Tradition

"Ah... yawn... I'm so sleepy, Ken-chan." The morning classes had only just begun, but Atsushi Murasakibara was already yawning nonstop.

"Murasakibara, were you up late reading manga again last night?" Ken Kaneki looked at Atsushi Murasakibara helplessly. "You're always asking me to keep an eye on the teacher for you... I want to sleep too."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Atsushi Murasakibara waved a hand, his voice gradually trailing off.

"Honestly..." Ken Kaneki gave a wry smile and shook his head. He stretched, then looked at the system in his mind.

Long-Term Main Quest: Training Check-In;

Current Check-In Streak: 1 Day;

Quest Keyword: Discipline;

Quest Reward: 0.1 Attribute Points/Day;

Quest Penalty: Without an injury-related reason, missing check-ins for more than three consecutive days without a game will result in one random skill being deducted.

Sigh... I thought I could get stronger without any pain. Turns out this was just newbie protection. Ken Kaneki struggled to perk himself up and focus on the lesson written on the blackboard.

It turned out that the previous night, the system had notified him that his one-week newbie protection period had ended, then assigned him a long-term training check-in quest. As a result, he had to get up a little after four in the morning to train in the basement. He still had shooting and squats left to do, but fortunately, he could make them up during basketball practice that evening.

The more Ken Kaneki thought about it, the sleepier he became. Before he knew it, his heavy eyelids had slowly closed.

"You two are completely out of line!" The teacher's furious roar woke Ken Kaneki and Atsushi Murasakibara. "It's only the first class of the morning, and you're already sleeping! Get out and stand in the hall, both of you!"

"...Yes, teacher." The two hulking boys were scolded like little kids and obediently went outside.

"Oh, you're here?" As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, a familiar voice reached their ears. They turned to look. Who else could it be but that loser, Daiki Aomine?

"What'd you two do?" Daiki Aomine asked curiously.

"Fell asleep in class. What about you?" Ken Kaneki asked in return.

"Same here. After practice yesterday, I went to play at the street court and stayed out too late, so the teacher sent me out." Daiki Aomine actually looked rather pleased with himself.

"That's not something to be happy about, is it?" Ken Kaneki teased. "Getting kicked out is embarrassing."

"Ah... I'm so sleepy." Atsushi Murasakibara yawned listlessly. Before long, he was asleep against the wall again.

"?.?" Ken Kaneki was stunned. "What a talent! He can even fall asleep here..."

"Forget about him, Kaneki. Have you heard about the tradition of Teiko Junior High School's Basketball Club?" Daiki Aomine asked excitedly.

"Tradition? I haven't heard anything. What, do you have some inside information?" Ken Kaneki asked curiously.

"Heh." Daiki Aomine gave a smug grin. "Ask me nicely, and I'll tell you."

"Never mind, then. I'll ask the Captain tonight." Ken Kaneki rolled his eyes and prepared to get some sleep too.

"Hey, hey, I'll tell you. You're no fun." Daiki Aomine sighed. "I heard that whenever a new member joins the First String of Teiko Junior High School's Basketball Club, the coach arranges a few practice games and has the newcomer lead the Second String. I wonder who the coach will put together. I can't wait."

"Ah..." Ken Kaneki stretched and said indifferently, "Who cares how they arrange it? We just have to win."

"Haha, you're right!" Daiki Aomine slapped Ken Kaneki on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

"Hey, you lot! I sent you out here to stand, not to have a tea party! All of you, come to my office after class!"

By the time they left the teacher's office, it was already lunchtime. Daiki Aomine and Atsushi Murasakibara both went back to the classroom to catch up on sleep, while Ken Kaneki headed to the gym alone to start his shooting practice for the day.

"Hm? Someone's practicing at noon?" Naoto Sanada had just left Kōzō Shirogane's office when the thumping sounds from the court caught his attention. He looked inside curiously and saw Ken Kaneki in a T-shirt, his clothes already soaked with sweat.

"Hello, Coach Sanada." Seeing Naoto Sanada, Ken Kaneki greeted him politely, then picked up the basketball and continued his shooting practice.

"Does Kaneki practice on his own every day?" Naoto Sanada watched Ken Kaneki sink three-point shots one after another and was amazed.

"Yeah. If you don't practice basketball, you get rusty, and getting rusty means defeat." Ken Kaneki shamelessly cultivated his image. I, Ken Kaneki, owe everything I have today to my own hard work!

"Haha, it's good to work hard, but you're still growing, so don't overtrain." Naoto Sanada rolled up his sleeves and walked to the side of the court. "Come on, I'll help collect the balls."

"Thank you, Coach Sanada!" Ken Kaneki gave his thanks, pretending to be shy.

By the time Ken Kaneki finished his shooting practice, the bell signaling the end of lunch had rung. Naoto Sanada felt as though he'd been freed. There was no other reason—it was simply exhausting to run back and forth picking up balls.

"Um... Coach Sanada," Ken Kaneki said, scratching his head and putting on a sunny, cheerful expression. "Could you keep coming to practice with me from now on?"

"No way! Absolutely not!" Naoto Sanada felt the hair on his arms stand on end. For a few hundred yen a month, why should he work himself to death? But his face took on the kindly expression of a teacher as he said, "Sure! You're so hardworking, Kaneki. Although I'm only an assistant coach, I'm happy to lend a hand."

"Thank you, Coach Sanada! Goodbye!" Ken Kaneki hurriedly sealed the deal, quickly tidied up the gym, and dashed back to the classroom.

"I feel... like I've been tricked." Watching Ken Kaneki's retreating figure, Coach Sanada felt a pang of regret. "Damn, I miscalculated."

Over the next few days, Coach Naoto Sanada was tormented by Ken Kaneki until he was practically at death's door. Picking up balls back and forth every day was more exhausting than shooting them, and he was planning to suggest to Kōzō Shirogane that they close the gym at lunchtime to stop people from sneaking in to train.

"Thank you, Coach! I've been feeling great lately," Ken Kaneki said gratefully.

"I've been feeling terrible." Naoto Sanada's scalp prickled as he grumbled inwardly, but he still praised Ken Kaneki aloud. "Your fundamentals are solid, your shot is consistent, and you work hard at practice. That's great. But don't overdo it lately. Coach Kōzō Shirogane will probably have something planned soon... though it's an old tradition at Teiko."

"Okay, thank you for the reminder, Coach Sanada." Ken Kaneki knew perfectly well what he meant, but didn't want to say much.

"Don't you want to know what Coach Kōzō Shirogane has planned?" Seeing that Ken Kaneki didn't seem curious, Naoto Sanada was curious himself.

"No matter what the coaches have planned, I'll follow their instructions without question." Ken Kaneki continued to play dumb.

"Hahaha, well said, Kaneki. Get back to class." Naoto Sanada waved him off.

Ken Kaneki didn't waste any time. He said goodbye and turned to leave. Watching him go, Naoto Sanada sighed, "What a good kid! He'd be even better if he didn't drag me into all this suffering." Naoto Sanada rolled his shoulders, but still felt awful.