Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
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Mac made her way home alone and looked up at the rapidly darkening sky above her. She smiled slightly as she remembered the smiles on her team's faces and the way they had laughed and joked. It was a good sign in her book.
She knew they needed to become stronger for the Winter Cup and hopefully they had all moved on from the loss now and was ready to start again tomorrow. She jumped slightly as she felt Nao jump up and settle on her shoulder in his smaller form.
"Awr…awr…"
"Hey Nao," Mac smiled and scratched his ear fondly and felt him nuzzle against her chin. "Sorry. I haven't let you out much lately, huh?"
"Ow-wow-ow," Nao yapped fondly and nibbled lightly on her ear.
"Want to go to the park and run?" Mac asked.
He nodded and she smiled as she changed her direction to the nearest park so Nao could get a chance to run a little before they went home. It didn't take long before they were at the park and she quickly noticed that they were on their own. It wasn't that strange because it was getting late.
She scratched Nao's ear again as she stopped at the nearest grassy spot that was also covered by a small group of trees.
"Alright," she said. "Off you go."
Nao barked happily and jumped off her shoulders and started to run around chasing something he caught the scent off and Mac smiled as she watched him.
She walked to a tree and sat down so she could use it as a backrest. She felt at peace as she sat there and listened to Nao's barks and watched as he enjoyed himself. It was the first opportunity she really had to think.
Not to be ungrateful or anything like that but Mac hadn't really had a chance to just think by herself. Her friends worried and when they did they tended to hover. Especially Daiki and Seijuro. She snorted quietly to herself as she imagined their reaction to her accusation of their hovering. They would be offended.
Anyway, her mind went back to the last few days and it still was…overwhelming, to say the least. Just what was she expected to do here?
But… would her parents be upset with her if she didn't even listen to the two men? Would they be disappointed in her?
A frown settled on her face as she thought about her parents. Her parents that she barely even knew and…what to do? She thought back to the day she learned their names, the same day she learned that magic was real. She had felt curious and almost excited to know more about them…she would have jumped at the chance to find out more if she had the opportunity then. She knew that.
But not now. She had settled that in her mind. She had accepted that she would only know their names and the few stories she'd been told by Newt and Tina. She had accepted it.
So why should she open up that wound again and learn more? What if it only brought her hopes up and she would be disappointed again? What if it pulled her away from her friends? What if… there was so many what if's and she felt her mind spin with them.
It wasn't only that. She feared the magical world in a way. It was not something she thought about much or even wanted to admit, but it was true. She had to acknowledge that. At least to herself. She had learned more about what kind of world the magical world was during her studies and she didn't like it much. She didn't like the picture it painted of her and the way others reacted to her. Newt and Tina had been kind and helped her, but even they warned her what others would do or expect when they found her. They would expect her to be the hero, the light, the poster-girl for whatever scenario they could come up with. Just thinking about how Hermione had reacted to her proved to her that no one in that world would see her.
They wouldn't see Mac. Because that was who she was. Just Mac. She wasn't anything special. She was Mac and she had her friends. That was all she wanted and needed, but the magical world would try to make her into someone she wasn't. It was…scary.
She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't notice the dog until he barked and she startled and looked up to see a large black dog looking at her curiously. He looked rather shabby and much bigger than she normally expected from dogs, but his eyes were intelligent.
"Oh, hey," Mac said with a small smile as she looked at the dog. "I didn't notice you there. Are you lost? Where's your owner?"
Mac looked around but she couldn't see anyone around and when the dog barked she looked back at him.
"Ah," she said and scratched her chin. "Have you gone out on a walk by yourself, perhaps?"
He barked and nodded just like Nao sometimes did. She eyed the dog curiously as she took in the intelligent eyes and the way he seemed to understand her. Was this a normal dog, she wondered.
"You're a fine dog," she said and pushed away from the tree she was leaning against and moved slowly so she wouldn't frighten the dog. She reached toward him and she saw his grey eyes follow her hand for a moment before he moved closer and she smiled before she started to pet his head.
"Your fur is softer than it looks," she laughed.
He barked again and almost looked offended but still happy in a way she wasn't even sure how a dog managed to convey.
She sat back against the tree again and the dog sat down next to her and nudged her hand with his head. She eyed him before she shrugged and put her hand on his head and started to absentmindedly pat his head.
Her eyes found Nao in the distant and let herself relax slightly as she was reassured that he was still there.
Her mind went back to her problems and it felt like a weight had settled over her.
...
The dog whined bringing Mac out of her thoughts again. Mac looked at him for a moment and saw the searching eyes that were looking at her.
Mac hummed and tilted her head as she looked at him.
"I wonder," she said as she removed her hand from his head. "Are you a normal dog? You seem almost like Nao… special in a way."
The dog had tensed slightly and seemed wary but Mac just smiled.
"Ah, no need to get worried like that," Mac said. "I met someone once that told me that animals are really smart and can understand humans in ways we can't understand. He would probably have an inkling to what kind of dog you are and if you're magical or not."
Mac thought about Newt and smiled as she imagined how he would start to study any animal or magical beast he could find. She wondered if he had found anything new lately.
The dog nudged her and she blinked at him.
"Ah, sorry," she smiled and scratched his ear. "I got lost in my thoughts. I was remembering my friend who knows so much about animals and magical beasts. I hope I can't get in trouble by revealing magic to animals… huh, well, whatever."
She shrugged and the dog gave her what could only be interpreted as an amused look.
"You laugh," Mac huffed. "Sometimes I wish that animals could talk…"
Bark.
"See? I'm sure you said something there and I can't understand," Mac sighed and propped her elbow up against her leg and rested her head on her hand. Her eyes looked over at Nao but her mind was on other things. "I'm so confused and I really wished that I knew what to do now…"
A whine and a head nudging against her shoulder.
"I'm rather depressing, aren't I?" Mac laughed sadly as she glanced at the dog. "Sorry about that. I just wished that I knew what my parents would want from me sometimes. I never knew anything about them, you see. Not until I was eleven, almost twelve years old. My aunt and uncle never told me anything about them and… now I have the chance to know them, but… I can't…."
She frowned and sighed before she shook her head and glanced at the dog when he growled and showed teeth. She blinked before she chuckled.
"Don't get upset over me," Mac told him. "There's no use in it. I have great friends and family now and they help me. I just have to decide what to do now…"
The dog looked at her sadly and she almost felt like she had seen those eyes before. But where could she have seen them before? She was sure she had never seen this dog before now.
...
"Oi! Mac!"
Mac looked up at the loud call and smiled when she saw her cousin walking toward her. He was wearing his training clothes so it wasn't that difficult to guess where he had been.
"Ah, Taiga!" She smiled and got up and smiled when Taiga froze as he noticed the dog at her side.
"Aw!" he yelped. "Please tell me you haven't gotten a dog?!"
Mac laughed at the question.
"Hm, what if I have?" she teased.
Taiga turned tragic eyes to her and she chuckled.
"Don't worry, Taiga," she chuckled. "I didn't. He's just a dog I met here in the park."
Mac could see Taiga let out a relieved sigh and smiled. "Oh."
"Have you been at practice?" she asked.
"Yeah," Taiga nodded. "But I went to Maji Burger with Kuroko afterwards."
"You and Tetsu are good friends," Mac said seemingly randomly as she smiled looking at him.
Taiga flushed lightly and looked away.
"I guess…" he muttered. "He's a decent guy and a good basketball player."
Mac smiled as she took in the embarrassment from her cousin and shook her head.
"I'm glad," she said softly.
"Are you coming home now?" Taiga asked changing the subject.
Mac nodded.
"Wait a second, okay?" she asked making him nod.
"Nao!" Mac called.
...
Nao came at her and stopped when he spotted the dog (Mac had almost forgotten that he was there because he had gone so quiet) and started to growl.
"Nao, calm down," Mac said stepping forward and scooping her fox up into her arms. "He's not dangerous, Nao. He's just a dog and won't hurt you."
Nao eyed the dog suspiciously and Mac had a feeling she was missing something. She looked at the dog who was watching Nao.
"Well," Mac said a little awkwardly. How did you say goodbye to a dog? "I have to go home now. Bye."
The dog barked softly and turned sad grey eyes at her and again she was reminded about something but she couldn't remember what.
Taiga gave her a strange look but Mac ignored it and waved at the dog as she turned to walk home with her cousin.
...
Mac pulled out her sketchpad for the first time in what felt like forever. Her pencil lingered over the blank page as she closed her eyes. Then her hand started to move and she was sucked into her drawing like she used to do before.
It was freeing to feel the pencil scratch against the page and she didn't pay much attention to what image was appearing on the page but just got lost in the act itself.
How often hadn't she been in her lonely room or in earlier case her cupboard drawing her imaginary family? How often hadn't she thought up stories for herself in the dark and created personalities for the drawings on her pages?
It was completely dark outside and most of the lights from the surrounding windows visible from her bedroom window were gone and had been gone for a while before Mac stopped drawing.
She blinked as the faces of Sirius and Remus stared up at her from the page.
She pushed the sketchpad away from her hurriedly and scowled at the book. They were even taking over her subconscious. Great. Just great.
She pushed the book away and turned her back to it. She was not going to let it change her mind. She was in the right. She had the right to be mad… right?
"Shut up, Mac," she muttered to herself before she huffed. Now she was even talking to herself. That was a sign of insanity, wasn't it?
...
The summer holidays started and Mac was no closer to finding answers to her problems than before the holiday started. Her mind wouldn't shut up and kept going back to the two British Wizards and her parents.
She could drown herself in her magical work and basketball preparations but no matter what her mind went back to that every night.
She couldn't help but notice that there had been no sign of anyone else from the British Wizarding World coming to look for her like she had feared. So did that mean that Remus and Sirius hadn't told anyone about her? Maybe…
No.
No, she wasn't going to go there. She wasn't going to let her mind wonder about what if…what they could possibly tell her about her parents. What did her parents do for work? Did they enjoy sports? Did…
Her hands clenched because her mind was doing exactly what she was telling herself not to do. She shook her head and groaned.
"Hey Mac," a familiar voice said and Mac looked up to see Kiyoshi smiling down at her.
"Teppei," she said a little dazed, confused.
He frowned slightly as he looked at her and she absentmindedly wondered what she looked like to him. Did her chaotic mind mirror on her outside?
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Ah," she sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind, Teppei. Don't worry about it."
She straightened up and gave a brave smile. She took in the training clothes and his bag that was thrown over his shoulder, his clothes also looked a little wet. Like he had been outside during the rainstorm that had just passed over them.
"You've been reckless in the rain again, haven't you?" she asked eying his clothes.
He laughed and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. She smiled slightly. How she had missed seeing him like this.
"Maybe," he allowed with a shrug. "We played in a street tournament. Kagami and Kuroko and the other first years, and me."
"Crashing one of their games?" Mac teased and he just laughed unrepentantly.
"It's more fun like that," he said.
"You would think so," Mac nodded with an amused smile. "I bet Taiga was frustrated."
"I think he was when you mention it," Kiyoshi smiled but then he turned more serious as he looked at her closely. "But enough about that, Mac. What's on your mind? You seemed to just be walking around in a daze…"
Mac shrugged and looked around herself and realised with a start that she was almost by the park where the two of them had spent so much time together both before they got together and after. She blinked. She hadn't been aware that she was headed toward this park…
"As I said; I just have a lot on my mind," she said quietly.
His warm brown eyes looked at her and for a moment she felt like he saw straight through her. She had forgotten that he could do that, could make her feel like he saw her in a way few others could.
"Come on," he said abruptly and suddenly he was smiling and grabbed her arm and pulled her with him.
"Um, Teppei…" she said as she tried to avoid tripping over her own feet as she was being pulled along. "Where are we going?"
"To the park," he said and grinned at her. "Like old times!"
Mac blinked but gave a mental shrug (seeing that if she tried doing it now she would trip).
...
They arrived at the park and he paused and let go of her arm. She huffed slightly as she looked at him.
"You know, I could have walked on my own," she said.
"Maybe," he grinned.
He grabbed a basketball and tossed it to her. She looked down at the ball and then back at him.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well what?"
"Let's play," he grinned.
Mac blinked and then smiled slightly as she bounced the ball and listened to the familiar sounds of the ball against the concrete.
...
"You win," Kiyoshi admitted when they both sat down at the middle of the court. Both were breathing a little harder than before but they were both smiling.
"So it would seem," Mac said and glanced at him. "You should have gone home to change and not stayed out to play more basketball with me."
"Why?" Kiyoshi asked.
"You'll get sick," Mac worried.
"Nah," Kiyoshi shrugged. "It's fine."
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She knew he was stubborn and was not going to admit that she had a point.
"We met one of your teammates today," Kiyoshi suddenly said.
Mac furrowed her brows as she looked over at Kiyoshi.
"Oh? Which one?" Mac asked.
"Murasakibara," Kiyoshi said and a pensive look crossed his face. "He doesn't like me much."
Mac groaned and felt like hitting herself.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Did he…do something?"
She was almost afraid to ask.
"No," Kiyoshi smiled easily. "He probably would have crushed me in basketball but the rain interrupted the match, so…"
Mac shook her head.
"Seriously," she muttered more to herself than to him. "They all go way overboard when it comes to being overprotective sometimes…"
Kiyoshi heard and laughed but he did look at her a little worriedly.
"I got the impression that he was worried about you," Kiyoshi said after a pause, "Kuroko as well."
Mac withheld a sigh. Kiyoshi was very sharp.
"I see," Mac deadpanned.
They sat in silence for a moment and Mac wondered if Kiyoshi would bring it up again. Her mind was again turning toward unwanted territory and she rubbed her forehead tiredly.
"You'll figure it out," Kiyoshi suddenly said and she blinked and looked over at him.
"Eh?"
"Whatever it is that you're worrying so much over," Kiyoshi said. "I know you, Mac. Don't forget that. I can tell that something is making you distracted and are worrying your friends as well, but I also know that you are strong. You can handle anything that life throws at you."
Mac stared at him.
"You can't know that…" she whispered and looked away from him.
"Of course I can," Kiyoshi said with such confidence that Mac was forced to look back at him. "You have already proven that you can with how you handled being left by your aunt and uncle and meeting your new uncle and cousin. It's not easy for anyone to suddenly be faced by a new family like that, and taken from a place where you had started to settle into."
Mac stared at him shocked. How did he…? Did he know? No… he couldn't, but…
"You also showed it in the way you handled my injury and how you helped me," Kiyoshi continued. "I never can thank you enough for the help you gave me all those months. I don't think I would have managed to keep my motivation and spirit up without you there."
"Stop," Mac said blushing. She couldn't continue to listen to that. She had treated him badly and he was thanking her?
"It's the truth, Mac," Kiyoshi said with a smile that was honest and warm and told Mac that he really meant what he said.
"I…I don't deserve…" she said uncomfortably. "I…"
"Silly, Mac," Kiyoshi smiled and reached over to ruffle her hair. "You deserve the world. I'm just grateful to be your friend and have you in my life. I meant it when I said that I would be here for you."
She wasn't sure what to say but she smiled and felt grateful and at the same time undeserving but she didn't say anything else.
"You think I will find the right solution?" Mac asked after she had gathered her thoughts more.
"Yes," Kiyoshi nodded. "I know you will. You're stronger than you think, and sometimes I think that you're stronger than what your friends think as well."
Mac blinked at him again and felt a little thrown but she could tell that he really believed what he said and she wondered if he was right. Was she strong enough to face them?
...
Mac pretended that she didn't notice Remus and Sirius standing by the school gates when she left the school after basketball practice. She just focused on her conversation with Sakurai who had been telling her about a new manga he had been reading.
She ignored the disappointed looks she could feel on her back as she walked away expecting them to call after her, but they didn't. She felt a little confused as to why they didn't but she told herself that she didn't care and that it was all the better that they didn't approach her.
...
Mac had a feeling that she wasn't the only one who was distracted lately or was keeping things back when she saw her cousin seated at the kitchen table just staring blankly at his dinner. She frowned slightly as she grabbed her own empty plate and got up from the table to rinse it before placing it in the dishwasher.
"Are you not going to eat, Taiga?" Mac finally asked.
He startled and stared at the food like he just saw it.
"Oh," he said before he started to eat.
Mac leaned against the kitchen counter watching him while he ate. She realised that she hadn't really talked to him lately.
"Are you okay, Taiga?" Mac asked when he finished eating and before he could take the plate she had grabbed it and was walking over to the sink and rinsed it.
"Of course!" Taiga said.
"If you say so," Mac said throwing him a look over her shoulder. "Murasakibara didn't say anything to you to make you this sulky?"
"You know I met him?" Taiga asked surprised.
"I met Teppei," Mac shrugged. "He told me you met."
"Oh," Taiga frowned and Mac shut off the water before placing the plate in the dishwasher and shut it. She straightened up and turned to face Taiga completely now with a small frown on her own face.
"Did he say something to you?" Mac asked wondering if her friend had really said anything that could make Taiga brood like this. She knew that Atsushi could be a little blunt sometimes and especially if it involved her in any way.
"No, no," Taiga shook his head and Mac almost let out a relieved sigh and felt a little bad about thinking that her friend had said something, but it wasn't impossible that he had. "I just met someone I haven't seen since I was in America and I didn't expect to see him again."
"Oh?" Mac asked intrigued. "Who?"
Taiga hesitated for a moment and Mac noticed this. She walked over to the table and sat down when Taiga had made no move to get up to leave
"Himuro Tatsuya," Taiga said.
"Murasakibara's teammate?" Mac asked surprised.
"You know him?" Taiga asked.
"I've met him a couple of times," Mac shrugged. "Never talked much with him, though."
"Oh," Taiga frowned.
Mac was silent as she waited. She would let him decide what to say but she did wonder how they knew each other and why he looked almost sad about it.
"We used to be close as brothers," Taiga suddenly said. "I met him when we first moved to LA and I barely could talk any English, but then one day I met Tatsuya at a local park and I joined him and his friends playing basketball. It was fun. We spent every day together. It didn't mean anything that he was a year older. We were rivals and brothers…"
Mac noticed that he was fiddling with the necklace he always wore but she had never really paid any attention to before. She now realised a ring was hanging on the chain.
"What happened?" Mac asked.
"I messed up," he admitted. "He talked about that if I won the next game he wouldn't see me as his little brother any longer and…"
Ah. Mac could guess what happened next.
"So you lost on purpose?" Mac finished and he flinched.
"I know I shouldn't, but…" he frowned. "He was injured and I just…acted without thinking. I didn't want him to stop being my brother."
Mac could understand that. If she was told that she would lose her bond with her friends if she won against them she wasn't sure what she would do.
"He got upset with you," Mac said shaking her own thoughts off.
"Yeah," Taiga sighed. "And now he's in Yosen and we will probably face each other again."
Mac wasn't sure what to say about that so she remained silent.
...
Mac was walking beside Daiki out of the school after yet another practice when she again noticed Remus and Sirius standing close by. Waiting. Watching. She pretended, again, that she didn't see them as she talked with Daiki.
"They're here…" he growled.
"Ignore them," Mac said and grabbed his arm.
"They shouldn't be here," Daiki muttered but he made no sign of walking over to them anymore. "They should stay away from you."
"They never actually do anything to stop me from walking past them," Mac shrugged. "I don't know what they want with just coming here like this."
Daiki scowled but didn't say anything because he didn't know what they had planned and he knew that Mac was confused enough about it. He pushed back his own unsettled feelings and the need to march over there and demand to know what they were doing there stalking Mac.
It was a little later that they said their goodbyes and Mac made her way toward the trains. She was going to go and see Ryota and Daiki declined, stating that he had to go home and help his dad with something.
Mac took the train to Kanagawa district and jumped off on the station closest to Kaijo High School. She hoped that Ryota still was at practice because she had forgotten to call him earlier to ask.
It didn't take long to find the school seeing that she had been there once before, and didn't that feel like forever ago? She shook her head and focused on the task at hand. Finding Ryota.
She could hear the sounds of practice going on inside the gym as she paused outside of the large doors. She hesitated. Should she enter or should she wait until he left?
Deciding it would be too boring to just wait outside she opened the door and entered the gym. The sounds of running feet and basketballs bouncing against the floor were the first thing she registered before she even really saw them.
She looked around and noticed that the court seemed to be divided in two and on the left side she spotted the regulars while she guessed the rest of the club was on the right side of the court. It wasn't that different from how they did it at Kaijo.
She walked toward the regulars and frowned when she noticed Ryota practising. They seemed to be doing an exercise that consisted of running back and forth between two lines while dribbling the ball.
It was when she saw Ryota do a quick turnaround and making it look more effortless than anyone else that she heard the squeals from above her and she rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. He really couldn't do anything without having fangirls around…
But…What worried her was the fact that Ryota was running and the strain he was placed on his legs already seeing that he had injured them during their match. She pushed down any annoyance she felt at the Kaijo coach or captain for allowing this because she wasn't involved in this team and should not have any say in what they did.
Though…it was her friend.
"Oi! The beautiful flower from Too is here!" Moriyama was the first one to notice her and his loud exclamation brought the other's attention over to her.
Ryota stopped his running and turned wide eyes at Mac who ignored Moriyama as she smiled slightly at Ryota.
"Mac?" Ryota sounded surprised.
"Hey, Kise," she smiled and waved.
"You're here!" Ryota beamed and bounced over to her and hugged her tightly lifting her from the ground by his enthusiasm. "You came to see me!"
"I still would like to breathe," Mac gasped out.
Ryota let go and looked a little sheepish as he back away a step grinning at her.
"Sorry," he said.
"No problem," she smiled and looked behind him to see the others looking at them curiously. "Ah. I'm sorry for disturbing your practice. I had hoped that you were finished by the time I got here…"
"It's quite alright, Potter-san," Kasamatsu said politely. "We were almost done anyway."
"WH'T A'E Y'U D'IN' 'Er'?!" Hayakawa yelled.
Mac blinked as she tried to make sense of what he had just said.
"Um, I just came to see Kise," Mac said after a pause hoping that she answered his question. "I have something for him, so I decided to come and see him."
Ryota beamed at her but there was some curiosity in his eyes as well as he stared at her.
"I'm so happy you came to see me!" He grinned but she saw the way he looked at her and knew he was looking for signs on how she was. She gave him a reassuring smile and his expression softened momentarily before it turned back to his ecstatic look.
"I guess it's time to call the end of practice anyway," Kasamatsu said and turned back to call off the practice.
...
Mac sat on a bench in the gym as she waited for Ryota to change and get back to her. She ignored the squealing fangirls that were watching from above her in the gallery no doubt waiting for Ryota as well. She had pulled out her sketchpad while she was waiting and was drawing absentmindedly as she waited.
"You're good," Kasamatsu's voice interrupted her and her head snapped up and blinked. She hadn't noticed him coming up to her.
"Oh," she looked down at the ongoing drawing of a basketball court and a lone basketball lying in the middle of a large puddle. "Thanks."
She closed the sketchpad a little self-consciously as she wasn't really used to others beside Daiki and maybe her friends seeing her drawings.
"Kise said you were good at drawing," Kasamatsu commented.
"He did?" Mac tilted her head as she looked up at the Kaijo Captain.
"Yes, among other things," Kasamatsu said and for a moment a look of fond exasperation crossed his face. "He never really shuts up if he gets talking about you or Kuroko."
Mac snorted and nodded.
"Ah. I see," was all she said.
"It's annoying," Kasamatsu said. "Has he always been like this?"
Mac hummed thoughtfully.
"I guess," she finally said. "He's easily excited and enjoys life in a way I rarely have seen. It took me a while to get used to his cheerfulness."
She smiled nostalgically as she remembered his first few weeks with the team and how uncomfortable she had felt around him, but eventually, she had been drawn by the cheerful aura he had.
"He's smarter than most give him credit for," Mac continued, "and he sees things. When things changed for is back at Teiko he turned more serious and his cheerfulness became more…forced, I guess you could say. He was not the same, but… he's more back to how he was now and I'm glad."
Mac wasn't sure why she told Kasamatsu this. Maybe it was because of the care he had for Ryota that she saw in him, or the way he was protecting Ryota both on and off the court. Anyway, she now saw the pensive look on the Kaijo Captain's face as he listened to what Mac told him.
"It's because of you and this team that he has found back to himself," Mac said as she got to her feet and pushed her sketchpad back into her bag. She smiled at Kasamatsu. "Well, and the loss to Tetsu. But thank you for taking care of Kise."
She bowed politely at him and saw the shocked expression on Kasamatsu's face when she straightened again and gave him a smile.
"Mac!" Ryota called loudly interrupting what Kasamatsu was about to say as he came bursting into the gym. "I'm ready!"
Mac waved at Kasamatsu and walked over to Ryota and ignored the fangirls that were trying to get his attention as she did so.
...
"So, why did you really come here?" Ryota asked after they had eaten at a local Maji's Burger.
"I can't fool you, can I?" Mac smiled.
"Nah," Ryota grinned at her. "Are you okay, Mac?"
"I'm doing alright," Mac shrugged and looked out of the window. She imagined that she saw Remus and Sirius on the other side of the street for a moment but when she looked again there was nothing or no one there. She shook her head.
"Mac…" Ryota said.
"I'm dealing with it," she interrupted him and smiled. "It's a lot to think about, but I'm doing alright. I promise."
Ryota nodded but she could see that he still was worried.
"So…why are you here?" he turned back to the first question. "Not that I'm not happy to see you! You should come more often!"
Mac chuckled and nodded. Yes, she should… she missed him.
"Well, you could come to see me as well, you know," she said and he nodded in agreement. "As for why I came… Your legs."
He blinked at her and a slightly guarded look entered his eyes.
"My legs?" he repeated. "What about my legs?"
"You're injured," she said bluntly. "You shouldn't be training like you are."
He sighed.
"I'm fine," he said. "It only hurts a little."
"Lie," Mac challenged and he frowned at her.
"I need to become stronger…" he said.
"Yes," Mac nodded in understanding, "and you will, but if you injure yourself even worse than you already are, how are you planning on being a help to your team?"
He opened and closed his mouth without anything coming out.
"I can't just sit at the sideline," he protested but he seemed more resigned now.
"That's why I'm here," Mac said and pulled out a small tube from her bag and pushed it over the table toward him. "This is a salve I've made in my special lessons. It should help you. You just rub this on your legs every night for the next two weeks and it will help you build up your muscles in your legs again."
He blinked at her and looked at the tube. She knew he understood what she meant by special lessons.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Just…don't give it to anyone else and don't lose it."
Ryota nodded in agreement and she smiled. The rest of the afternoon they spent talking and laughing, and Mac relaxed more as she enjoyed his company and listened to his stories about his new team. If he noticed her soft smile as she listened he didn't say anything.
...
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AN: What do you think? XD
Thank you so much for reading! Thank you to everyone who has left a review (guests and others), favourited and/or followed my story! I really appreciate it! :)
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*Just an explanation about Remus and Sirius. Read if you want to know my thoughts behind them in this story. :)*
I just feel like I need to address something. I know there are mixed reactions to Sirius and Remus entering the story. It was always my plan on having them enter the story at one point. Though, I didn't think it would take this long before they did. I like both Sirius and Remus' characters in the books and that's why I wanted to add them. Though, I have made some changes to how Mac (Harry) reacts when finding out their connection to him and his parents. I know that in canon Harry accepts quite easily (in my mind) that Remus and Sirius are his parents best friends. (After the situation about Sirius is cleared up of course). He is so eager to get away from the Dursley's that he agrees to move in with a man he doesn't really know. In this version, Mac has gotten away from the Dursley's and that desperation isn't there anymore. Moreover, she has built up a life for herself that she enjoys and find safety in. So she won't react the same as canon Harry. That makes it clear that the motivation behind them is different. Living in Japan and attending muggle school will alter Mac and make what is seen as the 'correct' reaction to Remus and Sirius different. That's why I wanted to show that it wasn't as easy to just come and claim to be her parents best friends and have Mac accept them. I couldn't see her just accept them that's why she has reacted the way she has, but she's now starting to soften and to get curious about their intention and about her parents. She's a teenage girl who reacts according to her emotions, but now she's starting to calm down and actually think...so it should be close for her to actually talk with them now. It will be good for her to get more in touch with her past. She can't fully get over it without confronting it at some point. This will just be a step in that direction.
Sorry about the rather long explanation... but I just felt for explaining my thoughts and hopefully it will clear it up for anyone who's wondering about it. I'm sorry if you wish for her to not be involved with the two men at all, but that isn't going to happen. She will create a relationship with them.