Raidou offered Kurenai a hand up. She helped Harubi in turn. Ryouma clambered up on his own, and Kakashi unfolded, reluctantly, when Kurenai hissed at him.

Himself cleared his throat.

There was going to be a speech. Ryouma stared fixedly at Himself's left elbow — shoulder was a bit too high without craning his neck — and tried to lick the last flecks of black soy paste off his teeth.

"My human guests," Himself proclaimed. "Fate, and a few unruly kits, have brought us together."

Kaori, her sister, and their brother Hideki all had the sense to bow their heads at that, looking sheepish. Himself rolled on.

"Loyalty, compassion, kindness — these are traits that humans often lack, but they burn in each of you. So for tonight, I declare you honorary members of my family. Our friends from the Dog World are welcome tonight, too, as beloved cousins. May the ties of kinship remain long after the night has been forgotten."

He lifted the massive cup easily in one paw. "And now, we drink!" He drank, dribbling clear sake from the wide brim, then smacked his lips and passed the cup down to Kenta. Kenta accepted with both paws and a bow, and turned to Harubi.

Pale, but steady, she drank, setting her mouth just to the rim of the giant cup as Kenta tipped it. Kurenai followed. Even her elegance was a little spoiled by the breadth of the cup; she wiped her mouth as she stood back, looking surprised.

Raidou took the cup from Kenta, holding it in both arms, and made the wise choice to lower his head rather than tipping the cup. His brows climbed halfway up his forehead as he straightened.

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

Genma looked wary, then just as startled. He wiped sake off his chin with the back of his hand. "Huh," he murmured. His smile came easier, lighting his face. "You'll like this," he told Ryouma.

How strong was the tanuki sake?

The cup was half-empty by now, but that meant there were still ten or twelve liters of clear fluid sloshing in the bowl. Ryouma took its weight cautiously, conscious he had no chakra to strengthen his arms. The cup itself was surprisingly heavy, but liftable. The challenge would be drinking without dumping it down his front.

And then, of course, shielding Kakashi while he drank.

Thinking about whether Kakashi could drink without lowering his mask, Ryouma lifted the cup and bent his head.

The sake touched his lips.

It was dry and a little floral, with an earthy, rice-y base and a refreshing crispness over a mellow undertone. The alcohol lurked beneath. But it wasn't just alcohol that rose up and kicked Ryouma between the teeth.

It was—

An intense physical awareness of the world, the sunset on his shoulders, the breeze in his hair, the soft prickles of fur under his feet. The blood in his veins and the breath in his throat. The musky scent of tanuki all around him, stronger than food or sake, heady as the fifth cocktail going down. He could feel Kakashi at his shoulder, a presence that shaped the air.

Warmth, and safety, and an anchor in the world.

He lowered the cup. "Whoa."