"The second game of the third round of the Tokyo District Tournament and National Tournament Tokyo Qualifiers: Teiko Junior High versus Hakusui Hall Junior High, begins now!"
"Please take care of us!"
After the two teams finished bowing, Atsushi Murasakibara and Taisuke Ōtsubo moved to center court for the jump ball.
"Hey, hey." Murasakibara looked at Ōtsubo with a hint of excitement. "You'd better give it your all today, senpai!"
"Huh? Oh, thanks. I'll do my best. You should, too." Ōtsubo looked at Murasakibara, clearly unsure what to make of him, and politely replied.
"Tweet-tweet!" The referee blew the whistle, and the basketball was tossed high into the air.
"Nice one, Murasakibara!" Shuzo Nijimura caught the ball Murasakibara tipped his way and launched the first attack.
"Kaneki!" As usual, Nijimura passed the ball to Ken Kaneki first so he could get a feel for the game. But, quite unexpectedly, Kaneki passed it right back to him.
"Huh?" Nijimura looked at Kaneki in surprise and saw him gesturing for Nijimura to take on Yukio Kasamatsu one-on-one.
"Honestly, he even took that offhand comment to heart?" Nijimura smiled, his feelings complicated (see Chapter 44). To be honest, ever since several rookies had joined the First String, Nijimura had been playing a supporting role. It was impossible for him not to have mixed feelings, but for the sake of keeping the team stable, he had still chosen to make that sacrifice without hesitation.
"If Kaneki trusts me this much..." Nijimura's gaze grew more intense. "Then let everyone see what Teiko's Ace used to be!"
"His aura changed..." Kasamatsu immediately sensed the shift in Nijimura. But before he could react, Nijimura swept past him with a rush of wind.
"Stop him, Miyaji!" Kasamatsu called for help as he chased after Nijimura.
"Got it!" Seishi