Chapter Four
Hiiragi Morino
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"I was 10 when I got to take my chuunin exam," Taylor told Hiiragi over lunch with Sakumo and Harou. Dalzen was at Intel, working on a case Taylor could not work on for personal reasons. Harou has stayed inside, trying to stay out of everyone's way.
Hiiragi gave a soft smile as Taylor showed him how she looked when she was 10.
"Wow," he remarked. "You're so adorable!"
"I'm wearing my dad's old shirt from when he was 13," she giggled. "Grandpa had taken it to be made into a smaller shirt for me since I wanted to wear it...not sure why Dad kept those shirts but I liked them so he gave the shirt to me."
"That's cute," Hiiragi smiled. "What was your chuunin exam like?"
"Funny, actually, in retrospect," Taylor smiled. "But I'll tell you another time."
"Aw, why not now?" Hiiragi asked, then remembered why. "Oh uhm...of course."
Harou stood up and put his bowl into the sink, silently wishing he was back home. Taylor looked at Harou.
"Harou-San..."
Harou bowed and quickly left to lock himself away in Dalzen's room. Taylor looked down and Sakumo put his hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry, Harou is just normally like that," he apologized.
"It's okay," Taylor sighed and continued talking with Hiiragi.
...
Later that evening, Taylor took a walk through the empty wheat fields and she brooded over the newest murder. The air was bitterly cold. Snow crunched under her feet and the ice-cold wind rushed past her, sending chills down her spine. She shuddered, but froze when she heard another set of footsteps in the snow. She didn't recognize the gait entirely and when she turned, she saw the mysterious man. He was Dalzen's height and had dark hair like him too but short-cut like Harou's. His trench coat's collar covered the bottom of his face and she couldn't make out his eye-color in this dark, but she could see the seriousness of the man's expression.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice strong and steady.
The man approached her but stopped a few feet from her. Her eyes flashed a glare.
"You're trespassing on private property," she warned.
His expression softened at her, "In the future...I wouldn't be."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Taylor asked.
His eyes now showed sadness. She still couldn't tell his eye color, but the way his eyebrows curved upward gave him a melancholic expression.
"Taylor, you know who I am," he whispered to her. "But your feelings for me haven't developed quite yet..."
Taylor backed away but he took a step forward for each step she tried to take back.
"DAL—" the man quickly covered her mouth and now they were up close and personal with each other. She could see the green and grey eye, and could even see his scar. The familiar x-shaped scar scored across his right cheek. She blinked with disbelief, "Hiiragi?"
He smiled, "I'm not exactly the same Hiiragi you know now. I go through so much as I get older; I'm more melancholic as a 45-year-old man than I was then as a 21-year-old man."
Taylor gasped, "Time travel jutsu?"
He nodded, "Nidai couldn't get rid of all the scrolls for the jutsu, as you've recently found out."
"Why are you here?!" Taylor exclaimed in anger. "Do you not realize what you're doing?"
"I'm here to prevent a devastating event!" Hiiragi cried out. "I'm trying to prevent the destruction of Konoha and what would start the fifth shinobi war!" Tears streamed down his face. "The destruction of Konoha will come sooner than the events in my time, which would lead to a different fourth shinobi war. I'm preventing that."
"But you shouldn't try to change the fu—"
"If I don't, every man, woman and child on this planet will die in an inferno!" Hiiragi cried. He broke down in sobs, burying his face in his hands and collapsing to his knees as if he'd been holding in his emotions. Taylor was shocked, and as a sympathetic crier, she felt the tears coming.
"Wh-What do you mean?" she asked, trying to stop the tears. Hiiragi sobbed into his hands and it took Taylor crouching beside him and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder to quell his tears. He calmed down a little. "How about I invite you inside and make you some tea?"
Hiiragi trembled, but he nodded. Taylor helped him up and brought him into her home. Looked like Dalzen and Sakumo were already in bed, so Taylor just sat Hiiragi at the table and quickly went to work to make tea.
"What do you like? We have ginger, earl grey, green tea, lemon tea, oolong, and cinnamon apple," Taylor looked at the tea.
"Lemon," Hiiragi hiccuped.
She set it all up and turned with her hands on her waist. He was still trembling, fighting tears. She wondered what had happened, but she decided to watch the kettle and let him calm down. When the water was done, she poured it into the tea and brought over the cups of tea and sat them down. He looked up from his hands and his face was wet with tears and red from crying. Taylor sat down in front of him and offered a sympathetic look.
"Why are you here?" she asked gently.
He swallowed hard, "The people that destroyed Konoha and started the fifth and last shinobi war decided they should've gone back to this time to destroy Konoha and they are starting to show their presence. Those murders/arsons? It's them, and this is how it started in my time as well. It's about to escalate into a huge attack that'll lead to..." He laced his fingers and rested his forehead against his laced fingers, fighting more tears. "Lead to...to...you being killed. In my time, we have kids—you gave birth to them whether you wanted to or not, you were absolutely mortified when you found out. It was funny when you were trying to tell Kakashi about it— anyways..." His voice cracked, "They're dead as well...Everyone. Everyone is dead, Taylor. Everyone. And if the group isn't stopped now, we'll never have fallen in love and we'd all be dead."
Taylor swallowed hard. That was a lot to process. Hiiragi scratched behind his head and started drinking his tea. When he set the cup down, he wiped his mouth and closed his eyes, thinking hard about the past—his past in the future.
"I know, it's a lot to take in," he said gently. "But you've got to believe me. I wouldn't have come if I didn't have the information to give you to track these guys down." He trembled, "Please, I want to save the future...our future. I can't bear this agony any longer, Taylor. You don't know how hard it's been for me."
Taylor swallowed her tea, "Tell me more, then."
He handed her a list of names, "Here are names but it won't help find them in this time." He took her hand, "If you will it, we can go to the future to use the Intel Ward there."
"But you said the whole village had been destroyed," Taylor pointed out.
Hiiragi smiled, "Not everything...Intel survived, by a small margin. It's surrounded by shielding, you should know that."
"Uhm, okay well let me get a notebook a-and a pen and then we can go," Taylor sighed and got up.
"I already have some," he said. "C'mon, I want to get this done sooner rather than later. We need to go!"
"Okay okay!" Taylor put her trench coat back on.
Harou sat up tiredly on the couch as he woke up from hearing Hiiragi and Taylor's voices. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and turned around, "Taylor, can't you be quiet?"
Taylor looked at the couch, surprised to see Harou. Now, Harou was staring at Taylor and was startled by the tall man beside her. That wasn't Dalzen! Harou sprung to his feet and prepared an attack.
"Taylor! What are you doing with that stranger? Get away from him!" he pleaded.
"H-Harou! I-It's okay!" Taylor tried to reassure him.
Hiiragi took her hand and made her hug him so he could do the hand signs. A few moments before he had finished, Dalzen had walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Taylor, who are you talking to so late in the—"
Taylor looked up and saw Dalzen, who looked wide awake when he realized some stranger was taking her. Before she could explain, they'd appeared in a desolate future konoha: right in the middle of the village.
She looked around and gaped at the dystopian scene before her. Houses and buildings were charred cinder frames surrounded by ash and burnt rubble. They were in the year after the war. Bodies and bones littered the ground along with rusted kunai, shuriken, and even katanas littered the ground! There was hardly any vegetation— too much radiation killed whatever vegetation there was. The ground was mostly orange and rust-red and the sky was covered in scarlet red clouds. They were in the middle of a nuclear fallout in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or what used to be the village.
When Taylor glanced up, she saw the Hokage monument, barely holding together. Up there, she hardly recognized Shodai, Nidai and Sandai. Yodai and Tsunade's faces were more recognizable but the face that stood out the most, unsurprisingly, was her father's face.
"Daddy?" she gave a choked whisper.
"No one made it out alive, except me," he choked out. "I wasn't here when it happened..." His voice cracked even more, "Kakashi had seen the house on fire and knowing I was on a mission, he came inside to rescue you three." Tears streamed down his face, "Kakashi died of smoke inhalation and severe burns, you and the kids were burnt beyond rescue. Kakashi was severely burnt from having to go into the fire twice. Once to save Ryouma-Kousa—who you had named after your uncle and great-grandfather— and Matsuko— who you named after your great-grandmother— and then he went back for you." He sobbed, "Ryouma-Kousa and Matty and you were my lives and I couldn't protect any of you..." He tried to get back on topic. "As I was saying...he went in to get Matty and Ryou-Kou—our nickname for him— and then went back for you."
Taylor wanted to cry too, but only because of Hiiragi's accounts and her father's love for her, which will never fade.
He wiped away a few tears, "I shouldn't even be telling you all of this."
"S-Sorry," Taylor stared at the ground. Two kids?! Ryouma-Kousa and Matsuko Hatake? She looked up at the eerie, dead, red sky. She chose those names and prolly chose to keep her last name. But what about Ibiki and Anko? "What about Ibiki-San and Anko-San? Did they have kids?"
"Two—a girl and a boy," Hiiragi started climbing down from the pile of rubble and dirt. He took Taylor's hand and helped her climb down. "Dad was about to become a grandfather again because Akane was pregnant...but then the Konoha fire happened and—"
"Lemme guess...they all died," Taylor looked at him.
"Sadly, yes," Hiiragi looked over his shoulder as he maneuvered backwards as he helped Taylor walk down. "Careful..."
Taylor looked around and shuddered.
"It's so cold..." Taylor shivered.
"Nuclear winter," Hiiragi told her, leading her towards Intel.
"Is it even safe to be out here?" Taylor asked.
"We're fine for now," he told her, leading her up to the only intact building for hundreds of miles...or perhaps the only intact building left on Earth: Konoha Intelligence Ward. The building was showing its age, however a force field seemed to be protecting the building. A dying force field, at that. "Computer: Morino Hiiragi and Hatake-Morino Teirā request to enter the building."
"Request granted," the female computer voice acknowledged, opening a door-like hole in the field. "Welcome back, Detectives. Today's date is—"
"We're fine without a date, Computer," Hiiragi muttered.
"Of course, Detective Morino," and just like that, the computer shut up.
"Wow, just like Star Trek," Taylor remarked. "Dalzen would have a hell of a time with this."
Hiiragi smiled, "Well, he'd find a way to kill it. It hasn't happened yet, but Grandpa Dalzen is a computer murderer. Technology and Dalzen do not mix well."
"Damn," Taylor muttered.
"This is a radiation-free zone, the only one on the planet as far as I know," Hiiragi said. "We're safe in here. I just wanted to show you the outside world..."
"I-It's scary," Taylor told him.
"It is, indeed," Hiiragi agreed.
They walked to the research center and Hiiragi typed the password on the holographic screen. Taylor watched quietly.
"Computer, pull up my research on Nikumu Moeteiru," Hiiragi ordered.
"Pulling up Morino Hiiragi's research on Nikumu Moeteiru," the computer told them.
"Nikumu Moeteiru?" Taylor repeated.
"Abhor Ablaze," he said. "They abhor Konoha and they set places ablaze, therefore that's what they named themselves." He snickered, "Or those were some of the first words that came up in the dictionary and they chose those two words." He pulled up the information, "Here you go. This gives a detailed explanation of them. They developed less than ten years ago, really only around for 6 years but their members have so much information such as arrest records, a few published hate-books on Konoha, etc."
Taylor took a look. She pretty much had a good idea about their cause— to annihilate Konoha. Everything else was news to her.
Motive: each member is a former shinobi of Konoha who had been wronged by Lord Kakashi (this current era) or Lady Tsunade (the previous era), had shinobi status revoked for what they feel were wrong reasons, or shinobi from other villages that hate Konoha.
Member Info:
Hanamura, Tsukiyoshi: Male; leader. Shinobi status was revoked by Lord Kakashi at the start of Kakashi's era as Hokage. however he traveled to Suna and the Kazekage of the time gave it back to him and he gathered shinobi to get his revenge on the Hokage. Kakashi took his shinobi status due to misusing his status as shinobi by mistreating civilians and bullying them, forcing them to bow down to shinobi like they're kami.
Kujikawa, Hinoue: Female; commander. From an enemy village: Village 12 in the new Country 14, who simply hates Konoha for it's past offenses in Country 14 more than 100 years prior. Thinks Konoha is too soft on shinobi and believes Konoha shinobi are too soft and lazy; especially despises Lord Kakashi's eldest child, Taylor Hatake, because she seemed, to her, to be the softest and least shinobi-like shinobi out there. She killed her mother thirty years prior, though it wasn't really her who killed her mother.
Best of friends with Hanamura, she was the one to suggest setting the village ablaze in a fire they would never be able to escape from and lead one of five teams to do the task. She also was the one to propose setting fire to random Konoha and Grass Village homes to send a message.
Aono Yosuke: Male; lieutenant-commander. Lady Tsunade had promised him time and time again that he would be a jounin, however it had never happened because she didn't think he was ever ready. One day, she told him straight up he would be a terrible jounin and that she didn't trust him enough to be a jounin, which he thought was unfair because, like most people, he knew about Taylor Hatake and how she easily showed emotion and how scared she was of killing people. He wants to make this village suffer like he did. (Yes, he was melodramatic.)
Taylor looked at Hiiragi after reading about the other members.
"My and Daddy's names are mentioned several times," she remarked.
"You're the Hokage's daughter, well you weren't before Kakashi became Hokage because he wasn't Hokage till after— er, I shouldn't tell you that," Hiiragi sighed. "Basically, a lot of people know who you are and because you're his daughter, they target you."
"That's stupid," she muttered.
"A lot of people are," he agreed. "Alright, now that you know the motives and you've been acquainted with some of the members, we can begin to figure out where they are."
"Okay," Taylor agreed after a sense of anxiety began flooding her veins.
Hiiragi smiled and together, they began discussing possible whereabouts.
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Coushander crouched down and put his hands together so that Taylor could climb onto the horse. Dalzen looked around and made sure nothing could happen. He was weary of possible attacks happening, and since they had no clue why Taylor was there, no one was safe. Coushander helped Taylor step up onto the horse and then helped her sit on him. Then, Coushander climbed up behind her and he smiled.
"You ready?"
"Uhuh," Taylor nodded.
"Alright," Coushander messed up Taylor's hair. "Now, I want you to pay close attention, sweetheart."
"I will, Grandpa Kousa," Taylor nodded.
Cou took the reins and showed Taylor how to ride a horse. Meanwhile, Dalzen watched around for any signs of attack. He stood still with his arms crossed and with Coushander talking to Taylor behind him. For a moment, he let his guard down to watch how Coushander was treating Taylor. She was smiling as they rode.
Suddenly, Dalzen heard shouting from behind and he turned and saw a yellow-haired boy chasing after a smaller, silver-haired boy, who looked rather panicked being chased by a boy a few years older than he was.
"Kakashi-Sensei!" the boy with yellow hair and blue eyes and whiskers on either cheek shouted at the younger boy. "Come back!"
The younger boy was covering his head with his hands, tears streaming down his face.
"No way!" he cried. Immediately, he spotted Dalzen and ran behind him. "Don't let him get me!"
Dalzen stopped the elder boy with his hand and Coushander and Taylor looked over to see what was going on.
"What's going on?" Coushander asked as he pulled up beside Dalzen on the horse.
"That idiot hit me!" the younger boy pointed at the elder boy. "And then he started chasing me for some stupid reason."
Taylor studied the younger boy and his scent infiltrated her airways. Then, she reached down and touched his head.
"Daddy?" she whispered.
He looked up at her and blinked, "Who are you calling your dad?"
Taylor stared at him and Dalzen looked.
"Oh shit...you're Sakumo's son," he realized.
The blond boy looked at Taylor, "Hey, you're Kakashi-Sensei's daughter, aren't you?"
"Y-Yeah?" Taylor asked.
"And who are you?" Dalzen asked.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto grinned.
Taylor kept poking Kakashi, and eventually he took a step forward so he could get away from her poking him. Taylor reached to poke him again, overreached and fell off the horse. Coushander realized she'd fallen off but it was too late to catch her when he saw her land awkwardly on her leg moments later with a cry of pain. Coushander immediately hopped off and crouched down beside his beloved great-granddaughter.
"Taylor-kun," Naruto muttered in shock.
Coushander put his hand on Taylor's shoulder gingerly, "Taylor?"
She looked up with tears in her eyes and Coushander scooped her up to try to keep her calm. She buried her face in his chest and cried. Dalzen ran his finger through his hair.
"Oh my..."
"So, anyways, who are you guys?" Naruto asked.
"I'm Dalzen Morino," Dalzen introduced. "And this is Coushander Hatake..."
Kakashi looked at Coushander, "Dad?"
"No," Coushander muttered hotly. "Your grandfather."
"O-Oh," Kakashi nodded as Coushander tried to calm Taylor back down.
Dalzen was the only one who seemed to know what was going on.
"Uhm, guys," Dalzen interrupted quietly. "I know this may make me sound like a lunatic, but I think both of you are victims of a the time jutsu."
"Time jutsu?" Naruto asked. "What's that?"
"A jutsu that sends you to whatever time the user pleases," Dalzen told him. "Neither of you have a place to stay...do you...?"
"No," Kakashi answered.
"Not really," Naruto looked down.
"What do we do?" Coushander wondered. "I'd be willing to take Kakashi in since he's family but Naruto?"
"Okay, uhm I'm sure we can figure something out," Dalzen looked at Taylor. "We'll have to talk to Nidai because obviously something is going on here. And get Taylor checked out to make sure she's not seriously hurt."
"N-Nidai?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Whaaat?!"
"Holy crap!" Kakashi exclaimed.
Dalzen sighed heavily has he stood up, "Yes, you're in the time of the Second Hokage."
Naruto stared at Dalzen as he walked away, "Coushander go get Taylor looked at."
"I know, Dalzen," Coushander stood up slowly as he held Taylor in his arms.
"Sometimes, I'm not sure you know what you think you know," Dalzen sighed. "Alright. Naruto-kun, Kakashi-kun, you come with me to talk to Nidaime. We'll meet back at the Konoha hospital so we can figure things out."
"Okay," Coushander bowed, leaving with Taylor. Dalzen turned and led Naruto and little Kakashi to Nidaime.
...
"Sakumo, I swear someone just took Taylor away!" Harou told Sakumo. "D-Dalzen, you saw him too!"
Dalzen nodded, "And I think I have a good idea as to who he is."
Sakumo looked over at Dalzen, "Who? Who do you think it was?"
"I believe it was Hiiragi, but he looked a hell of a lot older," Dalzen told him.
"Well then, that must mean something is wrong," Sakumo commented.
"I know," Dalzen agreed, then paused in confusion. "Uhm, is it weird that I remember a 10-year-old Kakashi and his pupil, Naruto, right now?"
Sakumo's breath caught in his throat, "Oh shit...that means there are more time jutsu victims. Now my own son is a victim..."
"Oh no," Harou blinked in disbelief. "Not good!"
"But what does that mean?" Dalzen wondered.
"I'm not sure," Sakumo looked up. "Oh dear..."
Suddenly, they heard a 'poof' and when they looked up, Hiiragi was standing there with Taylor in his arms, but he looked older than in the sketch. There were a few highlights of grey in his dark hair and he had a fatherly look in his face, and also had a melancholic hair to him. Taylor was asleep in his arms and they were covered in dust. Hiiragi blushed when he saw Dalzen.
"Grandpa Dalzen, so nice to see you again..." he said, almost adding, After ten years...
Dalzen was shocked, "But...it's only been five minutes! How is she asleep?"
"Her room is the one closest to the living room?" Hiiragi asked, evading Dalzen's question.
"Er, yeah," Sakumo nodded.
Hiiragi rushed past them and brought Taylor to her room. He laid her down on her bed and pulled her blankets over her. He took the Tomomasa doll and tucked him in beside her. Immediately, she turned onto her side and clutched her doll. After a few moments of gazing upon Taylor sadly, he kissed her head and then he left, closing the door behind him.
Back in the kitchen, Dalzen, Harou, and Sakumo looked at each other and remarked over how Taylor fell asleep so fast.
"How is she asleep after only a few minutes?" Sakumo asked.
"I think I have a bad feeling about this," Dalzen hung his head.
"He must've hurt her!" Harou exclaimed in a whisper. "Maybe he gave her a sleeping pill or something!"
"Harou, no way!" Sakumo exclaimed. "I doubt that's the case, I've spent more time with Hiiragi and he's a very nice kid. I"m sure there is a logical explanation as to why Taylor is asleep."
"I hope so," Dalzen said.
"I hope so too," Harou agreed.
Hiiragi had his hands in his coat pockets now as he entered the kitchen. It was obvious he was not the same Hiiragi they'd met over two months ago. He was much older and his hair was shorter. His face, despite looking father-like, was now in a frown and serious. Earlier, he had a soft but gentle look, however it was obvious now that the only reason he looked even remotely happy was because of Taylor, but now that she's in bed and out of sight, he simply couldn't smile.
"I'm sure you're wondering..." he said in a low voice, then continued in an embarrassed whisper, "I fainted in the bathroom and she fell asleep waiting on me."
"We were, thank you for enlightening us," Dalzen answered with a gruff voice. "Now, where did you go for five minutes? What did you do to Taylor to make her fall asleep in only five minutes?!"
Hiiragi furrowed his eyebrows upward in sadness, "Please don't be mad, Grandpa. I know you're protecting Taylor, but there is no need for hostility with me. I want to protect her as much as you, Sakumo-san and Kakashi-san want to."
Dalzen eyed him dubiously, "You hardly know her...well, not as well as I know her."
Hiiragi shook his head, "That isn't true. I'm from the future; we're married with kids. Try telling me that again."
Dalzen and Sakumo gasped, "What?"
"I'm here of my own free will, no one sent me here," he said, then looked down. "There's no one left to send me places anyways."
Sakumo's breath caught in his throat, "What do you mean?"
"I'm gonna tell you two what I told Taylor," he responded. "I'm not taking you where I took her yet, though. I need to sleep but this is a sorta quick explanation of what my purpose here is."
"I'm all ears," Dalzen huffed.
"Yeah, I'm listening, kid," Sakumo nodded.
Hiiragi inhaled deeply to try to keep calm.
"As you already know, I'm here from the future," he started, leading into an explanation lasting at least ten minutes, omitting anything he thought they shouldn't know. Sakumo could see Hiiragi trembling as he fought to keep himself calm by the end, so he walked over to Hiiragi and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Hiiragi's face went pale, like he was sick, and Sakumo led him to the couch. Dalzen was in shock of what Hiiragi just said; he was trying to picture the dystopian world Hiiragi described but he couldn't. It was no wonder Hiiragi looked sick to his stomach, considering he lost his wife and children—that wife being Taylor in the future.
Sakumo tried to comfort Hiiragi, but he couldn't hold strong. Hiiragi fought tears and Sakumo gave him a box of tissues from the coffee table.
"If you need to cry, I won't judge," he said. "And if you need a place to sleep, you feel free to use the couch. Not like it gets used very often anymore." He smiled and stood up. Right now, Harou was sharing Dalzen's room because he wanted to be able to lock himself in a room to hide away. The couch was available again.
"Th-Thank you...Sakumo," Hiiragi thanked. "Y-You're so kind."
Sakumo shook his hand and then bowed his head, "I need to talk to Dalzen, is that alright?"
Hiiragi nodded, tears streaming down his face. Sakumo walked over to Dalzen, who gave him an amused smile and a shake of his head.
"Isn't this just familiar?" he asked.
"Totally different situations," Sakumo reminded.
"I know," Dalzen said. "Anyways, we've gotta stop that band of rogue shinobi."
"That that's messing with the future!" Sakumo exclaimed.
"Sakumo, it's already happening!" Dalzen argued in a quieted voice. "He said it himself, they're already here in the past to change the future. We have to stop them, you know we do. Taylor and I will take him to Intel and we'll arrange to have a mission put into place to find these guys and take them down before they make that future happen sooner. We can't let it happen, Sakumo."
Sakumo nodded, "I suppose you're right..."
"This is a lose-lose situation," Dalzen added. "The future will be changed either which way, but if we can change it for the greater good, then none of the good people die. No innocent people will die as a result of someone being a complete and total asshole about getting revenge."
"I don't think 'asshole' even begins to cover it," Sakumo laughed.
"Y-Yeah, I don't think that's the right word for those people," Harou agreed.
"You're right," Dalzen concurred. "I don't think there is a word to cover the disgusting people who would commit such a heinous act!"
"You're right about that, Captain," Sakumo agreed, looking over at Hiiragi lying down on the couch. He was clutching something—a bear. Did he have that tucked away in his jacket? "Aw..." He looked sad, "I can't imagine going through what he has..."
"Is he asleep?" Dalzen asked.
"Probably, he looked like he was going to collapse from exhaustion just a few minutes ago," Sakumo nodded, walking over.
"He'd said Taylor fell asleep when he left her for the restroom and when he came back, she was dead asleep on the cot," Dalzen realized.
"Do you think he time-traveled?" Sakumo asked.
"Or you know, he could've gone to the bathroom and been in there for half an hour, crying or moping," Dalzen answered.
"Oh... that makes more sense," Sakumo agreed. "He prolly can't help it...with everything he's gone through, if I were him I'd struggle to keep strong myself."
"Well, you've been through something similar but you didn't lose anyone, you just lost your hope," Dalzen pointed out, then continued with a whisper, "You did...commit suicide...after all."
"Don't remind me," Sakumo sighed. "I really hate being reminded of that, Captain."
"Can't help it," Dalzen shrugged. "Anyways...I don't know how I would be in his shoes."
"You would struggle to stay strong too, don't lie," Sakumo grinned.
"I'm having a hard time keeping it together being here," Harou said.
"Well, that's not entirely surprising, no offense," Sakumo told him.
"None taken, I guess," Harou shrugged.
Dalzen shook his head slowly as Sakumo sighed. Sakumo unfolded the blanket laying on the back of the couch and draped it over Hiiragi's body. The heater wasn't working, so it would be getting colder by the time midnight rolled around.
"You're so kind to people, Sakumo," Dalzen remarked. "You, Kakashi, Taylor..."
"Someone has to," Sakumo said quietly. "After all he's been through? He needs someone, Sensei. He's almost like you. Uhm, well, back when you were...like seventy years younger at Kiri..but he's more emotional..."
Dalzen frowned, but nodded.
"We all should go back to bed," Harou said after an awkward pause.
"It's late," Sakumo agreed. "Night."
"Night..." And all three men headed off to their rooms.
...
Taylor wiped away tears as Coushander sat her down on the patient's bed to wait for a medic. He'd rolled up Taylor's pant leg earlier to check and at first he hadn't realized how badly she hurt herself, but when he looked at her again she was reaching towards her leg to touch what appeared to be a bump on her shin. She poked it and gave a whimper of pain. Coushander realized that it may not be just a bump—more like, that was a broken bone trying to poke out.
"Shit..." he whispered.
"Grandpa Kousa, why does my leg hurt?" she whined.
"D-Don't touch it!" Coushander swatted her hand.
"Why?"
"It's prolly a broken bone," Coushander crossed his arms.
Soon, a nurse came in and examined Taylor.
"What happened?" she asked.
"She fell off a horse," Coushander answered. "She landed right on her leg."
"It looks broken," she commented. "I'll take her to get an x-ray—"
"A what?" Coushander asked.
"An x-ray," the nurse repeated. "It helps to determine whether or not someone has a broken bone. Don't worry, it won't cause her any harm."
Taylor tried to stand up, but couldn't because her leg hurt. Lucky for her, she was small enough to be carried (but almost too big). The nurse scooped Taylor up and went to leave. Coushander wanted to come but the nurse turned to him and pointed at the waiting area.
"You may go wait for her out there," she ordered.
Coushander pouted. He really didn't want to be separated from his dearest great-granddaughter, but he had to let her go. Taylor reached over the nurse's shoulder to take Coushander's hand.
He reached and touched her hand with a reassuring smile, "It's okay, sweetie. She'll fix you right up in a few minutes, I'm sure."
"Half an hour if her leg really is broke," the nurse took off with Taylor and Coushander walked over to the waiting and sulked. Thirty minutes later, Dalzen was there with the boys.
"Coushander, where's Taylor?" Dalzen asked.
"Probably having her leg fixed," he answered. "It looked broken."
"Damn," Dalzen cursed.
"Maybe if she wasn't poking me, she wouldn't have fallen off," Kakashi grumbled to Coushander.
"Well, I can't help that she's six and you...look just like her father," Coushander grumbled at Kakashi.
"Keep a better eye on her!" Kakashi growled.
Dalzen bonked Kakashi on the head, "Shut up, Kakashi. Stop being a little shit!"
Kakashi covered his head where Dalzen hit him and Naruto looked at Kakashi.
"Man! I thought he was mean as an adult," Naruto exclaimed. "Geez, Sensei. Why are you so mean?"
"Well, Sakumo isn't mean," Coushander looked at Dalzen. "I'm sure he wouldn't have raised Kakashi that way."
"You're right," Dalzen agreed. "I wonder why Kakashi is mean."
"Didn't Sakumo commit suicide?" Cou asked.
"Yeah," Dalzen looked at Kakashi. "Maybe that's what made him act this way."
"Perhaps..." Cou looked over his shoulder and saw Taylor walking back with a limp and saw her leg was wrapped up in bandages. "Hm?"
"I was mostly able to heal her," the nurse told him. "But as you can see, her leg isn't fully healed. I want you to make sure she stays off her feet for as long as possible."
Taylor walked up to Coushander and took his hand.
"Grandpa, can we go home now?" she asked tiredly.
He smiled at her, "Of course, Taylor."
Dalzen looked at Coushander and then at the boys.
"Uh, Nidai has assigned both boys to you until they're returned home," he told his friend.
Coushander gave a dumb look, "What?"
"Nidai's orders, Coushander," Dalzen told him. "Good luck—"
"Hell no, I'm not looking over both of them alone!" Coushander protested.
"Get Kano to help," Dalzen frowned.
"Dalzen..." Cou protested again.
"Get Kano..." Dalzen repeated.
Taylor allowed Coushander to scoop her up again and he sighed at the two boys. "Alright, fine. Come with me, you two."
Dalzen reached over and messed up Taylor's already messy hair, "You be good, alright?"
"Mhm," Taylor nodded with a smile.
"Naruto, Kakashi...try not to kill each other!" Dalzen glared at the two of them, then glared at Coushander. "And don't let them kill each other."
"I won't, Dalzen," Coushander sighed. "C'mon boys. I suppose I have no other choice but to allow you both to stay with me."
"Is there a ramen shop here?" Naruto asked. "I really want ramen."
"Prolly..." Dalzen sighed.
"I can make some, Naruto-kun," Coushander gave an exasperated sigh. "Can we go now?"
"I guess," both Naruto and Kakashi sighed.
"Well, shall we?" Coushander led the way and Taylor sighed contently as Coushander held her. She absolutely loved to be held; it made her feel safe. She glanced over at the boy who would eventually be her father and wished he knew, or rather understood.
.
.