The chapter starts with Inoji and Shii doing the dishes. Bringing the last of them in, Shii apologizes for having him wash all of them. He tells her it's all right; since the others did they cooking, it's the least he can do. Shii points out that he has something on his face, and Inoji tries to wipe it off. After he rubs the wrong side of his face, she gets it for him, and he blushes furiously. She laughs that he must have been scrubbing hard and kicked up some of the bubbles onto his face. She starts to leave the room, but he calls her back, saying, “Once the exams are over... there's something I want to tell you.” Shii immediately asks him what that is, and he says, “Not... right now...” After exams are over, then? He tells her yes, and Shii goes on. Wondering what he might want to say, she considers jokingly that he might want to confess. Deciding it couldn't be that, she wonders if he knows about Mio and Marui...
After dinner, everyone is settling back in to study some more. Ishida yells after Yuki as she heads back to her room, and she turns back to thank them for the meal, saying, “Everyone, work hard, quietly.” Taki looks over at Mio, who smiles and tells him that the desk is in order as she finishes wiping down the table. Akane announces that, to thank them for dinner, she'll help Mio with her algebra. She gets Taki's notes, and drags Mio over to the couch (making Ishida turn off the TV and move). Seeing the two of them together, Taki recalls his suspicion that Akane knew something when they were looking for Mio earlier. As he sits down, Taki's phone falls out of his pocket, and he sees the message that Mio sent, telling him there's something she needs to talk to him about. Mio thinks that Akane is smart, but... She reminds Akane that these are second year lessons, and Akane assures her that she can figure it out as long as she has Nao's notes. Watching Akane work a problem, Mio is impressed. She tells her she's amazing – is Akane related to Taki? She isn't; Akane already told her: If she has Taki's notes, she can figure it out. Mio asks, “I've looked at Taki's notes, too, so why don't I understand any of it!?” Akane tells her it's just the harsh difference between their abilities. Plus, that material is from first year, so try to recall it. Mio can't remember, and tells Akane to give her some time! “Difference in abilities...” She's a pathetic upperclassman, letting a first year like Akane take the lead! Mio thinks that she'll start by going back over the foundation of the problem, while Akane wonders how much time to giver her. Akane leans back and looks over at Marui, just before he glances over at Mio. He quickly looks away, and Akane wonders what that was. Little by little, she's paying too much attention to him, like an idiot. She was looking over there without even realizing... Akane casts a somewhat angry look at Mio.
As it gets later into the night, Shii comes over and says that she's exhausted, and asks if she can rest on the couch. Mio says it's all right, and Akane says that she should also get going. Mio joins her, and Akane tells her that she didn't need to accompany her – it's right next door. Mio answers that she wanted a break, while thinking that this was an opportunity to look for her whale charm. Mio thanks Akane for studying with her and waves good bye. Before going inside, Akane turns back and says, “...You can't help that you injured yourself, but...” Mio isn't sure what she said, and Akane repeats, “You can't help that you were injured, but, Ootaka-san, I think you were depending too much on another guy, even though Nao was right there! I said it before, but... If you betray Nao, I'll never forgive you.” (Note: When Akane says “Nao” here, the kanji actually says “boyfriend.”) Stunned, Mio realizes that Akane must have seen Marui lean in to kiss her. But then, she thinks that she acted too light-hearted up until now... but why would Akane mention that now? Mio tries to reassure herself that she couldn't have seen that; it's all right! Using her cell phone for light, Mio starts searching for her charm, as Akane hurries into her house. Someone out of frame (presumably Akane's mother) yells at her, “Akane? Are you back? Even if you were just at Yuki's house, I've told you not to stay out so late, haven't I...” Akane pays no attention, as she stresses over how strange it is. What she said just now... she isn't sure if she was saying that for Nao's sake.
Still worrying over whether or not Akane saw what happened between her and Marui, Mio is crouched by the gate outside. Taki calls out her name; she was taking a long time, so... He sees her crouched down, and asks if her leg hurts again. Looking on the verge of tears, she answers, “I'm sorry... the dolphin... No, the whale charm... I lost it.” She explains that she must have dropped it along the street somewhere when she went shopping. Taki offers to look on the stairs for her, telling Mio that it would be better if went back... He sees that she's determined to come anyway, so he offers his hand to help her up the stairs, saying, “Be careful on your left leg.” Mio thinks thinks that she will take care, wanting to make her guilty conscience go away... At the top of the stairs, Taki asks if that's where she fell. Mio says yes, and attempts to look for the charm. She thinks that, if it isn't on the stairs, it might be where she fell the first time... But like she thought, it's too dark. Suddenly, Taki asks if that's what she wanted to talk about, from that message. Mio had forgotten that she sent that, and starts panicking over how she should tell him. Looking at Taki, she thinks that she needs to explain it, as soon as possible. She starts by telling him that it was about something else... She says, “To be honest... Marui told me that he likes me.” She explains that she turned him down shortly after, but, even though he said things could stay the same, it's been uncomfortable... Taki replies, “When... Did he confess a while ago?” Mio tells him that it happened at the aquarium, and Taki remembers Akane asking him why he was allowing Marui a chance to be with Mio. She explains that she rejected him, and thought she'd keep quiet about it, but it soon began to feel unnatural. Mio apologizes for having him know something he probably didn't want to hear, and thinks that telling him only made it uncomfortable. Taki responds, “But... I'm glad you told me.” Mio sees that he's smiling, and feels relieved. She was sure he'd look unhappy... He tells that she should have told him from the beginning, and Mio lets out a breath in relief.
Looking up at the sky, Mio remarks that the stars look close. They're shining, flickering, twinkling... Up until now, she hadn't even noticed the stars. Saying that the stars are pretty, Mio thinks that she's glad she told Taki. She feels somewhat relieved. Taki wonders if it's going to rain, and says, “There's the dolphin.” Mio asks where, thinking he means her charm, but he points up to the sky. The dolphin constellation. That's a constellation? Taki explains that it's what they used to call the Summer Triangle. He shows her how to find it, and Mio is excited when she figures it out. He tells her the names of the stars (Vega, Altair, Deneb), then explains that Vega is also Orihime, and Altair is also Hikoboshi, which are along the Milky Way. Mio recognizes the stars related to Tanabata. Then, she wonders: If the other two are along the Milky Way, does that mean Deneb is submerged? Taki says that it's part of Cygnus, the swan constellation, so it should be fine. In the Tanabata legend, Deneb represents the magpies that formed a bridge with their wings so that Orihime and Hikoboshi could meet. Mio comments that Deneb is a nice star, and Taki points out the star a little above and to the left of Altair. With that, they form the dolphin constellation. Mio sees it, and says that now that he mentions it, it looks like it's swimming. She asks if there's also a whale, and Taki says that there is. She asks where, and he tells that it's visible in autumn. Looking sad, Mio says, “I see... so both the charm and the whale in the sky are missing.” Taki starts to say her name as Mio rests against his shoulder. Once it's light out, she'll look for the charm again, and will definitely find it. Thinking about what happened with Marui and Akane's words, Mio repeats, “I'll definitely, definitely, definitely find it.” Taki asks if it's that serious; she can't help it if she can't find it... but stops when he sees how upset she looks. Thinking that she absolutely won't betray Taki, she says that she has to find it. Remembering when Akane told him that people's feelings can change, he tells Mio, “All right, we'll definitely find it. If we search together, we'll definitely find it.” Seeing his smile, Mio says, “Right!”
The next morning, they wake up to heavy rain. As the others talk about how they didn't bring umbrellas and the forecast seems to call for rain through the afternoon, Mio is off finding an umbrella. She tells Taki she has to go look, and he tells her that she won't be able to see well enough in the downpour. Mio protests that, with this heavy rain, she doesn't know where it might wash away to if she leaves it alone. She could have dropped it anywhere out there. Taki takes the umbrella and says, in that case, he can run to the store and take a look. He hurries out, and Mio runs up and grabs him from behind. She tells him to wait – he can't do that! It's her responsibility to find what she lost, and she can't leave it to Taki alone. She'll find it herself. She thinks that, with the timing of her charm simply disappearing, it might just be her imagination, but... It feels like something invisible is testing her.