The next morning, Sano tells Mizuki he's done acting like his father, and will trust that Shin isn't pushing himself too hard, and is
high jumping for the love of high jumping. Later, everyone's playing dodgeball, but Mizuki's distracted by the Sano-Shin situation
and is almost hit. After that Mizuki searches out Sano, and finds him with his brother. Then their father shows up! Sano takes the
opportunity to warn his father about overworking Shin, but his father brushes him off. Over dinner that night, Sano talks about his
father, and Mizuki wonders if his feelings about his father are becoming better...
Somewhere, Sano Takehiko faces the committee of the exhibition, proposing a new plan for the exhibition. Talking to Sano and Shin, Mizuki's more convinced their relationship is improving. Later, it seems that Sano senior has persuaded the committee to change the way the competition will work. He warns Sano that those who can't push themselves and don't want to make it to the top should drop out. At practice, both Kagurazaka and Sano Takehiko drill Sano about competing and bad form...
Nakatsu and Mizuki do laundry, and Sano returns but seems to completely ignore them. The stress is really getting to him...Mizuki decides
to get Sano a present, and makes a lemon treat with Rio, but on the way back she bumps into Sano's father! Mizuki decides to wash his soiled jacket, but is extremely
uncomfortable, knowing that if he knew who the treats were for......Strangely, Sano Takehiko ends up confiding in Mizuki that his eldest
son hates him.
Mizuki returns to give the present to Sano, but he still seems out of it. Later she meets up with Umeda and Akiha and ends up going to a cafe with them. There she meets Shin, who's oddly by himself instead of with other students from his school. He tells her he'd rather be talking to her than them! She tells him she ran into their father, and Shin tells them about their father and his role in their mother's death, caused by snow...That night, Mizuki tells Sano to stop working so hard. Not able to stop herself, she talks about how he wants to make ammends, but Sano flips out at her, leaving her in tears. Nakatsu comes along and hugs her...
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