Snow.Hiroko visits Kōsei at his house, seeing him cooped up in his bedroom. He claims that he cannot play the piano anymore, seeing as he is reliving the trauma of two years ago. Kōsei returns to school and finds a note in his desk from Ryōta, and the familiar stationary inside reads, "I want canelés." Kōsei visits Kaori in her hospital room, where she came back from the intensive care unit. He carries her to the roof of the hospital as it begins to snow. He tells her that he has given up playing the piano, having the fear of losing the ones he cares about. She then tells him that she will be undergoing a risky surgery. She stands up and pretends to hold her violin again, but shortly collapses and falls in his arms. The surgery takes place on the same day as the piano competition finals. Kōsei has his head down in the hallway, which concerns both Takeshi and Emi. As it is his turn to take the stage, Kōsei begins to break down. When he hears Tsubaki sneeze from the audience, this reminds him that he has friends who support him in every way.