Kuromaru had evidently already forgotten his comments about Kakashi and Tsume and puppies, which was a relief. But there was something else in that rambling news-dump that wasn't nearly so easy to ignore. Ryouma shut the door and leaned carefully against it. "No one's gonna steal your mutant death hamster. Who's this Ibiki punk and what'd he do to Tsume?"

Not another Sadao. He'd be dead twice over if he'd tried anything on Tsume, even without Kuromaru around. Plenty of other things could make Tsume smell bad, anyway, even if Ryouma couldn't think of them right off. Still, it might not hurt to have a friendly little chat with the guy...

He crossed his arms over his chest again. "And how come you're here dribbling hamster-juice on my sheets, and not out there givin' him the smackdown?