Out!
That's two outs, guys!
Hey! How was that, Tama?
Awesome! It curved crazy like magic! It's a Magic Ball!
Think I can become a pro with my Magic Ball?
Adults use hardballs though! No way!
Oh, yeah...
But if you ever can throw a hardball like that,
let's keep playing baseball, even when we grow up!
Yeah! For sure!
Here it comes, Tama!
Right here!
"Pitch 1: A Fated Reunion"
"Shin Koshigaya High School"
"Entrance Ceremony"
Starting today, I'm a high schooler!
I'm gonna have so much fun!
Um, where's my seat at?
The one way in the back! Lucky!
Ooh, the girl I'm next to is cute!
Hmm? Is that Pennant Weekly she's reading?
Isn't that Pennant Weekly ? The baseball magazine?
Yeah, it sure is!
My name's Yomi Takeda!
Yoshino Kawaguchi.
Nice to meet you, Kawaguchi.
Yoshino is fine! Did you ride the train to school?
Yeah. It takes like 20 minutes for me. What about you?
I walk. My house is really close by.
Yeah?
Hey, Yomi. Do you like baseball?
"Pennant Weekly" Hey, Yomi. Do you like baseball?
Y-Yeah. I was in the baseball club.
What position?!
Um, I played pitcher?
Were you the ace?!
More or less. Lost in the first round though.
Can I see your hand?!
Huh? Sure.
Whoa! Look how hard your skin is!
It's proof you threw a ton!
Is your strikeout pitch a curve? I'd love to see it!
She guessed right! Who is this girl?
To work this hard and lose the first round...
You must have had such bad luck.
Hey, Yoshino! You're creeping her out!
Oh! Ibuki!
Didn't I tell you to quit jumping all over anyone who plays ball?
Sorry!
Huh? Wait, what?
H-Hold on. Are you two like, twins or something?
That's right!
I'm the older one, Ibuki.
This is Yomi, the ace pitcher I get to sit next to!
You've got to check out her hand!
Really? Lemme see!
Wow, it's awesome!
Right?!
I fell right into her pace!
Did you know our baseball club is on hiatus though?
You might not be able to play for a while.
Oh. I think I'm done with baseball anyways.
I picked this school for the uniform!
It's a cute one, right?
All right! Please take your seats!
See ya!
Yeah.
Good morning, everyone.
After attendance, we'll head to the gymnasium for the ceremony.
Um, Yoshino?
Hmm?
Can I have my hand back?
Birdsongs and the smells of spring fill the air on this lovely day.
"Entrance Ceremony" Birdsongs and the smells of spring fill the air on this lovely day.
I'd like to start by saying "congratulations" to our new students.
We all would--
"--cer Club" "Badmin--" --Come and try out our club! --Anyone's welcome to join!
Hey, wanna go somewhere after school?
I'd love to! I'm dying to chat with you!
Wanna eat lunch together?
Sure!
Where should we go?
Hmm... How does LakeTown sound? It seems interesting!
It's really huge!
Yeah! It's a shopping mall that's like one kilometer from front to back!
Really?
Now this is what high school is all about!
I've always wanted to hang out after class!
Yomi?
It really is you!
It's me, Tamaki. Don't you remember?
Tama?
Of course I do!
Long time no see!
Don't tell me... Don't tell me...!
You transferred on me!
Those were the days... We used to play all the time!
Yeah, it is you! I'd never forget your scent!
They must have been friends.
--Tama, I missed you so much!
--Yoshino? --Tama, I missed you so much!
--It's Tamaki Yamazaki! --Tama, I missed you so much!
In her second year of middle school at Minami Girls',
she was known for her aggressive calls and insane defense!
They held her back last year in favor of a slugging catcher,
--but I still think they should've used Tamaki! --Tama! You smell so good!
In any case...
Your signature! Signature, please!
Huh?
Oh? So you kept up with playing baseball too?
By that, I take it you did too?
Yeah. Lost in the first round though.
Oh yeah! Let's do that!
"That"?
Uh-huh! We've got a reunion of two baseball girls!
And that means playing catch!
One, two, three, four...!
There's nobody here after all.
Not when the club's on hiatus.
Yeah, but the field looks perfect.
Let's see you guys in action!
Uh, we're just playing catch.
I still wanna see it!
Here we go!
Okay!
So, from what I hear, you're a catcher!
You became a pitcher, huh?
Real players look cool even just playing catch!
You know it!
Well? How are my throws?
Normal, I guess?
You're tough to impress, Tama!
Still, it's a shame she lost first round...
Wanna practice pitching?
Sure!
All right! I'll pretend I'm the batter!
I'll be the umpire then!
Bring it on!
That's fine, but wear a helmet.
Oops.
Also, it's dangerous back there.
But you're Tamaki Yamazaki with zero passed balls in all your games.
I have faith in you!
Who is this girl?
Hey, Yomi. Remember that pitch?
Hmm?
You know, the one you used to throw.
Your Magic Ball.
I'm allowed... to throw it?
Huh?
You'll catch it?
You learned how to throw it? With a hardball?
Yeah. Well, something like it.
Throw it! I'll catch it!
Huh? What?
It feels like the mood just changed...
I bet it's her strikeout pitch!
Here it comes.
It's probably like a curveball.
Huh?!
Wild pitch!
Huh?
W-Watch it! What were you aiming at?!
That almost hit me in the face!
W-Was that a strike?
I think... it was in the zone.
Wha...? Seriously?
I somehow caught it, but I was so surprised, I couldn't see its path.
One more!
Okay!
This time, I'll follow it!
I-I think I'll just watch from over here.
That was such a cool breaking ball!
Tell me about it! That was a curve, right?
Baseball players have to hit scary pitches like that?!
Here it comes.
Right here!
And then... it falls!
What an incredible drop.
It's just like the one she used to throw.
I thought that only worked with a plastic ball!
Nice pitch!
It's incredible how you learned to throw that with a hardball!
Throw it again!
Okay!
But how could she lose with that?
I thought, if only I could throw that pitch with a hardball...
In middle school, I was starting pitcher just because I could throw a strike.
Sorry.
It's fine!
But with that... If I threw that...
...no one could hit it.
Nice pitch!
That's when I started my training.
I trained the basics, of course.
But I also tried different grips and researched throwing form too.
Hey! I'm close to mastering a new breaking ball!
Come and catch for me!
Huh? And stay late? No way, I've got cram school!
But you're our catcher. Just help her out.
No way. I'm exhausted.
What's she doing?
No idea, but she's always there.
Yeah? It's too cold to be working that hard...
Whoa! Did you see that curve?!
That was wicked sick!
Totally!
Do you mean that?
I bet you could be a pro or something!
Thanks for hanging out with me!
Don't mention it! That was fun!
Good luck!
Amazing! I've never seen a breaking ball like that!
What's more, Tamaki didn't let the pitch get by her!
How does she have a pitch of that caliber...
...yet in middle school, they lost in the first round?
Yeah...
If you paired that pitch with a fastball, it wouldn't be easy to hit.
And yet...
Baseball takes more than one person.
Lucky me!
That's another run because of your pitch!
S-Sorry.
Yomi. Sorry, but quit throwing that.
Huh? B-But unless I use that, they'll--
You're making me look bad!
Besides, you're the only one taking this seriously.
This is just to make our applications look good. Nobody cares if we win.
Anyways, I'm done giving signs.
Yomi, you're incredible!
I never imagined you'd actually learn to throw that pitch!
You are too! I can tell you're really good!
You caught everything I threw!
Back when we were little, you were so awful at it!
Shut up!
Well, after I transferred...
I joined a team close to my house.
It turns out they were really good, and it helped me learn a lot.
It was nothing like the baseball we used to play together.
Believe me, it was brutal.
But, if it let me catch your pitches in the end, I'm glad I went through it!
But if you ever can throw a hardball like that,
let's keep playing baseball, even when we grow up!
Yeah! For sure!
So, do you remember our promise?
Hmm? Did you say something?
Nope! Let's make the next one our last.
Okay!
Those two have been through a lot.
Yeah...
I'm gonna be the batter again.
I took my eyes off it last time.
It seems like such a waste they're this good and don't keep playing.
After all, I want to watch their story unfold!
Yomi!
This time I'll keep my eye on it, so show us what you've got!
Hey! What so damn funny?!
No, that's not it! I'm not laughing at you, Ibuki!
It's just, this is fun, you know?
What a weirdo.
All right. This is the last one.
Let's take it one at a time.
Hey. Since it's our last game, can--
Oh, yeah...
Don't throw that awful one, okay?
After I quit baseball, I always thought to myself...
I spent three years of middle school training just to master that pitch...
"Matsubara" "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R" "Konan"
And all of it was a waste.
"Matsubara" "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R" "Konan"
But I was wrong.
Those days I spent...
...weren't for nothing!
It was all for the sake of today!
Nice pitch.
--Strike! --Huh?!
But didn't it bounce?!
She caught the ball in flight! And even if it did, it's still a strike!
I-I've never heard of that!
--You didn't see the ball, did you?
--Yomi? --You didn't see the ball, did you?
--I know it was just pitching practice... --You're kinda ticking me off!
But this might've been the first time I played serious with anyone.
So, there's nothing to regret...
Yomi? You won't keep playing?
Huh?
It felt like you put your whole heart into that last pitch!
Yeah! You two would make a great battery!
So let's play baseball!
All you do is watch, Yoshino.
Nuh-uh! I can be the manager! Together with you!
Huh? With me?!
Would you rather be a player? That's fine too!
Th-That's not what I meant!
If Yoshino and Ibuki were there to watch...
And if Tama caught for me...
I'd do it...
All right. Let's do it!
Tama!
Jeez, you're still the same crybaby you were before.
She throws a pitch that scary yet bawls like this?
Did you hurt yourself somewhere?!
I think you need a full inspection! Show me your hand!
I'm hungry!
So much for playing a little catch.
But it sure was fun.
Yoshino, would you let go of her already?
Huh? Yomi doesn't mind, right?
I feel so loved.
It totally doesn't feel like we all just met.
I forgot it's just the entrance ceremony today!
Still, being together like this...
...it's like we're good teammates already!
Yeah!
"Next Episode: Let's Play Ball Together"