Chapter 4
Curiosity
Warm sunbeams shone down at the team that day as they entered into the humid rainforest part of the Ocean Country. The sun was high in the sky and there was not a single cloud in sight. It was as if there were a rainstorm that occurred there the previous day. The ground was definitely moist and wet with rain and there were puddles every few feet and everyone had to step around them. They were surrounded by lush foliage, tall trees and dense undergrowth. There were a couple of downed trees on the ground, covered in moss and fungi. Even the trees that were alive had moss growing up the trunk and the vines that were growing on the trees were practically choking them to death.
The air was hot and stuffy and smelled of animal musk and decaying organic matter, making it hard to breathe sometimes. The worst part of the setting was the humidity. The humidity was a killer for the shinobi team, considering they were all wearing their autumn uniforms.
"So humid!" Kaede groaned.
"I know..." Taylor agreed, wiping sweat from her face.
"And we thought Konoha was awful in the summer," Haruki shook his head and took off his forehead protector, allowing his bangs to fall over his eyes. "This place must be this bad year-round."
Taylor stopped, unzipping her vest and slipped out of it, then she slipped out of her shirt, leaving her in her undershirt and pants, which she tried to convert into shorts. Then, she stuffed her shirt and vest into her bag and then she took the wrappings off her calves and stuffed them in too.
"While we're stopped, you should all get comfortable too. Lady Tsunade did not inform us that we would be heading into a tropical rainforest," Taylor grumbled.
Everyone did as she said and took off their jackets and only one other person took off their shirt and it was Haruki. Hiroaki stayed quiet as he got out of his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Once everyone was comfortable, they continued on.
"Let's take a break," Taylor suggested about an hour or two in.
"Yeah, that may be a good idea," Everyone — including Hiroaki — agreed.
...
They walked around the next day, not talking a whole lot. Occasionally, someone would point out that they were going in circles, so they would change direction or not make a turn at a certain point. They paused to eat lunch and rest from the suffocating heat of the rainforest. Hiroaki was quiet, thinking hard about something, and Taylor looked at him. She saw his emerald eyes peer down sadly, not an emotion she had caught before. She felt concerned, and felt the need to ask if he was okay. So, in effect, she tapped his shoulder and asked him what was wrong.
"Hiroaki?" she asked quietly.
He looked up, his eyes glistening in whatever light they had there. He tried to give an angry glare, but his own sadness had shown through.
"What?" he asked in a gruff voice.
Taylor paused, trying to think of a way to ask her question without setting him off.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Kaede and Haruki looked up at them, concerned for Taylor because they both thought that Hiroaki would be harsh again. Instead, he exceeded their expectations. In fact, he looked down and sighed.
"Guess the tough-guy act wasn't as great as I thought it was, huh?" he mumbled.
"No..." Taylor agreed hesitantly. "It wasn't all that good."
"..." He smiled a bit. "I'm glad. I'm not sure how much longer I could've kept the act going."
"You mean you wanted someone to notice?" Taylor asked.
"Probably," Hiroaki took his glasses off and he rubbed his eyes.
"Why?"
"My sister is sick," Hiroaki looked down. "She's terminally ill with…um…leukemia, I believe. Final stage…" He scratched his head. "I was just angry that I'm here…she's there…dying without her only family — me. And also…how she'll never become a shinobi like she wanted."
Taylor nodded. That was something to be angry about, that's for sure.
"What about when you were that way on the ship towards me?"
"…You remind me of Jun, I couldn't help it, entirely…" Hiroaki looked to the side. "You and your silly antics…and your singing…"
"I'm sorry I remind you of your sister," Taylor apologized.
"It's not your fault," Hiroaki assured. "It's mine for getting upset about it."
A sarcastic comment crossed Taylor's mind, but she kept her mouth shut. Kakashi told her that there was a time and place for her to use sarcasm, this wasn't one of those times for sure.
"It's okay," Taylor said instead of the thoughts that slowly crossed her mind. "I understand why you were the way you were as long as it does not affect your performance on this mission, Hiroaki."
"It won't, I promise," Hiroaki promised.
"Good," Taylor smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." She paused a moment and looked up at the thick canopy, then back down at her teammate. "We're cool, right?"
"Yeah," Hiroaki nodded. "We're cool."
"I'm glad to hear."
...
Suiyoubi— fifth night. Temperature hovering around a humid 65 degrees. Humid!
I finally have figured out what is wrong with Hiroaki; he wants to be at his sister's side. I feel kinda bad for him though. I hope she's alive when he gets back. And wow. He's nicer than he was at first.
I hope he's okay…
...
Nothing much happened for the first month. No sign of the serial killer they had to find and take out. While they walked through the dense rainforest, they made sure they kept an eye out for the bad guy.
One day in late November, Taylor hummed to herself as they walked. Typical. Nothing different about that. Haruki whistled like the birds, trying to mimic their chirping. Hiroaki silently prayed to the gods to watch over his sister and prayed that he would see her when he came home. Kaede just looked around quietly, trying to find the bad guy.
It was a quiet day, as far as attacks goes. Then again, they haven't been attacked they got there, which was a surprise. Though, Taylor knew they would eventually be attacked.
Everyone was following Taylor that afternoon when suddenly, Kaede cried out in confusion and surprise.
"Guys!" she cried out.
The young Hatake spun around and so did Haruki and Hiroaki. They expected to see Kaede but she wasn't there.
"Kaede?" everyone looked around.
"Kaede? Where are you?" Haruki asked.
"I swear she was right behind me," Hiroaki said.
"Kaede?" Taylor called, then looked at the men. "Split up and find Kaede."
"Right," they both agreed, then dashed in opposite directions. Taylor turned around and went searching for her teammate.
"Kaede!" she called. "Kaede!"
Haruki called out his teammate's name as well. He was fine for awhile, nothing happened to him but he couldn't find Kaede. He paused to take a break and warm up— they were in the mountains, which were a whole lot colder than the tropical part of the island — and he was fine until someone grabbed him from behind, startling the poor boy. Shocked, he cried out Taylor's name and then he was paralyzed and silenced with a hit on the back of his head.
"Taylor!"
She looked up.
"Haruki…" she realized that was a cry of help, not that he found Kaede. "Hold on! I'm coming, Haruki!"
She spun around and rushed towards where her friend was, following his scent trail.
Hiroaki was next to be caught. He did the same thing Haruki and Taylor did, called out Kaede's name in a loud yell, then he got caught. Just like Kaede and Haruki, he screamed for help and then was knocked out.
That left Taylor alone and anxious. Haruki's scent disappeared, then she followed Hiroaki's but his scent stopped as well. Her heart raced. Her team was captured and she was the only one left, making her a bit anxious. What do I do? What would they do? she wondered.
Before she could come up with the answer, she felt a hand on her shoulder and suddenly felt someone's warm breath on her neck. She could smell it too, and it smelled like someone just used a very minty mouthwash. She was instantly paralyzed, making her unable to fight back. Way to go, Taylor! she wanted to scream at herself. But it wasn't her fault entirely, she was focused on finding her teammates and that was a good thing, but that left her quite vulnerable to being caught too. Taylor rolled her eyes at herself. She should've kept her guard up as well as finding her teammates.
"Ack…I can't move…" she strained.
"It's a jutsu," came a deep voice.
"Where…are…my…t-teammates?" she asked.
"Good night, Hatake."
The last thing Taylor was conscious for was a whack to the back of her head. Then…there was darkness.
...
A woman with long, dark brown hair with a flower hair clip in her hair and blew eyes sat on her front porch with a photo of her child in her hands. The child very-well resembled her father and grandfather, yet most of her facial features came from the woman herself.
"Kobayashi," someone walked up to the brunette. "We heard screams and decided to check it out. I think we found your child in an abandoned house and I guess we found her team as well. We didn't go in because we weren't sure…I think they were kidnapped, though. They could be dead at any moment."
Kobayashi stood up, clutching the photo.
"Why didn't you get them, then?"
"We couldn't interfere," the man said. "We could've risked our covers being blown."
"Fine…Bring me to them," she demanded. "If they're hurt, I can fix them here," Kobayashi paused. "Actually, maybe we can sneak in with me or something…" "Let's try then," the shinobi nodded and took the woman to where they saw the children.
...
Whoever kidnapped the team, Taylor in particular, dumped water on the team captain's head. It wasn't just any water, it was ice-cold water that froze on impact. Taylor woke with a start.
"ACK!" her eyes widened but she saw nothing.
"Why are you Leaf shinobi here?" the deep voice asked.
"Huh?" Taylor tried to look, only to then realize she'd been blindfolded. That doesn't do me any good, she thought bitterly.
"I'll ask you again, why are you Leaf shinobi here?"
Taylor sighed and rolled her eyes, "I won't say a word."
"Bad choice," the man slapped her.
Taylor retaliated against the pain and grunted, damn!
"If you don't want to be slapped again, you best answer my question."
"What if I say I don't want to," Taylor said.
"Then I'll backhand you again," the man growled.
"Well go ahead!" Taylor spat. "I don't care, I'm not telling you."
The man slapped her again and Taylor again retaliated against the pain. She grunted again and suddenly could taste blood in her mouth. She must've bit her tongue or cheek. Ick, I taste blood, she thought.
"Why should I tell you anything? I mean, come on. You're not going to get an answer out of me," Taylor grumbled in annoyance.
"Tell me!" the man exclaimed.
"You can just kiss my ass," Taylor spat.
"I don't like your attitude," the man pushed her forward, or someone did, and stabbed her in the back to try and get her to speak.
"AH!" Taylor cried out. She panted and then shook her head, "You're an idiot if you think you can get an answer out of me. You can kill me, but I'm still not going to speak."
The man dragged the knife down a little to make her cough up their purpose in being there. She gave an unconscious scream and then she panted.
"What are you doing to her?" Haruki cried out.
"Shut up, kid!" Then, the man looked at Taylor again and gave her another shot. "Why are you guys here? If you don't answer or give me a bad answer, you can kiss your ass goodbye."
"I refuse to tell," Taylor growled.
The man, holding a cold kunai to Taylor's warm throat, accidentally let it slip because a rat came out of nowhere and made him jump. The cold knife slid across her throat, leaving a nasty cut in its place and blood gushed out quickly from the cut. Taylor cried out and then was left whimpering because that was all she could've done. Her vocal cords were damaged.
"Damn, that's not what I meant to do," the man grumbled. "Oh well, she's worthless since she refuses to talk. What an idiot kid. Sheesh."
The man took the blindfold off from her face and he threw her on the ground and allowed her to bleed out.
"Taylor?" Kaede whispered with concern. "Taylor!?"
All Taylor could do was whimper softly, but after a few minutes it stopped. After that, nothing.
"Taylor" Haruki asked.
No response.
"Bastards!" Hiroaki shouted.
"Wake up!" Haruki and Kaede cried at Taylor.
"Knock 'em all out," came one of the other men in the room. "And dispose of them. All of them. But first, take their blindfolds off. Let them see their dead 'captain'."
Each one of the other captors took the blindfolds off the ninja they caught and made them look at their captain. All three of them saw Taylor lying on the floor in her own blood, lifeless. All three of them wanted to shout and scream, but no one could bring themselves to do so. They all whimpered with fear.
"Anyone want to say something before we kill you too? Even though that was not originally what we were going to do…"
Haruki, Hiroaki and Kaede looked at each other. There is no way I'm gonna say anything, Haruki thought. I'll take this to the grave, Hiroaki thought. There's nothing for me to say, Kaede thought bitterly.
"Nothing," they all said at once.
"Alright then, kill 'em!"
Each captor took a syringe and jabbed it into the team's arms, releasing the unknown substance.
Haruki began to feel dizzy after five minutes. Hiroaki passed out after ten. Kaede closed her eyes after twenty minutes. When they were all unconscious and/or dead, the men took all four out and dumped them all by a nearby cave.
No shinobi were going to go after their master and make it out alive.
...
The group with Kobayashi finally came across the team of shinobi by a cave. It was cold, so thankfully no decomposition has taken place to any of the kids just yet.
"Is this the group?" Kobayashi asked.
"They were alive when we saw them earlier," one man said. "But yes, this is the group."
Kobayashi walked over to Taylor and bent down beside her. Gently, very mother-like, she placed a hand on Taylor's throat and checked her pulse. No sign of a pulse, of course not. Her throat was slit. Oh no, that's not good.
"Grab a kid," she ordered. "And bring them all to my house. I can fix all four of them."
"Right," her men nodded, and began collecting the children.
Kobayashi placed her hand on Taylor's cheek and then scooped her up.
"Oh you are such a big girl now," she commented. "I remember when you were only a few minutes old…" She sighed and began rushing back to her house in the mountains. "You'll be safe now, I promise, Taylor."
...
When they had gotten back, Kobayashi laid Taylor down in a bed in one of the two spare rooms. She had the other three in the other room because she knew Taylor didn't like having to share a room unless it was with her father or grandfather. Or supposedly, her best friend Dalzen too.
Kobayashi started the healing process by ripping Taylor's shirt off and slipping her over onto her back. She put her hands together and a green chakra surrounded her hands as she began healing the stab wounds on Taylor's back. The wounds closed up, and then she cleaned the blood off. She laid Taylor back on her back and healed the wounds on her throat. The slice closed up quickly and she cleaned the blood from that area. That was going to scar, but she wasn't worried about trying to completely heal the scar, she just wanted it healed enough to be able to resurrect Taylor.
Then, she cut off Taylor's bra and sliced her own hand. She turned the hand and made the blood drip over Taylor's heart in between her breasts. She wrapped up her hand when there was a nice puddle of blood over her heart and then she began to resurrect Taylor. Her chakra now was purple, the resurrection chakra. She watched as her O negative blood was absorbed into Taylor's heart and then color returning to Taylor. When Taylor was finally revived and breathing, Kobayashi began to wrap Taylor's breasts up so they weren't visible. Sakumo warned her that Taylor didn't like to show anything.
Once everything was done, Kobayashi stood up and went to revive the rest of her team.
...
Taylor woke up several hours later, after her wounds were fixed and…she was brought back to life? But how? How could that be possible?
It was morning, a really cloudy morning. The air smelled like miso and rice, which is part of what woke her up. As she came to, her entire body began to ache— or, she started to recognize that her body was aching. For some reason, she was dreaming that Dalzen, Saru and Coushander were all yelling at her for dying. But she didn't know she was dead. She could still hear them all saying, "TAYLOR HOW COULD YOU LET YOURSELF GET KILLED? What would Kakashi and Sakumo say?!" and she recalled a, "How dare you, Taylor!" prolly from her uncle Saru. She really had no idea what they were talking about though. She somehow could feel Dalzen shaking her senseless still. She could still feel his hands…
A groan rose in her throat and she slowly opened her eyes. Natural light from the window filtered into the room and stung her eyes. Taylor weakly covered her eyes with her hands and slowly allowed her eyes to adjust. Once they had adjusted, she looked around. Where am I? she wondered.
Grunting, she sat up and her body screamed at her to lay back down. Suddenly, she realized she wasn't wearing a shirt. She looked down and her breasts were bandaged up, almost as if the person who healed her didn't want her to feel uncomfortable with her breasts not in a bra. Taylor's throat hurt. It wasn't like the raw feeling she had when she got sick kind of hurting, it was more like her throat was slit and was pretty much healed kind of hurting. Wait…what even happened? she wondered.
Taylor stood up and looked around. The room looked a lot like her own room, except smaller with no dresser or desk, or even a nightstand. Although, there was a table in the corner of the room with a first-aid kit on top and a clean, indigo tank-top laid on top with care. Stubbornly, Taylor stood up and she walked up to the table and picked up the shirt. The shirt was her size. It looked like the one she brought with her! But where was her bag? She shrugged, then slipped the tank-top on over her head. Her body screamed at her to stop moving, but she was determined to get answers. Once the shirt was over her head, she fixed the bottom over her hips and then made herself walk out to find whoever put her there.
She opened the traditional-style door and walked into the hallway. The smell of miso got stronger and she followed it down the hall and into a western-style kitchen. In the middle of it as an island with a granite countertop. Going around the left side of the kitchen were cabinets and drawers, also topped with granite countertops. In the middle of the bottom cabinets was a sink, which stood in front of a window. Over at the island were her teammates watching a woman cutting up kamaboko, an avocado and a cucumber into thin slices. She did it very quickly, much to her teammate's amazement. Taylor wasn't impressed; her grandfather could do that.
"You're so fast!" Kaede exclaimed.
"Not even my mom can cut that fast and she makes these all the time!" Haruki remarked.
"I love making these for my sister," Hiroaki smiled. "My sister loves them, but dang I wish I could slice that fast."
"You guys give it a shot," the brown-haired woman smiled, then she looked up at Taylor. "Ah, Taylor. So glad you could join us." This morning, her hair was braided into a ponytail but she still kept the clip in her hair.
The young Hatake jumped, startled by the woman suddenly saying her name. Her teammates turned and looked at her, breathing sighs of relief.
"You're awake!" Haruki gave a relieved smile. "Thank the gods!"
"I told you three that she would wake up," the woman gave a kind smile. "Like I said, she just needed to recover after losing so much blood."
"Taylor, your mom does some amazing cooking," Kaede grinned.
Taylor furrowed her eyebrows up in confusion.
"My…mother…?" Taylor's voice was hoarse yet quiet, mainly since her vocal cords were cut and they were still trying to fully recover from that. She was lucky she could even speak at that moment. However, she had no clue her throat was cut and she continued, "She's not my mother, my mother is dead. You must have the wrong person," she looked at the woman.
Kobayashi gave a gentle smile at Taylor and showed her the photo Sakumo sent her, "No, Taylor. I don't have the wrong person…I'm your mother, Setsuna Kobayashi. I was never really dead. I know your father has a photo of me, and I can assure you I'm the same woman from that photo…"
Taylor's jaw dropped as she looked at her photo and then back at the woman. Taylor remembered Setsuna's face from a photo her dad had in his room. There was no doubt she was beyond shocked.
Setsuna sighed, knowing she had a ton of explaining to do for her daughter. Setsuna was the only one who could explain it.
"Sit down," she said. "And I'll finish making brunch and I'll tell you everything."
Taylor was still in shock, but she nodded and sat down with her team.
This was going to take awhile.
