Chihaya is a girl in the sixth grade, still not old enough to even know the meaning of the word zeal. But one day, she meets Arata, a transfer student from rural Fukui prefecture. Though docile and quiet, he has an unexpected skill: his ability to play competitive karuta, a traditional Japanese card game.Chihaya is struck by his obsession with the game, along with his ability to pick out the right card and swipe it away before any of his opponents. However, Arata is transfixed by her as well, all because of her unbelievable natural talent for the game. Don't miss this story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out in the most dramatic of ways!
The second day of the national high school karuta championships, when the individual tournament is played. In Class A, Chihaya's childhood friend Arata, whose grandfather is an Eternal Master, faces off against Shinobu, the current Queen and high school student. Meanwhile in Class B, Taichi, another Mizusawa Karuta Club member, goes up against Rion, from Fujisaki's powerhouse team. After injuring her finger, Chihaya loses in the semi-finals to Shinobu, and so she goes to watch Taichi's Class B match, a white-hot battle with a breathtaking trajectory. What will Chihaya see in Taichi's match? How will Arata's bout go?! As the tournament reaches its climax, who is going to be the one left with tears of joy in their eyes?!