the festival, we are sent to a completely new locale, 3 years later. Takao and Nakamura have been forcibly separated. Takao is now living with his parents in the suburbs of the big city, and they mostly act like a normal, happy family. Takao is in a new school, and a typical middling student. And while he's as awkward as ever, he's made some friends. Even more intriguingly--Takao may have found a girl to open up to. As with Nakamura, this girl can see there's more to Takao than meets the eye. But this time, she's the one who reintroduces him to literature...