Setting The Wolf Free - Ch 67

                                    

                                          
Wow guys, I'm stoked with all of the voting and commenting on the last chapter!! :D :D Please, let's keep it up haha! xD
                          
By the way guys, I saw a lot of people commenting and saying that Kiba's last question to Ashley was a 'burn', like he was trying to provoke a negative reaction.
                          
That's not it at all. It was a serious question, as Ashley has often stated that she wasn't a nice person when she was with Orochimaru, and Kiba never believed she could be that bad. You could say he was surprised and a little disappointed to see this side of her, and he wanted to know if this is the way she was before she came to the Leaf.
                          
Hopefully that explains it a little better lol.
                          

                          
Thank you very, very much to Suicidal_Smile for the fanart of Ashley <3  --->
                          

                          
Third Person's POV
                          

                          
Ashley’s eyes fly wide open at this question, mouth opening slightly, though no answer comes out. She stares down at Kiba, too startled by his simple inquiry to give a coherent response. The brunette’s chest rises up and down with his heavy breathing, eyes trained on Ashley’s suddenly not so stony face.
                          
“I-I……I don’t…..” the girl stutters, voice shaking. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly hangs her head, eyes wavering as she stares, though the blonde isn’t actually looking at anything anymore.
                          
Kiba’s eyes also widen slightly, as he sees the electricity fading from around Ashley’s hand, with the girl lowering it down to rest on the other side of his head.
                          
“I can’t……” Ashley continues to murmur, clearly disturbed about something. “What am I…….”
                          
“A-Ashley?” Kiba asks unsurely, brow quirked in confusion as the Minami falls silent again, eyes closing. Kiba faintly sucks in a breath, seeing small trickles of blood beginning to form along the lower lids of Ashley’s eyes, staining her eyelashes a scarlet colour. “Can you even see properly right now?......”
                          
Ashley doesn’t bother to respond, her body now trembling obviously. For some reason, despite what Kiba had just witnessed, he suddenly felt the need to comfort Ashley. Had his question upset her? He’d never seen her like this before either….
                          
Suddenly, something slams into Ashley’s side and causes her to rocket to the side, disappearing from Kiba’s view in an instant. The surprised Inuzuka lets out a cry of shock, quickly sitting up and leaning back on his hands. He then pauses and glances down, noting that his limbs are now free from the earthy bindings Ashley had secured him down with.
                          
“What just….happened?...” Kiba asks out loud, brows furrowed as he stares over at Ashley, who has collided side on with a tree and is now lying still at the foot of it.
                          
A familiar scent suddenly reaches his nose, causing Kiba’s neck to wrench around to the side, only for the Inuzuka’s face to light up with a relieved grin.
                          
“Neji!” the brunette barks joyously, both glad and surprised to see the tall Hyuga standing only a few metres away from him. “Man, am I glad to see you!”
                          
“Heh….” Neji smirks, wiping a small amount of blood from the corner of his mouth. “I’m not weak enough to be gotten rid of so quickly. I just used my Palm Rotation to create a space in the tree Ashley tried to crush me in. Then it was merely a matter of breaking out. Not a big deal.”
                          
“Your hand is bleeding pretty badly” Kiba points out flatly, to which Neji sweat drops.
                          
“Yes…” is all the proud Hyuga says, making Kiba roll his eyes. “Now we need to take care of her and get those papers back.”