"I was eliminated in the first round…of the qualifiers," Chimon told them.
"That early?!" Ishikawa said, but quickly covered her mouth.
Chimon laughed, "Don't worry! I'm not hung up over it–not anymore, at least!"
"Still…Even you couldn't make it past the qualifiers?" He asked, shifting in the bath of ice.
Within the ice bath, he could feel the frost working on his tired muscles, soothing them with a melting massage as his palms were foremost helped by the ice cubs.
"That's right. It was at the height of my career, too. I was in my prime, and I still got obliterated! I remember my opponent, too…he did end up making it to the semifinals of that year's Celestial Fist, though, so I can't be too sore about it! Ha-ha!" Chimon laughed.
"Who was it? Is he competing this year?" Tadashi asked.
Chimon shrugged, "No clue. I tried to get in touch with him for a private rematch, ya' know, ha-ha, but he's from India."
"India?" He repeated.
"He was the foremost master of 'Niyuddha'--an ancient martial arts style born in India. That guy was a master, that's for sure. But, something was odd about him," Chimon said.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Chimon picked himself up out of the large bath of ice, wearing only black trunks as he threw a towel around his neck before answering.
"Heh…I think that's about all I can say," Chimon smiled, drying off his hair.
"Huh?!"
He was left without an answer right when things seemed to get truly important to his preparedness for the qualifiers.
Chimon laughed, "I think it'll be better if you encounter it for yourself when the qualifiers come. If you can overcome that, I'm sure you'll do well."
"Why're you being so vague now…?" He asked.
"I can't hand out all of the answers, can I?! A part of being a fighter is being able to adapt! Remember that!" Chimon told him, "Anyway, I'm going to be taking the rest of the day off–so you should do the same."
Being left without a pivotal answer, he and his two friends left the gym with more questions than answers now.
"I can't believe "The Ogre" was wiped out in the qualifiers. That's scary!" Ishikawa said, spreading her arms out to accentuate her own words.
"Don't you keep up with this thing each year? How didn't you know that?" He asked.
Together, the three walked towards the cafe that was a few blocks down as cars zipped by on the bright, spring day.
Tadashi answered that for him, "The qualifiers have only started to be aired to the public as of last year."
"Really?" He looked up, "Hmm…"
"Yeah! So, even if you lose–you'll still be a world-famous celebrity!" Ishikawa said happily, punching the air.
He laughed a bit, "I don't plan on losing, though–and I don't want to be known as the guy who lost in the qualifiers, anyway!"
"Oh, that's true…" Ishikawa put her finger to her chin.
The red-haired girl was as much of an airhead as always, but that was part of why she was so easy to get along with–Ishikawa truly held no ill-well within herself.
"Only six days left now, Touma…What're you going to do? You're in peak condition now, right?" Tadashi asked.
While they walked across the sidewalk together, he looked forward with a smile as his golden irises dazzled.
"Hmm…" He thought about it before answering, "I'm probably going to focus on resting and doing some light exercise. You two can help me train, if you want."
The offer he gave was met with mixed reception as the two seemed meek about accepting his request for them to train alongside him. Previously, the two combat-enthusiasts would attach themselves to such an offer.
"What's up? Not up for it?" He asked, keeping his hands casually behind his head while walking.
"Touma…You're far out of my league. I'm afraid…I wouldn't be able to provide anything of substance," Tadashi admitted with a dreary smile.
"...Yeah, same here. After seeing how you handled "The Ogre"...You'd just whoop my butt!" Ishikawa told him.
He looked almost grossed out by their response, "What's gotten into the two of you? I'm the same old Touma, you know."
"Humble, I see," Tadashi quietly replied.
"Huh?!"
"Nothing."
To him, he didn't feel as if anything had changed, but when thinking about it, he did realize the prowess he displayed against the famed former champion probably did discourage the two quite a bit.
"Well, how about the two of you think about it as me training you!" He said with a smile.
"Wha-?" Ishikawa looked at him.
"That…" Tadashi put his hand to his chin, "...I can see that."
"Right?" He smiled brightly, "How about tomorrow then?"
The offer was extended as they just about reached the front of the tranquil cafe as he looked at the two with his shining, radiant eyes.
"Can't," Tadashi swiftly shot that down.
"Yeah, same here," Ishikawa frowned.
"Huh? Why not?" He asked.
Tadashi adjusted his glasses with the ever-present, sharp look in his eyes, "We all have classes tomorrow, and my duties as a dutiful student committee member take priority."
"Eh…"
"Yeah, sorry, Daigo, but I've got volleyball practice tomorrow," Ishikawa chuckled.
He sighed out before smiling, "It's alright. Whenever you're up for it, don't hesitate to ring me up!"
"Of course," Tadashi smiled.
"Yeah!" Ishikawa joined in.
With that, they each went on their way as he went into the cafe, shooting the owner a quick wave before disappearing up the stairs.
In a swift maneuver that took no more than a few seconds, he swapped out of his casual workout gear and into his barista uniform. Racing down the stairs, he went behind the counter, joining Mr. Genji in wiping off the delicate cups.
"It seems as if you had an eventful day, Touma," Mr. Genji said with a smile.
He nodded, gently running the rag against the cup, "Yeah. It was fun."
"I'm glad to hear that, but, say, Touma…" Mr. Genji stopped, looking at him.
"Yeah? What is it?" He looked at the wizened, kind owner of the shop.
Mr. Genji told him, "You should consider showering before starting your shift–especially after quite an intensive day."
Just then he realized he was caked in sweat from his eventful afternoon at Chimon's gym, looking down to see his arms still drenched.
The ice bath didn't help?! I was that hot?! He thought.
"My bad," he apologized with an awkward chuckle.
"No worries," Mr. Genji assured him.
While he was starting up some fresh brews for customers that came in, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
Buzz. Buzz.
He ignored it for the moment as he prioritized handling the customers' orders, with Yui coming in for her shift amidst the noon shift.
"Hey, Touma," Yui greeted him with a smile, putting her apron on.
"Yo," he replied with a soft expression.
After handling all of the current orders, he began wiping down the small spills left on the coffee-making station.
"How's it going?" Yui asked him with a raised eyebrow.
This was certainly asked because of the bandaid on his cheek and the perspiration that needily clung to his skin, he knew.
"Great–I've honestly never felt better!" He told her earnestly.
Though he quickly quieted down as he caught a few odd looks from the customers in the quiet cafe, breaking the focused atmosphere of the working people that sat on their laptops with coffee at their side.
"...Really? Well, I'm glad to hear it," Yui smiled.
"Yeah, thanks," he smiled as well.
While a bit of awkward silence persisted between the two for a moment, they were interrupted by the owner of the cafe getting between them to grab a bag of coffee beans.
The cafe wasn't exactly overrun with customers–not that it wasn't well-off–but the calm working atmosphere derived from the fact that most customers simply sat at their table with a cup of coffee and either a book or a laptop by their side, led to a relaxing work environment.
Though a relaxing environment wasn't exactly optimal for the young man, as while scrubbing cups and serving customers, he could feel his body almost quivering with a bundle of energy.
…I just fought, didn't I? I'm not even tired in the least–the opposite, really, he thought.
"Is everything alright?"
Mr. Genji asked this from behind, catching the young man simply staring at his own shaking hands before he spun around and gave a reassuring nod to the shop owner.
"Yeah, I'm great," he told the man.
Throughout his shift, he served the customers not only diligently, but swiftly–whipping up their orders and parting it to them with utmost speed.
While this was certainly efficient, it definitely seemed to strike the customers as "odd", and not only them, but his coworker and the wizened owner.
"Touma," Mr. Genji said his name.
"Yeah?"
He replied with an energetic smile, going back and forth between coffee beans, setting up the mugs, and boiling the water.
A hand was placed on his shoulder as Mr. Genji looked at him, "Take it easy."