Taylor

テイラー

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Chapter Thirty Seven
Believe In Myself

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Taylor cringed at her nausea every few minutes, willing it to go away. Her blood sugar had to be low: she was shaking and nauseous. She just needed something to eat. She groaned and sat up, summoning her owl. Weakly, she took the blood from her knuckles and used that to offer up as she slammed her hand down and summon Michiko, saying, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Her owl magically appeared and landed on Taylor's arm.

"Yes, Master?" she asked. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so hot."

Taylor shook her head, "I feel sick, I can't get out of here, I'm injured but I can't get decent food, which is prolly why I'm sick. I might be low on blood sugar. You think you could sneak something in for me? Preferably something with a lot of sugar and carbs...Ah! Sushi! Sushi is good. It has sugar in it because of the rice. You think you can sneak in sushi for me?"

"I sure can!" Michiko agreed. "I've got this. You won't have low blood sugar for very long. And if it's the only way I can help, I'll take it!"

Michiko disappeared, leaving Taylor to suffer a few minutes with her grandpa and uncle, and Harou's ghosts. But a sudden cold chill in the room told her that they sure as hell were not alone. She looked around.

"Grandpa?" she looked at Coushander. "Are there other ghosts here?"

"I think so," Coushander nodded.

"I think we may have company..." Taylor stood up weakly and walked to the cell door, pressing her face in between the bars to peek out. "Hello? Anyone there? It's okay to come talk to me, I don't bite!"

Coushander, Saru and Harou looked out too. After no response, Taylor looked down and turned, "I was sorta hoping it was Dalz—" She bumped into a ghost behind her and shocked, she looked up. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened with surprise. She was looking up at a man who looked like a mix of Dalzen and Ibiki. He had a few scars on his face and he had a strong jaw line, like Ibiki. He looked like Dalzen with his dark hair and his dark eyes, shaped just like Dalzen's too.

"Holy shit," she squeaked. Her trembling got worse and she struggled to speak up. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Coushander and she whispered, "Oh my gosh, he looks like Dalzen and Ibiki."

The man studied her with a stern face and Cou nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the man smiled softly at Taylor.

"You can...see me, can't you?" he asked.

Taylor swallowed hard and nodded, barely managing a "mhm". He had Dalzen's smile. When Dalzen actually smiled, at least to her it was always a kind and gentle smile. Her cheeks turned pink and the man kept the smile.

"How'd you wind up here? You're a Konoha shinobi from what I can tell, right?" he asked.

Taylor swallowed hard again, "My dad and I have apparently encountered Country 14 shinobi before and pissed them off."

"Oh really? Bout time someone pissed off these idiots," he grinned. "Good!"

"Who are you?" Taylor finally asked.

"Morino Korzenei," he responded. "You?"

"M-Morino?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah, why?" Korzenei asked.

"...You're related to...You're...Dalzen's dad, aren't you?" she asked.

Korzenei looked at her, "How do you know my son? He's gotta be dead at this point...right?"

"Dalzen Morino," Taylor said. "It's a complex story as to how I know him. Long and complicated."

"Shit, I've got all the time in the world to hear. You're what, 20? It'll make for an interesting story for a 20 year old to know a 100 year old."

"I'm 18!" Taylor squeaked. "Almost 19!"

"Sorry," Korzenei gave a light chuckle.

Taylor looked to the side, "Anyways, I'm Hatake Taylor..."

"Pleasure to meet ya, kid," Korzenei nodded. "Now, I'm curious...I really would like to know how you met Dalzen. It had to be something weird, right?"

"Yeah, it was weird for sure..." Taylor looked down and sat back down to relieve the pain. "I first met him when I was 12. There was a person who sent me into the past. Dalzen was...48? I think so, cause when he was sent into the future a few years later he was about 51. He and my great-grandpa—" she gestured at Coushander. "Were walking home and they saw me — I'd just got back from a battled and I had a bad cut on my arm and he noticed but I shrugged him off and then I got to what was then Grandpa Coushander's house, now my grandpa Sakumo's house and I passed out. He got me the help I needed after taking me inside. It was weird, but after I told them I didn't have a home to return to unless I was taken back into the future, Dalzen said he'd teach me genjutsu. So, he did."

Korzenei listened with intrigue, sitting down in front of her. Suddenly, Michiko returned with a bento filled with sushi.

"I'm sorry that this is all I can do for you, master, but eat up!" Michiko smiled, dropping the box into her lap. Korzenei looked surprised, but Michiko could not see him like Taylor could. Taylor looked startled herself. "I couldn't grab chopsticks, so you gotta eat with your hands."

"Er— that's fine, Michiko," she said, then realized she could help. "Actually, there is one more thing...my dad has Dalzen, Ibiki and Jiraiya on a team and they're headed this way. I don't know if they printed out my location on a map, so would you lead them here for me?"

"Oh yes! I sure can," Michiko smiled. "Hurry and eat though so I can get rid of the evidence."

"Right," Taylor nodded. She looked to Korzenei and smiled, "Sorry, I am dead hungry and I got my summon to grab something so I don't go comatose from low blood sugar."

"They still feed crap here? Sheesh, what animals," Korzenei shook his head. "Go on, eat up kid."

Taylor nodded and opened the bento and began eating the sushi. She look each piece out by hand and put it into her mouth. She chewed enough to swallow and then after swallowing, she ate the next piece. All until she finished, "Wow whoever you got this from is good at making sushi."

"Good! Now your blood sugar won't put you into a coma and your tummy won't hurt," Michiko smiled.

"Better not," Taylor grumbled. "The food should help some, thank you."

Michiko took up the bento and bowed, "I shall have your papa soon, Master."

"Thank you," Taylor bowed back. "I'll give you pure sugar later as thanks."

"Of course!" Michiko left. Taylor looked at Korzenei.

"Heheh! Sorry," she blushed. "I try not to ask such things of my owl summon but I was shaking badly from not eating."

"Of course," he nodded.

Taylor hugged her sides and sighed.

"If you can believe it, I really enjoy Dalzen being around," she admitted. "Being around him in the past and having him live with us in the future, I don't know... I just felt close to him for some reason. And when I went to my mother's family to learn more about this weird resurrection kekkei genkai I had, they suggested I try it out. Since I could see Dalzen's ghost and Cou and Saru's...Dalzen asked me to bring him back. I was shocked, but he could survive better in the future rather than my grandpa Cou and Uncle Saru. Plus...I think 3 alive generations of Hatake is enough for the world," Taylor giggled towards the end.

"So, you brought back Dalzen?" Korzenei asked.

Taylor nodded, "Mhm." She looked away, "But I noticed some changes in Dalzen's personality when he woke up from being dead..." Her gaze fell down. "I don't know, but he's been much more easy-going and I think he's even developed a sense of humor — I mean, that's definitely not a bad thing but...Maybe with age he just finally mellowed out."

"Perhaps so," Korzenei looked out of the jail cell.

Taylor looked too, "Why do they beat me up? Those guards?"

"They have a thing against the Fire Country and Konohagakure," Korzenei told her. "Why? Because...they took in refugees like Dalzen and his uncle. I guess that's perhaps why. They helped the resistance."

Taylor could almost picture a pre-teen Dalzen running off with his uncle while looking back to his house, maybe even crying for his dad and mom. He looked like he was terrified as he was running, holding his uncle's hand. Tears streamed down his face. She blinked and the mental picture disappeared mostly. Still, her heart had broke just picturing it.

"Did he cry when his uncle took him?" Taylor asked out of curiosity.

Korzenei nodded.

"Yeah, he was just a kid..." he nodded.

"Wow..." Taylor muttered.

Korzenei nodded, "You know the story."

"Yeah..." Taylor looked to the side.

"Hey, Mr. Morino!" Saru jumped up. Korzenei looked up. "Wanna know an embarrassing story that happened to your son and Taylor?"

"Uh, sure, I suppose."

"Saru, what are you—" Taylor watched.

"Two years ago, during Dalzen's stay here in the future, he'd gotten sick and—"

"Oh...NO! Saru!" Taylor squeaked. "Nooo oh my gods please don't go there, Saru."

Saru grinned, "Heh, well Taylor was giving him water because he was sweating profusely, and she wanted to help him out like the kind girl she is. He was sleeping and delirious, and when she told him she had water and was going to give it to him, he suddenly reached his hands up and—"

Taylor covered her face, "OH MY GOD HE'S GOING TO SAY IT."

"Dalzen pulled her face close to his...and, surprise! He kissed her!" Saru laughed. "And it lasted a whole five minutes too! I don't think I'd seen Taylor ever look so mortified but Dalzen was even more mortified than she was when she told him the next day. Now it takes a lot to embarrass Dalzen, so to see his face redder than an apple because he's embarrassed was the best thing I'd ever seen."

Taylor whimpered, "Saru! That was mean, bringing that up! How could you?"

"C'mon, he didn't get to see Dalzen grow up so I be he wants some stories."

"Did you have to bring that story up? What about something else?" Taylor groaned and gave an exasperated sigh. "You are just awful, Saru."

Korzenei gave a light laugh and a smile, "Guess being sick made him act out of character."

Taylor turned to face away with river tears streaming down her cheeks, "Yeah...it was kinda heartbreaking to see him like that though. He was so pitiful!"

"I bet it was," Korzenei nodded.

Taylor sighed and turned back. They continued to converse until help arrived.

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Dalzen looked up at the sky to judge the time. Hmm maybe about two in the afternoon? he thought. God, to think we're almost there! Geez, I hope Taylor is okay. He sighed and looked down. It wasn't but a few minutes later that when he looked up, there was a familiar barn owl swooping down from the sky. Kakashi looked up as well, "Eh?"

Ibiki and Jiraiya looked, "Are we under attack?!"

"No!" Kakashi smiled. "That's Taylor's summon, Michiko!"

"Michiko," Dalzen repeated. "She was able to summon her owl!"

"I think she didn't realize she could send Michiko to us," Kakashi held out his arm and Michiko landed. "Michiko! You here because of Taylor?"

The owl nodded, "Mhm."

"Is she okay?" Dalzen asked out of concern.

Michiko looked away from everyone, "When she summoned me, her hand looked busted up...she hadn't eaten in a day...and it appeared that she was in agony as well."

"We've gotta retrieve her," Dalzen looked at Kakashi.

"We need a plan," Ibiki said. "Someone needs to take Taylor and get her out so she doesn't get hurt while the rest of us fight."

"How about you, Dalzen?" Kakashi asked. "If we get attacked, and there's no doubt we will, Jiraiya and I are the strongest and Ibiki can give us more aid than you currently can."

"I would've offered anyways," Dalzen told him. "I feel like I'd only get in the way if I tried to fight alongside you guys."

"Oh don't say that, Dalzen," Kakashi said. "You just need to work more with ninjutsu with Ibiki and Taylor."

"C'mon guys!" Michiko got off of Kakashi's arm and flew ahead. "We need to go, Taylor's waiting!"

"Right!" Everyone began to follow the little owl to Taylor's location. As they ran, Dalzen did the transformation jutsu again back into Saru to escape being noticed as a Morino. No one would be worried about Ibiki, it was harder to tell. He could easily claim to be someone else, even with his face resembling Dalzen's father's face.

Dalzen remembered Taylor's location. He believed it was the same jail his parents were stuck in. She can see ghosts...Would that mean she could see them? he wondered in the confines of his head. Have they even moved on yet? I don't think I ever saw them while I was dead. Was it because maybe they were trapped because they had unfinished business with me? Perhaps. He scoffed at himself, Did they ever know I was dead?

Kakashi suddenly stopped walking and Michiko quickly perched herself in a nearby tree limb. Everyone stopped and looked.

"Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked.

Dalzen looked around quickly. What did Kakashi smell or sense? Dalzen's senses weren't as heightened as Kakashi's or Taylor's or even Sakumo's, so all he could do was look. Kakashi tensed and held out his arms.

"Guard dogs. Akitas," he said.

"Akitas?" Dalzen repeated. "Didn't Taylor get attacked by a rabid akita?"

"She did, didn't she?" Kakashi realized. "I think she would've crossed a bit of this territory when she was on her way to rescue me."

The dogs began walking towards them and Dalzen looked.

"Oh boy..." he breathed.

"Do not move," Kakashi warned, bringing his hands down to his sides to appear less threatening. "Try not to look threatening."

Everyone fell silent and motionless. They even breathed in so slowly that it was hard to tell that they were actually alive. Dalzen watched them uneasily. Those things had attacked Taylor and nearly ripped her hand off. They looked big enough to actually take down him and Ibiki without a problem.

Dalzen tensed. He shouldn't feel so nervous, after all he's a shinobi and 6'5", he could take down those dogs easily but it still made him nervous. Maybe it was because he'd watched Taylor almost get mauled by one. She still had the scars, along with all the scars on her back and some on her torso too. She still had a lot of scars. To take his mind away from the fear, he remembered him asking Taylor why she didn't try to get the scars healed by her grandparents.

Taylor had looked at her bandaged hand and rubbed it nervously.

"Because...scars are what makes a person," she'd told him, looking up and then smiling. "Each scar has a story and tells it to a person— well, sorta. I mean, the ones on my hands are obviously from a rabid akita. I still have a whipping scar on my back from the Chuunin exams. You ever notice the scar on my dad's left eye?" She traced it over her own eye. "Some jackass cut his eye open with a kunai in a fight, and later his friend was crushed to death with a boulder and one side was okay so their medic did something and gave my dad their friend's eye. That friend was an Uchiha with his sharingan activated, so that's why my dad has sharingan." She paused and smiled, "We're all stories in the end, just make it a good one, eh?"

Because scars are what makes a person, Dalzen remembered. Such wise words from a kid. She didn't want to get rid of them because they were part of her story. He smiled at her last sentence, We're all stories in the end, just make it a good one, eh?

"Just make it a good one..." Dalzen muttered in a barely audible whisper.

Kakashi looked at Dalzen, and just as soon as he did the dogs began to attack.

"Shit!" All four tried to dodge but they couldn't. That's when Dalzen decided to take action to defend everyone, and he began to attack the dogs head on. He hit one dog right in the snout and made that one back off. Another he kicked in the chest as he tried to stand up.

"Ojiisan!" Ibiki exclaimed. "Are you insane? No one messes with akitas!"

Dalzen hit another dog in the snout and then said, "No, just another lunatic who wants to make sure we get away from these—" A dog jumped up and pushed Dalzen over, then pinning him down. Dalzen raised a hand to the dog and blocked his face. Go ahead, bite me.

"What are you doing, Dalzen?" Kakashi asked.

"Just watch!" Dalzen allowed the dog to bite down on his hand, taking him out of the transformation but the dog didn't notice. Dalzen winced, but now the dog had his hand in his mouth.

"Burning hand jutsu!" Dalzen exclaimed, his hands bursting into flame in the dog's mouth. The dog quickly let go and whimpered, the inside of his mouth already burnt to a crisp. Dalzen sat up, gingerly touching his hand. "Ha! It worked."

"Oh...holy crap," Ibiki muttered.

"You know, I never would've thought to do that," Kakashi admitted. "Good thinking."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Dalzen rose to his feet and glared at the dogs. "Alright, anyone else wanna end up like your buddy over there?"

The dogs looked at each other and dashed away.

"That's what I thought," Dalzen gave a satisfied nod.

"Dalzen?" Jiraiya looked over the bites uneasily. "You need to wrap that up."

Dalzen looked at his hand, bleeding profusely from the puncture marks. He tried to clench his hand but he couldn't without inducing a ton of pain. Kakashi pulled off his backpack and pulled out a bandage.

"Here, I'll help," Kakashi said.

"Shouldn't we disinfect that?" Ibiki asked.

"Not enough time," Kakashi said.

"What if we went into a store and grabbed peroxide and just dump it all over his hands?" Jiraiya suggested.

"That's easy and quick," Dalzen agreed.

They looked to Michiko, who nodded, "Master would gladly wait for Dalzen."

"Well then, let's find the closest store and get a bottle of peroxide," Ibiki said.

"Yeah," Dalzen nodded.

"Wait, what about your transformation jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll be fine," Dalzen sighed. "I don't think I can keep up with the transformation at the moment."

"Let's just go," Jiraiya suggested. "We don't have time."

Everyone nodded and headed to the closest village, also the same place the prison Taylor was in was located.

"This is the same place that the jail Taylor is stuck in is," Michiko realized.

Dalzen looked around and gasped, "And the same place...I was born in..."

"Really?" Ibiki asked in curiosity.

"Yep," Dalzen closed his eyes and hoped no one was old enough to remember him.

So far, no one noticed him. He stayed close to Ibiki to try and keep it that way. When they got to the store, Kakashi and Jiraiya went inside and Ibiki and Dalzen hung around behind the store to avoid being seen and noticed. Dalzen sighed heavily.

"This place makes me nervous," he admitted.

"I can imagine," Ibiki agreed. "I mean, everything that happened here when you were just a kid?"

"Exactly," Dalzen nodded. "I mean...people were killed every day. This is where I learned genjutsu to protect myself. Shit, I'd almost been killed once or twice myself. Numerous times my parents were attacked and nearly been killed too. There was vandalism sometimes and arson was pretty common. Muggings. It was chaos, definitely not a place for children." He paused, "...Or Taylor."

"Definitely no place Taylor should be," Ibiki agreed.

"I know she's a strong girl, I know she can protect herself but..." Dalzen sighed. "She is a highly sensitive and empathetic person, if she saw anything from the time back then, she wouldn't be able to stop from crying, I don't think... I don't think she could stop from crying."

"She's a bit overemotional," Ibiki agreed. "But I think that's what makes Taylor well...Taylor. It gives her something a lot of shinobi lack: empathy."

"She's got plenty of that," Dalzen nodded.

"There should be more shinobi like her," Ibiki grinned.

"Mm..." Dalzen turned when he heard footsteps.

"Alright, roll up your sleeve, Dalzen," Kakashi grinned.

"Oh boy," Dalzen rolled his sleeve up and held out his right hand, which sorta felt like it was throbbing and it seemed swollen.

"Geez," Kakashi muttered. "That dog really got you, huh?" He twisted the cap off the brown bottle and took Dalzen's hand.

"I go the dog back though," Dalzen gave a wry grin. "He's more hurt than I am."

"This is prolly gonna sting, I won't lie," Kakashi raised the bottle and tipped it, pouring the peroxide on his friend's hand.

"It prolly won't— OH! Shit!" he breathed in sharply.

Kakashi finished pouring the small bottle of peroxide on Dalzen's bite-mark wounds and Jiraiya took a cloth and dried the peroxide, then wrapped up Dalzen's hand with a bandage.

"Son of a —" Dalzen sighed. "I can't believe how much that hurt!"

"Yeah, this stuff burns," Kakashi agreed.

"Which is worse; washing out a wound with boiling salt water or peroxide?" Ibiki wondered.

"I think salt water doesn't burn as much," Jiraiya admitted.

"Yeah, I think peroxide is much worse," Dalzen agreed.

"It is awful," Kakashi threw the empty bottle in a nearby trashcan. "C'mon, we need to hurry!"

Michiko nodded and they followed the little owl to the Country 14 prison. It was a bit of a walk, and they only walked so they could avoid suspicion, but when they got there, they hid behind a bush and began planning.

"Dalzen," Kakashi started. "Ji, Ibiki and I are going to go on in. Michiko, I want you to take Dalzen directly to Taylor when we get the guards distracted. Dalzen, get Taylor out as soon as you can and just run. Keep going until you are out of the country."

"I don't think this will be that easy," Dalzen said.

"Okay, that's the best scenario," Kakashi sighed.

"Worst case?" Jiraiya asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi said. "I just want her out of here."

"I'll do everything I can to get her out of here but I make no guarantees," Dalzen promised.

"Of course," Kakashi nodded. "Alright, Jiraiya-Sama...Ibiki...Let's go!"

"Right," Jiraiya and Ibiki stood up with Kakashi and they walked in through the side door. Dalzen watched quietly.

Kakashi, Ibiki and Jiraiya entered the building and they scanned their surroundings. Kakashi sniffed the air, trying to catch their possible attacker's scents. everyone paused and watched as Kakashi pointed towards the scent.

"Down there," he pointed. He then turned towards Michiko and nodded. "Get Dalzen."

"Of course," Michiko turned and disappeared to get Dalzen.

"Let's go," Kakashi told Ji and Ibiki. "Distract them!"

"Of course," they agreed.

All three turned and went down the hall with the guards. As soon as the guards spotted them, the fight broke out. Dalzen slipped into the building unnoticed and followed Michiko through the corridors towards Taylor's cell.

"She's just down here— Shoot!" Michiko hid behind a wall. "Quick! Hide!"

Dalzen quickly hid and then peeked out from the corner, trying to see. He saw turquoise hair and an old, tattered Country 14 uniform.

"Shit," he whispered. "That's the same guy from a few months ago. They were behind this, weren't they?" He watched nervously. "I wonder what he's doing here..."

"Dunno," Michiko whispered back.

Ishimaki approached a cell and stared Taylor down. Her body tensed, Oh no, he heard me talking to Korzenei and Saru and Cou and Harou...

"Who were you just talking to?" he asked.

"N-No one!" Taylor exclaimed. "You can tell, there's no one here."

That sounds like Taylor, Dalzen realized. Oh no, I can't see her from here...

Ishimaki opened the door and walked in. Dalzen listened as Taylor screamed in agony and Ishimaki scold her harshly.

"I know you had someone in here!" he yelled. "And by God, it smells like sushi in here! How did you get sushi in here?"

"Dude, my friends are just ghosts, they can't help me out of here!" Taylor touched her side. "Stop beating on me, it's really getting old.

"What, are you upset you can't defend yourself? You're in too much pain to defend yourself, what makes you think I will stop?! I can do whatever I'd like," Ishimaki mocked.

Taylor growled and swiped her hand at Ishimaki, "Cut it out, jerk-face. I'm far stronger than you think I am."

"Oh shut up little brat, you can't beat me," Ishimaki mocked.

Taylor put her hands together and created a lightning cloud in between both hands. "You wanna bet on that? Come on. Let's see how much of a man you are after I'm done with you!"

Ishimaki put a hand on her hand and with one push, he knocked her back into the wall.

"There, my point has been made," he dusted himself off.

"Do you..." Taylor groaned. "get off on...beating up women?"

"I hurt everyone who comes through here, you're not alone," Ishimaki grinned.

"So you're what...a sadist?" Taylor asked.

"Hm, yeah you could say that," Ishimaki smiled. "I do enjoy seeing people in pain, especially bad little girls like you!"

"I'm not little," Taylor grumbled.

"Anyways, I shall be on my way," Ishimaki left the cell, and locked it. "Stay there and be a good child."

Dalzen heard Taylor growl angrily at Ishimaki as the man turned to leave. He faced in Dalzen's direction, which made Dalzen flatten himself against the wall and try to appear as unnoticeable as possible. Dalzen listened as Ishimaki's footsteps approached and then soon disappeared, going quiet and then silent. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned and looked both ways before running over to Taylor's cell. Coast is clear.

Dalzen and Michiko rushed down the hall towards Taylor's cell and when they got there, they both saw her lying on the floor, writhing in pain. Saru looked up with Cou and Harou, "Dalzen?"

Korzenei looked and was shocked to see Dalzen.

"Holy crap!"

Taylor looked up at Dalzen and gasped, "Uncle Dalzen! Oh my gosh..."

"Sh!" Dalzen put his index finger to his mouth. "I don't want to get noticed...well...shit, I guess I have no choice but I'm trying to get you out of here as fast as I can. But first," he took off his backpack and dug through and pulled out her clothes. "I want you to change clothes. Running in that is not going to do you any good."

"A-Ah..." She looked at the five men in her cell not including Dalzen, "Uh..."

The five ghosts all just walked out and gave Taylor the comfort of knowing they weren't going to watch her. She looked at Dalzen.

"I'm going to turn around," Dalzen promised.

Taylor took her clothes reluctantly. He had gathered her uniform! Why did he bring her the uniform?

"Thank you..." she inclined her head and then Dalzen turned around and looked both ways, making sure no one was coming. Taylor took off Dalzen's trench coat and gave it to him. "Dalzen, your jacket?"

"Oh, yeah." Dalzen took his jacket and slipped into it. "I have yours."

"Okay," Taylor started undressing and slipping into her uniform. When she took off her shirt, she looked down and realized how bruised up she was. Her ribs were black and blue and so was her abdomen. "Oh my..."

"What?" Dalzen asked, refusing to look.

"My ribs and abdomen are really bruised up," Taylor pulled her clean shirt over her head and held it over her chest. "Look. I have a shirt covering the top half of me so you can look."

Dalzen turned his head to look, "Holy— whoa! What the hell happened, Taylor?"

Taylor pulled the shirt completely over, "...Ishimaki kept beating me. It's like every time I go to fight back something happens and I can't defend myself and he's beating the shit out of me..."

"My god, I need to take you to a hospital and have someone look at you. Hurry up, Taylor," Dalzen said.

"Okay..." Taylor watched as he turned back and she changed into her pants. She put on her vest and her Intel jacket overtop of everything and she stood up, handing Dalzen her clothes. "So how do you intend to get me out of this place?"

Dalzen stood up and with his good hand, he tested the metal to see if he could pull it apart. Nope, not really.

"I'll break the floor with rocks, that'll surely bust open the doors," he decided.

"Are you sure that won't attract attention?" Taylor asked.

"Right now, I want to get you out of here," Dalzen did a few hand signs. "Alright, move so I don't hurt you."

She groaned and moved to the side of the cell, covering her face with her arms just in case there is shrapnel. Dalzen slammed his hands into the ground and kicked up rock and earth, which in turn busted the door open. There was dust, and Dalzen and Taylor both began coughing. Once the dust cleared, Dalzen walked in and grabbed Taylor by her arms.

"Can you get up?" he asked.

Taylor stood up slowly, "I'll need help walking but yeah."

"All right," Dalzen put his arm on her back and led her out of the cell as fast as he could.

There were apparently more guards than the ones Kakashi and Ibiki and Jiraiya were fighting, because there were guards running towards them from the way they were originally headed.

"Shit," Dalzen turned to the other side "Alright, we're gonna make a run for it, Taylor."

"Uh, sure we are," Taylor pointed out more guards heading their way.

"Oh...shit..." Dalzen put his hand on Taylor's other shoulder and he held her close. "This isn't going to end well..."

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