Hino contemplates on the harsh things she has said to Tsuchiura… and while inside the faculty room, she glances at Kanazawa-sensei’s desk, seemingly having some doubt if she’s going to tell Kana-yan about quitting the concours. Yunoki on the other hand, has already told Kana-yan that he’s quitting. Kana-yan tells him it’s quite sudden and tells him that he can’t do anything about it since it’s hiw own decision. Yunoki frowns a little because it wasn’t really his decision, it was decided for him by his grandmother. Yunoki thanks Kana-yan for everything he’s done… then outside the door, one of Yunoki’s fans overhears their conversation and says something like “This doesn’t sound good” (and would of course spread the rumor ^^;; )

Mio and Nao are walking along the school entrance when they see Fuyuumi, who was looking for Hino. Mio and Nao tells her Hino told them she has something to do, then Fuyuumi asks if she has started playing violin again. They think it’s not so, as Hino didn’t bring her violin with her.

Hino spends some time on the rooftop, thinking (or rather psyching herself ^^:; ) “This should be easy… I just have to tell Kanazawa-sensei I’m quitting the concours… because I don’t have the right to play violin. But then, seeing that Kanazawa-sensei isn’t around made me feel relieved…” Yunoki, who also went to the rooftop, asks her what was up with her, that she looks like a wilted flower. “They way you are right now… makes it difficult for people to get near you” he says. Hino tells him not to mind her then, and Yunoki tells her it can’t be so…. he tells her “A wilted flower needs some water”, which surprises Hino. Yunoki tells her “Why were you so surprised? You seem pretty confident, that you took my example of you being a flower seriously… You seem as if you want to run away” Yunoki tells her that he’s going to study in England soon, and asks if she wants to go with him. He tells her it’s alright if she wants to do so. Hino asks Yunoki what would happen to the concours, and tells her that there’s no other choice for him but to quit. Hino asks him “How could that be? Is it alright to do that?” Then pauses, as she thinks about how she herself has thought of quitting the concours. “The one who’s really running away from the concours… is me” Yunoki notices the sad look on her face and tells her how he can’t use her to kill some time anymore (with her present state), and that she doesn’t give him enjoyment anymore”

Hihara hears the rumor about Yunoki going to England… and wonders if it’s true since Yunoki never mentioned anything to him. But, seeing his fangirls crying (or rather “mourning” ), then later on deciding on following their Yunoki-sama wherever he goes… was enough to convince him that it must be so. Hihara’s classmate tells him that Yunoki must be pretty cold, for him not to mention anything about it to Hihara. Hihara tells him it’s not like that, and that he thinks that Yunoki must have his own reasons for doing so. As Hihara goes home, he thinks about how he himself hasn’t said anything to Yunoki about Hino too. And then, he runs into Hino. They talk about Yunoki’s decision of going to England… Hihara tells Hino how he knows he won’t be of much help, but still he was hoping Yunoki told him about it. Hihara remembers what happened to Hino in the 3rd selection, and apologizes for not noticing how she was having a hard time… Hino tells him that she wants to discuss something with him.

Tsuchiura goes to see Kana-yan, and asks whether Hino has talked to him (about quitting), and was relieved when he found out that Kana-yan didn’t get to talk to Hino. Kana-yan tells Tsuchiura “What’s up… I sense something wrong (or some problem)” Tsuchiura just tells him there’s just some stuff going on… and evades his question. “Stuff going on eh… it’s perhaps your shoulders are getting stiff (?) Look at the strength of your shoulder, and you should be more comfortable. Then your wrinkles / frown will also go away” (?) -> I don’t quite understand what Kana-yan is saying at this part, but what I do know is he’s trying to give Tsuchiura some tips on making him lose the frown on his face

Tsuchiura thinks about what he’s doing, and asks himself why he seems to be acting sneaky.

Back to Hihara and Hino’s conversation… Hino tells Hihara that she’s not going to play the violin anymore. Hihara asks her if she has lost her interest in it, then tells her that it’s ok to quit if she really wants to. Hino apologizes for letting him hear her ranting.. Hihara remembers Hino’s performance in the past, then realizes what he just told her. He was going to take back what he said about quitting, but then Hino has already left. “Kaho, that’s not what I want to tell you.” As Hihara plays his trumpet, Yunoki is seen behind the door to the rooftop, looking hesitant to approach Hihara.

The next day, Hihara meets Yunoki on the way to school, and tells him how he wanted to hear it personally from him. Yunoki tells him he didn’t intend to keep it from him, it’s just that he didn’t want to tell him about it until it was formally decided. He also tells Hihara how he must also be keeping a thing or two from him. Hihara then thinks to himself, and wonders when have they started to keep things from each other… Even in class, Hihara’s mind is elsewhere, and was scolded by his teacher because he wasn’t paying attention in class. Hihara thinks about what his teacher told him, about aiming to improve and be the best.. He tells himself how he thinks that just being able to play the instrument that he likes should be enough. He compares himself with Hino, who’s really serious about playing, that it even made as far as to make the smile on her face disappear… “I wonder if, simply liking music will someday reach its limit” Yunoki notices how Hihara’s deeply thinking about something…

Shimizu-kun, who’s looking through each and every practice room (I’m assuming he’s looking for an available room), is wondering whether Hino will come and practice… He sees Tsukimori playing, and watches him intently… much to Tsukimori’s suprise… ^^;;; Shimizu talks to Tsukimori, and tells him that he’s looking for some sound (in search for some kind of sound/music)… Shimizu tells him that he wants to play like he used to, but then he couldn’t. Tsukimori asks him if what he meant by looking for that sound is ‘aiming for the ideal sound / music’? Shimizu, as usual, is in his own world and doesn’t quite hear what Tsukimori said. He instead mentions “Hino-sempai… I want to see Hino-sempai… The ideal sound seems to be really distant… Why is it, that I want to hear Hino-sempai’s music? On the night of our music camp, Hino-sempai’s ‘Ave Maria’ was wonderful.” Tsukimori also wonders about that time, and agrees with what Shimizu-kun said. “At that time, I was taken by Hino’s music… unknowingly. Why was it, that my heart felt that way?” Tsukimori thinks to himself…

Hino gets a chance to talk to Kana-yan after the incident with his cat… Hino stays silent for a while, but then asks him that she has something to tell him.

Hihara on the other hand, is still wondering about the things that happened, when Ousaki-sempai sees him and asks him what was up. Hihara then tells him of Kahoko wanting to quit playing the violin, with reasons he doesn’t know about. He tells Ousaki-sempai that despite hearing those words from her, he wasn’t able to do anything… Tsukimori overhears this conversation.

Hino finally tells Kana-yan about planning to quit from the competition, with which he realizes that this must be what Tsuchiura was talking about. He asks Hino “Will you be able to find a new path beyond / after this…? After you quit the concours, will you be able to find something else?” This brings him memories from his past, as an opera singer, failing in love, as well as in his career… He further adds “Not being able to to so, is really painful…” Hino wonders what Kana-yan means, and just tells her that he won’t understand it yet. Kana-yan also tells her that telling him how she wants to quit the concours won’t change the fact that she’s been doing her best up until now. “Well, someone like you should be able to find a new path to take soon… ahh, it’s good to be young”

Lili appears, and asks Hino if she really wants to quit… Hino says that it’s impossible for her to continue on, since the violin can’t be fixed anymore… Lili tells her that after the violin strings broke, the violin is now just an ordinary violin. Lili once again asks her decision, and Hino tells her she can’t play anymore… she adds “But then, I feel relieved… because now I don’t have to lie anymore. And no one will be fooled anymore… So, please understand, Lili…”

In the classroom, Hino is confronted by Tsukimori, who asks if she’s really quitting violin. He asks Hino if she’s going to be alright with this decision.. and Hino replies “Whether it’s alright or not shouldn’t matter, it’s not like I started playing because I liked it…” Tsukimori tells Hino to stop lying to herself, and tells her of the time when he saw her in front of the station. “At that time, you moved your hands / fingers, as though you were playing with an invisible violin” he says. Hino tries to reason out, but Tsukimori tells her “You like the violin right?” then, tells about something from his past. “There was a time when my hand / fingers were almost crushed (or rather broken), when I was in elementary… I was being bullied by an upperclassman, and I was filled with fear. It’s not like I was afraid of his brute strength, but was rather afraid that I won’t be able to play the violin anymore. ‘I’ll make you unable to play the violin anymore’… those words still resound in my ears, bringing a sense of fear in me up until now..”

Then, Tsukimori confronts her with questions… “Can you still live without being able to play the violin? Will you be able to bear the fact that you won’t be able to play the violin anymore? Your hands, your heart… will they be alright with not being able to play the violin?” Hino then lies about this and tells Tsukimori that she’ll be alright, since she’s not interested in classical music, and that she doesn’t like the violin. “Then why are you crying? Those tears, don’t they convey what you truly feel?” Hino denies it even more, and runs away… leaving Tsukimori wondering… “Hino, where are your true feelings?”