In the middle of the tournament, Natsumi and his friends are waiting for their turn to win. They've been waiting all day for their chance, and now they're finally going to get their chance. They don't know what to do with themselves, since they haven't won yet, but they'll do whatever it takes to make it to the shinkansen, the tournament that's supposed to be the pinnacle of Japanese athletics. Natsume is bummed that he's not going to be able to cheer his friends on, but he can't help feeling a little better about the whole thing. He's so happy that he doesn't even have to worry about Chihaya, because she's already won the tournament for the third year in a row, and he'll be free to stay the night. He wonders if he should be cheering for his friends instead of cheering for Chihaya . He also wonders if it's actually funny that the girls are cheering for their friends when they shouldn't be doing it for the first time in three years. He thinks that they are just trying to make him laugh, and that they want him to cheer them up. The girls are psyched that they've won, and they'd better get back to the tournament soon, because they need to win some more medals.