ashikaga and kato at kato's, drinking ozu's wine without his permission. kato reckons it's ok, since ozu's staying at his place. so long as they finish it before he returns, it's ok.

they drink to the health of the competition (ashikaga does not want to drink to kato's suggestion of being together!)

then ozu turns up. he sees them drinking. kato lies that it's his own wine

ozu: why? just drink mine

kato: really?

ozu: of course not! i was just joking. my wines are all very expensive.

ozu then finds one of his bottles missing. and smells it in the room! he realises kato's drinking HIS WINE!

ashikaga tries to mediate, but ozu tells her to stay out of it. he smells the wine, but cannot identify the year of the wine, which identifies if the wine is expensive or not. turns out he only cared enough to get drunk! actually, ozu prefers sake. the wines' just to attract ladies! both ashikaga and kato are disgusted. they refuse to share his wine with him. asks him to get sake for himself, outside.

so ozu gets up to go. kato says if ozu didn't live here, ashikaga would be able to spend the night with him. ashikaga asks for ozu to protect her.

instead, ozu says he's leaving. it's time to go. but he doesn't go just yet. he gets a glass for the wine.

sano and shikamatsu are looking at the competition team list. ozu's name as coach has been taken out.

ozu sees haruka and imoto having lunch together in the gym. he comments on their good relationship. asks haruka for his bento (boxed lunch) but imoto's eaten it. ozu blames haruka for not helping him. haruka asks if he's joking. nope. so both have 5 points deducted from their next test. imoto says he shouldn't be punished. but ozu says, you ate my bento.

imoto: you must be joking

ozu shares that in his day, the players did not associate with girls.

imoto changes the subject and asks ozu to shoot a basket. (so far, we have not seen him shoot at all!) haruka adds that eri told them ozu had once played in the nationwide competition.

ozu didn't want to embarress himself now, so he walked off. imoto thinks he's scared.

ozu meets the principal. he asks if it hurts. ozu says the students help ease the pain. principal says the team knows about his resignation. even the teachers are shocked at this sudden change.

he assembles them all, to properly announce that he is returning to banking. they didn't believe him initially, but he reminded them that he never wanted to be a teacher. this was just a temp thing. ozu thanks the team for being so good, but his new job beckons, with a huge salary increase. so he cannot resist it, and asks for their understanding. anyway, he's not teacher-material.

yokomori can't believe ozu's character is that shallow. something's behind it. he's only ever lied to people for their own good.

kato checks with eri. even she's surprised her dad is going back to banking. eri shared what happened the last time at the cafe. ozu had rejected the job because he still has something to do in the school

at home, kato asks ozu, why?

ozu is already packing. kato wants the truth, as housemates, as fellow coaches. ozu decides to tell him. kato hates his HERO attitude. ozu tells kato the real issue: coaching the players for the competition. kato has to win their trust. so ozu has to step down this way. ozu asks kato to keep quiet, else the team will lose confidence. not even the other teachers may know the real reason. they distract themselves at this painful moment:

ozu: wanna drink?

kato: if it's not expensive, i won't drink

ozu teaching. but the team leaves in disgust. even imoto is flying his paper planes again.

in training, ozu's watching from the sidelines. ashikaga confronts ozu for the truth. he tells her kato's in charge now. ozu tells her she looks much nicer when she's smiling. ashikaga asks him to stay. she had thrown away her wooden sword because she thought he would be there to guide her. she's not independent yet, and needs ozu.

ashikaga: please stay with me

ozu's very rude. he tells her to go back. ashikaga's angry and disappointed.

kato's having a hard time figuring out tactics. so the team's lying around, waiting.

bar. ashikaga's drunk and venting her anger with ozu. kato defends ozu. she knocks out.

yokomori confronts ozu at home, says she won't be tricked, cos she's had parents like him. ozu reveals the truth to her, by giving her the champagne, to be given to kato and ashikaga to open.

ozu teaching. team is absent

he goes to the gym to find them. tells them it's equally important to study. they ignore him and leave

during training, ozu gives them tips to improve but they don't obey. kato looks at ozu, and then takes over. same instruction, but the boys obey him

shikamatsu shares with her dad it's ozu who's made her stronger. but now it seems she's been wrong about ozu. principal does not allow shikamatsu to speak bad about ozu

miaku tells ozu that the boys only listen to kato.

ozu (to himself): then it's time for me to go

ozu riles the team, says with their standards, they can't hope to win. the boys are arrogant and selfish, and the gym stinks.

ozu: i've had enough

imoto gets really angry with ozu and has to be held back by kato

ozu: what's this about wanting to win a competition for the student who left (okubo)? forget it! you can't win

ozu looks at kato, then leaves

kato tells him to wait.

kato: we don't need you! i will help them win it!

you can see the tears welling up in both ozu's and kato's eyes

sano follows ozu out.

sano: now you can finally leave. you've done it successfully. but is it good for you?

ozu: they will no longer lose their way. thank you for your help

sano: ozu, it's been a tough challenge fitting into these shoes (teaching)

ozu looks down at his slippers, smiles, and leaves.

principal explains to daughter why ozu left.

principal: ozu was humiliated before the basketball committee, but he took it, so that the team can play. the condition was, ozu had to resign. he did it cos he owed the kids for saving him. it's his way of repaying them.

principal then asks shikamatsu to keep it a secret. if they still remember this a few years from now, that would be enough. he blinks his tears away

ashikaga sees ozu leaving. ozu tells her it's his way, to chicken out. she promises to help the team to win. she's still not satisfied with the parting, so he gives her a notebook to pass to kato. it contains tactics for each player.

she looks up. he's gone.

training in progress. ozu's in a taxi, holding on to imoto's paper plane. he's really sad.