Nana seems to be astonished by the snow outside the forest shelter, indicating to her that her plans to stay outside may not be so wise, after which Mayu tells her it's time to go back to the Maple House. The prospect of a hot meal has Nana tempted, but she says again that she cannot go home. Mayu questions Nana's intent to kill Nyu, saying that if Nyu doesn't know about Lucy but knows that people think she is a killer, then Nyu is the one who suffers most of all. Nana counters by asking what she is supposed to do, in light of the people Lucy has killed, including Bando, and the threat she poses to all of them. Mayu insists that talking to Nyu is the best solution, and that most of all, she does not want Nana to become a murderer. Nyu walks up again at that point, enraging Nana into attacking her, vowing to avenge Bando and Mariko and strangling Nyu with her vectors against a tree. As Nyu pleads and apologizes, a relentless Nana spots cuts on Nyu's wrist, indicating she has already tried to kill herself and perhaps wants to die. Nana screams about the injustice of Nyu using her to achieve what she couldn't do herself.
At the Maple House, Kouta, Yuka, and Nozomi await the return of the three younger girls, only for Kouta to see Wanta in the doorway, who darts off with Kouta in pursuit. At the forest shelter, Nyu pleads to know whether or not she is a killer, to which Nana, still unable to hurt Nyu, answers that she is not. Kouta, out of breath from keeping up with Wanta, finds them all at last and tells them they are going home. Nana refuses, pointing out all the trouble she has caused. Kouta counters that the pain she would cause by leaving and worrying and saddening all of them.
This pure expression of love causes Nana to break down in tears, although at home, she is soon overjoyed at a meal of Sukiyaki. They also wait for the results of Nozomi's entrance exams to a music college, which undergo a couple of agonizing false starts as noises outside prove to be something other than their delivery. Nozomi mentions how her wetting problems have stopped after the exam, to which Kouta replies that he wouldn't mind it even if they hadn't since he knows her far too well to care about something petty like that. As Kouta faces the jealous wrath of Yuka, Nozomi also requests to stay at the Maple House while going to school if she passes the exams, owing to the closeness, which Kouta and Yuka accede to, and which overjoys Nana, who will have a daytime companion at last. The joy of the meal washes over Kouta, but he begins to gain a sense of unease, somehow caused by all of them being together and happy at long last. He also privately vows that he will press Nana and Nyu for all the things they haven't told him, but he will wait until tomorrow.
While helping Kouta with the dishes, Nozomi expresses her fear about the future and her gratitude towards Kouta and the others, to which Kouta tells her of the joy of hearing Nozomi sing. She is so overjoyed she is sure she wet herself, but it turns out to be a false alarm, and she reflects on the slight crush she has on Kouta as well. The messenger with the exam results finally arrives, and Kouta begins to read it. At that precise moment, an assault force of armed soldiers, led by Nousou and the Agent, and backed up by Mariko clones Alicia, Barbara and Cynthia smash through the front doors and invade Maple House, aiming to recapture Lucy.