### "Cheers!" At the Red Cat Ramen Shop, everyone from Teiko Junior High School happily celebrated with marble sodas in place of alcohol.
"Yeah! That hits the spot!" Daiki Aomine downed half a bottle of soda in one go and burped.
"Don't make so much noise when you drink, Aomine." Shintaro Midorima wiped the steam from his glasses and said unhurriedly.
"Oh, come on! We should be enjoying ourselves after winning the game, Midorima! Don't be so serious!" Daiki Aomine said dismissively.
"Mido-kun's like an old man," Atsushi Murasakibara mumbled as he slurped his noodles.
"I just think that's rude." Shintaro Midorima spoke primly, holding chopsticks in his left hand and a pair of scissors in his right.
"Shintaro, I think we can let our hair down a little today," Seijuro Akashi said with a smile, taking a sip of tea. "After all, we won our opening game. It's understandable if everyone gets a little carried away."
"Tch, like I care what you think." Shintaro Midorima put on an air of indifference.
"Everyone played really well today," Satsuki Momoi said happily from her seat beside them. "I didn't expect our first game as a team to be so coordinated."
"You're too kind, Momoi." Seijuro Akashi's voice was as gentle as ever. "We should really thank Kaneki for his excellent performance under pressure. He solved a lot of problems for us."
"That's right, that's right." For some reason, Satsuki Momoi was happy to hear Ken Kaneki praised. "Ken got the highest score in the game today—37 points!"
"It was all thanks to everyone else playing well and drawing the defense," Ken Kaneki said modestly. "Besides, Haizaki played pretty well today too. He'd be even better if he weren't so unpleasant."
Shogo Haizaki, sitting in a corner, heard Ken Kaneki unexpectedly bring him up. He shrank back awkwardly and said nothing.
"Kaneki's as modest as ever." Seijuro Akashi smiled at Ken Kaneki. "He played just 35 minutes and put up 37 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, and 7 blocks. That's a new record for the Tokyo area."
"Yeah! Especially when Kaneki said, 'We, Teiko, are a lion that's undefeated in a hundred battles.' That was so cool!" Daiki Aomine readily agreed with Akashi. "By the time Kaneki came off the court, people in the stands were already calling him the Lion King!"
Ken Kaneki touched his earlobe bashfully and smiled. "You're all too kind. I just got lucky."
Satsuki Momoi watched Ken Kaneki chatting and laughing with everyone else at the table, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
"Well, who would've thought? Our Lion King's blushing." Kōzō Shirogane had paid the bill at the counter and joined the conversation. "I think the nickname suits him."
Kōzō Shirogane gave Ken Kaneki's shoulder a hearty pat and smiled. "You did great today. Keep it up."
"Yes, Coach." Ken Kaneki gave a small nod of agreement.
"Looks like everyone's about done eating, so that wraps up our dinner." Kōzō Shirogane smiled as he looked around the table, bringing the lively gathering to a close. "Once you're finished, head home early. I'll see you all at the Basketball Club tomorrow evening."
"Got it!"
"Thanks for the meal, Coach!"
"Please come again!" As the staff saw them out, everyone from Teiko Junior High School began to leave the ramen shop.
Seijuro Akashi waved goodbye to everyone as he got into the car his family had sent to pick him up. Shintaro Midorima and Atsushi Murasakibara also boarded the bus home.
"Ahh, I'm stuffed. Time to go home and sleep." Ken Kaneki stretched contentedly and looked at Daiki Aomine and Satsuki Momoi. "Are we heading the same way?"
"We are!"
"We aren't."
Satsuki Momoi and Daiki Aomine spoke almost at the same time.
"Kaneki and I aren't going the same way, Momoi." Daiki Aomine looked at Satsuki Momoi, puzzled. "If we don't hurry, we'll miss the last train..."
"Momoi, why don't you and Aomine head home first?" Kōzō Shirogane came over. "There's something I'd like to discuss with Kaneki."
At that moment, Satsuki Momoi wanted to give Kōzō Shirogane a rocket-powered headbutt. The usually kind-looking Kōzō Shirogane seemed so vicious and hateful to her now...
"Then I'll leave Ken in your care, Coach Shirogane. A-Dai and I will head home first." Satsuki Momoi bowed politely to Ken Kaneki and Kōzō Shirogane, then grabbed Daiki Aomine and left.
"What's with this feeling that I'm watching a Yamato Nadeshiko ask someone to look after her husband..." Ken Kaneki stared at the scene, bewildered. It felt so strange that he was half afraid she'd say something like, "You wouldn't want Kaneki to be unable to play, would you?" any second now...
As usual, Kōzō Shirogane saw Momoi and Aomine into the station, then came back to Ken Kaneki.
"Let's go, Kaneki."
"Yes, Coach." Ken Kaneki followed close behind Kōzō Shirogane.
"What did you think of everyone's performance today?" Kōzō Shirogane asked as if the question had just occurred to him.
Ken Kaneki hadn't expected Kōzō Shirogane to suddenly ask for his thoughts on the game, but he answered honestly. "It was great. Aomine was aggressive, and his drives were sharp. Midorima was as reliable as ever; just seeing him beyond the three-point line puts you at ease. Murasakibara may not be very enthusiastic, but his natural talent is already enough for him to hold his own under the basket. Senpai Nijimura was his usual self—a steady anchor with great court vision who could step up in crucial moments. Akashi was on the bench, but under his leadership, the upperclassmen on the bench played beyond their usual level. Haizaki... um, he played too. He was energetic and didn't embarrass himself, but his personality's a little unpleasant."
"You've talked about everyone else. What do you think of your own performance?" Kōzō Shirogane listened carefully to Ken Kaneki's assessment, then asked.
"Good grief, Coach, what kind of question is that? What am I supposed to say? That I think I'm insanely good...?" Ken Kaneki was caught off guard by the question and couldn't figure out what Kōzō Shirogane was getting at.
After a long hesitation, Ken Kaneki looked uncertainly into Kōzō Shirogane's eyes and assessed himself. "I... did all right, I guess... I didn't hold everyone back..."
"Haha, no need to be nervous, Kaneki." Kōzō Shirogane put a hand on Ken Kaneki's shoulder. "You played very well today, and your assessment of the other players was spot-on. Except when it came to yourself."
As he spoke, Kōzō Shirogane suddenly changed the subject. "Do you know how Haizaki got into Teiko, and even made it into the First String?"
Ken Kaneki knew Shogo Haizaki's entire history at Teiko like the back of his hand, but that didn't stop him from playing along tactfully.
"I'm not really sure, Coach. I heard he got promoted from the Second String."
"Well, that's not exactly wrong." Kōzō Shirogane smacked his lips. "But Haizaki didn't join through the usual Basketball Club recruitment. Shuzo recommended him to me directly."
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