Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
Mac yawned as she entered the gym wearing her new training clothes, a pair of black shorts with some red on it and a simple black t-shirt with red hems and the stitching of the name Too Academy in red to the left. She liked it well enough. A jacket in the same design was also a part of the clothes they had just been given.
"The only one who can beat me is me."
Mac sighed as she heard her best friend's voice and glanced over to see Daiki glaring at the second year named Wakamatsu. The slightly taller blond was glaring back at Daiki and looked ready to fight.
"What a joke!" Wakamatsu snapped.
"It's proven," Daiki said lazily. "The only one who can beat me is me."
"Ah…please, don't fight! I'm sorry!" Sakurai squeaked making Mac aware that he was standing almost between the two hotheads, neither looked like they heard him as they glared at each other
"Show some respect for your sempai's!" Wakamatsu growled. "I'll prove it! Play me!"
Daiki gave Wakamatsu a look before he smirked, "let's do it!"
Mac winced. This could be…bad. She looked at them and worried her lip as she deliberated on what to do. She walked to the side and watched as Wakamatsu and Daiki started to play. Imayoshi was watching with a pensive look on his face.
Daiki stole the ball from Wakamatsu and spun around to get past him, but instead of making for the hoop he lingered and let Wakamatsu catch up to him again. He dribbled and moved just out of reach everytime Wakamatsu was about to reach for the ball.
Mac could see what Daiki was doing. He was toying with the second year, playing with him and taunting him like he and the others sometimes did when they faced someone they didn't like. She watched with a blank face as the one-on-one continued.
Daiki suddenly used his speed and while Wakamatsu was fast, and Mac could tell he was faster than most, Daiki outran him and was by the hoop before Wakamatsu could stop him and scored hoop by performing a formless shoot.
"Wow…" Sakurai gasped with wide eyes as he stared at the match.
Mac didn't reveal what she was thinking as Daiki picked up the ball again and tossed it to Wakamatsu who was looking a little stunned, but also defiant. He wasn't ready to give up yet, and Mac had to give him credit for that.
The match continued and while Mac could hear the others whisper to each other that Wakamatsu was doing a good job holding Daiki off she knew better. She knew that Daiki was letting him keep the ball; she saw it in the way he moved and kept back. For Mac it was clear that he was testing Wakamatsu and she couldn't really blame Daiki for that, she had done so many times before with others. It was always tempting to test them and see what they would do or how they would react to certain things.
Mac could tell when Daiki got tired of it, though, and with a sudden graceful move he stole the ball from Wakamatsu and shot another basket without pausing to look back at a staring Wakamatsu.
"Again!" Wakamatsu growled and glared at Daiki who gave him a bored look.
"The results won't change," Daiki yawned and stretched. "I'm bored."
"You little…" Wakamatsu fumed taking a step closer to Daiki.
Daiki turned and walked off the court without responding to the older boy and with an effortless move jumped up onto the stage and laid down and closed his eyes.
...
"That…that…insolent little…brat!" Wakamatsu was fuming as he stared after Daiki and Mac sighed.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sakurai apologized bowing to the older boy who didn't seem to notice him. Mac gave Sakurai a look before she sighed and walked over to where Harasawa was standing with a thoughtful look on his face.
The rest of the team joined her and waited for their coach to start talking, but Mac saw Inoue calm Wakamatsu down with a pat on the arm and a couple of soft-spoken words that Mac couldn't hear.
After Harasawa had given them their orders for the practice Mac started to run like the others around the gym. She felt her body move and matched her pace with the others; there was no need to overdo it right now.
Mac was checking her phone after practice when someone knocked into her making her drop it to the ground. Mac glanced up and saw Sakurai staring wide-eyed at her and bowed frantically at her.
"Sorry, sorry," he kept saying.
Mac sighed and bowed to pick her phone back up. Luckily it wasn't broken.
"It's alright," Mac said stopping the strings of apologies coming out of his mouth. "You don't need to apologize that much, Sakurai-san."
"Sorry," he said and she sighed.
...
"Potter-san!" Harasawa called from the other side of the gym. Mac gathered her bag (with Nao inside) and nodded to Sakurai before she walked over to Harasawa.
"Yes, coach?" she asked.
"Come with me," he ordered and she was left following him to an office connected to the gym, and she noticed the two whiteboards filled with notes and she could make out her own name along with Daiki's name several places on the board. Otherwise, there was a bookshelf filled with books and a desk that was almost empty besides the computer and a small stack of papers on it.
"Please, take a seat," Harasawa said pointing to a chair.
Mac did wondering if she had done something wrong, but he didn't look mad just stern like he normally did. She forced herself to remain quiet and unmoving as she watched him take a seat behind his desk.
"I just wanted to have a talk with you about the practices," Harasawa said calmly. "I want you to have a say in how you all train and how you think our players can develop further. I understood from talking with your former coach at Teiko that you have a great part of the credit of the growth of your teammates."
"I didn't really do much," Mac said quietly.
"You're humble," Harasawa commented and Mac looked at him uncertainly. "I wouldn't have guessed it by looking at your teammates."
Mac felt uncomfortable. It wasn't like she didn't understand what he meant because she did. She knew that she didn't boast like the others or barge in and demand things to be like she wanted.
"I guess," she said.
"Aomine-san…" Harasawa said frowning trailing off and she could tell he wanted to ask her something. "Does he act like that often?"
Mac looked at her new coach and tried to decide what he wanted from that question. He was meeting her eyes and waited patiently for her to decide what to say, but she was unsure just what he wanted and how he would react to the truth. She didn't know him well enough yet nor did she really know the school's view on victory.
"Sometimes," Mac finally admitted deciding to be as honest she could be, but she wouldn't go into too many details. "Especially if he's challenged like he was, Wakamatsu-san was pushing him and made him angry. He doesn't react well to that, and… he was testing him."
"Testing him?" Harasawa asked with an arched brow.
"He wanted to see just what he could do," Mac said simply, bluntly. "To see if he would be able to give Daiki a challenge."
Harasawa leaned back in his seat and had a contemplative look on his face as he watched her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking and she was starting to think that she had said too much. She didn't really want to talk about Daiki without Daiki there, but she understood that the coach needed to know something.
"Ok," Harasawa said and leaned forward again. "Back to the reason, I asked you here… I want you to create your own training menus for the team and adjust them to where they need to work to get stronger. I will look at them with you and we'll work it in with my own plans."
"Why?" Mac asked before she could stop herself.
"I have great faith in your abilities, Potter-san," Harasawa said. "I think with you we can reach far and get the titles we seek. I have great aspirations for this team, Potter-san. I want us to be the best, and only the strong can reach the top."
Mac nodded, this was something she understood. This was something she was familiar with. They worked out more of the details as the minutes ticked by and turned into an hour and Harasawa finally said it was enough and sent her home for the day.
...
Mac walked out of the gym and made her way to the classroom just in time for her next lesson. She was thinking about what Harasawa had said and was already working on the plans in her head as she ducked past a rowdy group of boys that seemed to take up the whole hallway.
Mac was walking into the classroom and immediately she was looking for Daiki and stopped to a halt when she saw him seated in his seat like she had expected him to, but what she hadn't been expected was the girl. The girl with dark hair and glasses that was smiling at Daiki giggling at something he said. He had a smirk on his face and looked confident and smug. She couldn't help but stare at the scene because it was so…unexpected.
Just what was this? Daiki never…he never talked like this with anyone…not anyone who wasn't her, Mac thought. She saw how Daiki leaned closer to the girl and how she blushed yet she pushed her breast out and Mac noticed how Daiki's eyes lingered on the above average breasts… She felt sick. Mac felt like turning around and walking back out, but she couldn't.
Forcing herself she walked to her desk, that was unfortunately right by Daiki, and sat down without looking at Daiki or the girl she now realized was in their class. Mac couldn't remember her name.
"Kenzie," Daiki said and Mac forced herself to turn around to look at Daiki and the girl who was frowning slightly at her. "You're late."
"Coach wanted to talk to me," Mac shrugged carefully hiding her thoughts behind a mask.
"He wants you to work on our training programs and analyzing the other teams, don't he?" Daiki asked.
"Yeah," Mac nodded.
"Oh, are you on the team, Potter-san?" the girl interrupted making Daiki glance at her and then over at Mac who was watching the girl with a deadpanned expression.
"Kenzie has been playing basketball for a long time," Daiki said when Mac didn't say anything. "She's good."
"I didn't know girls could play basketball with the boys," the girl said with a look on her face. "I much prefer to cheer you on."
She smiled what Mac was sure was meant to be a sensual smile at Daiki and Mac had to force herself to not roll her eyes at the show. She tuned out their flirting and was relieved when the teacher entered the classroom and the girl she had learned was named Fujimoto Hotaru was forced to walk back to her own seat at the opposite side of the room.
...
Mac ranted and paced the floor waving her arms as she did, but she couldn't help it.
"I mean… who acts like that? She was practically throwing herself at Daiki and he…he liked it!"
Kiyoshi was watching her with a strange look on his face and she paused taking a deep breath as she realized that she was ranting and that Kiyoshi wasn't necessarily very interested in Daiki's behavior, but she just couldn't stop herself.
"Sorry," she grimaced, "I didn't mean to rant like that…"
"It's alright," Kiyoshi smiled at her.
Mac rubbed the back of her head and tried to push the thoughts of Daiki and her out of her mind and focus on Kiyoshi who was watching her patiently and was so good to her. It wasn't fair that she would use her time with him thinking about or ranting about Daiki.
"Oh, I got you something!" Mac said breaking the silence between them and jumped to her feet.
"What did you get me?" Kiyoshi asked his eyes sparkled with curiosity as he leaned forward as she opened her bag and started to dig through it until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out something that to Kiyoshi looked like a flat rectangle that was wrapped neatly in blue and white wrapping paper. "What is it?"
Mac smiled and looked a little shy as she held it out and gave it to him. She worried her lower lip a little as she watched him. She was nervous about what he would think.
"Open it," she said quietly.
Kiyoshi looked at her before looking back at the gift and started to open it, he held back and didn't tear the paper off like he wanted to. He took his time and when the paper finally fell away he felt himself gasp slightly and his mouth popped open in shock.
He was staring down at a drawing, clearly made with care and consideration, of the picnic scene from their date. He saw himself lying underneath the large tree his arms stretched behind his head and one eye open and with a smile on his face. Then there was Mac seated next to him, close enough to touch and she had her head bowed over the sketchpad and hair pushed behind her ear like normal. From the angle of the drawing he could make out some of her facial expression and it looked like she was smiling and blushing slightly. Even Nao was in the drawing chasing a few ducks away from their food.
"Do…do you like it?" Mac finally broke the silence and Kiyoshi looked up and saw her watching him with a nervous look on her face and she was biting down on her lower lip as she watched him.
"I love it," he said breathlessly. "Did you draw this?"
"Yeah," Mac nodded. "I started it when we were on the date, and I finished it when I got home. I…wanted to catch the moment."
"Thank you," Kiyoshi said and put the drawing down on the table before getting up and pulled her into a hug. "You're really talented, Mac. It is perfect."
"Thanks," Mac whispered.
He pulled back and smiled at her with a soft smile and a look in his eyes that seemed to say something more but she wasn't sure what. She thought he looked sad yet content, but it was a strange combination and she wondered if it was wrong.
...
"He's a strange one," Taiga muttered with a pensive frown on his face. "I never knew he could do anything like that…"
Mac who had been on her way to her room paused and looked at her cousin when she heard him muttering to himself. He looked confused yet…impressed? Curious she stopped in the doorway to his room.
"Who are you talking about, Taiga?" She asked making him jump.
"Argh! You too?!" He demanded.
"Eh?" Mac asked but she had a feeling she knew what he was talking about. "Me too what?"
"Trying to give me a heart attack!" Taiga grumbled at her. "Kuroko did the same thing today at practice."
"No one is as good as Tetsu to do that," Mac laughed. "The number of times he did that to us…"
Taiga looked at her with a strange look on his face making her stop laughing and looks at him.
"What?" she asked.
...
Taiga didn't respond right away his thoughts have gone back to earlier when he had talked with Tetsuya after eating at Maji.
"Just how strong is the Generation of Miracles?"
Taiga was curious, he wondered just how strong Mac and her friends were. He had a feeling about Mac, though, but he had never seen her actually play in a match before. So far she was always holding back and he hadn't managed to get her to play him full strength yet. It annoyed him, but also made him want to get better.
"If I played them now, how would I do?"
"You'd be destroyed immediately," Tetsuya said without hesitation.
Taiga felt ticked off at the bluntness of his statement and let him know that, but he didn't seem fazed at all. Only continued to drink the milkshake.
"The five prodigies, six if you count Mac, have all gone on to play for their own schools," Tetsuya said. "One of those schools will stand at the top."
"That's great! That lights a fire in me," Taiga laughed. "I've decided! I'll crush all of them and become Japan's best player!"
He would do it, he would defeat Mac even if she was his cousin. He would prove that he was stronger than them all.
"I don't think that's possible," Tetsuya said bluntly.
"Hey!" Taiga roared.
"If you have hidden talent, I wouldn't know. But from what I've seen, you wouldn't even reach their feet. You can't do it alone. I've also decided." Tetsuya paused and Taiga looked at him curiously and slightly anticipating what was coming next, "I'm a shadow. But the stronger the light, the darker the shadow, and the more it accentuates the brightness of the light. I will be the shadow to your light, and make you the best player in Japan.
"Taiga?" Mac interrupted his thoughts and gave him a strange look.
"Nothing," he said. "What is it?"
"I asked who you were mumbling about," Mac asked.
"Oh, um, Kuroko," Taiga admitted.
"Again?" Mac asked arching a brow.
"Well, he is strange," Taiga said defiantly. "Like he made those passes just appear out of nowhere and we only managed to win against our seniors with his help… I had no idea that someone could do that…"
"He's a shadow," Mac said repeating what Tetsuya had said before.
"What does that mean?" Taiga asked.
"That's for you to find out," Mac smiled and turned to walk to her room.
...
Mac turned on her computer and let Nao down on the floor and watched as he immediately jumped up on her bed and settled down to rest. She smiled slightly and turned back to the computer when she hears the ringing tone from Skype ringing.
"Hello Seijuro," Mac greeted when she answered the call.
"Mac," Seijuro's calm voice greeted her back and she saw the image of her friend pop up in the video chat. She knew he could also see her so she smiled at him. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Mac said, "what about you?"
He frowned at her for a moment before he nodded.
"I'm good," he said. "I just got back from a meeting with one of dad's associates."
"I see," Mac said fighting to keep her scowl off her face. "How did it go?"
Seijuro shrugged and seemed to move so he got more comfortable, she could make out parts of the room behind him and could see a bookshelf filled with books and she wondered if they were all his. She didn't ask though.
"It went well," he said. "What have you done today?"
"Magical lesson, Too practice, school and then visited Teppei;" Mac listed, "I just got back."
"Busy like normal," Seijuro said sounding a little concerned, "you have to take care of yourself, Mac."
"I am," she smiled. "Now, tell me about your team. Have you met them all yet?"
"Yes, I have," Seijuro said.
"Aaaaannd?" Mac asked. "What are they like? You've got three of the Uncrowned Kings right?"
"They're annoying," Seijuro deadpanned.
Mac felt her lips twitch amused, "really?"
"Don't look so amused," he glared at her but she only smiled wider. He scowled at her. "They're loud and annoying, and Reo calls me: Sei-chan."
"Cute," Mac said.
"It's not cute!" Seijuro said.
Mac forced herself not to laugh as he pouted, he actually pouted and no one would ever believe her if she told them. She smiled a little though and felt a spark of affection for her friend and hope that at least someone on his new team wouldn't be too intimidated by him and allow Seijuro to remain too distant from the others.
"Of course not," Mac said humoring him.
...
Mac watched Daiki walk out of the classroom and that girl following behind him with a giggle and gooey eyes that had her wanting to barf. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and started to walk out of the classroom herself and make her way to practice.
"Ah, sorry," Sakurai said from beside her and Mac realized that she was scowling and cleared her face as she looked at him. "I thought we could walk to the practice together seeing that we're going the same way and…I'm sorry!"
Mac shook her head a little and pushed her thoughts about Daiki out of her mind and tried to smile at Sakurai.
"Ok," Mac said. "Come on, Sakurai-kun."
"Are you upset?" he asked carefully.
"I'm fine," Mac said with a small smile. "Why do you play basketball, Sakurai-kun?"
She could at least try to make conversation with him, Mac decided.
"I read a manga about Basketball and thought it looked cool," Sakurai said and when Mac turned her head to look at him he squawked: "sorry!"
"Really? What manga did you read?" Mac asked ignoring his apology with a resigned look.
"Slam Dunk," Sakurai said.
They had almost reached the gym now and the locker rooms where they were going to change into their training clothes.
"Is it any good? I haven't read it," Mac asked slightly curious.
"It's great!" Sakurai nodded.
"Ok, maybe I'll read it once," Mac smiled at him. "See you soon, Sakurai-kun."
...
"Aomine isn't here," Wakamatsu grumbled.
Mac sighed and forced herself to remain calm and stoic as they turned to look at her. She knew they were waiting for explanations.
"He'll probably not show up today," Mac said calmly. "He…does that sometimes."
"He missed practice often?" Imayoshi asked.
"When he could," Mac said and she wasn't going to say anything else. It wasn't any of their business and she didn't want to drag it up again.
"Alright," Imayoshi said turning back and ignoring Wakamatsu's grumblings. "Let's start practice."
"We're going to be playing a practice match!" Harasawa called when he joined them. "Potter-san will tell you how the teams are and she'll be observing you from the sidelines."
"Why?" Abe asked.
"I'll need to see your strengths and weaknesses to make up a plan on how to help you get stronger," Mac answered when Harasawa directed the question over to her. "I get the best results by watching you in a game-like setting."
"Ok," Susa said.
"I want the third years with Sakurai-kun on one team, and the second years with Namamura-kun on the other," Mac said.
Mac watched and made notes knowing that she had to work it into something more proper later, but right now she was concentrated on making the notes she needed. It became very clear to her that they were strong, but not like her former team. Perhaps it was good that Daiki wasn't here for this, he would have made it harder for her to get the best notes of the others as he would have overshadowed them with his strength.
She was barely aware that Harasawa was watching her as well as the game and had pensive look on his face as he did. He had never seen anyone work like Mac before, so focused and determined. At least not so young. It was easy to forget that she was still just 15 years old.
...
Mac stayed behind after the other left the practice seeing that it was the end of the day, but Mac wanted to work on her profile and training regime while the practice match was still fresh in her mind. That's why Mac made her way to the library and found a seat by the window and pulled out her notebook again. She checked on Nao and saw that he was running around looking content and happy.
While they were already quite strong, Mac had found several aspects where they could get better. If it was just getting a better scoring percent or accuracy, she was determined to help them get it. She wanted to help form them as a team, but she did want to lessen some of the individually feeling she got watching them play. They depended a little too much on their own individual skill, but she knew that with a few adjustments they would turn that into a team-play and use it to help the team get ahead.
While she didn't believe that teams should only rely on friendships like Tetsuya did, she did think that friendships did lie underneath every team and a team that had that as a foundation would grow stronger. Yet, they couldn't deny that talent played a hand in a strong team and that cultivating the talent was the way to go. Some had more talent than others, and in Too (not counting Daiki) that was Imayoshi, Sakurai, and Wakamatsu to a certain degree. Susa was also talented, but he was a more all-rounded player and she could tell that he would be very good in defense.
Again not counting Daiki she would say that Imayoshi was the one with the most talent and skill in the team, and she knew that they would need to play around him when Daiki wasn't there. He was creepy off the court, but on the court, he could be scary. Mac had instantly picked up on the fact that he was very good at mind games and had put it to use during their practice match (though, luckily not at full power).
"Potter-san," a calm voice startled her out of her work and she looked up to see Susa standing there watching her with a concerned look in his brown eyes. "You're here late."
Mac blinked and glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly nine in the evening.
"Shit," she said. "I forgot the time…"
"You looked focused," Susa commented and sat down on the chair at the next table watching her as she started to gather her things again.
"Yeah, I wanted to get to work on my profile of you all and then decide what training regime you should have," Mac said glancing at him.
He just nodded looking calm and collected like he always did.
"What are you doing here so late?" Mac asked. "I thought everyone went home after practice."
"I did, but I forgot a book I needed," Susa smiled slightly. "I spotted you through the window and decided to go and see why you were still here."
Mac smiled slightly at him and he got up when she had packed her things and together they walked out of the library, turning the lights off behind them. Mac had been very pleased when she had learned that they were allowed to stay in the library even after the librarian had gone home for the day. As long as they cleaned up after themselves and turned off the lights if they were the last ones to leave.
Just as they left the school building Mac's phone rang and she pulled it out and answered it with an apologetic look at her senior who just smiled.
"Hello?" Mac answered the phone.
"Mac! Where are you?" Taiga asked sounding worried.
"I'm still at school," Mac said.
"What are you doing at school this late?" Taiga grumbled. "Seriously, you should come home. Do you need me to come and pick you up?"
"Ah, sorry for worrying you, Taiga," Mac said feeling guilty about making her cousin worry. "I'm on my way home now and you don't need to come and pick me up. I'll be fine on my own."
"Hm, well, ok," Taiga said reluctantly before he hung up.
Mac put the phone away and looked at Susa who was not looking at her but watched the clear sky. He glanced at her when he heard her end the conversation and she saw the question in his eyes.
"My cousin," Mac explained. "I forgot to let him know I was staying late."
"Your cousin?" Susa asked with a small frown.
Mac hesitated for a little while having stopped walking when he had and she deliberated what to say.
"I live with my uncle and cousin," Mac ended up saying and saw the brief look of surprise and worry in the older boy's eyes before it was gone. "My parents died when I was a baby."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Susa said quietly. "That must have been tough."
"I don't know them," Mac said not looking at him. "It was a long time ago."
He didn't say anything and she was grateful for that. Swallowing and wondering why she had told him that she turned and smiled slightly at him.
"Well, I should get back," she said and he nodded.
"I live in the dorms, so I'll see you tomorrow," Susa nodded.
"Ok, bye!" Mac bowed politely to him and he watched her go. She was a fascinating one, he thought as he watched her exit the school ground. No wonder why Imayoshi was so interested in her.
...
...
AN: Thank you for reading!