Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!

...

...

1st year – Too Academy

Mac walked around the school searching for the missing Ryota. She frowned as she pictured the arm hitting Tetsuya so hard that Tetsuya started to bleed. She knew it had been unintentional, but… she couldn't stop picturing the way Tetsuya collapsed. It reminded her way too much of the last time that happened.

"Ooooh," Mac hummed quietly when she spotted Shintaro and a boy she didn't recognise right away talking with Ryota. She wondered when Shintaro had arrived; she hadn't seen him in the gym so perhaps he had gotten there too late?

"I'm telling you," Shintaro said looking at Ryota. "We will not be losing for Seirin."

Mac smiled a little as she saw how confident Shintaro was, but she also knew he was underestimating Seirin. She wondered just how he would do against Taiga and especially against the combination that Taiga and Tetsuya represented.

"You're confident, Midorima," Mac spoke up and stepped out of the shadows gaining their attention.

"Mac-cchi!" Ryota beamed but she saw the worry in his eyes as well and could tell he was wary of her since he didn't bounce over to her to hug her or anything.

"Of course," Shintaro said giving her a look. "With my luck, I will win. I have Oha Asa on my side."

Mac looked at him for a moment and smiled a little. She was pleased to see that he hadn't lost his belief in Oha Asa or been pressured to leave that habit behind. She knew that Shintaro was not as stoic and uncaring as he wanted them all to believe, so she worried that he would be pressured to change who he is.

"Good," she said and turned her focus over to the boy next to Shintaro. He was staring at her with a curious look on his sharp face. His eyes were sharp and reminded her of a hawk, and she suddenly remembered who he was. "Oh, you must be Takao Kazunari. You attend Shutoku as well?"

He blinked shocked.

"You remember me?" he asked surprised and his grip on the handle of the bike he was leaning over slipped slightly.

Shintaro and Ryota looked a little surprised as well.

"Of course," Mac said calmly even though she knew that Shintaro had probably forgotten about him and that might have caused some hurt feelings for the other boy. "We played you once. You were good, I remember. You have a very good eye."

Shintaro frowned and looked at Takao as well who was busy staring at Mac with a pensive look on his face and a smile spread on his face.

"Thank you!" Takao said cheerfully. "I'm going to beat you all though!"

"I'll look forward to playing you, then," Mac said.

He grinned and she took that as a 'challenge accepted' sort of grin.

Shintaro turned back to Mac and she blinked at him. He frowned and pushed his glasses up further onto his nose as he watched her.

"Midorima?" she asked confused.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked bluntly.

"Midorima-cchi! You can't just say that!" Ryota scolded loudly.

Mac stared at him blankly for a moment before she sighed.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked.

Ryota stopped trying to scold Shintaro and turned to look at her. She smiled slightly.

"No," Shintaro said again fiddling with his glasses, in turn, hiding part of his face from view.

"Something wrong, Mac-cchi?" Ryota asked worriedly.

Mac shrugged, "I'm fine. I just haven't had the best couple of weeks."

They stared at her and she relented and told them about the breakup and then continued to calm them down, she saw the anger in both of them and while Shintaro didn't react as expressively as Ryota he also looked ready to storm off. She sighed. Why did they always think the worst of Kiyoshi?

Luckily it didn't take as long to calm the two down as it took to calm Daiki and Seijuro down, though. She shook her head (she didn't want to admit that it warmed her that they reacted like that).

Shintaro and Takao left and Mac turned to look at Ryota who was now staring down at the ground.

...

"What were you thinking, Kise?" Mac asked frowning.

"I…I don't know! I didn't mean to do it, Mac-cchi!" Ryota wailed and looked at her with wide tearful eyes. "I was just trying to stop them and my hand hit Kuroko-cchi without me meaning it! I…"

"You have to be careful out on the court! Pay attention to your surroundings and be aware that opponents could be staying close to you," Mac scolded. "You know Tetsu is almost invisible, and swinging your arm out like that…it's irresponsible."

"I know," he mumbled looking like a sad little puppy and Mac sighed pulling a hand over her face. She calmed herself as she realised that she shouldn't be too harsh since it had been an accident and she knew hurting Tetsuya was the last thing Ryota wanted.

"Ok," Mac said and inhaled deeply. "I believe you learned your lesson. Just remember to be careful next time, ok?"

"Ok," Ryota nodded still looking sad and worried.

The look looked so wrong on him and she felt the need to remove it.

"It was an accident," Mac said and he looked up at her. She smiled at him. "I'm sure Tetsu is fine. Let's go and see him, ok?"

Ryota stared at her for a moment before he beamed and pounced on her making her stumble slightly as she suddenly found herself with her arms full Ryota. She hugged him back before pulling away.

...

Super Volume 4 kg Steak! Eat it in 30 minutes or less and it's free! Those who fail must pay 10,000 yen.

Taiga smirked eager to eat some meat not noticing the way his teammates looked warily at the same sign and exchange uneasy looks.

"I never knew Kagami-kun was Mac's cousin," Tetsuya commented when they all had found their seats around the table.

Taiga blinked and looked at the shadow who was staring at him. He noticed that the others were also looking at him. He just shrugged and looked around waiting for the meal.

"Did you know who Kuroko was before you joined the team?" Izuki asked.

"I knew," Taiga said looking at Izuki and then at Tetsuya. "Mac told me that Kuroko was going to start Seirin as well. Actually, it was Mac who told me to go to Seirin."

"Mac did?" Riko asked surprised.

Taiga nodded, "she said you were the kind of team that I would like and get to develop further as a player."

"Why didn't you tell us you knew Mac?" Koganei wondered.

"I didn't think about it," Taiga said grinning when the waiter came with their steaks. It looked delicious. He heard the groans of the others, but he ignored it as he eagerly reached for his steak.

He started to eat while the others eyed theirs warily before starting to eat. This was so good, Taiga thought.

"Don't hold back," Riko told them with a smile.

"This is too much!" they cried.

"What are we going to do if we can't eat all of this?" Hyuga worried.

"EH? What?" Riko leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do you think I make you run every day?"

For basketball?! They all thought.

...

Mac walked beside Ryota down the street and quickly found the restaurant Taiga had texted her that they were currently at. She smiled as she listened to Ryota babble about his model work and waved his hands as he tried to explain the last shoot.

"How do you like your team, Kise?" Mac asked changing the subject from his modelling.

"They're alright," Ryota said after giving a thinking noise. "Though, Kasamatsu-captain is violent."

Mac glanced at him and saw Ryota smile showing that he wasn't really that upset.

"He does look it," Mac agreed. "Though, he seems like a good captain."

Ryota nodded eagerly smiling.

They had paused outside the restaurant and could hear the distant mutter of voices coming from the inside. Mac frowned a little as she looked at the door leading into the place. She wasn't sure how she felt about interfering into their team-bonding-time. Had she still been with Kiyoshi she wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now… they were Kiyoshi's friends and she was still unsure about how they felt about her now.

Ryota glanced at her with a searching look.

"Not going inside?" he asked.

Mac sighed and shrugged just as the door opened and Tetsuya stepped outside. He blinked when he spotted them and she smiled.

"Tetsu!" Mac grinned. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said stepping closer to them. "The doctor said everything was ok."

"Good," Mac said sounding relieved. "I worried."

Tetsuya allowed a small smile to cross his face as he looked at her.

"It's been awhile, eh?" Mac commented breaking the silence that stretched between them.

"Yes," Tetsuya said.

"Do you like Seirin?" Mac asked.

"I do," Tetsuya nodded. "They're a good team."

"They are," Mac said smiling slightly and sadly, but she pushed it away. "You did a good match today, Tetsu. I was impressed with how well you and Taiga coordinated."

"Thank you," Tetsuya smiled a little.

Mac glanced behind her to where Ryota was standing watching them and she saw the way he looked at Tetsuya. She looked back at her friend and smiled.

"Why don't you two go and talk?" Mac asked.

Ryota looked at her before looking back at Tetsuya who was looking at him now.

"Do you have a couple of minutes to talk?" Ryota asked nervously.

Tetsuya nodded and Mac watched as they walked away toward a park farther down the road. She sighed.

...

"You and Mac-san looked to be close," Izuki commented when they had gotten over their shock of having watched Taiga eat all the steaks like it was nothing.

Taiga looked up at the comment and nodded.

"I suppose," he said.

"Do you see her often?" Koganei asked grinning.

Taiga blinked at him and saw that the others looked curious as well.

"I would say so," a new voice said and they startled before looking around to find Mac leaned against the wall beside the door. She was smiling but if they looked closer they would see the nervous way her eyes shifted and the tension in her shoulders. "Seeing that I live with him."

"Mac!" Riko gasped startled. "Make a noise!"

Mac tilted her head and looked at her.

"I did…" she said with a small pout.

"Did you say you live with Kagami?" Furihata asked before cringing slightly when Mac looked at him. She hadn't seen him before, but she guessed he was one of the first years Taiga talked about sometimes.

"I do," Mac said. "I would say it's about a year since I moved in with him and uncle Tarou."

Mac pushed away from the wall and looked away from them but not before they saw the dark look on her face and Riko frowned a little worried. She wondered if Kiyoshi knew about this.

"Is it only a year?" Taiga asked. "It feels like longer."

Mac glanced at him before smiling softly. She walked the chair closest to Taiga and sat down looking at them. She felt a little uncomfortable and could see the uneasy looks from Hyuga and Riko especially while Izuki just smiled at her.

"I'm impressed by your game," Mac said smiling. "You did well against Kaijo."

"Thanks," Koganei grinned.

The silence stretched slightly between them and Mac could tell they all (or at least the ones she had met before) thought about her recent breakup and the awkwardness between them. Mac felt sad about it because she liked Kiyoshi's friends. She didn't want things to be awkward or strange between them when they met.

"Um, guess we should go," Riko said getting up and breaking the awkward silence. The rest of Seirin did as well and Mac got to her feet following them out as they called out a "thank you for the food" to the owner of the place who didn't sound very welcoming as he told them to not come back. Mac arched a brow and wondered just what they did to make him like that.

...

"I think I ate too much," Taiga said as he stepped onto the curb and Mac snorted.

"You really are a monster," Hyuga said.

Mac tensed and felt her breath stop in her throat for a second as the word echoed in her mind. Monster… monster…monster… She missed the rest of the conversation as she tried to push the word away and think logically.

"Mac?" suddenly Taiga's voice sounded close and a hand touched her shoulder making her flinch and the hand retreated but hovered close by. "What's wrong?"

Mac noticed that she was shaking slightly and forced herself to inhale and calm herself down. She inhaled again and felt the shaking stop and blinked realising that they were all staring at her, but Taiga was standing closest and had been the one to reach out to her. She grimaced.

She blushed embarrassed. Who reacted like that to a word? A simple word that wasn't meant in a mean or degrading way, because she knew logically that Hyuga didn't mean it like that. She was just reminded of how that word had caused so much pain and hurt when it was used against Daiki and even the rest of the team.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Mac…"

"Don't worry about it, Taiga," she said forcing a smile and while he looked doubtful he let it go. She turned to the others and felt the need to run, to flee. "Ah, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Riko said but she looked worried and Mac hid her grimace. She didn't need the others to think she was crazy or weak or something.

"I guess we should go home," Riko said.

"Eh? Where's Kuroko?" Hyuga asked.

"I'm sure he's in the back like he normally is," Izuki said and Mac watched as they all looked to the back and blinked. "…he's not there."

"Ah, that's why I entered the restaurant," Mac suddenly remembered making them look at her. She smiled sheepishly. "I was supposed to tell you that Tetsu and Kise went to talk."

"Eh? Why?" Riko asked.

"Why, you ask," Mac blinked. "Because Kise felt bad about the injury and wanted to talk to Tetsu."

"But…"

Mac sighed and shrugged as she walked passed them and stretched her arms into the air as she did yawing.

"Well, see you!" she said and waved. "Good luck with your preliminaries for Inter-High. I'll look forward to playing you one day."

...

Mac walked toward the park and blinked when she felt someone walk up beside her making her look to her side and see Taiga there.

"I guess you know where Kuroko is," he said.

"Hmm," Mac looked forward again and he glanced at her.

They reached the park and saw Ryota and Tetsuya standing there talking beside a street court where some boys were playing.

"Looks like they have fun," Taiga said almost wistfully.

"Yeah," Mac said a nostalgic feeling in her chest. How long was it since she had been on a street court to play just for fun?

"Tetsu!" Mac called and saw both Tetsuya and Ryota turn to look at them.

"Why only Tetsu?" Ryota wailed dramatically.

Mac rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"Why did you kidnap Kuroko?" Taiga demanded.

"Eh?" Ryota cried. "I didn't kidnap him!"

"You did!" Taiga growled. "I'm sure you said many strange things to him!"

"I didn't!" Ryota argued back. "Who cares if I talk to Kuroko-cchi for a bit?"

"We can't go home!" Taiga said.

Mac shook her head, she didn't feel like interrupting the argument as she found way too much amusement from it. Nor did she feel like pointing out that Ryota didn't kidnap Tetsuya and that she had told them where he was.

"Damn it, looks like there's some trash over there," a voice from a distance called and Mac turned toward the sound the same time Tetsuya did and narrowed her eyes when she saw the group of teens enter the court looking like trouble.

This could be bad, Mac thought and moved toward the court letting Taiga and Ryota bicker as she was too concerned about the three boys already there playing. She hated that kind of boys that came and demanded and bullied their way through and she could smell trouble a long way away. She could also see that the new group of five boys had some talent with basketball and would probably crush the three if they played it out.

"I don't like this," Tetsuya said beside her and she made agreeing sound.

Mac watched in silence as the two groups started to play, and while the first group of boys looked like they could hold their own the other group wasn't above cheating and it soon proved that they weren't above using violence either.

Having spent so much time on street courts growing up these were not the first bullies she'd seen or encountered on the court. Normally she would be with Daiki and they would crush them with their basketball, even before Daiki bloomed.

"Eh? What did you say?" the brown haired thug said as he kicked one of the boys in the stomach hard. "Sorry, I didn't hear you…"

The arrogance was worse than even Daiki and Mac felt hot rage as she saw the blatant bullying and violence toward the smaller boy. He laughed and turned to walk away when a basketball suddenly was spinning right in front of his face before it touched his nose making him jump back.

"There's nothing fair about it," Tetsuya said.

"Agreed," Mac added and stepped up beside Tetsuya looking at the boys lazily as she spun a basketball on her finger as well without looking at it.

"Who are you?!" the boy yelled. "Where did you come from?"

"Uh-uh, you don't get to ask us questions," Mac said pointing a finger at him. She ignored the way she felt as his friends stepped up as well ready to help their friend. She ignored the way it made her remember her cousin and his bullying ways.

"This isn't basketball," Tetsuya said sternly. "Besides, violence is bad."

Mac snorted; typical Tetsuya to add the last part as an afterthought.

Taiga and Ryota stared shocked at the scene and both despaired as they saw both Tetsuya and Mac standing in front of the bullies.

"What are they doing?" they moaned at the same time.

"Mac-cchi, Kuroko-cchi," Ryota added frustrated.

The large teen with a yellow shirt grabbed Tetsuya by his shirt and pulled him up so he almost lost touch with the ground.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He snarled.

"Hi, hi," the brown haired one from before said still rubbing his nose as he took a step closer and he looked at Mac with an appraising look and a smirk stretched on his lips. "This one is cute. Why don't you ditch the loser over there and come and have some fun with me?"

Mac fought the shiver of disgust she felt and glared at him, "no."

"Come on, baby, don't be like that," he said stretching out to touch her and she sidestepped and tripped him making him fall to the ground.

"As if," she scoffed.

"Oy!" he snapped getting back up and now red in the face. "Who do you think you are?"

He stepped forward again and this time one of his friends had come behind Mac and she backed right into him. He grabbed her arm and she realised that this could be bad.

"Let go of her!" Tetsuya snapped but he couldn't do anything.

Just as the first one was about to touch Mac a basketball was sent to the back of his head and he yelped in pain. The one holding Mac let go and Mac stepped away from him quickly as she saw Taiga and Ryota joining them.

"Ouch! That hurt!" thug one said and rubbed his head glaring at Taiga who had been the one to throw the ball.

"You will pay for putting a hand on her!" Taiga growled.

The thugs seemed to realise that they might be in trouble, but like most teenage boys their age seemed unable to back down or admit defeat. Mac could see how they tried to work out how to get this to go their way.

"Why don't we sort it out with basketball?" one of them asked.

Ryota smirked at them, but he looked dangerous and threatening.

"Alright," Ryota said. "Though, don't come to us complaining when you lose. Five against four is fine. Bring it one."

"Kise!" Taiga snapped and cracked his fingers. "I want to beat them up!"

The boys swallowed hard and took a step back.

"She won't like that," Ryota said glancing at Mac who looked a little pale but she was glaring at the thugs. Taiga followed his eyes and met Mac's eyes when she looked over at her cousin.

"Let's crush them with basketball," Mac said darkly and cracked her fingers. "I owe them for being bullies and thinking that they could touch me!"

"Alright," Taiga said when he saw the determination from his cousin.

The match was a short affair with Taiga and Ryota working surprisingly well together and Mac and Tetsuya passing the ball with ease between them and making the thugs run between them without even managing to touch the ball beside the times they had to start the game again after Taiga or Ryota scored. Either Tetsuya or Mac would steal the ball before they managed to pass it or do anything with the ball.

Mac normally hated this kind of playing, but… well, she was angry. She knew perfectly well what they wanted to do and she was not one to back down and let them walk over her. She didn't care about them, so she had no reason to hold back. They didn't deserve the respect she normally gave to her opponents.

She passed the ball to Ryota who scored and with that the thugs fell down either to their knees or straight to the stomachs in defeat and utter destruction.

The three boys stared at them with awe-filled eyes and open mouth in shock and awe as the four walked off the court and back to the playground they had previously been at.

"What were you thinking?!" Taiga snapped at both Tetsuya and Mac who both stared back at him blankly. "Did you think you could win if it turned into a fight?!"

"No, they would have beaten me up," Tetsuya deadpanned.

"You bastard," Taiga cursed.

"Look at these guns," Tetsuya said holding up his arm.

"You don't have any!" Taiga yelled looking ready to fight.

Mac almost snorted but she looked away from them and over at the court to see that the thugs had left and the three boys were back to playing again. They were smiling and having fun once more while talking excitedly to each other as they played.

She knew she had been reckless interrupting the situation like that, but she couldn't stand watching and she knew all too well what it felt like to be in a situation like that. Dudley's face flashed in her mind and she fisted her hands. She had promised herself that she wouldn't be in a situation like that ever again, and she wasn't going to watch others being bullied like that either. She had acted without thinking and it would have gone very wrong if not for Taiga and Ryota being there.

She was still too weak. She was not good enough to take them in a physical fight and she couldn't use her magic because that would out the secret.

"Idiots! You should consider the consequences!" Taiga yelled angrily startling Mac out of her thoughts and she saw that her cousin was looking frustrated and worried.

"I forgot to," Tetsuya said.

"Don't forget!"

"Sorry," Tetsuya apologized.

"Don't give me that!" Taiga snapped.

Ryota chuckled before he looked over at a silent Mac who was watching her cousin and Tetsuya with an unreadable look on her face. He noticed that she was a little pale and felt worried, he walked over to her side and waited until she looked at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Mac nodded and smiled a little at him.

"Mac-cchi," Ryota frowned and she sighed.

"I'm fine, Kise," she promised. "I just… remembered Dudley."

Ryota got a dark look on his face and nodded. He knew not to press and was already plotting on how to get her the help she needed.

...

Mac let the bickering between Taiga and Tetsuya (and wasn't that a little surprising to see?) wash over her as they made their way back to the station to meet up with the rest of Seirin. She sat by the window at the train and put her head in her hand popped up by her elbow against the windowsill and stared out over the houses passing by.

Her mind was going over what happened and she knew she was overreacting, but she couldn't help the way her body flinched and how helpless she had felt when the boy had grabbed her. She cursed herself for not noticing him coming up behind her and putting herself in that position in the first place. So stupid.

She barely heard Seirin joking and chatting on the train or notice how Tetsuya and Taiga kept glancing at her with concerned eyes.

"Is she ok?" Taiga whispered looking at Tetsuya.

"…" Tetsuya looked at Mac. "Probably not."

"Then what can I do?" Taiga worried.

"Normally Akashi-kun or Aomine-kun helps her when she gets in one of these moods," Tetsuya said quietly. "I don't know."

Mac was unaware of their whispered conversation as she stared out of the window.

She followed Taiga back to the apartment building both walking in silence, though that was probably because Taiga noticed that she wasn't in the mood to talk. They had almost reached the door when they both noticed a tall teen standing there leaning against the wall beside the door. His hands shoved down his pockets and jacket open showing the blue sweater he was wearing underneath the black Too jacket.

"Kenzie!" Daiki said pushing away from the wall and rushing over to her with a concerned look.

"Hey! Who are you?" Taiga growled stepping forward to grab the blue-haired boy and shove him away from his cousin. "Hey! Answer me!"

Daiki glared at him but pulled out of his grip as he stared at Mac.

"Daiki," Mac blinked shocked causing Taiga to stop pulling at said teen and stare at him in shock.

"This is Aomine?" Taiga asked.

Daiki ignored him and stared at Mac. "Are you ok?"

Mac blinked, "what are you doing here?"

Daiki scoffed, "Kise called me. He said you might need me, so I came here. He didn't tell me what happened, though."

Mac swallowed and looked down. She was not sure what to feel with Daiki here, but something inside of her relaxed and her throat suddenly felt thick.

"Oy! Don't ignore me!" Taiga snapped making both Mac and Daiki look at him.

"Ah, Daiki this is my cousin Kagami Taiga," Mac introduced, "Taiga, this is Aomine Daiki."

Daiki arched a brow as he stared at him before he frowned as he took in the Seirin bag and uniform. He looked at Mac before looking back at Taiga.

"You play with Tetsu?" he asked.

"Yes," Taiga said.

"Huh, you're his new light," Daiki frowned for a moment before he scoffed. "You're light is too dim."

"EH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Taiga yelled.

Mac sighed as the two boys glared at each other. They were so hot-headed! So troublesome.

"Stop it both of you," Mac said tiredly. She was so exhausted. "Daiki be nice."

Daiki glanced at her and then scoffed but he backed down. Taiga glared once more but he too stopped and backed down when he saw the tired look on Mac's face. He remembered Tetsuya say that she needed Daiki, so he would tolerate the other boy for now.

"Come inside," Mac said and Daiki nodded walking beside her up to the apartment. She realised that it was the first time he had actually been there and it was strange and she couldn't really believe that he had never been there before.

Taiga dropped his bag by the door and walked to the bathroom to take a shower and change after the trying day. He was tired and needed rest.

...

"Come on," Mac said and led Daiki to her bedroom and for some reason, it felt like her stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies. She felt slightly self-conscious as she felt Daiki behind her and rubbed her neck as she tried to gather her thoughts again.

"Hm, looks like your room back at home," Daiki said looking around the room.

Mac smiled and some of her tension melted away. It wasn't much different from when she had been living with him before, he had often been in her room then and she hadn't felt uncomfortable or self-conscious then so there was no need to do so now.

"It does," Mac said and put her bag down and opened it to let Nao outside. He yipped at her and nicked at her sleeve in a reprimand for not being let out earlier. "Sorry, Nao."

Nao gave her a look and she scratched his ear before looking up to see Daiki watching them with a strange look on his face. She felt her cheeks heat up a little so she hurriedly looked away from him.

"What happened today, Kenzie?" Daiki asked.

Mac glanced up at him before standing up and letting out a tired sigh. She wasn't sure what to say or if she even wanted to tell him. She always went running to him…well, okay so maybe he came to her rescue before she could actually go looking for him. What did that mean anyway? She blinked confused at the last thought and hurriedly pushed it away, she didn't have the extra energy to analyse the meaning of that now.

Daiki watched as Mac struggled to decide what to say and he frowned. He watched as she went to the bed and sat down and he walked over to her and sat beside her waiting for her to talk.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time she told him about the bullies and he growled angrily regretting that he had declined to go with her to watch Tetsuya and Ryota play against each other. He had deemed it boring and refused. Now he was starting to wonder if he really should let her go anywhere without him, she seemed to attract trouble leaving him worried.

She had adjusted on the bed so she was rested against the headboard and her legs stretched out in front of her, he moved so he was seated beside her and again wondered how often they had done so when they were kids. He noticed that Nao eyed him warily and growled softly in warning, but he didn't move closer to Daiki so he took it as a reluctant approval.

"You're remembering your cousin, aren't you Kenzie?" Daiki asked glancing at her while pushing down his anger. She had said that the thugs had been dealt with (though he wished he could go and deal with them himself).

"It's stupid," Mac mumbled fiddling with the hem of her shirt refusing to look at him.

"It's not stupid, Kenzie," Daiki said. "It's how he acted, so it's not that strange that you are reminded of him."

Mac glanced at him before looking back at her lap ignoring the warmth she felt from his body next to hers. She thought about his words and knew he was right.

"I guess," she whispered.

"You're safe from him," Daiki promised, "Dudley isn't here and can't hurt you anymore. You're stronger than him and those thugs."

"I feel weak," Mac admitted. "I know it's illogical and… but I can't help it."

Daiki sighed and wanted to hug her but he stopped himself because it felt different somehow and he couldn't explain why.

"You're not weak, Kenzie," he assured her. "You're my best friend and you're not weak."

Mac was silent but he didn't let it bother him as he sat there beside her in silence knowing that he had said what he needed to say and right now she only needed him to be there. He knew she hated to be alone, especially when she was remembering her relatives. Of course, that didn't mean that she would go and find someone to be with when she felt like this. Normally she would retreat and pull away from others seemingly wanting to be alone, but Daiki knew better.

Suddenly he felt pressure against his shoulder and glanced to the side to see that Mac had fallen asleep and was now using his shoulder as a pillow. He swallowed nervously and rubbed one hand against his neck before he used the other to pull her closer and hug her to him in comfort.

She let out a soft sigh and adjusted a little in her sleep almost pressing closer to him. He stayed where he was and watched her face as she slept. She looked almost peaceful and relaxed in her sleep, only a small line between her brows showed some of her earlier distress.

Daiki didn't notice the door being pushed further apart (it hadn't been properly closed) and Taiga standing there watching in having finished his shower. Taiga furrowed his brows as he observed the scene in front of him. His cousin was closest to him and he saw how she was sleeping against her friend's shoulder. Had he ever seen her that relaxed?

Taiga wasn't sure how to read the expression on Daiki's face or what to think about the fact that Mac felt so comfortable to fall asleep with him in her room. They seemed closer than he thought and wondered if they really only were friends. He sighed before turning and going to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Daiki wasn't sure how long he sat there just watching his best friend sleep before he gently pulled back making sure she didn't wake up. He somehow managed to get her to lie down and put the pillow underneath her head. He paused before he couldn't help himself from reaching out and pushing her soft hair out of her face before quickly pulled his hand back and pulled the cover over her making sure she was warm and removed her glasses putting them on the nightstand beside her bed.

Giving her one more look he turned around and left the room turning the lights off as he did.

...

Mac was late for school Monday morning having been late from her magic lessons and having misjudged the time reset on her Time-Turner making her late. She barely made it to the classroom and to her seat before the teacher entered the room.

"You made it," Daiki commented from his seat behind her.

Mac fought the blush coming when she heard his voice and she couldn't help but remember how she had fallen asleep on him. She was glad she had her back to him so he couldn't see her red cheeks.

"Barely," she whispered back and she could practically feel the smirk on his face.

The teacher started their math lesson and Mac struggled to focus and pay attention to what the teacher was saying.

The day passed much the same way and finally, it was the end of the day and time for basketball practice.

"Aomine-kun," Fujimoto cooed skipping over to him but not before giving Mac a small glare. "Are you coming?"

Daiki blinked at her and looked over at Mac who had a blank mask on and was putting her bag on her shoulder.

"Mac-san!" Sakurai called waving but blinked when Daiki looked at him. "Oh, so-sorry!"

"I'm coming, Sakurai-san," Mac said stepping away from Daiki and he frowned.

"Aomine-kun?" Fujimoto asked when Daiki hadn't answered her.

"I'm going to practice today," Daiki declared and Mac paused in her way over to Sakurai who was staring at him wide-eyed.

"Oh? I thought you didn't need those," Fujimoto said slyly and reached out touching his arm. She blinked up at him with what Mac was supposed to be coy eyes, but she felt like shivering in disgust.

Daiki shrugged and stepped away from his girlfriend, or wanted to be girlfriend, or whatever the girl was to him much to Mac's inner (and secret) relief.

"I do what I want to do," Daiki declared.

"Come on, Daiki," Mac smiled and rolled her eyes at her friend. She turned back toward Sakurai and knew Daiki was right behind her and soon at her side leaving a frowning Fujimoto behind.

...

"We're having a practice match on Friday," Harasawa told Mac when the practice had been going on for about an hour. He had called Mac away from the practice and they were talking at the side of the gym.

"Who are we playing, coach?" Mac asked curiously.

"Seiho," Harasawa said.

...

...

AN: Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be a practice match! XD