"The Spirit of Man" is the thirty seventh chapter in Ahiru no Sora.
Chapter Summary[]
Tokiwa teasing Tarou on his recent triple-double performance
It’s the eighth and final day of the training camp, and an energetic and excited Kitasumi High head towards Kuzuryu High. Tokiwa, while strolling across one of the streets of Kawasaki city, receives a phone call from his captain Chiba. Shinichi invites Tokiwa to join him to watch a movie. Tokiwa kindly refuses his offer and informs that he will meet some friends at a nearby music studio. While conversing on the phone, Tokiwa sees Kitasumi High and politely greets Tarou and his teammates. Kabachi sees him and gets a bit irritated, and informs Tokiwa that his team might have lost their recent match against Shinmaruko High. However, he scored more points than him. Knowing about Tarou’s competitive nature, Tokiwa agreed that Tarou scored more points than him; however, he had a triple-double. A triple-double is defined as a single-game performance in which a player has ten or more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots in two of the five statistical categories. It's also one of the most challenging feats in basketball.
Tokiwa asks as to where they are going. Tarou responds to Kuzuryu High that they have a practice game with them. Upon seeing Tarou’s furious face while conversing with Tokiwa, Hasebe informs Konishi that Tarou hates guys who are skilled and good-looking than him. Konishi smiles at his teammate's judgment and replies that he is very excited and looking forward to this upcoming practice match. Meanwhile, at Kuzuryu High, Nao returns Sora his Asics sneakers. Kurumatani thanks Nao for repairing them and tells her that he will not wear them today and instead use the current sneakers cause he used them to train in the entire training camp. Tarou and his teammates arrive along with Tokiwa. Konishi sees the Hanazono brothers and greets them. At first, Momoharu didn’t recognize him and later notice that it's his close friend, Konishi from middle school. Hanazono is amazed at how tall and physically athletic Konishi has become. Upon hearing, Konishi thanks them for the compliment and informs the Hanazono brothers that he started playing basketball because of them. Upon closing, Konishi changes his demeanor and tells the Hanazono brothers that basketball isn't some merciful sport that one can just crawl back to. Konishi then confidently tells his sempai, Momoharu, if he disagrees with his way of thought, he should prove him wrong with his basketball skills in this match.
Kitasumi High arrives at Kuzuryu High
Momoharu gets a bit furious, and Chiaki tries to calm his brother down. Later, Madoka guides the Kitasumi High members to the locker room. The practice game is about to begin, and both teams start their warmup routine. Upon seeing Kitasumi High's practice routine, Yasuhara asks his teammates what type of warmup routine they are conducting. Kenji responds that it is called tap drill. A tapping drill is one in which the player throws the ball up against the backboard. As the ball comes off the backboard, one jumps and tips the ball with a designated hand. This drill helps in improving ball-handling and rebounding skills. Later, Satsuki meets Koga, Katsumi High’s instructor, and he expresses his appreciation to him for accepting their request for a practice match. Before leaving, Tokiwa cautions Sora that his team needs to be careful, especially of Tarou; he is a basketball player who scores many points. Upon hearing, Sora becomes excited and goes to meet Tarou. Kabachi then confidently tells Kurumatani that his team will be the one victorious in the end. Sora accepts his challenge, and then both teams line up for the highly anticipated practice match.
Characters[]
- Tokitaka Tokiwa
- Tarou Kabachi
- Manabu Konishi (debut)
- Sora Kurumatani
- Nao Nanao
- Kenji Natsume
- Masahiro Saki
- Yasuhara Shinichi
- Chiaki Hanazono
- Tachibana (debut)
- Hasebe (debut)
- Momoharu Hanazono
- Ryuuhei Nabeshima