It's been a week since the ANBU exam and the deflection of Bailey. It seems only one new ANBU was recruited and he was placed on Deer's team. He wore a mask resembling a tiger but I doubt it is. Although, we call him Tiger now. I still can't believe she left. Her note was probably the heart stopper of the whole deflection. She had said that she wished I would die and that the next time she returns to Konoha she had better not see me. How could she say those things?
I lay on my bed staring up at my blank ceiling as I recounted the years I spent admiring her from afar. Sure, it makes me sound like a stalker, but can you blame me? The first time I met her was about a year or two before the massacre. She already showed signs of being a genius but it was overlooked by all but her mother and me. She and I would practice in secret from her parents, so we could surprise them when we graduated early.
One day, we even asked Itachi to tell us about what he had learned in the academy, but he didn't tell us. He just said, "You'll see," and left us to go on a mission with his team. After that, we actually went to a friend of my dad's named Kakashi. They had served in the ANBU Black Ops together and said if he was busy go to him.
From then on, Kakashi taught us all about the history of Konoha, the abilities that can be obtained by our skills. Bailey was special; she could do nearly all elemental jutsu, but Futon and some Raiton. I could only do Futon, Suiton, and a few Katon elemental jutsu. He taught us Taijutsu at a Genin level before moving on to Chunin when we could go on for hours in a spar. He taught us to even release a Genjutsu.
He had taught us all of that before the faithful night the Uchiha clan was murdered. I remember waking up in cold sweat that night and rushing into my parents room for cover. When they asked what the matter was, I replied, "Mommy, many people have died tonight." It was that night that I knew my clan powers had awakened.
The Takeo clan had a bloodline that should have long since ceased. No one had been born with it since the Nidaime Hokage still reigned. The bloodline was the ability to sense the time someone close to you is in a great deal of pain or someone has died that you knew. They can also see visions. They're like psychics Since the Takeo clan and the Uchiha clan had shared a friendly bond with each other and I had been over a great deal of times, it didn't surprise them that I could sense it. However, this bloodline is a curse because from that day forward, I felt every bit of Bailey's pain as if it were my own.
The day Bailey had gotten kidnapped I had been coming home from an ANBU mission, tired and completely drained, but when I had felt that wave of pain, I knew I had to help her. I put Dog in charge and rushed ahead of the group. They never questioned this for most actually knew who I was, but this time was the exception.
"Wolf-san, what happened to Bailey yesterday," Dog had asked me. I sighed. I usually ended up confining my secrets to him since he was my best friend though I didn't know who he was outside the ANBU. I had told him about Bailey's near kidnapping and just told me I was a love-struck fool. I didn't know until a week later, when she was in the hospital, that he was right.
Hours past of me laying there thinking of what to do now. I had the week off since Owl was training the new ANBU, Deer and Cat's teams had missions while Hawk and mine got the week off. Hawk and I had it easy. We didn't have identities to hide from Konoha since all we did was being taichou in the ANBU. Hawk was Ibiki and it was easy to see. Deer was Shikaku though he doesn't know I know. I still have no idea who Owl and Cat are, but with more years in the ANBU, I'll probably learn.
Suddenly, a messenger bird taped on my window. I opened the window and let the bird perch on my arm as I removed the letter from its leg. It was a letter from Tsunade telling me to meet her at her office in normal shinobi clothing. I threw on the normal Jounin garb and was out the door.
Inside her was office was Kakashi and another man with brown hair and black eyes. I bowed to her in respect as she entered the room, "Hello Mitchell, Kakashi and Yamato. I know it's your vacation, but I need you guys to check up on Bailey."
"You said she went rogue!" Kakashi growled out. I saw Yamato stare over at him in surprise as he visibly showed his anger. Tsunade raised a hand to silence him.
"For all you know, she is, but I need to know what she is doing. The base is hidden right outside of the east side of Amegakure. Infiltrate and find out what is going on. Only report to me and about Bailey only unless it is important," she said. "I chose you three because both Kakashi and Mitchell have strong ties to Bailey and Yamato you're track record is amazing as are the others, so I trust you. If you need to get out of there, send word and do what needs to be done."
"May I ask a question, Tsunade-sama?" Yamato asked. She nodded. "When do we leave?" I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. I thought he would say something else, something more violent.
"You may leave at anytime in the next twenty-four hours," she said. "Oh, and wear your ANBU uniforms just in case you are spotted. That is all. You are dismissed," she said waving us off. We bowed in sync and exited the room.
"We'll discuss the mission at Mitchell's," Kakashi said sternly. I led them to my home in the Takeo residence. My parents were in Suna attending a wedding for one of my aunts that was marrying one of their ninjas.
I unlocked the door to the small house and led them to my tidy bedroom. I lay down on my bed casually. Kakashi claimed my desk chair and Yamato sat on the floor. "First off, when do you want to leave?" Yamato started.
"As soon as possible," Kakashi and I stated together. He smirked in amusement. I looked toward my clock to see it was around three-o-clock. "Why not at dusk? We can use the darkness to shield us from enemies," I suggested sitting up.
"That would work, but I want to know who she is to both of you. I only know of her from stories," Yamato said. We both sighed and tears began to form in his visible eye, though he didn't let them spill.
"I've trained both her and Mitchell since they could walk. Her fathers looked past her abilities and focused on her brothers, so she came to me. After they died, I practically took the role as her father. She came to me when she had problems. She even called me…" he faltered at this. I didn't even know what he was going to say. "She even called me Otou-san." My eyes widened. I knew he held a special bond with her but calling him Otou-san was major.
Yamato turned to me. I took a deep breath and began. "I've known her since we were young practically since she was born. We were best friends until her teammates died…" I trailed off as I looked to the ground. "When they died, she went into a state of depression. She wouldn't leave her room for anything and when it ended… It was like she forgot who I was. I knocked on her door and when she answered it she asked me who I was. I was so shocked that I made up a complete lie about it. I'd walk by all the time but not once did she recognize me."
"He loves her, but-" I cut Kakashi off.
"Yes, I love her, but she kept her relationship with Satoru from me and for that, I feel I've lost her forever!" I yelled in anger. My voice softened, "I feel like she'll be lost from me forever."
"Well, let's go see what she's up to then, shall we?" Yamato smirked. We smiled at him and nodded. "Meet at the East ANBU exit at dusk." The other two disappeared and again I lay back on my bed. I still had around three hours until it set.
I took a shower and dressed in my ANBU uniform. Placing, my mask on my hip, I crossed over to my closet to begin packing up the few things I needed. All that really was in my pack on my belt were weapons and some sealing scrolls. I checked the time again. I still had another hour and half till sundown. For the rest of the time, I ate dinner and just stared off until space.
I placed my mask and disappeared to the ANBU base. I moved to the east exit and waited for Yamato and Kakashi. Kakashi, in his dog mask, actually beat Yamato here. It was surprising because not only that but he was on time too, actually early. Cat then came up to us and stood at attention. Yamato was the ANBU captain Cat.
Now that they both were here, we took off into the forest towards Amegakure. It was about a five hour journey there of we sprinted. After about two hours of running, I felt a wave of sorrow crash over me. I stopped at a tree as a vision slowly crept into my view.
I saw Itachi standing over a pale woman in a hospital bed. At closer inspection, I noticed it was Bailey. A blue man walked up behind Itachi and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Itachi stared up at him and it was then I caught sight of his eyes. They were full of tears. Never once had I seen him show such emotion. Itachi moved into the taller mans arms as he cried. The blue man hugged him and muttered sweet nothings in his ears. It was then that I was thrown back into my vision.
"What did you see?" Kakashi asked kneeling by me with a hand on my back. Apparently when I was viewing that, both men had come back to see what was wrong.
"I just learned two things. One is that Itachi is gay," I stated in bewilderment and I saw the same emotion pass across Kakashi's now un-ANBU-masked one. "Second, Bailey is in the hospital again." Kakashi replaced his mask and again we set off running, this time with more determination than ever.
It was deep into the night when we arrived at the Amegakure hospital. We had applied complex Henge over ourselves to look like three men we had passed while on the way. We asked a woman where her room was and were there within five minutes. We each took cover on one side of the door as Kakashi pushed it open. Inside the room was only Itachi still sitting beside her bed. He looked up at us emotionlessly.
"You're here for Bailey, aren't you?" he asked standing up and remaining passive. "Well I'm not going to let you have her. I finally got my sister back and I won't let that happen again." His Sharingan activated, but something was off. I could feel it. Kakashi took a protective stance in front of us, but I placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
I stepped forward, removing my mask, and kneeled down to a crouch. "We wish to bring no harm to her or you. We are here merely for inspection. She is a dear friend of ours and we wish to see if she was alright. We only want to see if she is in good hands," I spoke staring into his Sharingan unafraid. Both men behind me were tense, but soon joined me in a crouch, removing their masks.
"Who are you to her, then?" Itachi asked deactivation his kenkei genkai and moving back to the chair by her bedside.
"I am a boy that has been her friend since birth, though she doesn't remember it," I spoke. He could tell the truth in my words and thus turned to Kakashi.
"I am her mentor since an early age and I look at her and care for her as if she were my own daughter… as if I was her own father. I can not stand the fact she came here and I want no need to know why she's here," Kakashi said anger protruding from him in waves. Itachi nodded and turned to Yamato.
"I am a man, who did not know her, but cared for her well being. She is a fine shinobi that never knew when to quit. She is a comrade and as a comrade, I will not let her turn to the side of war," Yamato said. I could feel the truth behind his words as did Itachi and thus he relaxed at the slightest.
The room was silent as we all looked at the girl that held a dear place in all our hearts. "She was going through the initiation test to get in. She got to choose two people to fight. Instead of choosing someone she's already fought, she went out of her way to choose the leader and Tobi, the real leader," Itachi said looking straight at her calm face though his was still passive. His voice was soft, gentle, and the least bit frightening. "She defeated Tobi, but he was going easy on her, as if testing her skills. Then she fought Pein, our leader. All was going smoothly and she even began to wear him down when the Ookami acted up. I was able to stop the progression and bring the chakra back into the seal, but she's been unconscious ever since."
"Was there anything wrong with anything else, aside from the wounds she was given during the match?" Yamato asked.
"Her bones took on a twisted like form. It was disturbing and terrifying at the same time," his face went pale and a look of horror crossed it. "The doctors said that by now all but the bones in her arms legs have returned to normal and it's only been a week."
"Bailey did have an amazing recovery rate," Kakashi stated. "I have never heard of bones doing that and it hasn't happened before when she got to the ninth tail." Itachi's eyes widened.
"She's gotten to the ninth tail!" he exclaimed. I nodded.
"I fought it alongside our Hokage. It seemed to have repaired all damage as it gained another tail. The transformation takes a toll on the body and if you were to stop it, the body will have to heal the side effects on its own," I started. "This wouldn't be the first time she was rendered unconscious. It would be the third. I believe that the amount of chakra she is given puts too much strain on the body and thus when it is gone, it leaves her in a coma like state."
Again, silence engulfed the room and we ended up taking a seat on nearby chairs. Again, it was Itachi who broke it. "Thank you for taking care of her for all those years I was absent in her life. I know that Sasuke probably wasn't that much of a brother to her after my leaving and that at the death of Hizashi-sama Neji became a mean menace," he said. "Mind me for asking, but has she made ANBU yet?" Yamato and I frowned at the remembrance as Kakashi gave us questioning looks.
"She nearly made it," I stated and now I had two people staring at me in bewilderment. "She just had to pass the ANBU test like everyone else has to do every year to make sure you are still eligible to be in it. She was here during the test and thus failed. She'll have to go through the training again is she really wants the position." Itachi nodded in understanding as Kakashi sat back in shock.
"She never told me this," he said through parted lips. "I would've known if she did… When could she…" He kept rambling on and on about it without finished sentences.
"She probably didn't want you to worry," Yamato answered all his unasked questions. "And the ANBU training was during the Chunin Exams, during the third exam. I would know. I was one of the captains training them."
"Angel? Are you there?" a man's voice came from behind the door. Itachi's eyes widened as we snickered. A blue man entered the room and gaped at either us or Itachi. I can't tell which or maybe it was both. "Who the hell are you? Itachi why'd you let them in?"