What Kind of Monster Are You (1)

The afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows that laid a warm, golden carpet on the road home from school. Ken Kaneki and Daiki Aomine walked side-by-side with their friends, their faces beaming with relaxed smiles, their conversation filled with laughter and joy. As they walked, the group began to talk about an embarrassing incident involving the two tall guys that afternoon.

"Kaneki-kun, I heard you and your friends were caught reading manga in class this afternoon?" Satsuki Momoi spoke first, her voice clear and pleasant, with a touch of playfulness.

Ken Kaneki shot Atsushi Murasakibara an exasperated glance and shook his head with a wry smile, "You found out about that? Don't listen to gossip. I wanted to pay attention in class, but Murasakibara dragged me into it." His eyes were filled with helplessness.

Daiki Aomine chimed in from the side, "Kaneki, you're always so two-faced. Murasakibara-kun looks so honest, how could he do something like that? You must have corrupted him." He patted Ken Kaneki's shoulder with a mischievous grin, his tone laced with teasing.

Atsushi Murasakibara walked on the outer edge. He was tall and walked with a steady gait, occasionally looking down at the road, but mostly listening to his friends' conversation. When the topic turned to the afternoon incident, he couldn't help but join in, "Exactly, exactly! Aomine-cchi is right, Aomine-cchi, you're a good person." His voice was filled with resentment towards Ken Kaneki.

"So he's a good person? What about me? I even bought you potato chips! And you still betrayed me!" Ken Kaneki said indignantly.

"Then... then I was a little scared..." Atsushi Murasakibara, realizing he was in the wrong, lost his confidence and his voice grew much quieter. "But you shouldn't have handed my manga over to the teacher..."

"Are you freaking kidding me? If you were scared, don't you think I was scared too?" Ken Kaneki was instantly stunned by Murasakibara's illogical reasoning.

As the atmosphere-setter of the group, Satsuki Momoi intervened with a humorous remark, "Alright, don't dwell on it. After all, the manga wasn't confiscated, right? Murasakibara-kun, you can think of Kaneki-kun as a coward, but your actions were indeed more cowardly than Kaneki-kun's." She smiled at Atsushi Murasakibara, a hint of playful teasing flashing in her eyes, causing him to shyly lower his head.

And so, the four of them chatted and laughed all the way until they unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the basketball gym. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with anticipation and excitement for their first day of practice with the Basketball Club.

Pushing the door open, they were greeted by the familiar scent of basketball and the unique echoes of the court. At this time, only some of the senior students were warming up. Ken Kaneki and his group were the first newcomers to arrive at the gym for the Basketball Club's assembly.

"Yo, you're here?" Shuzo Nijimura's voice came from behind them. "You're here, but why are you standing at the door instead of training?"

"Captain, we..." Ken Kaneki was about to step forward to explain that they had just arrived when a kind elderly voice sounded from beside him.

"Shuzo, don't scare the newcomers. As captain, you should be more approachable." Who else could it be but Kōzō Shirogane?

"Coach, hello!" The senior students present and Shuzo Nijimura immediately bowed.

"Coach, hello!" Ken Kaneki and the others also quickly bowed to Shuzo Nijimura.

"Alright, alright, don't mind this old man. Warm up if you need to warm up, train if you need to train. Just do as you normally would," Kōzō Shirogane said with a smile as he walked to the sidelines.

"This coach seems like a really nice person... he should be easy to get along with!" Satsuki Momoi mumbled softly, looking at Kōzō Shirogane standing by the court.

But who knew that this remark would be like a devil's whisper, causing Shuzo Nijimura's face to change drastically. His contorted expression looked as if he had seen Cthulhu. "You absolutely must not think that way, or you'll suffer greatly!"

"Huh?" Everyone except Ken Kaneki was bewildered by Shuzo Nijimura's words.

"Heh heh, you'll know when you experience it yourself," Shuzo Nijimura said with a wry smile, his 14-year-old face showing the weathered look of a 40-year-old.

As expected, not long after, when the members of the Basketball Club had gradually arrived, Kōzō Shirogane looked at the fresh batch of newcomers before him, a strange glint in his eyes.

"Hahaha, hello everyone, I'm the coach of the Basketball Club, Kōzō Shirogane! It looks like everyone is here now. So, no more nonsense, let's warm up first! Run 30 laps around the gym!" Kōzō Shirogane said, still with his eyes half-closed and a chuckle.

"30... laps?" The newcomers on the court were stunned. Didn't this seemingly kind, squinting uncle, with his 37-degree Celsius mouth, say something so cold? Are squinting eyes really monsters?

While the newcomers were still whispering in disbelief, an even more terrifying voice echoed, like the whisper of an evil god, "If I don't see anyone start running within ten seconds, everyone will get an extra ten laps. And if it's another five seconds, another ten laps. Talking also counts towards the time."

Well, that settled it. Under Kōzō Shirogane's smiling persuasion (and intimidation), all the newcomers on the court had no choice but to start running.

On the sidelines, Kōzō Shirogane, accompanied by Shuzo Nijimura, happily watched the newcomers run laps, looking like a plantation owner by the cotton fields.

"Haha, look at these young lads, running so well. They're young, running more is fine," Kōzō Shirogane teased Shuzo Nijimura beside him. "By the way, which ones are those unprecedented and unparalleled newcomers you mentioned?"

"Reporting, Coach, they're the ones at the very front of the group right now... those guys with distinct personalities." Shuzo Nijimura didn't know how else to describe those naturally flamboyant individuals.

"Oh~ those little guys?" Kōzō Shirogane looked at the striking figures with great interest and teased, "They've already run ten laps and they're still in the lead. Hmm, very good, very spirited. This kind of vibrant, competitive spirit, you must maintain it."

"Those few are out of luck," Shuzo Nijimura muttered.

"What did you say? Your voice is so small, do you want to play basketball? Why don't you say it more clearly?" Kōzō Shirogane pretended not to hear and asked Shuzo Nijimura to repeat himself.

"I said, Coach, you have great insight." Shuzo Nijimura wisely offered a compliment, but he still couldn't escape his tragic fate.

"Why are you always following me? Your teammates are running, what does it look like for you to be standing here? Hurry up, go run laps. Remember to run 30 laps, just like them." Kōzō Shirogane waved his hand, and Shuzo Nijimura also unfortunately joined the ranks of the suffering.

As the laps increased, Kōzō Shirogane's attention focused on Ken Kaneki at the front of the pack.

It couldn't be helped. At this point, the newcomers who had not received systematic training were generally starting to deform in their movements, struggling to breathe, and some even had to walk for a bit after a few steps. Even the few geniuses at the front, except for Ken Kaneki, had slowed down their pace.

But Ken Kaneki seemed tireless, maintaining a steady rhythm, his face not flushed, his breathing not strained, steadily holding the lead, as if he had just started running. His style was completely different from everyone else's.

"The evaluation was indeed correct. This Ken Kaneki, what kind of monster is he?" Kōzō Shirogane mused inwardly.