A/N: So, I feel like I need to explain my thoughts on Takeda's powers before I go on any further:
-Before Kenshi tapped into his ability during their training, he had no clue he could read minds. To me, that says that once Kenshi opened the floodgates, Takeda probably had a REALLY rough time STOPPING the flood at first - that is, his undisciplined mind was scanning and picking up thoughts left and right. He couldn't stop it or sort through them. He couldn't control when he searched someone's mind or when their thoughts were just open for him to read and it was like a perpetual sensory overload.
That being said, he probably learned how to build a wall around his own mind - that way, he wasn't randomly scanning or picking up readings anymore. Nothing coming in without his control, and he wasn't scanning unless he wanted to. Lack of focus makes the wall weak and occasionally he'll pick something up he stumbles upon by default, but for the most part that's what goes on.
From Takeda's experience, the hardest part of talking to General Blade was finding the woman.
He supposed he understood - she had a really, really important job to do as General of Special Forces. She had to be constantly on the move, always handing out orders and missions, managing the refugees and the camp, yada yada. And maybe he was being a little bit of a brat, expecting her to drop everything just for him and Jacqui. Yeah, he understood, but he didn't have to like it. All he really wanted to see if she heard from Kenshi. And wandering aimlessly through the camp searching for a woman who was never in the same place for more than three minutes at a time was driving him crazy.
"Okay, not here. Maybe she's in the recon tent?" Cassie offered. She'd been repeating the same sentence over and over, just switching out places at the end. He was really sick of it. Whether he realized it or not the anticipation was building for finding out Kenshi and Jax's whereabouts. There was nothing to suggest they were in trouble, but hearing nothing to the contrary wasn't reassuring at all.
"What's wrong?" Jacqui suddenly thought, projecting it for him to read.
"Hm? Nothing," he tried to assure her.
All she did was lift an eyebrow skeptically. She knew. He'd never slip anything past her. "I can practically hear you fuming in there."
He sighed. "This is a waste of time. It's lot of trouble for a small tidbit of information she may not even give us. And, I won't lie. I am a little bit worried now."
"Me too. I've been thinking about it all day. As hard as I try I can't stop thinking that the worst could always happen. We never know."
"Right. We never know. I'm starting to think I don't want to know since this is taking so long-"
"There!" Cassie yelled, startling both of them. They followed her outstretched hand to the opposite end of the camp, strolling towards the cement barracks. "I think she's going to her office! Score!"
"Uh-oh. She's strutting, guys. That's a purpose walk. She's got her purpose walk on. Tread lightly," Jin sneered. Each of them chuckled, and as if General Blade heard them her head swiveled eerily to look right at the four of them. Cassie waved sheepishly, and she kept walking.
"Okay, so that was rude. Maybe she's busy," Jacqui offered.
"Pft!" Cassie snorted. "You always give everyone the benefit of the doubt, don't you? She's probably just pissed about something. Let's follow her. This is important."
Takeda smiled triumphantly down at Jacqui. "Finally," he breathed. She nodded in reply, and the two of them followed Jin and Cassie.
They trailed behind Sonya at a distance across the camp, and by that they followed as fast as they could with how fast she was walking. The barracks were like a maze, Takeda thought. The whole structure was one level, set in a spider-like formation, with the mess hall in the center. Branching directly out to the sides were the training rooms, and other communally used facilities. Off of each corner were the residence quarters for all the soldiers. Each hallway had about 5 rooms on each side before the halls switched directions and had another 5 or so before switching again to fit in the perimeter. Like a lopsided H. And, between each last half-leg of the H, another long hallway connected each side to each other. General Blade's and all the officers' quarters were separate from the whole structure, standing alone off the center of the refugee camp hub.
And even their quarters were like a maze.
They turned so many corners, passed so many identical doors and corridors, that he was lost within minutes. And, he noticed, each corridor had a camera at the end of it. By the time they reached her door it was already shut with her in it.
"Wait, is that a keypad?" Takeda asked as they approached the door.
They all crowded around it. "What? Since when does mom have an access code?" Cassie said, gently touching the keypad. Almost immediately an error message popped up on the screen.
"Be careful. We're on camera," Takeda muttered, pointing to the corner of the hallway. He sighed. "I'm guessing you don't know what the code is, then?"
"Uuuuuh . . . " she trailed off, shrugging. She typed the numbers to spell CAGE, and the error flashed again. "BLADE, maybe?"
Error.
"Nope," Jin said. "Well this sucks!"
"I mean, it makes sense. This is the General's office," Jacqui offered. "Guys, seriously though, let's just knock. We just saw her go in there." She gently nudged Cassie to the side and lightly knocked on the door. "General Blade?"
They waited for a few seconds. No answer.
"Knock again. Louder," Takeda told her. "Maybe she just didn't hear you."
"General Blade? It's Specialist Briggs."
No answer.
"MAAAAAAHM!" Cassie yelled, furiously pounding the side of her fist off the door instead of her knuckles. She put her ear to the door. " . . . Oh, come ON, mom! I know you're in there-"
The door flew open.
The first words out of General Blade's mouth were, "I'm busy."
Jacqui shot Cassie an annoyed look.
"Um, well-" Takeda started.
"What do you want? Is this an emergency?"
"Well no, but-"
"Then it can wait. I'm busy."
"KKRSH! General Blade," her comm device sputtered. "The S & R team you ordered is on standby, awaiting your orders-" She visibly started, her eyes widened and she shot panicked glances at the four of them before she could control her reaction.
Takeda knew, just knew, it had something to do with Kenshi.
Snatching her device from her hip she yelled into it, "I told you to cancel it! Geez . . . " she huffed.
"Roger." The damage was done. She sighed tiredly, folding her hands behind her back as if expecting the bombardment of questions.
"Search and Rescue . . . is that for my dad?" Takeda asked, searching her face. Afraid of the confirmation he could potentially find there but also desperate to know now. He wanted to read her, to try and glean the information from her himself, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not try.
"That's classified."
His willpower crumbled pathetically. "Okay, sorry, General Blade," he thought to himself. He closed his eyes, placing himself within his own mind. He ghosted his consciousness closer and closer to hers, actually imagining himself as a tangible forcefield of power directing itself to her. But as soon as he actually touched her mind, his vision went black. "Wait, what?" She had a wall like cement built around her mind. There was no way he would get through without effort.
"How are you blocking me-" he spat before he could help himself. "Aw, SHIT!"
General Blade's eyes widened. "You tried to read me?!"
He clamped his mouth shut, too embarrassed to answer after ratting himself out.
"I ought to have you court-martialed-"
He looked to Jacqui for help, and she luckily changed the subject. "Why is it classified?" she protested, "All we wanna know is if you heard from them yet!"
"That's. classified," she enunciated slowly. She shot Takeda one last, 'This isn't over,' glance and turned to glare at Jacqui instead. "Specialist," she added. A reminder for them to remember their rank against hers.
"Awww, come on, mom!" Cassie whined. "We're not asking for specifics! Just if you heard from them-"
"Sergeant! That's classified." Cassie's lip unconsciously curled into a childish pout. She lowered her head and glared at General Blade. Unfortunately, General Blade leveled her eyes and shot her own glare back, refusing to back down. "Are we clear?"
Jacqui submitted bitterly. "Yes, ma'am," she muttered.
"Come on, guys," Jin said. "Let's go."
"Takeda!"
"Yes, ma'am?" he choked out, looking over his shoulder to avoid looking at her.
"No, look at me!" she ordered.
He spun around and looked at her chin.
"If you ever pull a stunt like that on me again, I'll tie you up and hang you by your ankles and let Interrogation have their way with you. Do you understand?"
His anger, whether it was at General Blade for not divulging the information, or himself for telling on himself, very nearly made him defiant. "Yeah right!" entered his head. He opened his mouth to say it, but when he looked in her narrowed eyes, saw her set jaw, her stern stare, he knew she was serious. She was very, very serious. A dangerous, primal glint in her eyes burrowed into his soul and struck fear in his heart.
"Yes, ma'am."
General Blade shut herself back in her office behind them, and Cassie flipped off the door. As soon as they were out of earshot she gently punched the wall. "Well that fucking sucked!"
"Do you think that S & R is for our dads?" Jacqui asked.
"I don't know," Cassie sighed solemnly, dropping the usual snark in her tone. "I hope not. We're just gonna have to assume they can't talk."
The four of them fell silent, and Takeda used the opportunity to try and reenforce that his dad, and Jacqui's, was probably fine. He imagined Kenshi flourishing Sento, the blue blade making ethereal arcs around him as he swung it. He imagined whatever they were fighting, oni or whatever, falling dead at his feet. He imagined Kenshi hurling enemies telekinetically across the battlefield. And besides, he had Jax with him. He was fine.
"I mean, I could always get us in."
Takeda heard Jin's thought whether or not he intended it to be heard. "Jin, no!" he said.
"What?" he said, feigning innocence.
"We are not breaking in to General Blade's office!"
"WHAT?!" Jacqui and Cassie yelled in unison.
Jin shrugged, leaning casually back against the wall and crossing his arms. "Who said anything about that?" he said, shooting Takeda a pointed glare. He flicked his eyes up to the camera and he thought back to him, "Come on, aren't you even a little bit curious now? What mission did they go on that Kenshi AND Jax need S & R? Besides, Kung Lao went on that mission, too. I'd like to know as well."
"We don't even know if it's for them! And I'd REALLY like to think it's not!"
"We'll never know unless we try to find out!"
"And if we're caught?"
"You're forgetting that for a majority of my life I was a professional thief. Breaking into things is my specialty! We won't get caught."
"There're cameras everywhere!"
"What's your point? We take them out before we go!"
"Guys . . . " Jacqui whined. "What are you talking about?"
"Jin, I don't like it! Do you understand how much trouble we'll be in?"
"If we get caught!" he argued, raising his eyebrows at Takeda.
"You mean to tell me General Blade won't notice a whole freakin' MISSION folder that's gone missing?
Jin shook his head. "We'll be fine! We won't have it for more than 20 minutes. We'll look through it and take it back. Listen, I'll have that door picked and busted open in less than a minute - even with the keypad. Cassie or Jacqui can take out the camera before we begin, and the other watches the rear. I'll be in and out in no time with the file folder, then we split."
"Where are the file folders, hm?"
"This is a recent mission, so probably somewhere within reach. You'll come in with me and look!"
"I'm telling you I want no parts of this!"
"Let's go somewhere where there're no cameras to talk," Jin said.
"No! We're not talking about this!" he protested.
"Yes! Yes we are!" said Cassie. "I wanna know!"
"Jin's crazy, that's what you should know."
"Ok, so does everyone have the plan?" Jin asked.
"I can't believe we're doing this," muttered Takeda.
"Ooooh, we're doing this!" Jacqui said, staring hard at him. If Takeda had to guess, she was just as uncomfortable with it as he was, she was just trying to psych herself up. "I did not wait three hours after lights out in a supply closet for nothin'! Mmmmm-mm! No way!"
"Guys, plan?" Jin asked, always eager to do something illegal.
"First thing is me and Jacqui are gonna shoot out the cameras. She'll start cover fire, then I'll roll out and fire directly at it."
"After that I've got about a minute to pick open that keypad lock before the silent alarms sound. If it takes me longer, we run. What's the rendezvous point . . . Jacqui!" he asked, quizzing her like he was a teacher.
"The west perimeter of the refugees' tents."
"Right. Once I get the door open, then what, Takeda?"
"Thennnnn," he sighed tiredly, "we both go in and start searching for the file folder."
"Yup. If General Blade's in there-"
"We're fucked," Cassie articulately said.
Jin scoffed. "Well yes. But we're gonna try to get away! If she's not in there and we've got the goods, we run, and I mean RUN. Alright. We all got the SI fatigues on, right? Then we won't be as easily identified." Two 'yeahs' and a huffed 'yup' answered him. "Alright. You guys ready?"
Cassie checked the clips in her guns. "Ready."
"Woah, hold on!" Jacqui whispered. "We're not gonna shoot anybody, are we?"
"Relax," Cassie chuckled. "They're rubber."
"Ready."
"Takeda?"
He sighed. "Ready."
"Cass, start on point. Takeda, bring up the rear. We take out who we have to, and as silently as possible. Let's go."
Cassie nodded, opening the door from their hiding place to the barracks hallway. She waited for the swivel of the North camera to the other hallway, then motioned Jin forward. He took two cautionary steps into the open, then retreated back into the safety of their room.
"What?"
"We need a decoy. I just thought of something: when I turn that South corner down there, there'll be another camera swiveling as well. If I park it and wait for you three, it's bound to see me. We need someone to go the other way. Draw attention."
" . . . "
"Well don't everyone volunteer at once!"
"We could use the vents?" Takeda offered, pointing to the grate in the corner of the room. It's cliché, but it'll probably work. Who expects clichés when they're so cliché?"
"Takeda, look at the size of that vent. If you and Jin think you two're getting your shoulders in there, you're ridiculous," said Cassie matter-of-factly.
"Uuuugh! This is so frustrating! I say we just abandon it!" he said. He scanned their faces and their minds, looking for any trace that anyone agreed with him.
"But I want that folder-" came from Jin's direction.
"I'm getting fed up. But what if that S & R was for my dad?"
"No way, we're already here! Maybe we should just make a break for it. I really wanna do this."
Damn. So he was the only one. Fine. "Okay, so let's split off into two groups. Cass and Jin, me and Jacqui. One of us'll leave right now and run - me and Jacqui probably - so you and Jin can open the General's door. We'll be as loud as possible. S-" His breath hitched in his throat, and he swallowed thickly to clear it. "Set off alarms. Get as many people on our backs as possible." A brief image of fully armed SPEC OPS teams running after them, shooting at him and Jacqui. He banished it quickly, shutting it up tight behind a wall in his mind. "Umm . . . We'll be the distraction while Jin does his thing. Hopefully the camera man will track us and relay positions rather than watch for you two. Rendezvous here, unless me and Jacqui have people on our tail, in which case we'll lead them away. Or, unless we're captured. Jin, if you and Cassie get captured, then . . . "
Jin shrugged. "No talking my way out of that one. Good thing you paired the two of us up."
Takeda's stomach did a little flip inside of him. "Alright. Come on."
"Hold on. Lemme have one of your guns," Jacqui said, already sliding her gauntlets off her arms. "These are kind of identifying, yeah?"
"Yeah, good point," Cassie shrugged, slipping one of them from the holsters and slapping it into Jacqui's hand. "
Jacqui and Takeda crouched low around the corner, and he counted down behind his back.
'Three', his heart pounded harder in his throat. He quickly put a wall around his mind and blocked out everyone else's thoughts. If there were any more last-minute reservations from anyone, he didn't want to hear them.
'Two', he failed to steady a shaky breath, sucking it in and forgetting to release it.
'One,' last chance to turn back. He ignored his body's warnings, reminding himself that it was for Jacqui.
'Go! Go! Go!'
A/N: So this went up sooner than expected! I did some severe editing to what I had written and planned it out a little differently than I thought I was going to. I hope you enjoy! Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited so far!
***11/15/15 - Added to, revamped, with more of Takeda's thoughts and better action sequencing leading up to the break-in***