Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
Sirius and Remus
Sirius was practically twitching and his tail swiping fast from side to side in his excitement, his nervousness, as he stood in his animagus form next to his best friend. They were standing outside a large building that didn't really look like much if Sirius was honest, but according to Remus, it was a sports arena. A large banner was hanging above the doors leading into the building reading:
Inter-High: Basketball tournament 2009!
Basketball tournament. Sirius had not known what basketball even was before hearing about it now, but Remus had explained the basics (very basics) about the game and in Sirius' mind it sounded boring compared to Quidditch. But if his goddaughter was interested in this game then so was he, he was curious to see if she was here.
They had been in Tokyo for almost three weeks and it was now almost the end of July. That also meant that Mac had a birthday coming up really soon. She would be 16. 16… how much of her life he had missed he thought gloomily.
A soft whine escaped his lips as he thought about it and Remus cast a glanced at him but didn't say anything. Sirius appreciated that. There was nothing to say that would make the situation better that would change the fact that Sirius hadn't been in her life for the past 15 years. And even before that, he had only gotten to see her from time to time given the fact that he had been in the Order of Phoenix fighting against Voldemort (good riddance) and James and Lily having to go into hiding to protect Mac.
He was such a failure as a godfather.
He shifted his thoughts back to the positive because right now he needed to focus on that and the fact that they might be really close to finally finding Mac. To finding James and Lily's little girl.
They had searched and searched without any luck for weeks, nowhere they looked did they have any luck in finding her. They had contacted countless schools and met the same answer every time;
"We don't give out information about any student without guardian consent."
Annoying, but also understandably so even if Sirius didn't want to admit it. He had started to give up hope of ever finding Mac even if she was in Tokyo. It wasn't like they knew what she looked like; they only had vague expectations and mostly connected to the way James and Lily looked. Sirius couldn't help but picture a perfect mixture of his two friends.
Also, Tokyo was big. Like huge and to just stumble upon Mac without any help was not something Sirius could see happening at all. He cursed the Dursley's for forgetting which school Mac had attended or the name of the boy she had been friends with. What kind of guardians didn't know things like that about their ward? What kind of aunt didn't know that about her own niece? Something was very wrong there, but right now Sirius knew that Remus was right. They had to focus on Mac and could deal with the Dursley's later if necessary.
Sirius was also very grateful for the translation charm that Remus had put on them. It made it much easier when they were able to understand and actually talk Japanese! Sirius hadn't even known anything like this existed but Remus had because, let's face it, Remus was a genius and a bookworm that knew everything. Not that Sirius was complaining. It came in handy. Sirius couldn't count how many times Remus' knowledge had saved him and James from trouble back when they attended Hogwarts.
So when they had gone to talk to the people who were now living in the house that the Dursley's had lived in (well, Remus had done the talking seeing that Sirius was in his dog form) Remus could talk with them in their own language. It made it so much easier. Not that the new residents had known anything about Mac though.
Just when Sirius was about to give up did he stumble upon the lead that had led them to this place and (hopefully) closer to Mac than they had ever been before.
...
Sirius had been frustrated and felt hopeless and unable to stay inside the motel room any longer so he had gone out by himself or as Padfoot. Both he and Remus had decided that he would mostly be Padfoot when out in public; at least at first until they got a better sense on just how well known Sirius was in Japan. They didn't really know how far his escape had stretched in the muggle world, so they didn't want to take any chances.
He had gone to the neighbourhood where Mac had lived, where she had walked the streets and just felt slightly better just knowing that he was moving around the same streets that Mac had done once upon a time. He had ended up in a park with a court of some sort of sport, Sirius had learned later that it was a basketball court, and benches along with some trees and grass.
He had moved to the shadows and lied down trying to picture Mac playing in this park with friends and laughing and smiling. He wasn't sure how long he had been there when two kids had turned up, twins by the look of it and about nine years old, maybe younger, maybe older. They both had blue hair and that wasn't strange at all.
"Shiro!" the girl snapped and glared at the boy who looked at her petulantly. "I told you! Daiki-nii said that Mac-nee is really busy! With the game tomorrow against Kaijo and then her exams. She's really busy."
"But I want to see her," Shiro pouted.
Sirius felt his lips twitch amused as he observed the two kids.
"Mac-nee always has time for me," Shiro continued. "Sayuri, you're just jealous."
"Jealous?" Sayuri exclaimed and Sirius winced. Uh-oh. That couldn't be a good sign for her brother. "I'm not jealous! Mac-nee always has time for both of us, but that doesn't mean we should make it harder for her when she's obviously stressed out!"
"Fine," Shiro mumbled. "I just wanted to ask her if we could go and watch her match tomorrow."
Sirius was curious and wondered who Mac-nee was.
"Dad said we are going to watch Mac-nee and Daiki-nii play," Sayuri told her brother in an exasperated voice. "You would have known that if you paid attention this morning at breakfast. Honestly, you and Daiki-nii are hopeless!"
Sirius didn't think Shiro had heard the last part of her statement or if he had he didn't care because he was beaming now and punched the air excitedly.
"Yes!" he cheered. "We get to see them play!"
Sirius let out a small bark-like laugh and stilled when the two kids spun around and stared at him. Ups. He hadn't meant to be spotted.
"Oh! Cute dog!" Sayuri grinned and made her way over to him with her brother close behind. Shiro looked a little more apprehensive than his sister but curious enough. "Hey there."
Sirius barked softly and smiled showing that he wasn't dangerous.
"Strange," Shiro muttered. "He looks like he's smiling."
"He's happy, then," Sayuri said and gently stretched out a hand. "May I pet you, doggy? Mac-nee always says we have to be careful around animals we don't know and always show respect."
Sirius didn't see what harm this could do so he got to his feet and moved closer to the two children who blinked at the size of him. He knew he was larger than normal dogs. He moved slowly so he wouldn't scare them and soon Sayuri was petting him.
She laughed and smiled.
A stab-like pain clenched his heart at the thought that Mac should have done this when she was this age.
"You look sad, doggy," Shiro suddenly said and Sirius looked up at the boy who was watching him closely and was now moving up to Sayuri's side. "You shouldn't be sad."
Sirius barked again in thanks and the boy smiled.
"I wonder if you're homeless," Sayuri said and looked for a collar around his neck, "oh, you're not."
Sirius tilted his head.
"Mum might have allowed me to keep you," Sayuri explained, "but if someone owns you, then I can't."
She looked really sad about that. Sirius, however, felt relieved that Remus had insisted that he wore a collar around his neck despite the protests he had given at first. Because hey! He was human and not a dog! Also, Remus found it much too amusing and Sirius knew he would never be able to live it down. If James had been there…he shivered.
"Are you cold?" Shiro asked.
Sirius shook his head and saw the two kids blink.
"You're like Nao-chan," Shiro exclaimed. "You understand what we're saying!"
Ups. He was really not doing a good job about this; Sirius thought and eyed the two warily. Maybe he should run away before they got suspicious. He barked, but the kids didn't let go of him and he didn't want to hurt them so he stayed unmoving beside them.
He really should get away from them before he ended up as their pet despite the collar around his neck. He could easily picture it, following these kids around and being treated like a pet and not a human. Remus would laugh.
"Shiro!" a voice called and Sirius wasn't the only one who looked toward the boy who came toward them. "Did you read the paper today?"
"Why would I read the newspaper?" Shiro asked the boy.
"Because your brother and his friend are in it," the boy said waving the paper. "Because of their match tomorrow."
"Oh," Shiro said and blinked.
Sayuri grabbed the paper from the boy's hands before Shiro could do it and her sharp blue eyes.
"Read it out loud, Sayuri," Shiro asked.
"The clash between Miracles," Sayuri read and snorted. "What a cliché title."
"Mac-nee will find it annoying," Shiro nodded and the boy looked between them curiously.
Sirius wondered if he should use their distraction to leave, but he was curious about this Mac-nee they were talking about so he stayed. Something in his gut told him to stay, so he did.
"Inter-High has started and that means that the best basketball teams are gathered here in Tokyo to play against each other and fight for the right to call themselves the winners of Inter-High. Schools from all over the country have fought their way through preliminaries and final league until only the best are left. By now we have reached the quarterfinals of Inter-High and some interesting matches lie ahead. This round the most interesting match will be between Kaijo High and Too Academy who both have members of the famously named Generation of Miracles on their team. Kise Ryota is the ace and star of Kaijo High…"
"Don't read about him, Sayuri…" Shiro whined. "Skip to Mac-nee and Daiki-nii!"
"Fine," Sayuri huffed and skimmed down the page for a moment. "Too Academy has the former Ace of Teiko Middle School Aomine Daiki, who is an extremely fast, strong and skilful player. So much so that many have dubbed him a monster on the court. Not only does Kaijo have Aomine to worry about from Too Academy but they also have Potter Mackenzie who was the manager and a player for Teiko back in Middle School and is now a part of Too Academy basketball team. Her skills as an analyst and tactician for her teams are unrivalled and many have stated that she's someone even the National teams' management has their eye on. Not enough with that, she is also a strong player that can read her opponents and set her teammates up in perfect positions."
Sirius had stilled as he stared at the paper in Sayuri's hands. He had heard…did she really say… Potter Mackenzie. It had to be Mac. It had to be their Mackenzie Potter that the paper was mentioning.
"Awesome!" Shiro cheered jumping up and down. "Mac-nee and Daiki-nii are awesome!"
"They are," Sayuri nodded and handed the paper back to the boy who smiled.
"I thought you might like to see it," he said. "Dad said he was taking me to watch the match tomorrow since it's the holiday and we don't have school."
"We're going to," Shiro told him. "Even mum is coming."
Sirius had not stayed after that and had managed to pick up a newspaper on his way back to the motel room and found Remus pouring over some documents when he got back.
That was how they found themselves outside of the arena hosting the Inter-High tournament and hopefully they would find Mac inside.
...
Kaijo High vs. Too Academy – before the game
Taiga yawned as he glanced at the clock. It was under two hours until Mac was playing against Kaijo and he really wanted to be done here so he could go and watch her play. He had gotten a text from her the day before letting him know the time she was going to play.
"Are we done yet?" Taiga interrupted Riko who was talking with both Hyuga and Kiyoshi.
All of them looked at him with arched brows as he blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Why? Do you have somewhere to be?" Riko asked and he saw the twitch on her cheek as she stared at him and he took a small step back.
"Um, yeah, kind of," Taiga muttered. "So, are we done here yet?"
"Calm down, Riko," Kiyoshi smiled serenely. "I'm sure Kagami has a good reason for wanting to leave."
"Well?" Riko asked narrowed eyes. "We're on a team training camp and we're supposed to stick together!"
"I know that!" Taiga said and noticed that the others were watching them now as well. "But I wanted to go and watch Mac play!"
"Eh?" Hyuga blinked.
"Mac's playing today?" Izuki asked.
"Yes," Taiga said, "they're playing against Kaijo in the quarterfinals today and I told her that I would be there to watch her. So, I really need to go before they start the match."
"That's right," Kiyoshi nodded. "I had forgotten that it was today they were going to play."
"I hadn't," Riko sighed and gave Taiga a look, "I had already planned on all of us going to watch the Inter-High. Why else do you think I chose this spot for our training camp?"
Taiga blinked at her.
"So, what do you say," Riko turned to the others, "let's go and watch the Inter-High!"
"Yes!" They cheered.
"Let's go watch how Mac will handle Kise!" Koganei cheered.
...
Taiga stared out of the window of the bus and barely paid attention to the passing traffic as he thought. He was curious about this match. Curious to watch Mac play against Ryota, and curious on how Kaijo would handle Too Academy. A shadow crossed his face as he remembered the helplessness he had felt during their match against Too… against Daiki.
He was broken out of his thoughts by the feeling of someone staring at him and he looked around before startling back noticing Tetsuya's light blue eyes staring right at him. How long had he been staring at him like that?
"What?!" Taiga yelled.
"Midorima-kun asked me to give you a message," Tetsuya said watching him over the back of his seat.
"Okay," Taiga dragged the word out some, "what is it?"
"Even a flea can jump. I only taught him a lesson because he's so stupid," Tetsuya repeated in a deadpanned voice.
"That bastard…" Taiga growled as he felt anger fill him.
"Also, don't lose until I beat you," Tetsuya finished. "Apparently."
"Like hell I'll lose!" Taiga declared. "You tell him that!"
Tetsuya smiled slightly before he turned back toward the front of the bus again and Taiga was left to his thoughts again. He snorted as he looked out of the window. Don't lose until I beat you, huh? Well, that was interesting. These Miracle-guys all were strange and had odd quirks, but he couldn't deny that they challenged him pretty well in basketball.
Even Mac did. Maybe especially Mac, he thought. He had yet to beat her one-on-one and he had played her enough that he should have had a chance to do so. All that happened was that she seemed to get to know his playing style even better and reading him better than before, he wondered if she might actually know him better than he knew himself.
How was he going to be able to beat someone like that?
Well, he would get a chance to watch her play today. To see how she worked with her team and more importantly with Daiki. Maybe he would pick up on something that would help him learn how to beat her and her boyfriend.
"You look scary," Tetsuya commented and Taiga jumped.
"You have to stop doing that!" Taiga said.
"I was just going to let you know that we're here," Tetsuya said.
"Oh," Taiga looked out and saw the large building that was the arena outside. There were a lot of people mingling outside, kids, teens and adults by the looks of it. It was clear that Inter-High drew a lot of people.
He got off the bus and yawned as he really did feel exhausted after a very tough training camp. Riko had really gone all out on them, but he couldn't help but feel grateful to her. He could feel himself improving under the harsh training.
"So, what had you looking so scary?" Tetsuya asked.
"I wasn't looking scary!" Taiga argued.
"Yes, you were," Tetsuya glanced at him.
"No, I wasn't," Taiga snapped.
"You two…" Hyuga sighed. "Give the bickering a rest, will you?"
Izuki and Koganei laughed.
Taiga huffed but he stopped and walked straight ahead and then blinked and stopped abruptly seeing that he had just collided with something.
"Argh," he said before realising that it was a man he had collided with. "Sorry!"
The man smiled kindly and took a step back. Taiga noticed that he had greying brown hair despite the fact that he couldn't be that old, not older than his dad anyway, and his face was scarred and pale like he was constantly tired. But he looked kind.
"No problem," he said his voice hoarse and calm. "I'm sorry as well. Are you alright?"
Taiga blinked as he picked up on the accented Japanese coming from the man.
"I'm fine," Taiga said just as he winced.
"You idiot!" Riko scolded as she swatted his head with a newspaper (since when did she have a newspaper anyway?!) and Taiga ducked away from another swipe toward his head. "Watch where you're going, idiot! Can't I take you lot anywhere without you causing trouble?!"
"Ouch! Stop it!" Taiga yelped.
The man blinked at them and there was a bark making Taiga pale and jump back, even more, noticing for the first time the large black dog by the man's feet. How had he missed that until now?!
"Don't worry," the man said reassuringly. "Padfoot won't hurt anyone. His bark is worse than his bite."
"He looks scary," Izuki said.
"Shut up, Izuki," Hyuga sighed.
The man just laughed and the dog pouted. Actually pouted. Taiga eyed it suspiciously.
"I apologize for my team," Riko bowed to the man politely. "Are you okay? Kagami didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No, no," the man waved her apology off. "I'm fine. No harm done."
Riko nodded and Taiga smiled relieved when Riko stepped back and seemed to let it go. The man yanked at the leash connected to the dog and with a small smile turned and walked toward the arena. He seemed to say something to the dog, but Taiga couldn't hear what he said.
Pushing the thoughts of the man and his dog away Taiga looked up at the building that was hosting the Inter-High. If only they were the ones playing in there…
...
"Kuroko," Taiga called out when they had entered the spectators' seats of the large gym where the match was going to be played. "Who do you think will win?"
He couldn't hold in the question any longer. His curiosity burned inside of him and he had to know what Tetsuya thought.
"I don't know," Tetsuya admitted making the others look at him. "I haven't watch starters from the team play against each other yet. Aomine-kun was the one who inspired Kise-kun to play basketball. They used to play one-on-one a lot, but Kise-kun has never won."
"I don't know if I'm surprised by that or not," Koganei said weakly.
"Then there's the fact that Mac is there as well," Tetsuya continued. "She usually watched Kise-kun and Aomine-kun play and she knows them both very well. I don't think anyone could claim to know more about any one of the Generation of Miracles than Mac. So, for Kaijo to manage to win against Too Academy…I don't really know how they will do it, but as long as they don't give up they have a chance. As long as Kise-kun is on the team as well, Kaijo has a chance. His techniques and skills are changing quicker than anyone."
"Huh," Taiga said and stared down at the almost empty court.
...
Seijuro sat in the stands with his team by his side as he waited for Too and Kaijo to start their match. He was watching the court being cleared and prepared for the upcoming match with an impassive look on his face.
"Who do you think will win, Sei-chan?" Mibuchi asked.
"The strong will win," he said simply.
Hayama sighed but didn't say anything.
Honestly, Seijuro expected Mac to win. He knew she was good, she knew Ryota very well and with both Mac and Daiki on the same team, Seijuro expected them to win over Ryota even if he was a strong player as well.
Though, like he said, only the strong would win and this match would show who was the strongest of the three.
...
Atsushi was munching on his sweets as he lazily waited for the game to start. If not for the fact that Mac was going to play he wouldn't even be there watching. It was all too much of an effort and he just wanted to find some new snacks while he was there, but Mac was playing and he wanted to watch her.
"I'm surprised you wanted to watch, Atsushi," Himuro commented from his side. "I didn't think you cared."
"Mac-chin is playing," Atsushi said as he bit down on another sweet.
"I'm curious to see this Mac-chin of yours," Himuro smiled. "You talk a lot about her."
Atsushi shrugged not bothering to explain. He didn't need to explain because Mac was his friend and Himuro would see what was special about Mac soon enough. He didn't need to waste his breath trying to explain.
"I guess I'll see soon," Himuro sighed when he realised that Atsushi wasn't going to say anything.
...
Shintaro huffed and tried his best to ignore Takao's teasing look or loaded comments about how they had found themselves seated in the arena waiting for the Kaijo vs. Too Academy match.
"Did your horoscope tell you who would win today?" Takao asked.
Shintaro pushed his glasses up his nose with his long taped fingers and gave Takao a superior look.
"The horoscope won't predict the future, Takao," Shintaro said in a slow tone that clearly stated that he thought Takao was being ridiculous.
"Then who has the worst luck?" Takao just smiled.
Annoying. Shintaro gave a long-suffering sigh as he wondered why he even cared.
"Kise's luck is the worst," Shintaro finally, "Aomine's is better and says he will get everything he wishes for."
Shintaro frowned suddenly.
"And Mac's?" Takao asked.
Shintaro frowned and didn't answer. His left hand clenched around the pot holding the cactus (his lucky item for the day) as he stared down at the court. His face had a worried look that Takao arched a brow in mild surprise and for once didn't say anything and just turned his attention back to the court.
...
Mac rolled her shoulder as she entered the locker room and saw that the rest of the team was there already. She saw Wakamatsu standing and looking angry but she knew he was probably just worried; Imayoshi looked resigned while Susa looked calm.
"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Sakurai was bowing frantically.
"Hey," Mac said as she closed the door behind her.
"Where have you been?!" Wakamatsu demanded as he stalked over to her. "Where is Aomine?!"
Mac blinked at him and then looked over at Imayoshi.
"I sent you a text," she said and Imayoshi blinked and pulled out his phone. "To let you know that we were on our way."
"Huh," he said. "Didn't see it."
Mac rolled her eyes.
"Calm down, Wakamatsu-san," Mac said and sidestepped him as she made her way toward the bench and pulling off her Too Academy jacket revealing her jersey underneath. "Daiki is coming."
"He's been late to every game!" Wakamatsu accused.
"I can't believe just how relaxed he is," Imayoshi sighed as he put his phone away. "Mac, I read something very interesting yesterday."
Mac grimaced but didn't anything because she knew what he was talking about and she really didn't want to talk about that.
"The clash between miracles," Imayoshi smirked. "Seems like we can expect a lot from you and Aomine this match, Mac."
Mac stared blankly at him but still didn't say anything and suddenly she had the newspaper in front of her and she huffed and pushed it away. Reading it once was more than enough. She grimaced.
"Looks like you don't like it," Imayoshi smirked.
"Give it a rest, Shoichi," Susa said.
Just then the door opened again and Daiki entered the locker room. He was already sweaty and clearly already done with the warm-ups before the match.
"Here, Daiki," Mac tossed him a water bottle. "You better drink that."
"You…" Wakamatsu looked between them. "You're always late!"
Daiki gave him an unimpressed look.
"I'm on time now," he said. "Besides, I thought you might have some trouble without me today."
Mac sighed as she saw the angry look on Wakamatsu's face and gently swatted Daiki's arm to get him to stop trying to wind the other player up.
"Daiki, stop it," she told him before glancing over at Wakamatsu. "He's been fired up for this match and we have been warming up outside for the last fifteen or twenty minutes."
"Oh," Wakamatsu said.
Daiki scoffed as he sat down beside Mac and slouched slightly as he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. Mac tried to ignore the way her stomach tingled as she waited for Harasawa to enter the room.
They were playing Ryota today. Mac felt excited and worried among other things, but mostly she felt excited because playing Ryota would mean more challenge for Daiki. Even if Daiki was stronger than Ryota right now didn't mean that he wouldn't be able to prove a challenge for Daiki. Ryota had potential to reach Daiki one day and with his copying skill also the potential to use Daiki's move against him.
"Gather around!" Harasawa called as he entered the locker room.
Mac nudged Daiki who opened his eyes and blinked at her. Adorable. He sat up straighter and looked toward Harasawa.
"Kaijo is a team on the National level and has strong players," Harasawa said. "We have talked about all of this before and Potter-san has gone over a very thorough analysis over their players and plays."
Mac nodded as he talked and they listened as he went over the plans again and they all paid attention as he talked.
...
When they entered the court they heard the loud applause and Mac looked up to see the stands filled with people. This arena was larger than any they had played in before and even larger than the courts they had played in back at Teiko.
Wakamatsu, Daiki, Imayoshi, Susa and Sakurai were going to start the match while Mac started on the bench. She and Harasawa had agreed that this was the best choice and it would give Mac a chance to observe Kaijo and see what approached they had to the match before she would enter the court. And besides, Mac argued that they might need Wakamatsu's strength at the start against Kaijo's Kobori Koji.
"I won't lose, Aomine-cchi, Mac-cchi," Ryota greeted them with.
"You sure sound confident, Kise," Daiki smirked. "Have you ever beaten me before?"
Mac just sighed and gave Ryota a small smile.
"I look forward to see what you do, Kise," she told him.
He nodded and didn't try to hug her this time and she knew it was because they were going against each other and right now they were enemies. She still didn't like thinking about her friends like that, but she knew it was how it was. Right now Ryota was her enemy and she would use her knowledge about him to win.
"Oooooh," an awed voice sounded and Mac glanced around until she spotted one of the Kaijo players staring at her. "I forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Kasamatsu asked confused.
Mac recognised the other player as Moriyama Yoshitaka and knew he was a good player as well.
"That they have a beautiful flower on their team!" Moriyama gushed. "Too bad you're on their team, flower, or I would have played this match for you."
Mac sighed and closed her eyes for a second before she reached out and grabbed Daiki before he could even start to move toward the Kaijo player who was now getting hit over the head by Kasamatsu who was scowling.
"Focus on the match!" Kasamatsu yelled at him. "You should play for us and not some girl!"
"Kenzie's not some girl," Daiki growled and Mac fastened her grip on his arm.
"Stop it, Daiki," she said.
Ryota laughed, the earlier tension leaving him for a moment as he watched the scene.
"Stop laughing, Kise!" Kasamatsu ordered. "Seriously! I'm surrounded by idiots."
Mac felt her lips twitch.
"I can sympathise with that," she told him and shot Daiki a glare. "Stop acting like an overprotective idiot, Daiki. Go and get ready for the match."
"He's still staring at you," Daiki grumbled. "I'll crush him on the court."
He glared at Moriyama who blinked but still stared at Mac who felt uncomfortable and flustered. She looked at Ryota who was looking a cross between amused and protective as he too glanced at Moriyama.
"I would suggest you stop staring at Mac-cchi, sempai," Ryota said. "Otherwise I don't think we'll have anything left of you after the match."
"Why?" Kasamatsu asked warily.
"Because Aomine-cchi won't go easy on him," Ryota said before frowning, "and Mac-cchi is his girlfriend."
Moriyama and Kasamatsu looked at Mac surprised but she just shrugged and turned to go back to her own team and hopefully forget that this had happened.
"Also," she heard Ryota say, "if Aomine-cchi doesn't crush you on the court then Akashi-cchi will not be nice. So, you better stop thinking about Mac-cchi, Moriyama-sempai. This is the only warning I'll give you."
Mac turned and saw the sharp smile Ryota shot his friend and sighed. Overprotective gits…
...
Mac watched from the sidelines how Imayoshi and Kasamatsu shook hands before going back to their team and noticed that Imayoshi suddenly paused and looked over his shoulder and over at Kasamatsu.
"Hm," Imayoshi looked thoughtful as Mac heard his hum. She guessed he would be intrigued by Kasamatsu and a part of her felt almost sorry for the other captain because having Imayoshi's interest wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"Let the second quarter-final between Kaijo High and Too Academy begin," a voice called over the court on the speaker and the crowd cheered and a thrill of excitement seemed to go through the court.
...
0-0: 1st quarter – start of the match
...
Wakamatsu and Kobori jumped up and fought for the ball. Mac watched pensively from the bench as Kobori won and got the ball to Kasamatsu and Kaijo had control of the ball. She scribbled something down at her notebook as she watched Kobori, he was physically strong and quite tall and that was why she had wanted Wakamatsu on the court from the start.
Kasamatsu dribbled the ball and lead his team forward with a confidence and belief that Mac could only admire, but she wasn't worried. Imayoshi was on Kasamatsu but failed to stop him from passing the ball to Ryota.
Daiki was there immediately and Mac tilted her head as she watched them. She could easily see that Ryota was fired up, just like Daiki was, but… she frowned slightly as she took in Ryota's form.
He passed Daiki easily and Mac knew Daiki had let him do so and stole the ball from Ryota from behind and Mac could hear him ask Ryota if he thought it would be that easy to get past him.
Daiki passed the ball and Wakamatsu ended up with the ball under Kaijo's hoop but was faced with Kobori who guarded the hoop very well. Wakamatsu went back and forth a little bit before he passed the ball to Sakurai who was free on the other side.
Sakurai jumped up to shoot a three-pointed and Moriyama was barely too late to stop it thanks to Sakurai's quick release and Too took the first points.
...
0-3: 20 seconds played – 1st quarter
...
Ryota had the ball again and was once more facing Daiki who looked like he had expected it. Ryota jumped up and his movement matched Sakurai's from before and he performed the same quick release that Sakurai was so good at.
"Hm," Mac frowned at the bench making Harasawa glance at her but she ignored him as she watched Daiki jump up and get a finger on the ball making the ball bounce off the hoop and Imayoshi got the ball.
Ryota looked slightly shocked but also determined, Mac noticed as she glanced at him before looking back at Imayoshi who was now almost alone at Kaijo's half of the court when Kasamatsu appeared and won the ball from him and quickly shot the ball getting a three-pointer themselves.
...
3-3: 30 seconds played – 1st quarter
...
"Idiots," Mac sighed as she scribbled more in her notebook.
"Why?" Harasawa asked curiously.
"I told them not to underestimate Kasamatsu," Mac said without looking at her coach. "He's strong and probably the best player they have after Kise. They seem to forget that he's on the team as well after Daiki shot down Kise like that."
Harasawa nodded but didn't say anything else as he turned back to the match.
She still didn't really like Kasamatsu's way of disciplining Ryota, though, Mac thought as she watched Kasamatsu rather violently scold Ryota.
"They've almost taken control of the game," Harasawa commented as he twirled a lock of his dark hair. "Kasamatsu-kun, you said? He's got good leadership skills. There aren't many guys like him. As long as we don't stop him, we won't be able to take control."
Mac nodded and made a few more notes as she frowned. It wasn't that she was surprised, she wasn't. She knew Kasamatsu's strengths and weaknesses, very well. She had just hoped that she had prepared her team better, but it looked like they were failing to get a hold of him from the start like she had planned.
Well, she would just need to change her plans a little. It shouldn't be too difficult.
...
"I see," Daiki said. "What a dependable senior. If you can't fight me yourself, you'll fight me all at once, huh? You've started to think like Tetsu. Did you have a change of heart after losing to him? You're putting me to sleep."
"What?" Ryota smirked. "I didn't mention anything like that."
Daiki noticed that Ryota's yellow eyes were sharp and determined and his aura changed, it got harsher and there was a rawness that hadn't been there before. He narrowed his eyes as he took in Ryota's form. He had changed…
"I guess I have come to acknowledge Kuroko-cchi's way of thinking. I even want to make Kaijo win," Ryota said. "But I don't care what's correct. I just want to beat you. I'm not mature enough to play basketball with reason over instinct!"
"Bring it on!" Daiki smirked darkly and they were moving.
...
...
AN: Thank you for reading!