H2 (manga) - Plot

Plot

During middle school, Hiro Kunimi (pitcher), Hideo Tachibana (third baseman and 4th batter), and Atsushi Noda (catcher) were teammates on the baseball team. Thanks to their exploits, their school achieved an unbeaten record on their way to consecutive national championships.

However, after an injury, a doctor told Hiro that if he continued pitching, his elbow would shatter in three months. Likewise, Noda was diagnosed with a career-ending waist injury by the same doctor, ending their dreams of Kōshien. Hiro chose to go to Senkawa High School, which lacked a baseball team. On the other hand, Hideo went to Meiwa Daiichi High School, one of the top-ranked high schools in the country, along with Hikari Amamiya, his girlfriend (and Hiro's childhood friend).

Hiro decided to join the soccer team, and Noda joined the swim team. After it was revealed that the doctor who "diagnosed" Hiro (and Noda) was a quack, Hiro and Noda return to playing baseball. Their first hurdle was to persuade their headmaster, who hated baseball. Haruka Koga, the manager of the baseball fans club, assisted them in their endeavors.

Through a family friend, Haruka managed to persuade the headmaster to allow the baseball club to be created if they managed to beat another team. The team chosen was surprisingly Meiwa Daiichi, Hideo's team. Although Senkawa ultimately lost the game (because one of the members of Meiwa Daiichi was the umpire and lied to make Meiwa Daiichi win), the headmaster allowed the club to be formed—also letting his son, Yanagi, return to baseball.

The headmaster also employed Fujio Koga, Haruka's brother, as the team's coach. Their first game as an official team was against Eikyo High School in a friendly match. Eikyo, a team with the famed pitcher Hirota, beat Senkawa easily.

In the second year, the new baseball club gains three notable members: Sagawa, Shima, and Ohtake. Sagawa was an old friend of Hideo's, while the latter two were relatives of Hirota. Although initially planted by Hirota in order to destroy Senkawa from within, they soon grow used to the friendly atmosphere of Senkawa. In the final game before the Koshien, Senkawa managed to defeat Eikyo.

Senkawa were set to meet up with Meiwa Daiichi after two opponents in the Koshien tournament. It would have been a fight between rivals, Hiro and Hideo, except that Senkawa lost in the second round to Mitatako. The loss was due to Hiro not being willing to injure the opposing pitcher and the opposing pitcher taking advantage of that injury while Hiro is pitching. Meiwa Daiichi went on to win the Summer Tournament. While this happens the love triangle between Hideo, Hiro, and Hikari becomes evident and the two baseball players start growing apart. Even though Hiro has feelings for Haruka, he declares his intention to win Hikari's heart.

In their third year of high school, Hiro and Senkawa wins the Spring Koshien Tournament. In the Summer Tournament, Senkawa matches up against Meiwa Daiichi in the semi finals in a game which will determine one of the finalists but also if either Hiro or Hideo wins Hikari's heart. It is stated that Hikari would feel sympathy for the loser of the duel between the best friends and that Hideo will win if he earns at least one hit out of three at-bats.

In the last inning with Senkawa leading the score, 2 to 0, Hideo hitless throughout the game hits a ball into the stands, but curves foul because of a brief gust of wind in the stadium. As he notices the wind dying down after that foul ball, Hiro thinks to himself, "You have to make me win, don't you?", because he knows that Hikari will probably end up with the loser of the game, who needs her more. Hideo doubts Hiro's intention to throw a fastball briefly predicting a slider from Hiro, striking out, which ends the game. As Senkawa celebrates their victory over the former Summer Champions, tears fall from Hiro's eyes as he finally lets go of his feelings for Hikari.

Hideo's loss to Hiro made him realize that he needs Hikari more than anyone else, while Hikari tells him that she never had the right to choose between Hideo and Hiro, implying she loved Hideo more even though she was not aware of it before and that the time to make a choice had passed long ago. The morning after their victory celebration, Hiro implies his intention to play baseball as a professional and Haruka declares her decision to accompany him on his way "I will be the stewardess", to which Hiro replies "Yes, probably", meaning he will probably marry her; this is a reference to an earlier chapter where Haruka said she wanted to become a stewardess so she could be with her future husband who would be a baseball player. Senkawa goes on to play the finals of the Koshien and the manga ends.