After having overheard some unsettling things regarding Okumoto, Shima decided to tell his ex-wife Reiko who took his advice and promptly caught Okumoto cheating on her. She got some revenge by ruining his relationships with both his (other) mistress and his wife and now at his lowest, she took him in. But the real action, of course, was with Shima. It was no secret that Nancy was planning to go back to America at some point so the search was on to develop some new talent that would be waiting in the wings to takeover when she did. One plan was to bring an older American band that had been popular in Japan, Nutcrackers, over to Japan for a tour and Best Of album. The other was holding an audition for new female singers. The eventual winner being a girl named Mika Hayashi but Shima and a lot of others were impressed by a girl named Madoka Nozoe and wanted to sign her as well.
Madoka was the daughter of the famous kabuki actor Toranosuke Hanayagi and he agreed to entrust her to Sunlight, however a complication arose. Shima had reconnected with his old lover from Kyoto, Katsuko. But Hanayagi was in love with her as well and threatened to pull Madoka if Shima didn't stand aside. But the intervention and blackmail of some paparazzi caused Hanayagi to bow out. With herself now free following the death of Zuikaku Matsumoto, Katsuko sold her ryotei and moved to Tokyo, both to open a smaller restaurant and to be closer to Shima. As Shima prepared for a New Year's Day concert for Nancy being held at Inubosaki on the year's very first sunrise, he celebrated with Katsuko with Chizuru watching the whole time.
