And that was no "pup." Hayate eyed the monster-dog with trepidation. Had he seen the dog first, there would have been no mistaken identities. After he'd gotten over the first shock of the sheer size of the black-furred beast, Hayate noticed the obvious hairless patches on the dog's skull, the lack of ear--and eye--and the healing-over wounds.

The woman's face was bandaged, too....in a disturbingly similar pattern. Hayate frowned a little, and eyed them both. Her stumble earlier, combined with the bandages, should had been a warning note to him. No ninja lost their balance so easily....unless they were still recovering from wounds.

Their attention was not on him. He could easily just slip away. He was very tempted to--he'd made such a blunder in just assuming she was Touga. But then...she was Inuzuka, and she might know Touga. And she had offered something of an invitation to eat with her: not in words, but any ninja worth their salt could read body-language. Inuzuka especially. But still, to presume a welcome where there was none...

He hesitated too long. She smiled back at him. "So. You have a name, or have you decided to change it officially to rookie?"

The unexpected humor and welcome in her voice made him smile back--not his little polite smile but something more real, crooked and with a dimple in his right cheek. That was obviously an invitation to stick around a little longer. "I thought about it," he answered, chuckling. "Gekkou Hayate."

Assured of his welcome now, he came closer, to stand at the counter on her other side, out of range of the dog's eagerly wagging tail. "May I ask your names, Inuzuka-san?" He gestured a little to the huge black dog as he spoke. His voice tried to quit halfway through. He cleared his throat roughly and waited for her answer.