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Epilogue I stood on the sidelines, waving my hat and cheering like a madman as the referee blew the whistle to end the game, leaving St. Agnus ahead by four goals. The regional finals were over, and my team had taken the gold. I hadn't felt so proud since the day I'd found out I'd been drafted for J-League. The whole team poured onto the field, laughing and congratulating one another and pounding each other on the backs. Somebody started spraying the contents of a water bottle over the crowd, and then everyone was involved in the water fight. By the time I managed to squeeze out of the crush again, I was soaked and breathless, ecstatic that my team had done so well. Hauling my coach's jersey over my head, I grabbed one of the towels on the bench and started rubbing my hair. "Ken-kun!" A familiar high-pitched voice came from the direction of the stands. "Ken-kun, over here!" I scanned the crowd and quickly spotted Omi waving at me, Nagi standing at his side. Grinning widely, I motioned for them to come down and quickly finished drying off. "Omittchi!" I exclaimed in pleasure, catching him up in a tight hug. He returned the embrace, laughing and murmuring congratulations for our win. "We came to watch the game, as soon as we heard your team was in the finals," Omi answered my unasked question. It had been a month since the battle in the Esstet labs, and he was looking much better than he had then - put on some weight again, and he'd regained that permanent happy flush I remembered so well. Nagi was looking much healthier as well, and I said as much to both of them. "Being normal college students is a relief for both of us," Nagi answered me, smiling shyly. "And it's thanks to you and the others that we can live ordinary lives again. We'll never be able to thank you enough." "Aww..." I blushed and rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "You don't have to thank us. You'd have done the same for us." "The others couldn't make it to the game, but they're meeting us in two hours for dinner," Omi informed me. "Do you want to come?" "Of course!" I grinned back at him. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll just go change, and see the team off. Mata ne!" Waving, I jogged off across the field towards the locker room, where the players had already disappeared. Looking back at them over my shoulder, I reflected that normal life was doing wonders for all of us. And this time, we'd all determined not to let ourselves slip out of touch. Nagi's powers were firmly back under his control, and though Esstet was still operational, it just wasn't our problem anymore. Kritiker had a new unit for that sort of thing now, and Manx had released us all with her blessings, promising to keep in touch as well. It might not have been the life I'd had planned out so many years ago, I reflected as I rode my bike to the restaurant Omi'd named, but it was a good life. I had learned things I'd never expected to know about the way humanity worked, good and bad. I knew that I'd done something to help rid the world of some of its darkness. And most of all, I'd made friends that were closer than family, who I knew would always be there if I needed them. Parking the bike and entering the restaurant, I saw all my friends waiting for me. Ran and his sister Aya, Youji and his fiancée, who was a surprisingly sweet but strong-willed woman, Omi and Nagi, even Manx. Grinning from ear to ear, I moved to join them, knowing in my heart that no one had ever had it any better than this.
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