sinners escaped !

wolverine watches quietly as her gaze falters, notices the way she messes with sleeve of cardigan as she tended to do when she didn't know what to do next. for a moment / he considers / reconsiders / breathes and speaks out something he's never said to anyone before. " i— " it's weirder than he thought it would be and he clears his throat before speaking again. " sorry. " it falls out of his mouth awkwardly, fumbling over a very simple, yet very foreign apology. " ... about what happened... that day... "

“ Heh? ”   Is the only thing Kiba manages to say at her question, physically feeling his expression glazing as wonder settles over him. What is the Fire Country? Now that's something he never expected to hear in this lifetime, or frankly, never even thought about hearing because it was absurd – plain and simple. What kind of hole did she come out of to not know what one of the Great Nations is? The Inuzuka is ready to interrogate Hella further, but she's faster, shooting questions and demands in an arrogant tone Kiba was sure someone in her position should stray away from. He inhales deeply before pointing an accusatory finger at her, knowing already the vein on his forehead is about to pop. “ And why the hell would I do that? Calling people weirdo... Lady, yer the weirdo! All dirty like yo just rolled yer ass on the ground all day, stinking up the place with all that blood. Yo even know what planet yer on? ”   Huffing, Kiba maintains trained eyes on her, almost like a challenge – it's like he's a magnet for difficult and irritating people, really. He's about to make a snarky remark about how unbecoming that whole attitude was when Akamaru barks next to him, proposing a valid point. He should take her back to the village and let Lady Tsunade deal with her – one more problem off his hands. “ Hmph, fine then... ”   Chewing the inside of his mouth, Kiba is immensely unsatisfied with how things turned out – but still, this was a way better way to spend his day than the prospect of mopping around because of Neji like he previously planned. Not I'd let either of them know, the thought crossed his mind as he side-eyed Hella.   “ We're going to Konoha. ”

The blood he notices first as soon as Akamaru's back by his side, the deep, dark shades of red staining what once had been a perfectly white dress – or so it looked like it. Second, it's her scent, not quite sweet or familiar at all with anything he's ever smelled before, mixed with the ferrous stench from dried blood. Hella, as she'd have it, sounded okay, and looked like it as well, so the fair assumption was that it wasn't hers – which rang the alarms in Kiba's head. And her questions were... Well, not exactly surprising. He lifts an index finger to his nose, the underpart more specifically, using the bent knuckle to gently rub it – deep in thought, as it would seem. All those foreign scents irritated it so much it started to itch.   “ I'm Kiba, and yer well into the Fire Country, Hella. ”   What's up with that name? – is what he wanted to ask, but Akamaru's barking got his attention – he'd trust his ninken for now. Akamaru wouldn't associate with someone he didn't like, so Kiba smiled down at the dog, petting his head.   “ The hell yer covered in blood for? I don't smell anyone in a rush comin' this way, so no one's followin' ya... Wanna tell me what's up? ”   He asks, crossing his arms on top of his chest just because he doesn't know what to do with his hands, raising a brow, inquisitive.

It's not often Kiba finds himself in this position, looking for Akamaru. Sure, he's specialized in tracking other people and missing things, and most of his missions revolve around that, but to search for Akamaru specifically? It's not unheard of, but still bizarre in its own way. Of course, his best bud had a life and probably wanted to go around and do his own ninken thing, Kiba supposed, they weren't attached at the hip. Kiba growled to himself in frustration. A warning would've been nice – at least he would know if all this looking around was really necessary or not, now he was just worried. That is, until the familiar scent he was following pooled into the middle of the woods, and he witnesses betrayal in its ultimate form.    “  So, a pretty chick issall it takes for ya to ditch me all mornin', huh?  ”    He aims an arched brow at the ninken lying on his belly, loving all the attention he was getting from the stranger. Still, Akamaru's ears snapped up once Kiba's voice reached him, and the giant dog trots satisfied back to his side.    “  And who yer supposed to be?  ”   —   @ohdiscity's hella.