grumbled.
Having heard her voice, Dalzen looked up quickly as he recognized the voice. That voice! But...how? This had to be a genjutsu because that voice belonged to a girl he met that was from the future. This had to be a genjutsu! Dalzen tried to break it, but with no such luck. Taylor caught his scent and stopped and inhaled it deeply.
"That's strange..." she murmured.
"Kai —release!" he muttered, looking around frantically. Nothing changed. "Dammit, I said kai —release!" Still, nothing changed and Dalzen was a little irritated. What, am I doing something wrong? I've done this so many times and for so long, I can't possibly mess it up!
"Hm..." Taylor looked over her shoulder. "This scent is oddly familiar..." she didn't immediately see Dalzen, but she knew someone was there that she knew.
"Huh?" both boys looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You're crazy," Daiichi muttered.
"I mean, I know this scent," she snapped, turning around, kinda glancing past her teammates.
"Kai —release..." Dalzen still saw no change and he held his forehead. Frustrated already, he thought, Why is it not working?!
What in the world was going on? Moments later, Taylor saw him and her eyes widened, instantly recognizing the tall man. His face and his name were damn near impossible to forget, at least for Taylor.
"Dalzen!" she exclaimed.
The boys stared at her like she was insane. Well, she was a natural-born lunatic thanks to being a Hatake... Dalzen looked up and saw her running at him with her arms open. Before he could react, it was too late. She clung to him and hugged him.
"It is you! Still hug-able too, haha!" she grinned.
"T-Taylor? But...how?" he wondered. This isn't a genjutsu is it? But...I thought she was in her time? How could she possibly be...
Dalzen was shocked and utterly speechless.
"No, this has to be a genjutsu..." he told himself.
"A genjutsu?" Taylor looked at him, confused. "Dalzen...this isn't a genjutsu..."
"Well if it's not a genjutsu, are you stuck in the past again?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Taylor responded. "I haven't been in any battles lately...well, not counting last week's battle..."
Dalzen and Taylor both stared at each other, confused, and Daiichi and Yuri were just as confused as they were.
"What's going on?" both boys asked, looking at each other uneasily and then back at the crazy people.
"I dunno," responded both Taylor and Dalzen in confusion, they too looked at each other uneasily.
They were silent for a moment.
"Are you going to the Hokage?" Dalzen asked.
"Yeah. I have to turn in this mission report. Are you suggesting we see who is in that office?"
"Yes, I am."
Taylor grinned.
"Good idea. Let's go then!"
Daiichi and Yuri looked at each other.
"Is anyone gonna fill us in on what's going on?" Yuri asked them.
"Come with us and we'll explain," Taylor ordered.
"Fiiiine," Yuri sighed and he and Daiichi followed them into the village.
.
"This is my friend, Dalzen Morino. Almost four years ago, we met in a...can we say, confusing situation?" Taylor explained. "I had an excursion into the past and for nearly two months, I was stuck there, living with my great-grandfather. Dalzen was there to take me out of my great-grandfather's hair for a few hours."
"Yeah, and that did not work out like I had intended," Dalzen mentioned. "The weather got screwball within the second to third week."
"Yeah, I think after we sparred a bit that one day... it'd started snowing," Taylor remembered.
"Snow in November," Dalzen remarked. "I couldn't really believe it."
"Neither could I. I still think about that and I wonder what was mother nature thinking, going off her meds?" Taylor admitted.
"We were all thinking that," Dalzen looked at Taylor uneasily.
"Oh! I remember the snow in November," Daiichi said. "We missed a ton of school because of that and the other snowstorms we had that winter. It's a surprise Yuri and I even graduated on time."
"I still want to know how you two even graduated," Taylor muttered shortly. "But yeah, that is true."
"You're so mean sometimes, Senpai," Daiichi grumbled.
"Sure I am. You're just a freaking pansy if you can't handle my 'harsh' humor," Taylor backhanded Daiichi.
"OW!" Daiichi groaned.
Dalzen looked at Taylor, surprised. He never had seen her do anything of the sort, but then again he'd never actually seen her with kids her own age before. She never would've acted like that around him or Coushander. Apparently, there's a side to Taylor no one got to see. Either that or she's changed. He shook his head. Kids can be full of surprises, whether they're your own or if they are your friend's great-grandchild. Dalzen hung his head and stared down at the ground for a few moments. Could he really be in the future like he thinks? How would that play out? Hopefully, they still have the scroll to get him back to his time. Hopefully...
Dalzen looked back up and then decided to get to the point for Taylor before she started fighting Daiichi.
"So what we're going to get at, we're not sure if y'all are stuck in the past or if I'm in the future," Dalzen made the point as concise as possible.
"Yeah," Taylor agreed. "Which is why he's coming with us to the Hokage. In his time, the Hokage is Tobirama Senju, while in our time it's Tsunade Senju."
Daiichi and Yuri were confused but they nodded, acting like they knew what Taylor and the stranger were talking about.
"It's...hard to explain," Taylor mentioned.
"Obviously," Daiichi and Yuri both grumbled.
.
As they approached the Hokage's building, Taylor's heart filled with dread because she was scared that she and her team were trapped in the past again.
Like it was two-and-a-half years ago, only it was her then.
Every bit of that situation played in her dreams every night. The situation itself was pretty hard on Taylor, considering she got anxious quickly and easily and she was easy to scare or worry. She was most anxious about the fact that if she went out into the village, she'd see her grandfather and he'd see her and then something happens which screws up the timeline even further and hurts the Sakumo she knew and loved. That was definitely one of the things that'd caused her to be anxious since she couldn't get out of the house much to breathe. She didn't want the whole situation to happen all over again, as much as she missed Coushander and Dalzen and Saru-Shin.
While Taylor was worrying, Dalzen was quiet and calm. He wasn't as worried about it as Taylor was because he wasn't all that easy to worry to begin with. Dalzen was probably the most calm and collected person Taylor knew, next to her father. Well, her father has some things that make him anxious like...losing his daughter like he did three and a half years ago! He was definitely upset then, and it took a lot to do that.
Within minutes, they got upstairs to Tsunade's office and Taylor went to knock. Reluctantly, she knocked three times.
"L-Lady Tsunade?" she hesitated.
"Come in," came a woman's voice. Okay, that was definitely not Nidaime's voice, noted Dalzen.
"Oh great!" he exclaimed harshly under his breath. "That was most definitely not Nidai's voice!"
Without a word, Taylor opened the door and walked in. Dalzen and the boys stayed at the door.
"My mission report," she told the hokage, handing her the report.
"Thank you, Taylor," Tsunade thanked her with a gentle and kind smile.
Dalzen peered in. That really wasn't Nidai. Long, blonde hair tied back in pigtails and well, obviously this was a woman. Didn't Taylor call her Lady Tsunade? Dalzen didn't have time to think because the Hokage caught sight of his face.
"Uhm," Tsunade looked at Dalzen. "Who are you?"
Taylor looked behind her and saw Dalzen. She knew at some point she was gonna have to tell Tsunade, why not make it now?
"Oh, he's my friend..." she introduced. "Dalzen..."
"Dalzen Morino," he finished for Taylor.
Tsunade looked at him.
"Morino?" she repeated.
"He's not from our time though," Taylor mentioned quickly. "Remember 3 1/2 years ago when I was gone for almost two months?"
"Yeah? Barely...?"
"He...he's a friend of my great-grandfather and my great-granduncle. He was also my grandfather's sensei and he worked in the Intelligence division here in Konoha...like about fifty years ago..." Taylor tried to explain.
"There's been another accident, it appears, concerning the timeline," he finished for Taylor.
"I'm still trying to figure out why you thought it was a genjutsu!" Taylor grinned and rolled her eyes as she continued, "Wow, typical Dalzen."
Tsunade was slightly surprised.
"Ah! I see. Dalzen Morino, a genjutsu expert. The greatest of his time."
"I wouldn't consider myself that great but alright..." Dalzen murmured.
"You're mentioned in the academy when we're learning about genjutsu," Taylor told him.
"Really?" Dalzen remarked.
She nodded.
"When I was little, I'd pass by a class that was focusing on genjutsu and I know I heard your name a few times. Actually, your name stuck with me because I liked your name..." she told him. "I still do. Just so fun to say. Dalzen."
"That's weird to think about but I will take your word for it," he looked away thinking, she's crazy if she thinks my name sounds nice...
Tsunade smiled.
"Thank you, Taylor, for informing me and for your mission report," she thanked.
Taylor nodded and the Hokage looked down to try and decipher Taylor's chicken-scratch handwriting. Taylor wrote fast a lot of the time, and her handwriting wasn't all that good so it took a bit for the Hokage to learn how to decipher her handwriting.
"Uhm...Lady Tsunade...don't we have a jutsu to send him back?" Taylor wondered after a few minutes.
Tsunade looked back up at her.
"Oh dear...I'm sorry Taylor, Mr. Morino. I'm afraid I burned the scroll in hopes of preventing this from ever happening again. I'm so sorry...I never thought it would happen again, I guess I should've remembered this was around in my uncle's time..." she apologized, looking down.
Dalzen looked at Taylor, wondering what he was gonna do. Taylor just nodded at Tsunade.
"Alright."
"Uhm Mr. Morino..."
"Please call me Dalzen, ma'am," he interjected.
"Dalzen...I know it'll be a long stay, considering you might not have a chance of getting back home...Whether you're gonna be returned home like Taylor was or not is a question that can't be answered at the moment. But, if you'd like to...you can retake the jounin exam and I can make you a shinobi for this timeframe?"
He glanced at Taylor, who shrugged.
"I don't think it'd hurt. It's not like you'll mess up the past by doing that," she told him. "You can only screw up the timeline in the past, not the future."
Dalzen glanced back at Tsunade.
"Alright, I suppose it's okay," he agreed. "Thank you, Lady Hokage."
"No problem. I'll summon you when the preparations are done for the exam."
"Yes ma'am."
He and Taylor bowed and left. Daiichi and Yuri looked at each other.
"You two, go get your damn ramen," Taylor dismissed them. "And have fun because I sure as hell ain't having fun..."
"Yes, Taylor-Sama," they said, dashing out.
Taylor folded her arms and sighed heavily.
"And my plans for a nice rest goes down the drain..." she grumbled, holding her head.
"Sorry," Dalzen apologized.
"Not your fault, Dalzen. You couldn't have possibly seen it coming," Taylor walked away. "Come on, Dalzen-Sensei...guess you're staying with us."
She beckoned for him to follow her. Not knowing what else to do, Dalzen followed her.
"You sure, Taylor?"
Taylor glanced over her shoulder with an assuring grin.
"Absolutely," she said. "I'd do anything for a friend. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere else to stay. All the motels here are packed tightly at this time of year and you can't get a room unless you want to share with a complete and total stranger, or strangers."
"Yeah...no thanks," Dalzen agreed with her point. "I don't really care much for crowds."
"Good." Taylor looked forward and led him back to her house.
.
When they got home, Taylor called out, "Tadaima!"
No response.
"Oh wow, I guess Grandpa is asleep and Dad's outside... Sit down, Dalzen. Please, make yourself comfortable."
Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Right..." he slipped off his sandals, sat them down beside Taylor's, and he sat down on the couch.
"I'll be right back." Taylor grinned and dashed down the hallway to Sakumo's room. She opened the door and jumped on him.
"Grandpa!"
He didn't open his eyes at first, so Taylor grabbed a pillow off the floor and smacked him playfully with it. Such a child, but that was her charm. Her playfulness when she's home kinda brightened the mood some days.
"Grandpa, you need to wake up!"
Before Taylor could smack him again, Sakumo snatched the pillow from Taylor and threw it on the ground. Then, he groaned.
"What, sweetheart?" he asked, opening his eyes finally.
"Grandpa, we have a predicament," she told him seriously and with a grim expression.
.
Dalzen looked around, studying the surroundings. Didn't look too much different from Coushander's living room, but there were some noticeable differences. There was a shelf on the wall in front of him with a picture of Taylor, Sakumo and Kakashi in what appeared to be in the Iwa mountains. They appeared to be geared up to do some skiing, Dalzen assumed. Well, people did go there to do skiing and snowboarding, especially in winter.
The sofa was a different style than what Coushander had. They had a black sofa and one end of it was long enough to allow for someone to sleep. Obviously, that section was meant for a petite person, like Taylor. From what Dalzen remembered, Sakumo and his son were rather tall. Certainly too tall for that section, like Dalzen himself was. Last time he'd checked, he was a whole 195 centimeters tall! Or, close to it. Definitely too tall for that section.
Before he could glance around some more, he caught voices, one of them belonging to Taylor. He glanced at the hallway uneasily.
"So, you're telling me Dalzen is trapped in the future with us?" came an obviously groggy voice. That must be Sakumo.
"Yeah."
Moments later, they finally came into Dalzen's sight as they spoke.
"And he is sitting on the couch," Taylor added, pointing at Dalzen. "See, Grandpa?"
Sakumo looked and was suddenly startled by his sensei.
"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "I thought Taylor was joking."
Dalzen shook his head.
"She isn't," he said. "As much as I wish she was...It's me, Dalzen..."
"How did this even happen?" Sakumo wondered.
Both Dalzen and Taylor fell silent. Neither one of them knew how he got in their time.
"I was on my way back from...a mission," he worded carefully, "And I ran past two tower genin. That was the last interaction I had before seeing Taylor in the forest...The genin had a rather large scroll with them...but I had no idea it was likely that scroll."
Sakumo let out a heavy sigh.
"Shit..." he said. "And I gave my copy of the scroll with the jutsu to Tsunade, who burned that and the original. I don't even remember how to do the jutsu... I forgot it quickly."
"I guess I really am stuck," Dalzen sighed hopelessly.
"It's alright, Dalzen" Sakumo assured with a smile. "We'll find a way to get you back. For now, please stay with us.
Dalzen nodded.
"Taylor already insisted on it. But, thank you," he thanked them.
"It's nothing, Sensei," Sakumo smiled. "And since I'm up...I'll go start on breakfast."
"I'm assuming you made Dad work in the fields today? Taylor asked.
"Yeah, I did," Sakumo grinned. "I'm sore after what I did yesterday. Kakashi needs to learn to work the field, who knows how much longer I'll last."
"What'd you do yesterday?" Taylor wondered. "And don't even think about going there, Grandpa."
"I'll...tell you later," Sakumo chuckled wryly.
"Alright, I guess I'll go infiltrate him," Taylor bowed to Dalzen and Sakumo, then went out through the backdoor.
"Infiltrate?" Dalzen looked at Sakumo.
"She says 'infiltrate' like you do. You see what you did to my granddaughter?" Sakumo grinned.
"'Infiltrate' sounds much better that 'spy'," Dalzen grumbled under his breath.
"I know, Sensei." Sakumo grinned. "I was your student, remember?"
"It's kind of hard to forget that, Sakumo," Dalzen rolled his eyes.
.
Taylor hid in the wheat, spying on Kakashi. She was waiting for the right time to jump out and strike her dad with a hug.
Kakashi was wearing a shirt with patches of light blue sewn on, which was a change from his uniform shirts. Taylor watched as he stood straight, rubbing his forehead. She heard him mumble under his breath.
"Phew! It's hot out here this morning," he commented, looking up at the sky. "Or maybe it's just extremely humid. Looks like it'll rain later."
Taylor looked up too.
"Huh, he's right. Looks like a storm is brewing," she agreed quietly.
Immediately, Kakashi heard her voice.
"Huh?" he looked around. Was that Taylor I heard? "Taylor?" he called out. Was she even home yet?
Taylor made herself stay quiet, even though she wanted to start giggling. She covered her mouth and tried to stay quiet.
"Taylor?"
A few moments passed.
"I guess I was imagining things," he chuckled.
Dalzen walked over to Sakumo, who was chuckling, and looked out the kitchen window with him.
"What?" he wondered.
"Kakashi and Taylor. Kakashi is oblivious to Taylor, who's hiding there in the wheat. Actually, that might be why he can't smell her. Her scent is blending in with the wheat," Sakumo chuckled. "But you see Taylor is crouched on all fours like a cat hunting her prey."
Dalzen and Sakumo watched as Kakashi started walking back towards the house and into Taylor's reach. She waited until he was within jumping distance and when he was, Taylor jumped out from the wheat and jumped onto Kakashi's back. Dalzen and Sakumo both chuckled a bit as Kakashi stumbled forward, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Dammit Taylor," Kakashi laughed. "You stealthy little girl, you got me!"
Taylor giggled and hugged him.
"I'm home Daddy," she grinned.
"Yeah. I-I can see that," he said bringing her back inside with him. "You're so silly!"
"Aww. Isn't that just sweet?" Sakumo grinned, watching them.
Dalzen nodded, "Yeah."
Kakashi came inside with his daughter and sat her back on her feet.
"Go get your shower," he told her. "I know you haven't showered since you left for that mission."
"Actually I was in the hot springs so that's sorta bathing. And, I was getting there," she smiled and dashed off. Kakashi smiled wearily and looked over at Sakumo and Dalzen.
"Huh?" he was surprised to see Dalzen. "Weren't you...?"
"The one that taught your daughter genjutsu?" Dalzen finished. "Yeah."
"Yeah...that..." Kakashi was confused. "But you're from the past right? My dad's past?"
"Yeah, I am," Dalzen nodded.
"So how are you here?" Kakashi wondered.
"Uh...really, I have no clue how I'm here," Dalzen admitted. "And I'd rather not think about it."
"Dalzen is going to stay with us until we find the jutsu to send him back," Sakumo told his son.
Kakashi nodded.
"If you and Taylor trust it, then I will too," he said.
"Good."
Dalzen sighed a little as he thought about the eleven-and-a-half-year-old Sakumo back in Suna. How was he going to cope with this? Hell if Dalzen knew. All he could hope for was Sakumo then to be alright and Nidai finding out what happened.
.
.