Mamoru couldn't help but laugh at Hibiki's display of excitement as she made her to her feet to embrace him. Thanks to laughing, he wasn't able to brace himself for her squeeze, almost sucking the breath out of him. "Ack! Ahah, jeez!" he exclaimed happily, putting her arms around her and squeezing her back, though not nearly as hard as her own Vice Grip. The girl went on to repeatedly claim how fine she was, bringing a sigh of relief to Mamoru's lips. He was almost worried that she was totally exhausted from simply walking to the laboratory, but it looked like she had energy to spare. "I'm glad." he muttered amidst the girl's frantic attempts to convince him that she was perfectly healthy. He knew the truth, of course. The professor told him that the doctors gave her the "okay" despite her illness still lingering. She wasn't at 100% yet, but she certainly seemed like it at the moment.

"I missed you too, Hibiki! Haha, it's so great to see you." he said, letting his hug with her end as he put his hands on her shoulders and looked down. "Did you actually manage to get shorter while I was gone?" he asked teasingly, realizing that his own growth spurts outranked hers by a lot. When they were young, the height difference wasn't so drastic. "Come on, relax inside." he said, inviting her to sit in the air-conditioned lobby of the Research Center. Even with how much she claimed she was all better, he couldn't help but show concern for her just like he used to: in the form of suggestions like 'come sit down' or 'you should have a drink'. He really didn't want to sound like he pitied her, but he was legitimately thoughtful in making sure she didn't overexert herself.