Dinner Gathering, Heart-to-Heart Talk

"Cheers!" Inside the Red Cat Ramen Shop, everyone from Teiko Junior High School, using ramune soda instead of alcohol, celebrated happily.

"Yo~ho! That's the spirit!" Daiki Aomine drank half a bottle of soda in one gulp, letting out a burp.

"Don't make so much noise when you drink, Aomine," Shintaro Midorima said slowly, wiping the steam from his glasses.

"Ah, celebrating a victory in a match should be more lively, Midorima! Don't be so serious!" Daiki Aomine said dismissively.

"Midorima's like an old uncle," Atsushi Murasakibara mumbled while slurping his noodles.

"I just think doing that is too impolite," Shintaro Midorima said earnestly, holding chopsticks in his left hand and scissors in his right.

"Shintaro, I actually think we can relax a little today," Seijuro Akashi said with a smile, taking a sip of tea. "After all, it's our first victory, so it's understandable for everyone to let loose a bit."

"Tch, whatever," Shintaro Midorima said tsundere-ly.

"Everyone played really well today," Satsuki Momoi said happily, sitting to the side. "I didn't expect us to play so cohesively in our first match together."

"You flatter us, Momoi-san," Seijuro Akashi's voice was as gentle as ever. "Actually, we have to thank Ken for his outstanding performance today, he solved a lot of our problems."

"Yeah, yeah," Satsuki Momoi felt happy for some reason whenever someone praised Ken Kaneki. "Ken scored a game-high 37 points today."

"It's all thanks to everyone playing well and drawing the defense's attention," Ken Kaneki said humbly. "Besides, Haizaki-kun's performance today was actually pretty good too, it would be even better if his personality wasn't so awful."

Shogo Haizaki, sitting in the corner, flinched unnaturally when Ken Kaneki unexpectedly called him out. He didn't say anything.

"Ken-kun is still so humble," Seijuro Akashi said with a smile, looking at Ken Kaneki. "He only used 35 minutes to get stats of 37 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, and 7 blocks. That's the latest record in the Tokyo area."

"Exactly! Especially when Ken said, 'Our Teiko is an invincible Mighty Lion that wins every battle,' it was so cool!" Daiki Aomine strongly agreed with Akashi. "When Ken left the court, some spectators were already calling him Mighty Lion!"

Ken Kaneki shyly touched his earlobe and smiled, "You all praise me too much, it was just luck."

Satsuki Momoi looked at Ken Kaneki, who was chatting and laughing with others at the table, her eyes curved into crescents.

"Yo, I didn't realize our Lion King was shy," Kōzō Shirogane, who had just paid at the counter, joined the discussion. "I think that nickname is quite fitting."

Kōzō Shirogane patted Ken Kaneki's shoulder forcefully and laughed, "You played very well today, keep up the good work."

"Yes, Coach," Ken Kaneki nodded slightly.

"It looks like everyone has eaten enough, so today's gathering ends here," Kōzō Shirogane said with a smile, looking around at everyone, bringing the lively dinner party to a close. "Everyone go home early after you finish eating, I'll see you at the Basketball Club tomorrow night."

"Yes!"

"Thank you for the treat, Coach!"

"Thank you for coming again!" As the staff saw them off, everyone from Teiko Junior High School gradually left the ramen shop.

Seijuro Akashi waved goodbye to everyone and got into the car sent by his family, while Shintaro Midorima and Atsushi Murasakibara boarded the bus home.

"Ugh~ I'm full, time to go home and sleep." Ken Kaneki stretched lazily and looked at Daiki Aomine and Satsuki Momoi. "Are we going the same way?"

"We are!"

"We're not."

Satsuki Momoi and Daiki Aomine spoke almost simultaneously.

"We're not going the same way as Ken, Momoi," Daiki Aomine said, looking at Satsuki Momoi in confusion. "If we don't go home now, there won't be any more subways..."

"Momoi-san, you and Aomine-kun should go home first," Kōzō Shirogane walked over. "I have something I want to discuss with Ken-kun."

Satsuki Momoi felt like hitting Kōzō Shirogane with a rocket punch. The usually kind-looking Kōzō Shirogane now appeared hideous and hateful in her eyes...

"Then I'll leave Ken-kun in your care, Coach. A-Dai and I will head home now." Satsuki Momoi politely bowed to Ken Kaneki and Kōzō Shirogane before grabbing Daiki Aomine and leaving.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's with this feeling of a Yamato Nadeshiko asking someone to look after her husband..." Ken Kaneki stared at the scene in front of him, feeling a bit strange, always fearing that the next moment would be like, "Momoi-san, you don't want Ken-kun to be unable to play, do you?"...

Kōzō Shirogane, as usual, escorted Momoi and Aomine to the subway station before returning to Ken Kaneki's side.

"Let's go, Ken-kun."

"Yes, Coach." Ken Kaneki followed closely behind Kōzō Shirogane.

"What do you think of everyone's performance today?" Kōzō Shirogane asked casually.

Ken Kaneki didn't expect Kōzō Shirogane to suddenly ask for his opinion on today's match, but he still spoke his mind truthfully. "Very good. Aomine was very aggressive, and his breakthroughs were sharp; Midorima was as stable as ever, as long as he's outside the three-point line, he's reassuring; Murasakibara lacks enthusiasm, but with his talent, he can already handle the paint alone; Senpai Nijimura is still the same pillar of strength with excellent court vision who can stabilize the situation at crucial moments; Akashi-kun, although on the bench, led the reserve seniors to perform beyond their usual level; Haizaki... emmmm, he also played, he was spirited and didn't disgrace himself, it's just that his personality is a bit awful."

"You've talked about everyone else, what about yourself?" Kōzō Shirogane asked after listening intently to Ken Kaneki's assessment.

"Damn, my old coach, what kind of a question is that? What can I say? Should I say I think I'm freaking awesome..." Ken Kaneki was taken aback by the question and for a moment didn't understand Kōzō Shirogane's intention.

Ken Kaneki hesitated for a long time, then finally looked hesitantly into Kōzō Shirogane's eyes and evaluated himself, "I... I'm alright... I guess I didn't drag everyone down..."

"Haha, no need to be nervous, Ken-kun," Kōzō Shirogane put his hand on Ken Kaneki's shoulder and said, "You played very well today, and your evaluation of the players is very accurate, except for yourself."

As he spoke, Kōzō Shirogane suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Do you know how Haizaki-kun joined Teiko Junior High School, and even the First String?"

Although Ken Kaneki knew the ins and outs of Shogo Haizaki's Teiko career like the back of his hand, he still played along with Kōzō Shirogane, being perceptive.

"I'm not very clear about that, Coach. I heard from someone that he was promoted from the Second String."

"Well, if you put it that way, it's not entirely wrong," Kōzō Shirogane clicked his tongue. "But Haizaki didn't join through the normal Basketball Club recruitment process; he was directly recommended to me by Shuzo."