Taylor

テイラー

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Chapter Twenty Two
She's Carbon Made

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Sakumo finally woke up at around 8:30 in the evening. Just before Ibiki and Inoichi were gonna leave for the night. He opened his eyes, then looked to the ceiling. It was odd, he wasn't home. He inhaled deeply as he realized he was in the hospital. His body felt heavy and hurt. He must've used up more than enough of his chakra. Sakumo knew he shouldn't have used the jutsu, but he did it in defense of Taylor. He was glad to do it.

Sakumo tried to sit up. It hurt, so he laid back down before Tsunade could come in and scold Sakumo like a puppy who wasn't house-trained.

There was a knock and then the door opened. It was Tsunade, and she was holding a clipboard. She looked at him and saw his eyes open. He was finally awake.

She smiled, "Ibiki and Inoichi will be glad to know you're awake.

"Huh?" Sakumo looked at Tsunade. "They're here?"

"Yes. They stayed so they would know if you'd be okay, and then hoped you'd wake up soon, and you did."

Sakumo rubbed his face tiredly, "Are they okay?"

"Yeah," Tsunade nodded. "But you were reckless, Sakumo."

"Yeah, I realize that now," Sakumo grumbled. "I remember what happened. I was just thinking that same thing myself."

"That's good," Tsunade nodded.

"Is Taylor back with Kakashi yet?" Sakumo asked.

"No, not yet," Tsunade replied.

"Oh."

"I'll go tell Ibiki and Inoichi that you're awake now in case they want to talk."

Sakumo nodded, "Of course."

Tsunade bowed and left, leaving Sakumo to cross his arms over his chest. Damn it, he thought. I hope Taylor and Kakashi are okay.

A few moments later, Ibiki and Inoichi came into the room with Tsunade.

"Y'all got five minutes," she warned.

"Yes, ma'am," Ibiki nodded.

Tsunade stood outside and watched. Ibiki and Inoichi walked over to Sakumo and stood over him.

"You're lucky you didn't run out of chakra," Ibiki grumbled.

"Save it, Ibiki," Sakumo held up his hand and waved him off. "I know that already."

"I say you did a good job defending Taylor-Chan," Inoichi smiled. "Reckless, but you got your point across."

"I sure hope I got my point across," Sakumo said. "For Taylor's sake." He paused, "And Kakashi's too. Man, I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they are," Ibiki said. He gave Sakumo a smile, "After all, they are your flesh and blood."

"Yeah, you're right," Sakumo agreed. "But, it doesn't stop me from worrying."

"I understand," Inoichi nodded. "Ibiki on the other hand prolly doesn't get it."

"Hey!" Ibiki flashed him a glare. "I sorta understand.

Sakumo chuckled weakly.

"You protected and defended both Kakashi and Taylor, and that's a very honorable action, Sakumo," Inoichi said.

"Yeah," Ibiki nodded.

"I'm glad I could protect them," Sakumo smiled wryly.

"I'm sure they'll be happy to know you did everything you could to protect them," Ibiki told him.

"For now, you need to rest," came Tsunade's voice. "You two, time's up. Visiting hours are over."

"Aw," Sakumo grinned. "Take away the fun why don't you, Lady Tsunade."

"We should be getting back anyhow," Inoichi said. "We'll see you later, Sakumo-Sama."

"Alright..." Sakumo nodded.

Ibiki and Inoichi both bowed and left the room. Tsunade walked in with some freshly made miso and udon noodles.

"Eat and get your strength back up," she ordered.

"Of course."

"I'll bring you a glass of water in a moment," she added.

Sakumo nodded.

"I give you two days in the hospital. The second day is just to be safe, then you can go home."

"Alright. Thank you," Sakumo smiled.

Tsunade went to leave the room but paused in the doorway.

"You did what was right, Sakumo," she told him.

"I know."

"I'm proud of you, and I'm sure Jiraiya will be proud of his big brother."

Sakumo nodded and Tsunade left to get him water. After that, she left and Sakumo finished eating and fell back asleep.

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Taylor woke up before Kakashi the following morning and she stepped out of their room wearing her uncle Saru's vest, since the modern one she had was torn to shreds and dirty from being worn for six days straight. She stepped outside and sat down with a pencil and a sheet of paper to write to Sakumo. It was barely light out so Taylor lit a lantern and quietly wrote by the lantern's light.

She wrote down on the paper:

Ohayo gozaimasu, Ojiisan. At least it's morning while I'm writing this. We're safe, Grandpa. Daddy and I are safe now. I may be emotionally scarred for awhile, but I'm fine. I think Daddy's fine, but he feels as if he wasn't a good father to me but he was and still is. Other than that, he's fine I think...

Daddy and I are headed north-east in the Earth Country to talk to my other grandparents since I want to learn more about the kekkei genkai. After that, we're going to relax and take a few weeks off, and I am hoping you could come join us. There's a train that heads that way, it's much quicker. If you are coming, tell Michiko and she'll come back to tell us and we'll go to the train station to wait for you.

I hope you come, Ojiisan! We all deserve a vacation: you, me and Daddy.

With love,

Taylor.

She sealed the letter and quickly summoned Michiko. The beautiful barn owl appeared from a cloud of dust and perched herself on the edge of the deck.

"You called, master?"

"Could you take this letter to my grandpa, Sakumo? He may be home or elsewhere," Taylor whispered her command.

"Of course, master," Michiko took the letter from Taylor.

Taylor looked down, "You don't have to call me master."

"Are you okay?" Michiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Taylor nodded.

"Okay," Michiko fluttered her elegant wings and left again in a cloud of dust.

Taylor was alone again. Should she try to go back and cuddle back up under the covers with her father? Or should she watch the sun rise? The sky was slowly turning purple, yet it was still dark out.

Suddenly, she saw a ghostly figure. No, two. Wait...four! One was almost her height, another was a few inches taller than the first ghost, then another one who was six foot exactly, and the last ghost was the tallest out of them all, standing at 6'5". For a moment, she wasn't sure who they were. Then, she noticed each of their defining features. One had short, white hair with red stripes pointing back to his hairline, the only woman in the group had long, jet black hair, the man standing beside her had long, silver hair tied back like hers and he wore an old, tattered kimono, and the last man, the tallest one, had jaw-length, jet-black hair.

She knew all four of them. Taylor gasped and covered her mouth in surprise.

"Saru! Kano!" she looked at them to make sure she was seeing things right. "Dalzen-Sensei and Coushanader!"

Everyone smiled at her. It'd been awhile since they all saw her. Well, they actually were watching her but they hadn't been up close in a long time, and talk to her either. Taylor stood up and dashed over to her friends and hugged them. She hugged them and they returned her hug. Coushander held her the tightest. Though they were all ghosts, everyone had a comforting warmth, as though they were alive. Taylor could feel the cotton of Coushander's kimono against her cheek and his comforting hand gently clasped on her tiny shoulder.

"Oh my goodness, what are all of you doing here?" she asked. "I thought everyone had moved on!"

"We came back when your older brother died," Kano said.

"You needed the comfort," Saru told her.

"Yeah, from all of us," Dalzen said.

"I especially had to come back for you," Coushander hugged her.

Taylor remembered why, "...Because of Uncle Saru."

Coushander nodded.

"Basically, we're telling you to not end like your grandfather here," Dalzen told Taylor.

"I wasn't close enough to Mitsuho to end up like Grandpa," Taylor giggled in a broken voice. "But even then, I still have Grandpa Sakumo and my daddy."

"That's good," Dalzen nodded. "Keep them close, Taylor-Chan."

"I will," she promised.

"Do you want us to stay with you for awhile?" Saru asked.

"Don't any of you have better things to do in the heaven place?" she asked. "I mean, I do want you all to stay and cheer me on, but you all had moved on."

"Yeah, but we're back by the goddess's grace," Coushander told Taylor. "To make sure you're okay and comforted."

"Especially since Dalzen thought he'd never be able to repay you for making Teal accept why he did what he did," Saru teased.

Dalzen crossed his arms and looked down at Saru, "Shut up, Monkey-Brain."

"Psh, you so enjoy it," Saru grinned.

"Shush," Dalzen rolled his eyes at his friend.

Taylor giggled a little, then began sobbing softly. Everyone awed and hugged her.

"Everything is gonna be okay," Kano promised her step-great-granddaughter.

"I understand your feelings," Coushander sympathized with Taylor.

"Come on, don't cry," Dalzen groaned. "You'll make everyone else cry."

"Including you," Saru teased.

Dalzen wiped a tear from his face, "Nothing to see here. Just a speck of dust in my eye..."

"You've grown so soft, Dalzen," Saru grinned. "Who knew that could ever happen?"

"Shut up," Dalzen crossed his arms and looked away.

Taylor hugged Coushander tightly.

"Thank you guys for coming down to make me feel better," she thanked her friends.

"We care," Kano put her arm around Taylor in a motherly-fashion that was comforting. Of course, she was a mother. In fact, she was the mother of Jiraiya. Poor Kano, she still didn't know her son was a super-pervert. Maybe it was best not to tell her.

Taylor clutched Coushander's warm kimono and trembled a little. Then, she heard Kakashi's footsteps and jumped when she heard his voice.

"Teirā-chan?" his low and quiet voice was filled with concern. "Taylor, are you okay?"

She looked at Kakashi, her face red from crying.

"I-I'm fine," she said with a smile.

"What are you doing out here so early in the morning?" he asked.

"I-I had wrote Grandpa a letter, telling him what we were doing and telling him to come up here by train," Taylor explained.

"But...you were crying just a few moments ago."

"Yeah..." Taylor shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you I see Coushander, Dalzen, Saru and Kano right now?"

"Huh?" Kakashi looked surprised. "Really?"

"Y-Yeah..." Taylor nodded. "You know I don't lie."

"Wow...uhm..." Kakashi couldn't find any words to say.

"You don't have to make a response, Daddy," she smiled.

"W-Well...uhmm..." Kakashi put his hand on her back. "Lets get back inside so we can leave."

"Right..." Taylor nodded, then gestured at her friends to follow them. They took the invitation and followed them inside.

Taylor gathered her things when she was inside.

"How're you feeling?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm as okay as I'll ever be," Taylor sighed. "I kind of wish I was twelve again. I would continue to be unaware Setsuna was actually alive, I wouldn't know my brother...I would be stuck in the past with Coushander..."

"You'd rather be there?" Kakashi asked. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah..." Taylor nodded, then looked down. "At least I didn't have to constantly remind myself that my mother hurt us..."

She remembered herself as she told Coushander that her mother was dead with a deadpan. No expression. It was as if she was never affected by it, and that she didn't mind it. Back then, it was truth to her. She had no evidence to contradict that truth. Not at that time, anyway. In her mind, she had no brother. She had no 'kekkei genkai'. She was just Kakashi's daughter: strong, intelligent, smart, quiet, kind and loving.

If only she could be that Taylor again. She missed it.

"Back then...I didn't have too much to worry about," she answered truthfully. "I mean, back in that time I had to worry about screwing up the timeline...but I wasn't watching my back."

"Hm..." Kakashi nodded. "I see, I understand what you're trying to tell me. I think..."

"For once," Taylor joked.

Kakashi smiled warmly at her, "Yes, for once I understand you." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Good, I'm glad," Taylor smiled.

Coushander watched them, then he sighed.

"I feel awful that she went through such a...terrible thing," he said.

"Yeah, no one will entirely understand her feelings," Saru said. "Not even Sakumo could ever truly understand. He wasn't lied to for 18 years like she was, thinking her mother was dead..."

"Strangely enough, I feel bad for her," Dalzen said with sympathy.

"You're just becoming soft, Dalzen," Saru grinned.

"Shut up, Saru!" Dalzen slapped the back of his head.

Coushander leaned towards Dalzen's ear and said, "You've been around Taylor too much. She usually does that."

Dalzen brought his hand back quickly.

"I uh..."

Saru grinned, "I guess she impacted us all in her own way."

"Yeah."

They all fell silent as Taylor slung her bag over her shoulders and punched Kakashi's arm.

"You're gonna need a new backpack and a change of clothes," she told him.

"Good thing I have my wallet still, somehow," he smiled.

"Let's go. Perhaps we can catch a train too," Taylor suggested.

Kakashi put his arm around her shoulders.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he walked out with her.

"Do we follow?" Coushander asked.

"I guess so," Saru said.

"Let's go then, Coushander suggested.

They all nodded and followed Taylor and Kakashi out of the inn.

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Sakumo woke up to a bird scratching the window in his hospital room. He opened his eyes and moved his head to look out the window. That was no ordinary bird, that was Taylor's summon, Michiko. He sat up slowly and rose to his feet. He stumbled over to the window and opened it for Michiko.

"Michiko," he muttered in surprise.

"Sakumo-Sama, message from Taylor-Chan," Michiko told him.

"From Taylor?" he took the letter from under her feet. "Is she okay?"

Michiko nodded, "She and Kakashi both made it out alive. Her brother, unfortunately didn't."

"Oh..." Sakumo looked down. "Thank you."

"Of course," Michiko smiled. "Read it."

"Alright..." He opened the neatly-folded paper and read it. After a few moments of reading, he smiled and nodded.

"I'm coming then," he said. "I can't disappoint her."

"Going where, Sakumo?" came Lady Tsunade's voice.

He turned his head and looked. The Hokage didn't appear to be all that thrilled to see Sakumo standing up.

"L-Lady Tsunade..." Sakumo chuckled wryly.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To see Taylor and Kakashi in the eastern Land of the Earth," he said. "She's going to see her grandparents on her mom's side and also take a vacation. Oh please, Lady Tsunade, I must go. I can't let Taylor down. We haven't had an actual vacation in a few years."

"Sakumo, you're injured."

"I can take Ibiki with me if I have to," Sakumo offered.

"Sakumo," Tsunade frowned.

"Please? I'll be riding a train and Ibiki can accompany me there to make sure I'm okay, then Kakashi and Taylor will take me to Setsuna's village and they are healers there, so they can make sure I'm healthy," Sakumo pleaded.

Tsunade sighed in defeat, "Fine, Sakumo. I'll get you a pair of crutches and get Ibiki to take you. You stay here for now."

"Thank you!" he thanked.

Tsunade sighed and left. Sakumo turned to tell Michiko, only to find her gone. Already? He shrugged, then walked back to his bed and sat down.

He was finally going to see Kakashi and Taylor again. Finally!

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Kakashi bought a new set of clothes while Taylor watched from outside the store. Her ghostly specters were chatting amongst themselves, allowing Taylor to be quiet.

"Did you see when she did the transformation to look like you?" Saru laughed as he looked at Dalzen.

Dalzen looked down and his cheeks turned a pale pink, "Shut up. Don't remind me, Monkey."

Saru grinned, "It was so funny though!"

"No it was not!" Dalzen shook his head.

"It so was," Saru grinned.

"She didn't do me justice personality-wise," Dalzen frowned.

"I can see why she did it though," Coushander said. "It did work long enough to create a distraction, and she could hold Kakashi up too that way."

"But it wasn't funny," Dalzen said.

"Well..." Coushander smiled. "Maybe a little."

"It was definitely funny," Saru grinned.

"You two are ganging up on me..." Dalzen hung his head.

Kakashi came out of the store in just an indigo shirt, pants and even a mask.

"Well," he said. "You ready?"

Taylor was about to nod when Michiko swooped down in front of her.

"Sakumo-Sama will be heading to the Konoha train-station in about an hour!" she exclaimed.

Taylor jumped back, "Geez Michiko! Don't scare me like that."

"Gomen."

Kakashi smiled, "So, my father is on his way?"

"Yeah," Michiko said.

"Okay," Kakashi put his arm over Taylor's shoulders. "I suppose we can wait."

"Yeah," Taylor said. "I was worried about him. He better be okay though. I missed him!"

"Let's find the train station to wait for Grandpa," he said.

"No, he's going up to the stop in Eastern Earth, so let's head there first," Taylor said. "Then wait on Grandpa."

"Oh, right. Good idea," Kakashi agreed. "Let's go do that instead.

"Yeah!" Taylor smiled. "Ikou! Ikou!"

Kakashi chuckled and allowed her to lead him forward.

Taylor always managed to get him to smile.

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