“I’m not sure what should concern me more,” Kakashi said, addressing no-one and everyone. “That my summons wants to drink, or that my team is enabling him.”

“Your summons is wearing a hitai-ate,” Ryouma said. “Doesn’t that mean he’s legal to drink?”

“I figured him drinking was the usual thing, since he’s complained about his lack of beer several times now.” Genma eyed the dog in the sink. “How are you not having chills sitting in an ice bath, anyway?”

“What ice?” Pakkun asked. He rolled over onto his back with his legs in the air again, head pillowed on a beer bottle. One paw twitched, sending a brown glass bottle clinking against its neighbor for emphasis.

Kakashi heaved himself to his feet with a sigh. “Fine.”

Raidou had stopped at the top of the stairs to watch the drama. Genma filled him in. “Hatake’s worried we’re abetting his summons’ drinking problem.”

“The only drinking problem I have is not being able to get one,” Pakkun groused.

“I said ‘fine,’ you whiner.” Kakashi hauled Pakkun out of the water and draped him over Ryouma’s shoulder. He rubbed the dog affectionately between the ears before rescuing the beer from the sink and shoving it back into Genma’s shopping bags.

The wet dog dripping down his bare skin didn’t seem to perturb Ryouma at all. He hitched one arm around Pakkun to secure him in place, sighing as if he’d just applied an ice pack.

“Rain’s clearing up,” Raidou said. “Want to sit on the roof?”

“Sounds good to me. You can see all the way to Sarusawa Pond from there.” Genma reached for the bag of rice balls and other snacks. He went to the window to close it, then changed his mind. “May as well go out this way. It’s not like the neighbors are going to complain.” The neighbors being a grain wholesaler, a furniture maker, and a few miscellaneous additional warehouses for local merchants.

They emerged from the window to find lotus-blossom colored clouds and clear-washed air, cooler now that the storm had blown through. A few of the growling thunderheads still congregated in the east, flickering lightning between them, but the setting sun cast a warm glow on the wet streets of Konoha below.

They found a place where the roof slope was shallowest to sit, heedless of the damp seeping through their pants. Kin circled them like a herding dog trying to keep an eye on all her sheep at once, but finally chose a spot to settle once everyone else was seated.

Beers went around. They’d neglected to bring up a bowl — not that Genma had dishes yet anyway — so Ryouma was appointed the task of lifting Pakkun’s bottle to slake the pug’s thirst.

“He who bears the dog, beers the dog,” Pakkun announced, lying sprawled in Ryouma’s lap, immensely pleased with himself and his beverage.

Genma snickered and raised his own beer in a toast. “Thanks for all your work today. And for leaving me and Taichou some of the onigiri.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Ryouma said, “but Kakashi convinced me you’d need your strength to battle evil spirits tonight.”