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After heading home to change, I made my way to the Midoriyas to pay Tatsu-nii a visit. Arriving there, it seemed like the place didn't change much. It had the look of a traditional Japanese home, complete with a small koi pond and garden. But there was also a side with a shed and some stacks of wood around, which would the the group's workplace. It was off-limits for us back when we were kids, justified by the numerous tools in the place which could hurt us.

There at the workplace I saw Tatsu-nii, but it seemed like his work wasn't finished yet, the dragon lifting some stuff around. When he greeted me, I told him not to worry as it was my fault for going there too early. He offered me a seat by the outer halls and let me watch him do his work. Feeling my sense of shame kick in, I offered to help clean up as it was the least I could do. He refused at first, but I insisted, him eventually agreeing to it.

"Though to tell you the truth, amateurs shouldn't be allowed in the workplace," Tatsu-nii said.

"So, what can I do then?"

"You can sweep up the sawdust. Broom's over there."

"Oh come on!"

The dragon stuck his tongue out. "Rules are rules. And I might get in trouble with dad."

"Speaking of which, how's Tappei-san?"

"Eh, the old man's same as always. I'm sure when he sees you, he'll remember all those shenanigans you and Tora did."

"Hey! You had your share of pranks too, you know."

While Tatsu-nii did admit to that, he told me that his dad would often mention all the stuff we pulled back then. I don't know how stacking a tower of beer cans on top of a sleeping Tappei-san became the stuff of legends, but it was nice to know that I left a legacy, despite how shaming it was. That said, his dad's angry face scared me back then, and even scared me now as I remembered it.

And just as we were talking about him, the old dragon appeared in front of us with his towering presence. Save for the graying hairs, Tappei-san and Tatsu-nii's resemblance was uncanny. Both of them even had that large beer gut that Tatsu-nii kept making excuses for back at the party. It looked like Tappei-san aged well, the old dragon still having a strong appearance proven by the large muscles on him. And like back then, his presence still scared me.

"G-Good afternoon," I said. "It's been a while... hasn't it?"

Tappei-san snorted. "Long time no see, kid. Heard you came back from the city."

"Y-Yeah..."

"Hey, hey! Relax yourself!" the old dragon said after a chuckle, him slapping my back. "It's your old hometown. Don't get so fidgety."

Calming myself down, I gave the two large dragons a smile. There was still the smell of tobacco on Tappei-san, so I can best guess that he still had his favorite pipe. It fit his appearance as the head of the Midoriya household quite well. Though if memory served me right, the only one who could tame him was Yukino-san, his wife.

Tappei-san looked to Tatsu-nii. "Hey, are you finished with clean-up? If a guest has to help, then anyone could be teaching you."

I raised my hand. "I'm sorry. I forced him into letting me help."

Tatsu-nii frowned. "It's alright, Hiroyuki. Don't apologize."

Just when I thought Tatsu-nii was in trouble, Tappei-san started laughing. As it turned out, they were all just running errands today as they all work in the late afternoon. While Tappei-san was scary when mad, he was cool and playful most of the time. There was a time when he made wooden cars for me, Tora and Tatsu-nii, the old dragon playing with us that day.

"So, how about you help out with a little organizing here and there?" Tappei-san said. "Not like it would hurt to earn a bit of cash, right? You can start with a part-time wage."

I raised my brows. "Eh?"

The old dragon smiled. "Let's see, there's tools needing to be put back, lumber to be stacked. Hey, with all that, you'll make a decent amount."

Getting angry at being used for recruitment, Tatsu-nii had a spat with Tappei-san, him urging me not to stick around with his dad. That said, I did need the extra cash for souvenirs and stuff, and the old dragon did say I could go and help whenever I had the free time. With no reason to reject, I accepted the offer. Tappei-san offered to explain the work and then have lunch afterwards, but I had to turn down as I promised to hang out with Tatsu-nii today. Looking a bit sad, Tappei-san waved at us as he went inside, leaving me and Tatsu-nii in the garden.

While Tatsu-nii did warn me about his dad's strictness when it came to work, he did mention that as the reason why the old dragon was so successful. I called him out on it, saying that he did have respect for his dad, the dragon trying to hide his embarrassment. He told me to wait be the gate as we went inside the house to get ready.

As I waited, I had an encounter with two of Tappei-san's workers. There was Akira Nikaidou, a brown horse with a white cross mark on the bridge of his nose. The horse mistook me for an outsider and wanted to take me to Tappei-san, but was stopped by the other worker who overheard me and Tatsu-nii talking. That other worker was Chuukichi Mori, a gray mouse who looked quite younger than me. Only when I found out about their ages - twenty and sixteen respectively - did I look at them slack-jawed in surprise.

Going back to Chuukichi-kun, the little mouse heard about my 'legends' and asked if he could call me 'Aniki', me nodding to it. Akira, on the other hand, asked me if he should get Tatsu-nii, but I told him that we already talked and will be helping out with work come next week. When Tatsu-nii came out and confirmed what I just said, Chuukichi-kun was overjoyed with the idea, but for Akira, as long as I wasn't in the way then it was no problem. As the horse left, Tatsu-nii told me that the guy has problems expressing his emotions, which reminded me a bit of Shin-kun.

Being reminded of work, Chuukichi-kun bade us goodbye as he ran towards the workplace. Recalling everyone's bulky frames, I jokingly thought that maybe I could become bulkier too if I worked with them. Jokes aside, the two of us got into the truck as we headed towards town.

My day with Tatsu-nii wasn't much. We had lunch at Raimon, and talked about how his experience as an apprentice was so far. There was a moment that he was about to order sake, but as the memory of him yesterday was still fresh in my mind, I had to stop the dragon. His sad look weakened my guard for a second, but to prevent any mishaps I had to toughen up. After our lunch, we parted ways as I went to the shopping district, looking around for whatever could catch my interest. There, I caught sight of Torahiko walking opposite my direction.

I ran to him. "Hey, Tora!"

The tiger smiled. "Hey, Hiroyuki! What brings you here?"

"Had lunch with Tatsu-nii. Managed to keep him away from the bottle," I said with a thumbs-up.

"Great! So, you're free now?"

"Yep."

"Then, wanna walk with me? I can help you look for souvenirs too."

Nodding with enthusiasm, we strolled around and explored the shops in the district. There was this particular shop that sold wood-carved figurines, both of popular characters and traditional ones. One thing that caught my eye was the figurine of the dragon god of the Minasato shrine. The store owner complimented me for having good taste, the figurine being one of his best works. Sadly, we weren't gonna buy souvenirs that day, so I asked the old bullman if he could save it for us. He agreed, but quipped that if someone offered to buy at a higher price, he won't hesitate to sell it.

After going around for some more, we managed to make a list of souvenirs to buy before I return to the city: the said figurine, a jar of specialty fruit preserves, packs of candies that were hard to find, and a hand-carved wooden spoon for Mom. They weren't anything that fancy, but at least they were affordable given my budget, which would increase once I start work with the Midoriyas. Though there was one thing I bought from the knick-knacks shop: a pair of wooden love charm keychains, each having an umbrella etched on it with spaces underneath for the names.

Tora winked at me. "Oh? Who's the lucky girl?"

I quickly put the charms in my pocket. "S-Shut up! And don't remind me of my nonexistent love life, please."

The tiger grinned. "Then why not give it to me instead? You know, since you don't someone in mind anyway."

I stuck my tongue out. "Nope. I'll just give this to Mom and Dad instead when I get back. I only bought these because they were the cheapest in that store."

Done with our window shopping, we called it a day and went on our way home. It was only three in the afternoon, but Tora was needed at the inn later so it was for the best. After walking on the dirt road for a while, we decided to take a break at the bus station, sitting at the empty bench there.

I turned to the tiger. "Hey, Tora."

"Yes?"

"Thanks for going around town with me today."

The tiger smiled, rubbing the base of his nose with his finger. "Don't mention it. Anything for a friend."

"That so, huh?"

"By the way, Hiroyuki."

"Hm, what?"

"Drop by the inn if you can. Around sunset to evening, barely nobody's using the baths so you have it all to yourself."

"Seriously?"

The tiger gave me a thumbs-up. "Yep! You're still gonna pay though. We're running a business you know?"

I frowned. "Well, damn."

"But dinner's free. I'm cooking it!"

Since it was a chance to get a taste of Tora's cooking, I accepted it. Besides, his father was a well-known chef around the village back then. Even the cooks at Raimon knew of Ooshima-san's reputation, him being one of the people that helped the place transition from being a bar to a restaurant.

With the sky turning a faint orange, I thanked Tora for the time and promised to visit whenever I had the time. He ruffled my hair in approval, but went on to tickle my sides shortly after. I kinda hated the fact that he knew my weak point, but this time I let it pass. We were about to leave when a familiar-looking bear approached us. It looked like Juuichi-san, but he was wearing a blue bandana, along with an open shirt with a hawaiian floral pattern. And a bit chubbier, I must say.

"Kenji?" I asked.

"Yep!" Tora said.

"Hiro-chan! You remembered me!" Kenji said, grabbing me for a hug.

Begging the enthusiastic bear to let me go, I caught my breath once he did so, Kenji apologizing for it. Being an almost polar opposite of Juuichi-san, Kenji was the livelier of the Mikazuki twins. If you put Torahiko's personality into Juuichi-san's body, you would get this guy. One time when the two attempted a "twin switch" Kenji pretty much gave away his identity just by not being able to maintain a scowling face.

"Really sorry I couldn't attend the party yesterday," Kenji said.

"Yeah. I heard from Juuichi-san," Tora said. "What happened?"

"I... stayed up too late finishing manga."

In disbelief, me and Tora broke out into laughter as the bear blushed. Seeing the embarrassed frown on his face, he almost looked like Juuichi-san if it weren't for the clothes. Both of us apologized to him afterwards, Tora inviting him to join us for our up and coming beach trip. Kenji agreed without a second thought, the bear saying that he was free the whole summer, save for the Karate classes. Even if their personalities were different, it seemed that the Mikazukis really had a thing for martial arts.

"Is your competition the same date as Juuichi-san's?" I asked.

"Nope," Kenji said. "Mine happens in autumn."

Tora rubbed his chin. "Hey, shouldn't the bus be here by now?"

Kenji looked at his watch and said that it should be here any minute now. A short while later, the bus arrived and Juuichi-san went down from it, the other bear greeting all three of us. Kenji, with a big smile on his face, was about to give his brother a hug when Juuichi-san got into position to make a throw. I was certain that Kenji would get thrown, but to my surprise he blocked his brother's arm, took a quick step back, and got into a defensive position.

Juuichi-san grinned, baring his fangs. "Your reflexes are getting quicker, Kenji."

"Hmph! Think you can throw me this time?" Kenji said, grinning as well.

Tora sighed. "And there they go again."

"Oh? Well, this is gonna be good," I said, taking a seat on the bench again.

As the sky turned a more orange hue, me and Tora relaxed and enjoyed the scene of the Mikazuki twins going all-out against each other in a Judo-versus-Karate battle. In the end, Juuichi-san won, but Kenji vowed for another rematch.