It's been three years since Suzuka's death, and he's still thinking about him. He wants to bring him back to the school, but he knows that he'll never be able to do so. He's leaving the school's high-jump team to take over as head coach of the eighth-grader team. He tells Suzuka that he has to devote all his time to the entrance exams for the high jump team, which starts tomorrow. Suzuka tells him that the team makes decisions based on what's best for the team, and that he was the only seventh-grader who made it all the way to the national meet. He asks Suzuka if he can handle the pressure of leading the high-jumpers, and Suzuka says that he can't, because he doesn't have the experience yet. He also says that the other seventh- and eighth-graders on the team don't make it past their prefectural meets, so why shouldn't Suzuka just keep his mouth shut? Suzuka asks if it's crazy that Asahina is so scared of heights in practice. He says that's because she's afraid of heights, which is why he didn't get past the pre-fectural meet. But Suzuka still thinks he can make it to nationals. He adds that his timing has been off since the beginning of the school year, and now he needs to do something to get it back on track. He needs to clear the height in practice, he says, because his timing is off by a full second. He has to clear it for the third time, and this time, he needs Suzuka to help him clear it. They talk about the national track meet, which begins at 9 a.m.