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

...

...

1st year – Too Academy – Two weeks later

Mac grinned at Daiki as she dodged his attempt to grab her food and instead managed to grab one of his fries making him scowl at her.

"Kenzie," he whined.

"You lose," Mac teased making a point of eating the fry slowly.

He pouted but looked back at his tray of food before he shrugged and continued eating.

"You can have mine, Aomine-san," Fujimoto spoke up.

Mac glanced at the other girl who was sitting beside Daiki to see her stare at Daiki with large eyes and a strange smile on her face, Mac guessed it was supposed to be sweet. She frowned slightly before hiding hit and reminded herself that Fujimoto and her friend Fukui also were with them at Maji Burger.

"Great!" Daiki grinned and easily grabbed her fries and started to eat them as well.

Mac refrained from saying anything since this was supposed to an attempt to try and make friends and be nice.

"She's nicer than you, Kenzie," Daiki said with a playful note in his voice. "She shares her food."

"You're a big boy, Daiki," Mac rolled her eyes but smiled a little, "I don't need to share my food with you. That's Fujimoto-san's job now."

Fujimoto almost looked like she wanted to preen, but she just smile smugly and Fukui looked a little uncomfortable but smiled at her friend.

"Of course," Fujimoto said.

"So, Potter-san," Fukui said looking a little unsure when Mac turned her eyes to her. "When did you meet Aomine-san?"

Mac pursed her lips as she glanced over at Daiki who looked back at her.

"When I was 8," Mac said, "I had only been in Tokyo for a few days then."

"Oh," Fujimoto said. "That's a long time."

Mac nodded smiling slightly as she remembered her first meeting with Daiki. She looked at Fujimoto and she could see the way the girl was looking unsure and lost as she clearly felt insecure. Mac knew that the other girl didn't like her, and Mac didn't really like her either. Yet, in some ways, Mac did feel for her. She remembered how she liked Kiyoshi and how he made her feel. It was something she still missed.

"I guess it is," Mac agreed. "Though, I'm sure he's tired of me by now. All I do is nag at him."

Fukui looked at her and then over at Daiki who rolled his eyes but he had gone back to eating.

"Nag?" Fujimoto frowned. "Why would you nag at him?"

Mac snorted amused, "why shouldn't I nag at him? He's lazy, he's not doing the work he should be doing and he's making trouble at practice. How I remember when he was that young, little boy who could only think about basketball."

"I'm sure he's doing alright," Fujimoto defended Daiki with a scowl on her face making Mac blink.

Daiki grinned and nodded, "I'm doing what I want."

Fujimoto smiled at him and Mac rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything. She watched as Fujimoto and Fukui started to talk about a gathering of some of the other girls in their class and some of the boys. It was clear that the two was trying to show something to Mac, but Mac wasn't really sure what.

The rest of the meal was uneventful and Mac felt tired. She really wasn't sure why she had agreed to the suggestion made by Fujimoto, but the hopeful look on Daiki's face had her caving and agreed to come to their outing. Mac wasn't sure why she was even asked because it wasn't like Fujimoto had actually tried to get to know her. Not really.

Sighing Mac cleared her tray and put it on top of the trash and went to the door that leads out of the Maji Burger. She inhaled the fresh air as she felt it hit her as she stepped outside. She heard the giggling and chatting behind her as the others joined her outside. Daiki looking lazy and casual as he followed and shot a look at Mac to which she smiled slightly and nodded.

"You're doing anything besides basketball, Potter-san?" Fujimoto asked turning her attention to Mac when she saw Daiki look at her. Mac couldn't help but notice that her hand was clutched onto Daiki's arm.

"Sure," Mac shrugged but didn't elaborate.

"Like what?" Fukui asked.

Mac didn't really want to talk about her hobbies with them, she wasn't comfortable sharing her drawing with them nor did she like the idea of explaining Martial Arts to them either. Yet, she felt rude and she had promised Daiki to make an effort. She had promised herself that she would tolerate the other girl for Daiki's sake.

"I like drawing," Mac finally said. "And I read when I can."

"I see," Fujimoto said bored. "Are you any good at drawing?"

Daiki grinned proudly, "she's the best."

Mac felt a spark of pride when he so easily claimed that and missed the way Fujimoto's eyes narrowed before she cleared her expression again.

...

The preliminaries for Inter-High were getting closer and that meant that Mac had to really start to focus on how to prepare for the tournament. She was sure they were good enough, but there was a insecurity in her that she wasn't used to. She had gotten spoiled in her belief that the team was unbeatable back at Teiko and with her friends on the court they had been. It was no use denying that they were pretty much impossible to beat. But that was then and now she was on a new team that was strong, but not to the point of the Generation of Miracles.

So, Mac worked tirelessly on her chart over the players of Too and how much they had progressed over the last weeks. She was very pleased with the result. The effort they had put into their practice had paid off and she knew they had all taken steps in the right direction.

She tapped her pen against her lip as she pulled out the preliminary tournament bracket she had been handed by Harasawa at the last practice. She wasn't really that sure about the teams they were going to meet, but she did notice that they weren't going to play Seirin now.

The first match they were going to play was against Tokushin High, they were a minor team from Tokyo and she couldn't really see any player that stood out. Yet, she knew that they could be good and she would do her research on them and give them the respect they deserved. They wouldn't underestimate them.

"Mac," Taiga called and Mac looked up from the papers and toward the door.

"Come in, Taiga," she answered just as he opened the door and poked his head into the room.

"You're still working?" he asked.

"I'm reading on our next opponent for the Inter-High preliminaries," Mac shrugged.

He arched a brow but didn't say anything about it.

"Can I help you with something, Taiga?" Mac asked.

"Um, well you see," Taiga said rubbing the back of his head looking sheepish.

"What did you do?" Mac sighed.

"Eh? Nothing!" Taiga protested," I was just wondering if you wanted to come and play basketball with me!"

Mac couldn't help but think he looked like an adorable puppy (overgrown and all) when he turned his eyes to her and looked at her pleadingly. She realised that it was a while since she had played him and she was curious about how good he had gotten since the last time.

"Ok," Mac agreed.

"Yes!" Taiga cheered pumping his fist into the air before turning around and left the room.

Mac laughed before she stood and put her papers back into the folder before she changed into her practice clothes.

...

Mac watched as Taiga jumped up to dunk the ball through the net with more force than he had before. He had clearly gotten better since the last time they had played, Mac thought with a small smile.

"You've gotten stronger, Taiga," Mac said.

He smirked looking pleased but didn't say anything as he got into position and Mac took the clue to start playing again. She inhaled and watched Taiga as he moved and when he moved to the right she used her speed and agility to go the other way and spun around him before making her way toward the net.

She heard him curse behind her and she could feel him coming running after her, but she was almost by the net now and if she wanted to she could make the shot. Though she was curious about what he would do so she slowed slightly and dragged it out.

"I'll stop you!" he swore.

Mac arched a brow and paused when he with a sudden lurch was in front of her and she had to move to the side to not collide with him or lose control of the ball.

"Oh, interesting," Mac mused before smiling.

She dribbled the ball and when he moved to take it she easily slipped by him on the other side and took the shot before he could turn to catch up again. The ball flew through the air and went through the net with a swish.

"Argh," Taiga muttered annoyed.

Mac moved to catch up to Taiga and guarded the net well as he struggled to find a path past her and she would read the way he would move before he actually did it. She saw the frustration on his face, but also the determined set that told her that he was working hard to overcome the obstacle she presented.

She watched him closely and notice when he was slipping in his concentration for a second and used the small distraction to reach out and steal the ball before spinning around to take the shot and score another basket.

...

They had gathered a crowd watching them as they played and Mac hadn't really noticed until she stopped the game.

"Enough," Mac said and sat down on the court breathing a little harder than normal, but not as tired as Taiga who was sweating profoundly and his breathing was more shallow and came out fast.

"One…more…time," he panted.

"No," Mac said. "You'll injure yourself if you continue like this, besides…I'm winning."

"That's…why!" Taiga growled but it didn't seem that threatening when he could barely keep standing.

Mac snorted. "You really have a one-track mind, Taiga. It's enough for now."

He scowled but fell down on the court making Mac smile as she watched him. She ignored the whispers from the group of teens, both boys and girls, who had paused to watch them as they started to move again and disperse.

Mac popped her head in her hand as she supported her elbow on her knee as she tilted her face to watch her cousin. He was getting stronger and much faster than she would have guessed possible. Even since his game since Kise he had grown and she could see the unbound potential inside of him, if he just got a little more time then Mac would really start to struggle to play him.

He was stronger than her, well, stronger physically. It was only natural after all, but that didn't mean that he was stronger as a player. Not yet, at least, Mac thought. While she was strong she was more for speed and reflexes as well as agile. She had won because she was good at reading his movements and read what he was planning to do before he did it and thus could counter it.

Yet, his potential was something she hadn't really seen since before her friends bloomed and became the Generation of Miracles (well, she as well but she purposely ignored that). She looked at his legs and remembered how he had jumped and jumped in their one-on-one right now and she could tell he was not even close to where he could be in jumping power. Mac was sure of it. He hadn't unlocked it just yet, though.

"You have to be careful with injuries, Taiga," Mac said.

"Huh?" Taiga blinked looking over at her at the random statement.

"Your legs," Mac said nodding toward his legs. "You're more prone to leg injuries than most because of your jumping power."

He frowned and looked at his legs as well, "jumping power?"

"Seriously? You haven't noticed that you jump a lot during matches?" Mac asked with an arched brow. "Well, you do and you are using the muscles in your leg more and if not taken seriously can really hurt them. That's why I said you have to be careful not to push too far and too fast. Start working on your muscles in your legs at practice and be sure to warm up sufficiently when you do."

Taiga blinked but nodded.

Mac shook her head slightly before getting to her feet and catching Nao when he came jumping up at her from where he had been playing while they played. She scratched him behind his ear as she wondered what she had said to Taiga. It wasn't anything wrong with it, but some would say she was stupid to help someone who would be a rival in their upcoming tournaments. She mentally shrugged, he was her cousin first and it wasn't anything wrong with making him stronger…and besides…perhaps he one day could offer a proper challenge for Daiki.

She could hope.

...

Sato's house

Mac yawned and stretched as she stood up from her desk and looked around the empty office. She had been left to read while Sato left to get something. She had finished her latest book on History of Magic and her head felt stuffed. While history was interesting she didn't really have that much interest in it and much of the history was wars between the Japanese and the Chinese and the Korean wizarding worlds.

She moved to go outside to get some fresh air when she saw the latest newspaper, Tokyo Prophet, lying on the small table. She changed her course and left to pick it up and immediately was hit with the large headline: DEMENTOR ATTACK! TWO INNOCENT KISSED!

Mac blinked and frowned as she wondered what a Dementor was as she hadn't heard about them before, and what did it mean that two was kissed? It sounded…odd. Kissed like in kissed? But why the large headline for that?

She turned the page to find the article and sat down on the chair to read the piece.

The attack happened in a small village in England where an elderly married couple was out for a walk when they were attacked by a Dementor. Both seemingly paralyzed and unable to fend off the creature caused them to get kissed and unable to be saved.

It is believed that the Dementors are still out looking for the escaped convict Sirius Black that escaped from Azkaban years ago and still hasn't been found. The British Minister of Magic still hasn't publicly made a statement if the incident is connected to the still ongoing search for Sirius Black. A spokesman for the ministry said: "We are very sorry for the loss of lives and ask for time to investigate what has occurred and give the family some answers."

Mac stopped reading feeling a little foreboding at the mention of Dementors and she still hadn't a clear answer to what it was. She looked at the small picture that was there and she was sure it was the couple that had been killed, they looked kind and happy. Were they dead?

"Potter-san?"

Mac looked up and saw her professor standing just inside the door looking at her.

"Professor, what is a Dementor?" Mac asked.

He arched a brow before he got a dark look on his face and she thought he looked unsettled as he sighed and stepped further into the office.

"You saw the article?" he asked without giving her an answer.

Mac frowned at him, "yes. I never heard of a Dementor before? And what does it mean that they were kissed? Are they dead?"

He looked older all of the sudden and Mac almost withdrew her question before he spoke again.

"I guess it's time we cover Dementors in your lessons," Sato said and sat down on the free seat close to her much to her surprise. Normally they were both at their desks when they were having a class.

"Ok," Mac nodded.

"A Dementor is amongst the foulest creatures that walk this earth, Potter-san," Sato said seriously. "They infiltrate the darkest and filthiest places, and they take pleasure in decay and despair. They live of every good feeling, hope, happiness and peace they can get to and if you get to close to a Dementor every happy memory will be sucked out of you, and you're left with only your worst experiences."

Mac felt a cold shiver go through her as he spoke and she clenched her fists as she pictured a Dementor in her mind and failed.

"What do they look like?" she asked.

"They have a humanoid shape and are tall," Sato said, "and are covered in dark hooded cloaks of long dark ripped black cloth. Their body is decaying and grey looking and can remind you of a corpse."

Mac pictured how the wraiths of the Lord of the Rings looked like in the movie and she couldn't help but picture something similar in her mind.

"And…what is a Dementor Kiss?" she dared to ask.

Sato looked at her for a moment before he sighed.

"It's what they call when a Dementor has sucked out the soul of its victim," he explained.

"Sucked out the soul…" Mac gasped. "That's possible?!"

"I'm afraid it is," Sato said. "When a soul is sucked out the person is left empty and there's no chance of recovery. You'll exist, but you'll be an empty shell. Your soul is gone forever…lost."

Mac nodded showing she understood and looked back down at the picture in her lap and thought it was something familiar with the couple, she saw their happy smiles and she couldn't help but picture how they would look without their soul…empty, expressionless.

Mac frowned when she remembered how the article mentioned a Sirius Black and how the Dementors was looking for him.

"Why are the Dementors looking for this Sirius Black?" Mac asked glancing up to see Sato still and his expression close more.

"He escaped the prison they are guarding," Sato said but his voice felt strained.

"They are guarding a prison?!" Mac asked.

"Yes," Sato nodded.

"And this Black escaped?" Mac asked. "Well, I can't blame him if it means being around creatures like that."

Sato got to his feet and Mac frowned as she watched him walk to the desk, his shoulders seemed tense.

"He did," Sato said shortly. "Now…"

"Are the ways to protect yourself from Dementors, Professor?" Mac asked interrupting him making him look back at her with a more normal expression. Mac wondered what had him so tense, but she knew better than to push too far. She didn't want to be too disrespectful toward her teacher.

"There is one way," Sato said. "It's a very difficult charm and something most wizards have a problem with."

"What charm is it?" Mac asked.

"It's called the Patronus Charm," he said and got a thoughtful look on his face. "I want you to research that charm for your next lesson in Charms at the end of the week. Write an essay about it and how it works. We'll talk more about it then."

Mac nodded.

...

Too Academy

"Are you ok, Mac-san?"

Mac blinked and looked to see Sakurai looking at her nervously. She blinked again as her mind snapped out of her musings about Dementors and the married couple back in England who had lost their souls. She had to repress the need to shiver once more at the thought.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt your thoughts!" Sakurai quickly apologized bowing. "It's my fault!"

Mac almost smiled as she let it bring her back and remind her that she was at Too Academy and that she didn't have to be worried about Dementors there.

"It's alright, Sakurai-san," Mac said calmly, "I'm fine, thank you. Are you ready for practice?"

"Yes," Sakurai smiled.

"Oi! Mac-san! Sakurai-san!"

Both of them turned in the hallway and saw Namamura waving at them and almost jogging to catch up to them.

"Namamura-san," Sakurai said with a small smile.

"Are you going to practice now?" Namamura asked.

"Yes," Sakurai said.

"Where's Aomine?" Namamura asked looking at Mac.

"Who knows," Mac sighed, "I told him to come today, but he's unpredictable."

The other two nodded in agreement.

They walked toward the gym and Mac listened to Namamura and Sakurai talk.

...

"Listen up!" Harasawa called and the entire gym fell silent as their coach called their attention.

Mac was standing next to Daiki, who had shown up, and elbowed him when he yawned. He rolled his eyes but he did try to look a little more awake.

"We're starting the preliminaries for Inter-High soon," Harasawa said. "You know what that means. If we lose we are out!"

Mac saw the determination on the faces of her team and she smiled slightly as she saw the serious looks they had on.

"Tokyo is divided from Block A-D and the best of each block will be qualified to the Final League," Harasawa continued. "Then the top three from the Final League will participate in Inter-High."

"What Block are we in, coach?" Abe asked.

"We're in Block B," Harasawa said, "Potter-san has the bracket on which team we're going to be playing."

Mac noticed them all look at her.

"We're playing Tokushin High first," Mac said.

"I don't think I've heard of them before," Wakamatsu frowned.

"They're a small team and from an unknown school," Mac admitted, "but they do have some decent players."

"So in other words…" Imayoshi grinned. "Don't underestimate them, right?"

"Right," Mac nodded.

"We won't," the others called out and grinned. "We'll win!"

"It's a long way to the top and only 3 schools out of 300 are chosen to enter Inter-High," Mac said looking at them.

"We'll be one of the teams that go to Inter-High!" Wakamatsu yelled pumping his fist into the air.

"Yes!" the others cheered.

Daiki shrugged but he smiled slightly when Mac glanced at him. She guessed that was the best she would get from him reaction-wise.

"We have three weeks before it begins!" Mac said. "Let's practice hard!"

"Yes!"

...

Taiga felt excited as he listened to Hyuga explain Inter-High for the first years and he couldn't wait until it was time for him to play.

"I sort of get the picture," Taiga spoke up looking at Hyuga, "but you're wrong about one thing."

"Hm?"

"They're not chosen. They win it….sir," Taiga stated firmly.

Hyuga and the other second years all smiled making Taiga feel a little self-conscious.

"We will face many strong schools," Hyuga said, "but the biggest and strongest will be Shutoku High. Last year they were in the nation's top eight. On top of that, just like Kaijo, they had one of the Generation of Miracles join them. If we can't beat them we won't make it to the Nationals."

Taiga looked at the bracket and his eyes zeroed in on the spot signalling the finale and he felt another bubble of excitement. If they got to that spot they would face another Generation of Miracle! Well, most likely anyway.

"Kuroko, you know who he is, don't you?" Taiga glanced down at Tetsuya who was standing beside him before he felt like slapping himself. Of course, he knew who he was. He had been on the same team.

"I doubt you would believe me even if I told you," Tetsuya said. "However, as Kise-kun said, the other five are on another level. If they have gotten even better I cannot imagine how good they are."

Taiga frowned and thought back to his one-on-one against Mac the day before and how much he struggled just against her.

"Would you say Mac is better than him?" Taiga asked.

Tetsuya got a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered his words, and Taiga could see that the others were watching curiously.

"It's hard to say," Tetsuya finally said. "Mac is very strong and in many ways better than most of them because she's so good at reading their moves and knows the way they play almost better than they do themselves. She can even keep up with Aomine-kun for a little while, but he is still better. Midorima-kun is different, but perhaps."

"You're playing with Mac, Kagami?" Izuki asked.

"Yes," Taiga frowned.

"But you beat her, don't you?" Kawahara asked.

Taiga knew everyone was paying attention as he looked to the fellow first year.

"I've never beaten her even once," Taiga admitted.

"But…"

"When was the last time you played her? I mean you've grown…" Fukuda sounded unsure.

Taiga huffed.

"She crushed me last night," Taiga admitted. "It's really hard playing her, she seems to know what I will do before I even think it!"

"Impossible…" the three first years mumbled while even the second years looked a little surprised.

"Well, we knew she is good," Koganei said.

Tetsuya looked at Taiga with a pensive look but Taiga wasn't sure what he was thinking.

...

Mac groaned as she got up and Ueno smiled at her not looking tired at all making Mac want to shake her a little. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand as she gestured to Ueno.

"One more time!" Mac demanded.

"Are you sure?" Ueno smiled.

"One more time!" Mac gritted her teeth as she fought the wariness in her body and felt how her muscles protested, but she refused to give up.

Ueno got into position and Mac did the same she winced as she once more was thrown to the ground and couldn't help the groan that slipped through her lips as she hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" Ueno asked.

"Fine," Mac grimaced as she sat up. "I just wish I could get this right."

"You're doing well, Mac," Ueno said smiling gently at her.

"You keep managing to throw me to the ground," Mac grumbled annoyed. That was not in her definition of doing well.

"Well, I have been doing this for many years, Mac," Ueno pointed out, "you, however, has only been doing it for a few weeks. Actually, you only got to this part a few days ago and that is very impressive."

Mac sighed and nodded before taking the offered hand to be pulled up to her feet. She smiled a little and was about to ask for more when Yuki interrupted them.

"That's enough for today," he smiled at them. "Good work both of you."

"Thank you, Sensei!" Mac and Ueno both bowed at him.

...

Mac followed Ueno to the ramen place they had started to go to after they had trained and Mac found that she really liked this new tradition. It felt nice to have another girl to talk to.

"Do you have much to do with basketball?" Ueno asked.

"Yes, the preliminaries for the Inter-High start in three weeks," Mac nodded, "so we'll have to work hard to get ready."

"You're strong, though?" Ueno tilted her head to the side.

"Even if we're strong we have to be prepared," Mac said.

Ueno smiled, "will you be playing Shutoku?"

Mac shook her head, "no, at least not yet. We're not in the same Block."

"Too bad," Ueno laughed and grinned when the waiter came with their ramen.

Mac smiled as she ate and listened to Ueno talk more about her Martial Arts lessons and training she had done earlier and some of the competitions she had gone to. It was clear that she loved Martial Arts the same way Mac loved basketball.

They walked through the streets for a little while after they had eaten and Mac couldn't help but smile as she talked about Shiro and Sayuri making Ueno smile as well.

"They sound sweet," Ueno said.

Mac nodded and blinked when she suddenly walked straight into someone making her stumbled slightly. Two arms grabbed her to stop her from falling. She was about to glare when she looked up and met two very familiar brown eyes that looked just as surprised as her.

"Mac?" Kiyoshi smiled widely but she saw the underlying nervousness that was well hidden underneath the smile.

"Teppei," Mac breathed.

Mac couldn't help but stare as she stared at Kiyoshi for the first time in weeks, he hadn't changed. He was still tall, still had the shaggy brown hair and warm brown eyes that looked at her with such warmth and care she wasn't sure she deserved. Her mind was spinning and feelings were all over the place. Fear, happiness, sadness were only some of the emotions running through her as she stared at her ex-boyfriend.

"Setsuko," Ueno said breaking the two out of their staring and Mac blushed slightly as she stepped back and Kiyoshi let go of her.

"Ah, sorry, Ueno-san," Mac said looking at her.

"A friend of yours, Mac?" Ueno asked curiously turning her lilac eyes at Kiyoshi who smiled.

"Yes," Mac said glancing at Kiyoshi, "this is Kiyoshi Teppei. Teppei this is Ueno Setsuko."

"Nice to meet you," Kiyoshi smiled kindly like he always did.

The silence stretched and Mac couldn't stop herself from looking at Kiyoshi and drink him in. Seeing him again she realised just how much she had missed him. Some hurt still lingered but mostly she just wanted to have his friendship back once more.

"Ok," Ueno said breaking the silence, "I'll leave you two to talk."

"Eh?" Mac blinked and looked at Ueno who smiled back at her.

"We'll talk next time, Mac," she said and Mac was sure there was a note of something more in her voice and when she glanced at Kiyoshi Mac realised that she would be asking her more about him next time they met. "See you!"

"Bye," Mac waved as the bubbly girl bounced away down the street with one last wave.

...

Mac wasn't sure what to say or how to break the silence between them as she looked up at Kiyoshi again. For once he also looked a little unsure about how to proceed and she took comfort in knowing she wasn't the only one thrown by the sudden meeting.

"How are you, Teppei?" Mac finally asked.

"I'm fine," he said and when Mac arched a brow he laughed and seemed to loosen up some. "Really, Mac. My knee is healing very well and the doctors are very happy with how the progress is."

"Are you still staying at the rehabilitation centre?" Mac asked.

It felt strange to not already know because they hadn't seen each other in weeks and normally they would have talked every day. Even before they got together they talked often.

"Yes, but I'm allowed more outside," Kiyoshi nodded. "Um…do you want to come back with me? I…I would like to talk to you, Mac."

Mac hesitated, looking up at him and saw again the nervousness underneath his expression and wondered if she should go with him or if she should go back home. Would it hurt to go and talk to him?

"Ok," Mac said and felt relieved when his face broke out into that grin. The grin that told her he was truly happy and how he so often had grinned at her before.

"Great!" he cheered.

They walked to the rehabilitation centre and Mac realised that they weren't that far away from it. She hadn't noticed when she had walked around with Ueno. She almost smiled at how familiar it felt to enter the building and followed him to his room easily enough.

"I guess it's not that easy to talk," Kiyoshi said when they once more had lapsed into silence when they both were sitting at the two chairs by the table like they had so many times before. He looked a little sad.

"I guess," Mac agreed.

"I don't see why it should be that hard, Mac," Kiyoshi said leaning forward slightly as he looked at her. "I still see you as one of my closest friends and I really want you to be that, Mac. You always were a good friend."

Mac swallowed and she could see he was serious and really meant what he said. Could she really have him back as her friend? She knew what she had told Seijuro and even Daiki, she did want to be Kiyoshi's friend and soon. But was she ready to be his friend now? Looking at him she realised that she was.

"I would like that," Mac agreed with a small smile. "You are one of my closest friends as well, Teppei."

He smiled and leaned back again. "Good. So, who was the girl you were with today? Does she go to Too Academy as well?"

Mac shook her head even as he spoke.

"No, she attends Shutoku High," Mac explained.

"Then where did you meet her?" Kiyoshi asked curiously.

"I decided to start learning Martial Arts," Mac said and saw how he blinked in surprised so she explained how they had played Seiho and how she had met their coach when she had said goodbye to Seijuro at the train station. She explained how she had asked him for lessons and that he had agreed after she had talked to him and his son. "And that's where I met Ueno-san. Yuki-sensei asked her to help with my training."

"I see," Kiyoshi said. "I'm impressed, Mac."

Mac looked down letting her hair fell down hiding her face when he complimented her before looking back up again to see him smiling at her.

"I forgot how resourceful you can be," he said, "I'm sorry you feel like you do and that you feel the need to learn Martial Arts to feel safe, but I am really proud that you're not letting it stop you and that you're doing something about it."

"Thank you," Mac smiled.

The conversation flowed more easily between them now and Mac felt relaxed as she curled up on the seat talking with Kiyoshi. He told her about his latest physical therapy for his knee and waved his hands as he tried to make a point. Mac laughed as she could clearly picture it and saw how he grinned when she laughed.

"I have to go," Mac reluctantly said when she realised that it was getting dark outside. "Taiga will worry."

Kiyoshi nodded and stood as well.

"I'm really glad you agreed to come and talk Mac," Kiyoshi said, "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," Mac said and without thinking reached out and hugged him. He hugged her back and ruffled her hair when she pulled back making her mock glare at him causing him to break out laughing.

"I hope you'll come back again soon, Mac," he said. "I'll call you."

"Ok," Mac nodded and waved before slipping out of his room.

Mac walked home with a small smile on her face.

...

...

AN: Thank you for reading! :)