After hearing Nagisa talk about the story for the play she wants to perform, Tomoya tries asking Nagisa's parents about it, but they do not know any story like that. After Akio catches Tomoya and Nagisa in the shed, he tells them to leave, and later brings Tomoya aside to tell him about what happened in the past. Ten years prior, Nagisa was running a high fever one snowy day, and in the midst of this, her parents had to work, so they left her alone for a couple of hours. When Akio returned, he found Nagisa collapsed outside as she had been waiting for them to return. Due to Nagisa nearly dying, both of her parents abandoned their jobs and their dreams in order to protect Nagisa. Akio tells Tomoya not to tell either Sanae or Nagisa about the story since he does not want it coming up again. Tomoya goes on a picnic with Nagisa's family, and during a baseball game with some local young boys, Nagisa accidentally confesses her love to Tomoya indirectly.
Tomoya Okazaki is a third year high school student resentful of his life. His mother passed away from a car accident when he was younger, causing his father to resort to alcohol and cigarettes. This results in fights between the two until Tomoya's shoulder is injured in a fight. Since then, Tomoya has had distant relationships with his father, causing him to become a delinquent over time. While on a walk to school, he meets a strange girl named Nagisa Furukawa who is a year older, but is repeating due to illness. Due to this, she is often alone as most of her friends have moved on. The two begin hanging out and slowly, as time goes by, Tomoya finds his life shifting in a new direction.
