Bre Pov

It's been two days since I woke up at the hospital. And in that time I've healed incredibly fast, something the doctors can't explain. Itachi had already left on another mission, leaving Kisame behind to deal with Cass. Doctors have come through several times, checking her bandages and replacing her fluids. Yet through all of this she had still yet to wake up and I was becoming worried.

I started to pace back and forth in our room, waiting on Kisame to come back from talking with Leader. They were going to decided what to do today. Whether we should stay here or bring Cass back to Amegakure. I figured it would end up being the second one, time was a valuable resource that Pein couldn't waste in his plan and having Kisame watching over us in a tiny village was not a good idea. We needed him to go back and join Itachi.

Plus it may have taken me a while but I think I was starting to figure out when we'd shown up. As far as I could tell we were around the time when Itachi was first supposed to show up in the show. Which meant that I needed Kisame to be with Itachi as often as possible. I was worried that if we changed things that he would end up dead, or worse, caught and tortured.

Luckily though this also meant that when she woke up Cass and I would have almost two years to train before we'd even be really needed. Two years to figure out all of what we could do. And two years to figure out how to keep these men from dying.

A few minutes later Kisame walked back into the room with a nurse who started to unhook Cass from everything. "Are we leaving?" I asked, stopping my pacing beside my cot.

"Yes. Are you ready to go?" I nodded at him and pulled both my and Cass' already packed bags out from under the cot along with my cloak and hat. He looked me over and nodded before turning back to the nurse who was doing his best to move quickly. "I already talked with the man who hired you and got all of it sorted out so we're heading straight back."

"Alright, sounds good. What about Cass?" I kept my voice quiet as I talked with him, not wanting the nurse to eavesdrop.

"I'll carry her and you'll have the bags. Do you think you can keep up?"

I thought about it for a little bit and then looked up at him and nodded. "I'll do my best."

I situated the bags as Kisame walked over to Cass and lifted her up, carefully moving her so she was on his back. Following after him as we left, we quickly made our way into the woods and jumped into the trees to move faster. It was harder for me to keep up with Kisame than I had imagined it would be, but I pushed myself to keep beside him. At this pace we were probably going to make back to one of the bases in less than a day.

We ran for a long time without stopping and I was nearly ecstatic when I started to recognize some of the surroundings. We were back at the first base. It was weird seeing it when it wasn't raining but I'd spent enough time there that I still knew it despite the dry weather. Since I wasn't lost anymore I slowed down as we got closer, no longer needing Kisame to lead me.

About twenty minutes later I walked into the base, quickly walking towards the medical room. About halfway there I started to hear yelling coming from up ahead. I slowed down as I moved towards it and started sneaking closer. Turning down the hallway to the med room I could make out the darker side of Zetsu screaming at someone, his voice seeming more upset than angry.

"What do you mean she's been asleep for nearly 4 days!?"

"Zetsu, please, calm down." Is that Konan? Rounding the corner into the room I saw her standing calmly in front of him. Once he noticed me he took a step back away from Konan before giving me an awkward look as he slipped around me and walked off.

"Konan... are you alright?" I took a step closer, glancing behind me to watch Zetsu turn the corner.

"Yes. I'm perfectly fine. He's just worried about her..." She sighed deeply and grabbed a box of items, holding it with one arm, and then grabbing an IV rod. "She's in your room. I thought she'd rest better in a bed than just another cot." I nodded and moved out of her way before following her back to Cass and my room.

As we walked in I glanced around, taking note of Zetsu sitting beside her on the bed and the fact that Kisame was already gone. Crap... I wanted him to let Itachi know I needed to speak with him. I walked over to my bed, set down the bags, and sat down, facing Cass. I watched as Konan quickly checked her bandages before taking all off them off and then set up the IV beside her bed. Once she was done she gathered everything up and looked over at me.

"She seems to be in better condition than I expected. I have a feeling she'll probably wake up soon so it would be for the best if one of you kept an eye on her." I nodded slightly and watched her as she walked out of the room, leaving us alone.

We sat there for a long time before I ended up standing and going to take a quick shower. With him out there I trusted that Cass would be safe and that he'd take care of her if she woke up. So I took this time to scrub myself down and shave now that I finally had the chance to get really clean. When I was done I got dressed in fresh clothes and dried my hair as best I could, leaving it down to finish drying. And sure enough, Zetsu was still sitting there when I came back.

I walked over and laid on my bed, trying to hint that I was going to go to bed but Zetsu just ignored me and kept constant vigil over Cass. It was weird seeing him like this. I was always under the impression that he didn't really care for most people so seeing him take so much of his time just to watch over her was strange. Rolling over I decided to just let him stay and pulled my blankets up around me. It wasn't long before I started to feel really drowsy and I ended up falling asleep.

I slept for what felt like an eternity and woke up feeling well rested for the first time in nearly two weeks. I slowly sat up and looked over where Zetsu had moved our chair besides Cass' bed, sitting in it instead of the edge of her mattress. He didn't even look up as I started to move around, keeping a constant watch on her while she slept. I can't decide if this is the sweetest or creepiest thing I've ever seen... Letting out a heavy sigh I moved to sit up, resting my back against the wall at the head of my bed before pulling a book from our shelf and starting to read in silence.

"... What happened to her?" I was a little shocked to hear Zetsu speak and his question took me off guard.

There was a pause while I thought about it before answering quietly. "I was told she used too much of her chakra..."

"Why would she do that?"

"To... protect me." I sighed and avoided eye contact as he looked up at me, instead flipping through the book on my lap. "It wasn't like I asked her to put herself in danger. She just does it. Cass is... loyal and brave... and even though those things are considered good she's also reckless and stupid and doesn't tend to think about how her actions will affect her. As long as she can protect someone else she just dives in head first."

"We know... It's what we like about her. She lets her feelings drive her and protects what she loves."

"I suppose that's mostly true. Most of the time she's actually indifferent about things... But she's a really good person."

Cass groaned softly and I quickly looked up. "Do you always talk crap about me when I'm asleep?" Her voice was hoarse and so quiet I could hardly hear it but it was definitely her. I nearly jumped her as she spoke but instead just jumped to my feet and immediately started to panic.

"I need to get Konan!"

"Can I get something to drink first?" There was a small pause while she reached up to rub her face. "Is Zetsu here? I thought I hear him." Zetsu looked between us as Cass started to try and sit up, causing both of us to push her back down on the bed.

"Yes he's here so you can just lay down and relax. Can you get her some water, I'll be right back." Before either of them could interject I quickly went to go find Konan. I checked the med room first before nearly jogging to the other side of the base to check the office. She looked up, not even startled by my sudden entrance. "Cass is awake."

"Oh? Good. I'll be right there." She slowly organized what she'd been doing and stood up, walking with me as we went back to my room. "I'd actually like it if you two could give Cass and I some privacy." Konan looked between Zetsu and I as she walked over to the side of the bed.

"Yes Ma'am. Do you think she'll be able to eat?" I watched her walk over before looking over at Cass to see her using pillows to sit up slightly and sipping small amounts of water.

"Yes... I think she'll probably be able to keep at least something down."

I nodded and turned towards the door as Zetsu stood up, following behind me as I walked to the kitchen. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine enough. Are you alright with cooking? We're going to go take a walk."

"I feel like you're walks entail more than just walking..."

"That would be a correct assumption."

Zetsu looked down at me with an almost sad expression and I nodded slightly. "I'll be fine. You go ahead and do what you need to and I'll keep Cass company until you get back." The corner of his mouth twitched up into a small smile before he disappeared into the floor, leaving me alone. "Boys are weird..."

Looking around I walked over to the fridge to see what I could make that was healthy and probably wouldn't make Cass sick. It was always such a shock to see the kitchen completely stocked with food and it made me wonder how often members were actually at this base or if it was just because Cass and I tended to be here. Pulling some things out of the fridge I started to cook, deciding that some fruit, toast and eggs would be pretty good. When I was done I made three plates and set them to the side before cleaning up and then did my best to carry the food back to my room.

I walked back in just in time to see Konan helping Cass back into her bed and move her pillows she could sit up. "Um... I made you some food too, I wasn't sure if you were hungry."

"Thank you, but I have already ate. I'll take it back to the kitchen though, Tobi should be around somewhere so he'll probably find it." I gave her a small smile as she walked out, taking one of the plates with her. When she was gone I closed the door and when over to sit in the chair next to bed, setting one of the plates in Cass' lap. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake. You were starting to make me worry."

"How long was I asleep for?" She looked down at the food and started to eat some of her fruit slowly. I situated myself and started to eat as well before starting to think, counting up the days.

"I think about six. It may have been longer though."

"Wow... That's... a really long time... Now I understand why you three were being weird about it. I feel ok though, I promise."

"I know it's hard for you to tell but your chakra is still really low for you. Most of the time you're this weird burning beacon of energy that's easy to spot. At least that's how some of the others describe it, mostly Kisame. And right now you're just not at that level yet."

"I'm not saying I'm ready to go back out on a new mission, I'm just saying I don't feel like I'm just going to topple over if someone isn't there."

"Cass you were in a coma for almost a week. We're going to worry about you." My voice was a tad harsh and it made her expression go downcast. I could tell she felt bad for scaring me so bad. "You need to think about others when it comes to more than just us being attacked. Do you know how many people would be upset if you were to get really hurt?"

"I know... I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful in the future." I let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in the chair, picking at my food some more before eating it.