At no point does a title card pop up, so for the record this episode is titled After the Party on Christmas Evening. Anyways, after the work party is over, everyone returns to their individual rooms. You attempt to go to sleep, but this doesn't happen. You give up after a while and head out into the hallway, where you then decide to either go to the foot baths, the hot springs, or take a walk. Each branch is its own ending.
In Branch A, Ryekie is there and surprised to see you as he asks if you
couldn't sleep. You can see that his cheeks are red and that he appears
to be drunk. When you apparently ask about him, he says he couldn't
either so he figured he'd have himself a nightcap. He thought about
going to the regular baths, but he decided not to since he can’t go
alone with his injury and he didn't want to wake Huckle up. He could at
least go soak in the foot baths so he came here, and he invites you to
join in.
You take up Ryekie's invitation and sit next to him, and your breaths come out in a fog that mixes with the foot bath's steam that rises up to the starry sky. Ryekie thanks you for going along with his selfishness today. While he was drunk at the time, he does feel that causing trouble for you and Huckle is something he needs to reflect upon. Still, in doing what he did he was able to be a hero again for a bit. He had to use a bit of his credit, but he's proud that he was able to fight with everyone for a moment.
At that point, your phone shines as if prompting you to push the button on it. Ryekie transforms into his alternate form, which he's surprised about given that no villains or monsters are around. He wonders if this means his wish to show you the new form he got thanks to you reached the heavens. He laughs good-naturedly, then extends his hand out. As there's no broadcast going on, Ryekie notes that this form of his is yours alone, and he asks you to not look away from it. To him, wearing clothes meant only for the Christmas season and fighting for a bit in it is the greatest present ever. He thanks you, then asks you to continue fighting with him.
Ryekie puts his arm over your shoulder and pulls you closer to him. Even he with his usual loud yelling all the time is quiet at this moment, and all you can hear from him is his heartbeats. Soon you drift off to sleep, holding yourself against his chest like the first time you met him as the branch ends.
In Branch B, Nessen is there and surprised to see you. He probably only just had his clothes off since he quickly starts retying his tie when you find him. He quickly apologizes for forgetting his manners, and he mentions that at this time most customers aren't in the baths, so it becomes open to the staff. He's generally the only one who goes in, so he just took a bath and is just coming out. While a lot's happened today, he's let his guard down too much and says it's undignified of him.
Nessen collects his things and starts making his way to the door. He excuses himself and tells you to enjoy the bath. He stops after a few steps and turns around as if considering something, and Nessen then offers to wash your back if you don't mind. He used to do work as a bathhouse attendant to make some pocket money, so he's confident he can do that well enough. Nessen is quick to deny having any ulterior motives for suggesting this, then explains he just wanted to express his thanks to you for helping to protect the town he treasures so much.
You accept his offer, so Nessen starts rolling up his sleeves and getting ready. He thanks you, then says he'll do his utmost for you. He's shocked when you ask if he's going to take his clothes off, saying it would be rude of him to take a bath with a customer. You start giving him the puppy dog eyes, and he weakly protests to the impropriety of the idea a little longer before he gives in. He does ask that you keep it a secret from the other guests and staff members.
Nessen takes his clothes off, though he wraps a towel around himself as a
token nod to etiquette. He then joins you in the bath, and when he
washes your back later it's as comfortable as he said he'd make it. As
the warm steam wraps you up, you and Nessen enjoy the peace as you two
have a quiet friendly chat. End of branch.
In Branch C, you run into Subaru who is also walking around the resort's quiet central plaza, and he is surprised to see you. He sighs about this meeting since he wasn't expecting it to happen. He's not against it though, and it's way better than him running into Kyoichi. He's surprised when you ask about him having left, which he quickly figures Kyoichi must have told you about. Subaru says he was leaving, but then he changed his mind. Even though he went through all the trouble of getting up, he never got a chance to go to the springs thanks to 'some annoying surprise' by his publishers. Then the Kaibutsu thing happened and forced him into hard labor, meaning he never got to relax.
Subaru curtly chooses to end the conversation there and excuse himself. As he turns to leave, you call out to him without thinking about it. Subaru is surprised by this, asking you what you want since you can take a walk on your own. He says he prefers to be alone, then says it's more correct to say he wants to be alone. He's about to say more on that when he stops, blushing and looking down after looking at your face.
Subaru talks to himself and says that maybe Kyoichi's flirting rubbed onto him after what's happened, then sighs about it. He then smooths his expression out then turns to you, inviting you to come walk with him if you can't sleep. He visits this hot springs town a lot, so he knows of some observation decks in the area where you can get a good look at the stars that people don't know much about. He offers to take you to one. Subaru has a slightly gentler smile on his face as he guides your forward, and you continue with your walk. It's a mostly quiet walk as Subaru doesn't speak much, but his satisfied looking profile stays as a memory in your mind as the branch ends.
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