"Fuwa Hyou" is the one hundredth and four chapter in Ahiru no Sora.
Chapter Summary
Fuwa Hyou joins the match
The intense quarterfinal match between Yokohama Taiei High and Kitasumi High is underway. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Sakamaki, to disrupt their opponent's rhythm and flow, substitutes Fuwa with Shiraishi. Tarou notices the change in Yokohama Taiei High’s lineup and believes their opponent is looking down on them by benching Shiraishi. Tarou furiously looks at Fuwa, and he misjudges him that due to his easy-going attitude and appearance, Fuwa must not be at the same skill level as Shiraishi. Besides Tarou, all the onlookers at the court are also shocked by the sudden change in Yokohama Taiei’s lineup. Shiraishi urges his coach Sakamaki to do something about their freshman Fuwa hairstyle because, according to him, it isn’t cool. Fuwa overhears their conversation and notifies his senior that he can hear them. Shiraishi bluntly informs Fuwa to quit messing around and be serious.
Yakuma sees the awkward interaction between Fuwa and Shiraishi. To tease Fuwa, Yakuma jokingly calls his freshman Fuwa Pyoon, and comments that he is a lucky first-year on their team who has gotten an opportunity to compete at an official tournament. All the other freshmen on their team do not get this privilege, and they usually support them by cheering. One of the press members sees Fuwa entering the court, and he asks his colleague does he know him. The media member informs his associate that he knows Fuwa from Middle school. Despite his odd-looking appearance, Fuwa grew up in America and lived there till the fifth year of elementary school. When he arrived in Japan, Fuwa was shocked at how average the Japanese level of basketball was. The intense match starts, Tarou is unable to keep up with Fuwa’s speed. A frustrated Tarou tries to stop him. Fuwa displays his efficient dribbling skills and effortlessly passes Tarou’s defense.
Shigenobu Yakuma the team's center
Upon witnessing, the press member further notifies his colleague, Fuwa, back in his hometown managed to take his lesser-known school to almost winning the state championship. In one of the games, Fuwa scored about 80 points, nearly as many as the famous Laker team legend Kobe Bryant. Fuwa accomplished this feat when he was still a freshman in middle school. The press member further comments that the exciting part about Fuwa’s backstory is that even after attaining this much success, Fuwa wasn’t satisfied with himself. On every step, Fuwa kept challenging himself. Hence, his passion for the sport and drive to surpass his peers led him to Yokohama Taiei High. That is why amongst all other freshmen at Yokohama Taiei, Fuwa is the only first-year student on the court competing today.
A depressed and jealous Yozan from the first-year bench watches his friend Fuwa compete. Upon scoring, Fuwa smiles and comments that being on the court feels fantastic. A frustrated Sakamaki urges Fuwa to get his concentration back to the game because their opponent Kitasumi High has the ball possession. They’re trying to make a quick scoring attempt on them. A confused Fuwa looks at his adversary and comments that he drank too many kegs (beer) before the match. Katori, while dribbling, urges his teammates to run faster. The captain of Yokohama Taiei, Moriyama, tries to stop him. Katori sees Tarou inside the paint area and gives an alley-oop pass to him. Tarou uses his jumping ability to his advantage efficiently receives the pass and scores.
Moriyama causes a turnover
A frustrated Moriyama scolds Fuwa for his easy-going attitude and warns him if he doesn’t seriously participate in the match, he can’t go back to the bench. While receiving the pass, Moriyama questions his coach Sakamaki's decision to let Fuwa join in the match and comparison to other first-years; what is so special about Fuwa? As Moriyama is in deep thoughts about critiquing Fuwa’s performance, Katori quickly steals the ball from him. Everyone at Yokohama Taiei High goes in panic mode for their captain, causing a turnover. Katori sees his unguarded teammate Tarou and passes the ball to him. Tarou, from the three-point line, while attempting to shoot comments, can you hear the wind calling, and he effortlessly scores the point. Upon seeing Tarou’s talent, Sakamaki questions Fuwa’s trivial way of thinking and comments that the level of basketball in Japan is not average or low because, according to him, Fuwa has only scratched the surface. An enthusiastic Fuwa stares at his adversary, and he regains his level of excitement to compete in the match.
Characters
- Hyou Fuwa
- Tarou Kabachi
- Sei Shiraishi
- Sakamaki Yohito
- Shigenobu Yakuma (debut)
- Yozan Kamiki
- Manabu Konishi
- Shingo Katori
