Bre POV

I looked down at Cass as she focused on the woods behind me. Her eyes shifting between copper and gold as she continued to train. But I could feel her getting weaker each time she did it, the flare in her chakra becoming less and less each time her eyes changed. I knew that at this rate she'd need to rest in order to be of any use to me and I also knew if we wasted any more time that our target would soon figure out what had happened to his men and either leave or worse, attack the village who hired us.

I let out a deep sigh and ran my hand through my hair before quickly fixing it into a ponytail. "I know. And don't worry. I think I can at least manage to hold one person long enough for us to get the boss." Cass groaned as she stood up, using the tree to brace herself. I frowned slightly as I looked at her, partially out of worry but mostly because I still wasn't used to her reading my mind. And frankly I wasn't sure I liked it all that much either.

She started to stretch as I picked up the area around us, handing her one of the swords we'd taken when she was done. "Try and not over do it alright. You'll be more of a burden if you black out than if you can't get it to work."

"I know. I know." I sighed heavily at her snarky voice and quickly jumped up into the trees, leaving her behind to catch up.

Moving at a brisk pace it didn't take me too long to reach the house again, with Cass following behind me after a little while. I nudged her and put a finger to my lips, trying to get her to silence her heavy panting. Looking back down at the house I noted less chakra signatures inside than before and quickly looked around the woods. It took a lot of focus but I finally found the missing men patrolling around the house, thankfully on the other side from where the bodies we'd left were.

"Keep quiet but we need to hurry." I jumped down, landing silently despite the mud and hurried over to the front door of the house. If anything good came out of getting along with Kakuzu it was that I could now easily pick most simple locks. It didn't take me long before I'd gotten the door open and Cass and I slipped inside. She kept behind me as I moved, letting me take the lead.

As I peaked around a corner I could see a large man walking towards us and I ducked back. Cass shuffled forward a bit, leaning closer so I could whisper. "There's a man, take him out silently alright." She nodded and took a deep breath before taking my place along the wall and standing up. I took the sword as she handed it back and watched as she slipped a kunai out of the pouch on her leg. Her body language changed completely as the man came around the corner, going from her normal aloof and relaxed stance to one that almost scared me.

I saw shock flash across his face for a second before she was practically on top of him. She took advantage of her surroundings and the own mans body to jump high enough to cover his mouth with one hand as she plunged her knife into his throat, standing on his hips to keep herself from dangling. I let out a startled gasp at the sudden amount of blood, causing Cass to look up at me as the man dropped to the floor. She pulled the knife out and brought her other hand up to put a slightly bloody finger to her lips.

Before Cass could say anything two men came around the other corner beside me, probably having heard both me and the body. Cass managed to get in front of me and deflect one of the men's attacks but was easily knocked off balance. I didn't bother to check if she was ok, focusing more on keeping these men from continuing to attack her. It's my turn to protect her. I felt something in me almost burst and suddenly both men froze, their eyes focused on me. "You leave her alone." My voice was cold, and sounded very dangerous, enough so in fact that I could see fear on the men's faces as I kept my eyes on them.

I could hear her breathing as Cass, moved along the edge of my vision, scooping up the swords and walking up to the men. I glanced at her, only for a second, but it seemed to break whatever was keeping the men still. Luckily she moved fast, using their sudden lurches forward to shove both of the swords into their chests. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I."

"I suppose we both have surprises huh?" I nodded slightly, watching her push the men off the swords before holding one out to me. For a second I hesitated, not sure if I could actually do this, but I knew I had to. I couldn't let her leave me behind. I was going to keep up no matter what it took.

"Two more."

"You take the old man. I think I'm a bit too tired to take him on." She looked back at me, completely serious, as I just stared at her confused. "Oh come on. Don't act like you aren't in charge here. You're the leader, not me."

There was another pause before I nodded again, walking around her. It didn't take me long to find the room, even with the size of the house. I took a breath and pushed aside the door, not all that surprised to see the last two men waiting on us.

"I wasn't expecting women. And such pretty one's too. A bit of a waste to kill you. But you've already killed three of my men." The old man spoke, his voice was deep and harsh, as if all he'd known was power.

"Five actually." I stood straighter, trying to seem braver than I felt, glad that my voice sounded strong. The younger man's face twitched, either with a small smirk or a scowl, it was hard to tell, and the old man waved his hand as he stood. He pulled his yukata off his shoulders, letting it drape around his waist and reveal the tattoos covering his body. "So who's going to attack first old man?"

This time the anger on the younger man's face was clear as he lunged forward. And again, before I even had a chance to react, Cass was right in front of me, defending the blow from him with a small smirk. As I looked closer I could see the yellow of her eyes and let out a small breath, turning my attention back to our target.

"Aren't you going to help your friend?" He asked, pulling his sword from it's sheath.

"Not at all. She's fought better." His expression hardened and I quickly tried to do some hand signs, only to be knocked back with the dull edge of his blade. I could feel some wind get knocked out of me and I slid back about a foot. Frowning slightly I tried not to let my surprise show and instead focused on watching his movements. I pulled a kunai from the pouch on my thigh and started to use it to block his attacks as I continued to wait for an opening to use a jutsu. And it came fairly quickly as Cass circled around to my side, followed by the younger man attacking his boss.

She was panting heavily and I could tell she was having a hard time standing. But she managed to keep her focus as the old man tried to defend himself, clearly confused. I watched as his confusion turned to hardened determination and he stabbed the younger man in the stomach. He whispered something, holding him close until he died and then he turned his attention to Cass.

"You! You bewitched him!" Moving faster than when he was fighting me he ran at us, pushing me to the side as he brought his knife up. Quickly getting my balance I turned back to them just in time to watch him freeze. I didn't hesitate this time as I drew my own sword and brought it down on the back of his neck. His head dropped, and then his body, and finally Cass.

Throwing the sword to the side I ran up to her, trying to catch her before she completely blacked out. "You did it. So try and stay awake. We still have to leave." I lightly tapped at her cheek, drawing her focus back to me. It took a few seconds before she gave me a weak nod and I put her arm over my shoulder, using my other hand to pick up the severed head.

We moved as fast as we could, slipping out the window and leaving just before the other two thugs could find out we'd been there. Once we were out of immediate danger I moved Cass up onto my back and jumped up into the trees, moving as quickly as I could back to where we'd hidden our cloaks.

It took me a while with the added weight but I did finally manage to make it, letting her slide off my back onto the floor of the very small cave. She was already out cold but luckily was still responding if I nudged her. And when I was sure she wasn't going to die I started packing up our things into one bag and put the decapitated head in the other.

Once I was done I moved to the edge of the cave, keeping watch as Cass continued to sleep.