Raidou finally put two and two together, and realized Kakashi had to be channeling the Yondaime’s family. The young son for attitude; Kushina for everything else.

In either case, it was hard to see anything of Kakashi in the slim, spoiled girl who forged eagerly ahead of them towards the bright lights of the festival. Hiraizumi wasn’t notably large as villages went, but it had drawn a crowd from the neighboring hills. The winding stretch of dirt road that served as a main street was thronged with people and vendors. Bright lanterns swung merrily from decorated trees, illuminating game-stalls and food-carts, dancers in elaborate costumes, hard-working people wearing a rainbow of colors — and a surprising amount of tanuki statues.

Raidou blinked at one particularly impressive specimen, carved from dark grey stone. The mason had given it a traditional straw hat, a jug in one paw, a bowl in the other, and an immense pair of testicles to sit on. The bowl was piled high with little items: pastries, glittering trinkets, a polished wooden pipe that gleamed in the firelight. Flowers were strewn around the statue’s feet.

“Is that what we’re supposed to throw buns at later?” Rie asked her husband.

Behind Gendou’s kind eyes, framed with crows feet, Genma looked blank. He glanced at Ka-chan, who had crouched, arms wrapped around her knees, to look at a tank filled with brightly colored turtles. She grinned. “Yep! So buy us lots of buns.”

“Can we eat ‘em first?” Ryuu asked hopefully.

“If we buy the buns now and you eat them, what will we offer Tanuki-sama?” Gendou’s eyes glittered amusement. “Maybe we can leave you with your full belly as an offering.”

Ryuu scoffed. “Nobody does virgin sacrifices anymore, Dad.”

“Maybe if we revive the practice, this year’s harvest will triple,” Gendou said.

“And a lot of use that will be without Ryuu-kun to help harvest it,” Rie said. She made a shooing gesture at the children. “Go find a food-stall you like, starveling vagabonds.”

“Stay within eyesight,” Gendou added, as Ka-chan grabbed Ryuu by the wrist and pulled him away, making imperious commands as they wove into the crowd.

Watching the two of them, adults slipped back into a childhood neither one of them had had, made his heart twinge.

He breathed out, letting the unexpected catch wash through him and away. Happy family. Eyes open for information. Gendou offered his arm; Rie accepted, careful not to crush her yukata sleeve, and said, “I think you should win me a prize, husband.”