He wonders if he'd feel that way, if their positions were reversed. He thinks about Akaya's career, or the boy's. He takes pride in their accomplishments, but that's more because they wouldn't have reached their apex without his influence, he thinks. Nothing as altruistic as what Marui is describing.

And he hadn't thought much about the lives his friends were building back home. He'd come home briefly, take his turn as the out-of-town uncle, and while he'd enjoyed it, he'd always been planning his next match.

"Ah, how drunk are you? Your face is as red as your hair," he says bluntly, train of thought derailed at the sight. He must be pretty drunk too, what with the inability to say that more delicately, and laughs at himself.