At the end of her first year of high school, Futaba has a fateful reuion. Tanaka Kou, her first love -- who transferred without warning and disappeared from her life in middle school -- appears before her for the first time in three years.

Motivated by painful memories of middle school, Futaba has taken on superficial friendships in high school. Kou refers to them as "friends-in-name-only." One day, Futaba encounters a classmate, Makita Yuuri, who is shunned by the other girls for putting on a "cutesy girl act," eating lunch alone.

Futaba realizes that she likes Kou, and makes up her mind to tell Yuuri about it. But a chance encounter with an old friend from middle school makes her realize that it can be hard to balance love and friendship. Futaba decides she'll keep her love for Kou a secret, but this makes her conversations with Yuuri awkward.

Futaba resolves to tell Yuuri about her feelings for Kou. After class, she tells Yuuri and Shuuko how she feels. On the way back, Futaba happens to run into Kou, who's out late at night. Intrigued, she follows him, and finds Kou hanging out with some kids in the entertainment district.