Character: Azuma Junpei 613s27

Older brother of Yuuhei Azuma, several years older than him. Junpei was a star pitcher and cleanup batter in high school, who was being scouted by pro teams during his last year of school. His team was on the verge of winning the regional finals when he sustained a career-stopping leg injury while saving Yuuhei from falling down a staircase, and he quit baseball and now runs a small produce distributor. He is depicted as cheerful and feckless, but Yuuhei claims initially his cheerfulness is forced; Kou describes Junpei as unreliable, in part because he never follows through on his promise to find Yuuhei an apartment. Upon meeting Ichiyou, the summer of Kou's second year of high school, Junpei immediately starts courting her, and they eventually start going out. In Kou's third year, Ichiyou promises to marry him if Seishuu makes it to Koushien, and Junpei becomes an assistant coach for Seishuu's baseball team, enthusiastically cheering the team on because his wedding is riding on it.