Bonds of Awamori

Clapping twice at a shrine was normal to summon gods to answer your prayers.
Senren was quite familiar with that. What he wasn't so familiar with was the concept of bludgeoning a wooden door with your fists until an avatar of the ocean appeared behind it.

Yet, that's exactly what Sumire did.

The man revealed beyond the door could only be described as “of the sea” in Senren's eyes. He was tan, rugged, and covered in scars, with eyes so full of vigor that if it weren't for the cane he carried one would think he was still in the prime of youth.

“Uncle Nanami!” Sumire greeted him with her beaming smile. It was one that Nanami returned, and Senren could immediately see the family resemblance.

“Sumi! Yer back already, eh?” Nanami chuckled fondly, his deep blue eyes scanning over Senren and Sumire's new weapon. “Didn't I say to go out’n find a crew, not a boyfriend? Haha! An’ what's with that massive blade on yer back? If I didn't know better, I'd say y’were compensatin’ for something.”

“Ahaha, Uncle, you better watch that sailor's mouth,” Sumire's bright smile quickly became wicked. She clapped Nanami's shoulder in the way old friends would, but her grip tightened gradually like a vice. “This here's my quartermaster, got it? I swear, what is with the men in this family? Quit trying to marry me off!”

Her uncle merely laughed in response, as if he couldn't even feel her wrath on his shoulder, and welcomed them into his home. Senren didn't know what he was supposed to do in such a situation, so he remained quiet.

Nanami invited the two to sit at his kitchen table. While Senren took his seat beside Sumire, he placed their takeout from the izakaya on the table.

“Tempura, eh?” The old pirate fished some mismatched glasses from a cupboard. However, instead of accepting the sake from the izakaya, he grabbed a different bottle from the counter and poured it into their glasses. “What're ya, tryin’ to bribe me?”

Senren attempted discreetly sniffing the liquid in his glass. Though, it was a bit harder to hide his alarm as Sumire knocked the whole of hers back in one go.

“Nah, can't be a bribe when we made a deal,” she replied, clanking her glass back onto the table. The two pirates then shared a hearty laugh as Nanami gave Sumire a refill and took his own seat at the table. To a man like Senren, the entirety of the ten minutes he'd thus far spent with the pair felt like he was rapidly descending into madness.

“A’right, then, Sumi,” Nanami's voice broached a more serious tone, despite already digging into the tempura. “I'm listenin’. Have ya found yourself a crew?”

“I've found a quartermaster,” Sumire thumped Senren on the back fondly, nearly knocking the glass from his hand. “Senren here and I have already been through quite the adventure. I couldn't trust another soul with being my second in command!”

“That so?” Nanami turned his hardened gaze to the ronin. “Well, color me intrigued. What sorta man are ya, Senren? The sort who don't accept glasses o’ awamori?”

“What? Oh— N-no,” Senren stammered, suddenly embarrassingly aware of how long he'd been inspecting his drink. “Sorry. What's awamori?”

“It’s a traditional drink here in Mako Clan territory,” Sumire answered among her uncle's laughter.

“Ah, so it's like sake?”

“Sure, sure,” Nanami nodded along with a mischievous grin. “Go on an’ try it, you'll see.”

Senren looked back at his glass, a foreboding feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. But, seeing as he clearly had no other choice, he steeled himself and took a moderate sip. To Senren's surprise, awamori tasted quite pleasant, with a smooth, malty, somewhat sweet flavor.

Then the world decided to turn upside down.

Senren nearly slipped out of his chair. The back of his throat burned as if it was raked over hot coals, and his equilibrium was so imbalanced that his brain may as well have been doing somersaults. He had spent roughly a year traveling as a ronin among the isles, facing all manner of poverty and injustice. Yet, nothing has ever floored him quite so much as that single drink of awamori.

“Whoa there, yankee,” Sumire caught Senren by the arm, keeping him from melting into the floor. However, even she couldn't stop herself from chuckling along with her uncle's boisterous laughter. “Easy. I really didn't expect you to down that much in one go.”

“Oh… Worry… Worry not…” Even Senren’s speech sounded dizzying. “I'm f— …fine…”

“Hahaha! You've caught yourself some partner there,” Nanami praised. “With gusto like that, he'll make a fine quartermaster!”

Senren felt a small semblance of pride which was quickly overshadowed by the need to puke. Luckily, the pirates got him sobered up with some water and tempura, and before long the world was no longer spinning.

“Ah… I'm so sorry,” Senren apologized as his senses (and speech) came back to him. “My alcohol tolerance has always been… Well, lacking, at best.”

“Hey, no worries, mate!” Sumire clapped him on the back warmly, sending a wave of static electricity across the surface. “You’re supposed to sip awamori slowly, anyway. I'd be surprised if you didn't drop from a swig like that.”

“So,” Nanami called their attention, his jovial voice mellowing. “I take it yer here for the Motley?”

Sumire nodded. “You know me well, Uncle. Of course I'm here to claim the Motley! I've gotten myself a proper weapon and a reliable quartermaster now. I'd say I've earned her.”

“Yeah? And what about the rest o' yer crew?” Nanami gauged her. “Don't tell me you thought you could just pocket an old pirate's investment.”

Without hesitation, Sumire tossed the sack of Kyo onto the table.
“Then take it back,” she crossed her arms smugly, leaning backwards. “I might be a pirate, but I'm not a crook. I'd never dream of trying to take your investment as profit.”

“We merely came to the realization that any crewmates we could buy,” Senren added. “Were not going to be crewmates we could rely on. Simply put, gold-diggers are not worth our time.”

“Heheh… Well, who'd’ve thought,” Nanami’s gruff face split into a genuine smile. “You kids are smart after all. A’right, keep it, keep it. It's called an investment for a reason, Sumi. I care about yer future, an’ I wanna be a part of it.”

Nanami paused, savoring the expression on Sumire's face. It looked as if she was trying desperately to both process and conceal the fact that her heart was touched. Which meant it was the perfect time for the cherry on top.

“Which is why I'm givin’ you the Motley.”