He backed off?
A jump shot?! From here?!
A Duck-in!
So low!
That wasn't any ordinary Duck-in.
This kid...
...he just dove straight under!
What do you think you're doing?!
Oopsies. Is kicking against the rules?
Are you okay?! Obviously! Everybody knows that!
Well, rules, schmules. The fact is, he didn't make a basket.
That means we're the winners.
H-huh? Wait, stop right there!
I'm talking to you! Hey! Wai-
Blah, blah, blah. Whatever, we're done here.
Now that that's settled, let's go grab something to eat.
Calling it quits here is weak sauce.
We're making this match a best out of 10.
Rikukaikuu doko ni ikou
Ahiru no Sora
Kimi o sasoitai na
Monogatari wa hajima tterunda
Okubyou kaze mo recycle
Mayotteru senaka oshite
Give and go! Isogou
Mogutteita honou ga kaodashite
Kakusenai no sa yume ni mita yume
Tobenai tsubasa demo
Bokura wa habataite sora o kanjitai
Naritai jibun ni naritai
Ima dekinai koto mo ashita wa wakannai ze
Waru agaki shiyou
Happy go ducky!
Boys Without Talent
These are...
...my wings!
He's got the wings of a duck...
...a flightless bird, huh?
Yabuuchi.
Go mind your own business.
This ain't gonna be an ordinary game of basketball, as you can see.
I don't care.
Huh?
I'm not backing down...
...until this is settled.
Hey, you three.
Huh?
You should all stand under the basket and make sure he doesn't get close.
What?
Who the hell died and made you the boss around here?
I'm not bossing you around.
I just don't want us to lose.
Uh oh, Madoka's serious about this.
I feel so bad for that kid.
Not like that! Go further back!
With the defense clustered in the middle like that, it won't matter how good his drive is.
Yeah, yeah. Quit your bitchin'.
Short players usually rely on their dribbling skills to be competitive.
But now they've made sure to totally strip him of his only weapon.
I find it hard to believe he could even play basketball in the first place with his height.
What else am I supposed to do? I'm just too short.
Hey, don't just blame your height for your lack of points.
I scored plenty and I'm only 160 centimeters tall, you know?
Yeah, but you were on a girls' team!
Guys who are short like me just can't compete...
Listen to me, Sora.
Being short like you are isn't a disadvantage.
If anything, it's an advantage, because it makes your opponent assume that you're not a threat.
He's at the edge of the sideline!
They've got him cornered!
Okay, how about this.
I'll share one important tip with you.
A Duck-in!
You're not getting past me again!
A long time ago...
...they played basketball without this particular rule.
But they added it later as a way to balance out the advantage that all the tall players had.
If you learn to make the most of it, then you'll be fine.
Because then...
...even you can...
...fly straight to the hoop in an instant!
No way...
He sunk that 3-pointer like it was nothing.
He's amazing.
He drew our attention with that slick drive earlier.
Naturally, we responded by focusing our defense in the middle.
But in reality... that just set up the court in his favor.
And in the end, he nailed a perfect jump shot.
A 3-point shooter who's only 150 centimeters tall, huh?
He's definitely got an interesting style.
Okay!
Nice game, nice game!
Guess that makes you an official member of the team.
And that means...
...you get the honor of being our lackey.
Huh?
Boy, what a workout. I'm starving!
Great timing. Hurry on over to the cafeteria and fetch us some melon bread.
Get your heads out of your asses.
You idiots.
I said this was going to be a best of 10.
We still... have 8 more shots to go, dammit!
MARUKO BRIDGE
Isn't that, like, totes craycray?
Oh em gee! That is so ridic, like I can't even.
So, I was all like, "sorry not sorry."
And they were like, "What did you just say?"
Wait. Look down there.
Total creeper alert, let's go!
So, how'd it go?
You win?
That kid... he beat us.
Well, you know what they say about basketball!
You're bound to make at least 1 out of every 10 shots! It's a fluke!
Anyway, who wants a sip of my canned soup here?
I found it on the ground earlier, it's still fresh!
Come on, man! Down the hatch!
It's good stuff! I swear!
A fluke, huh?
It would take a miracle for someone to fluke 9 times in a row.
If we had been playing in a real game,
then we'd have lost by 27 points.
Let's play together!
Huh?
Let's play again soon, on the same team!
That's a promise!
I'll be waiting for you!
Here.
Oh, thanks.
M-Madoka.
"That's a promise?" You said that?
You realize he won't keep it, right?
I'm pretty sure he will.
That Momoharu guy told me himself.
He said he doesn't like people who can't keep their word.
But even so...
Didn't you notice it out on the court?
Huh?
During that entire match, he was the only one who never fouled me.
I guess you do have a point there.
At the start, when I went in to cut for the basket...
...he knew I was going to go for a spin just based on how I adjusted my hand on the ball.
Before I could fully make my move, he blocked me off
and almost lured me into making an offensive foul.
I have no doubt.
Those moves...
...could only be made by someone with experience!
And if my intuition is right...
...he has played, too!
Boneafide Milk Healthy Full of Calcium!!
Calcium Filled Milky Bread
I miss getting free school lunch...
Well for now, I managed to get myself on the basketball team.
That means I can focus on getting in some practice, starting today!
Oh, hey. You're the kid from yesterday.
Oh, hey Madoka!
Hi.
Something wrong?
Your face is beet red.
Uh, no. Nothing at all!
Bonefide Milk
Is that all you're having for lunch?
You'll have to eat more than that if you want to get taller.
Here. You can have this.
Huh?
A-are you sure?!
Yeah. Congrats on joining the basketball team.
I think your presence is going to make a bit of a splash.
Do your best out there, okay?
You can do it, rookie!
Okay!
BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM
Huh?
You wanna practice?
Get out of here with that shit.
Wh-what else am I supposed to do if we're not going to practice?
I don't know, sit over there and practice writing kanji or some shit.
Sweet! I win!
Gah!
Hell yeah! Rack up another win for me!
Dammit! You must be cheating, Yasu!
Um... would you mind if I practiced by myself?
What's that?!
Nothing! Don't mind me.
When you're done with that, then you can clean the locker room.
J-just cleaning?
Watch it kid, we've got seniority on you here.
If you want the chance to play basketball, then you gotta do whatever we say.
Okay, then...!
I can play basketball after the cleaning's all done, right?
Just keep us out of it, bonehead.
Don't screw up. We better not see a speck of dust when we get back!
Awesome! This is going to be easier than I thought!
I'll have this place spotless in no time!
I guess he's not coming today.
That about does it.
Oh crap! When did it get so late?!
I gotta hurry or else I'll run out of time for practice.
Um, hey there, Chiaki.
What's with the pole?
This thing?
I borrowed it from the track & field club.
Good timing.
You're going to want in on this.
Huh?
Take a good look. You see the stuff that fell on the floor?
There's something sticking out from under the jacket. Do you realize what that is?
I'm not sure.
That, my good friend...
...is a lady's bra.
A b-b-b-b...
...bra?!
Come on!
It's time to launch our rescue operation to save that poor bra!
But wait a sec...
...there's no way that thing is going to fit through the wall. Right?
Don't worry.
I've got my bases covered.
More like a base up your sleeve!
Okay. Commencing mission.
Actually, that's not going to be long enough.
What?
You're about... 20, no, 15 centimeters short.
Quit pulling my leg, man.
This should be more than long enough to reach it.
Huh? Shit.
Well damn, you were right.
Try this! It should be long enough to reach if we add this! Hurry up!
I gotta say, you're way too excited about this.
So hey, I heard you invited those guys to play together with you.
But I told you before...
...the Kuzu High basketball team
is just a gang of punks who don't even want to play.
Is that really true?
I'm not sure about the other guys,
but I think at the very least Momoharu has a passion for the game.
Please be straight with me.
I'm almost certain that both you and Momoharu have prior experience.
Didn't you used to play?
Suppose we did. What does that change?
Listen up, Senora Curvy-auntie
It's "Sora Kurumatani."
Just remember this...
In all things in life...
...there comes a time to call it quits.
Call it... quits?
Great job today. Nice game.
Time to get changed and head home.
I guess that kid from yesterday never showed up, huh?
Yeah...
Huh? Is it just me or did something move?
D-do you think it was a cockroach?
Gross! I hope not!
So that's what he meant... by calling it quits...
He looks like he's on top of the world.
Man, that kid really just won't take a hint.
Basketball this and basketball that. What the hell is so fun about it?
I'm taking bets on how long he lasts.
One week! No wait, there's no way it's longer than 3 days.
Are you still bothered by the fact...
...that he beat you?
Not really.
I don't give a shit about basketball.
Hey Momoharu.
Do you think this stick could reach all the way up there?
Huh?
Yeah, obviously. Looks long enough to me.
Bzzt! You lose!
But I bet...
...that he would have known from just a glance.
What are you getting at?
Depth perception.
It's the ability to accurately measure the distance between you
and another object with just your eyes.
Any good shooter in basketball has to have a really keen sense of depth perception.
Unlike me, you used to really put everything into practice.
But it never made you become any better as a shooter, did it?
I imagine that's the difference between an average joe and a real prodigy.
Hey shitheads! You're on our turf!
Stop sitting on your fat asses and buzz off! Losers!
Oh? Look what we have here, it's a bunch of trash from Kuzu High.
The shitty uniforms really go with their stupid faces.
Better go home and practice using your pea brains so you can actually graduate, shitheads!
What? Is that all you've got?
You better watch what you say about Kuzu High from now on, kiddos.
Aren't you glad you learned this important lesson?
Dumbasses... you have no idea who the hell you're messing with.
We're part of the crew at Maru High!
I don't see any "crew" coming to save your sorry ass.
Maru High, huh? That explains why they're such assholes.
You know that it takes one to know one, right?
I'm feeling lucky tonight, let's go throw down somewhere.
Hell yeah, I like the sound of that!
BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM
So...
...why the hell did we come back here to play mahjong?
So we can win and then feel better about ourselves.
Says the guy who keeps freakin' winning.
What's up? You feel out of your element being in a clean room for once?
Nah. It's just been a long time since we've hung out here this late.
Brings back memories. We used to stay later than anybody in middle school.
Yeah...
Dude, it's already past 8:00! How many more shots is it gonna take?
Until I get to 200.
I might suck now, but I'm gonna be the very best one day.
Cuz I'm the only one on the team who practices this much!
Seems so long ago. I used to practice shooting until well after the sun went down.
No... it can't be...
You've gotta be kidding...
He's been going at it this whole time?
Just how many shots has he taken?
1,021 of them.
Yabuuchi?
Oh, and that one makes 1,022.
He's been shooting for nearly four hours straight now.
What the hell are you doing here this late, anyway?
I thought about going home a few times.
But my curiosity got the better of me.
That kid...
...I bet he does practice like this every day of the week.
1,000 shots... every day...
He must have lost his mind.
Why the hell would anybody need to go that damn far?
Isn't it obvious?
Because that kid...
...lacks the greatest asset that anybody can possibly have in basketball: height.
Even if he excels in other aspects of the game,
shooting 1,000 may not even be enough to make up for the difference in the end.
Momoharu! Time for free throws!
What kind of performance was that, Momoharu?!
You had the easiest shot of all time!
How many times are you gonna miss before you learn?!
Forget it! I'm taking you out!
Hoshino, you're in!
Yes, sir!
Seriously? Talk about being lucky.
Hoshino's a freshman who just barely joined the team.
Holy crap! What a comeback!
We actually beat Kitaoka Middle!
I guess even one talented player is enough to change everything!
Huh? What's up, Momoharu?
Shouldn't you be at practice now?
I saw your team in the gym.
Nah, I quit all that.
I don't have the talent, anyway.
What are you going to do?
Huh?
That kid is waiting for you.
You promised.
And he's convinced that you'll keep your word.
He had no doubt that you would play basketball with him.
That kid...
...believes in you.
Doredake sora o miagetatte
Boku wa tobenai to kimi wa itta
Ato nankai te o nobaseba
Todoku no darou to naita yoru
Nigedasu koto ni nareteitte
Sore ga yowasa dato shitta ano hi
Hajimeyou mata, kyou kara
Taisetsu na mono wa itsudemo soba ni atta
Bokura wa itsumo hitori janai donna toki mo
Toberu sa doko made mo kimi wa
Dare yori tataku tataku habataite
Nagashita namida no kazu dake
Tsuyoku narunda
Tsubasa hiroge sekai o megutte
Dare mo shiranai mirai o sagasou
Zutto, zutto, zutto
Aruite yukou saa, issho ni
Ahiru No Sora Next Time: Momoharu's Wings
Next time: "Momoharu's Wings."