Episode 8

## You Two Are Alike

* Title Screen
* Screenshot

## Episode Guide

**You Two Are Alike** is the eighth episode of the *Cross Game* anime.

The prefab and varsity teams at Seishu Academy High School are preparing for their practice game. Kou Kitamura and Osamu Akaishi decide to spy on the varsity team practicing to see what they're up against. Kou asks Aoba her opinion on his pitching and asks her to treat him to naporitan if he manages to keep the varsity team from scoring 10 runs.

## Plot

Akaishi and Kou arrive at the Tsukishima Batting Center, but realize it's closed. They are soon greeted by Momiji Tsukishima. Kou tells her that she should greet a high schooler more politely. Akaishi, who is just meeting Momiji for the first time, is taken aback with how much she resembles Wakaba.

Aoba is still sleeping and having a dream about when she was younger. In the dream she had asked Wakaba to play catch with her, to which Wakaba responded that she will after Kou, who was visiting, went home. Aoba gets angry and tells Kou to go home. Aoba awakes up and goes downstairs and is greeted by Ichiyou, who tells her that Momiji left with Kou. Aoba isn't happy to hear that. Their father, Seiji, comes into the café and tells Ichiyou to give Kou a box when he comes back. Aoba wonders why everyone in her family spoils Kou and then starts naming all of his bad qualities: his room is always messy, he's bad tempered in the morning, and he wears shirts that have holes in them. She doesn't realize that she's also naming off her own qualities as well, as Ichiyou points out, while holding Aoba's arm and showing her that her shirt also has a hole in it. Ichiyou states that she (Aoba) and Kou are very much alike.

At the park, Momiji is playing catch with an old man. Kou tells Akaishi that Momiji is in the same grade and is the same age as Wakaba was when she died. Momiji interrupts the conversation to tell Kou that she's hungry and ready to go home. She thanks the old man for playing catch with her. The old man, in turn, thanks Momiji, telling her it was good exercise. He then compliments Momiji on her throwing, saying for an elementary school student, she's really good. Momiji tells Kou, that Aoba was better at pitching when she was her (Momiji's) age. The old man immediately knew who Aoba was, stating that he hears a lot about the baseball club from Akaishi. Akaishi tells him to be careful and not to overexert himself. The old man brushes him off saying he will be fine after a drink. The old man then leaves. Kou inquires about him and Akaishi tells him that the old man is a regular customer at his family's liquor store. Meanwhile, the old man is seen getting into a car and asks his driver if he was supposed to meet his grandchild at 12pm, which the driver affirms.

Momiji arrives home and asks for a snack. While she's eating, she asks about Aoba and was told that Aoba is in her room training and seemed frustrated about something. Akaishi and Kou assume she's still upset about Yuuhei Azuma. Kou points out that Aoba hates losing. Later Kou is in the batting cages, trying to get his home run record back, that Azuma previously broke, but he's not having any luck. Aoba points out that Kou hates losing and once again, was told, this time by Akaishi, that she and Kou are alike.

At school, the table tennis club was moved outside, forced to practice in the rain. It is revealed that Eitaro Shidou, abusing his powers as interim principal, moved them outside so the baseball club can use their clubroom as a gym, complete with exercise machines. Shidou asks head coach Shuugo Daimon, if he's planning on recruiting some members from the prefab team. Daimon answers that other than the guys he (Coach Daimon) brought to the school, everyone else are a bunch of nobodies. Azuma looks out he window and sees Makihara, Sekiguchi, Tsuneki and Kayama running in the rain.

Daiki Nakanishi points out the seniors motivation to run in the rain and Akaishi tells him that it's the seniors last summer in high school. It's their last chance to make an appearance at Koshien. Kou wonders if they will really catch Daimon's attention in their upcoming match against the varsity team. Akaishi shares the starting lineup for the match. Disregarding the first four batters (who happen to be the seniors) Akaishi tells Kou that as the 5th batter, the offense starts with him. Toshio Miya, the best bunter on the team coming after Kou and making a sacrifical bunt to advance Kou then it will be up to Akaishi or Nakanishi to get Kou to home plate. The game plan is to use the seniors as decoys then catch the varsity squad off guard with Kou, the secret weapon. Coach Sentarou Maeno arrives and stats that he was thinking Keiichirou Senda was going to be sent to the prefab team. Senda is hanging on desperately to his spot on the varsity team. Maeno says that Senda will make a good shortstop. Akaishi agrees, but since Senda is still on the varsity squad (barely) there is nothing that can be done about it now. The seniors are shown swinging the bats around in the small practice area, and telling everyone to get out of their way. They are aiming for a spot on the varsity squad. While out on roadwork, Tetsu Iwai, the team's right fielder and Miya, the team's left fielder, tells Akaishi that the varsity squad is going to see what the prefab team is truly made of. Akaishi, Nakanishi and Kou then decide to spy on the varsity squad practicing.

Having Miya and Nakanishi haul what looks like a giant blackboard, Kou and Akaishi sneak under a parked cart that is covered by a cloth with eye holes in it. Akaishi points out that the recruits are no joke. Azuma approaches the pitcher's mound where Noboru Kamikawa is pitching and asks him if that's his best pitches, and that his pitches haven't changed since last fall. Azuma tells Kamikawa that he should have been pitching 4 to 5 kmph faster than he currently did. Azuma reveals that the only reason he joined the team is because Kamikawa, Tatsumasa Miki and Keisuke Kishibe were on it. Including the coach, the team has the best chance of making it to Koshien, and Azuma warns the pitcher to not mess up his calculations. Azuma then goes and hits a ball out of the park, leading Kou to ask if Azuma is really even a high schooler.

The evening as rolled around and practice is wrapping up. The seniors ask the prefab manager Hiroko Oukubo to clean the baseballs, which she does without hesitation. Maeno comments on Hiroko's hard working attitude. It's revealed that Hiroko didn't go to junior high school in Japan. Hiroko just recently returned from overseas, reminding Kou, Nakanishi and Akaishi of Risa, the not hard working varsity manager who also just returned from overseas.

Akaishi returns to his family's liquor store and finds his dad and the old man from before having a drinking party in their store, leading Akaishi to ask when their store turned into a bar. The old man asks Akaishi about the upcoming game and he tells him that if the prefab team wins, the school will be turned upside down. It's all up to Kou, their ace pitcher and secret weapon.

Kou walks into the batting center, looking for Aoba, surprising both Seiji and Ichiyou. Seiji tells Kou that Aoba is in the house. Kou goes to the Tsukishima's house and asks Aoba to come with him. They go to the park where Kou asks Aoba her opinion on his pitching since, unlike Nakanishi and Akaishi, Aoba won't be afraid to hold back her real opinion. Aoba notes that Kou must be scared and Kou says that their opponents are elite players from all over the country, so it's only natural he'll get hit but what he's really worried about is that the game won't be baseball anymore. Kou then pitches the ball, which Aoba catching it getting a surprised look on her face, but she doesn't say anything. After pitching the ball a few more times, Kou asks Aoba what she though. She respond that it was all right, and Kou takes that as a compliment since an 'all right' from Aoba is a good thing. He asks her that if he keeps the varsity team from scoring ten runs, she needs to treat him to napolian at the Clover Café, made by Ichiyou of course. Aoba lowers it to five runs. The next day the prefab team is practicing and finally game day arrives.

The scoreboard names the teams as 'Pu' and 'Seishu'. Nakanishi asks what 'Pu' is supposed to represent, and Kou is wondering why spectators are only allowed to sit on the first base side. Turns out Shidou told them to sit on that side only for unknown reasons. Aoba is running to the third base side of the field and is told by the old man that spectators are only allowed on the first base side. Kou, Nakanishi and Akaishi are checking the line up for the opposing team. They name all the players when they get down to who is batting 9th, they are surprised to see that it's Senda, not Kamikawa, pitching for the varsity team. Game on!

## Characters

### Order of appearance

* Osamu Akaishi
* Kou Kitamura
* Momiji Tsukishima
* Nomo
* Aoba Tsukishima
* Wakaba Tsukishima (dream and flashback)
* Ichiyou Tsukishima
* Seiji Tsukishima
* Yokomichi Oukubo (debut)
* Daiki Nakanishi
* Shuugo Daimon
* Eitaro Shidou
* Tatsumasa Miki
* Yuuji Kubo
* Keisuke Kishibe
* Yuuhei Azuma
* Tsuneki
* Makihara
* Sekiguchi
* Kayama (debut)
* Sentarou Maeno
* Toshio Miya
* Tetsu Iwai
* Risa Shidou
* Keiichirou Senda
* Noboru Kamikawa
* Kinji Takizawa
* Hiroko Oukubo
* Akaishi's Father (debut)

## Important Events

* The varsity and prefab team begin their practice game, although the actual game isn't shown until the next episode.

## Trivia

* **Title drop/reference**: "You Two are Alike" is referring to Kou and Aoba and their similar personalities. The title name was also said by Ichiyou and Akaishi (both said to Aoba)
* Mitsuru Adachi was once again referenced in this episode, in the form of a book that Wakaba and Kou are reading in a flashback.
* Despite the title referring to her, Aoba was given very little screen time in this episode, only seen at the beginning and end of the episode.