Hayate smiled politely through her little tirade, which might have felt a lot like an attack....but then she smiled, all sharp fangs bracketed by the crimson Inuzuka tattoos. That took a lot of the sting away...but it still stung.

It was a typical reaction to his cough, actually. Hayate got rather tired of explaining it all...at first he'd been cheerful about meeting this lady. Inuzuka. Hayate liked them as a whole, and she seemed a very likable person. But getting the same reaction from her as he got from everyone else kind of soured his mood. He looked down at the box of okonomiyaki, which was warming his lap nicely.

It wasn't that he didn't cough on mission, because he did. He coughed when he stressed his breathing, because his allergies already irritated his throat. Thus, talking--as he was doing now--or running or fighting made him cough. But he'd never given away an ambush or stalk by coughing. And he did know a jutsu to suppress his cough, but he hated using it, hated the way it felt. He rarely used it.

"I've played the distraction a few times," he offered softly. "Can't say I care for it."

He broke off another very hot piece of okonomiyaki and juggled it from hand to hand before popping it into his mouth. Very very hot still, and he burnt his tongue again. It wasn't as good when he couldn't properly taste it, but he was hungry.

Kuromaru seemed a bit more patient, puffing away. It was a very amusing sight--one didn't see many dogs who could purse their lips. Hayate's polite smile went crooked again.