At the ski lodge, Hisamitsu has a fight with Maya. Minori later explains to Ryūji that Hisamitsu does not want Maya to get close to Yūsaku since Taiga already likes Yūsaku. After Yūsaku, Kōji and Hisamitsu learn that Ryūji has a crush on Minori, the boys enter the empty girls' bedroom and hide in the closet when Taiga appears, but Ryūji ends up pulling her in as well when Minori, Ami, Maya and Nanako arrive. While gossiping about whether Taiga loves either Ryūji or Yūsaku, Ami purposely brings up that Minori rejected Ryūji. The next day, Taiga and Minori ride on a sled and run into Ami by accident. When Ami believes this to be on purpose, she engages in a fight against Minori. Taiga notices that Minori dropped her hairpin on a nearby slope and runs off by herself to look for it. A blizzard occurs and Taiga does not return, which leaves Ryūji, Minori and Yūsaku to go out and search for her. Ryūji manages to find her at the bottom of the hill badly injured. As Ryūji carries her on his back, Taiga wakes up in a haze, believing that she is speaking to Yūsaku and confessing that she is in love with Ryūji.