[indent][h1][color=#fff3ad][b][u]Hatake Shunpei[/u][/b][/color][/h1][/indent]
Pulling himself from the disorderly heap of prepubescent body parts, Shunpei couldn’t help but think that maybe he should’ve thought this through better; now his clothes were all ruffled up [i]and[/i] damp - a very uncomfortable combination. He began straightening out the wrinkles in his garb as best he could, trusting that time would ensure that there would be no residual wetness by the time he’d meet his jonin sensei. Which was a thing that was totally happening. Just thinking about it, the edges of the Hatake boy’s lips curved ever more upward; he could practically see all the cool things that were going to come his way...
 
But nevermind that! He could always bask in the hypothetical glory when that “hypothetical” became “actual”. Right now, there were more important things at hand: the resolution to a week’s worth of unsated curiosity, the answer to the question of his bestie’s peculiar behavior as of late. 
 
Unfortunately, what was supposed to be - in Shunpei’s mind at least - a climactic revelation rapidly devolved into anticlimax. Barely a single word had been uttered by the sobered Uchiha when, from practically out of nowhere, came Namikaze Fukushu, Tensai’s self-appointed nemesis and general bearer of bad vibes, railing against him about something that happened on a bridge and, as usual, somehow being a “worthless” ninja - like she was qualified to judge people like that! 
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Hey Fukushu...”[/color] the Hatake greeted with a curt wave. Even if they didn’t really get along, they were still peers; so there was no need to be impolite, especially on a celebratory day like this one. That said, Shunpei couldn’t get how someone could be so... [i]like Fukushu[/i] all the time, but Tensai had always been a good sport about it as long as he’d known him. Which meant the fact that he [i]wasn’t[/i] this time was telling of something very, very wrong. Tensai’s grim  but clearly diminished riposte was the damning evidence. 
 
His smile became tight-lipped. Normally Shunpei would’ve resigned himself to the role of a mere spectator so as to avoid the Namikaze’s ire and avoid escalating a situation well-in-hand, but now he [i]had[/i] to act. [i]Nobody[/i] was allowed to make his best friend feel like that. 
 
Shunpei took a step forward. 

Shunpei then recoiled backward to avoid the small ten-year old who had landed in front of him. (Almost on top of him, even!) 
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Woah!”[/color] Shunpei exclaimed, catching himself on the desk. The Hatake quickly straightened up. Hopefully nobody saw that. [color=#fff3ad]“Uh. Yeah! Mornin’ to you too Rem!”[/color] he greeted sheepishly, intentionally doing his best to be loud and obvious about it. He’d planned to intervene directly, but maybe, just maybe, the arrival of a pure and noble ten year old would abate the flames of Fukushu’s rage... Or not. 
 
Probably not; Fukushu didn’t seem like she’d be the type who cared about that kind of thing. Worth a shot.
 
[color=#fff3ad]“Sorry ‘bout this, but I can’t talk right now. Got somethin’ to do...”[/color] Shunpei apologized, slipping past Ren to position himself adjacent to the two belligerents. It was at that point that he became acutely aware of how utterly oppressive the tension between the two was. Was getting between the two a good idea?
 
Probably not. But he had to for Tensai’s sake.
 
Shunpei ran a finger along the palm of his hand and quieted his nerves with a deep breath. [i]’Time to work my magic...’[/i] he thought, a wide smile plastered on his face as he stepped between the two before Fukushu could retaliate Tensai’s demand.
 
[color=#fff3ad]"Okay! I think that's enough of that, right Namikaze-san?"[/color]
 
Though his voice carried its usual light-hearted inflection, there was more than just a touch of gravity to his normally delicate tone and, most damningly, he'd addressed her [i]properly[/i] this time around. It was pretty obvious to everyone that he was up to something, which was sort of the point. He wanted to grab her attention without antagonizing her [i]too[/i] much. As effective as that latter strategy might have been for getting the heat off his friend, it was probably not good for his own health, yeah? 
 
At any rate, now that the Hatake boy had interposed himself between the two and made his intent known, he continued, arms crossed. [color=#fff3ad]"Now look, I get it; you're mad at Tensai, but being mad doesn't give you the right to be mean to someone like that.”[/color] His fingers pressed hard against his ribs, drawing his own attention away from how much he wanted to not be in his position at that moment. [color=#fff3ad]“And besides, it’s graduation. We’re all supposed to be celebrating, having a good time, y’know? I think we all just gotta calm down, maybe Fukushu you can apologize, and then we can all just forget about this and we can all become genin on a better note. Doesn't that sound nice?"[/color]