A/N: I do not take credit for the scene with the elder Morino and his grandson (and well, the part when he first entered Intel ):D Kariko wrote that scene for me (and I'm glad she did because when she mentioned that she wanted to do something with Ibiki and Dalzen, I knew that was something that she was gonna write for me to include c: I'm sure she was gonna do it anyway, even if I didn't mention a collab with her. :3 ) and so I incorporated it. :D Thanks! Lol Dalzen being terrified of conversation and I laughed when Ibiki pulled out the handcuffs. Dalzen: "...Oh..." *sweat drop* That was funny :D
Into The Future
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Chapter Four
Beyond The Stream of Time
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About a week passed before Dalzen got any word as to if he was still a Jounin.
The test was stupid, but he understood Tsunade wanting him to do it. It was security reasons, and that was an acceptable reason according to Dalzen.
The fifth hokage summoned him and Taylor didn't come with him when he went out this time, since she wasn't feeling too well (for reasons best left unknown to the male Morino. All Taylor said was, "No one here would understand it" and that was just enough for him.) and also because he felt better about going by himself around the futuristic Konoha. Still uncomfortable, since he was trying to avoid seeing Teal and Hoshi, his children. He wasn't sure if he could mess up the future with that, despite Taylor telling him that he can't screw up the future like this. You can only screw up in the past, and with those came major consequences that were luckily undiscovered...
When he got there, Tsunade confirmed that he's still a Jounin. Then, he thought he'd ask about Intel.
"I was getting there," Tsunade smiled, opening a drawer and pulling out a slip. Then, she picked up her pen and signed it.
"You start tomorrow," she promised, handing it to him.
Dalzen took it and nodded.
"Alright...thank you," he bowed.
Tsunade gave a small smile, "It's nothing, Dalzen."
He then returned to the Hatake house and heard Taylor in her room.
A messenger bird scraped at her window and Taylor rolled over to face the window. She sat up tiredly and looked. The bird scratched the window again.
"Oh..."
She unlocked her window and opened it and took the letter gently.
"Thank you," she bowed her head.
The bird nodded and flew off and Taylor closed the window. She opened the scroll, sent by the Raikage himself.
Basically, it read as, "Dear Taylor Hatake, I'm sorry to say that we don't have such a scroll as you described in our archives. Please give your friend our regards, though. Sincerely, the Raikage."
Taylor looked down.
"Damn it..." she sat the scroll on her desk. "Well...three other kage to go..."
She stood up and stretched her arms behind her head and sighed.
"Uhg, stupid cramps," she muttered, hugging her sides.
Sighing, she looked at the Nyanko-Sensei, her plush doll, sitting on top of her desk and picked him up.
"Ikayaki ga na, ikayaki wonchu," she quoted the cat in the manga series that she reads.
Sensei technically wasn't a cat. Rather, he was a mighty fierce yet graceful and elegant yokai. But then, he was sealed in a lucky cat container for so long that his body was used to the cat form. Taylor smiled. He's such a cutie. She never understood why some of the characters thought he was ugly because he was the opposite of that. She hugged him and sat him back down on her desk.
Dalzen peeked into Taylor's room and saw Taylor standing at her desk, thinking about something. He wondered what she was thinking about as he watched her grab something from her basket.
Taylor pulled out a small box of ocean-scented incense and lit it with just her chakra. It lit up and Taylor let it burn for about three seconds before she put it out. Then, she stuck it in its holder and went to walk to her door. Dalzen went back to the living room before she could see him.
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The next morning, Dalzen got up and had breakfast with Sakumo and Kakashi while Taylor rested. After breakfast, he got into uniform.
"Going to Intel?" Sakumo asked.
Dalzen nodded.
"Yeah."
"Alright," Sakumo nodded. "Good luck, Sensei. You're gonna need it."
Dalzen nodded.
"Thank you, Sakumo," he bowed and went out to the village.
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The tall dark haired man had to ask a passer-by if this was indeed an entrance to the Intel ward. It was. So Dalzen passed through the wide, double doors and about fifty years worth of upgrades.
The place had it's own map, just like the ones he used to draw within these walls whenever he returned from a long mission in a place nobody could pronounce. He'd probably be drawing maps again after the Suna mission was complete in his time. The tall man looked down at all the color-coated lines near his feet and smiled faintly. At least they'd learned some organizational skills in the future.
Dalzen's attention was then diverted above him—cameras (or what looked to be) were perched in the corners, flashing blue lights just like an odd panel on his right, waist high on the wall. And as soon as Dalzen moved past it, a very loud buzzer went off.
Well, that was new!
More lights began flashing crimson red and several chuunin came rushing around the corner, "Halt!" Dalzen raised his hands at once, recognizing a new security feature he'd just toppled. (Wouldn't Saru-Shin be proud.) Then one long blonde-haired man parted the chuunin down the center and gasped—"Y-You're…!"
The blonde-haired man, a jounin, looked at the Morino for a moment and then proceeded to the panel to power off the alarm. "I was warned—I mean told of your arrival," the man announced with a small smile. "Do you have a card with you?"
Dalzen thought—"Oh you mean this?"
Yamanaka Inoichi took the small card and showed it to the panel. Dalzen whistled just for Takato's sake as the card awakened a calm blue glow back upon the screen. Inoichi gave it back, "This man has clearance here. You can go," he told the chuunin. "I'll lead him from here."
"…I'm sorry to cause a scene," Dalzen apologized as they began walking, feeling eyes on him not just from the cameras. "But I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that thing…"
"It's all right," Inoichi grinned, "You wouldn't, would you? Things have changed," he agreed, "Even from when I started on," He shrugged his hands in his pockets. "I was briefed by Lady Tsunade about your…arrival. I'm very glad you can work here for the day. But…I also hope you will be able to return soon…to the past," he added in a whisper.
"Believe me, I'd like that more than anything," Dalzen sighed.
"Know that our services are open to you—anything at all. And forgive me for sounding just like an Academy student, but I'm very honored you're here."
"Oh…"
The Intel ward, even in it's current state of glass and hi-tech gadgets provoked little enthusiasm in Dalzen's heart unlike it did the jounin beside him. "…Thank you," Dalzen mumbled.
"I've got a case for you," Inoichi picked up, "If you should like to visit him,"
Dalzen nodded in agreement. "I'll do my best."
"Oh, and…" The blonde man added reluctantly, "If you need to scan him, you…don't have to do it alone."
Dalzen looked at him curiously, "…Really?" Every scan he'd ever done he'd done unaided, simply because there were very few others who could do one. Perhaps in this frame of time, that was not the case. Inoichi changed the subject quickly after that, in a low voice, "Well! I heard you are staying with your former student!"
"…Yes. And his family," Dalzen nodded, smiling faintly. "Though I think Taylor is the only one who really understands my predicament at the moment," he added. "Seeing everything so changed is not an easy thing." Dalzen's gaze soon fell, dwelling over the girl's troubles, and his own fears and insecurities in this frame of time. The youngest Hatake easily had power like Saru-Shin, and no doubt, she was even stronger now. In fact, all of the shinobi of this time seemed more powerful. If he had to fight his way home, would his talent really be enough…?
Inoichi nodded to the dark-haired man's comment, leading him to the destination, "True. We weren't really meant to be in situations like this."
Dalzen nodded, entering into a long grey hall, full of cell blocks.
Now that was a familiar sight.
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Taylor got out of her room around ten in the morning and saw Kakashi in his chair, reading silently.
"Mornin'," she greeted tiredly.
"Morning, sweetheart," Kakashi smiled.
Taylor rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around with those ice-blue eyes.
"...Where's Dalzen?" she wondered, then looking at Kakashi.
"He's at Intel," her father replied.
"Oh..."
She walked towards the kitchen.
"Do we have enough stuff to make a bento box?"
Kakashi thought for a moment.
"Yeah, we do. Why?" he looked at his daughter.
"I was thinking about making a bento box for Dalzen," Taylor admitted.
"Isn't that a little weird?"
"I make you and Grandpa bento boxes, don't I?"
"Okay, you got me there," Kakashi chuckled.
Taylor grinned.
"So you're feeling better now?"
"Yes Daddy."
Taylor pulled out two bento boxes and started making her bento box and Dalzen's.
"That's good," Kakashi smiled.
Taylor silently worked on four onigiri balls; two went in one box and two in the other. She added pickled ume in all four onigiri balls and she stuck two squarely-cut nori onto each rice ball. Then, she placed two in each box. Then, she added leftover breaded and baked chicken strips into the boxes and separated them from the fruits she added in. The last thing needed was more rice. She used the last compartment of the bento to stick in and smooth out the rice and then she focused on making edible art by creating a face for each box. Taylor made Dalzen's face for his bento and Taylor made her own for her bento. After she was done with the bento boxes, she slipped in chopsticks and closed each box. Then, she left them in the fridge and took a shower.
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Not many things surprised Morino Ibiki. But when security camera tape gets deleted, and there's a few hushed whispers of possibly a ghost at the ward, the tall man won't rest until he's aware of what's going on.
And normally, he doesn't tend to ask leading questions unless he already knows the answers, but that's what curiosity can do for you. There was never a Morino born without that trait. And as far as he knew, there were none who haunted halls.
Conveniently, Yamanaka had just left for the day, leaving behind a disorganized mop of chuunin without a brain. Aside from their clipboards full of boring statistics, they never knew many answers. So, Ibiki avoided them. All until Ibiki saw a rather tall one with black hair…leaving the interrogations unit.
This was Ibiki's ground.
So he shouted after the man indignantly and demanded some proof of clearance, racing up only to find a ghost turning his head. "…Oh, you mean this?" Dalzen said, withdrawing that dumb little card he was given earlier. "I'm sorry," he continued automatically, "Did I forget to swipe it on something?" Dalzen began looking around for some hidden panel on the wall, but he couldn't really find one.
"Kai—release," Ibiki muttered quickly, but this wasn't a genjutsu. (And yes, that is a Morino thing.)
"…I'm sorry," Dalzen said again. He wasn't sure how you could apologize for getting caught in a time jutsu, but he was going to try, "Don't arrest me—I'm just…out of place. Really out time, more like it," he reached into another pocket, pulling out a slip signed by the fifth hokage. "Here's…more clearance," he worded awkwardly. "Hopefully…I won't be here long."
Ibiki was silent.
Dalzen, in any frame of time, wasn't much for small talk, but he tried it anyway, "The upgrades look nice," he commented, even though so far, they were pretty annoying. "The security features are very…advanced." The past must have seemed like an open door to the youngest Hatake. Then again, she hadn't been able to spend much time in the village, from fear of messing things up. She might've gone in once or thrice, but no more than that.
Morino Ibiki finally made a move. He pulled out another new security feature. Hand cuffs. He simply held them up in front of his grandfather and Dalzen got the idea. "…Oh."
Ibiki led his grandfather to a small room around the corner and down a narrow hall. "Must be new," Dalzen mumbled to himself, admiring the sparse décor. There were two chairs in the interrogation room. Ibiki took one, Dalzen took the other, and Dalzen wondered aloud, "Is this going to take long?" He wasn't aware if the flippant comment would land him in even more hot water, but he didn't really mind at the moment. Worst come to worst, he could foresee the Hatake troupe blasting through these walls to bail him out, Taylor and Sakumo leading the charge.
"…It will take as long as I wish," Ibiki muttered, studying his grandfather. Dalzen did likewise, praying internally this was not, somehow, one of his progeny. Granted, screwing up the past was a lot more serious than screwing up the future…right?
Ibiki leaned forward—an imposing posture…much like Dalzen could manage. "Did anyone see you?" the scarred face asked.
Dalzen blinked in disbelief. "You believe me? Well—there was this nice Yamanaka fellow—"
"I knew it! That idiot!" Ibiki cursed.
"You know…" Dalzen stopped.
Ibiki finished the sentence, "…We shouldn't be meeting like this?"
Dalzen's skin pricked. No interrogation he'd ever endured compared to this. Because this wasn't exactly an interrogation…Dalzen finally worked up the courage to ask, "Who are you?" It was a leading question, and the Morino could feel the answer.
"Your grandson…" the scarred face finally lifted from the shadows of a frown and smiled.
Dalzen blinked and blinked again. "Oh…my…" was all he could really say. He was speechless. The men shared the same dark eyes, the same height—Dalzen saw much of his own father in Ibiki's face and features. The uniforms and scars differed, but they shared the same blood.
Ibiki grinned. "I tried to learn all I could about you, but—" he stopped.
"…You know," Dalzen filled in with an odd smile blooming on his face, "I've never really been afraid of a conversation before until this one." He remembered Taylor accidentally meeting her own grandfather as an eight-year-old child. Dalzen finally understood all the pains she must have went through trying not to change the timeline. Conversation was a risky thing, but the young man seemed up for the challenge, "When did you first learn genjutsu?" he asked excitedly, "Did anyone teach you?"
"Well…" There couldn't be any harm in answering that, now could there? "I…um…came from…"
"Yes, I know you came from county fourteen. You would have seen ninja on a regular basis having lived under martial law. And you could have sided with the land of wind, yet you didn't. You left that region to join Shodaime. I think that's brave."
Dalzen frowned. "Perhaps…" he admitted, "But it was the obvious choice. With a family of martyrs…" the elder Morino shook his head, "The land of wind was corrupt. Even now—er, then, I have to be careful where I go."
"…So, how did you learn genjutsu?" Ibiki smiled.
Dalzen gave in. (Grandchildren can make you do that.) The elder Morino smiled. "Your great-grandparents fought for freedom—and freedom of choice. But their beliefs came with consequences. I was exposed to strife constantly at a young age. That made me distrustful, and it made me a realist. Before my parents were arrested, I met with my first genjutsu from Suna forces in the town square. I tried all the things civilians do to escape it, but that only made it worse. I didn't understand that it wasn't real. Then I remembered I focused quite hard—changing something called chakra, and from then on, I recognized and broke every genjutsu I saw."
"Amazing…!"
Dalzen shrugged.
A question was bugging the elder, and he wasn't sure if he could ask it. Dalzen cleared his throat uneasily. Surely it wouldn't change anything…"A-Are you…Teal's, or Hoshi's…?"
"…Teal." Ibiki answered. "I am Teal's son."
"…Right. And I swear that's all I'll ask. I just hope I don't run into either of them while I'm here in the future. I'm terrified if I mess something up, or if I…"
"…That won't be a problem," Ibiki replied calmly. "My aunt is on a mission out east, and Teal—"
Dalzen looked expectant when the younger man stopped talking so suddenly.
"My father…doesn't come here," he finished awkwardly.
"Oh, well, that's fine…" Dalzen shrugged.
"Seeing you…would be a little too much for him," Ibiki mused. "I wouldn't recommend it." He glanced up quickly and then made his peace on the wall, "I'm sorry for saying that. I probably shouldn't have."
Dalzen nodded, frowning upon the floor. "I'll admit, I was never there much for my family—especially with the war and all, so I am sorry—"
"It's not that."
"…Not that?"
Ibiki shook his head. "…Have you seen Sakumo-san?" he asked. "How's he taking your return?"
"Well…" Dalzen answered slowly, "We were able to meet in the past, briefly, when Taylor Hatake suffered the effects of this jutsu, but…" Dalzen's uneasiness grew. Ibiki's choice of words, 'How's he taking your return?' bothered him. "Did…something happen? Please don't say 'what'," Dalzen added carefully.
But Ibiki couldn't answer directly. "Well—I am so very happy to have met you, ojiisan." Ibiki stood, a small smile returning to his face.
Dalzen smiled too, understanding the young man's choice of words to mean they had not been able to meet until now. That would have to be enough. "I am glad to meet you as well," he said. "And—I am sorry."
"Don't be. Just…live in the moment," he offered. "It's what I've finally learned to do."
"Sound advice," Dalzen smiled.
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Taylor got out of the shower and got dressed into her uniform and then she grabbed her wallet so she had her Intel card on her. She shoved the wallet into her pocket and went out to the kitchen and grabbed the bento boxes.
"I'm leaving," she told Kakashi, slipping into her indigo sandals and grabbing the bento boxes.
"Okay." Kakashi acknowledged, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "Have fun!"
"I will," Taylor smiled and left to go have lunch with Dalzen.
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When she got to Intel, Taylor pulled out her card and showed it to the panel, unlike Dalzen who didn't even know what he was supposed to do. That would make for a good tease, and Dalzen knew Taylor would enjoy teasing him for it. The panel acknowledged her and she walked away from it. Just as she walked away, she saw Yamanaka Inoichi and she waved at him, then she drew her arm back and hugged the wooden bento boxes close to her chest.
"Good afternoon, Yamanaka-San," she greeted.
"Ah, good afternoon, Miss Taylor," he greeted back. "You caught me just before I left. What's up?"
"Oh, I was gonna get Dalzen-Sensei for lunch, if I may," she said. "Uhm..." She looked down awkwardly. "H-He is staying with us so I know him."
"He already told me," he smiled. "No need to try to figure out an excuse for knowing him..." he paused and thought. "I left him in the interrogations unit but he might've wandered off somewhere. Sorry."
"It's okay. I'll find him," she smiled.
Inoichi returned her smile.
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
Inoichi left and Taylor walked around for about thirty minutes before she finally managed to find Dalzen. Intel was pretty big for such a small girl and occasionally, she got distracted by someone. At one point, someone was banging on their computer, trying to get it to work. Taylor noticed the problem immediately and came over to help the chuunin.
"Need help?" she offered.
"What can you do that I can't?"
Taylor smiled a bit, leaned over him and pressed two keys and the screen went dark, then lit back up, unfrozen.
"How'd you..."
"Two simple keys will fix it, not a couple of hits with the fist and a ninjutsu attack," Taylor said. "You've got to be careful with these though, Intelligence doesn't have enough to replace a lot of these computers. Alright?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Taylor smiled and walked away, clutching the bento boxes in her arms. When she found Dalzen, he was coming out of an interrogation room with another man that looked eerily similar to Dalzen. Taylor waved her hand to get her friend's attention.
Ibiki caught her before his grandfather did.
"Hey, that girl is waving at you," he told his grandfather, pointing at Taylor.
The elder Morino looked up, then surprised by the youngest Hatake's presence. What in the heck was she doing there?
"Taylor?" he questioned in confusion.
She grinned.
"Hiya Dalzen," she greeted.
Ibiki looked at her.
"Oh!" he laughed a bit. "So this is the Taylor Hatake you mentioned earlier?"
"Y-Yeah...she's Sakumo's granddaughter," Dalzen explained.
"And daughter of Kakashi Hatake," Ibiki smiled. "I remember you, Taylor. You were the only ten-year-old at the chuunin exams and when I picked up your test, I read it was amazed at what you knew that other genin don't usually know. I almost recommended you skip over being a chuunin and go straight to jounin."
"Oh really?" Taylor's eyes brightened up. "Oh! You're Morino Ibiki! That's right, you're the proctor for the chuunin exams. You know, you kinda scared me at first, but then again, I was ten..." Taylor scratched her cheek and smiled in embarrassment. "I sat in the room looking at everyone wondering why everyone was stressing out. It was pretty much only me who knew what they were doing. So weird..."
Dalzen flashed Ibiki a quick glance, "You're the proctor...for the chuunin exams?"
"I only hand out the written portion and pick out the kids who I saw cheat, ojiisan."
Dalzen wasn't quite sure how to feel about being called ojiisan, but it did make Taylor wonder why Ibiki just called Dalzen grandpa.
"Wait...are you two...?"
"Yes..." Dalzen held his head. "He's...my grandson..."
"Wow!" Taylor looked at them. "He doesn't fully look like you but man does he have your height!"
"Well..." Dalzen felt himself actually smile a bit. "He doesn't look like me, but with the facial scars he reminds me very well of my own father."
"Cool!" Taylor smiled. "Do you have a picture of your father?"
"...I don't think I do," Dalzen said. "...He died, when I was young. Murdered, more like it."
"...Oh." Taylor looked down. "Gomen..."
"Don't be, you didn't know," Dalzen tried to smile assuringly, but it really seemed odd coming from him. Of all people...
Dalzen cleared his throat to get their attention and he looked at her awkwardly.
"So Taylor...what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh, I made a bento box for you for lunch and I thought that...you'd want to eat with a friend," Taylor explained.
"Oh." Dalzen looked at Ibiki.
"Go have lunch with her," his grandson grinned. "We've got it covered."
"Alright."
Ibiki looked at Taylor.
"You planning to stay after lunch, Miss Taylor?" he asked.
She looked at him.
"Yeah, sure. I don't think my dad would mind," she smiled.
"Great," Ibiki grinned.
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Taylor and Dalzen sat down at a table in the mess hall and ate from their bento boxes.
"So you're in Intelligence?" Dalzen asked
Taylor nodded.
"I don't come often though," she admitted. "I come when I want some kind of work or if Mr. Yamanaka has a good case for me to review."
"Oh."
He thought for a moment and realized something.
"I haven't seen Sakumo leave the house other than to go out into the wheat fields," he mentioned. "I thought he was a shinobi?"
"Was," Taylor emphasized. "He got demoted to a civilian."
Dalzen stopped chewing and looked at Taylor, taken aback.
"What? How!?"
"You know that the time jutsu is a forbidden one, right?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah?"
"Grandpa used it and it got him into trouble...h-he lied to Tsunade to get into the archives and he got the jutsu and Tsunade found out that he was lying...and she said that if he used it then she was going to demote him...to a civilian," Taylor explained.
"And he did use the jutsu," Dalzen remembered.
"Yes."
She looked down.
"Saving my clumsy ass cost him his status as a shinobi," she muttered.
"Taylor, you weren't clumsy," Dalzen shook his head and held his head with his fingers. He sighed. She blamed herself for a lot of things, most of which weren't even her fault and Dalzen remembered Sakumo telling him that. "It wasn't your fault it happened. I wasn't clumsy when this happened. Honestly, I had no clue what happened until I saw you. You had no clue you were in our time until you woke up. How are we supposed to know what happened? It's not like we were thrown through a wormhole, right?"
"The jutsu that we had used a wormhole," Taylor mentioned. "But I guess there are versions without one."
"Yeah," Dalzen nodded. "So how is it our fault if we didn't know what was coming at us?"
Taylor sighed.
"You're right...but I still feel like it was my fault Grandpa lost his status," she mumbled.
She sighed and held her face in her hands.
"Sorry...I still feel bad about that...it's a me thing..."
"Really now? I hadn't noticed."
Taylor gave him a look.
"Sorry, sorry," Dalzen apologized.
"It's...not your fault," Taylor brought a california roll to her mouth with her chopsticks.
Dalzen did the same.
"You know, you didn't have to make me a bento box," he said, eating it.
"I like to make them," Taylor smiled. "Before I leave for a long mission, I always make a bento box for my dad and grandpa. It's just something I like to do and I thought you'd appreciate it."
Dalzen looked up at her and smiled a little.
"Well, thank you Taylor," he thanked her. "It's very delightful."
Taylor smiled back.
"I'm glad you like it," she responded happily.
They then continued eating until they finished. When they did, they walked back to the interrogation units.
.
Taylor walked back home with Dalzen a little later that day, after she took a glance at the weather station at Intel, and boy did she not like the forecast so they left as soon as they could. As they walked, they were quiet. Neither of them liked small talk so they didn't comment on how ominous the clouds above them were, even though Taylor wanted to mutter about it out loud.
Just as the wind picked up, they saw Yuri and Daiichi and Taylor was not happy to see them for reasons other than she just didn't like them. The rest of the village was pretty much dead silent, and indoors. Some shops even closed up early, so what the hell were Daiichi and Yuri doing out at that moment in time? Taylor didn't know, and didn't want to know. She just wanted them to be safe and indoors.
"Yuri! Daiichi!" Taylor called out to them. Dalzen looked at Taylor and ran after her.
"Taylor, what are you doing?" he asked.
Both Chuunin looked up as Taylor ran at them.
"Whatever are y'all doing?" she exclaimed. "We're under a friggin' tornado warning!"
"We are?" Daiichi looked startled.
"Yes! I thought you guys would've gotten word by now, this kind of news travels fast and literally no one is outside other than you two," Taylor shook her head in disappointment. "You two, go straight home right now! I know we don't usually get tornadoes since they're pretty rare, but it's still possible.
Yuri looked up at the sky.
"Please?" Taylor pleaded.
"How do you even know about it?" Yuri asked Taylor arrogantly.
"I was at Intel. They have a small weather station and I check it. That's why Dalzen and I left early, just to be safe. Non-essential personnel are leaving Intel right now," Taylor explained.
"Oh." Yuri looked down.
"Go home y'all," Taylor ordered again.
"Yes ma'am."
They both left immediately and Taylor sighed.
"Damn those two are idiots, going out when it's obviously gonna storm," Taylor cursed. "They're lucky we saw them," she told Dalzen, looking up at him. "If not, they'd be caught in the wind storm and they're so light that the wind would pick them up without a problem."
He nodded.
"Let's hurry," she grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her as she ran at top speed.
Dalzen was slightly started by Taylor when she grabbed his hand and started dragging him behind her. It didn't take long for Taylor to reach her full speed and didn't take Dalzen very long to match her speed, even though he felt like he was going to trip over his own feet.
In a matter of a few minutes, they were outside the village and heading to the house. Suddenly, hail began falling from the sky alongside rain.
"Not good!" Taylor said. "Hail! Be careful!"
"You be careful," Dalzen exclaimed. "You're the one dragging me behind you at top speed!"
"You need to be careful too," Taylor replied. "If you slip and fall, you're gonna take me with you and we'll both be hurt."
"Okay, you're right," Dalzen nodded.
"Damn right I am," Taylor grumbled.
They ran, and Dalzen watched where his feet landed and then he glanced up to check as to where they were going. Immediately, he regretted looking up because he misstepped and his foot slid forward and he was clutching Taylor's hand, and she was clutching his hand as well and before she knew it, Dalzen slid backwards and took her with him. Dalzen fell hard against the rocky ground on top of pea-sized hail and marble-sized hail and Taylor landed hard on his torso. Both grunted and winced. Poor Dalzen, he just had no luck with keeping her from getting hurt. And half of the time, he got hurt in the process. He groaned loudly and didn't want to get up. Taylor had to take a few moments to recover from the incident and once she realized what had happened, she got off of Dalzen and sat on her knees.
"Dalzen!" Taylor exclaimed.
"I was watching where I was going," he groaned. "You were the idiot who decided to run in this kind of weather."
"W-Well, would we rather get caught in a tornado?" she asked.
"No, but hail and rain makes the ground slippery. You of all people should know that, Taylor," he sat up and rubbed my head. "Man, I don't think I've ever fallen that hard before. And it doesn't help that you landed on my chest..." he tried to bring his breathing back to normal. "Shit, you prolly broke a rib." He cracked a smile, hoping she'd know he was teasing her. She made no effort to acknowledge him if she did catch the joke. She sighed.
"Gomen," she apologized.
Dalzen pushed himself to stand up and sighed.
"Come on, we've got at least a kilometer left," he told her, helping her to her feet.
"Right..." Taylor stood up with his help.
"Allow me to lead you back since if you fall, you're less likely to pull me back on you," Dalzen told her, grabbing her hand.
"You'd be surprised at what I could do," Taylor grinned.
Dalzen rolled his eyes, "Don't remind me. Come on, brat." He began running and leading Taylor back to her own house. As soon as they got back, they rushed up the steps and Dalzen opened the door and they both went in.
"H-Holy crap," Taylor trembled, leaning against the door.
Dalzen was just staring down at his clothes and how wet they were. Sakumo caught sight of them and said nothing as he left to get some towels to dry them off.
"We should've left earlier," he told her.
"Or Daiichi and Yuri should've kept their asses inside," Taylor grumbled. "We wasted five minutes trying to get them inside because I don't want to see them dead."
Sakumo came back with the towels.
"Dry off," the elder ordered them both. "Please."
They both nodded and each took a towel and dried off.
"Good thing you have extra clothes, Dalzen," Taylor grinned. "Otherwise you'd be screwed."
"I could go around the house without a shirt...if I really needed to," he said. "...to let my shirt dry."
"What would you do for your pants?"
"Uhm, honestly I wouldn't know," Dalzen shrugged.
"Yeah..." Taylor giggled. "Let's just stop there."
"Who said I was going to go on with that?" Dalzen looked at the silver-haired girl.
"Haha true," Taylor smiled back, taking her hair out of the holder and wrapping the towel around her hair and she wrung it out. "Whew! I am completely soaked. Guess I have to change into some dry clothes."
"Yeah, same," Dalzen agreed.
Taylor looked up at the elder Morino and smiled a bit. And after they were dry enough, they went and got into dry clothes and remarked at how many bruises they had on their arms from the marble-sized hail. Dalzen watched Taylor walk out of her room in a set of blue-plaid pjs and smiled a bit. She may be crazy, but her intentions were good. Even if they ended up being pelted by hail. There was just an odd charm about the Hatake girl that even Dalzen couldn't ignore. Was it because she was very similar to Saru? Like a female Saru? Or maybe it was because she was just so sweet. Whatever the reason, it eluded Dalzen but maybe he didn't need to know.
.
.