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Episode 5 ("Can I Borrow Your Cooking Pot") is even more compelling, with the benefit of hindsight. This was the ep that sort of opened my eyes that something truly special was going on here, though at the time I wasn't completely sure why. Now I know - the lack of cliche, the depth of unspoken emotion subtly portrayed, the first real proof of what an amazing kid Kou was and just how conflicted Aoba was.
I've said it before, but I find Kou's relationship with the rest of the Tsukishimas almost as moving as his relationship with Aoba. Such an afterthought of a relationship - just Aoba's kid sister after all - yet this episode pays so much respect to it, and it shows the viewer so much about all three of the characters on screen. The entire New Year's sequence is so realistically portrayed as the three kids go about their day. Much attention, I recall, was given to Kou's grabbing Aoba's collar when she might her thoughtless "Go ahead and die!" comment to Momiji - and rightfully so, as it's a powerful emotional shift in the series. But this was a watershed episode for other reasons. In hindsight it marks the first real thaw in Aoba's feelings for Kou - in my view, because she sees for herself how much he cares for Momiji and in that moment, truly understands what Waka-chan loved about him.
One other interesting element is that Kou and Aoba (a 15 yer-old boy and 14 year-old girl!) casually sleep together in the same futon. Further evidence that whatever her protestations, Aoba is completely comfortable in Kou's presence and, in a sense (at this stage) forever 10 years old in his presence. And when she hugged him in her sleep, there was no cliche moment of misunderstanding. He simply closed his eyes and went to sleep, and when he woke up (before Aoba, natch) untangled himself and cooked them all breakfast.
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