Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
...
...
1st year – Too Academy
Mac listened to Harasawa as he informed the rest of the team that they were going to have a practice match against Seiho in just a few days. She saw the lazy, boring look from Daiki but also the excited smiles coming from Sakurai and Namamura. The seniors looked calm and determined something she knew was a good sign.
"That's all for today!" Harasawa called out. "Potter-san, come with me to my office."
He turned and walked back to his office and Mac followed behind him without saying anything. She had her notebook in her hand and saw Daiki picking up her bag from the corner of her eyes making her smile a little.
She sat down in the chair she normally used when talking with Harasawa in his office and waited for him to start speaking. She knew he must have a reason for telling her to come with him.
"I want you to gather information about Seiho and give the others an overview of the players they have," Harasawa said folding his hands that he had popped up on his elbows resting on his desk. He leaned forward slightly as he looked at her. "I want you to prepare them for what kind of players we are facing."
Mac nodded having done so for Teiko before. She understood what he wanted and while he continued to talk she made some notes so she would remember what he was asking for. It was slightly more detailed than what she normally did, but it was an opportunity to improve herself and develop further.
"Also, use this match to work on how our players can train better and improve," Harasawa said.
"Yes, coach," Mac said.
"That's all, Potter-san," Harasawa said and she got up and walked out of the office. Her mind already thinking about Seiho and ways to get the information she needed. So far she didn't know enough about them.
"Here, Kenzie," Daiki said bringing her out of her thoughts seeing her bag in front of her making her realise that Daiki was holding it out for her.
"Thank you, Daiki," Mac said.
"Let's go and eat," Daiki said grinning. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry," Mac said but she followed her best friend out and to the nearby Maji Burger.
...
Sato's house
Mac carefully added the missing ingredient to her potion and watched how the potions bubbled while changing colours from a greenish to purple. She stirred it two times before lowering the heat and put it down to a simmer.
Sato came up to her and looked down at the potion and nodded approvingly.
"Good work," he said and Mac smiled a little.
When she finished cleaning up and putting her potion in the vials she went back to her desk and started to write on her rapports about the process of working on the potion and any adjustments she had done and why she had done so.
"Next lesson is Charms," Sato said and the blackboard filled with complicated notes making Mac groan inwardly while Sato watched with stoic amusement. He got to his feet and started to pace as he explained the Silencing Charm and how it worked. Mac listened closely and took notes while thinking that this charm could be very useful with the loudmouths she surrounded herself with. Too bad she wasn't allowed to use magic on muggles…
"Alright, the incantation of the charm is Silencio," Sato said looking at Mac who nodded. "Can you see any advantages of this charm?"
Mac took a moment to think before she started to talk.
"Well, I guess it would be an advantage if you're in a fight and cast the charm on your opponent causing him to lose his voice and making it harder for him to curse you," Mac said thoughtfully. "Though, if he knows non-verbal spells that might not work too well."
"Anything else?" Sato asked.
"If there's someone or something you don't want to listen to you can make them shut up?" Mac looked at him.
"That might be tempting, but not really advised," Sato said amused.
"Oh well," Mac shrugged.
...
"I think perhaps we should wait a little longer before you take your OWLs," Sato said and Mac frowned a little.
"Why?" she asked.
"There's no need to rush, Potter-san," Sato said looking at her and saw the disappointment in her eyes. "That you have come this far in such a short period of time is very impressive, Potter-san. It's not necessary to run when you should walk. It's not a race, and you have nothing to prove."
Mac looked down and while disappointed at not being allowed to take the OWLs just yet she could see the logic in his words. Though, she felt she had to prove that she had done the right thing in choosing the home-school option and not go to a magic school. Ever since meeting Hermione the small voice in her mind whispered that she was too weak and knew too little about magic and the world containing magic. No matter what she did or how much she read she still felt like she was miles behind where she should have been.
"Potter-san?" Sato pressed bringing her out of her thoughts.
"I understand, Professor Sato," Mac said hiding her worries from him. She didn't want to let him know what she as thinking, he was doing more than expected from him to help her so he shouldn't have to listen to her childish complaints.
He gave her a searching look before he nodded and dismissed her.
...
Too Academy
Mac sat on the floor of the now empty gym. It was a while since the practice had ended and she was the only one left (or so she thought). Nao was resting in the corner having run himself tired around the gym. She had a laptop open on the floor in front of her where she was playing a recording of a match between Seiho and Kaijo from the year before. She had a stack of old recordings of Seiho's previous matches but she had chosen one from last year because they would have some of the players that still were on the team in the game.
Other than the laptop she had papers stacked around her making it look messy but she had her own system for how it was organized. She had found most of it earlier by doing some research on the laptop and printing out the information she found of the players and Seiho in generals. She was pleasantly surprised by finding several news clippings about the team as well.
Right now, though, Mac was frowning as she noticed the strange way that Seiho moved as they ran or even stood still. It seemed…off, yet the way it conserved the energy and stamina of the players was astounding. She could see how it threw the Kaijo players off and they seemed to miss on their timing and meet a wall when they went on the offensive.
"Strange," Mac frowned tapping her pen against her lips as she tried to figure out just what it was that made Seiho so good and special. It bugged her that it wasn't something she recognised, but she refused to admit defeat. She would figure it out before they were going to play them so they were prepared for what Seiho had to offer. She had never failed to figure out a team before.
She pressed the pause button and rewind the game a little and played it once more as she watched how the muscular brown-haired teen defends against Kasamatsu who looked frustrated and annoyed.
"Hm…" Mac hummed as the camera lingered on the man with very prominent cheekbones and large ears and nose with brown hair. He was obviously the coach, but what struck her was the fact that he sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the bench instead of actually using the bench as most coaches would have.
Mac paused the match and started to flip through her papers until she found the file she had been looking for.
Matsumoto Yukinori - that was his name. He was 52 years of age and married and one son who was a martial arts champion of some sort. He himself was also a master of Martial Arts and the family owned a Dojo. She blinked as she read the article about him, an article done a few years ago when Seiho had done very well in the Inter-High.
"Martial arts," Mac muttered and turned her eyes to the laptop again and the frozen image of the player she now knew was called Iwamura. Was it possible that he had brought martial arts to the way they played basketball?
She watched the match once again and this time tried to think about it with the idea of martial arts and while she thought she could see some of the ideas from martial arts in Seiho she knew too little about it to really be sure.
She sighed tiredly realising that this just became much more work than she first thought.
...
"Yoshinori, look at this," Imayoshi said with a drawl pausing just outside the open gym door and looking inside. The lights still on had drawn his attention as he and his friend had walked past the doors.
Susa paused and looked inside when prompted to and arched a brow when he saw Mac sitting on the floor surrounded by papers and a laptop. She had pulled her hair back in a messy bun to get it out of the way, Susa guessed, and a pen was stuck behind her ear as she was flipping through some papers and making notes with a second pen in the ever-present notebook of hers.
"Interesting," Imayoshi said with a slow smile and closed eyes.
"She should get home and rest," Susa said a little worried.
Imayoshi looked at his friend before looking back at the younger girl who looked completely absorbed into whatever she was doing. Though, it wasn't that hard to guess that she was doing research for their next opponents.
"You're such a worrier, Yoshinori," Imayoshi teased laughing quietly when Susa glared at him.
They entered the gym and walked over to the corner where she was sitting, she didn't look up so it was a good guess that she hadn't noticed them coming inside. It was fascinating to watch someone so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't even notice when someone walked up to them.
"You're still here, Mac-san," Imayoshi smiled closed eyed but the curiosity he felt was lurking underneath his smile.
Mac startled as her head snapped up to look at them and Susa saw the shock and slight fear before it quickly disappeared, in her eyes.
"You scared me;" she grumbled.
"You sure are absorbed in your research," Imayoshi said looking at the papers lying around her in piles and cluttered mess.
Mac shrugged biting down at her lower lip slightly as she looked between the two.
"It's getting late," Susa pointed out. "Shouldn't you get home soon?"
Mac blinked and then looked at the clock before her eyes widened.
"Oh," she said.
"Forgot the time?" Imayoshi looked like he enjoyed himself as he stared at her.
"I suppose," Mac mumbled and started to gather her things and stopped the DVD.
Susa got down on his knees and helped her gather the papers. He arched a brow when he saw just how detailed some of the papers were and even some handwritten notes beside the machine written ones. He looked up at Mac who was busy with putting the laptop down into the carrying bag. Just how much work did she put into this research she did of the other teams? He was suddenly aware that they really didn't know anything about the amount of work she did.
Mac turned to look and him but blinked when she caught the pensive look on his face.
"Susa-san?" Mac asked confused making him come out of his musings.
"Ah, sorry," he smiled and held out the papers he had gathered. "Here."
"Thank you," Mac smiled slightly taking the papers and putting them in her bag before getting to her feet and catching Nao who had been resting in the corner. Both Susa and Imayoshi blinked shocked when the fox appeared seeing as neither of them had seen him.
"I can't get over that you have a fox," Imayoshi grumbled.
Mac snorted and shrugged cradling Nao in her arms.
...
Mac stopped by the library on her way home and borrowed as many books she could manage to carry on martial arts and training methods for her research.
"Finally," Taiga said when she entered the apartment and she blinked at him. "I thought you had gotten lost or something."
Mac smiled a little sheepishly at him, "sorry, Taiga. I was researching our opponent for our practice match on Friday so I forgot the time."
"Oh? Who are you playing?" Taiga asked curiously.
"Seiho," Mac said putting her bag and the extra bag filled with books down at the table in the living room. "They're a very strong team that is particularly good at defence."
"I see," Taiga said. "You think you'll win?"
Mac glanced at him before she shrugged, "probably. At least if Daiki plays."
Taiga frowned, "he's that good?"
Mac sighed and gave a small sad smile, "I have not seen anyone on Seiho so far that can challenge Daiki if Daiki plays seriously. Though, I guess appearances can play tricks sometimes. We'll have to see."
Taiga frowned but didn't say anything else. He followed her to the kitchen and watched as she found some food and sat down to eat after having given Nao his food. He saw the pensive look on her face as she ate and he wondered what she was thinking about.
...
Yawning Mac entered the gym for the afternoon practice and she saw that everyone was there besides Daiki making her sigh deeply. She had hoped he would show up today, but there was no helping it. She would just have to tell him later.
"Mac-san is here!" Abe called smiling and waving at her.
"Hi," she said quietly but smiled a little.
"No Aomine-san?" Inoue asked looking at Mac like he was expecting the tall Ace to show up behind her.
"Not today," Mac shrugged not showing that it annoyed her or made her feel sad.
"That bastard," Wakamatsu growled. "I should…"
"Anyway," Mac interrupted knowing that Wakamatsu could go on forever if she let him speak. "I want you to see something."
She then turned away from them and walked to the edge of the stage and pulled her laptop out of the bag and turned it on. She didn't say anything as she prepared the DVD pausing it before she turned back to a curious team behind her.
"Please, pay attention," she said before hitting play.
She observed how the team watched the part of the recorded match between Seiho and Kaijo that she wanted them to see. She saw the confused looks and some lost looks as they stared at the laptop.
"Eh, Mac-san?" Abe asked confused when she stopped the DVD. "What was the point in seeing that?"
"You didn't notice anything strange about it?" Mac asked her voice blank and not revealing what she thought.
"This is the match you were studying last night?" Susa asked pensively.
Mac nodded.
"They're moving strangely," Sakurai said and Mac turned her eyes to him making him blush and quickly apologize.
"That's right, Sakurai-san," Mac said.
Imayoshi had been silent and just watched Mac with his half-closed eyes making her uncomfortable, but refusing to let it show. He smiled now.
"You know why, don't you, Mac-san?" Imayoshi asked.
"I do," Mac said.
Harasawa arched a brow from where he was watching them and gave Mac a closer look. She was confident, he could see that and he was curious about what she would say.
"Eh? You do?" Namamura exclaimed. "Then how?"
"Martial arts," Mac said.
They stared at her in silence for a moment before they seemed to blink as one. She just met their eyes head one. She had done as much research as she could for this, so she was sure. Sato had been annoyed at her when she had come to her magic lesson tired and unfocused.
"Eh? That's…"
"Their coach Matsumoto Yukinori is the owner of a dojo and has a son that is a martial arts champion," Mac said calmly. "He also has a history of martial arts and even his personality shows much of the martial arts values like wisdom and respect for the strong ones."
"I see," Susa said.
"Then…how does that help us?" Yamaguchi asked.
Mac sighed, "it will help that you're not taken by surprise with the way they move when you face them on the court. Unfortunately, there's not enough time to study them closely and find the right way to counter their martial arts techniques, but we are strong and fast ourselves so we should be able to counter their moves."
She then continued to give them an overview of the players she that were in Seiho and made sure that they knew the weaknesses and strength of the players they were going to face. She also made a point in pointing out just some of what the martial arts were all about and how it reflected in the players.
"There's one player that stands out," Mac said after a pause.
"Who?" Abe asked.
"Tsugawa Tomoki," Mac said. "He's a first year and the only first year on the team. The rest of the regulars of Seiho are third years."
"Do you know anything about him, Potter-san?" Harasawa asked.
Mac hid her grimace as she remembered the annoying teen she had met the year before, she could remember just how loud and annoying he was.
"He's a good defensive player that can guard his opponents well," Mac finally said. "We played him and his team last fall and he managed to lock down Kise with his defensive abilities. I would say that given time to practice with Seiho he will be an even stronger defensive player than he is now."
"You looked pained, Mac-san," Imayoshi smirked lightly as he looked at her and she glared at him. He just smiled wider as his eyes closed completely.
"He's annoying and loud," Mac grumbled, "also very good at getting under your skin, so I predict he'll be firing up both Daiki and Wakamatsu-san."
Some of the others snorted amusedly while Wakamatsu looked at her offended.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Wakamatsu yelled.
Mac gave him an unimpressed look before looking away from him and to the coach who smiled slightly as if amused.
...
The day of the match arrived and since they were having it at Too Academy Mac didn't have to drag Daiki to a new school. At least he would be on the premise so it should be easy to find him and get him to the match, though he had promised to come. So the morning of the match found Mac in a relatively good mood even if she was a little tired after a long magic lesson in defence against the dark arts doing both theoretical and practical work. It hadn't been the ideal way to prepare for the match, but it would do.
"Morning, Taiga," Mac greeted a sleepy Taiga that stumbled into the kitchen dressed and ready for school.
"Morning," he yawned. "You're back already?"
"Yeah," Mac nodded. "I have to get to school a little earlier today, so Professor Sato let me go early."
"Oh, your match," Taiga said.
Mac nodded with a smile.
"You looking forward to it?" Taiga asked.
"Yes, I do," Mac nodded. "It's been too long since I played a game."
Taiga nodded in understanding and yawned again making Mac roll her eyes at him.
"Well, good luck," Taiga said. "I wish I could see it."
Mac smiled slightly and nodded, "that would have been great. But you do have school, so it's understandable."
"I guess," Taiga said.
Taiga watched his cousin leave the apartment and he was happy to note that she seemed to be in a better mood than she had been in a while. She seemed a little lighter, so he hoped that everything was going well for her now.
...
"Hi, Kagami-kun," Tetsuya's voice suddenly sounded next to where Taiga was walking down the hallway toward the gym for the late basketball practice. He jumped glaring at the blankly faced shadow.
"Don't do that!" Taiga grumbled when his heart calmed down again.
"Do what?" Tetsuya asked innocently making Taiga sure that the other boy knew perfectly well what he was doing.
Grumbling to himself he walked into the gym and saw that the others already were there and lightly warming up before the practice was starting.
"Hurry up, first years!" Riko yelled and Taiga jogged over to them.
The team assembled around their coach who smirked at them making them fear what she had planned.
Running, and then more running… Taiga groaned.
Taiga felt exhausted. He was sure he had died and then come back again for more torture that was Riko's basketball practice. He saw Tetsuya lying flat on his back looked completely worn out and breathing heavily trying to catch his breath.
"Come on," Riko cooed. "You can't be exhausted yet."
"Mean," Taiga heard Izuki grumbled and he wholeheartedly agreed with the eagle-eyed player.
Taiga groaned as he reached into his bag and pulled out his phone curious to check if Mac had sent him a message about her match. He wondered if they were done now or if they were still playing.
"What are you doing, Kagami-kun?" Riko's meant to sound innocent voice asked making Taiga shiver in slight fear.
"Um, I was…" he mumbled trying to find a good cover story.
"Yes, Kagami-kun?" Riko smiled.
"Well, I was just checking to see if Mac had sent me a text about how her practice match went," Taiga rushed out and the others blinked at him and he saw Tetsuya stare at him with curiosity.
"Mac is playing a practice match today?" Hyuga asked.
Taiga nodded and swallowed.
"Who are they playing?" Izuki asked grinning.
"Um, who did she say they were playing again," Taiga muttered. "Oh, yeah, Seiho."
Taiga noticed the way the second years stiffened and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Idiot!" Riko suddenly yelled. "Why didn't you say that Mac was playing Seiho before?! We could have gone to watch them!"
Taiga stared at them in shock before looking over at Tetsuya who also looked shocked by that reaction.
...
Mac eyed the other team with a calculating look from where she was seated on the bench beside Harasawa. They had just started the match and Mac was not in the starting line-up, something she was prepared for but still felt a little disappointed. She had meant what she said to Taiga, it was a long time since she had played in a match and she was looking forward to it. But Harasawa wanted to have her help in observing the players before he let her out there to play herself.
Imayoshi had the ball now and he dribbled it looking for openings but he was pressed and covered well by Iwamura Tsutomu, a third year and the Captain of Seiho. Mac remembered Kiyoshi mentioning him once, according to Kiyoshi Iwamura was a very good centre and from what Mac could tell…he was right.
"Hm," Mac murmured. "Imayoshi-captain will need to pull back slightly to get room enough to pass the ball."
Harasawa glanced at her before looking out onto the court with a thoughtful look.
"Oh, oh," Imayoshi said smiling. "Do take it easy on us, Iwamura-san."
Iwamura just stared at him refusing to let himself be pulled into Imayoshi's mind games.
Susa suddenly came free from his mark and Imayoshi passed the ball to the Vice-Captain who immediately charged but was stopped when Kasuga appeared in front of him and he frowned.
Mac could tell that even if she had warned them about the martial arts techniques Seiho used, or more precisely the Nanba run as she had discovered the running style was called, it seemed like her team was unprepared to meet them.
"Hehe!" Tsugawa laughed from where he was marking Wakamatsu who glared at the boy. "Looks like you have trouble! Even with getting strong players like Aomine you're really not all that much."
Mac rolled her eyes having overheard the comment and looked at Daiki who looked mildly bored as he stood on the court.
"Eh? You little…!" Wakamatsu growled.
"Calm down, Wakamatsu," Susa ordered making the other teen stop but he still glared at Tsugawa.
Mac watched as the game continued at a slow pace that fit Seiho's defence very well, but she knew that they could handle more speed as well. She watched as Daiki kept out of the game for now allowing or letting the others struggle on their own for some reason that Mac wasn't too sure about.
While they had the offensive bit down and pressed Seiho back toward their own hoop it seemed like their defence was able to keep them from making the shots.
Imayoshi passed the ball back to Sakurai who took his position to shoot from a distance but he stumbled when Tsugawa suddenly was in front of him making the first year Too player fall back and lose control of the ball.
"He! I got it!" Tsugawa said triumphantly and grabbed the ball as he charged forward.
He shot the ball and Mac watched annoyed as it went through the hoop.
"Yay! I did it!" Tsugawa cheered and looked to his teammates with a large grin on his face.
"Good work, Tsugawa-san," Kasuga smiled at him.
Daiki sighed looking annoyed as he grabbed the ball and dribbled it a few times before he started to move toward the hoop. He ignored the others as he dodged the marks on him and twisted and turned before he suddenly was free by the hoop and using a formless shoot he scored back the points they were behind.
The stunned silence from both teams was telling and Mac could see the calculating look in Imayoshi's eyes as he stared at Daiki.
"Come on," Daiki said. "Don't let them do what they want."
Tsugawa glared at him but he didn't say anything.
...
"I told you to look out for their defence," Mac said when the first quarter was over. "You're not thinking enough about how to get loose."
"They're shutting every option we have," Wakamatsu growled.
"No, they're not," Mac said calmly. "You're stronger and we have a better offence than they do. You're all talented and have abilities that they don't, so use it. Use your speed and force your way through, though be careful to avoid fouls."
"Potter-san, you will play in the next quarter," Harasawa said. "Sakurai-san you're on the bench."
"Y-yes, coach!" Sakurai said bowing.
Mac nodded.
...
"AH!" Tsugawa said staring at Mac with round eyes and his mouth formed as an 'o'.
Mac arched a brow at him waiting for him to say something. She saw the mildly surprised looks from the rest of Seiho as well, but she shrugged it off. It wasn't her fault if they hadn't done enough research to know that she was a player as well as a manager.
"You!" Tsugawa pointed at her waving his hand around.
"You want something?" Mac deadpanned. "And…can you stop waving your hand around like that?"
He stopped before he smirked.
"You can't beat us without bringing a girl onto the court?" Tsugawa asked. "How lame."
"Shut up!" Daiki was suddenly beside her and glared down at the annoying first year who gulped slightly at the glare at that was aimed at him.
"Daiki," Mac said and put a hand on his arm to calm him down.
Daiki scowled but he backed off, but Mac knew he was pissed and that was not really a good thing for Seiho. She looked back at Tsugawa who was now backed up a little and Iwamura frowned down at him before looking back at her.
"I apologize for my teammate, Potter-san," Iwamura said respectfully and bowed slightly. "He talks before he thinks."
Mac smiled coldly and caught the ball that Susa threw at her as they got ready to start the second quarter.
"I am not surprised, Iwamura-san," Mac said coolly. "Though, perhaps he should learn that a match isn't over before four quarters have been played…and what happened last time he met me or Daiki on a court."
Tsugawa's eyes widened as he stared at her and then he frowned leaning forward as if to get a better look at her. She blinked and took a small step back from him.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Daiki snapped pushing him back from Mac.
"I've played you before?" he asked.
The Too players all face-palmed as they heard the question.
"Are you serious?" Mac asked. "Oh, well… If you don't remember, I'll just have to refresh your memory, I guess."
Mac shrugged and then the referee blew the whistle and she passed the ball to Daiki who was more into the match now and ripped through the defence with his strength and agility. She almost felt bad for them as he made it look easy before he scored the first hoop for the quarter.
Mac faced off against Tsugawa who tried to get past her but she smirked at him and when he tried to go left she was already there to stop him. She saw how he moved his right foot a little and again correctly stopped him but she didn't go for the ball.
She watched him, and her sharp eyes took in every move he made and he frowned at her when she stopped him from passing the ball to Ōmurō who had come to help him. He scowled and twisted around, but she followed and stood in front of him again.
"Eh! Why?!" he growled frustrated.
Mac didn't respond as she still had her eyes locked on him. She then suddenly and without warning reached out just as he moved the ball down to the left in an attempt to feint her out and she knocked the ball out of his hands and she moved after it getting control over the ball as she left him behind and found herself facing Kasuga with the medium long blond hair pushed away from his face as his eyes were looking at her and his movements were off. She pushed the confusion about how he moved away and used her observing skills to see which way he was going, with a burst of speed she was past him and passed to Imayoshi who immediately scored a three-pointer.
Mac used speed and her observation skills to break free of the defensive net that Seiho had cast around them and with her, on the court, Daiki was pulled into the game as well. Though, they all did their own thing it worked out with how they matched together.
"Foul!" the referee shouted and Mac sighed as Wakamatsu had used too much force to get past Tsugawa.
...
By the fourth quarter Too was in a solid lead with 87-53. With Mac's direct involvement in the match, they managed to take a solid hold over the match as she knew more of their weaknesses and was able to break out of their pressure defence. Though, she was impressed with how well Seiho's defence really was.
Mac subbed with Sakurai again and while she took her place on the bench she noticed that Sakurai looked slightly different than he used to. He was scowling and glaring at Tsugawa though too Mac it looked more like a pout than anything else.
"Hmm," Mac hummed thoughtfully. This was the first time she'd seen this side of Sakurai.
It turned out that Sakurai really didn't like to lose and got into a battle with a fired up Tsugawa who was looking more and more annoyed as the game neared the end.
"Interesting," Mac smiled as she watched Sakurai score a three-pointer before scowling and turned back to defend their hoop.
Daiki was staring at the other first year with a bored look, but Mac saw the slight respect in his eyes as Sakurai scored yet another three-pointer from a position that was usually difficult to score from.
Mac realised that this was the first match (even if it was a practice match) that she had sat on the bench and helped another team than Teiko. Only Daiki from her team was on the court and the rest of the players there wearing the same jersey as her and Daiki, the black and red one, was now also her team. It felt… different, but not particularly bad. Though, she missed seeing Seijuro smirk confidently and Shintaro push his glasses up his nose and scoff that it was fate that his shot got in. She missed Ryota excitable chatter and even Atsushi's complaints about wanting food. Not to forget Tetsuya's silent presence and sudden appearance.
She sighed softly before smiling slightly as she took in her new team, they didn't rely on each other the same way Seirin did. She could see the difference in the way they played, but… it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They pushed each other, but they all fought with the data she had given them and used it to win. If that meant passing the ball, they would but they originally looked for a way to get a point in alone.
Perhaps…she could get used to playing with them, she thought just as the referee blew the whistle signalling the end of the match.
...
"Eh? Why…" Tsugawa cried. "We had them at the beginning!"
"The strong is the one who wins," Iwamura told the younger boy and patted him on the shoulder. "We weren't strong enough this time."
Mac smiled slightly at Daiki who yawned and rubbed his eyes looking bored and she felt her smile drop slightly before she turned her attention to the rest of the team. They looked happy at least and Susa smiled at her and reached out to ruffle her hair slightly.
Mac scowled at him and slapped his hand away but she wasn't able to hide the small smile that crossed her face and knew he saw it by the smile he gave her and the small laugh. Imayoshi was talking to Iwamura about something and Mac was content to remain in the background just observing her team.
"Good game, Potter-san," Matsumoto said stopping in front of her smiling.
"Ah, thank you, Matsumoto-sensei," Mac said politely.
"You really worked us out," the older man said.
Mac blinked, "eh? How did you know it was me?"
He smiled at her, "who else could it be, Potter-san?"
With that, he walked away leaving her looking after him stunned.
"AH! I remember you now!" Tsugawa suddenly exclaimed loudly making the others pause whatever they were doing and look at the loud teen.
Mac arched a brow at him, "so?"
"You're Potter Mackenzie of Teiko!" Tsugawa said waving his hand dramatically at her. "You're the one who stopped me last time too!"
Suddenly he smiled and skipped up close to her making Daiki tense behind her.
"Hi, why don't you come out with me?" Tsugawa asked. "I'll treat you to coffee!"
Mac blinked shocked at the boy who seemed to beam at her.
"No," Mac said simply.
"Eh? Why?" he wailed.
His teammates seemed to sigh and roll their eyes as Iwamura walked over to his younger teammate and dragged him away from Mac (who was keeping a hand on Daiki to keep him from attacking the oblivious boy).
Imayoshi laughed looking amused while the rest also looked amused but hid it better or more like trying to hide it while Imayoshi didn't care.
...
"Congratulation on your win, Mac," a voice said stepping out from the shadows just as Mac left the gym with the rest of her team beside her, and her head snapped to the side to stare at the newcomer before a smile spread on her face.
...
...
AN: Thank you for reading! :)