He peered at her from his single eye, head tilted, and sat down expectantly. His hackles were still up ever so slightly, making him look bigger without being terribly obvious. "Well. I'm not too upset with you. Even if it is rude."

"You're lousy at showing that," Tsume said dryly. "C'mon, pup. We should head back to the field." She smiled at Katsuko, nodding briefly and taking a step away.

Kuromaru didn't budge. He didn't look away from Katsuko, either. "You could help," he suggested loudly.

Tsume flinched and looked back at them. The woman stood beside the tree she'd come out of, tall and lanky and seeming slightly uncomfortable. Which meant she could be slightly uncomfortable or, given how well most ninja were at hiding their emotions, completely freaking out. Either way, Tsume wasn't thrilled with the idea of sparring against someone who, despite running many missions recently, looked in perfect health.

Even if Katsuko had called Kuromaru senpai, in effect--if not on purpose--giving him authority and acknowledging his role as the one with more senority.

"Kuromaru, she probably doesn't want to--"

"Sure she does." He hadn't looked away from her, but his hackles dropped and his mouth fell open, tongue lolling out between canine teeth the length of Tsume's thumbs. Finally, he twisted to look at his human. "You said we have to work on channeling chakra, right? We could do that in a spar." His golden eye lit up, and he turned back to Katsuko. "It just has to be light, or that Hyuuga and Waki will both skin us." His ear tipped sideways. "I'd hate to be a rug," he said mournfully.