Shogo Haizaki Joins the Club

"Who is he, Ken-chan?" Atsushi Murasakibara asked curiously, watching Tetsuya Kuroko walk away.

"His name is Tetsuya Kuroko. He might be Joe Yabuki, or maybe he's your Jose," Ken Kaneki said with a hint of meaning.

"Huh? What are you even talking about?" Daiki Aomine, utterly bewildered by Ken Kaneki's cryptic words, scratched his head. "You just asked him if he was going to train. Is he a member of the Basketball Club too?"

"Yeah, Third String," Ken Kaneki replied, crossing his arms and asking with a touch of curiosity, "The roster assignment. Kuroko's name was on the list that day, wasn't it? You guys don't remember?"

"Remember what? To be precise, we've never even heard that name before," Atsushi Murasakibara yawned, sounding bored.

"I really don't remember him, Kaneki," Daiki Aomine added, scratching his head with a hint of helplessness.

"Kaneki-kun is quite familiar with the Basketball Club members," Satsuki Momoi said with a sweet laugh, looking at Ken Kaneki.

"It's not that I'm familiar with the Basketball Club members. It's just that these two are unfortunate enough to be mentally deficient at such a young age, with severe memory loss. Truly a family misfortune," Ken Kaneki thought, though he knew full well Kuroko's mysterious nature, he didn't hesitate to retort.

Daiki Aomine and Atsushi Murasakibara didn't hold back either, letting Ken Kaneki's backside experience the vitality of youth. Under the setting sun, their four figures stretched out long.

"Good evening, everyone!" Ken Kaneki, who had been thoroughly roughed up along the way, pulled open the gym doors and greeted everyone with a cheerful enthusiasm before heading to the locker room with Aomine and Murasakibara to change into their sports gear and begin warm-up drills.

As the players' clothes gradually became soaked with sweat, the Basketball Club members finally all arrived, and the evening's training officially began.

"Yo, everyone's here. Good. I have an announcement," Kōzō Shirogane said, looking at the assembled players. He pointed to a young man with graying hair beside him. "Everyone, this is Shogo Haizaki from Class E, First Year. He was just promoted from the Second String a couple of days ago, and he'll be your teammate from now on. Let's give him a round of applause."

"Clap, clap..." A sparse smattering of applause arose, as perfunctory as could be.

Kōzō Shirogane seemed to ignore their lack of enthusiasm and turned to Ken Kaneki. "Kaneki-kun, Shogo Haizaki will be under your charge from now on. He's your substitute."

"Ha? Are you kidding me, old man? You want me to be a substitute for this blonde guy?" Shogo Haizaki's nonchalant face contorted into an arrogant expression. He looked Ken Kaneki up and down provocatively. "What kind of crap is he? The stats from my Second String games aren't any worse than his."

"Actually, whether I'm a substitute or not doesn't matter," Ken Kaneki retorted. "But not just any stray cat or dog can be my substitute."

"Ha? So you've got some personality, huh?" Shogo Haizaki's expression grew more sinister. He licked his thumb with a smug grin. "Well, that's fine. If I got the starting spot right away, I might not even be interested. After all, it's more fun to snatch things from others."

"Coach, what do you mean?" Ken Kaneki ignored the problematic Shogo Haizaki and turned to Kōzō Shirogane.

"Hahahaha, I'm handing him over to you. How you guide him is your business," Kōzō Shirogane chuckled noncommittally.

"Yes, Coach." Ken Kaneki understood. He looked at Shogo Haizaki. "Alright, five balls. Let me see your skills. If you can beat me today, I'll give you my starting spot."

"Old man, he said it. If I win today..." Shogo Haizaki said meaningfully to Kōzō Shirogane.

"If you can beat him, not only will the starting spot be yours, but from today onwards, I'll grant you permission to come to basketball practice whenever you please," Kōzō Shirogane replied, crossing his arms with an air of leisure.

"Aomine-chi, this guy is so arrogant. He looks really annoying," Atsushi Murasakibara said, looking at Shogo Haizaki like trash, his displeasure evident.

"If you ask me, this guy making it into the First String is a disgrace to the First String. He doesn't even have the decency to respect his elders," Daiki Aomine also found Shogo Haizaki's attitude towards Kōzō Shirogane intolerable.

"He won't be Kaneki-kun's opponent," Shintaro Midorima said without even looking at Shogo Haizaki. "It's just the arrogance of a fool."

Seijuro Akashi remained silent, his gaze fixed on the two players about to engage in a one-on-one. To be honest, throughout his life, Ken Kaneki was the first person he felt he couldn't see through.

"Five balls, consecutive shots. You serve first. Don't say I didn't give you a chance," Ken Kaneki said, taking the pass from Daiki Aomine and briefly explaining the rules.

"Stop yapping. Whatever works, let's just start already," Shogo Haizaki impatiently interrupted Ken Kaneki. Ken Kaneki didn't get angry. He smirked and tossed the ball to Shogo Haizaki, retreating to the free-throw line, adopting a posture ready to defend against a shot.

"Ha? Are you looking down on me, blonde dog? Then I'll take this one," Shogo Haizaki sneered confidently and shot the ball.

"He's got some skill. He's a bit mouthy, but his technique is solid," Seijuro Akashi commented. "But that's all."

As Seijuro Akashi finished speaking, Ken Kaneki's figure appeared before Shogo Haizaki like a shot out of a cannon. The moment the ball left Haizaki's hands, Ken Kaneki shot up like a rocket and cleanly snatched the ball.

"So, what about you taking it? You piece of trash, you little old man!" Ken Kaneki's towering figure loomed over Shogo Haizaki. Under the lights, Haizaki's silhouette was completely covered by Kaneki's shadow, like prey being swallowed by a dragon.

"Pfft hahaha..." Daiki Aomine burst into laughter at Ken Kaneki's harsh words, finding them hilariously crude.

"What are you laughing at, Aomine-chi? What's so funny?" Atsushi Murasakibara, the naturally dense one, was utterly confused.

"Don't you think what Kaneki said is fitting? He's got gray hair at such a young age, like a little old man. He looks so lifeless," Daiki Aomine explained, scratching his cheek awkwardly, realizing he was the only one laughing.

"Don't eat with me anymore, Aomine-chi. I think stupidity is contagious," Atsushi Murasakibara seriously considered the problem of his poor choice of friends.

"Focus on the game. I'm curious how he'll deal with this arrogant guy after being provoked to this extent by Kaneki," Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, a glint flashing in his eyes.