Defense! Defense! Defense! Defense!
We're doin' a player substitution.
Natsume?
It's been long enough. I'm good.
Me, too... I'm ready.
Shigeyoshi...
Just stay put!
If our lead is still shrinking after 3 minutes from now,
then go ahead and put Bro or the beanstalk in.
But until then, I'll find a way to hold the other team off.
Shot-clock violation!
Huh? Already?!
Player substitution! Kuzuryu High School!
Just "hold them off"?
Not "stretch out our lead even further"?
It's not wrong
So that one step you took and endured today is
The sound of a footstep that radiates brilliantly
It's not wrong
So the world you blindly jumped into must be right
The plans I held for the future when I was greedy
Ahiru no Sora
Was soiled by my days of attentiveness to others
Those that sought the same dream have long ago
Started on new paths
Sighs color the sky a dark gray
But it's not the end yet
Today must be the day, so I pray as I sing
It's not wrong
So that one step you took and endured today is
The sound of a footstep that radiates brilliantly
It's not wrong
The world you blindly jumped into must be right
What Must Be Protected
It's a real shame.
You've got so much amazing talent,
but not enough stamina to run for 40 minutes, huh?
Wait, let me guess!
Back in middle school, you skipped out on practice thinking
you were too good for it.
Just buzz off.
I'm really purr-ceptive!
Well, considering that you've been the one scoring on us the most,
it really helps to have you get all tuckered out now.
Uh-oh, better keep your eyes on the prize!
Going above my head again... dammit!
Get outta my way, ya big lump!
Don't you dare, sideburns!
He's wide open!
Nobody gets a free shot as long as I'm on the court, dammit!
They stopped it!
Defensive foul! #4!
Shit, he got free-throws?
That was a nice block, Momoharu.
Thanks.
I'll run like hell if the second shot misses,
so chuck the ball as hard as you can.
Every point counts, Kazushi. Don't miss these.
Two free-throws!
You talking about Kashiwagi? He's bad news, for sure.
Did you hear? He caused a big brawl.
What a thug...
I hate being stuck in the same class as him.
Oh?
What's up? You hoping to join the team?
Wait! You can't let that guy in!
His name is Kashiwagi and he's done nothing but cause trouble lately.
Whatever, that's nothing a bit of old fashion discipline won't cure.
I guarantee that won't work on him!
He totally beat the snot out of 3 guys from West High the other day.
Ouch!
Oops, sorry.
That hurt, asswipe!
Sorry, my bad. But you should watch where you're going, too.
Huh?
If you're interested in playing, then why not come join us?
Huh?
I know the feeling. I got into basketball because of that same manga!
He missed the first shot!
Aw, man, they needed that!
Stay calm, Kazushi!
Take deep breaths and shoot carefully. You'll be fine!
Back on that fateful day, if you hadn't reached out to me like you did...
...then I'm sure my high school life would've been the pits.
Even a hopeless punk like me can find something to be passionate about!
He missed the second one, too!
Rebound it! We have to hold them off!
Dammit!
Shit, it's a fast break! Don't let him pass it!
Yukio!
Oh no, Tamo!
Out of bounds! White team's ball!
He took Momoharu's full-force throw right to the face...
That's the 10th guy I've seen him put out of commission like that.
For real?!
Don't die on us, Yukio!
Say something, Yukio!
I'm all right. I know how to roll with the punches.
If they scored with a fast break now,
it would totally kill all the momentum that Kazushi built for us.
How adorable, he's so shy.
Defense! Defense! Defense! Defense!
A'ight! We're gonna crush their streak! Keep your voices and spirits high!
We WILL catch up! Nobody call it quits now!
What is the thing that I'm supposed to protect?
I already abandoned basketball once, didn't I?
Yasuhara, you gotta get further inside!
So why exactly am I here right now?
You're going down.
A three!
No way!
It went in!
A 10 point lead! Now they're back in the double digits!
Eat shit.
That smug bastard!
I didn't skip out on practice because I was lazy. It's just...
...there was a time I almost let go of the precious
little hand that I was supposed to hold tight.
I won't lose her! Never again!
There's only 3 minutes left, guys! Stay confident and-
Everybody move up!
We can't just keep the same defense! We gotta lay on more pressure!
Hey Chucky! Yasuhara! We're doing man-to-man now!
Roger that!
Kuzu High is going all out!
They're in the endgame now!
Oh jeez, that's way too reckless. Especially when they have the lead.
With the players who are on the court now,
there's hardly any difference between zone and man-to-man.
Well, I suppose this allows them to suppress Kojima
and hope his knee puts him on the bench soon.
But of course, that's only if they have enough stamina left to run at this point.
Hey, Madoka?
Uh, yes?
The one who shot that last three...
What's the name of that boy who has his hair all braided up?
Oh, uh, that's Kenji Natsume. Everyone calls him "Kite," though.
He's in the same grade as Sora.
Is he really just a freshman? He's so skilled!
There was a lot of trouble leading up to him joining the team, though.
What about that other one? The boy who made the amazing block.
Momoharu Hanazono. He's the team captain and center.
He's actually twins with the afro boy who's sitting on the bench now.
That one's name is Chiaki Hanazono, he's the point guard.
They don't look very similar...
And then, the really tall boy is Kaname Shigeyoshi. He's also a freshman.
Wow!
That's all of 'em!
Uh-oh, they got by Sora!
My legs...!
Another basket for us!
I said we should switch our defense, but then I let them get right by me.
Kite's gonna be so pissed...
Don't sweat it.
I wouldn't be surprised if they came at us with a full-court press anytime now.
These final 3 minutes are when you gotta show them what a point guard can really do.
Throw me some good passes.
Right!
So, Kite and Shigeyoshi.
Momoharu and Chiaki.
And then Yasuhara, Nabeshima, and Saki.
Finally, little Nao.
Okay, I'll remember them!
Ms. Yuka, are you doing all right? You're starting to look sweaty...
Well, all the excitement is making it hot in here.
We need to start laying on defensive pressure, or else it'll be too late.
But... it's not realistic for us to do a full-court press with Koji's leg.
We have to find another way to...
No skin off my bones!
Koji?
Just take a good look at their faces.
We had them running their asses off in the first half,
so there's no way they'll last the full 40 minutes.
A lion with a busted leg or a bunch of weak-ass rabbits.
Who do you think is gonna get eaten?
They both seem helpless to me.
And rabbits are herbivores, anyway.
Either way, it's all over for us if we lose here.
Save the complaining for after we win this damn thing.
Regrets and sacrifices. I've dealt with enough of those to hate both of them.
Maybe the only thing that we get out of winning...
is small and cheap in the long run.
But even so, all we can do is keep striving for it.
Not good!
Miss, miss, miss!
Go in!
Go in, go in, go in!
Miss!
Go in!
Counterattack!
Never missing a shot! Being the fastest man on the court!
For a small player like myself...
...that's the only way to stay alive!
I want to be useful to the team!
Reach, reach!
REACH!
A 6-point gap!
We're almost there!
Ka-Kashiwagi!
Kurumatani!
Uh-oh...
They've closed the gap even further now. We have to widen it back up.
10 points... no, is it 8 points now?
I've gotta protect our lead... how many minutes left?
Huh? Someone is... calling my name...
What's wrong with me? Everything feels... so far away...
Have to protect it... have to protect it...
You did well out there. Leave the rest to me.
Chiaki...
That #7 with 4 fouls is coming back in.
And now, there's no way of telling how this match will play out.
Feh, pathetic!
They've only got 3 subs on the bench.
This situation was unavoidable for them.
There's less than 3 minutes left now,
but that's still too much time to defend a 6 point lead to the end.
And even if they do manage to win, this is still just the first round.
Let me tell you something. These guys don't have a future.
There's no way a team like this can make it anywhere near the top.
She must be worried about Sora. It doesn't look like he got injured, though.
Um, I'm going down to have a closer look.
I'll check and see if Sora's okay. I won't be gone long!
Stupid...
Huh?
That stupid blockhead!
Huh?!
Can't even last for 40 minutes...!
He should know better, I always said that practicing for
lengthy runs is absolutely vital in basketball!
Studying for school entrance exams must have made him slack off!
I think that's pretty ordinary for every kid...
He can't afford to be ordinary.
Huh?
It's just like Sakam... ahem, Mr. Sakamaki was saying earlier.
It would basically take a miracle for Sora to get on the
starting lineup of most any team.
And it's not just him,
every shorter player inevitably comes up against that same hurdle.
If Sora wants to secure his own place on the court,
then he can't just do the same things everyone else does.
Although, I know fully well that he won't discover
what he should do all by himself.
Then you should focus on getting better,
so you can come to Kuzu High and become their coach, Ms. Yuka.
Huh?
Both our boys' and girls' basketball teams don't have a proper coach.
Our advisors are just math and history teachers.
The boys' team has Nao serving as both manager and coach, but...
There's a limit to what she can do on her own
and she's been very frank about her concerns.
If Sora and his team are serious about aiming for the top,
then they need a good coach to lead them.
If you could come to our school and do that, Ms. Yuka...
Uh, well... the girls' team would love to learn from you, too!
So please, do everything you can to start feeling better!
Me? A coach?
I think it's a great idea. You should take them up on it.
But I...
The future is built on hope.
And hope is born from life.
As long as you strive for a dream, then tomorrow will come.
The job given to us adults is to protect the future of all the kids.
Listen up, boys.
We've all lost sight of hope once in our lives already.
We had no place to belong,
and spent a year without knowing what we wanted to do.
To be real with you,
there's no guarantee that winning this match will change anything for us.
However!
We know for sure nothing will change unless we win.
Take this to heart. The lead we have now represents our future!
Defend it with your very lives!
Hey, Bro! Be careful with those fouls.
You think the threat of ejection is enough to scare me?
He's a damn good guard.
Now I'm getting pumped!
They've rallied up some morale.
Their team must trust that #7 wholeheartedly.
And that #15, too. I gotta admit, they're a real solid team.
Okay, let's do this! Time for the final battle!
Excuse me, Fujita? The girls' team is about to start their game.
All right, let's go.
What? Aren't we gonna watch the end?
Regardless of which team wins, it doesn't change what we must do.
Good point.
Say, Mokichi. How big is our lead?
8 points.
And now, it's down to 6 points.
Do you think we'll win?
Yeah... well, I'm not so sure.
It really kills me.
If only I could move as fast as Kite does...
If only I could jump as high as Momoharu does...
If only I could pass as well as Chiaki does...
If only I could grow as tall as you are, Mokichi...
Hey, Kurumatani.
Do you remember the conversation we had... when we first met?
You said you were jealous of me.
And then I replied by saying I was jealous of you.
Ever since the day I first started basketball, I've always played center.
I was never allowed to experiment with other positions, even if I wanted to.
But what I've always dreamed of...
...was to become an all-rounder, like that guy is.
Mokichi...
From now on, as you keep growing taller,
you'll find yourself able to play a variety of positions.
And then, you'll eventually reach it.
The peak of what a basketball player can be.
You are full of nothing but potential.
And that... is what I'm jealous of.
But it's okay. I'm not giving up.
"Potential"...
Defensive foul! #6!
Sweet!
Time for free-throws!
S-sorry, you guys!
It happens. Shake it off!
Nice, Roku!
Thanks.
Player substitution, Kuzuryu High School!
Shigeyoshi!
Right. I know.
Just 1 minute left! Here comes the giant once again!
I dragged us down out there. And at such a crucial time...
If we end up losing now, it's basically gonna be my fault!
Senpai.
Huh?
Your defense... was solid.
You can drop the act!
I can't dribble and I can't shoot, so I know I'm not worth shit out there!
I get it...
He wasn't being sarcastic.
Our team doesn't have anybody who would be at a time like this!
Goddammit!
Don't be so impatient, Chucky.
What lies beyond this line is like a holy ground of sorts.
It's a battlefield where only those
who've spent years of intense training are allowed to fight.
That's more or less how I see it.
Half-assed guys like us could never compete on the same level as them.
Well, that's what the old me would say and then give up.
But after watching how Chiaki and Kite played in this game, I felt motivated.
Nabe...
I wanna pull off sick moves just like they do.
Then turn around and have them say to me...
"Nice job, Nabe!" and get showered with their praise.
You're the best, Nabe!
Way to go, dude.
Not half-bad.
You've got skills!
I've been bested.
I'm in love...
Totally.
It'd be nice to actually be of some use someday, huh?
Yeah.
He sunk it!
Now we're only 5 points behind!
Don't miss this.
Sink it or get an ass whoopin'!
When I found out this team only had 2 members at the start,
I thought they were out of their minds.
But now, I can't help but feel driven... to keep playing with them!
Go in! Please go in!
OMG, I'm totally starting to cry right now!
Me, too!
This match is so crazy... it's rare to ever see two teams go at it like this!
Are you sure? You don't want to see how it ends?
I was already cheating by going in the first place.
"Cheating"?
Even though I went, I still want to hear my son tell me the results himself.
In any case, I'm surprised you went without seeing him for so long.
I'm sorry that we had to impose on you like this.
It's okay.
Doctor...
At the arena, my old college friend... he gave me the same advice you once did.
That having hope and dreams breathes life into us.
That the importance of life is found in the precious things we protect.
Doctor... I did it...
I found a dream that... I want to pursue.
I want to convey them to you
Lay all of my feelings bare
Whether I have to lie or sin, I just want you to smile
By using these wings that you gave me
And embracing the "promise" that ties us together
I'll stretch up to the sky!
Towards where only light shines
I was suffocating myself
In the empty corner of a cage
Yeah... it was as if
"I'm just like a bird that can't fly"
I nearly locked myself in with all the excuses
I want to change
I cannot change
Even if I become stained in lies
I want to fall apart
I cannot fall apart
Now... I set flight
Sailing into the open sky
On these ugly wings
To assure I never go through the same pain again
Still so very fragile and ephemeral
But no matter how dirty or pathetic
I'll fight! I'll rise!
Towards where there is a tiny glimmer
Ahiru no Sora
Next episode: "Time limit."