"The Everlasting Truth" is the forty seventh chapter in Ahiru no Sora.
Chapter Summary
Sora praising Nabe for his improved defensive skills
Upon noticing his teammates struggling, Sora requests Nao, he has rested long enough, and she should make a substitution. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Sora joins the practice match. While heading towards the court, Sora praises Nabe for his improved defensive skills and states that his Triangle and 2 defense idea was great. Nabe thanks Sora for the compliments and heads towards his bench. Kenji instructs his teammates to keep passing the ball around and not to hold it in possession for too long. Koga, Kitasumi High’s instructor, sees the substitution and questions Nao’s decision-making and states that instead of Sora, she should have substituted Yasuhara as Nabe’s replacement. Hence, this would have given Kuzuryu High the height advantage against his team.
Chiaki has possession of the ball, and Katori and Tarou are guarding him. Hanazono sees Sora and passes the ball to him. While dribbling, Sora feels happy and excited and tells himself no matter how tired or exhausted he feels, being on the basketball court is the best. Sora, while dribbling confidently, tells his teammates not to worry, and they will indeed catch up. Upon hearing, Kenji jokingly states that he doesn’t need a pep talk from him. Momoharu doesn’t say anything and feels happy and relieved on seeing Sora, and Chiaki informs Kurumatani not to stand out more than him in front of Nao. Tarou and Tachibana head over to guard Sora. Kitasumi High’s first-year students praise their seniors for their defensive efforts. Tarou, while guarding Sora confidently, informs Kurumatani that he will not let him score. Chiaki notices Sora struggling against them and head over to help his teammate by setting up an efficient screen. Screening in basketball is a blocking move in which an offensive player stands next to or behind a defender to allow a teammate to shoot a pass or drive in for a score. Katori shouts and informs Tarou about the screen. Sora sees Chiaki and quickly evades and drive passes Kitasumi High’s defense.
Chiaki sets up the screen and Sora then easily evades Kitasumi High's Defense
Upon seeing the screen, Katori then quickly heads over to guard Sora and tries to stop him. Sora, while dribbling, sees Momoharu and passes the ball to him. Hasebe, Kitasumi High power forward, tries to guard him. Momoharu uses the possession of the ball to his advantage by helping his teammate Sora establish some space from the defenders and returns the ball to him. Tarou rushes and catches up to Sora. Konishi, along with Tarou, tries to stop a determined Sora from scoring. As Sora is going for the layup, Tarou notices that Kurumatani is a bit out of breath. Tarou then attempts to tease Sora about his irregular breathing. Sora, unfazed by Tarou’s mocking attempt, sees Natsume and passes the ball to him. Kenji complains to Sora about the lousy pass but somehow still manages to score. Kuzuryu High is slowly catching up, and the score is 58 to 61. The third quarter is reaching its conclusion, with only 6 seconds remaining. Katori, Kitasumi High point guard, has possession of the ball. Masahiro and Sora are desperately guarding him and are trying their best to steal the ball. While defending, Sora urges his senior to stay on guard. A panicked Koga, Kitasumi High instructor, yells at his squad to not lose possession. A confused and desperate Katori tries to pass the ball to Konishi. Masahiro sees the pass, steals the ball, and then gives it to Sora, who then efficiently scores the three-pointer. The third quarter ends, and the match is tied with a score of 61 to 61. The Kuzuryu High team praises Sora for his effort, and an angry Tarou stares at Kurumatani and vows to return the favor in the final quarter.
Characters
- Chiaki Hanazono
- Tarou Kabachi
- Ryuuhei Nabeshima
- Manabu Konishi
- Tachibana
- Sora Kurumatani
- Shingo Katori
- Masahiro Saki
- Kenji Natsume
- Nao Nanao
- Yasuhara Shinichi
- Momoharu Hanazono
- Koga
- Hasebe
- Madoka Yabuchi
