"Why did you take so long?"
The moment Hikaru sat down, Tsunade started teasing him. Her meaning was obvious: as a boy, he had taken even longer to bathe than a girl.
Hikaru smiled as if he had not understood, picked up his chopsticks, and turned over the slices of meat that were beginning to sizzle with fat. "Jiraiya, aren't you afraid of getting drunk and sleeping on the street? No one's taking you home this time."
"This is mine?!" Jiraiya instinctively hugged the wine bottle, looking as though someone was trying to snatch it from him. Though someone might indeed try to take it, it would not be Hikaru—only Tsunade or Orochimaru.
Hikaru hardly drank at all, so Jiraiya guarding against him was pointless.
"Cheapskate!!" Not drinking did not stop Hikaru from looking down on Jiraiya.
"I am a cheapskate! This is mine, and none of you are taking it!!"
"Give it to me!!!"
Tsunade immediately stood up. Before long, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were laughing and fooling around over the wine, their voices carrying far into the distance.
Hikaru ate his barbecue and watched their antics with a smile.
Jiraiya was not really that stingy, nor did Tsunade and Orochimaru absolutely have to drink. It was simply fun when they started messing around sometimes.
"Tch~~ A bunch of little brats whose hair hasn't even grown in yet, and you dare drink alcohol!!!"
Their noise had grown loud enough to disturb the people nearby. Hikaru was just about to stop them when a strangely sarcastic voice drifted over.
Hikaru frowned slightly and turned around. At a table not far from the four of them, two men were eating barbecue and drinking. One of them found Tsunade and the others too noisy and immediately began scolding them.
"Some people's hair