Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 93 Winning the Championship and Farewell

"Oh, there's no hope..." On the bench of Akita Junior High School, Ichiro Fukatsu sighed, "I was still thinking about successfully defending the title once before entering the Peak Emperor~"

Ichiro Fukatsu looked at the starting lineup of Teiko Junior High School who had already left the game on the bench, his eyes full of reluctance and helplessness.

"Captain..." Wakamatsu Kosuke's eyes turned red, "It's all our fault..."

"Why should I blame you?" Ichiro Fukatsu smiled and patted Wakamatsu Kosuke on the back. "You and I are lucky. At least we won a championship. It would be miserable if we were in the same class with those monsters. We probably wouldn't even win a championship..."

Wakamatsu Kosuke looked at his teammates who were like zombies on the field and said solemnly: "Don't worry, captain, next year, next year we will definitely win the championship!"

“Hahaha, if you have this ambition, I will rest assured to hand over the team to you…” Fukatsu Ichiro did not dampen Wakamatsu Kosuke’s confidence. Instead, he responded with a smile, “You will be the captain of Wakamatsu from now on. Come on!”

……

"In the last ball, Akita Junior High School missed a three-pointer, and Haizaki grabbed the rebound from outside the three-point line... Haizaki threw the ball hard to the front court, and the game is over!" Tashiro Heihachi stood up excitedly, "The champion of this year's Neon Junior High School Basketball League is Teiko Junior High School!"

"Teiko!", "Teiko!", "Teiko!" The fans of Teiko Junior High School present could no longer contain their excitement. The moment the halftime whistle sounded, they all stood up and cheered loudly.

"Bang, bang!" The sound of salutes rang out on the sidelines, and colorful paper streamers fell like snowflakes. The audience stood up and applauded, celebrating the ascension of the new king.

"I declare that the 2016 Neon Junior High School Basketball League has come to an end! Next is the list of outstanding players!" As the thunderous celebration came to an end, the leader on the stage began to preside over the final award ceremony.

"The winner of the league MVP is...Ken Kaneki!" The leaders naturally knew what the audience was expecting, and announced the MVP winner first.

"Kaneki!", "Kaneki!", "Kaneki!"

The Teiko fans cheered even harder. It can be said that Kaneki Ken's handsome appearance and chic playing style contributed greatly to Teiko's current fan base.

Amid the cheers and gazes of the fans, Kaneki Ken slowly walked up to the podium and received the trophy symbolizing the junior high school champion and the junior high school league MVP trophy from the leader.

"Congratulations, Kaneki-san. I watched your game and you deserve the MVP title." The leader smiled and shook Kaneki Ken's hand and congratulated him.

"Thank you." Kaneki Ken lowered his eyebrows humbly, "It's all thanks to the good cooperation of my teammates and the proper command of the coach. I was just lucky."

"Haha, the audience is watching, let's celebrate with our teammates!"

Kaneki Ken did not refuse. He walked down the podium with the trophy and stood with his teammates, holding the trophy high.

"Oh oh oh!!!!"

"Kaneki!", "Kaneki!", "Kaneki!"

“Imperial Light!”, “Imperial Light!”, “Imperial Light!”

As Kaneki Ken lifted the two trophies high, the enthusiasm of the fans reached its climax, and it took a long time to calm down. Afterwards, the leaders read out the best lineup of this tournament. As expected, all players from Akashi Seijuro to Murasakihara Atsushi were selected, and Nijimura Shuzo was also selected as the best sixth man.

As a reporter on the sidelines, Aida Yako also seemed to have sensed something and pressed the shutter. In the photo, Kaneki Ken was in high spirits and everyone in Teiko Junior High School had satisfied smiles on their faces.

……

"Kaneki-san, congratulations on successfully leading Teiko Junior High School to win the championship." As soon as the post-match one-on-one interview began, Aida Yako expressed her congratulations to Kaneki Ken.

"Thank you, Ms. Aida." Kaneki Ken smiled and nodded slightly, changing his arrogant demeanor on the court.

"Excuse me, Kaneki-san, after this series of games, which team impressed you the most?"

"To be honest, I don't have a particularly deep impression of any team." Kaneki Ken smiled and shook his head, "I don't have the habit of remembering my defeated opponents." Kaneki Ken opened with a Versailles-like remark that set the tone for the entire interview.

"Haha, Kaneki-san's words are always impressive." Aida Miko smiled, "Excuse me, Kaneki-san, as a transfer student this year, you led Teikou Middle School to victory, which made your previous school coach quite dissatisfied. He kept saying that you came to Teikou to curry favor with others. What do you think about this?"

"I have no opinion." Kaneki Ken smiled, "The strong never care about the wailing of the weak. They think I can win only by joining the strong. In fact, it is because we win that we appear stronger. It is not the strong who always win, but the winners who always become strong. This is exactly the truth."

"Kaneki-san's words are really thought-provoking." Aida Yako smiled and took note of Kaneki Ken's words. "Finally, I have a small question to ask. I heard that Kaneki-san has been promoted to the captain of Teiko Junior High School. What do you think is the reason that makes the whole team support you, a freshman, to take over the captain position from Nijimura Shuzo?"

"Have you ever seen Tokyo at four in the morning?" Kaneki Ken said with a nostalgic look, recalling his hard training, "For me, second place is the biggest humiliation. The feeling of failure makes my mouth bitter, so I would rather train hard than lose. There is always someone who has to win, and that person must be me!"

"Haha, the interview ends here. I really appreciate Kaneki-san's cooperation in the interview." Aida Miko smiled and closed the notebook, "I really benefited a lot from it."

……

[“Tokyo at 4 a.m. invites you to share the rise of champion core Kaneki Ken.”]

[“It’s not that the strong always win, but that the winners become stronger—taking you into the mental journey of MVP player Kaneki Ken!”]

[“I have no rivals in the country.” The new king’s bold words. ]

"Yanzi, I'm here to play with you!" The day after the game, Murasakihara Atsushi knocked on Kaneki Ken's door with a stack of newspapers, "Look at these newspapers, they're all about you..."

Murasakihara Atsushi wanted to say something, but he saw Kaneki Ken packing his things, as if he was going on a long journey.

"Yan-jun, what are you doing?"

"Kaneki, are you moving?"

Aomine Daiki and Taoi Satsuki asked in surprise.

"Come in and sit down." Kaneki Ken welcomed the three people in with a smile, "Now, it's time to talk to you about something."

As Kaneki Ken spoke, he told everyone the Flint Plan that Shirogane Kozo had told him.

"This is the situation now." Kaneki Ken laughed heartily, "The original plan was to go to the United States for three months of training after the game in the fall, and then go to Longguo for further studies for two years. But now the plan has changed. According to Coach Anton's suggestion, I will study in the United States for the next two years. Teikou Middle School is now in your hands, don't let me down!"

"This, Yanzi..." Murasakihara Atsushi was a little incoherent, "This is too sudden. I originally thought that you would only be abroad for three months..."

"Yan-kun..." Tao Jing Mayu's eyes also turned red, "Can we not leave..."

"If I don't leave, you can ask the American coaching team to come to Japan to train me?" Kaneki Ken said with a sullen smile, "The reason why I didn't announce it widely is that I didn't want to face the scene of separation. Fortunately, you are here."

"Kaneki..." Aomine Daiki opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

"Okay, everyone, be happy. I'm going to study, not to jail." Kaneki Ken patted Aomine Daiki's shoulder, looked around at everyone and said, "Besides, I'm not going to the United States alone. Senior Nijimura will also take his father to the United States for medical treatment. It's just right for me to keep him company."

Kaneki Ken paused, came to Tao Jing Satsuki who had already started to cry, gently embraced her in his arms, and said softly: "Don't cry, remember what you said, you should be happy for me."

"I...Ken-kun..." Taoi Satsuki was already sobbing at this time.

"Okay, I've said everything I need to say. You all should be more alert while I'm away." Kaneki Ken smiled and called everyone, "I'm the captain of Teiko Junior High School. If you lose, it's my loss of face. When I come back, you'll have a hard time!"

(End of this chapter)