Watch EP 18 of Cross Game

Ep 1

1. Four-Leaf CloverFifth-grader Ko Kitamura was born on the same day in the same hospital as his neighbor, Wakaba Tsukishima, who treats him as her boyfriend as a result. One day during summer vacation, she makes him take her to swimming lessons on his bicycle. On the way back, to avoid classmate Osamu Akaishi, who has a crush on Wakaba, Ko joins a sandlot baseball game organized by another classmate, Daiki Nakanishi. Because he has never played before, Ko fields badly, but because he has practiced in the Tsukishima family's batting cages he hits the game-winning home run. After their joint 11th birthday, Wakaba gives Ko a schedule of birthday presents for him to give her through age 20. Soon after this, Wakaba drowns while saving a younger girl at an overnight swimming camp. Ko does not know how to respond to this until, the evening after her funeral, he sees Akaishi weeping outside Wakaba's house and realizes he just needs to cry. The closing credits show time passing and by the end, Ko and Wakaba's younger sister Aoba Tsukishima are in junior high school.

Ep 2

2. I Hate You!Four years later, in the fall of her second year at Seishu Junior High School, Aoba is a pitcher for the baseball team, and still hates Ko for having monopolized her dead sister's time. Starting pitcher Keiichiro Senda, who considers himself popular, asks her out on a date without waiting for a response. When she does not show up, Senda goes to her house but is frightened off by the family cat. When Ko (in his third year at Seishu Junior High) delivers baseballs to the Tsukishima batting cages, he hits four home runs, which annoys Aoba, especially since she cannot match it. In a flashback, she remembers Wakaba telling her about Ko's potential to one day pitch 160 km/h fastballs, which Aoba claimed was her ideal in a man, but that if he does, Aoba cannot take him from her. Meanwhile, inspired by Aoba's pitching, Ko has been obeying Wakaba's order to follow Aoba's workout routine.

Ep 3

3. For Real?Nakanishi recruits Ko for a rematch of the sandlot game from fifth grade. When Ko warms up with what he calls a few soft pitches, Nakanishi has him play right fielder instead, claiming he wants a friendly game. Meanwhile, when Aoba plays catch with her little sister, Momiji, she is startled to learn that Momiji can handle her hardest throws because Momiji has helped Ko practice. Akaishi, now captain of the junior high school baseball team, watches the sandlot game and is reminded of Wakaba's boasts about Ko's abilities. With Ko's fielding and batting, his team wins in a close game. Afterward Nakanishi learns that Ko did not join the baseball team, despite his surprisingly fast fastball, because Nakanishi had been kicked off it for fighting. During practice, Aoba and Akaishi discuss unsettling rumors about the Seishu High School baseball team, which has had a second straight losing year. In his office at Seishu High School, Acting Principal Shido tells a man dressed as a coach that he is pleased with his plans.

Ep 4

4. Secret WeaponOn the way to school one morning, Aoba and Ko foil a burglary they glimpse from the train by hitting the burglar with a baseball, but Senda gets credit for it. Akaishi does not believe Senda foiled the robbery, and learns from Aoba that she threw a ball that Ko had been carrying, and then from Nakanishi that he and Ko have been training in secret. Akaishi takes over Ko's training on the condition that Nakanishi return to the baseball team. At the Tsukishima batting cages, an unknown boy breaks Ko's home run record but complains about how slow the pitching machines are. The boy later appears at Seishu High School, being given a tour for prospective baseball players. Senda visits Aoba while she is working in the Clover Cafe attached to the batting cages and asks about Ko's secret training, but she denies any knowledge about random neighbors. As Ko practices pitching with Akaishi as catcher, the latter describes the dream Wakaba had the night before she left for swimming camp, in which Ko and Akaishi are a playing as a battery in the national high school baseball tournament at Koshien.

Ep 5

5. Can I Borrow a Pot?On New Year's Eve, Aoba's father and oldest sister, Ichiyo, visit her sick grandmother, leaving Aoba to care for Momiji, who is down with a cold. When Ko visits, he brings the ingredients for rice porridge. When Momiji's fever spikes, Ko helps Aoba tend her until the fever breaks after a few hours. Unlike Aoba, Ko is a decent cook, and his porridge tastes just the way Wakaba prepared it for Aoba. After Momiji tells Aoba about a time Ko played with her when no one else would, Aoba tells Ko that she will never be a good sister like Wakaba, then gets mad when he tells her she is not that worthless. Ko cooks New Year soba for Momiji and himself, but Aoba makes her own instant noodles. Ko stays the night to watch Momiji and after the three fall asleep while watching television, Aoba snuggles up to him, thinking he is Wakaba. The next morning, before Aoba wakes up, Momiji tells Ko they looked comfortable sleeping together. Ko leaves to practice pitching with Akaishi and Nakanishi, and in a montage, the main cast is shown training as time passes, ending with spring.

Ep 6

6. Who Are You?Ko enters Seishu High School and joins the baseball club along with Akaishi and Nakanishi, where they are put on the second-string "portable" team headed by former Head Coach Maeno. Most of the varsity team are ringers recruited by new Head Coach Daimon from around the country, including power hitter Yuhei Azuma, the boy from the batting center, and Daimon promises Shido that he will take the school to the national spotlight of Koshien within three years. When Aoba, now captain of the junior high school team, visits a high school team practice, she is surprised to see Ko playing baseball, and he tells her he was inspired by her pitching. In class, Azuma does not recognize Senda (who is on the varsity team) but does remember Ko from the batting center. Azuma tells Daimon that he only remembers faces of significant people, of which there are four on the team. One day as the portable team practices on the junior high field, out of sight from the varsity players, Maeno has Ko pitch at full strength once and Aoba realizes Ko is Akaishi's "secret weapon" for getting off the portable team.

Ep 7

7. Sucker for a Pretty FaceAkaishi tells Ko and Nakanishi about Daimon's career as a coach who cares more about results than his players, and suggests they drive him out. Daimon tells Azuma that he picked Senda for the varsity team to be a pitcher who can be used up during practice, then recruits Aoba as another disposable practice pitcher. When Ko, Akaishi, and Nakanishi watch her pitch, Daimon tells them it does not matter if she pitches too much because, as a girl, she cannot play in a tournament game. When Azuma takes his turn at bat, he asks her to not hold back, and in response she insists that Akaishi be her catcher. Pitching her fastest, she almost strikes out Azuma. After Akaishi accuses Azuma of not being manly for deliberately fouling back, Azuma hits a home run on the next pitch and Aoba collapses exhausted. Afterward, Aoba tells Ko that despite her sore arm she will continue pitching for the varsity team to learn their batting weaknesses, and that she wants to believe Wakaba's claims about him.

Ep 8

8. You Two Are AlikeWhen Akaishi meets Momiji, he is startled by her resemblance to Wakaba, who died at the age Momiji is now. Ichiyo reminds Aoba that she resented how Ko monopolized Wakaba's time, and both Ichiyo and Akaishi tell Aoba that she and Ko are alike in their competitiveness. In the park, Momiji plays catch with an old man who is a regular at Akaishi's family's liquor store. Daimon tells Shido that an upcoming scrimmage between varsity and portable teams will demonstrate how much better the varsity players are. Because of a rumor that portable players who perform well might be promoted to varsity, the third-year players train hard. Before the scrimmage, Ko has Aoba catch his pitches because he has never played in a real game and so has no comparison for his pitching. She calls them okay, which pleases him as the best compliment he can expect from her, and makes a bet that he will hold the varsity team to ten runs, which she changes to five runs after looking at her bruised hand. When Aoba arrives at the scrimmage, Momiji's old man tells her Shido has ordered the audience to sit and cheer only on the varsity side of the field.

Ep 9

9. Let`s Do This!As the scrimmage starts, Daimon tells Shido he is using Senda as starting pitcher to test his team's fielding. In the top of the first inning, the portable team is quickly retired. In the bottom of the inning, Ko quickly pitches out the first three batters, which Daimon attributes to luck but Azuma recognizes is based on Aoba's batting data and Ko's ability. After Senda gives up three runs in the top of the second inning, including home runs by Ko and Akaishi, Daimon kicks him off the varsity team and Maeno substitutes him in as shortstop for the portable team. Ko pitches fastballs down the middle to Azuma, which Aoba calls foolish and Azuma hits for a home run. The portable team quickly retires the rest of the side but has trouble hitting against the best varsity pitcher. After Daimon chews out his players for failing to hit against "small fry," they manage only one run in the third inning. At the end of three innings with the portable team ahead 3 to 2, Ko complains of being tired.

Ep 10

10. Yeah, RightAt the top of the fourth, Ko hits a triple but fails to score. In the bottom of the inning, Azuma hits a two-run homer to give the varsity team the lead. The portable team players in their third year tell their teammates that winning does not matter, only playing well enough to get promoted back to varsity. Daimon chews out center fielder Miki for strategically bunting against his orders to treat the scrimmage as a batting practice. At the bottom of the sixth, a tiring Ko tells catcher Akaishi that he can no longer pitch with both speed and control, and Akaishi has him go for speed. After Azuma hits another home run, Akaishi tells him the pitch was weak because this is Ko's first real game. When a third-year portable player, Makihara, is thrown out while running for home, Senda tells him Daimon has no intention of promoting anyone to the varsity team because that would mean admitting he was wrong. In the bottom of the seventh, Miki notices that if Ko had intentionally walked Azuma, the varsity team would be losing 1 to 3 instead of winning 5 to 3.

Ep 11

11. Wipe That Smirk Off Your FaceKnowing they will not be promoted, Maeno's third-year players stop playing hard, but after the portable team manager, Hiroko "Tubby" Ōkubo, tells Makihara that Daimon injured Maeno's head as the latter pleaded to give a third-year player a spot, Makihara plays with renewed effort. At the end of eight innings, Ko notices that if the score remains 5 to 3, he will win his bet with Aoba. In the top of the ninth, the portable team gets runners on first and second and Makihara advances them with a sacrifice bunt. Ko hits both runners in with a single to tie the game. While Ko is on base, Azuma criticizes his pitching, to which Ko says he did not expect Azuma could hit him. In the bottom of the ninth with a runner on first, Azuma comes to bat and deliberately fouls out twice before being struck out by Ko. On the bench, Azuma silently tells Ko to stop smirking, and the next batter hits in the runner to win the game. Afterward, Ko visits Wakaba's grave to tell her about his debut, only to find Aoba had been there first.

Ep 12

12. I Challenge You!Aoba's teammates ask her out on dates conditional on their performance during a game, but she criticizes their goals as too low. Even with Aoba not pitching her hardest, Seishu Junior High wins in a called game. Afterward Senda meets his cousin, Midori Koganezawa, who is annoyed he ditched practicing with her to watch Aoba's game. Midori challenges Aoba as a batter, but Aoba declines to pitch to her. At the Tsukishima batting cages, Ko tells Midori the pitching machines are not as fast as Aoba's pitches. Ko helps Risa Shido, the spoiled varsity team manager, go shopping and brings her to the Clover Cafe, where he asks Aoba to put the bill on his tab as a birthday favor. Aoba finally agrees to pitch against Midori and strikes her out; she tells Midori she plans to attend Seishu High School, even though she would not be able play in tournament games, instead of a school with a girl's baseball team. Aoba learns from friends that Ko was being Risa's servant for a day in return for the last available teapot that is the 16th birthday gift on Wakaba's schedule of presents.

Ep 13

13. Summer Training Camp?Ko, Akaishi, and Nakanishi watch Seishu's varsity team crush an opponent in the prefectural summer baseball tournament and realize they did very well against them. During one game, Miki shifts position against Daimon's orders to make a game-winning play. Banned from using the school's field by Daimon, Maeno takes the portable team on a secret intensive training camp in the mountains. Ko forgets his suitcase, and when Aoba takes it to him she gets lost following his father's bad instructions. While waiting for Aoba at the bus stop, Senda complains about how strict Maeno has become and Ko says he prefers to keep busy in the summer. After a thunderstorm, they search for Aoba and find her shoe near a swollen stream similar to the one Wakaba drowned in, before finally finding her at a woodcutter's house. In Seishu's next game, Daimon takes Miki out of the lineup for ignoring his orders. Aoba spends the night at camp, and in the morning Maeno tells her the team is training hard to keep up with Ko because they have become fans of him. As she leaves on the bus, Aoba whispers to herself, "Portables, fight."

Ep 14

14. How Many Points?At the portable team's training camp, Akaishi and Maeno note that their outfield's defense has been weakened by the retirement of the third-year students. Without Miki in the lineup, Seishu loses in the round of 16. After the game, Aoba helps a Seishu fan by hitting a thief with a baseball and learns the fan is Junpei Azuma, Yuhei Azuma's older brother. Junpei gives her a ride home, where he is immediately taken with Ichiyo and becomes a regular suitor. When Aoba goes to the swimming pool, Ichiyo asks Ko to take Aoba her forgotten change of clothes in return for Aoba's bringing his suitcase to camp. At the pool, Ko meets some boys who asked Aoba out but were turned down, including Senda and a boxer who despairs because Ko and Aoba argue familiarly. Ko and Aoba are reminded of visiting the pool with Wakaba, and when he asks Aoba what her sister saw in him, she says she wants to know too.

Ep 15

15. Enjoy It MoreShido tells Daimon that the portable team has been playing practice games without permission, losing all five times. After a sixth loss, Azuma learns from Tubby who the opponents were. Shido orders the portable team be disbanded. However, Maeno proposes to instead hold a rematch scrimmage with the losing team's coach losing his job, and Daimon agrees in order to settle things once and for all. When Momiji's mysterious old man visits a portable team practice, Tubby introduces him as her grandfather. Yuhei Azuma tells his older brother he will get to Koshien for certain, to which Junpei says to have fun with baseball. Because of his differences with Daimon, Miki transfers to another school. The portable team recruits Aoba for the scrimmage to replace a retired third-year player, and to convince her to play center field instead of pitcher, Akaishi has her bat against Ko. After watching the portable team practice, Azuma deliberately injures himself to avoid playing in the scrimmage and tells Daimon to prove that he has enough other good players to take him to Koshien.

Ep 16

16. How Should I Know?Before the scrimmage Daimon tells Azuma that Shido will not fire him even if the varsity team loses, and Shido confirms this. However, during the first inning, Tubby's grandfather, who is the school's chairman, tells Shido and Daimon he is ratifying the wager with Maeno. During the first two innings, Ko allows the bases to get loaded before striking out the next three batters, and to focus him, Akaishi tells Ko to pitch as if it were late in the game. In the sixth inning, the game still scoreless, Daimon asks Azuma who were the portable team's opponents in their practice matches; Azuma says they played top teams from the prefectural tournament, and that Ko pitched easily the first six innings to give his team fielding practice. In the seventh inning, Aoba hits a single and then scores on Senda's sacrifice fly. During the final innings, Azuma asks Daimon if he wishes he had better hitters in his lineup, such as Miki, and as Ko strikes out the final three batters, Azuma says Ko is now the best pitcher they have played against all year. As the portable team celebrates their win, Aoba silently tells Wakaba that Ko did it.

Ep 17

17. That`s ToughAfter the scrimmage, Shido and Daimon are fired and most of Daimon's varsity players follow him to another school. Yuhei Azuma stays and begins living with the Kitamuras because the baseball dorm is closed down. Because Ko's stamina flags during the fall prefectural tournament, Azuma makes Ko begin jogging to school instead of taking the train. A boy asks Ko for an introduction to Aoba, and Ko congratulates him as the 100th person to do so. When Azuma asks Ko about a photograph of Wakaba, Ko admits that he was in love with her, and Azuma responds that "you guys" have it tough. To get the five most persistent boys to stop asking her out, Aoba goes on a date with all five at once. When Junpei asks about his pitching form, Ko is surprised but says that he based it on Aoba's. Aoba explains to Ko that Junpei's promising career as a pitcher was ended by an injury before he could go to Koshien, and that Yuhei is trying to reach Koshien in his place. Ko tells Aoba he is also serious about going to Koshien, to make Wakaba's last dream come true.

Ep 18

18. An Audition?Aoba's friends urge her to audition for the lead in a movie adaptation of Idol Ace, but she declines. Risa auditions and when she is picked as a finalist, she makes Ko try to teach her to pitch convincingly. Midori tries again to recruit Aoba for her school's girls baseball team. When Aoba declines a batting rematch, Midori shows off her hitting in the Tsukishima cages, where she meets Risa practicing batting and coaches her. With continual practice Risa's pitching improves but, as Azuma puts it, only from kindergarten to first-grade level. After a week of Midori's pleading, Aoba agrees to pitch to her again. At the school baseball field, they meet Risa practicing at the last minute. Aoba strikes Midori out in three pitches, and after watching her form, Risa pitches a ball over the plate for the first time. Risa gets the role of a spoiled team manager and resigns as Seishu's manager. Risa gives Aoba a gift in thanks, and says she's okay with a supporting role if it leads her to her goal of becoming famous.

Ep 19

19. Memories...For the first time since Wakaba's death, Ko goes with the Tsukishimas to visit to the sisters' maternal grandparents in the mountains, where they are caught in a snowstorm. While trapped in the house, he and Aoba remember his past visits and playing with Wakaba. Looking through a photo album, Ko recognizes Aoba's uncle, a famous mountain climber, but not his son, Mizuki, who is the same age as Aoba. In the morning, Ko goes into the snowy forest to visit the tree on which he and Wakaba carved their names, which Aoba had then scratched out. He gets lost and Aoba directs him to the tree, where he discovers that Aoba had later carved replacement names. Back home, at the start of spring, Ko and Nakanishi see a strange boy climb up a drain spout to retrieve a woman's hat blown there by the wind. When Ko later visits the batting center, he learns the boy is Mizuki, who is moving in with the Tsukishimas.

Ep 20

20. Mizuki AsamiAt the start of the school year, Aoba and Mizuki enter Seishu High School, where Mizuki quickly becomes popular with girls, to Senda's annoyance. Aoba joins the baseball team as a pitcher, which pleases Akaishi and Maeno as the rest of the team will try hard to not lose to a girl. When Mizuki and Aoba reminisce about Wakaba, he tells her that Aoba is the one he loves. Mizuki belatedly recognizes Ko as Wakaba's boyfriend and wonders whether he throws a 160 km/h fastball yet. Momiji asks Aoba if she finds Mizuki attractive but she does not answer, and later Momiji remembers Ko and Wakaba playing with her and silently apologies to Wakaba. Several girls ask Mizuki out. He turns them down, claiming to be in love with Aoba, and tells some irate boys that the rumor that Aoba and Ko are going out is false. At practice, Ko tells Akaishi that Aoba is hiding a twisted ankle no one had noticed, and Aoba retaliates by revealing Ko is hiding a stiff left arm. As Mizuki helps Aoba walk home, he tells her he is serious about her.

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