Intrusion on the Training Grounds
Shirubā had gone to rest against a tree after his match, regathering his chakra whilst the rest of the matches went on, eventually he fell asleep. In his prone state he hadn’t noticed the small group of boys who’d gathered around after their matches. But Kushina noticed them, and she remembered the look they were giving the sleeping boy, they’d had the same look in their eyes when they were making fun of her hair. With a shared look to Mikoto Uchiha they both walked up behind the group and Kushina cleared her throat, “You guys are all a bunch of kreeps, leave him alone or else.”
The boys took one look at the girls, Kushina with her hands on her hips and Mikoto with her arms crossed, and came to the conclusion they wouldn’t do well against either of them. They scattered with mumbles of “Not worth the time.” and “He got lucky this time.” as they left. The girls watched like hawks as the group dispersed, their attention so focused that they both jumped slightly when a voice spoke out in between them. “Thank you both,” Shirubā had gotten up and stood beside them, “I hoped they would just lose interest if I stayed still for long enough, but it was looking like I was going to have to get up and deal with them soon.”
The calm way he’d said it was a bit unnerving to the girls, but they shook it off quickly, helped along by the wide smile he gave them both. “So, my name is Shirubā Kumo, Silver to friends. What are your names?” The shift in his demeanor was jarring, he’d been so serious during his match and when he introduced himself to the class, but now he looked very much his young age. Golden eyes shining and smile bright, Kushina couldn’t help but squeal internally at how cute he seemed, Mikoto had similar musing but was keeping a better poker face as Kushina looked at the boy as if he were a baby kitten. “My name’s Kushina Uzumaki, and you are just so cute y’know!” Mikoto had to give the boy some help getting his hand out of the steely grip she’d started shaking it, and him, in.
Once he was back on his feet and his eyes came back into focus, and after a sheepish apology from the now calmed down Kushina. Mikoto extended her hand, “Mikoto from the Uchiha clan, you did very well in your match today. Minato is a very promising Shinobi.” Shiribā accepted the hand shake with a nod, “To tell the truth, I'm not sure how it would have gone had he started the fight not underestimating me, I’m glad I did so well.” Kushina huffed to the side so they changed the topic of discussion, the three found conversation easy enough, when Kagami-sensei called an end to the day and dismissed the class they exchanged pleasant fair wells.
Shirubā spared a glance at Minato before jumping into the trees, he started making his way deeper into the training grounds forest. Once his chakra control had started to improve, his daily plan had changed from pure physical training with Tsuna after class to a different member of team Hiruzen depending on who was available. Tsunade had been sticking with taijutsu lessons, Orochimaru started teaching him the basics of kenjutsu, and Jiraiya had been working on his deftness with forming hand seals as well as his basic ninjutsu techniques. As the usual grounds they used were coming into view he slowed, the person standing in the clearing was not someone he expected. The man had his back to him but he could tell who it was instantly, and his being there made the boy nervous.