After Arata hears about Mizusawa's progress from the rest of Fukui's team, Shinobu challenges him to a game, but he declines, stating it is a day for team matches. Meanwhile, everyone is so focused on Mizusawa's match that they hardly notice Hokuo getting defeated by Fujisaki. Nishida ends up losing his match but Kana manages to win hers, easing the pressure. Taichi then wins his match, though Chihaya is put under pressure when Megumu takes her 'Chihayafuru' card. Chihaya narrowly loses her match against Megumu, bringing the game to 2-2, with Komano and his opponent with one card each left. After a rough series of dead cards, Komano manages to take the win with a gamble, taking Mizusawa to the finals against Fujisaki. As Chihaya becomes frustrated as to how she could've done better, Taichi shows her her own nail marks in her hand, showing how much strength she had been using, whilst Kana asks Tsukuba to play in her stead.