Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 247: The growing ace, the attention of the American basketball world
"I beat you, you stinky fox." Sakuragi Hanamichi said breathlessly to Rukawa Kaede in front of him.

"Wow, that was a beautiful goal just now, Sakuragi."

Just as the two opponents were staring at each other in silence, Kaneki Ken suddenly walked out of the gym clapping his hands.

"Golden Sparkle?"

"team leader?"

Sakuragi and Hanamichi were obviously a little surprised, as if they did not expect Kaneki Ken to suddenly appear.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't even recognize me?" Kaneki Ken chuckled, slowly walked forward and asked, "I just came back and heard that you two were playing 1 on 1, how was it? Who won?"

"...I'm on equal terms with this stinky fox." Sakuragi Hanamichi was silent for a moment, glanced at Rukawa Kaede who looked unwilling, and spoke.

"Don't play if it's a tie. Go back and have a good rest. The Eastern Conference Finals will begin in a few days." Kaneki Ken said with a smile to Sakuragi Hanamichi, "And you, Rukawa Kaede, don't practice too much during this period."

Rukawa was stunned at first, then he opened his mouth twice, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only said a simple sentence: "Yes, Captain Kaneki."

As the farce ended, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede bowed slightly to Kaneki Ken, and then walked towards the locker room.

It was not until the two of them completely disappeared from view that Mitsui Shou quietly leaned over to Kaneki Ken's ear and asked, "Kaneki, why did you pretend not to know the result of the game just now?"

"This match is between Sakuragi and Rukawa. As long as they know the outcome, it's fine." Kaneki Ken looked at the backs of the two and sighed, "These two troublesome guys... are the future of Shonan High School..."

……

"I say, Kagami-san seems to be in a bad mood..." In the restaurant, Shinji Koganei whispered into Hinata Junpei's ear.

"Yeah, although I was physically exhausted, it would be strange if I was in a good mood after losing so badly." Hinata Junpei said as he cut the steak in front of him. "Stop talking nonsense. It's not easy for someone to treat us. Why don't you eat more?"

"Yeah." Koganei Shinji nodded in agreement, and then couldn't help but ask curiously, "But who is that huge white man with blond hair? He looks like he's very familiar with Kagami."

"You can just ask me openly. It's impolite to talk about others behind their backs." Alex Garcia put down the knife and fork in his hand and said to Shinji Koganei.

"Yes... I'm sorry!" The caught Koganeiji's face suddenly turned red and he quickly bowed and apologized.

"It's okay. My name is Alex Garcia, and I'm the master of the God of Fire." Alex Garcia chuckled and said, "As for the guy next to me, you should know him. He was my elder brother when we were in the United States."

"Hello." Himuro Tatsuya smiled gently, then nodded and greeted everyone from Seirin High School.

"Brother?" Just as Shinji Koganei was about to ask, he saw Kagami Daiga stand up with an unhappy look on his face.

"Okay, let's end today's celebration party here. I hope we can meet in the finals successfully." Kagami Daigo picked up the juice next to him and drank it all, then walked out of the restaurant without looking back.

"Hey, Kagami..." Shinji Koganei wanted to chase after him, but he couldn't bear to look at the steak on the plate, and was caught in a dilemma for a moment.

"Stop eating and hurry up." Hinata Junpei slapped Koganei Shinji on the back of the head, wiped his mouth, said goodbye to Alex Garcia and the others, and hurriedly left the restaurant with everyone from Seirin High School.

"What a united team..." Alex Garcia looked at Kagami Taiga as he walked away, and said to Himuro Tatsuya meaningfully, "Tatsuya, are your teammates as reliable as them?"

"My teammates... are no weaker than others." Himuro Tatsuya chuckled, recalling Murasakibara Atsushi's innocent expression in his mind, and said with a chuckle.

……

"What? You said you've already eaten?" In Kagami Daiga's house, Aida Reiko looked at Hinata Junpei with surprise and said, "That's such a pity... I even specially cooked a Sukiyaki pot for you..."

"It's not a pity at all..." The players of Seirin High School suddenly turned dark and whispered while hiding behind Hinata Junpei.

"Okay, I knew you guys wouldn't like the food I cook..." Aida Reiko said with a tearful look, "Forget it, I'll just throw it all away..."

"Ah, I suddenly feel like we didn't eat enough..." Hinata Junpei looked at Aida Reiko's disappointed expression, gritted his teeth, took off his glasses, sat down at the table with a desperate expression, picked up the chopsticks and said, "For Sukiyaki, as long as the food is cooked, there's no problem..."

As he spoke, Hinata Junpei stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of tofu, and put it into his mouth with a sacrificial expression.

"Hey, hey, there's no need to make such a big deal, Captain..." Izuki Shun muttered to himself as he looked at Hinata Junpei.

"How is it? How does it taste?" Reiko Aida asked Hinata Junpei with anticipation on her face.

"It tastes pretty good..." Hinata Junpei felt the feedback from his taste buds with a stunned look on his face. After a moment's silence, he muttered to himself blankly.

"Really?" Yi Yuejun saw that Hinata Junpei's expression did not seem fake, and he sat down at the table half-believingly, picked up a piece of mushroom, tasted it carefully, and then looked at his teammates with surprise and said, "It tastes really good, everyone come and try it!"

"I'm starting to eat~" The reactions of Hinata Junpei and Izuki Shun completely dispelled everyone's doubts, and they all sat down at the table and started to eat.

"It's indeed OK..."

"Has the coach evolved..."

Everyone present kept rummaging in the pot with chopsticks, and then they found that something seemed wrong.

"Is this... an unpeeled banana?"

“Protein bars?”

One after another, strange and bizarre thing was picked out, and those who had eaten half of it fell silent.

"Um... I'm full." Kuroko Zheya was silent for a moment, put down his chopsticks, stood up and walked towards the balcony.

"Oh..." Izuki Shun looked at Kuroko Tetsuya's back with a puzzled look on his face, and said to Hinata Junpei beside him, "It's ok to say that Kuroko has a small appetite, but Kagami, a big eater, didn't even have a snack..."

"Let them be." Hinata Junpei shrugged and said, "The juniors have their own concerns. If they don't want to talk about it, don't force them to explore it..."

"That's true..." Yi Yuejun shook his head, as if trying to throw irrelevant thoughts out of his mind, and continued to search for edible ingredients in the pot.

"Hey, Big Me, I'm back, hurry up and get me something to eat..."

Just then, a rude female voice suddenly came from the entrance.

"Who is it?" Mitsuki Furihata stood up curiously, walked to the corridor at the entrance, looked towards the door, and then suddenly shouted as if he saw something extraordinary, and returned to the table with red cheeks and sat down.

"What's going on?" Hinata Junpei looked behind him suspiciously, and saw a figure wearing a small suspender and shorts appear behind everyone.

"Poof~" Hinata Junpei looked at Alex Garcia who was almost exposed, and couldn't help it, and the food sprayed out of his mouth and nostrils.

"Hey, hey, hey~ Isn't this my older friend?" Alex Garcia said in surprise, "What a coincidence, we meet again."

"Who are you?" Reiko Aida came up to Alex Garcia and asked curiously.

"Coach, don't get close to her, she's a nympho!" Kagami Dawo on the balcony inadvertently glanced at the situation in the living room and rushed in, but it was too late.

"Oh, not bad. I like gentle and lovely girls from Japan the most..." As he said that, Alex Garcia hooked his hands around Reiko Aida's neck and moved his red lips closer to hers.

“…Ahhhhhhhhh!!!” Reiko Aida’s breathing stagnated and her mind went blank. When she came to her senses, her cheeks quickly turned red. She pushed Alex Garcia away and screamed in fear.

"Asshole, I let you live with me, but that doesn't mean you can just kiss anyone you want!" Vulcan Daigo yelled at Alex Garcia.

"I don't kiss casually. I don't kiss old people or children. I still have principles." Alex Garcia said seriously, "By the way, boy... do you want to watch Tatsuya's next game with me? After all, it's my brother's game, so I have to show some concern~"

"Brother?" Everyone at Seirin High School looked at Kagami Daigo with suspicion, smelling the scent of someone eating melon.

"...I will go." Kagami Daigo lowered his head in silence for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Alex Garcia and said.

"Before that, would you like to explain what's going on with your brother?" Aida Reiko asked curiously, "From what I understand, you seem to be the only child in your family, right?"

"Yeah." Kagami Daiga nodded, with a look of reminiscing about the past, and began to talk about his past with Himuro Tatsuya in the United States, "Tatsuya... is the big brother who brought me into the world of basketball..."

... "Bend down, bend down, find a good position to exert force!"

The extremely reliable teammate described by Himuro Tatsuya was not idle at this time. He was following Kenichi Okamura and practicing his footwork under the basket.

"It's so noisy..." Murasakibara Atsushi was extremely annoyed by the nagging of Okamura Kenichi. He subconsciously lowered his center of gravity and leaned his whole body backwards. Okamura Kenichi felt a huge force coming, and he flew backwards uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Mikoshiba and Mike Okita hurriedly double-teamed him, trying to steal the basketball that Murasakibara Atsushi was holding tightly, but Murasakibara Atsushi was not panicked at all. He grabbed the ball and lifted it up lightly, made a reverse layup and shook Mike Okita off, then made a heavy step forward and slam dunk, knocking Mikoshiba to the ground.

"What a terrifying power, Murasakibara..." Fukui Kensuke said with emotion, "Such a giant under the basket has now learned low-post footwork... I really can't think of anyone who can stop him!"

"Maybe Kaneki Ken can do it." Araki Masako's mind suddenly flashed with Kaneki Ken's indifferent smile that seemed to ignore everyone. She said with a serious expression, "When facing that guy, no matter how much attention we pay to him, it is not excessive..."

"I'm back~" At this moment, the door of the gym was suddenly opened. Looking in the direction where the voice came from, it was Himuro Tatsuya.

"Hey, you're back, Tatsuya." Araki Masako raised her eyebrows slightly and chuckled, "How do you feel? Meeting with an old brother."

"I feel great." Himuro Tatsuya said with a smile, "Although I did lose because of lack of physical strength, but after the 100th confrontation, I still won."

"This is not like you, Muro." Murasakibara Atsushi came to the sidelines and wiped his sweat, looking at the smiling Himuro Tatsuya and said, "In the past, you would even get angry if Kagami let you win."

"I don't think so now." Himuro Tatsuya said with a smile of enlightenment, "As someone who is less talented, as long as I can win, there is nothing I can't give up."

"Yo." Araki Masako looked at her ace duo with satisfaction, clapped her hands and said, "Well, today's training ends here. Everyone can have a good rest these few days. Apart from the maintenance training, no other tasks will be arranged. I hope we can win the game in one fell swoop and advance to the finals!"

"Yes, coach!" the Yangquan University players present said in unison.

……

“What? It turns out they’re just kids having a tantrum…” After listening to Kagami Taiga’s story, everyone at Seirin High School said with disappointed expressions, “It really makes me sleepy…”

"Hey, you guys asked me to say it, I didn't really want you to hear it!" Kagami Daiwo said angrily.

"Kagami-san is really an idiot..." Kuroko Tetsuya accurately interjected.

"No, Kuroko, you..." Kagami Daiga looked at Kuroko Tetsuya with both anger and laughter, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Alright, Kagami." Hinata Junpei only felt dizzy at the moment. He forced himself to look at Kagami Taiga and said, "It's useless to say anything now. Keep everything you want to say in your heart. Wait until we defeat Akashi, and then go and fight with your good brother..."

After saying that, Hinata Junpei completely lost consciousness and fell headfirst onto the table. The other players from Seirin High School also fell asleep one after another. For a moment, the scene was as horrifying as a poisoning murder scene.

"Click~"

Just as Kagami Daigo felt a chill down his spine, the power switch in the room suddenly tripped, and the whole room suddenly became dark.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Kagami Daigo could no longer hold back his inner fear and screamed.

"Okay, okay, Big Me, stop screaming, it's just a simple power outage..." At this moment, Alex Garcia calmly walked to the switch and pushed the tripping switch back to its original position.

"But...but everyone..." Kagami-sama, I pointed at my teammates lying on the ground in front of me and stammered, "Why did everyone faint?"

"What are you talking about..." Alex Garcia calmly picked up a piece of meat from the pot and said, "Maybe the meat I bought is completely expired... So many people eat such a small amount of meat, it's not dead..."

……

Just when Kagami Taiga was experiencing the shock of poisoning, Kaneki Ken, who had just finished washing up and was about to go to bed, suddenly heard the cell phone in his schoolbag ringing.

"Who can call me at this time?" Kaneki Ken muttered in confusion. He got out of bed and took out his cell phone. Looking at the note of Lu Dan on the caller ID, he smiled unhappily and said to himself, "This old guy, doesn't he know that there is a time difference between Japan and the United States?"

Kaneki Ken rolled his eyes, picked up the phone, and roared at the other end of the phone: "Michael, you'd better have something important to say! It's 12 o'clock in the neon night. Do you think my nightlife is as rich as yours?"

"Hey big boy, calm down!" Michael Jordan on the other end of the phone chuckled and said, "If you knew what I was going to say to you next, you wouldn't be so annoyed."

"...You talk, I'm listening." Kaneki Ken was silent for a moment, made himself a simple cup of tea, sat down on the sofa and said unhappily.

"You know, Coach Stevenson of Oak Hill High School is very optimistic about you, so he specially edited your game video and sent it to the scouts in North Carolina. Guess what the result was?" Michael Jordan kept it a secret.

"You can say it or not. If you don't, I'm hanging up." Kaneki Ken said with a pout.

"What a boring kid." Michael Jordan complained a little unhappily, and then said unhappily, "Let me tell you, the scouts from North Carolina said they will fly to Japan to watch your game in the next two days. I asked David, your so-called Winter Cup should have reached the semi-finals, right?"

"Hmm..." Kaneki Ken snorted, took a sip of tea and said, "That's true. David has quite a wide network of contacts."

"Haha, you can always trust David on this." Michael Jordan advertised subtly, and then said with a hint of expectation in his tone, "So you have to play your own style in the next two games. As long as the scouts from North Carolina take a fancy to you, you may have the honor of becoming my schoolmate."

"Don't worry, Michael. As long as that guy is not blind, he will definitely choose me." Kaneki Ken chuckled and said, "Besides... I don't really want to be your schoolmate. I want to bring my talent directly to the NBA."

"I like your arrogance, kid." Michael Jordan said with undisguised admiration, "Then I'm going to tell you this news, you will definitely like it... Jerry West has also received your game video, and he is also going to come and scout you."

"Hmm?" Kaneki Ken raised his eyebrows slightly, finally showing a hint of interest.

"Come on, kid. David and I have done most of the things for you outside of basketball. As for basketball, you are the only one who can handle it." Michael Jordan said in a complicated tone, "Hurry up and enter the NBA. The NBA without opponents is too boring."

"Cherish the days when you have no rivals in the NBA, Michael." Kaneki Ken said after a chuckle, "When I enter the NBA, I will be the mountain that you cannot climb over."

After saying that, Kaneki Ken hung up the phone without waiting for Michael Jordan to retort.

"Fxxk, this useless thing just hangs up the phone!" Michael Jordan cursed with a smile.

"It seems that you are right, Michael, this is indeed a very interesting kid." Next to Michael Jordan, a spirited white-haired old man said meaningfully.

"North Carolina, and the Los Angeles Lakers..." After Kaneki Ken hung up the phone, he came to the window, looked at the endless stream of vehicles outside the window, and murmured to himself with a strong desire in his eyes, "I come, I see, I conquer!"

……

As time passed, the day of the East Division Finals came in the blink of an eye. Kaneki Ken got up early on this day and ran 20 laps around the hotel where Shonan High School was staying. It was not until all the players of Shonan High School had gathered at the door that Kaneki Ken slowly stopped, sweating profusely.

"Yan-kun, you look very excited today..." Tao Jing Satsuki said with a smile as she handed over a towel, "Is it because you are going to play against Kozuki?"

"Ah, I wonder how much this guy has grown..." Kaneki Ken wiped his sweat with the towel and said, "And I think Murasakibara should be looking forward to it now..."

Murasakihara Atsushi, who Kaneki Ken was looking forward to very much, was now eating rice bran rolls one after another. A pack of rice bran rolls that had just been opened had been almost eaten.

"Murasara, you can't eat anymore..." Araki Masako looked at Murasakihara Atsushi helplessly and said, "If you eat so much, it will affect your performance when you go on stage..."

"No way." Murasakibara Atsushi turned a deaf ear to him while chewing a freshly peeled rice bran roll, mumbling incoherently, "Besides, I have a competition with Yanzi today. If I don't eat more, I will be hungry during the competition..."

"Okay, coach, it's the semi-finals now, let Atsushi eat more." Himuro Tatsuya said with a smile, looking at Murasakibara Atsushi's profile, "And I believe that Atsushi will perform reliably on the court today...right, Atsushi?"

"Hmm..." Murasakibara Atsushi snorted with an ambiguous tone, then clapped his hands and said, "Today's opponent is Yanzi, I can't rely on myself... Yangquan is not my team alone..."

"Haha, don't worry, Murasakibara." Okamura Kenichi heard the hidden meaning behind Murasakibara Atsushi's cold words, laughed and patted Murasakibara Atsushi's shoulder and said, "As seniors, we will definitely not hold you back!"

"As a teammate, I will definitely try my best to help you share the pressure." Himuro Tatsuya raised his fist and looked at Murasakibara Atsushi and said.

"What a hassle..." Murasakibara Atsushi muttered, and reluctantly bumped fists with Himuro Tatsuya.

"You've really grown up, Murasaki." Masako Araki looked at the players having fun, her heart filled with uncontrollable joy.

……

"Fuck, can't these Japanese people straighten their tongues and speak English?"

At this time, on a street somewhere in Tokyo, two middle-aged white men wearing North Carolina jackets looked at the complicated symbols on the map with sad faces and complained.

(End of this chapter)