Chihaya uses what she learned from watching the Master's match to hear sounds before they are made, putting pressure on Nayuta. The match soon approaches his climax with Chihaya, Taichi, Kana and Komano all down to a luck-of-the-draw scenario, with Hokuo splitting the cards to their advantage, meaning Mizusawa will need to take cards from their opponent's side in order to win. Chihaya manages to encourage Taichi to try to aim for the opponent card, pushing his opponent to make an error and secure a win for Mizusawa and evening the scores. However, Chihaya ends up touching the final card the same time as Nayuta, which results in Hokuo's win, though both teams qualify for the nationals. After the tournament, Sumire, Tsukuba and his brothers all decide join the karuta society. Meanwhile, Chihaya receives a text from Arata about what she thought of the finals, her reply being that it was both the most fun match she's had and the most frustrating loss.