Wanting to see Nodoka so he can leave his pain with her, Sensei arrives at the library, but Otoha is with her. While he still tries to spend time with her, Nodoka shuts his request down as she's too occupied with her research to deal with him, so Otoha agrees to talk with him to take a break from her own work.
After reaching the opposite side of the library, Otoha asks him how he's been, and he reveals his suicide attempt from the other night. Shocked, Otoha wants to know why he would attempt something this stupid, and when Sensei explains he's just running on auto-pilot and has nothing left to lose, she reminds him that he has a lot of girls in his life who would fall part if anything happens to him, including his girlfriend Niki. He tries not to think about her, seeing her as confusing and someone he doesn't deserve due to their relationship being built on love, whereas Nodoka is someone simple and easy to understand in some regards, giving them an ideal relationship where both can just be their careless selves for a while.
Otoha feels like him being so miserable makes him more open and relatable than before, ignoring that Sensei doesn't want to be, and tries to encourage him to articulate his feelings more frequently instead of giving into his old vices, especially when they involve Nodoka. Her being so compassionate towards him reminds him why he likes her so much, but she suggests he shouldn't since she will just destroy their relationship, which he doesn't believe.
After thanking her for her support, he wants to talk about her own personal problems by revealing he knows about her crush on Niki. She is surprised by this, but when she asks if Niki told him about it, he reveals that she didn't and how he figured it out on his own between her confession, which was clearly made for Niki, and a recent phone call where she was rather dismissive of Otoha's break up with Rin. While Otoha claims she tried to hide this from hime, he has already seen through her and knows he was supposed to notice so he can help her. She admits this, but also realizes he would never help her get closer to his girlfriend – Or at least one of them.
With this knowledge, Otoha intends to ask a favor, but Sensei suggests a trade instead – One picture from Niki against one from Rin. Otoha acts appalled but agrees immediately, though Sensei has the final say in the matter. As a result, the event can end in two ways:
He takes the offer back, wanting to hold on to what little compassion and care for the girls he has left, and has to convince a clearly desperate Otoha to drop the subject, who does so even if she isn't happy about it.
He goes through with the trade, completely embracing his terrible nature and accepting that he might damage two relationships with girls who trust him, and, after Otoha tells him her phone number, sends her a picture of Niki on the condition that she will do everything he wants for twenty minutes if she does something with it that could hurt Niki's career. After a satisfied Otoha leaves him, he gets a message with one of Rin's pictures shortly after.
Yumi Yamaguchi
Otoha Okakura
