It's time to entice more first years into joining the koto club. Even though Takezo's solo performance doesn't seem to capture the crowd, the beautiful Satowa Hozuki suddenly shows up asking permission to join.

Both Chika and Hiro now know Satowa's secret. Now, Hiro plans to stir more trouble within the club with this new information. How will Hiro's meddling affect the club? Will their bonds prevail?

The training camp has come to an end and the High School Students' Kanto Region Traditional Japanese Music Festival is finally around the corner. To the gang's surprise, the koto clubs from Meiryo and Himesaka are participating in the festival too.

The piece for the qualifier has been decided. It's the piece that Satowa played at the National Koto Competition. Since Takinami's arrangement requires two 17-strings, Satowa goes to see her mother to borrow one.

The members of the koto club have started thinking about what Takinami said: the meaning and role of their sound. In the meantime, Dojima arranges a meeting with the senior members of the Hozuki School.

After losing to the Hakuto at the music festival, the members of the Himesaka realize they are no longer the undisputed number one in Kanagawa. They decide to make a shortlist to determine which of them will compete in the national championship prelim. However, this decision requires great sacrifices from certain members.