Hino asks Tsukimori to teach her how to fix her violin, which surprises Tsukimori (gladly surprised) because Hino decided to play the violin again. He tells her to meet her the following day at the train station… then Tsukimori proceeds to practice in the room. Inside, he gazes at the window and remembers the first time she met Hino. She was so amazed by the beautiful music of Tsukimori’s violin… he thought about the expression she showed back then, and thought that the expression in her eyes now was just like that time.

The next day, Tsukimori and Hino ride the station and Hino wonders where they’ll be going (as Tsukimori never mentioned anything… ^^;; ) Tsukimori brought her to some sort of violin-repairman (who also manufactures violins)… Nakata-san recognizes Tsukimori, and tells him that it’s been a year since he has last seen him. Tsukimori tells Hino that their family has been entrusting Nakata-san with their violin, starting from his grandfather. He also tells her that Nakata-san does manufacturing up until repairing of violins.

Tsukimori asks Nakata-san to check up on a violin (and also study it), and Nakata-san says he doesn’t mind doing so. Hino introduces herself, and Nakata-san asks if she also plays the violin. Nakata-san mentions that unlike playing the violin, watching him do repairs isn’t really an interesting sight. Hino looks at the violin Nakata-san is holding, and sees that it has quite a damage. He tells her that even though it has sustained a great damage, it could still be completely repaired. Unlike humans, violins could live for a very long time since it could always be repaired. Hino asks about the life span of a violin, and was surprised when she knew that it could reach until 300 years. He says that violins are passed from generation to generation (passed from one repairman to another also), so not being able to fix the violin that has been passed to him would be disrespectful to its predecessor (either the one who made it, or the one who repaired it before). Nakata-san tells her that it takes quite some time to repair it, taking months or years depending on the damage. Hino was surprised that it would take that long, and Tsukimori tells her that each and every violin is different from one another, so fixing it would take quite some time. “Just like your violin, which is one of a kind”, he says. Hino thinks that her violin is indeed unique, since it was made out of Lili’s thoughts and feelings.

Tsukimori tells Hino to let Nakata-san take a look at her violin, so that she could know its condition, considering that three of its strings broke all at the same time. Nakata looks at the violin and says that he can’t believe that three of its strings broke all at once, yet the violin did not sustain any other damage. “What a great spirit [she] has!”, Nakata said. Hino thought he was talking about her, so she replied “Oh, but I’m not that…”, then Tsukimori corrects her and tells her Nakata was talking about the violin, and not her

Nakata-san notices that the violin didn’t have a label, as compared to most violins. This label is seen under that “stylish” hole in the violin, which says something about the roots of the violin (who made it, where or when it was made). Hino’s violin came from Lili, so it didn’t have that label. Nakata-san finishes checking Hino’s violin and comments that it is pretty good, then advises her to take good care of it. After that, he also asks Tsukimori to try playing his violin (to check if there’s something wrong with it). Tsukimori plays Ave Maria, which once again reminded Hino that it was Tsukimori’s Ave Maria that made her realize the beauty of the sound of violin for the first time in her life.

“What a beautiful music”, Hino said… then Nakata-san mentions that Tsukimori’s music has become more gentle / soft. Hino said that it must be because the repair was successful, then Nakata-san says “No, I’m not talking about his violin, but rather his performance. His audience has changed… Is that the reason behind the change in his performance?”
Hino thanks Tsukimori for bringing her to Nakata-san’s place, Tsukimori tells her there’s nothing to thank for, since he only wanted her to know more about violins. Tsuchiura is playing the piano at the music store he visits frequently (forgot the name of the ojisan here… =__=” ), then thinks about the words of the soccer team captain… “We don’t need someone half-hearted who can’t decide between those two (choosing between soccer and music).”

And then, Tsukimori and Hino coincidentally drops by the same store to buy stuff for her violin. Tsuchiura was delighted that Hino decided to play the violin again. Hino asks help from Tsukimori regarding what strings she should buy, and tells Tsukimori “Those strings like the violin from earlier would do. Because it sounded great.” Since there’s still the one golden chord left in her violin, she bought three strings, and Tsukimori helps her place it on her violin. As Hino was tightening the G-string, Tsukimori told her to tighten it more, then slightly touched Hino’s hand. Both Hino and Tsukimori blushes because of that (:3). “Geez! What am I blushing about!”, is what crossed Hino’s mind. Tsuchiura looks at the two, then perhaps felt a little jealousy (judging from the frown on his face ), but then seeing how Hino’s smile was back was enough to make him smile too. “It’s been quite a while since I last saw that smile… So you’ve finally come back”, he said… then tells himself it’s time to end his half-heartedness.

Hino finishes putting all the strings on the violin, then Tsukimori tells her she should try it out next. Tsuchiura guides Hino to start, as he tells her to start with a ?la’ using the A-string. Hino produces a horrid sound at first, then tells them to just pretend they didn’t hear anything. Tsukimori advises her to loosen up and relax her arms. Hino tries once again and this time, plays it better… “What a horrible sound… just like a beginner. But that’s only to be expected, right? I love the violin, so it would be better to do it right from the start”

Hino goes to the music room, then Lili sees that she fixed the violin. She tells Lili that she placed the strings herself, with the help of Tsukimori. Lili was really delighted by this, and tells her that this attitude of hers must be the reason why she is able to see Lili. Lili tells her he’ll definitely help her in her practice. Hino tells him, “I will work hard together with this violin. Because this is the violin that Lili gave me, and there’s no other violin like this in this world.” Lili was touched by Hino’s words and cries in joy. Hino tells him she’s going to do her best until the final selection. “It’s great that I was able to cross paths with this violin”, Hino said, and thanks Lili. Lili also thanks her, then cheers for her.

Hino decides to practice in the rooftop… she once again produces that horrible sound at first, then tells herself to relax and loosen up in playing. “Believe in what you have been practicing up until now”, she says. Although Hino’s music wasn’t as good as before, still it wasn’t that horrible.. J As Hihara was going up the stairs to the rooftop, she hears someone playing the violin then runs off to see Hino. Hihara was happy to see Hino playing the violin again. Hino apologizes for making him worry, then Hihara tells her she doesn’t need to apologize since he wasn’t able to do anything for her at that time. Hihara asks her if her hands sustained any injury, because of the not-so-good sound he heard… Hino tells him “It is indeed a horrible sound, but that’s my music now (or, ?that’s my present music’). I love the violin. I want to treasure this feeling I have, and face the violin with these feelings.”

Yunoki hears someone’s terrible performance, saying that it sounds like an amateur. “Is it Hino? Interesting”, he said. At the back of the school, Amou is persistently trying to interview Shimizu-kun, when she was got distracted by Hino’s violin, and wonders who is playing (and making the “noise” ). Shimizu-kun quickly recognizes that it’s Hino playing (Shimizu-kun’s amazing… o_o). Amou was surprised to now that Hino has started playing the violin again. Fuyuumi also recognizes Hino’s violin, and says “The sound is different than before, but still… it’s great that you’ve decided to play again, Kaho-sempai”.

Kanazawa-sensei hears Hino playing too, then smiles… Mio and Nao also hears her playing, and cheers her on from afar. Other students heard her too, and wondered if it was really Hino (because of the change in the sound of her violin). One of the students say that he heard rumors that Hino changed her violin, and others comment about the great difference between her performance from before. Yunoki’s fangirls says that it’s expected from someone from the regular school, unable to play well after a short span of time of not playing. They think it would be better for Hino to just quit, and “predicts” that perhaps the quality of the concours would degrade even more when Yunoki finally leaves the school. Then Yunoki appears before them, and tells them “Thank you for that compliment, but then despite the fact that her (Hino) performance has changed, you can’t deny the fact that she’s trying her very best. And with that, what we should do is look after her and treat her with warmth.”

Tsukimori who is in the practice room, hears Hino, and says “Loosen up more, Hino”, as though she can hear his advice. Tsuchiura stands behind the rooftop door listening to Hino, then leaves to confront the soccer team captain. He submits his letter of resignation, but then the captain rips it into two. Tsuchiura was surprised by this action… then the captain explains, “You see Tsuchiura, I was just trying to see the determination you have. But you have to remember that in the world of both sports and music, competition is tough. And you won’t be able to win if you can’t concentrate on one thing at a time. You’ve already come this far, so win, alright? Tsuchiura”

Tsuchiura meets Hino after class and takes her to the concert hall to talk to her. He tells Hino that she’s been working hard, then Hino tells him she still has a long way to go. She also tells him that she knows what everyone is saying about her, but she has decided to do things at her pace, and make progress one step at a time. “I’m happy to see that you’re back”, Tsuchiura said.

And then, he talks about his past… he tells Hino that he also has an unpleasant memory regarding the concours, then Hino remembers what the store owner told her, about Tsuchiura having ?feelings of injustice’ towards the concours. “Way back elementary, I joined the concours for the first time. There were not only elementary students, but also junior high and high school students in the competition, since it was a competition for boys below the age of 18 ? the Jr. Concours. More than half of the participants were high school students, and I was the only elementary student. I gave all I had, and performed to the very best that I can, and was able to outperform the other competitors. I was confident that I will win, but then the one who won was a high school student. And I never received any recognition.” Hino asked him why that was so, and Tsuchiura tells her it probably has something to do with making an elementary student win (and the reasons behind it that they find troublesome). “I know that [in music] competition isn’t everything, but then that moment seemed like my all. And so when I lost, it was though I was denied of [everything about] my music. After that, I never performed the piano in front of people again, that is, until the time I became your accompanist in the 1st selection. Truth be told, that was the first time that I performed with someone. But when I was able to adapt to your music, I felt the music inside of me greatly broadened. The lone music I had of my piano, was suddenly opened up… and I was finally able to confront the things I turned my back to. It’s all because of you, Hino… Thank you.”
(Whew… what a long speech by Tsuchiura… o_o)

Hino once again practices, and this time in the garden. She was confronted by Yunoki’s fans, and tells her how hideous her playing is. “We don’t want the little time we have left to cherish with Yunoki-sama to be ruined by your hideous music”, they said. Then, Yunoki appears (magically? lol), and tells Hino that she’s been working hard. Yunoki’s fangirls back off and run away… ^^;; And then, Yunoki shows his true face and tells Hino “Your music sure has changed. There’s only one person left who’s music is yet to change.” -> referring to himself.