After they finally finished thirty laps, most of the rookies felt like their legs didn't belong to them anymore.
"Ah, I'm so tired..." one rookie panted, his face flushed as sweat streamed down it and clung to his eyelashes.
"Yokatta (Thank goodness)~ I survived!" another rookie shouted, thanking heaven for sparing his life.
"Ah~ I can't get up. Let me rest for a while." This rookie was even more dramatic. As soon as he finished his laps, he flopped straight onto the ground.
Looking at the rookies before them, the veteran players gathered nearby seemed reminded of their own miserable beginnings. They pointed at the rookies and laughed, teasing their companions about how pathetic they'd once looked. But when they turned their eyes toward the few at the front, a complicated look flashed across their faces.
They weren't the only ones feeling conflicted. Akashi, Midorima, and the others felt even more complicated. They were all talented young players who'd risen through mini-basketball, admired by their peers since childhood. Yet in a simple warm-up, they'd been lapped by someone their own age! And while Kaneki was only standing with his hands on his hips, calmly catching his breath, they looked at themselves—bent over, backs hunched, faces red and necks flushed. They were still better than most of the rookies, but for geniuses like them, losing to someone their own age was unacceptable.
Just then, Kōzō Shirogane stepped forward and took the roster from assistant Coach Naoto Sanada. "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. The results of your fitness tests from this afternoon are in. I'll announce the team assignments."
"First, the members selected for the Third String. Number 22, Toshio Saito..." Kōzō Shirogane's words were like an imperial decree, filling the rookies with both anticipation and nerves.
"Number 15, Tetsuya Kuroko. Those are the rookies who've made the Third String." Kōzō Shirogane scanned the crowd, then continued, "No rookies have been selected for the Second String for now. Next, the list of rookies who've made the First String."
"Number 7, Atsushi Murasakibara."
"Number 6, Daiki Aomine."
"Number 8, Shintaro Midorima."
"Number 9, Seijuro Akashi, and..." Kōzō Shirogane paused and looked at Kaneki. "Number 5, Ken Kaneki."
When Kōzō Shirogane finished speaking, the whole court fell silent. Then an even louder wave of astonished exclamations broke out.
"Those monsters... We knew those guys were in a different league from us, but I never thought they'd actually make the First String right away."
"Yeah, those guys look so strong. Is it because of their hair color? What if we dyed ours all sorts of colors—do you think we'd get stronger?"
"I don't know if it'd make you stronger, but I know my mom has a mean hand. I'm too young to want to go bald."
Unlike the rookies' uniform envy and admiration, the older players' feelings were more complicated. Some of the upperclassmen hadn't taken the afternoon fitness test, while the current bottom-ranked First String players and those in the Second String who were about to move up were feeling as sour as if they'd eaten lemons.
At last, someone could no longer hold back and stepped forward to speak to the coach. "Coach, these rookies just joined the Basketball Club and are already being promoted to the First String. Isn't that a little inappropriate? I admit some of them may be talented, but basketball is a team sport. Is it really suitable to change the First String lineup just like that?"
Hearing the objection, a peculiar smile spread across Kōzō Shirogane's face. He walked over to the speaker and said amiably, "You're Taro Sugiya, the Second String captain, right?"
"Yes, Coach!" Taro Sugiya admitted readily.
"Taro, you know, in a sense, you're right. Before Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and David Thompson came along, people believed individual basketball could never compete with team basketball." Kōzō Shirogane spoke unhurriedly, like a kind grandfather telling his grandchildren a story. "But it was only after Michael Jordan appeared that people realized individual basketball could sometimes truly be more effective than team basketball. That's what a genius can do."
"But, Coach, there's no guarantee all these guys are Michael Jordans," Taro Sugiya insisted stubbornly.
Kōzō Shirogane stared at Taro Sugiya for a long while, then suddenly laughed and turned to Kaneki and the others. "You heard him. Someone's questioning your talent."
"Coach, I didn't mean..." Taro Sugiya tried to explain, but Kōzō Shirogane cut him off.
"It's fine. Being competitive isn't wrong at Teikō. I'll give you a chance. You can pick the strongest players you can find from the First and Second Strings and face these rookies in a scrimmage. If you win, not only will you make the First String, I'll even guarantee you a starting spot." Kōzō Shirogane's tone sounded like a demon tempting someone to sell their soul. "But if you lose, you'll have to start over from the Third String alongside those rookies."
Watching the scene unfold, Daiki Aomine's instinct to enjoy the drama kicked in again. He gently nudged Kaneki with his shoulder and whispered with a mischievous grin, "Hey, Kaneki, looks like that upperclassman's picking players from the First String to play against us. If he loses, he'll have to join the Third String. Are you scared? If you are, just pass me the ball a lot later."
Kaneki rolled his eyes at Daiki Aomine, unimpressed, and shot back, "Worry about yourself, Mr. Shortest-Held Teikō Fitness Test Record." That short line left Aomine's not-so-bright brain buffering for a while. When he finally caught on, he glared at Kaneki and protested, "We may be close, but you don't have to disrespect me like that! My heart hurts!"
"Oh, well, let it hurt a little," Kaneki teased.
While Kaneki and Aomine joked around, Taro Sugiya had already made his choice. "Coach, I'd like to challenge these rookies."
"Good." Kōzō Shirogane glanced at his watch and calmly said, "You have ten minutes to pick your lineup."
The ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Just as everyone expected, Taro Sugiya picked the entire First String starting lineup.
"Coach!" Just as Aomine and the others were warming up for the game, Kaneki raised his hand. "There's no need to trouble Aomine and Murasakibara. They're both really strong, and I'm not very good at basketball. Just let a few classmates team up with me, and we'll learn a thing or two from the upperclassmen!"
At this, not only the ordinary rookies but even Aomine and the others looked at Kaneki in surprise. Kōzō Shirogane looked at him with even greater approval. "All right, we'll do it your way. You can also take ten minutes to—"
"No need to go to all that trouble, Coach." Kaneki casually picked a few rookies and said, "I've got my team. We can start."
"What an arrogant guy! He came up with this just so he wouldn't have to pass me the ball!" Aomine gritted his teeth angrily from the sidelines.
"Hmph! Someone who treats basketball so casually can't possibly be giving it his all." Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, irritated by Kaneki's attitude.
"Not necessarily." Seijuro Akashi's gaze remained calm as still water. "Deep down, that guy is a monster who crawled out of hell!"
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