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When I came back, everyone had already taken their seats, me left to find whoever had a vacant one next to them. Torahiko pulled a seat from an empty table and placed it next to his, the tiger winking and smiling at me. Seemed like he read my mind. Finally in my seat, the tiger put his arm on my back and pulled me close to him, smiling with glee as he poked my face. I knew that he loved physical contact, but he should know where and when it was appropriate. Ah, but whatever. He was the host so I shouldn't complain.

As we waited for the staff to arrive with our orders, me and Tora got to talking as we caught up with whatever was happening to our lives. Given that my city life was rather quiet, I couldn't say much. Tora on the other hand mentioned about an upcoming swim meet he would be competing in. Back in elementary, he was always the fastest swimmer among us so nabbing gold should be easy for him.

But he had to juggle all his training with helping out at the inn, working out at the gym, and catching up with summer homework. I was sure that the other three he could handle, but the studying part was what worried me. He wasn't exactly the best in class, so whenever we had an exam we had to organize a study group.

"I also need to have my homework done so a study group won't be too bad," I said.

"Perfect!" Tora said. "Always knew I could count on you."

"But no copying. We can help, but copying is out of the question."

"My sentiments exactly," Juuichi-san said.

The tiger frowned. "Oh come on!"

After teasing the tiger concerning homework, the waiters finally arrived with the yakiniku set. Tatsu-nii called a waiter for what drinks we were going to order, me opting for the oolong tea. With the preparations complete, Tora raised an empty glass and called for everyone's attention.

"Alright!" Tora said. "Before we get this whole thing started, let's hear a few words from our guest of honor today. Hiroyuki, you make the toast."

"What?"

Chills ran all over my body as I sat there stunned and slack-jawed, all of them looking at me with smiles on their faces. It wasn't fair; they were ganging up on me. Since I was the guest of honor, letting them down was no option. Getting up, I took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of courage I had as I made my speech.

"For the first time since I left here five years ago, we finally saw each other again. I really think that I don't deserve such a treatment, seeing as I nearly failed to keep my promise. Yet, here we are, and here I am. Thanks for waiting, everyone. It's great to see you all again. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" all of them said, raising their glasses.

Right after my speech, Tora went straight to preparing the food. Kouya gave me a thumbs-up for giving a good speech, which made me embarrassed. Meanwhile, Tatsu-nii was chugging down beer as if it was just water, the dragon asking for shochu on the rocks after finishing the mug. Next to Tora, Juuichi-san was preparing some kind of sauce and when I saw him pull out a bottle of honey, I almost spit out my tea trying to hold in my laughter.

"Juuichi-san's sweet tooth can get out hand sometimes," Tora whispered.

Juuichi-san glared at us. "Is something wrong?"

Both of us shook our heads out of fear.

I coughed. "But Juuichi-san, you're still doing judo, right?"

"Yes." The bear said.

"Have you been entering competitions too?"

"I have."

"And?"

"Had a winning streak. And nothing but."

"Really? That's amazing!"

Even though we were a seat apart, I could clearly see Juuichi-san's mouth curl up into a little smile. Nice to know that he liked the compliment. But when Tora teased him about his belly, he pulled on Tora's tail which had the tiger wincing in pain. His reaction seemed a bit too much just for Tora teasing him, me telling the bear to take it easy. He apologized, saying that it was a habit he developed trying to deal with the tiger's shenanigans. Seated to my right, Kyouji-san joined our conversation as he recalled the time Juuichi-san scared a child off, much to the bear's embarrassment.

"You always had that scowl on your face," Kyouji-san said. "That's why people sometimes think you're in a bad mood."

"Does it seem that way, Nishimura?" Juuichi-san asked.

"Well, yeah. Sorry about that."

"Guess that's another one I'll need to work on. Thanks for that."

Feeling that something was off, I stood and looked around. "Let's see. Tora, Tatsu-nii, Juuichi-san, Kounosuke... That's strange. Where's Kenji-san?"

"He's at home," Juuichi-san said, massaging his forehead. "The idiot got a fever from staying up so late yesterday. It's for the best. Tatsu-san's hard enough to handle. The two of them together will cause a lot of headache."

I gave out a nervous chuckle. "Is that so? Then, tell him I said 'Hi!' when you get home."

Leaving Juuichi-san to tend to his share of the meat, I turned to Kyouji-san and and saw the Labrador doting on his junior like a father to his son. Kyouji-san already looked like someone's dad so that might not be too far off. I went and teased them about it, Kyouji agreeing with a smile and Soutarou scratching the tip of his nose out of nervousness.

"Tarou, why don't you and Hiroyuki try to get to know each other more?" Kyouji-san said.

"Sure!" Soutarou said. "Er, Nishimura-san, is it alright?"

I nodded and the two switched seats so me and the young lion could talk. But our little chat suddenly became a "marriage interview" when a drunken Tatsu-nii decided to butt in, him being the "matchmaker" while Kyouji did nothing, the Labrador having a cheeky smile on him. It took a short while, but the awkward air around me and Soutarou finally cleared when Tatsu-nii left to offer Juuichi-san some alcohol. I apologized to Soutarou, saying that we would continue our "getting to know each other" talk for a later date.

Getting my chopsticks, I was about to grab one of the salted tongues I had on the grill when one of them disappeared. It turned out that Kounosuke ate one of them not knowing they were mine. Tora told me to just brush it off, but I wanted to retaliate. I went and grabbed one of the wieners he had on the grill, eating it with a look of satisfaction on my face while seeing the look of surprise on his. But the tanuki went and took another salted tongue so I returned the favor, the two of us having a yakiniku battle. We had to stop when Juuichi-san had to scold us for doing so, both of us apologizing to the bear.

"You still owe me that interview, Hiroyuki," Kounosuke said as he sat down.

"I know, I know. I made a promise right?"

"Says the one who forgot to keep in touch for a long time," Shin said, taking a sip of his melon soda.

"Come on now, Shin-kun. Can't you take it easy on me?"

The black cat put down his drink and gave a slightly mischievous smile at me. "I will. If you promise to treat me to some sweets later," he said with a wink.

Shin-kun had always been fond of sweets. Whenever we visited his house back in the day, his butler would always serve us some black tea with whatever kind of treat was made. Cookies, cakes, biscuits, whatever dessert could be named, the house never ran out of it. And that was why it puzzled me that the cat never got fat despite all of it. Either he balanced it with some exercise, or he was one of those "eat a lot and never get fat" type of people. The former seemed too good to be true as his asthma would limit him from doing it.

"How's your asthma by the way, Shin-kun?" I asked.

"Quite manageable now actually," the cat said. "Though heavy exercise is still not allowed."

"Then brisk walking should be enough for you," Kouya said.

Shin-kun nodded at the husky's words as he went and got his fish and vegetables. Compared to when we were kids, he was somehow easier to talk with now. Sure, he still needed to control his sharp tongue, but that would be up to him.

Turning to Kouya's side, I saw him trying to help Shun with the meat, turning them over and laying the cooked ones on Shun's plate. Excusing myself, I got up and went to their side to have a chat. It was a while, so I wanted to know how these two canines got closer to each other.

"Honestly, I don't know either," Kouya said. "We just started hanging out back when I was in junior high and somehow we clicked. He started calling me 'onii-chan' and I went along with it. And I liked being someone's big brother, so..."

I grinned. "Oh? Does someone have a 'little brother' complex?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Shun said, his head tilting to the side.

"N-Nothing!" both of us said.

The wolf looked at me and wagged his tail. "Ah, Hiroyuki-san! You've grown so tall now!"

I felt elated when the wolf noticed my change in height. "Thanks so much, Shun! And you've um..."

"I know! I know! I'm still short!" the wolf shouted, raising his arms with closed fists. "Not my fault we're a family of short people! Even Soutarou-kun looks more like a teenager than me. But it's not like..."

It was bad. Shun was starting to cry. While he did look adorable doing it, someone crying was the least that I wanted for my homecoming party. To get things back on track, I commented that the wolf grew a little bit which saved the situation, me telling him to eat a lot so he could grow bigger. Even though his family traits were something we couldn't change, encouraging him to try getting taller wouldn't be too bad, right?

I turned to the husky. "So, how about you Kouya? What's going on?"

"Oh! Well, I'm in a band," Kouya said. "I mainly play guitar, but from time to time I also do vocals."

"You should see him play, Hiroyuki-san!" Shun said, still chewing on meat. "He's so cool on stage!"

"Really? I'd love to see that," I said.

The husky took a sip of his drink. "We have a concert happening soon, so I'll be giving out tickets. And if you want, I could also teach you a thing or two about the guitar. How about it?"

With excitement, I nodded and left them as I made my way back to my seat. But halfway there, a heavily-intoxicated Tatsu-nii blocked me and picked me up for a hug. At such a close distance, I could smell the alcohol in his breath. Hugging him in return, I felt his scales which were quite smooth, me wondering what kind of shampoo he was using for it. But our heartwarming moment turned a little frightening for as the dragon went lower down my back, him grabbing my ass.

"They're soft like steamed buns," Tatsu-nii said, still groping me.

I turned to everyone at the table. "Guys... help."

Without hesitation, Tora, Juuichi-san, and Kouya got up to help. Kouya headed to the counter for reasons unknown to me. Juuichi-san on the other hand helped me break free from Tatsu-nii as Tora caught me when I fell. Tatsu-nii attempted to grab Juuichi-san like he did to me, but before he could even do so, the bear did a foot sweep and had him falling down on the ground in a daze. The husky came back with some rope on hand and the three went on to tie him up. Why the need to bind him though was something that puzzled me.

"Can't help it," Kounosuke said. "Tatsu-nii gets all touchy-feely with people when he's drunk off his rocker."

"And this is why he shouldn't be let near any alcohol," Shin-kun said.

"One time, he tried to strip me," Soutarou-kun said, holding himself as he shuddered.

And with Tatsu-nii securely bound, we continued with the party as we waited for him to sober up.

The party lasted up until sunset. We ate a lot, and so much shenanigans also happened. I couldn't be any happier for the warm greeting they all gave me today. As we were wrapping things up, we talked about some things that we could do for the holiday. Tora suggested a "24-hour Endurance Tag" where we could hide anywhere in Minasato. Kounosuke complained and told that the game would get boring after a while, the tanuki suggesting that it be shortened to at most three hours. He then followed with a suggestion of going to the beach; a surprisingly normal suggestion from him. Everyone agreed to it and the details would be worked on later, it depending on everyone's schedules. Before we all could part, they all gathered in front of me with Tora leading them.

Tora gestured. "Okay. One, two..."

"Welcome home, Hiroyuki!" they all shouted.

Needless to say, I was surprised as well as touched. Out of happiness, I wanted to cry, but had to control myself.

"I'm home, everyone!" I said with a warm smile.

Torahiko patted my back. "Come on! Don't start crying now!"

"No I'm not! But really, everyone, thanks for today."

With that, we ended the party with a group hug. It was the best homecoming a friend could ever ask for. But, this was only the first of many days to come. I would be staying for a month here in Minasato, and with that, we would have many fun things to do. Like our summer days those years ago.