*Sigh*

Today's battle ended up being pretty close.

Yeah...

Argh! My throat's totally at its limit!

And my drink's empty...!

I'm gonna go buy another one. Who wants to come with..?

I'll pass...

Urgh... C-Can't move...

Haha. Looks like we've all had it...

In that case, Kohane, let's go grab some drinks for everyone.

Okay!

Still, Okazaki, I couldn't believe how well you guys did. It's like you didn't miss any time at all...

Did you guys keep practicing after that battle?

Yeah, but we only did warm-ups and stuff.

This might sound pathetic, but we weren't able to go cold turkey.

Which means that fire inside you never went out.

No, it didn't... But we couldn't work up the nerve to face all of you. We were too afraid of holding you back since we turned tail and ran.

Yeah, I get what you mean...

Man, I wish I knew you guys felt the same way.

*Sigh*

Seriously, you guys...

You were all welcome to come back whenever you liked. There's no need to feel so guilty.

If you guys had just told us that you were serious about coming back, we would've believed that you were ready to recommit.

We know how passionate you guys are about what you do, and that you're as tough as nails.

I mean, we wouldn't have asked you guys to join us in the first place if you weren't.

Shinonome...

Thanks for saying that...

We should've told you this sooner...

We're sorry for running away and disappearing after losing to Taiga...

No...

It's our fault for not being able to keep you all from running.

That time, we couldn't confidently say, “We're going to surpass Taiga and RAD WEEKEND!” We knew we couldn't at the level we were at... So we just stood there silently.

So, we're just as responsible.

Shinonome...

But me, Toya, An, Kohane... We've all improved a lot since we started training with Ken.

So we're never letting anything like that happen again.

We're not letting anyone think for a second that we're not going to surpass RAD WEEKEND.

Akito...

You really are such a straightforward and dependable guy.

Oh, also... Please let me buy you all dinner tonight!

What? Are you sure...?

There's quite a lot of us...

Not a problem. Also, what's a student saying no to a free meal for?

Obviously, this doesn't make up for anything. It's really just a way to make me feel better about what we did.

I'm sorry, and I hope you'll accept.

Alright, if you insist, then why not?

He says he's paying! What do you guys wanna get?! Oh, how about a buffet?!

You sound so eager, Mita...

Come to think of it, there's a place with a dessert buffet near—

Oh, no sweets.

Why not?! What happened to your offer?!

I don't like sweets.

How about you, Aoyagi? I'm guessing you could go for a steak or barbeque right now.

Yes, I'd much rather prefer that.

See?

(This still isn't everything...)

(But we've at least managed to recover some of what we lost.)

(Which does make me happy.)

(And I guess...)

I guess I like it when we're all hanging out like this.

Hm? Did you say something just now, Akito?

No, nothing.

(Despite what I just said a second ago, I know it takes a lot of guts to stand back up after being knocked down like that...)

(Mita, Okazaki and the others are serious. Which is why...)

(I know we'll be able to put on even better events now we have them back!)

(Just watch. Things aren't like they were before. Not like when we hit rock bottom.)