There was a time when Ken would have felt bad, potentially, or at least awkward, about being told he possessed unfair height. But now he just looks soft, understanding, encouraging.

"You grow tall too," he reminds Takeru. "There's many things to look forward to."

Many friends, many adventures. Some are better memories than others. He's uncertain how much he should tell this smaller version of Takeru-san (-kun?), but he's fairly confident he can say everything does, in fact, work out all right. Just as Takeru himself has always worked to ensure.