Although he never actually appears on screen, he is very significant to the story-line. As the former star of the baseball team, Naota idolizes him, but he is afraid of not living up to his brother's legacy, and because of this he never swings the bat when at the plate. There are examples of scenes in which Naota yells out "Tasuk--;" the Japanese audience, at first assuming that he will exclaim "Tasukete" (Help me!), may be surprised when he instead says "Tasuku," the name of his older brother. Naota says in the first episode that, for a moment, Haruko resembled Tasuku.