Chapter 7

Yes, we are talking about the main protagonist of the KnB series.

From what I remember from watching the show, Ogiwara quit playing basketball after his last game in middle school.

In this final match, he faced off against the Generation of Miracles, and his team was ultimately humiliated and defeated by Teiko Junior High. Teiko deliberately allowed Ogiwara to score, resulting in a lopsided score of 11-111 in favor of Teiko. That was the moment when Ogiwara realized that they were merely toying with him and his team.

Following this game, Ogiwara fell into a state of depression and made the decision to completely give up on playing basketball.

That's when everything clicks. This was the game where Teiko Junior High lets Ogiwara pass to score, but he missed. So Murasakibara intentionally puts it back on purpose, ensuring that the score will be 11-111.

'I am not going to let that happen. Especially with my cheat, I have at least a fighting chance to avoid it happening in this game,' I thought to myself.

"Actually, I'm here to say thank you, Ichigo." Ogiwara suddenly said.

"Thank you? What for?"

"For your speech earlier."

Remembering that speech, I blush a little.

"Don't mention it. I'm getting embarrassed just remembering that speech," I said while rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment.

Ogiwara smiled at me, looking embarrassed. "Before you say something in the locker room, I'm actually pondering quitting basketball after the game."

I stayed silent upon hearing what he said. Based on my memories, Ogiwara was the most passionate person I had ever known when it came to basketball.

So, him mentioning quitting basketball was quite shocking.

Ogiwara continued, "It's not the first time that the thought of quitting basketball has crossed my mind. It first came to me last year when we lost to Kamata West Junior High."

"Kamata West? Was that the team that beat us before the Nationals?"

"Yeah, that's the one. During that game, I witnessed Teiko Junior High easily defeat Kamata West."

"Then it occurred to me, can we really beat them? When the team that had defeated us got destroyed and humiliated by Teiko without even the Generation of Miracles taking the game seriously?"

"Before that game, I even overheard someone say that the Teiko players were betting on who would score more points. That's how confident they were in beating Kamizaki Junior High."

Hearing what he said, I could only stay silent. Deep inside, I knew that even with my cheat, we wouldn't win this game. That's just how talented the Generation of Miracles were.

"Actually, the only thing motivating me to play basketball right now is my promise to my friend," I replied. I assumed he was referring to Kuroko.

"What did you promise your friend?" I inquired, knowing deep down what that promise entailed.

With a reminiscent smile, he recalled, "I promised him that we would meet again in Junior High with our respective teams."