When Azuma asks Aoba whether Akane really does look like Wakaba, Aoba says that in her mind Wakaba is still in fifth grade, just as Kō had. Ryuō continues to advance in the Kōshien tournament but loses in the semifinal. One morning after the Takigawa soba restaurant opens, when Akane and Kō walk to the train station together, he accidentally takes her case of art supplies and goes to her school to return it, where he is mistaken for an exhibitionist. The detective recognizes his name from the summer tournament, and Kō helps stop the exhibitionist by hitting him with a baseball. During practice, when Aoba makes a bad pun, Azuma tells her she and Kō are a lot alike. Akane meets Momiji at a park when they are both sketching and walks her home, where Mr. Tsukishima and Aoba formally meet her for the first time. After Aoba rescues Akane from being harassed by some boys, Akane recognizes her from Kō's description of the three Tsukishima sisters. After practice, Aoba asks Kō why he didn't tell Akane about Wakaba, then admits that Akane is very like Wakaba beyond just appearance.
