"Flames of the Night" is the ninety first chapter in Ahiru no Sora.
Chapter Summary[]
Madoka thanks Chiaki for rescuing her from the local street troublemakers
Yuka’s health deteriorates further, and she passes away. Tomohisa also arrives at the hospital, and alongside his family, sees his deceased wife. A sad and depressed Madoka, accompanied by her sister, heads towards their residence. Madoka questions her sister that, in comparison to her, she is not showing any emotion. Sumi replies that she is a nurse and it is part of her job to act strong. Sumi further comments that there are many moments when she wants to cry. However, there are people in the world who are sadder and less fortunate than them. Madoka, mid-way their journey, requests her sister to drop her off. Sumi insists that she can take her to their residence. Madoka replies that she needs a moment alone. Upon departing, Sumi urges Madoka to be careful while heading home. Madoka thanks her sister, and Sumi heads back to the hospital.
While walking alone, Madoka comments that she learned many good things from Mrs. Yuka and her family. Due to the location of Kuzuryu High being nearby the hospital. From her room’s balcony, Yuka must have seen Sora countless times passing by en-route to school. Tomohisa would take special leave from work to visit her. Sora didn’t miss a single day emailing his mother about his progression as a person and basketball player. Yuka, to pass her time knitted a lot of stuff for her son, and Madoka feels regret as to why she didn’t give Sora the knitted bracelet. As en-route to her residence, some of the local street thugs notice Madoka’s presence. Attracted by Madoka’s beautiful appearance, they approach and try to harass her. Madoka tries to defend herself, Chiaki who is passing by, sees Madoka and easily beats up the local hoodlums. Being depressed about his shortcomings in his life and the recent loss at the tournament, a quiet Chiaki then heads towards his residence. Madoka thanks Chiaki and notices that he seems different. To cheer up Chiaki, Madoka informs him that the girls' team also got eliminated in the first round at the Inter-High Preliminaries and advised him not to quit the basketball team.
Chiaki then asks Madoka why she seems depressed to him. An unhappy Madoka tries to inform Chiaki about Yuka’s sudden passing but decides not to tell him. Chiaki then looks at the sky and comments that it looks brighter than usual. Chiaki then sees the lighten up soccer stadium, and comments must be a soccer match taking place. Madoka then replies that there was a match yesterday, and her school friends and family members went to the stadium to see their local soccer team Kawasaki Frontale. Upon hearing the sad news about Sora’s mother's sudden passing, a depressed Momoharu and his teammates head to a local baseball practice facility. While practicing, a furious Momoharu tells his colleagues that Sora never mentioned to him about his mother’s illness. Nabe replies that even if they knew about her illness, they wouldn’t be in any position to help their friend Sora. Yasuhara agrees and comments that Masahiro told him that Sora enrolled at their school because the Kanagawa Hospital was nearby. Nabe then replies that since Sora’s mom has passed away, will he decide to go back to Nagano.
A confident Kenji telling Sakamaki that even if there is a 1% chance of his team attaining victory in future, he is willing to take the risk on it
Momoharu, to ease his anger, continues to practice and states that back in middle school, his team did not compete against stronger adversaries, and when the team experience defeat, it felt like it was not his concern. Momoharu then remembers that Chiaki also stated a similar kind of opinion to him before, and the reason he and Chiaki gave up on basketball in middle school because they didn’t care about winning or losing. Now he understands why he stopped playing basketball. In concluding, Momoharu comments that he never knew that losing could be terrifying after all that hard work and months of practice. Momoharu then, on a 130km/hr pitch, manages to hit a home run. His colleagues praise him, and a worried Madoka calls Momoharu, and she asks where he is now? Momoharu replies he is at the Tamagawa batting center. Due to a fire incident in the locker room, Madoka requests Momoharu and his teammates to arrive at their school urgently. Kenji calls Sakamaki and tries to confirm from him that his current team Kuzuryu High has no future. Sakamaki replies none and believes there is a 99.9% chance of failure on the team. Upon hearing, Kenji smiles and responds as the ace of his team; he has a lot of responsibility, and if there is a 1% chance of winning, he is willing to take that risk and will rise to the top with his current teammates at Kuzuryu High.
Characters[]
- Madoka Yabuchi
- Sumi Yabuchi
- Chiaki Hanazono
- Momoharu Hanazono
- Ryuuhei Nabeshima
- Masahiro Saki
- Yasuhara Shinichi
- Kenji Natsume
- Sakamaki Yohito
- Juri (flashback)