"That hurt!" Ino shrieked at the random bandit who just sniggered. But it wasn't all that funny to Ino, as the sharp throbbing slash started to bleed. It was her fault for being distracted over her worries but that didn't mean she was going to be keen on getting hurt. It was across her arm at a jagged location almost sliced close to the main arteries . She shuddered about what would have happened if her ninja instincts hadn't kicked in. It could have gone farther in and directly on top of the blood supplying veins.

She glared at the bandit and reached for her kunai. There was no Shikamaru for help, so she couldn't use her Mind Transfer Jutsu.

"What's a girl to do?" Ino sighed, wondering why all of a sudden she was thinking about how different her attitude was before she fell in love. She was a lot more peaceful and sweeter, but she had her moments. She guessed people in love did unusual things. If only Kankuro had told her he loved her. . . But she cleared her mind and prepared to fight. She focused on the bandit and rushed forward and somehow got slashed at on her leg.

"How do you keep doing that?!" Screeched Ino, furious that the bandit once again had struck. This guy was excellent at finding the locations that hurt the most, but he could use some work on his Taijutsu.

The bandit was wasting her time when she could have been already meeting up with Kankuro. Sparking with fury at the nerve of this guy, she grabbed a few shuriken of her own and tossed it at the guy, as she kept moving in order to make it harder for the other to hit her. This battle was draining and even though it was simple, it could easily get worse, if this guy had a few of his buddies hidden among the woods.

"I can't believe on how weak you are!" the bandit sneered, before pointing out his name. Ino didn't even listen; Why was it that all the bad guys were always telling their own names? They seemed so smug, but that could be big advantage when they underestimate others.

She bent low to the ground and twisted her body into unusual turn that easily kicked the bandit straight in the face. He was knocked sideways, and fell on his bottom with his head almost slamming into a tree trunk. He looked dizzy and he couldn't even raise his own body into a standing position. It was boring fight but someone had to do it.

"That's what you get for wasting my time," Ino bragged, her head shaking at this guy's antics as her hands rested on her hips, "I would bring you in, but I've got bigger worries to think about."

" I leave you for only a short moment, and already you're in trouble."

Ino turned around at the male voice and her eyes widened.

"It that you Kabuto?" Ino realized that things had turned deadly when the Sound Ninja Kabuto was here. But something was off and she wasn't sure what.

"No. I'm not related to that loser. I'm just a bandit leader who is going to make you regret ever coming into contact with us," the strange man explained with exasperation. His hair was silver and long, but it wasn't pulled into a ponytail, but simply hung in various lengths around his face. He was actually quite handsome, but still he was a bad guy who was intent on getting in her way. But she was remotely relieved.

He brought out a long-ended sword and Ino prepared for battle. He looked tough and when he first initiated the attack, she knew she was in trouble. This guy's speed was unbelievable and she couldn't believe that he was a ninja. He wasn't close to having as much as Rock Lee, but he was still dangerous.

Ino picked up her speed, focusing as much chakra as she could into her legs and feet. She wasn't as adept in chakra control as Sakura, but she could handle it. But it was futile, and the only thing that saved her life was the fact that she quickly brought her kunai at a angle and blocked his attack. If she had been one second slower, she would have been killed.

"You're quite tough, but not tough enough," Ino remarked in order to rile him up enough for her to get in one of her attacks. But he threw back his head and laughed with a uneasy calmness. This guy was creeping her out. He smiled a vicious smile and reached toward her and feinted to the left which she failed to dodge when he switched to the other side in between. He slashed his sword into her side and she screamed as the pain rushed at her, but luckily she was able to pull away fast enough before he caused any more damage.

She cradled the long laceration with one hand, and the blood leaked all over her skirt and her hand. It was slow but steady and as she moved in order to get away, it started to flow more faster, and covered the ground in deep red pools of blood. Ino knew that if she lost any more blood, she would fall unconscious, so she rifled through her kunai pouch with the other hand for any type of bandage to stifle the bleeding, but she failed to find any.

Her mind wasn't working as clearly with the loss of blood, but she tried to stay awake and in control.

"Kankuro, where are you?" She mumbled low to herself wishing things wouldn't end like this. Especially when she was about to be defeated by a lowly bandit. Her eyes closed for one instant but she opened them quickly and dodged her opponent's attack by shifting to the right and back. Would Konoha even allow her name to be written upon the Memorial Stone, even if she died from a dishonorable death such as hers? Dying as the result of a simple bandit attack was ridiculous. Ino's eyes flashed with renewed strength, "I'm not going to die here!"

She retreated to a nearby tree and rested a few moments, before using her limited chakra to climb up the tree. The bandit wore a ferocious expression on his face, as he swung his sword toward her. Ino thought for one second that she was going to make it, but her chakra let her down as she slid closer to the blade as she lost control of her remaining chakra.

She closed her eyes as the blade swung closer and as the blade reared closer, Ino attempted to grab her kunai to deflect it somehow. In spite of this, with her chakra almost depleted, and her blood loss, she accidentally dropped her kunai to the ground. She groaned and sighed as she geared up self up for the pain.