Dumbfounded Takiko is well... dumbfounded to be back in Japan, where she is immediately discovered by Oosugi. She's surprised to see him, and he's all "LIEKWOAH! There you are! Where have you been?" Turns out only an hour has passed since she left, which stuns Takiko even further. Turns out they are at a train station and Osugi is leaving to go take care of Suzuno (or something). Takiko reassures him that she's peachy keen ("I'm all right!" with a huge big smile) they wish each other well, and Osugi promptly leaves on the train. Takiko mentally says good bye to him. Cue symbolic whatever about Takiko bidding him goodbye and moving on past her first love to FULLY APPRECIATE the glorious hawtie that Rimudo is. And then she wanders off only to be found by her father! And they drive home. Upon their arrival, a new-found appreciation for Takiko's Baaya is born during the three panels she is featured, hysterical with glee at the return of her granddaughter, which finishes with a "You smell, go take a bath."

Einosuke wonders about the book (screw japanese grammar that I don't understand!). Later, while taking a bath, Takiko wonders if everyone is okay back in the book, but then wonders if it was actually all a dream. However we see that spending too much time with Uruki is getting too her, and at the sound of a gust of wind, she's all "OMG URUKI?!?!?" but in fact there's no one there. Poor Takiko! Now her grandmother is wondering if she's all right.

After her bath Takiko has to go and properly mourn her mother while wearing a pretty black kimono. She cries a little, and realizes that not everything was a dream... her mother has actually died. Takiko and her father talk (I haven't bothered to read this too carefully yet. Daddy says something about the book, and Takiko is pleased to come to the conclusion that "It wasn't a dream!" Einosuke explains that he's been translating the book for the past year to use the power of the four gods to try and save Yoshie from her illness. He is sad because after so long a time, she'd died before he could save her. Takiko is upset and leaves the room.

Takiko realizes that it's her duty now to summon Genbu to revive her mother (or something like that). In a frenzy, Takiko starts searching for the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, but is having difficulty finding it (as she basically rips all the books off her fathers bookshelf). She calls out for Uruki while looking, and a gust of wind breaks the window and topples a pile of books to reveal the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho to her. Having heard the window break, Einosuke comes to see what's happening. Takiko tells him that she's going to go back into the book and summon Genbu to revive her mother. They argue a bit, and Takiko opens the books and lets it suck her inside just as Einosuke runs to take it from her. Einosuke is kind of worried. :O Don't really blame him though. I think Takiko's like... going to willingly sacrifice herself. Or something. Dunno.

Back in the much more interesting world of the book, Uruki and Tomite are taking on the monsters, while Hatsui and Aila chill in his basket. Hikitsu has one line, much to my anguish. And I can't even read it, because the scan is stupidly fuzzy. The hell? Oh wait, I lied. He gets another line, yelling at Tomite about how to kill the monster. Anyway, Uruki somehow manages to find time to angst about Takiko leaving, between having a giant snow monster try to bash in his skull and being blinded by HUGE LIGHTS IN THE SKY- oh wait, that's just Takiko. While everyone is distracted, Tomite totally pwns the monster, Uruki calls out to her and Takiko snaps out of her little floaty trip out of the sky only to fall into an unfortunate location. Let's call the location Mid-Air off the Edge of a Cliff Created by the Now-Dead-Rampaging Monster. Uruki rescues her however (I have a terrible urge to make an Escaflowne reference, because that's really what it reminds me of. Oh dear.) and Takiko and Uruki are both insanely happy to be together again. Cute happy hugging lovey dovey artwork.

While being the peeping tom we all know Tomite is, he gives an icon-worthy grin, Uruki manages to fit in a few "GOD YOU'RE STUPID <3<3<3" Hikitsu is there going "DAMN! I only got like... two lines. What gives?" whereas Namame only gets one itty bitty cameo in the entire chapter... as part of a sort of group shot. Woah, shafted. Hatsui tops him by having his face featured twice (but still no lines).

Einosuke is all "wnfoafbsabfkjsalf!!1?1!" and Takiko's all "FO SHIZZLE MA NIZZLE YO." (translation: I have no idea what either of them are really saying.) and the chapter ends.