The day before, Toshio served his last client, Izumi. Like all pawnshop visitors, Izumi didn’t expect to enter the shop when she opened the door to the ramen restaurant. Everyone who arrives at the pawnshop does so because they unconsciously need to trade a past choice that they regret in order to free their mind. When they leave, they forget the shop but are free of their weighty memories forever. Toshio explained these rules to Izumi, who was skeptical.

The narrative shifts to Izumi’s reflections on her life. She spends her days running her flower shop and cooking for her husband, Yoshi. Sometimes she wishes they had children. In her free time, she takes the bus to the ramen place to be with her memory of Junichiro, her former lover.

Toshio asked Izumi about Junichiro, why Izumi visited him at the restaurant years ago, and if she loved him. Izumi got defensive but finally agreed to trade Junichiro’s memory for peace of mind. She drank Toshio’s special tea and, before leaving, asked why Toshio needed the choices. He didn’t answer.

After Izumi left, Toshio told Hana that he was retiring and turning the pawnshop over to her. Hana knew that this was her destiny but was curious about whether the shop made Toshio happy. Toshio thought that fate was more important than happiness.

The narrative shifts back to the present. Hana runs downstairs and discovers that the pawnshop has been ransacked. The front door is open, and her mother’s special glasses are on the floor.

Hana races into the vault where they keep their customers’ choices. She dons Chiyo’s glasses so that she can see the choices, which are birds locked in cages. She discovers that one is missing. Then, she races out to the courtyard and finds a card from Toshio’s deck, convinced that it’s a clue.

The previous night, Hana and Toshio studied Izumi’s choice after she left. The choice was a brilliant blue bird that emitted remarkable light. Toshio hadn’t seen a choice like this one since before Hana’s birth. As they put the bird away, Toshio reminded Hana never to steal or release choices. Doing so would change fate and summon the wrath of the Shiikuin. The Shiikuin are responsible for collecting the choices and administering justice. They punished Chiyo for stealing a choice years ago because stolen choices change the course of events in the real world.

Hana studies the world beyond “the pawnshop’s door” (39), terrified of what happened to Toshio. Going into the other world means death. Those who commit crimes like Chiyo are exiled there to die. She wonders if someone stole a memory and Toshio chased them into the other world.

A customer named Keishin enters the shop, interrupting Hana’s thoughts. He’s shocked by the mess and insists on helping Hana when he notices that she has cut her foot on broken glass.

Keishin lies and says that he’s a doctor so that Hana will let him help her. He studies her beauty and calm demeanor while tending to the wound. He asks what happened to the shop, admitting that he lied about who he is.

A month earlier, Keishin’s professor and mentor, Ramesh, asked him to give the incoming physics majors a lecture. Afterward, Keishin and Ramesh chatted about Keishin’s future. Keishin had an opportunity to work in Japan, which Ramesh thought he should take. He gave Keishin a coin to help him make the decision.

Keishin took the coin up to the roof and spun it on the ledge while contemplating his choice. He was born in Tokyo but didn’t know if he wanted to return. However, the job opportunity would let him work for “the world’s largest neutrino detector” (52). He remembered something his stepmother would say and tossed his coin.

Hana is surprised that Keishin is a scientist and finds herself revealing what happened at the pawnshop. However, she’s reluctant to let him stay and help her find her father. She and Keishin throw a coin to make the decision, and Keishin stays. Together, they look around the shop and courtyard for more clues until it starts raining.

Ever since Ramesh died, he has lived in Keishin’s mind. Keishin talks to him whenever he needs help. In the present, he asks Ramesh about Hana and the pawnshop. He wants to help Hana because he regrets his failure to help Ramesh when a mugger attacked him. Ramesh urges him to let go of the past and help Hana by using his scientific background.

While Keishin and Hana clean up the shop, they hypothesize about Toshio’s whereabouts. Hana thinks he ransacked the shop and freed the choice to make it look like a robbery but that he really disappeared on his own. If they visit the temple, they might learn Toshio’s recent prayers and figure out where he went.

Hana takes Keishin back outside, where they stand near the pond and watch the moon’s reflection on its surface. Hana warns Keishin about her world, insisting that it’s different from his and that things can’t be understood scientifically. To get to the temple, they must jump into the pond. Keishin insists that he’s fine and wants to go.

Hana and Keishin jump into the pond, which transports them to a field with a temple. Remembering his favorite anime, Keishin marvels at the experience. Hana leads the way to the Whispering Temple, where they can hear people’s prayers because they’re carried on smoke. They hear Toshio asking for help to find a woman. Hana realizes that Toshio is looking for Chiyo and doesn’t think she’s dead. They must go somewhere else to discover the truth.

Hana and Keishin jump back into the pond, ending up on a stone street. Keishin is awed by the experience again but is terrified that science isn’t real.

Hana leads Keishin to the Horishi, a famous tattoo artist. In Hana’s world, children are tattooed by the Horishi to determine their fates. Hana’s body is covered in a blue map, which outlines her future. In the shop, she asks the Horishi if Chiyo is alive. He reveals that she’s alive, but he can’t tell Hana anything else. He might be able to tell Keishin, however, if he tattoos Keishin instead. Excited by the Horishi’s capabilities, Keishin wonders if the Horishi might answer all his questions.

Keishin asks the Horishi to tattoo him. Hana drags him out of the shop just as the Horishi begins his work. She demands that Keishin go home because she doesn’t want him ruining his life for her.