Despite his resolution never to forget about Mio, Riki is left unsure what memories are real when Midori tells him that Mio wore glasses. Riki is told by Kyousuke to never believe anyone's words but his own for Mio's sake. Riki suddenly remembers Mio planning to submit a tanka in the school's competition, discovering that the tanka was focused on their previous conversation about a paper airplane. After talking to Midori, Riki realizes that Mio is at the beach. Mio tells Riki that Midori was her imaginary little sister. After getting medical treatments, Mio eventually forgot about Midori, until reading a tanka by Bokusui Wakayama about a white bird drifting between the sky and ocean. After blacking out and waking up, she realized her shadow was gone. Mio refuses to come back with Riki and turns into a bird to fly away. Riki sobs over losing Mio, but is reinvigorating after receiving a call from Midori. He goes into the ocean and locates Mio, ultimately witnessing Mio and Midori becoming one person. Riki and Mio then find themselves back on the beach, where Mio has her shadow back. Returning back to school, they rejoin the rest of the Little Busters.