Disclaimer: I own nothing!
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1st year – Too Academy – Kaijo High vs. Too Academy
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36-63: 28 minutes played – 3rd quarter
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Mac breathed heavily as she took in the determination coming from Kaijo. They were nowhere near giving up even with the large gap in points. They fought together and she could see them cheer Ryota on as they did their best to give him time to perfect his moves.
"Daiki," she said and glanced at her boyfriend who was standing next to her.
"Yeah?" he glanced at her.
"It's your turn," she said.
"Finally," he smirked and crunched down into his effortless stance and Mac caught the ball before throwing it to Daiki.
She saw the wary looks from Kaijo's players since she hadn't directly played Daiki up until now and it was like the aura changed on the court growing tenser and heavier as Daiki moved across the court past everyone who tried to stop him. He was quickly by the hoop and scored.
...
"I have to do it," Ryota mumbled and closed his eyes.
He inhaled deeply as images of Daiki smiling and laughing as they played one-on-one back at Teiko crossed his mind and the feeling of admiration and awe that had filled him ever since the first day he had seen Daiki play.
He had to let go.
His hands clenched as he inhaled deeply again. He had his team that needed him. Kasamatsu who believed him in and always gave him good advice. Moriyama who was kind and patient always asking him to introduce him to girls. Hayakawa who was loud and hard to understand but always gave his best. Kobori who was calm and just observed them but would give Ryota encouragements when needed.
It was this that Tetsuya talked about. The feeling of having others that backed you up and depended on you on the court. No one expected you to do it on your own, but they needed him to have the slightest chance to catch up.
His shoulders relaxed and he opened his eyes and saw Daiki watching him with a blank look on his face. Ryota could not read Daiki at all as they stared at each other, but right now it wasn't needed. This was the perfect opportunity to take on Daiki and hopefully, he could prove to him that he could challenge him.
He would show him that he could beat him and help him find his way again. Like Tetsuya had done for him. Like Mac hoped for, for them all. He glanced at her and saw her breathing harder than normal but her eyes were sharp and were focused on him. He could see the barely-there smile on her lips like she knew what he was trying to do and…liked it?
"I will beat you," Ryota declared. "You always say; the only one who can beat me is me, right?"
...
"Ah," Mac stared. She couldn't help it and she barely noticed Imayoshi and Susa look at her before they followed her eyes to see what she was staring at. "He's done it."
She had known he could and had expected it but actually seeing it was different. She saw how Ryota slouched slightly and his body seemed more relaxed than it had been all day and his arms hung down in front of his body with the ball between both hands.
It looked like one of Daiki's stances. Perfectly done.
She swallowed before smiling slightly. She couldn't keep it away even as she felt slightly worried about what to come next, but she knew that finally Daiki would have a challenge. She just hoped that it would be enough.
"What if that 'me' is who you're playing against?" Ryota asked.
Even the look in his eyes are the same as Daiki, Mac marvelled as she stared at the two of them. She saw that Daiki had realised the same thing she had and could tell he was both anxious to play and a little wary. She knew it must be hard to have someone else use your entire style like their own.
Ryota moved and with a move rivalling Daiki's he broke past Daiki who still looked slightly stunned, but he was on his trail right away.
...
"Woah," Imayoshi gasped.
Harasawa leaned forward on the bench with an expression of shock on his face as he took in the scene of Ryota completing the copy even having been warned by Mac. He really should know better than doubting her words. She proved again and again that she read the game and players correctly.
"That could be troublesome," Harasawa muttered.
The same reactions of shock went through the arena as they saw the change in Ryota, but only the basketball players and especially the members from Teiko could really understand what had just happened.
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"No!" Mac yelled but it was too late.
Daiki jumped and with that pushed Ryota who was in the air preparing to shoot and the shrill whistle from the referee sounded over the court. But not enough with that Ryota managed to make the shot despite the foul and with a move Mac had only seen Daiki use before.
Ryota took his place and made the free-throw.
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40-65: 30 minutes played – 3rd quarter (end)
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Mac sat down and frowned as she thought about the new development in the match. She knew she had to think of something and looking at Daiki she saw that he was focused, just like he should be. She had hoped to see him smiling, though, but he wasn't.
"What do we do?!" Wakamatsu asked breaking the silence. "He actually did it."
"I told you he would," Mac said distractedly.
"And we can't take Aomine out of the match now," Inoue said.
"We'd lose if we did," Mac said bluntly.
"Will you be able to help?" Harasawa looked at her with a critical look. He knew she was very close to her limit; she had been pushing herself farther in the last two quarters than planned.
Mac grimaced slightly as she quickly evaluated herself before she sighed.
"I think we need Wakamatsu for the last quarter," Mac said looking up and smiled slightly at the stunned look on the tall light-haired player. "I'm very near my limit, and we need his strength now. I'm not that physically strong."
Harasawa nodded and accepted her reasons.
"But we have a solid lead, though," Abe commented.
"Nothing is impossible as long as the clock is still ticking," Mac said thinking about Tetsuya who liked to say this. "They have ten minutes and with Kise like this…it will be a tough challenge for them, but not impossible. You have to be focused and not take it for granted. Leave Kise to Daiki."
"I don't know why you are worried," Daiki scoffed. "I'll beat him."
Mac rolled her eyes but didn't say anything
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40-65: 30 minutes played – 4th quarter (start)
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Mac sat on the bench and watched as they started the last quarter. This would be the deciding one and she had faith that they would win. Even if she held the possibility open for Kaijo to somehow catch up with the way Ryota had managed to copy Daiki she couldn't really see how they would do it. Not while they still had Daiki and he was mostly rested because they had been keeping him back for the last two quarters while Ryota had been playing and using more of his stamina.
She sighed as she wondered if this match would help of Daiki's belief of never being challenged in a match. Right now Ryota was challenging him, but she saw no lightning in his eyes as he just remained focused and angry.
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Daiki had the ball and he was going to prove that he was the best. No one could come and copy him like that; it wouldn't be that easy to beat him. He dribbled the ball and Ryota was keeping up with him but he twisted and turned enough times before he jumped and saw Ryota jump as well. He allowed himself to fall backwards in the air as he started to descend toward the ground again and watched Ryota stare at him before he tossed the ball. It went in a perfect arch over Ryota and through the hoop.
He smirked as he landed on his feet and straightened up.
Ryota inhaled deeply before exhaling again and knew that this would not be easy.
"They still scored that quickly without Potter-san on the court," Kasamatsu frowned and stared at Daiki.
"Kise said we shouldn't take her absence on the court to mean that this was going to be easier," Moriyama reminded him.
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40-68: 30 minutes played – 4th quarter
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Mac heard the small gasps from her teammates that were seated on the bench beside her as Ryota copied the shot right away but she didn't let on what she was thinking. She just watched and felt a sort of proud yet wary respect for Ryota as he continued to copying everything Daiki was doing. It went back and forth like this for the next few minutes of the quarter and Mac could only observe.
"This isn't just a fist-fight!" Someone from the spectators yelled loud enough for Mac to hear on the bench and she frowned slightly. "This is a full out brawl!"
The cheering was loud and intense.
"I knew this would happen," Imayoshi said as he stared at Daiki and Ryota. "The Generation of Miracles really is terrifying!"
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88-114: 36 minutes played – 4th quarter
"They are scary," Inoue said from the bench.
"Hm?" Mac glanced at him.
"Aomine and Kise," he said. "They're scary."
"Huh," Mac blinked. "I can't see it."
Inoue wasn't the only one staring at her now and she blinked again.
"What?" she asked.
"You can't see it?" Yamaguchi asked incredulously.
"No…" Mac said and looked back at Daiki and Ryota who was once more going at it. It was like the rest of their teams weren't even there. She looked back at her friends. "I can't…"
"She's one of them," Abe stated. "Of course she can't see it. They're scary and you guys saw that she could be as well."
Yamaguchi and Inoue nodded leaving Mac confused before she shook it off and turned her attention back to the match.
...
Mac suddenly straightened up and tensed making Inoue who was next to her glance but she didn't notice as she stared at Ryota with wide eyes. He had stilled just as he was about to jump in order to copy Daiki's latest shot before he followed through on his jump and copied the shot. The ball hit the metal of the hoop and rolled around in a couple of very long seconds before it tipped inside the hoop.
He had only stilled for a second but Mac had noticed her eyes locked onto his legs and she frowned. Her hands fisted on top of her thighs as she analysed Ryota and took in the way he was sweating and the way his legs seemed to tremble ever so slightly. Maybe not enough for everyone to notice, but she did. He was breathing heavier than before and it was clear to her that he was pushing himself past his limit.
He wasn't the only one either. She looked at the rest of Kaijo and saw them all breathing heavier and looking exhausted but they were standing and still had a determined look on their faces. She sighed as she turned her eyes back at her friend.
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100-134: 38 minutes played – 4th quarter
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Mac saw the timer and the score and she knew it was too late for Kaijo. They had lost, it was brutal but it was the way it was. She turned her attention over at the coach of Kaijo and hoped that he would pull Ryota off the court, but he remained seated with his arms crossed over his chest and a serious look on his face. It didn't seem like he was going to pull Ryota out making her frown. She bit her lip. She couldn't say anything. She was helpless in this situation because she wasn't Ryota's teammate anymore. She wasn't the one who would watch out for him and couldn't interfere in how they did things.
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Daiki stared at Ryota. He wasn't giving up. Daiki could see that, even if they only had two minutes left on the clock and a 34 points difference between them he could tell that Ryota would never give up. He had the same eyes that Tetsuya had and Daiki couldn't help but admit that his former teammate was good.
He looked over at Mac and saw her watching Ryota with a blank look on her face, but he could see the worry in her green eyes and he frowned slightly as he looked at Ryota again. Something about him had Mac worried. What was it?
There was no time for him to figure it out so he pushed the thought out for now and promised himself that he would ask Mac later. Right now he had a match to play and a game to win.
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"They're getting tired," Mac said and Harasawa looked at her.
"Yes," he nodded. "But they only have a couple of minutes left."
"Still long when you feel that all you do is running back and forth without touching the ball," Mac commented tearing her eyes off Ryota knowing that she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to go and drag him off the court and off his legs.
"That's true," Harasawa nodded. "You think we should put in some new strength?"
Mac pursed her lips for a moment as she let her eyes scan the team but she shook her head.
"No," she said. "They're still focused."
Harasawa nodded.
...
Ryota won the ball from a distracted Sakurai who hadn't expected to suddenly get the ball, but Daiki followed managing to get on the right side and made Ryota pause in his advance. Daiki could see that Ryota was still copying him and knew he was thinking of ways to get past Daiki.
Daiki was determined not to let Ryota get past him. It didn't matter that they were in the lead and would win this match, this was something deeper. Something personal. He wasn't going to let Ryota win over him in the private match that had developed parallel to the real one. He wasn't going to lose to a copy of himself.
He quickly analysed what he would do if he was in Ryota's position and noticed how Ryota looked to his right but Daiki saw through it and smirked humourlessly. He felt a stab of disappointment and watched as Ryota jumped up and seemingly was going to perform a formless shoot but Daiki followed and when Ryota lowered the ball and lead it behind his back and Daiki reacted before Ryota could make the pass to Kasamatsu and knocked the ball out of the way.
Silence filled the court as Daiki felt the eyes on him while he stared at Ryota who looked shocked. He wasn't sure what to do with the way his chest contracted in disappointment. He snorted and looked away and his eyes landed on Mac who was frowning but didn't look surprised like the others did.
"You finally made a mistake," Daiki spoke up.
"Huh?" Ryota blinked.
"I never rely on team-play in my game," Daiki said coldly. "You're just like Tetsu."
He walked away from Ryota who looked shocked.
...
"Tetsu really has changed Kise," Mac mumbled to herself as she watched from the bench. She smiled slightly seeing that Ryota was being knocked over the head by his captain and with that knocked out of the shock he had just been given by Daiki. He really had a good team.
Her smile disappeared when she looked at Daiki who was tenser than before and a darker look about him. She understood. She also knew that Daiki didn't understand what Ryota had realised about the game, but it was nothing she could say to make him understand. Not yet at least.
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"It only means that I'm not strong enough yet," Ryota said as he tried to keep Daiki from pressing the ball through the hoop.
Daiki didn't say anything as he forced the ball through the hoop and Ryota fell to the floor just as the referee blew his whistle and ended the match.
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100-138: 40 minutes played – 4th quarter (end)
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Daiki stood there in silence and looked down at Ryota who was trying to catch his breath.
Mac was standing now and was watching with conflicting feelings going through her. They had won. The rest of the bench players cheered but she didn't join them as she watched her boyfriend and her friend. She felt happy for their victory, the way her team was happy was affecting her as well and she really wanted them to succeed. But…she also felt pained because she knew that Daiki had been disappointed again even if (in her opinion) didn't have a reason to be because he had just seen the promise of a challenge in the form of Ryota. He would get better and he would prove to be able to challenge Daiki. Mac was certain of it having watched him now.
Yet another feeling going through her was worry. Worry for her friend who was still seated on the ground unable to stand on his feet. She winced slightly as he tried to get up and fell back once more. She knew he felt it in his legs and she wanted to go and help him, but…again she knew she couldn't.
Just why had they split up like this? Mac hated having to watch her friends suffer and not being able to do anything to help. It was like watching Tetsuya and Taiga after their match and now she had to watch Ryota go through the same. She saw Ryota hit the parquet with his fist in frustration.
Mac saw Daiki standing to the side watching Ryota with a blank look on his face silently observing the blond player. She wasn't sure if anyone but her noticed how his eyes seemed sad and worried, and she felt a hope spark to life in her chest. Their relationship wasn't lost.
Mac bit down on her lips as she took in the shaking in Ryota knowing that he was trying not to cry and she pushed away her own tears.
Daiki turned and walked away just as Kasamatsu walked up to Ryota and offered him a hand. Ryota seemed unable to get up so Kasamatsu literally lifted Ryota up to his feet by his armpits and pulled one of Ryota's arms over his shoulder helping him walk toward the rest of the team.
...
Mac absentmindedly stroked Nao's fur as her mind still lingered on the match. She was still at the arena, but had walked outside and sat down under a tree as she waited for Daiki to find her. He had stalked off and she knew he needed to think so she waited. She didn't really mind. She needed to process the match as well.
Worry for Ryota filled her but she knew that it would not be a good idea for her to go and see him now. It went against her instincts but she held back knowing that he was the opponent now and that meant that she had to leave him in the hands of his new team. She hoped they would be able to help him.
Why did everything get so complicated when it came to her friends and basketball? She sighed and Nao opened an eye to glance up at her and she smiled slightly.
"I'm fine, Nao," she murmured and he purred softly before snuggling closer to her and closed his eyes again.
She wasn't sure how long she was seated underneath the tree before she heard footsteps coming closer and she was about to greet Daiki but the words froze on her lips as she looked up and realised that it wasn't her boyfriend that was approaching her but two men who looked to be in their mid-thirties or something.
She looked down again and focused on Nao hoping they would just continue on their way and trying to ignore the way they had looked at her. She felt tense and Nao noticed as he opened his eyes again. She stroked his fur trying to calm him (and herself) down once more.
"Mackenzie?"
Her eyes snapped up and the two men had stopped a few steps away from her and were staring at her with an intensity she couldn't read. Before she knew it Nao had jumped out of her lap and a glowing light surrounded him as he changed from his smaller form and into his adult form before crunching down in front of Mac looking ready to attack.
One of the men held up his hands in a pacifying way and smiled in what she supposed would be a reassuring manner. The other one was just staring at her.
She scrambled to her feet as she took the two men in. The one who held his hands up had light brown hair that was already starting to turn grey and a slightly scarred face. He looked almost sickly, she supposed as she observed him, but at the same time, he looked almost dangerous. She could hear Nao growl and reached down to grab the back of his neck to hold him back and calm him down. She was surprised by the way he reacted. He hadn't been like this since she first got him.
Her eyes shifted over to the other man. He too looked almost sick, malnourished at least. His hair was longer than the other ones and coal black and wavy. His face was pale and gaunt but she supposed that he would have been handsome at one point in his life.
Her observation of the two was over in seconds but she had no idea who they were or how they knew her name. Not just her nickname.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Maybe you could get your fox to calm down?" the brown haired one asked throwing a glance at Nao who was still growling.
"He'll calm down when he wants to," Mac narrowed her eyes.
"Mackenzie…" the other man spoke and she glanced at him. "You're really her."
Mac frowned and glanced between the two.
"How do you know my name?" she asked warily.
Before they could answer they were interrupted by someone calling for Mac.
"Kenzie!"
Mac glanced to the side and saw both Daiki and Seijuro coming toward her. She noticed how Seijuro had narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene with Nao growling at the two men who were standing in front of Mac. Daiki had also noticed and was now running over to them and placed himself in front of Mac.
"What's going on?" Seijuro asked coldly as he glared at the two men who both seemed unhappy at being interrupted.
...
"We just want to talk to Mackenzie," the brown-haired one said calmly.
"Alone," the other one said impatiently.
"No," Seijuro said.
"What? Who are you to make that decision?" The dark haired one snapped and glared at Seijuro.
Mac scowled.
"Hey! Don't talk to my friend like that!" she snapped at him. "I don't even know who you are or how you even know my name! I don't want to talk to you alone!"
The other man sighed and gave his friend a look that clearly said to calm down, but Mac didn't really care.
"I'm sorry about him, Mackenzie," the brown-haired one said. "We have been looking for you for a long time. He's just impatient."
Mac tensed and Daiki glanced at her in concern before he glared at the men.
"Why have you been looking for Kenzie?!" he demanded protectively.
"I suggest you talk now before I call for security," Seijuro added.
Mac felt calmer with her two best friends there and she noticed that Nao had calmed down slightly but still felt tense and growled slightly. She tightened her grip on him slightly to help him calm down more.
"I'm Remus Lupin," the brown-haired one, no Remus, said smiling slightly as his eyes were trained on Mac. "This is my friend, Sirius Black."
For some reason, they both seemed nervous when Remus introduced his friend but Mac couldn't tell why they would be. It was like they expected her or them to know the name, know it and recognize him from somewhere. But why would they think that?
...
Remus watched Mac closely but he saw no sign of recognition in her eyes as she watched them, she just seemed calculating and wary. So she hadn't heard of Sirius before? Perhaps not. Remus had no way to know just what she knew about the magical world, or if she knew about it at all. He hoped she did because going this long without training her magic would be dangerous.
This wasn't really going as he had hoped. It was their own fault, he knew that. But seeing her and being this close had his words tied up and he knew that Sirius was the same. He probably tried to keep himself from lunging at her and hug her. He was glad Sirius had managed to stop himself from doing just that because he could not see that she would have taken that well at all.
It hasn't really helped that the two boys had joined them either. He recognized one of them as the one she had called Daiki and was on her team, but the other one with maroon hair was not someone he recognised and he wondered who he was.
Of course, Sirius had snapped in in impatience and they had tensed even more and it was clear that both boys were important to Mac who had gotten defensive over them real fast. It wasn't that Remus couldn't understand Sirius because he felt impatient himself of getting to talk to Mac, but he also understood that she was not comfortable to talk to them on her own. As she said, she didn't know them.
"Okay," Mac frowned at them. "I still have no idea who you are... or why you have been looking for me."
Remus smiled and nodded.
"We knew your parents," Sirius said. "James was our best friend."
Remus repressed a groan as he saw Mac flinch before still and it was like her eyes clouded over as she stared at them blankly. He noticed that both of the boys also tensed and glanced at Mac in concern before looking back at them clearly not comfortable with allowing them to be out of their sight in case they tried something.
Remus was for the second time in a few minutes lost for words. That barely ever happened. But he had no idea how to start this or take back the shock that she had been given by Sirius blunt words. He had not planned on telling her that bluntly.
"We were close to both James and Lily," Sirius continued. "We've been looking for you ever since you didn't turn up for Hogwarts."
"Sirius," Remus warned and his friend frowned at him but fell silent.
Mac still hadn't moved or said anything.
...
Mac couldn't stop the flinch hearing that. They had known her parents? What did that mean? They talked in Japanese but she could tell now that they weren't Japanese… of course, they weren't. But how did they find her? How did… the questions and thoughts spun in a chaotic mess inside her mind.
"Kenzie," Daiki's quiet voice brought her out of her messy thoughts and she saw him glancing at her with worry in his deep blue eyes.
Her eyes snapped to the two who claimed to be friends with her parents and saw them watching her anxiously. She felt her free hand clench into a fist as she stared at them.
"You knew my parents?" she repeated.
"Yeah," Sirius nodded.
"So, what do you want?" Mac asked tightly.
"Um," they both looked confused at the coldness that had entered her voice. "We…Like Sirius said, we have been looking for you ever since…"
"I didn't show up at Hogwarts," she finished. "Why?"
"Why?" Sirius frowned. "Of course we…"
"Of course you would look for me?" Mac arched a brow before she snorted. "Right. Like I would believe that."
Remus and Sirius exchanged looks.
"It's the truth," Remus frowned. "We were worried and wanted to find you. To know you."
Mac stared at them both coldly and straightened up some more as she let go of Nao who had calmed down and now leapt up into her arms and curled up against her chest. She held him as she watched them.
Daiki and Seijuro were standing on either side of her but slightly in front so they would be able to shield her if necessary. Neither said anything and she knew that they were right now following her lead.
"No," she said. "I don't believe you. Why don't you tell me what you want and how you found me."
"We want to know you! You're the daughter of our best friends!" Sirius said loudly and he took a step closer but Seijuro and Daiki raised their hands and took a step forward to stop him and pushed him back.
"Don't come any closer to Mac!" Seijuro sneered. "The only reason I haven't called security is because Mac hasn't asked me yet."
Daiki just glared.
"Sirius," Remus said and pulled him back but his eyes were on Mac. "I'm sorry, Mackenzie. We really do want to get to know you. As for how we found you…I managed to track down your aunt and uncle and they told us that you ran away from them before they left Tokyo."
"What?!" Daiki snarled while Mac flinched again and took a step back.
"You talked to them?" she asked through gritted teeth.
Remus frowned as he stared at the teens and took in the anger in all of them and pain in Mac. He didn't like it.
"Why did you run away, Mackenzie?" Sirius asked frowning.
The feeling of being alone hit her suddenly and she was back in the house. The empty, cold house that always seemed unfriendly and unwelcoming. The darkness closing in on her…
"Shut up," Daiki snapped at him before turning toward Mac who stared at nothing her eyes looking blank and vacant. He gave a look to Seijuro who nodded sharply before Daiki was beside Mac and cupped her face between his warm hands and looked into her eyes.
"Kenzie," he murmured. "It's okay."
She blinked as she felt warm hands on her face and she blinked again as she was brought back from the coldness and she realised that Daiki was standing right in front of her and had her face between his warm hands.
"Daiki," she whispered. "I…"
"Enough," Seijuro said. "Daiki take Mac with you to the front. Wait for me in my car. My driver is there so he will let you in."
Daiki looked at him for a second before he nodded and put his arms around Mac and started to lead her away.
...
"What do you think you're doing?" Sirius frowned. "We were talking!"
"And now you're done," Seijuro said coldly as he stared at them. "I don't care about what you want. Mac has been through enough and you're not going to hurt her anymore."
"We're not hurting her!" Sirius growled at him but Seijuro didn't flinch as he stared back.
"You are," Seijuro said and he noticed that Remus frowned.
"We never meant to hurt her," Remus said and Seijuro looked at him. "We really just want to talk to her. To see that she's okay."
"She's fine," Seijuro, "when she's not being reminded of those….people."
"Her aunt and uncle, you mean?" Remus asked thoughtfully.
"They don't deserve to be called her aunt and uncle," Seijuro sneered before he turned away to follow Daiki and Mac.
"Please," Remus called out. "Wait. I know this must be a shock for her, but…we really would like to talk to her. Could you please help us?"
Seijuro turned and stared at them once more. Remus wondered if he had ever seen a teen with such cold eyes before and he hid his shiver.
"Why would I help you?" Seijuro asked. "Mac is mine and I will protect her. She's not someone you can come and demand anything from!"
"What do you mean, you prat?!" Sirius yelled. "Mac is yours?!"
Remus was frowning as he watched Seijuro.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Akashi Seijuro," Seijuro answered before looking at Sirius. "And I meant what I said. Mac is mine. Mac is ours. None of her friends will allow you to hurt Mac. Stay away from her."
He turned again and had walked a couple of steps before a hand grabbed his arm and he tensed. He was about to grab the arm of the hand that grabbed him when the hand let go.
"Please, just…just take my number," Remus pleaded. "Call me when…when she's calmed down and…We will wait for her to contact us. Alright?"
Seijuro looked down to see a small piece of paper with a number written on it. He stared at it for a moment before looking up and saw the man looking desperate. He wanted to throw the paper away and tell him to back off. He wanted to and he should, but… but something stopped him.
He knew that Mac might, just might, actually want to hear what they had to say when she calmed down and thought about it. She was way too kind to people. Especially people who didn't deserve it. Like these two. He could feel his own anger at them build, they were threats to Mac. They would try to take her from him. He wouldn't allow that. He digressed. He looked at the paper again before he gritted his teeth. His mind was warring with itself as he considered his options.
"I'll give it to her," he finally said even as he felt angry at himself for saying the words.
"Thank you."
He glared at him before turning and walked away and this time no one tried to stop him.
...
...
AN: What do you think?
Mac finally meets Sirius and Remus. It didn't go that well... and it will take time for their relationship to develop. And let's face it, she did get kind of ambushed by this meeting and it would be overwhelming for most. Curious about your reaction to this meeting so please let me know what you think! :D
Okay, I have to admit to having some discussions with myself on how I want to continue this story. I'm at a crossroad right now, with the matches coming up. You have the Too vs. Yosen match and then followed by the Too vs. Rakuzan match (the final). In canon, none of the GOM played because of Daiki's injuries and Seijuro decided that neither he nor Atsushi was going to play either to make it 'fair'. So now I must decide if I want to follow this or if I'm going to have them play and therefore change the storyline more. I don't mind changing the storyline or how the matches develop, but until now I've kept the winning team the same as in canon even if the score is different.
Basically, my problem is:
A) Should I have Tetsuya be the first one to beat a member of GOM like in canon
B) Have them beat by someone else before they play Tetsuya for their "fated" match.
I must admit that this dilemma has been on my mind for a while now and it's not until now that I really need to make up my mind. I just like the fact that they lose to Tetsuya and that's why they find their way to understand the basketball that he plays and find their love for the game again. I don't want to lose that effect...
I'm rambling. Sorry about that. If you have any thoughts about this please let me know and maybe you could help me make up my mind... XD
I'm sorry for the long and rambly author note... XD But THANK YOU for reading and supporting my story! :D