The female style... two-handed shot?!
Yeah!
Sweet move.
That style definitely lessens the overall strain put on the arms.
And on top of that, it's a real pain to block.
Tokiwa, we're not changing up our defense.
This match... isn't over just yet.
Kuzuryu Shinmaruko
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!
Huh?
No way!
Now's the Time
A triple team, are you serious?!
He was having enough trouble with just a double team!
Putting three guys on Sora is too much!
Forget about taking any shots, there's not even a window for me to get a pass!
Cut me a break.
This is ridiculous. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Chuckie! Over here!
If we can't score from the outside, then we'll do it from the inside!
He's not the only player on this team, you know!
Not happening!
So high!
He's on another level!
I'm not giving up!
Out of bounds! Kuzuryu's Ball!
Jeez, you okay man? Out of bounds! Kuzuryu's Ball!
Shit!
Seriously?
Chiba was the last one to touch it, so it would have been your team's ball either way.
Chuckie, hurry up!
Give me the ball before the defense gets set up!
I can't even dribble with them all over me like this!
Dammit!
My leg!
Did you see that little brat just eat it?
So pathetic!
Yo! Are you okay?
I'm fine!
I want to win so bad...
I don't want to lose, but...
Having some trouble down there, Kuzu High?
You can't even get your hands on the ball anymore!
This is too painfully uncool for me to keep watching.
Let's go.
I'm staying here, 'kay?
Huh?
I haven't gotten my fill of Tokiwa yet!
Buh-bye!
Tokiwa, darling!
Um, Madoka? Where are you going?
Your friends are all out there fighting. Aren't you going to back them up?
No way. It's just too much effort.
Are you serious right now?
Watching Momoharu and the others play out there doesn't make you feel anything?
Oh, I feel it. I feel sorry for how uncool they look.
No matter how much effort we put in, there are some things we just can't change.
And I can't stand being laughed at by people for trying otherwise.
I'm not one of them.
Every single person in the world can laugh if they want, but I never will.
It doesn't matter how uncool or weak someone is, I will never laugh at them!
Why aren't you guys running out there?
Nakahara
Isn't that obvious?
We're down 50 points at halftime.
It doesn't matter how much we try, there's no way to win.
Just look around.
Even the other kids from our school are laughing at us.
I just want this nightmare to be over.
There's not a player alive who goes on the court hoping to lose a game.
Why are they trying so damn hard?
That's not what we came all the way here to see.
Watching shit like this really pisses me off. I can't stand it.
Huh?
Oh no, wait!
Hold on! Timeout!
That must've hurt!
What a riot! He did a total faceplant!
What's going on?
That guy up there threw an empty can onto the court.
And then Sora tripped over it...
Get wrecked.
Just throw in the towel, losers!
There's only 5 minutes left anyway!
Those shitheads.
Who's the punk bitch that just threw the can?!
Quit your whining, asswipe!
Nobody here knows anything about the damn can!
Those douchebags are seriously asking for it.
Tokiwa... is it okay if I blow my top now?
Please don't, fighting is the last thing we need.
To be honest, you're the one who started this mess when you agreed to play them.
Struggle all you want, you're still going to lose!
You'll never be more than a bunch of punks!
Fuck it.
I'm about to lose my shit!
You can't do that, Momoharu.
Huh?
I know that at first, we kept talking about this in terms of a fight.
But right now, we're playing a perfectly good game of basketball.
And there's still 5 minutes left on the clock.
Let's keep this on the court... until the very end!
You sure?
I said my goodbyes to the geezer from the bar in West Shinjuku~
Taking my time strolling down the familiar alleys and backstreets~
I saw a reflection in the broken glass of the dusty tatami shop~
It was a reflection of me, all alone, covered in the grime of life~
Is that... Chiaki?
"If yer gonna do it, now's the time. If yer gonna do it, now's the time."
LOVE
That 66-year old geezer always use to say,
"If yer gonna do it, now's the time."
Huh?
Who's this clown?
The hell?!
I might not have the right to say this, but...
People who aren't doing any of the fighting...
...don't get to laugh at the ones who are.
What's the big idea?!
Eat shit and die, you afro punk!
I'm gonna tear you a new one!
He finally showed up.
So, is this the guy you said that had piqued your interest?
Yeah. Back in middle school, I played against that guy in a game once.
Though, I really doubt that he even remembers much of it.
But as far as I'm concerned...
...I've never seen a player with the skills to rival his.
What's up with the sudden change of heart?
Nobody came crying to you for any help.
Don't be silly.
It's my duty as an older brother to step in whenever you're getting bullied.
Do I look like I need your help?!
The tables have turned since the last time we talked.
Huh?
It's my turn to ask you now.
Why come back to basketball now?
Listen up, Momoharu.
It is absolutely impossible for me to die before you.
Huh?
Because... my maximum life expectancy is 300 years.
No matter how many cringe-worthy experiences await me from here on,
I've got plenty of time to shake them off.
Excuse me, Ref!
Please resume the game for us!
Uh, but, what about your leg?
It's just fine!
Whenever I get a bone fracture, they always set right away!
See?
And also, our team has a new fifth member now!
Here!
Our game plan is all up to you!
Wait, did I actually tell you what my position is?
You're the point guard who decides what plays we run.
Isn't that right?
You sorted out the locations and faces of all 30 people in my class.
Having the sharp eyes and memory necessary to do that so quickly...
...those are without a doubt the attributes of an exceptional point guard!
But to be honest, none of that really made any difference to me.
Ever since that first day we met...
...I've kept believing that you would play basketball together with me, Chiaki!
Well then, the game will now resume with Kuzuryu in possession of the ball!
Okay, there's 5 minutes left! Let's tear it up!
Alrighty then...
...let's set our sights on scoring a single basket for now.
That's good! Spread out on the court just like that.
Okay, time to see what they're really made of.
Just what kind of play are they planning to make?
Okay.
It's showtime.
Violation! Shinmaruko's ball!
What...?
They immediately lost the ball on an 8 second violation...
What did he even make that grand entrance for?
What's an "8 second violation"?
The offense must always advance the ball to the front court before 8 seconds has elapsed.
Shit! I totally forgot that there was even a rule like that!
Sorry guys, that's my bad.
Get your shit together, man!
The other side of the court is wide open!
Tokiwa! Pass it here!
He panicked and rushed past us.
But that's not going to change anything.
Just because there's open space in front of me, doesn't mean that's where I'm going to pass the ball!
He anticipated it?!
But how?!
Because I would have done the exact same thing if I were in your shoes.
That afro punk totally saw that pass coming!
There's only one defender left in front of the basket!
Three of them?!
To the right...
Or the left...
...or through the center?
He's passing left!
It went right?!
Hell yeah! It went in!
That was awesome, Nabe!
I know for a fact that afro punk passed the ball towards the shrimp.
Even if he tried to snap it back with his wrist,
there's no way he could make it go in the totally opposite direction!
Kuchiki.
Out of everyone in this gym,
you're the only one who doesn't know what move he just pulled because you were standing in front of him.
It was an elbow pass.
He used his left hand to throw the ball,
but then immediately bounced it off his right elbow to make it go to the opposite side.
I doubt there's any other high school player who can pull off that move.
An elbow pass?!
That's ridiculous!
Don't let it get to you, Tokiwa!
I'm fine. Let's make sure we score this next one!
Damn! That afro punk is really putting on the pressure!
Seems like you're wiped from guarding our little pipsqueak.
I guess you learned not to judge his skills just based on his size.
Yes! I shook him off!
He screwed up!
What the hell are you doing, Tokiwa?!
We got a nice gift from the other team!
Let's put it to good use!
I'm not letting them score off of my mistake.
Did he seriously just do that...?!
They're about to rush us!
Switch!
Our team prides itself on height! We're not just gonna let a bunch of shorter players get to the basket!
He jumps so high!
Shit!
Even though the court is crowded with members from both teams,
he didn't fail to notice that the defenders stopped guarding me!
There's no doubt about it.
This guy is...
...a real genius!
Awesome!
He's scored six three-pointers now!
Are you all right, Tokiwa?
Did the ball hit you on that pass?
It just barely missed me.
Damn it. Aiming a pass right at the face is a dirty move.
No.
He wasn't aiming for my face.
Even if I was quick enough to react, I'm helpless to stop any ball that passes next to my head.
Amazing! That was such a smooth move, Chiaki!
By using that window, he knew the pass would go through.
Oh yeah? Then give me some cash.
Pulling off that kind of pass is like threading a needle. His control of the ball is insane.
Don't sweat it. This match was over a long time ago, anyway.
Them scoring a few more baskets isn't going to change the fact that we've got this in the bag.
It's kind of strange, this game feels a lot longer than usual.
You guys should forget all about the current score.
Huh?
Just consider it zero to zero from the moment that guy joined their team.
If adding one player is enough for them to start scoring, or even stop us from scoring, then we've lost this game.
So, we've got 30 seconds left.
That's not a lot of time.
Listen up, gang.
We're not winning this match no matter what we do.
But even so...
You don't have to say it.
We'll wrap this up...
...by scoring the last basket!
Listen up. We are not letting them lay a single finger on the ball until the game clock runs out.
There's no time to waste.
If they manage to run out the shot clock, then this game will essentially be over.
We have to do something to get the ball away from them.
But what?
A crossover!
He's fast!
Thank you.
What the hell was that, Nabe?!
It's going to come up short.
Rebound!
Great! It's all mine!
What the-?!
The shrimp took off in a dash for the other side of the court!
Momoharu won't fail.
I just know... that Momoharu will...
...get that rebound for us!
Chiaki, it's all you! Hurry up!
Just leave it to me.
A long pass? From here?!
He passed it like a bowling ball?!
I can't run very fast anymore...
It feels like my arms and legs are gonna fall off...
I'm so tired...
I just wanna lay down and relax...
I'm starving. I want to eat some curry bread.
And also... drink a big glass of milk.
My shirt and shorts are totally soaked through with sweat.
I want to change out of them.
But more than anything...
I really want to...
...keep playing this game!
The game is over!
The shot was taken after the buzzer, so the basket doesn't count!
Just a second more would've done it.
We came really close.
Well, we did what we could.
Hey. Great game.
Uh, thanks.
I thought I had figured out how to shut you down.
But you caught me off guard with that two-handed shot.
You made me realize I can still improve.
It wasn't much.
Come on! Time to line up, guys!
At 146 to 22,
Shinmaruko High School is the winner.
Thanks for the game!
Uh, hey!
Huh?
Thank you so much!
I really appreciate you not holding back on us.
And also... I hope that...
165 centimeters.
Huh?
That's how tall I was back in my last year of middle school.
I was sure that I didn't lose out to anyone in terms of skill.
But I wasn't allowed to play in any games for years solely because of my lack of height.
The team at our school puts an emphasis on height.
That's why even if any of those shorter freshmen join us, they'll likely never play regularly.
I figured it was better to reject them outright, rather than have them waste 3 years of nothing.
But now I realize, even shorter players can be pretty effective.
Though... it's too late for me to just take it back.
Don't worry!
If they really want to play, then they'll come again!
I guess that's true!
Though it'd be a handful to deal with a bunch of kids like you!
Um! Can I ask you just one question?
Huh?
What do I need to eat to grow as tall as you are?
Meat, dude! Eat more meat!
Meat, really?
Yeah! Be a meat eater!
Sora is gradually changing everything that's around him.
He may be small...
...but he makes a big impact!
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
Is there a problem, Chiba?
That's weird. I swear I left my shoes in here.
By the way, Chiaki...
...did you buy some new shoes?
They're nice, huh? I just found them lying around.
"Lying around"?
Yep.
Ahiru no Sora Next Time: The Troublesome Freshman
Next time: "The Troublesome Freshman."