Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
Mac stood in front of her mirror and looked at herself with a critical eye. She had put on her new High School uniform (and boy did that feel strange). Her skirt wasn't really that different from the one she had used at Teiko, just a little darker blue and with a white stripe at the bottom of it. She also had on a white shirt with a red bow instead of a tie like the boys had, she kind of wished she could cut that from her uniform, but it was required for her to wear it. Unfortunately. She wore a light green jacket over her shirt to complete the uniform.
She tilted her head slightly as she looked at herself. Did she really look like a High School student like this? Her long wild darkish red hair was pulled away into a ponytail with only a few stray locks of hair was hanging around her pale face. Even she noticed that her green eyes seemed even more prominent with the green jacket to enhance them. She pushed her glasses up so they sat properly on her nose and she hummed to herself.
She didn't really think she looked all that different from when she was a Middle School student, but she was now a High School student and she thought she should feel… well, just more, she guessed.
"Alright, Nao," Mac sighed turning away from the mirror. "What do you think? Do I look like I could fit in at Too?"
Nao barked happily and Mac smiled at her fox before she opened her bag, "well, you know what to do."
Nao jumped into the bag and she glanced down to see him getting comfortable and putting his head on his paws to rest. She smiled before she closed the bag and left the apartment. She couldn't see Taiga, so she guessed he had already left.
...
Daiki was waiting for her by the front gate with his hands buried deep in his pockets and a bag over his shoulders. He was wearing the new uniform as well, a pair of dark blue pants and jacket in the same colour and a white shirt with a black tie with red stripes. She briefly wondered if he had always been that tall or if it was just her that hadn't noticed before. He seemed to over a head taller than most of the other students walking around him where he was waiting. He noticed her and waved with a small smile on his face. She waved back.
"I can't believe that we are actually starting Too Academy," Mac said looking around the large school. She could see the main building in front of them (it was kind of hard to miss); it was formed as a rectangular. There was a large schoolyard in front of the school and she could see different sports areas on the right side of the yard, with a basketball court, football field, and a baseball field. To the left, there was some housing and Mac knew that it was the dorms for the students that came from out of town, or needed a dorm for some other reason. Right now the schoolyard was filled with students, both old and new. There were stands out and older students were trying to get new members for their clubs.
"You said something similar when we started Teiko," Daiki commented from beside her as he yawned. "I wonder when I can sleep."
Mac rolled her eyes at her best friend but didn't say anything as she looked around. While Too Academy was also a prestigious school it didn't have quite the look of being new as Teiko did.
"Join our literature club!" A boy called and Mac blinked as she suddenly had a flyer in her hands. "Do you like to read?"
Mac looked up and saw the boy with brown hair looking at her with eager eyes; he had a pair of round glasses on his nose.
"Sure, but…" Mac said.
"Great! Why not join our club?" he asked.
"She's already a part of the basketball team;" Daiki grumbled and glared at the boy who blinked and looked back at Mac. Mac smiled slightly and nodded,
"I am, but I'll think about it," Mac said kindly. "Good luck getting members."
"Oh…um, okay," he said and Mac allowed Daiki to drag her with him away from the literature club. He was glowering as he stalked toward the school.
"Join our volleyball club!"
"Join our anime club!"
Mac heard the different calls but she managed to avoid them, or perhaps it was Daiki's scowl that kept them at a distance. She didn't particularly care so she just followed him in silence as she tried to take in everything around them.
...
They listened to the welcome ceremony and found the lists with the classes and Mac sighed as the crowded space before the lists and she thought once more that she hated crowded places. She moved beside Daiki until they got to the lists and she felt her heart speed up. What if she wasn't in the same class as Daiki? They had been unbelievably lucky in Teiko, but there was no guarantee that they would be as lucky here. For some reason, it hadn't entered her mind that she might not be in the same class as Daiki…
She looked at the lists and tried to keep her heartbeat calm but she knew it fails as she could feel her pulse speed up. She stopped when she found Daiki's name, it was clearly written at the top of the list belonging to class 1 – C. She hesitated for a moment before she continued down the list…
Potter Mackenzie.
There, her name was there on the same list. A sigh of relief left her and she felt her shoulders relax slightly.
"We're in the same class, Daiki," Mac said.
"Awesome," Daiki grinned and nudged her shoulder.
Mac echoed the reaction inwardly, but outwardly she only smiled and moved out of the way from the other new Too students that were looking for their class. She saw the concentrated and nervous looks on their faces and she thought that maybe she wasn't the only one nervous about going to a new school.
...
"This is boring!" Daiki complained as he stretched his arms into the air and the chair tipping backwards slightly.
"Don't be so impatient, Daiki," Mac scolded. "The teacher will be here soon enough."
Daiki sighed but didn't say anything more.
Mac had picked the desk right in front of Daiki's that was by the window so she could look out over the schoolyard, more specifically the basketball court. Right now there was no one there using it, but she could picture it being used during free periods or recesses. She was very aware that the classroom was filling up with their new classmates, she could hear the chatter from them as some obviously knew each other from before or the nervous scraping of chairs and tables as they found a seat.
Mac tried very hard not to show any interest or betray how on edge she felt with so many new people in the room at once. She focused on looking out of the window or looking back at Daiki who was watching her with concern; she knew he was aware of her feelings and how on edge she was.
"Mum wants you to come home for dinner soon," Daiki said bringing her attention back to him and away from the others. She could feel some looking at them, but she ignored them. She couldn't handle them right now.
"Oh, well," Mac said smiling slightly, "I was supposed to meet Taiga after school today. Since uncle Tarou is away on business, but perhaps tomorrow?"
Daiki nodded and she saw that he tried to hide a scowl. She smiled a little and his face softened as he took in her smile. She noticed that he had already slackened his school tie making it hang more loosely around his neck.
There was a loud crash and Mac was startled enough to look away from Daiki and toward the door where a boy with light brown hair was lying stretched out on the floor, his bag was lying beside him and a few books had fallen out as he fell.
No one moved to help the unfortunate boy and Mac could hear the whispering begin and some even chuckled. Annoyed she got up and moved to the boy who was now getting up to his knees. He looked kind of frail, Mac thought as she looked him over.
"Are you okay?" Mac asked quietly as she approached him.
His head snapped up and she looked into wide brown eyes that stared at her like a deer caught in headlights.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" he stuttered out. "I'm so sorry!"
"Why are you sorry?" Mac asked perplexed, "you just fell."
"Sorry," he muttered again.
Mac gave him a strange look before she rubbed the side of her face, "well, are you ok?"
"I'm fine," he said smiling at her. "Thank you for asking. I'm just a klutz."
Mac frowned a little but shrugged and nodded. She helped him gather his books and gave it to him when he was back on his feet. He bowed at her with a blush on his cheeks.
"Thank you and sorry!" he said.
"No problem," Mac shrugged and walked back to her desk.
She noticed Daiki frown but he looked away pretending to not care, making her roll her eyes slightly. She heard the boy apologize again behind her and she felt a stab of annoyance at his need to apologize for that much. Just who did that?
"Annoying," Daiki muttered.
...
Mac somehow got through the first day with classes and introduction to the new classmates, who seemed to have decided that she couldn't be that scary since she had helped the poor boy who had stumbled into the classroom. Mac wasn't sure she thought that was a good thing or not because she felt uncomfortable with them all wanting to talk to her and the girls ask her about Daiki while giving him long looks. She wasn't sure why she felt extra annoyed by that. Though, it did feel kind of nice to not be avoided by her classmates.
"Daiki!" Mac scolded nudging her sleeping friend who had his head hidden in his arms leaned over the desk. He startled and blinked up at her. "Seriously, you can't go one day without sleeping in class?"
"I can't help it," Daiki yawned. "I just fall asleep."
Mac shook her head at him.
"Well, come on," she said. "We have a basketball meeting."
"The first day?!" Daiki groaned.
"Yes," Mac said. "Imayoshi-Captain told me they expected us to be there even though we're new on the team."
"When did you talk to that creep?" Daiki scowled.
"Yesterday," Mac rolled her eyes. "He contacted me to let me know about the schedule for the basketball club."
...
"Hi, Potter-san," Imayoshi smiled his eyes almost closed as he did and Mac forced herself not to react other than to smile politely back at him.
"Hello, Imayoshi-Captain," she said back.
"How was your first day?" he asked.
"Long," Mac said dryly. "But alright."
He chuckled and nodded and arched a brow at Daiki who was standing behind Mac with a scowl on his face. Mac could see Imayoshi's smile widen as he took in Daiki's expression.
"Hello Aomine-san," Imayoshi greeted. "I see you found your way."
"Aa," Daiki grunted.
Imayoshi seemed to be only more amused at the response from Daiki.
"Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the team," Imayoshi said turning and starting to walk toward a group of boys that was standing a little further into the gym. She noticed that they hadn't changed into their practice clothes, but was wearing their school uniforms like Daiki's.
"Guys," Imayoshi called to get their attention.
Mac noticed how they all stopped talking at once and turned to their Captain and she saw that they noticed her and Daiki right away and some got pensive looks on their faces.
"I want you to meet two of our new teammates," Imayoshi said calmly. "This is Aomine Daiki and Potter Mackenzie."
Mac swallowed her nerves at being the centre of all of their attention and she did her best to hide her nerves and wariness behind her mask. Daiki just scowled back at them standing by her side and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Ah," one of the boys said glancing at Imayoshi before looking back at them. His eyes lingered on Mac a little longer than they did on Daiki. "You're the two Miracles coach and Shoichi got to join our school."
Mac blinked and glanced at Imayoshi who just smiled.
"I'm the Vice-Captain, Susa Yoshinori, a 3rd year," the boy continued calmly and smiled slightly at them.
Mac nodded at him respectfully feeling a little better with how calm and sure he seemed, there wasn't anything like the creepiness that lurked underneath Imayoshi's mask to be sensed around this boy.
"Wakamatsu Kosuke!" a tall and muscular blond almost shouted making Mac startled slightly as she looked at the new player that had decided to introduce himself. "I'm a 2nd year!"
Aomine huffed and Wakamatsu narrowed his eyes at him.
"Abe Ren," another said interrupting before Wakamatsu could start on a rant; he had long blond hair that was tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. He nodded at them. "Also a 2nd year."
"Yamaguchi Ichiro, 2nd year," a tall grey haired boy nodded at them. "This is Inoue Nobuyuki, 2nd year."
Mac glanced at the silent boy who had black hair that looked like a birds nest; it kind of reminded her of the photo's she'd seen of her dad and the dark eyes that looked at her with curiosity.
"Nakano Minoru, 3rd year," the last one said, and he had short dark hair and blue eyes.
"Hello," Mac murmured quietly while Daiki remained silent.
...
"Attention," Harasawa said and Mac only now noticed that the coach had entered the gym. "The try-outs for the team will start tomorrow."
He looked around and stopped when he saw Mac, and once more she felt the need to shift on her feet or the more childish option of hiding behind Daiki. She forced herself to remain standing though.
"Potter-san," he said and she cursed inwardly.
"Y-yes, coach?" she said in the best calm voice she could muster.
"I want you to help keep an eye out for potentially talented players," Harasawa said looking at her.
She nodded and fisted her hands slightly.
He turned his attention away from her, luckily, and started to talk more about the roles he wanted the others to play during the try-out and she saw the way they nodded and seemed to accept the roles their coach handed out without arguments.
"What about Aomine-san?" Wakamatsu asked when Harasawa had finished and he hadn't given Daiki anything to do.
Mac tensed as she sensed an argument coming.
"Aomine-san can do what he wishes for tomorrow," Harasawa said before turning to leave.
Mac frowned slightly but she kept silent. She saw the unsatisfied frown on Wakamatsu's face and noticed how Susa reached out and touched his shoulder making him stand back but grumbled something unhappily underneath his breath.
"I'm curious as to why the coach asked you to help with watching for talented players," Abe said looking at Mac.
Mac just shrugged hoping that they would turn their attention to someone else.
"Kenzie is the best to spot talent in a player and analyze a game," Daiki spoke up and Mac glanced at him and saw the small proud smile on his face. "She's been helping our coach at Teiko since our first year there."
Imayoshi looked interested as he watched her and smiled at her while the others looked thoughtful but luckily didn't say anything else. She felt her cheeks flush and bowed her head to hide from the others. The knowing look on Imayoshi's face showed that she wasn't successful though.
...
The next day found Mac sighed as she pulled her green jacket over her white t-shirt and jogged into the gym having just finished getting changed in the locker room Harasawa had said was hers. She saw Daiki lying on a bench and while he looked to be asleep she took comfort knowing he was there.
"Potter-san," Susa was the first to notice her and gave her a respectful nod. He kept out of the other boys bickering and had a book in his hand even as he too was changed into his training clothes.
"Susa-san," Mac nodded.
He didn't say anything else as he started to read again and she appreciated the fact that he allowed her to stand there without having to carry a conversation. She knew that it would come later, but she felt a little overwhelmed by the new boys around her and all she could think was that it was the wrong boys… it should have been her boys. She felt slightly guilty for thinking that, though.
She glanced at Susa once more before she walked to the bench and pulled out her new and blank notebook that she had just gotten from Harasawa before entering the gym. She opened it and it felt strangely empty, but soon it would be filled with new notes about her new team.
Too Academy – basketball club! Try-outs!
She wrote on the top of the page and dated it and looked up to see that the doors had been opened and a quite large number of boys entered the gym wearing their gym clothes and looked around the gym with curious yet slightly nervous eyes. She kept seated on the bench as she watched the coach step up and start to talk to them.
She felt a nostalgic stab as she remembered that day back in Teiko when she had been sitting by the door and observed Daiki try-out for the team with such eagerness and excitement. There had been more students trying out back then that there was here now, but still, there was more than would be allowed to enter the A-team. She knew that Too also had started a B-team like the second strings back in Teiko.
Mac blinked when she noticed Sakurai Ryo from their class, the clumsy one, standing to the side he was looking nervously around and looked more like a scared deer than a basketball player. Though, she had learned not to judge a player by the first appearance. If knowing Tetsuya had taught her something it was that.
She made a note of his name at the top of the page and then continued to write down the names as Harasawa called up their names and they answered to their names being called. She knew he did that so she could learn who was who.
The try-outs started and consisted of a test of stamina and speed before they changed to how they could handle a basketball and passes. One of the regulars would pass the ball and they would have to catch it and not lose it as a regular would try to steal the ball before they managed to pass it to the next regular. And so on and on it went for a while.
Mac wrote and wrote as she took notice of a few of the first years. A small frown settled on her face as she watched Sakurai again and saw the determined look on his face and suddenly she saw something more in him. He had potential, she thought. He was refusing to give up and had good control over the ball.
The exercise changed and they were told to shot the ball through the hoop outside the three-point mark.
She tilted her head as she watched Sakurai shoot and score one by one without missing one shot, and the determined look in his eyes as he focused on the hoop. She thought she heard him mutter a "sorry" when he did, though. Shaking her head she made her notes and focused on the others for a while.
"Hm," Daiki said from beside her, making her blink and look over at her friend who was watching Sakurai with a considering look. She hadn't realized that he was awake.
...
"You will come back tomorrow and we'll let you know the results," Harasawa said when the try-out ended. Mac watched as the others filed out of the gym and finally got up when the regulars and the coach were the only ones remaining in the gym. Daiki was still lying on the bench but he had his eyes opened and Mac knew he was paying attention.
"Potter-san," Harasawa said. "I see you have taken some notes."
The remark had almost everyone looking at the notebook that now had several pages filled with observations and notes. She nodded silently.
"Anyone you think was standing out?" Harasawa asked looking at her with sharp eyes. She had no doubt that he had his own opinion about the players they had just watched and knew that he was testing her and wanting to see just what she could do. Kind of like how Shirogane had done in the beginning as well.
"There were two I think stood out the most," Mac said quietly. "Sakurai Ryo, class 1-C, and Namamura Nori, class 1-A."
She tried her best to ignore the way the others exchanged looks or how Imayoshi was watching her with his head tilted slightly to the side like he was watching something fascinating.
"And what was it about them stood out to you?" Harasawa asked.
"Their dedication to the game and ability to focus on the task at hand," Mac said. "Sakurai-san has an unusually quick-release three-pointer. They would still need to be polished, but I believe it would be a great advantage for the team. He might look frail and his physical stamina isn't the best, but there are other things that are more important."
Harasawa arched a brow but he didn't disagree. He gave a wave of his hand as if to make her go on. She swallowed and tried to ignore how dry her throat felt.
"Namamura Nori is a more average player, but he has a better control over the ball than most of the others," Mac continued. "He is good at holding the ball and keeping a hold of it. While the others lost the ball at least once he never did. He also shows an eye for knowing where the others are on the court."
She stopped and waited for Harasawa to say something. He was watching her with those sharp eyes and suddenly he smiled.
"I can see what your former coach saw in you, Potter-san," he said. "Please let me look at the notebook until tomorrow. Until then!"
He accepted the book and turned walking out of the room with fast steps.
"Amazing," Abe commented looking at Mac with wide eyes.
"Interesting," Imayoshi drawled. "So very, very interesting."
...
Taiga yawned as he entered the gym for the first practice. He had already changed and walked in behind two other first years he didn't remember the name off. He wondered if it was really a strong team, Mac seemed to think so at least. He had learned to trust Mac and her judgment though, so he would wait and see.
There wasn't many that showed up for the first practice and he kept his face blank as he stared straight ahead, he just wanted to start playing so he could see just how good they were. He itched to touch the ball and see where he was compared to the others here. He hoped that Mac would be in the mood to play with him later, he wanted to play!
He blinked when he realized that the girl with short brown hair was actually the coach. Had Mac mentioned that they had a second-year student as the coach? That she was a girl didn't necessarily matter, just look at Mac. He eyed her critically for a moment before looking away.
"Take off your shirt!"
Ookay… now that was a strange request, but Taiga shrugged and ignored the others stuttering as he pulled off his shirt. He tried to keep the uncomfortable look off his face as Riko stared at him. Just why was she staring like that?
"Coach! What are you doing?!" Hyuga demanded and Taiga felt like thanking him because Riko startled and looked away muttering an apology.
"Um…" Riko said looking at her clipboard.
"You looked at all of them," Hyuga said. "Kagami was the last one."
"Really? Huh?" Riko frowned and then looked around. "Is Kuroko-kun here?"
"Oh, that kid from Teiko…" Hyuga said.
Taiga arched a brow. A kid from Teiko? Was it one of Mac's team? He had never met anyone of them, and he was curious. Perhaps he would be able to check out what kind of friends she got.
"Looks like he isn't here today," Riko said sounding a little disappointed. "I guess…"
"Excuse me," a quiet voice spoke up and Taiga blinked shocked when there suddenly was a boy standing right in front of Riko making her freeze before stumbling back a few steps in shock. "I'm Kuroko."
She screamed and Taiga couldn't entirely blame her for that.
"What? How long have you been there?" Hyuga asked.
"I've been here the whole time," Tetsuya said.
This was the one from Teiko? Taiga frowned as he watched them; surely he couldn't be one of the members of Mac's team? He…smelled of nothing. Taiga couldn't get a read on him at all.
He noticed that Riko stared at the teal-haired boy without saying anything for a long time. He wondered what she was thinking. Hyuga and Koganei came rushing to them and looked at Tetsuya.
"What? This guy is a part of the Generation of Miracles?" Koganei asked shocked. "He can't have been a regular!"
"Of course not," Hyuga said, "right, Kuroko-kun?"
"I played in games;" Tetsuya answered like he was talking about the weather.
"Right!" Hyuga said before he stopped, blinked and then looked at him. "Eh?"
"You played with Mac?" Koganei asked.
Taiga perked up at the mention of his cousin and looked closer at Tetsuya again.
"Yes," Tetsuya nodded calmly. "I saw you before too."
Silence before Taiga winced as several of the older teens all yelled: "What?!"
He rubbed his ears and glowered at them, but he did look curiously at the pale boy that knew Mac. He wondered why Mac hadn't mentioned that one of her teammates would be on the team with him. Was it possible that she didn't know?
"I was there when you played Kirisaki Daichi," Tetsuya said quietly and Taiga noticed how the second years sobered up. "I brought Mac to the hospital after…"
"You were there?" Hyuga asked quietly. "I…forgot."
Tetsuya only nodded like that was normal and Taiga wondered if it was.
"Well, Mac never told us you were joining us!" Riko scowled.
"She brought me to meet Kiyoshi-san," Tetsuya said.
"She did? That….idiot!" Riko hissed. "He never said!"
...
Taiga looked up when he heard the door open and soon Mac was entering the living room with Nao in her arms. She paused when she saw him.
"Ah, Taiga," she said. "Have you eaten?"
"Yes," he said. "You didn't come home."
"I ate with Daiki today," she shrugged. "His mum wanted me to come over."
"I see," Taiga said.
"How is school, Taiga? Do you like the team?" she asked curiously.
Taiga frowned at her. He wanted to ask her, the curiosity burned inside of him and it felt like it would stumble out of him at any moment now. Just who was Kuroko Tetsuya? He was so…weak. He thought back to that afternoon. He had hung back and played basketball on the court right by the school when Tetsuya had shown up and it was clear that he had been watching him for a while before letting himself be known.
"Just…" He started but stopped.
"Yes?" Mac arched a brow at him. "What is it?"
"Just who is Kuroko Tetsuya?!" Taiga rushed out.
Mac smiled slightly as she watched him and Taiga felt like he was missing something. He scowled.
"Ah, you met Tetsu," she said fondly making Taiga frown. He remembered now, of course, all those mentioning of 'Tetsu' this and 'Tetsu' that, but he hadn't until now connected it to the weak yet strangely off the player he had just met. "What do you think?"
The question brought him back again and he frowned.
"How come he is a part of the Generation of Miracles?" Taiga asked. "How come he was a part of your team? You're strong… and he's so…weak."
Taiga was surprised when he saw her frown at him.
"Tetsu isn't weak," Mac said sharply.
"Eh? He challenged me to play and he couldn't even offer a challenge! He's so weak and an amateur in handling the ball and dribbling, and not to mention actually scoring!" Taiga ranted frustrated. "I can't figure him out!"
To Taiga's surprise, Mac started to laugh and smiled fondly like she was remembering something good.
"He challenged you?" Mac asked amused.
"Yes and when I asked him why he said he knew I was stronger than him even before we started," Taiga ranted. "And that he wanted to see how strong I was by himself!"
Mac chuckled even more.
"That's Tetsu for you," she said and turned to walk toward her own room. "I will let you try to figure him out by yourself, Taiga. Just let me tell you one thing… never underestimate Kuroko Tetsuya. He's one special kind of player."
What? Taiga felt even more confused. He sank back into the sofa and sighed.
I'm a shadow.
That was what he had said. Just what did that mean?
...
...
AN: As always thanks for reading and supporting the story. Hope you liked the update. Mac is now officially a High School student! XD
Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts about the chapter. Hope you have a good weekend! :)