Kanagawa School of Medical Science Secondary Hospital
I'll be back to check on you again this afternoon.
Okay, that sounds good.
Yuka Kurumatani
Sora Subject Dear Mom, are you doing well?
Time is really flying by.
It's already been a week since I started high school.
Today I have two good pieces of news to share with you.
The first is, I grew 0.02 millimeters taller.
And the second is, I'm going to be playing in an official basketball game!
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All the older members of the team here are really nice guys!
I promise, you don't have to worry about me at all!
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!
Class 1-4
First Flight
Chuckie Yasu Momoharu Nabe 2-3 Fast break Rebound Me
Momoharu is the tallest and has the highest jump, so he'll play center.
Yasu has the most offensive ability, quite literally, so he'll play forward.
Hmm...
But frankly,
with our current members it doesn't really make a difference who plays what position.
If we had at least one more player with some experience, then...
Allow me to apologize, teach.
The reason I'm late is because it took a whole night of chatting online with Yu
before she agreed to go on a date with me.
Hanazono...
You realize you're not a freshman anymore, right?
Oh God, this is a nightmare!
I totally spaced we're in a new semester!
Who's this joker?
Teach! Just pretend like this never happened!
Doesn't he know afros are out of style?
BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM
You want me to play?
No way.
That's too much effort, man.
Besides, I've got a hot date with Yu next Saturday.
Then you have nothing to worry about.
She would never show up in a millio-
Anyway...
...it doesn't matter, since there's no hope of us
actually playing a solid game against Maru High.
That shouldn't make a difference! It doesn't matter how smoothly it actually goes!
Because either way, we get to play a legit five-on-five match out on the court together.
And that's...
...enough to get me totally hyped up!
Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk!
Wh-what the heck was that for?!
You won't win me over with sappy inspirational speeches, Kurt-mad-daddy.
It's "Kurumatani!"
Well, it's best not to sweat the small stuff like that.
I may be small, but my name isn't!
More importantly!
Do me a favor and check this out, would ya?
What is this, exactly?
It's the seating chart for your class.
I'm tasking you with finding out all the names...
...and phone numbers for the students that I marked.
The circles are cuties! The flowers are hotties!
And the triangles are not half bad!
If you could start from the flowers that would be great!
Um...
I'm seeing some x's on here, what do those mean?
Oh right, those...
Those are the little shits who dared to laugh at my afro this morning!
I expect you to get me all those deets ASAP.
Later!
Cut me some slack...
I don't have any time to waste on stuff like this.
Wait a second, out of the entire class...
...he identified these specific few just this morning?
All right! That's a wrap on practice!
Now then...
...time to get down to business.
What's happening?
What are they doing?
It's their post-practice shootout.
Whoever sinks three free throws gets to leave for the day.
But whoever is left until the end gets stuck with mopping the court
and also has to prepare the equipment for tomorrow's practice.
A-all righty then... I'll see you guys later!
Get lost already! You damn pipsqueak!
They started doing this routine every day.
Though, it seems like Momoharu is always the one getting left behind.
Sweet!
Wow. That actually seems pretty fun.
I know, right?
The boys' team has definitely turned over a new leaf.
Hard to believe they took a liking to the game so quickly.
A liking to the game, huh?
Couldn't we just win by faking our shots and then throwing elbows at 'em?
Or maybe we can hit them with the old Asian Mist.
For starters, don't forget to rig your sneakers with steel-toes for the big day.
I don't think people who actually like the game would be planning ways to cheat.
Hey numbskulls! Quit flapping your damn gums so much!
Take it to the locker room! And keep it there!
Dear Mom, tomorrow is finally the day of the big basketball game!
The team I'm playing with is a little different from what I had in mind,
but they're all amazing in their own ways!
Not only is Yasuhara a 2nd Dan in karate, but he's actually on probation right now.
And Chuckie says he can tell the model of any car just from its steering wheel.
Nabe on the other hand...
...I guess there's nothing special about him.
But the most amazing of the bunch is definitely Momoharu!
He's really tall and can jump well over a meter high!
Right now, our team is comprised of only 5 members.
But actually...
...I think there's one more.
Who are you writing messages to?
Let me guess... it must be your girlfriend?
Madoka...!
I don't have a girlfriend! Nobody like that! I've never had one in my entire life!
Okay, sure... I get the point.
Your mom?
She's actually really close by... but I can't see her right now.
Huh?
D-don't get the wrong idea! She's not in the hospital or anything!
She's as fit as a fiddle! She does barbell lifts over 100 kilograms every day and drinks protein!
She even bites back at all the dogs in our neighborhood!
Well... uh, it sounds like she has a lot of mom power.
So lately I've been...
...just sending her some progress reports.
Because... she's the only one who has ever supported my passion for basketball.
Whoa there, Sora! What are you doing?
I can't believe how lucky that jerk Taguchi is!
He sucks as a player but he still got chosen for the team!
And when I asked the coach why, he told me it was only because of his height!
I've been practicing way harder than Taguchi and he can barely even keep up with my speed!
Not to mention I can score more points than him!
In the end...
...I never got the chance to play in even one lousy game!
Today was my last day on the junior basketball team!
I don't need these basketball shoes anymore! Practice is pointless!
I'm through! I'll never play basketball again!
If I had been your coach, I'm certain that I would have made the same call.
Oh, come on! Not you too, mom!
You can't change the fact that height is the greatest weapon in basketball.
I'm sorry, Sora. But it really just means,
that your skills aren't refined enough to win out over Taguchi's height.
And if that makes you angry...
...then turn yourself into a player good enough to blow away anybody taller than you!
There's a whole range of things to do, no matter how short you are.
Just trust me!
I see. You have a really great mom.
To be honest, I thought what she was saying was totally crazy.
But she became a star player by doing exactly that, so I had no way to refute it.
If she was able to pull it off, then it's possible that I could, too.
Huh?
My mom used to be a member of Japan's national team!
So wait, if your name is Kurumatani...
...then was your mom THE Yuka Kurumatani?!
She was an amazing player!
Why would you hide that from us?!
Uh, I was never trying to hide it.
But anyway, that's why I came to a decision on that day.
It doesn't matter how tall or tough the opponents I face are,
I'm never going to just give up because of my lack of height.
I want to prove to everyone tomorrow,
that even the short people of the world can play the game.
All righty! It looks like everyone else went home.
That means it's time for me to start shooting some baskets!
Hey, Sora?
Yeah?
Would you mind also sending me some progress reports, too, like you do for your mom?
What?
I also want to be a supporter...
...of your passion.
Okay? So give me your phone number!
Seriously?!
What? Is that a problem for you?
N-not in the slightest!
Then tell me what it is.
Um...
Did you forget?
Mom...
N-no! It's just, are you sure about this?
...please get better soon!
I really want to play basketball with you again!
Mom, please get better soon. I really want to play basketball with you again.
He wants to play with me again... eh?
Whoa...
All of these guys are so tall.
I'm confused. I thought Maru High was just a school full of delinquents.
Apparently, the members of their basketball team are the exception.
And from what I hear, it's a team that really knows how to play.
Out of all their members, the point guard named Tokiwa and the center named Chiba
are good enough to be considered the cream of the crop here in Kanagawa.
Really?!
Th-that doesn't bode well.
How can our team compete with that?
Hey, Chiba!
Wipe the floor with 'em.
Run circles around them until they all go red in the face!
Make sure they learn what a real game of basketball is like!
It's about time! Here come the douchebags of Kuzu High!
Go find a toilet to shove your heads into, you pack of shitsucking flies!
KUZURYU KUZURYU KUZURYU KUZURYU
The hell did you just say?!
There's no bigger pile of shit than Kuzu High!
Oh yeah?! Come say to that to my face, bitch!
Knock it off. These idiots aren't worth our ti-
I'm gonna shove all your heads up your asses and turn you into a goddamn centipede!
Hold up! Momoharu!
Stop it!
Just calm down, Momoharu! Get down here and put up or shut up!
4 | 2 | 1 | 3
I don't see him around.
Okay, I want both teams to gather up around the center circle.
All right! Let's do this, guys!
Hell yeah!
Are you sure about this, Sora?
The other team seems way too tough for you guys to handle.
Hey! Tinytown!
Get over here!
Coming!
Wait a sec, Sora!
We'll make it work.
Huh?
Don't worry...
TINY
...I've got a secret plan of attack.
Kuzuryu Shinmaruko
These dudes are even bigger than Chiaki...
What the hell did these guys eat to even get this big?
I'm starting to get butterflies in my stomach.
Hey, Tinytown. Is this usually how official matches go down?
I have no idea! This is the first time I've actually been in one!
Hey, ref. We call timeout.
Th-the match hasn't actually started yet.
Are you serious, this is your FIRST time?
What kind of bullshit have you been pulling on us?
Uh, well, I was always benched as a sub for my junior team.
And my middle school didn't even have a team for me to play on!
No basketball team, seriously?
That only happens at schools in the boonies which have like 10 students total.
You're close.
The total number in my school was 8, not 10!
Huh?!
But enough about that.
Let's hurry and get this game going!
That explains a lot.
No wonder he cares so much about this team.
Oh! By the way, Momoharu!
Do you remember all the details of what we went over yesterday?
Yep. Leave it to me.
Okay, let's do this!
Right!
A secret plan, huh?
I wonder what they've got up their sleeve.
Hey kid, we meet again.
Don't expect to get so lucky this time.
He can't even hear me right now.
I thought I recognized that face. You're the younger brother, right?
If you're the captain of this team, then they really must be low-level trash.
But you should've at least taught that squirt the fundamental rule.
Basketball is... all about having height!
He jumped higher than me?!
A fast break, huh?
Okay then. Bring it!
A three-pointer from the half court line?!
Dumbass. That's obviously just going to be an air ball.
It... went right in...
Did that just happen?
If you think I can't play just because I'm short, then you're going to learn to regret it!
H-he's incredible...
Kuzuryu
Shinmaruko
Scoring the first basket is a huge deal
because it helps create momentum for the entire team.
And after seeing him score a long distance shot like that,
the other team will be totally caught off guard and then thrown off their game.
O-oh, it's our ball now.
Oh, right.
It's a typical strategy for messing with your opponent mentally,
but definitely not something that's pulled off so easily!
Those two really are something else!
Wow... it went in...
It's the first time I've ever scored a basket from that far out!
Y-yeah, I wasn't expecting to actually get possession on that jump ball either...
Okay so, what do you think we should do now?
Yeah, we really gotta figure that out.
That's as far as their secret plan goes?!
Let's turn this around!
We'll score our own basket and then-
Thanks, sucker!
Nice move, Chuckie!
Get your act together, man.
Is it just me... or are those guys way better at passing than before?
I gave them a few pointers.
Since they kept whining about not being able to dribble the ball very well,
I just told them not to bother with it at all.
That's why they're passing the ball the instant they get it.
That's not going to work again.
Don't get cocky after just one shot!
A fake?!
Another three-pointer!
That squirt did it again.
This can't be real...
Looking at it objectively that makes him two-for-two in this match.
He might have been right when he said we'd regret thinking that he couldn't play.
But I'm not convinced yet, he's still just a little runt in the end!
You're pretty damn good, Tinytown!
I think we're gonna owe you a fresh melon bread from the cafeteria after this!
I would love that, thanks!
Hot damn. He's the real deal.
We're gonna wipe that smile off your face, shrimp!
Both of those shots were total flukes and you know it!
A kid like him who practices shooting 1,000 baskets every day,
knows that those were no flukes.
Hell yeah!
Let's keep laying on the pressure until they snap, boys!
She'll come.
She won't.
She'll come.
She won't.
She'll come.
She won't.
She'll come!
Sh-sh-sh-she w-w-won't...!
SAY IT AIN'T SO!
My darling Yu...
I really thought you were gonna be the one who came through for me...
Lately, all the guys have just been playing basketball.
It's made things pretty damn lonely for me.
I bet... that match of theirs has already gotten started.
These 10-minute quarters go by way faster than you'd think!
So we just gotta do this 3 more times, right?
Basketball ain't such a tough sport to play after all!
Shinmaruko
Kuzuryu
We're up at 12 to 9 at the end of the first quarter, huh?
That's pretty damn good.
I guess even our sorry asses can pull through when it counts.
Yo, what'd you think?
How's it feel being in your first big game?
I was so nervous I thought I was gonna choke!
There really is a huge difference between playing and just watching!
I wouldn't have guessed he was nervous at all from how he looked out there.
We've got 12 points from 4 of your three-point shots.
Those are some impressive numbers, man!
Right back at you!
You really surprised me with your reach during that jump ball, Momoharu!
We're not doing too hot out there with only 9 points.
That first shot from the half court line really hit our team where it counts.
That's definitely part of it.
But I think screwing up the jump ball at the very start hurt even worse.
As far as I'm concerned, that guy was definitely the MVP of the first quarter.
Aw, man. Our break is over already?
Let's go give them another ass-whooping.
Okay then, time to decide what our next move is.
For the time being, don't you think we should fortify our defense?
Nah. It's better to just let those guys play however they like.
If they get the ball, they'll pass it up to you so you can keep scoring points.
If we make things any more complicated than that, it could totally backfire on us.
But then won't our defense be lacking?
Nah.
I can handle that side of things all on my own.
I think we've let them have more than enough fun.
We're going to teach them that tall players dominate the sport of basketball!
Let's take it one shot at a time!
I see where you're going.
How the hell can you pass to somebody without even looking at them?!
Get the hell out of my way, asswipe!
Isn't this kind of shit against the rules?
What is wrong with this guy?
Doesn't he know what a screen is?
All right!
H-he's huge!
This is what it means to be head and shoulders above the competition!
H-him again?!
Didn't he... just jump a second ago?
It's a counter attack! Pull back!
I'm not letting you just take a free shot!
There it is!
The duck-in!
Not on my watch!
Dammit! They've got a screen set up!
He's going to get by on the left side!
Another one!
Nice shot, Sora!
Keep it up, Tinytown!
Why?
Sweet moves!
Why would he intentionally cut across to the side I was on?
He could have used his teammate to get away from me,
and then shoot a three-pointer in the open space on the left side.
I think I know why.
Come on, man. You can play better than that.
That settles it.
We're putting two defenders on him.
I can handle him fine on my own.
Huh?
Because I just found... his one weakness.
Sora Kurumatani.
I'm not letting you...
...score any more points in this game.
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: Broken Wings
Next time: "Broken Wings."