The most infuriating thing was how pleasant he managed to be. Even though she was his prisoner, the enemy, he treated her to every courtesy that he took for himself. She ate the same food he did, was allowed to drink her fill from his canteen, he shared his medical balm with her every morning.

At first she had refused. She lagged behind, complaining about every little thing, thinking to annoy him enough that he simply killed her. She in no way wished to die, but at this point, in the hands of one of their worst enemies, heading towards who knows what, dying now, before any of Konoha's secrets were tortured from her would be the honorable path.

But his level of patience was astounding, and when she eventually passed out from thirst and exhaustion, he sat beside her, in the middle of the forest trail they had been walking on. When she came to, he was cupping her head in his hands, dribbling water into her slack mouth, and her previously bloody blisters were healed. He smiled at her and pulled her to her feet. "Come on now, just a couple more kilometres and we can stop for the night."

When he handed her the steaming bowl of traveling-gruel, she took it without comment, polishing it off, and even accepting seconds. When he extinguished the fire, she curled up in the blanket he offered. Since then, she had followed him and tried not to question his ways. But it was just too hard to believe. He was a traitor, a cold-blooded murdered, Orochimaru's henchman. Hell, he wasn't even human anymore. And yet he wasn't acting like it, she would even venture to say that he was being good to her.

That confusion was what prompted the first of her many escape attempts. It was a few days after she had collapsed, about a week and a half since her capture.

Her strategy was simple, one that she had used many times against her father, teammates and Asuma-sensei alike when she didn't want to complete a training exercise, and it had worked without fail every time.

That morning she grabbed a handful of bright red wild berries from a bush they walked past. She timed it carefully so that she was sure he hadn't seen. When they stopped to refill the canteen a few hours later, she darted behind a tree and hurriedly pulled down her shorts, smearing the berries along the inside of her thighs.

Staggering back into view Ino emitted a loud moan. "Kabuto" she wined, purposely pitching her voice to an obnoxiously high level. "I just got my period, and I have the most horrible cramps. I need to stop NOW" To enhance the effect, Ino held up her red-stained hand, shoving it boldly into his face.

All of the males in her life had all had different, and incredibly amusing reactions to this action, between standing frozen in shock (Asuma) running as fast as they could in the opposite direction (Choji) and incoherent babble and a rushed dismissal (her father). Her favourite had been Shikimaru, who turned bright red and backed away in such a rush that he tripped and fell on his ass. Ino hadn't been able to resist pursuing him, watching him loose his ever-present cool and shriek like a girl while he scuttled backward like a crab.

But what she had forgotten was the Kabuto was a highly trained medical ninja with the desire, and ability to dismantle human bodies, and reconstruct them, all while they were still technically 'alive'. His hobby and lifelong ambition was the study of body parts, so he was in no way squeamish.

He stared calmly at the hand inches from his nose, presumably covered in her menstrual blood. Ino quickly snatched her hand back, in case he noticed the distinct fruity smell. He moved towards her bending at the waist to look between her legs. "That's a lot of blood" he commented lightly "are you all right?" Flushing brilliantly, Ino squeaked and flailed her arms at him.

"Get away from me you perv!" she yelled, momentarily forgetting whom she was addressing. Regaining her composure, she initiated the next part of her plan "I just need to stop for a bit" she ordered, "To get cleaned up. Then I'll feel better."

He shrugged in surrender and plunked down his pack, taking a seat on a boulder by the riverbank, and stared at her expectantly.

Ino started back in disbelief, damnit did he expect her to wash with him watching? But would he know something was up if she asked him to leave? "Are you serious!" she exclaimed, "Leave me alone! Just…go over there, behind that hill. I won't take more than half an hour!"

Something changed in his eyes then, the gold flashed behind his glasses and there was none of the misplaced humanity left. As he straightened up to his full height, she cringed. For the first time since their short battle, she feared that he would kill her. He glided forward, and though every muscle in her body screamed at her to flee, his eyes pined her down, the golden eyes of a snake coming down on its helpless prey.

He stopped, his booted feet toe-to-toe with her sandals, and gazed coolly down at her. Ino tore her eyes away from his face, unable to see any more, choosing instead to study the zipper of his cloak, trying not to crumble under the weight of his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity he spoke "You have ten minutes" he hissed, breath tickling the top of her head. And then he was gone, and Ino was free to collapse to the ground shaking.

But a moment was all the time she allowed herself. Leaping to her feet she waded into the river, splashing louder than necessary in case he could still hear her. Focusing her chakra to the soles of her feet, she stepped onto the surface of the water. It was a basic evasive strategy, but still the best in the books. Taking a deep breath, she began running downriver. The ten minutes he had allotted her wouldn't get her as far as she had hoped, but at top speed she could still put a few kilometres between them before he discovered her absence.

The course Kabuto had plotted curved away from the river at the point where they had stopped, that's why she chose that spot to make her move. She would be running north, when his planned destination, wherever that was, was towards the south. All she could do was run like hell and hope that she stumbled on a sympathetic family willing to hide her until she could get word to Konoha.

She jumped the river at a random point, and took to the trees. She wanted to leave as few signs of her passing as possible. She knew that at the speed she was traveling, leaving nothing was impossible, but hopefully by the time Kabuto found her trail, she'd be long gone.

After approximately forty minutes, the forest began to thin out, and Ino was forced to the ground. She stood at the edge of a vast rocky plain that stretched on as far as the eye could see. The forest behind her was tiny in comparison, a minuscule green blemish on the face of this black wasteland.

Dismay filled her. She hadn't expected this. Sure, she didn't know where they were, but she knew the maps of this part of the world fairly well, and nowhere had anything like this been mentioned. They must have traveled much further than she had estimated.

Leaning against the nearest rock formation, Ino felt her motivation slip away. The hours of walking, the long run, and days without proper nutrition came rushing back with new force. Now she was stuck here, lost and alone with no supplies. Tears welled in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly much more conscious of the wind howling around her.

She was so wrapped up in her misery that it took her several seconds to notice him sitting behind her. She looked up from where she gad buried her face in her arms to look at the setting sun. In just moments she would most likely be dead. Call her a coward, but she didn't want to see him coming at her. The last thing she wanted to see was the warm pinks and oranges.

But the seconds dragged into minutes and finally she couldn't stand the tension any longer. Peeking nervously out of the corner of her eye, she scrutinized his expression. Kabuto sat in the most relaxed position she had seen him in yet. His body language practically screamed non-aggression. His hood was down, allowing the breeze to tease the silver strands of hair about his face. The sun shone off his glasses, hiding his eyes and throwing the side of his face into shadow. Seeing him here, one could almost believe him normal.

Once the last rays of daylight sunk below the craggy horizon, Kabuto slowly stood. He turned and addressed her in his usual, casual way "come on, we'll have to travel for a bit in the dark to make up for lost time."

Ino didn't think she would ever get used to his inconsistent moods. "You aren't mad?" She asked quietly "You're not going to punish me?"

He tilted his head to the side "Why?" He questioned, "Do you want me to punish you?"

That sent a shiver down her spine. But still, all his voice held was amused curiosity. "But I ran away" she mumbled into her knees.

He laughed "And you think I didn't know you would? You're a ninja, if you hadn't made at least one attempt at escape, I'd be worried!" with that, he turned sharply on his heel and strode back towards the shadowy forest. Ino watched as his figure became smaller and smaller. Not once did he look back to check if she was following.

Did this mean she had a choice? He certainly gave the impression that he didn't care either way. She was free, just like that. But as she stared out over the barren landscape, she once again began to doubt the intelligence of her brilliant plan. But she couldn't go back with Kabuto, no way, he was the enemy. And yet, she would most likely die out there, all alone. Not an appealing end.

Now that she thought about it, Kabuto was the enemy, he had successfully infiltrated Konoha's system, set a coup in motion, and he had been working with Orochimaru for years before that. He had spent time with Sasuke, and had strong ties to Akatsuki. His mind was a variable gold mine of secrets, both Konoha's and his own. If she could even extract a miniscule amount of Intel and get back to the village with it, it would provide them with an edge over their enemies. And she was in the prime position to acquire that edge.

With a new sense of determination, Ino leapt to her feet, stumbling slightly in her haste to catch up with the distant form, nearly at the edge of the trees now. As she drew level, he turned and grinned at her. Motioning with a sweep of his arm, he ushered her ahead of him. Ino took the lead with a spring in her step. Since he had technically let her go, she was no longer his prisoner right? She was here of her own free will. He had no sway over her.

Behind her, face hidden deep in the hood of his cloak, Kabuto allowed the dark smirk he had been suppressing take over his features. Oh yes, she had fallen for it; it had been almost too easy. Breathing in deeply, he relished the warm night air against his face. It felt good, the still spreading scales on his face constantly itched. It would have been enough to drive a weaker person crazy. He didn't mind so much thought. It was kind of like having Orochimaru with him still, persistent, annoying, taking up half his attention at all times.

Composing his features back into a safer expression, Kabuto followed his prisoner down the moonlit path.