Chapter 8

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

"Did you fulfill your promise?" I asked.

"Kind of. He was actually from Teiko Junior High," he replied.

"Really?!" I exclaimed, pretending to be shocked as if I didn't know who his friend was.

"Is he here now?" I inquired.

"Not really. He told me that he was injured just before this game," he explained.

"That's unfortunate!" I sympathized. "But at least you fulfilled your promise to him. Is he here now?"

"No, he's not here at the moment. Maybe he's recuperating at home now," he said.

"I see! It's a shame that you didn't get to play against each other in your last year of junior high."

After that, a comfortable silence enveloped us as we recuperated.

After a minute of silence, Ogiwara spoke up. "That's why when I heard your speech in the locker room, I thought to myself that even if I didn't get to fulfill our promise together, I'm going to give it my all in this game. I want to have a story to tell him before we go to Senior High."

As I listened, I realized that I hadn't accomplished anything in my life, especially in my past where I was an ordinary individual. I was so ordinary that you could even call me a background character or an NPC.

And even in my current life, I have no notable accomplishments to speak of. Granted, I may have been a decent, perhaps even an elite basketball player, but when it comes to achievements, my resume is completely empty.

As he spoke about giving his all just to have a story to share with his friend, even if it were a story of defeat, I found myself motivated to strive for something meaningful in this life. I wanted to be great. I want to be the best and proudly possess an achievement that I could boast about to others.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe we won't win this game, but at least we need to let these prodigies know that even if we don't win the championship, we still have to make them remember us. Even if they humiliate us and dominate us in the game, they won't dominate our wills," I said to him, all hyped up.

"We need to show Teiko that we're not like their previous opponents who give up before the game even ends just because they're down by many points," I added.

Ogiwara flashed a warm smile as he acknowledged my declaration, "Let's give it our all in this game!" he enthusiastically exclaimed, extending his fist towards me.

Grinning in response, I agreed with his sentiment, "Absolutely! We can't afford to leave our Junior High career with any regrets!" I replied, reciprocating the gesture by gently bumping my fist against his.

Ogiwara's smile widened, his face filled with determination. This was the feeling he had been searching for ever since discovering basketball - the camaraderie and fulfillment of competing.