Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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1st year – Too Academy
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Mac laughed as Nao ran past her and looking like he was enjoying himself as he glanced back at her like he was asking why she was lagging behind.
"Oh, you asked for it," she grinned as she picked up her pace and went into a full run and chased after Nao.
She had woken up early and hadn't been able to fall back asleep so she had gotten up and decided to go for a run before breakfast. She had taken Nao who needed to get some exercise in as well.
While she would have loved to run up the mountain she stayed at the path around the cabins. She didn't think Harasawa would approve of her going up there alone so early, and she didn't really want to go against the coach, so… she stayed on the path.
At least the air was fresh and a little crisp but she could tell it was going to be another warm day. Perfect for training. She laughed again when Nao barked and skipped around her even as she ran.
"Oh, you really are rubbing it in, Nao," Mac said. "Come on. We're almost there!"
Nao made a laughing sound and rushed forward making her chase after him with a laugh of her own. She loved this, to just run and enjoy the exertion her body went through and spending time with Nao.
They rounded the last bend in the path and saw the cabins come into view. She couldn't see anyone out and about yet so she was sure it was still early.
She pushed herself harder until she reached the yard in front of the gym and fell to the ground breathing harder. Nao came over to her and barked a couple of times.
"Yeah, yeah," Mac said as she tried to calm her breathing and reached out a hand to pat his head. "You won. Good job."
"Yow-aw-ya," Nao sounded pleased.
"You don't have to be that smug about it," Mac grumbled as she closed her eyes just enjoying the air and the breeze on her face.
"You talk like he understands you," a voice said making Mac's eyes flew open again and she pushed herself up into a sitting position as she looked around for the source of the voice.
The female coach from Yosen came toward her and Mac could tell that she had seen her and Nao running and competing. She silently cursed herself for not spotting the older woman.
"He understands," Mac said and moved her hand when Nao jumped into her lap and growled slightly as he glared at Araki who was now standing in front of them. "Calm down, Nao. It's alright."
Mac scratched Nao's ear and soothingly petted his head feeling the tension in Nao, probably because he picked up on her own so she did her best to calm down.
"He's a protective one," Araki commented after a moment having watched her calm Nao down.
"You could say that, ma'am," Mac glanced up at her.
An annoyed tick formed over Araki's left eye. "Don't call me ma'am. It makes me sound old."
Mac just blinked as she shrugged.
"You just thought I was old, didn't you?!" Araki accused.
Mac looked at her with wide eyes and blinked.
"Eh? No…" Mac denied.
Araki gave her a suspicious look before she huffed and sat down making Mac blink a couple of times in surprise.
"I'll let you know that I'm not old," Araki said.
"I know," Mac said confused but then dismissed it. Atsushi had a weird coach.
Araki looked at her again and Mac looked back down at Nao who had calmed down a little now and had lain down in her lap as she waited for Araki to say something. There had to be a reason why Araki had approached her.
"I can't figure you out," Araki finally said.
Mac arched a brow as she looked back at the dark-haired coach.
"Oh?" Mac wasn't sure what she wanted with this.
"Why did you choose Too Academy, Potter-san?" Araki asked.
Mac stared at her because she couldn't see why that would be interesting for Araki to know.
"Well, I guess it was because Daiki decided to go there," Mac said slowly.
"So, it was only to follow that friend of yours?" Araki almost sounded disappointed.
"It was a part of it," Mac said easily. "But Coach Harasawa also had a good offer when he came to talk to us. Among the schools I talked to he had the best offer."
Araki blinked at her shocked.
"Harasawa asked you to come?" she asked.
"Well, yeah," Mac frowned lightly looking over at Araki. "He asked both me and Daiki."
Mac noticed that Araki seemed shocked but she wasn't sure why but she pushed back the curiosity she felt because it wasn't her business.
"Do you like basketball?" Araki asked changing the subject.
Mac tensed slightly and it didn't go unnoticed by Araki who frowned. Mac remained silent for a long moment as she considered what to say.
"Yes, I do," Mac finally said.
"You don't look like you do right now," Araki frowned and Mac glanced at her with a searching look in her eyes.
"I love basketball," Mac said after a moment and her eyes seemed to focus on something in the distance. "We all used to love it."
Araki frowned again and looked at Mac, "Murasakibara never gave any indication that he loves basketball."
"Murasakibara is lazy and always has been," Mac shrugged. "While he denies it, he did use to love it. Just like the rest of us."
"Then why the change?" Araki asked.
Mac was silent again wondering why she was even telling the older woman this. There were no reasons for Mac to do so. But there was something that had her talking, she had already said too much.
"Potter-san?"
"It's hard to love something when it breaks your team and you become the monster in everyone else's dream," Mac finally answered a little cryptically.
...
Araki frowned as she thought about Mac's words. She was not sure what the younger girl meant but the words were ominous and worrisome. Araki looked at Mac who was back at fussing over her fox who seemed to be enjoying the attention even if he did still send a glare or two her way.
"Why do you play?" Araki asked.
"I love basketball," Mac said again, glancing back at her and Araki could hear the emotions in her voice. It was clear that Mac really did love basketball. "I play because they still play. I play because it gave me my friends. I play because I can't think about anything else I love to do. It's what I'm good at."
Araki was silent for a long moment as she processed what Mac said. In many ways, it was similar to why she loved basketball, but it seemed to be even deeper with Mac. It was clear that Mac really loved the sport, and Araki had never met anyone before who held such a deep love for it. Just like she did.
"I am interested in you," Araki said and Mac blinked.
"Eh?"
"You are an interesting player, Potter-san," Araki said. "But you are also an interesting manager. I never thought I'd see Harasawa actually acknowledge a female player the way he has done with you. I've known him for years and I've never seen him give this much freedom to one of his players before. I am curious to see just what you can do. How far you can go."
Araki could see that Mac was confused and a little lost on how to respond and looked back down at her fox hiding the colour rising up in her cheeks.
"Kenzie!"
Araki looked to see Mac's friend, Aomine Daiki, having come out of one of the cabins and was now looking at them with a curious yet protective look in his eyes. Araki looked back at Mac who was smiling in a way that was very telling and Araki arched a brow.
"Um, I have to go," Mac said looking at her and started to get up.
"Alright, Potter-san," Araki said.
"Nice talking to you, Araki-san," Mac nodded. "Bye."
Araki watched as Mac jogged over to Daiki who was smiling at her now and reached out to take her hand in his before they started to walk toward one of the cabins.
"I see," Araki mumbled. "Okamura really is out of luck."
She chuckled to herself as she pushed herself up from the ground ignoring the wince at having been seated on the ground like that for a period of time.
...
They were back in the gym again after finishing another run up the mountain, and Mac saw Harasawa talking with Araki who looked a little disgruntled about something but Harasawa was looking calm and polite as always.
"I don't know why she doesn't like him," Mac muttered.
"Eh? Mac?" Sakurai blinked at her.
"Nothing," Mac said. "Come on."
They walked to the court they used the day before and were about to start their exercises when Harasawa came over to them.
"Coach Araki of Yosen has asked us for a practice match," Harasawa told them.
Mac arched a brow as she glanced over at the other team with a pensive look on her face. She saw Atsushi sitting lazily on the bench while Himuro was looking at him with a look she recognised easily. Exasperation. She knew Atsushi was probably complaining about having to practice and wanting more sweets. Which reminded her of the sweets she had made for him.
"I guess it would be a great chance to see how we will face a defence-oriented team," Mac said looking back at Harasawa.
Imayoshi smiled as he looked at Mac, "you know what kind of team they are?"
"Of course," Mac said. "They played the semi-final in Inter-High against Rakuzan, you know. They're probably the best in the country at defence. That doesn't mean that they are bad at offence, though."
"You sure know a lot about the other teams, Mac," Susa said.
Mac shrugged, "I try to keep updated and well, Murasakibara is on the team as well. I try to know more about the teams my friends are on."
"So what players do you think we need to look out for?"
"Well, obviously Murasakibara," Mac said. "If he gets serious. Himuro Tatsuya as well, he is a very strong player."
And I'm interested in seeing just what he could do, Mac thought glancing over at where he was standing listening to their coach. Taiga looked up to him and had learned basketball from him, that was enough to get Mac interested.
...
"I don't want to play," Atsushi pouted and looked away.
"Atsushi!" Himuro snapped. "It's just a practice match."
"I don't want to play Mac-chin," Atsushi said and folded his arms over his chest. "I won't play."
Araki sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She saw the stubborn set of his jaw and wondered how she was going to get him to play.
"You're going to play, Murasakibara!" Fukui snapped and glared at the taller player. "You can't just decide to ignore the coach's order!"
Atsushi scowled at him. "I don't want to play."
They all looked at Himuro who sighed. "I'll give you sweets."
Atsushi frowned but then he shook his head. "I don't want to play Mac-chin."
"If you don't play then I will not give you any sweets again," Himuro said and ignored the way Atsushi's eyes widened. "It's a practice match, Atsushi. It's not like the match means anything other than a challenge to see how we have progressed in our training. I'm sure Potter-san is expecting you to play."
Atsushi pouted. "Muro-chin is mean."
"You're playing," Araki said and Atsushi scowled.
...
"Hey! Murasakibara," Mac jogged over to them when they entered the court and she smiled as she stopped in front of Atsushi who blinked at her.
"Mac-chin," Atsushi said and his team stilled as they watched and waited for him to say or do something. Suddenly he reached out and pulled Mac into a hug. "I don't want to play Mac-chin."
"Mhmph," she grunted as he squeezed her. "Air!"
"Atsushi!" Himuro cried. "You're hugging her too tightly."
"Sorry," Atsushi mumbled as he let go.
"What's wrong, Murasakibara?" Mac looked at him as she was let go. "You're sad about something?"
"No, I just don't want to play you, Mac-chin," Atsushi said. "I don't want to think about crushing you."
Mac smiled while the others looked a little surprised.
"Hey, we played a lot back in Teiko, didn't we?" Mac said.
"Yeah," Atsushi nodded, "but that's different."
"Not really," Mac said. "It's just different teams. It's going to be fun, Murasakibara. I'll look forward to seeing how good you are now. Seijuro said you had grown when he played you in the semi-finals in Inter-High."
"Aka-chin did?"
"Yeah," Mac smiled and reached out to pat his arm. "So, let's play. It's just for fun."
"Basketball isn't fun," Atsushi denied and Mac hid a frown.
"Well, then just do what you always do," Mac said. "Besides, we're going back to Tokyo today. It's our last chance to play each other before the Winter Cup. And I have the sweets I promised you for when we're done."
"Mac-chin's sweets?" Atsushi perked up. "I want them."
"Then play," Mac smiled.
"Do you think she'll agree to come and join us?" Liu asked as they watched Mac talk Atsushi down and into the game so easily.
"If she becomes my girlfriend," Okamura smiled goofily not noticing the amused looks from his team.
"Alright!" Harasawa called out. "Let's start!"
Mac waved at them before she jogged back to her own team and took her spot on the court. She saw Daiki yawn and look disinterested in the practice match, but she ignored him.
...
Mac grinned as she was faced with Himuro who gave her a pensive look as he dribbled the ball. He was good. She really had been right but that wasn't surprised given the data she had read about him before.
She watched how he moved and the way he took a step back and she made sure to follow his movement stopping him from doing what he wanted. She saw the flash of frustration in his eyes as he was forced to pass the ball to Fukui.
Fukui tried to get past Imayoshi who won the ball and with that Mac was running toward the other hoop and caught the ball when Imayoshi passed it to her. She was instantly guarded by Himuro who looked determined to stop her.
She was curious if he would be able to so she decided to test him. She paused and dribbled the ball close to her body as she watched him taking note of how he followed her movements with a sharp look.
She moved to the right and he followed so with a fast twist and a couple of steps the other way she was free and jumped up to take the shot. She felt her eyes widen a little when he jumped up and almost managed to reach the ball. He was just a second too late.
The ball flew through the hoop and she scored a three-pointer for her team. But as she landed her eyes were on Himuro who looked upset at himself. She had not expected him to reach her again that fast.
"Interesting," she said and his eyes snapped to her.
She didn't wait for him to speak as she turned and ran back with her team accepting the pat on the head from Susa.
...
Atsushi was glaring down at Sakurai who gulped and stepped back losing control of the ball. Mac hid a frown as she took it in and made a mental note to work on Sakurai's nervousness around intimidating players.
Daiki was in front of Atsushi now and they glared at each other. Mac arched a brow as she hadn't expected Daiki to challenge Atsushi like this, but there he was. Standing in front of him and she took in the glare on both their faces. So different from their smiles…
Daiki moved and forced Atsushi to back up but he still dribbled the ball and had control over it. Daiki got a little frustrated look on his face as he used more of his speed and managed to reach the ball just enough to tip it out of Atsushi's hands making the ball drop and roll away and Susa was there to pick it up.
He was immediately faced with Okamura who guarded him very well. Susa wasn't short, by any means, and he was strong but compared to Okamura Susa seemed to be just that. Short.
Okamura forced Susa to retreat and Mac made herself free so Susa passed her the ball.
She was faced with Fukui this time and she knew he was good at passing the ball and had a good eye on which teammate was free. She had noticed him several times passing the ball to a teammate who was placed in opportune positions several times during the match already. But she knew how to get free from him.
When he moved to force her to change hands on the ball she was ready and instead of him being closer she moved so she was a few steps back and had more room. Before he could do anything she took the shot but grimaced when she felt the ball tip slightly in her hand and turned to see Himuro having come up behind her and managed to get a finger on the ball.
Annoying. She should have been aware of him coming up behind her. He grinned at her as she watched the ball hit the metal around the hoop and fall down on the wrong side.
Liu was there and jumped up to catch the rebound, something he was very good at, Mac knew. But Susa was there as well and managed to pressure Liu enough so he didn't get control of the ball and Mac was pleased to see some of their training coming out and knowing that this was a result of hard work.
Susa managed to get control of the ball and passed it to Sakurai who tried to score but Atsushi was suddenly there and blocked the shot and passed the ball to Himuro who was running toward the other hoop.
Imayoshi was there trying to stop him when Himuro jumped up Imayoshi did the same, but Mac narrowed her eyes as his movements were off and true enough Himuro was suddenly behind Imayoshi who looked confused for a moment before realising that he had been tricked.
Wakamatsu (who had come in for Daiki) was in his way next and jumped to block Himuro's shot. Mac guarded Fukui in case Himuro would pass the ball but she knew he would take the shot this time, but again three was something strange about the way he moved.
It looked like the ball flew through Wakamatsu's hand and into the hoop. Mac felt her eyes widen slightly as she realised just what kind of shot that was. The mirage shot. To think someone like him had that ability…
"Indeed," she muttered to herself. "Very interesting."
...
Mac watched the last part of the match from the bench and was writing in her notebook as she watched; wanting to make sure she remembered everything she had noticed as she played and as she observed her team play.
It wasn't necessarily the results that were important right now, she and Harasawa both wanted to see if the training they had done gave results and how they responded to it.
So far she was pleased with what she saw.
As normal she got so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't notice the glances from Harasawa or even from Araki from the Yosen bench. She just focused on writing down her analyses of the team. She even made sure to add some of Yosen as well, just in case they were to meet them in the Winter Cup.
In the end, the match ended with Too as the winner, but Yosen hadn't played a bad match.
...
"Congratulations, you won," Okamura said stopping in front of Mac who still was writing in her notebook. Her team was so used to seeing her like that so they just allowed her to remain writing even as the match was over.
She looked up and was ready to snap when she saw Okamura and she bit the retort back as she forced herself to smile slightly.
"Oh, um, thank you," Mac said. "You played well, though."
"But it wasn't enough," Okamura shrugged and looked a little dejected.
Mac nodded but didn't say anything because she wasn't sure what to say to that. It wasn't much to say because it was a loss.
"But you're very good," Okamura said a little awkwardly. "I would like to play you again."
He was blushing but Mac had no idea why he would blush just because he wanted to play her again.
"I'm sure we will eventually," she said as she closed her notebook and got up.
"Oi! Okamura-chin! What are you doing?!" Atsushi scowled as he came over to them.
Okamura shuffled on his feet a little as he seemed to try to avoid Atsushi's glare.
"Kenzie!" Daiki called and again Mac found Daiki glaring at Okamura while the others looked amused. She sighed but she said goodbye to Okamura and Atsushi politely before she went over to Daiki.
...
Mac smiled as she found herself pushed against the wall and Daiki kissing her. Her eyes closed as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back allowing him to deepen the kiss. They had snuck into his room before the others came back from the dining hall having eaten the last dinner before they had to go back to their cabins to pack.
"Daiki…" Mac laughed breathlessly as she pulled back slightly but moaned softly when he started to kiss her neck and she felt her eyes flutter close again as she felt his warm and strong body pressing against her, closing her in.
"Daiki…." She tried again, "we…we'll be…discovered…"
"Don't care," he muttered against her neck and she felt his hand slip under her shirt and she couldn't help her sharp intake of breath at the feeling of his strong fingers against her skin. She felt warm and her stomach tingled pleasantly.
"Coach…will be…mad," she said trying to keep a logical mind even as she pushed closer to him and her fingers waved themselves into his hair and felt the soft strands of hairs between her fingers.
"Kenzie," he was right in front of her again, his lips almost touching hers. "Stop worrying."
She swallowed but he was kissing her again and her mind shut down as she was overwhelmed by her feelings and hormones. She forgot everything as she kissed him back lightly biting down on his lips extracting a surprised gasp from him before she was pushed even further up on the wall and her feet even lifted from the floor as he was now supporting her weight.
The sound of voices and footsteps broke them out of their kiss and Mac wondered when his shirt had been pulled up enough for her to see his muscled stomach and she felt her mouth go dry. He pulled back as he glanced to the door and frowned.
Mac turned her head toward the door as well as she realised that this was really not a position she wanted to be found in by their team. For one, she was sure Harasawa really wouldn't like it (and she didn't want to disappoint him), but more importantly, Imayoshi would never let them live it down. They would be teased forever.
"Shit," Mac muttered. "I need to get out."
Daiki let go of her and looked around the room for somewhere for her to hide, but there was nowhere. There was nothing in the room beside the beds and a closet but it wasn't big enough to hide in. And since Daiki shared a room with three others they would need to enter the room to get their bags.
"Um…I don't know…" Daiki said a little frantic now as the voices and footsteps were closer. "The window?"
Mac winced internally at the thought of having to climb out the window. What a cliché. But there was no other choice, so she hurried over to the window and opened it. Daiki looked out and made sure there was no one around before she started to climb out of the window.
Daiki helped her and just as she was out and Daiki let go of her the door to the room opened and Daiki closed the window with a sharp thud.
Mac sighed as she hurried away and toward her own cabin, she didn't relax until she was inside and sank down on the chair. That had been close, but she couldn't deny that it had been exciting.
...
Mac calmed down and packed the last minute things and made sure that she hadn't forgotten anything before she picked up Nao and the small bag of sweets she had to get to Atsushi before they left. She left the cabin and closed the door behind her before she went to find Atsushi.
She found him outside of the gym and where the busses would come to pick them up. For now, it was only the two of them there.
"Murasakibara," Mac smiled. "I have your sweets here."
"Mac-chin's sweets!" Atsushi looked as excited as a small child and Mac had to laugh.
"I hope they turned out alright," Mac said. "It was a little improvised."
"Mac-chin always made the best sweets," Atsushi said surely. "Thank you."
"There you are, Atsushi," Himuro said as he came up to them.
"Muro-chin," Atsushi nodded to his friend.
Mac glanced over at Himuro with a thoughtful look. She was curious about him, and she was curious about what he was thinking about Taiga. She knew Taiga was upset about what had happened between them and he was regretting it.
"You're as good as Taiga said you were, Himuro-kun," Mac said.
Himuro blinked shocked as he looked over at Mac who was watching him again with that pensive look in her eyes.
"Taiga?" he asked. "You mean Kagami Taiga?"
"Yes," Mac smiled. "He said you were really good at basketball, and that he always tried to beat you."
Himuro stared at her and even Atsushi was looking at her curiously.
"You know Taiga?" Himuro asked.
Mac laughed and nodded.
"I would say so," she said. "He's my cousin and I live with him and uncle Tarou."
Himuro blinked again.
"Eh? I didn't know he had a cousin…" Himuro said and Mac thought he sounded a little hurt.
"Oh, we just found out when he moved here," Mac explained and glanced at Atsushi who was glaring at the ground now clearly remembering her other relatives. "Stuff happened and, well, it was discovered that my mum was his mum's half-sister."
"I see," Himuro said. "And…he told you about me?"
Mac frowned a little, as she looked at him and for a moment she didn't say anything making him shift on his feet as he waited.
"Yeah," Mac finally said. "He did. Not at first, though, but I knew he was upset about something. But eventually, he told me what happened."
Himuro looked away and she saw his jaw tense and his hands clenched against his side. She could tell he was angry and hurt, and she was a little unsure if she should meddle more or if she should leave it alone.
But… this concerned her cousin and she didn't want him to be upset anymore.
"You're still angry at him," Mac said.
Himuro turned and looked at her and she saw the defiance in his eyes as he stared at her.
"You don't think I have the right to be angry?" he asked.
Mac pursed her lips slightly as she reached up to push a strand of her hair behind her ear as she watched him.
"Well, I guess you do," she said, "but do you even try to understand why he did it?"
"It doesn't matter why he did it!" Himuro snapped at her. "He should have played fair and taken the win when he had the chance! He missed it on purpose!"
Atsushi was frowning at his friend, "Muro-chin, don't talk to Mac-chin like that."
"It's fine, Murasakibara," Mac calmed her friend down and patted his arm without looking away from Himuro.
"Sorry, Atsushi," Himuro muttered.
"He should have, yeah," Mac nodded.
"Then, you understand," Himuro looked at her. "I can't ignore that, Potter-san. He deliberately lost in order to protect my feelings or whatever. It's embarrassing and humiliating."
Mac did understand, but she also understood Taiga.
"People have reasons for why they act certain ways," Mac said looking at him. "Have you tried to understand why he did it?"
" As I said, it doesn't matter," Himuro said stubbornly.
"Tell me something," Mac leaned forward slightly in her seat and rested her elbows on her knees as she observed Himuro. "Do you still see Taiga as your brother?"
Himuro almost flinched as he turned wide eyes on her and almost gaped.
"I…" he fumbled.
"That ultimatum of yours is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Mac said bluntly. "To say that if he beat you then you would give up on being brothers."
Himuro scowled at her now. "You don't understand! You're just like him! You have the talent in basketball and it comes so naturally to you! You don't understand how it's like to have to work so hard to get to where I am. And he just… he caught up so fast… he was going to surpass me without even trying…"
Mac frowned a little.
"You don't know how I work or don't work when it comes to basketball," Mac said getting up and stepping closer to Himuro. Her voice was a little colder now as she felt a little pissed off at how he assumed that she didn't have to work to get to where she was, or that Taiga didn't work hard. "Don't blame Taiga for your own shortcomings, Himuro."
"…"
"Yes, for some the talent is more natural and it seems like it comes easier for some," Mac agreed. "It can be frustrating and feel unfair, but that doesn't mean that they don't lay down the work to get to where they are. You're good, Himuro. I can see real talent in you, and you might even reach our level but if you keep that attitude of yours then you'll never do it. Not when you make excuses and blame others for not being the best. You can't blame Taiga for having talent and working hard."
"You don't…" Himuro didn't sound as confident now and Mac could see that he was thinking.
"And don't tell me I don't understand," Mac said interrupting him. "I understand more than you think. I worked hard to keep up with Daiki and the others; they are more naturally talented than me. It was frustrating at times feeling that I couldn't keep up. So I worked hard and I've been able to keep up pretty well. But I also understand the need to keep hold of a bond like yours. I don't know what I would do if I had to make a similar choice. While I hate the thought of losing on purpose, I also hate the thought of losing my friends because of the game I love."
Himuro frowned.
"Taiga regrets it," Mac said her voice a little softer now. "He really does, he knows he shouldn't have done it but he didn't want to stop being your brother. Can't you understand that? It had nothing to do with you being injured, but all to do with you wanting to give up the bond between you. He just didn't want to lose it."
Mac turned and started to walk away leaving Himuro to think because she had said more than she planned but she just couldn't stop the words from spilling out.
"Mac-chin won't lose us," Atsushi said softly when she passed him and she sent him a small smile.
...
"What's wrong?" Daiki frowned when he saw her.
"I'm fine, Daiki," Mac said giving him a small smile.
"No, you're upset about something," Daiki was scowling now. "Who upset you?"
Mac shook her head and wondered why he was so perceptive when it came to her. Though, it did kind of warm her heart knowing that he noticed.
"I will tell you later, okay?" Mac said.
Daiki sighed but he nodded looking unhappy but knowing that he wouldn't get a better answer from her now. He did smile when she reached up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, it was nothing more than a peck really but it still had him smiling. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he kissed her back and this time it was a little deeper.
She leaned back smiling up at him and he was barely aware that the rest of the team had joined them and there was some sort of noise coming from where Yosen had gathered. He didn't really care about anything that wasn't Mac.
...
Okamura was happily wondering if he could get Mac's number before she left with her team and he wanted to find her to ask her. He was sure they had a connection, and she didn't even seem intimidated because he was taller than her! She was perfect.
He didn't even mind the teasing from the others as they rounded a corner but what he saw as he did made him freeze.
"Eh? No…." Okamura shook his head.
"Ooooh," Fukui gaped.
"Ahhh…." Liu blinked.
Okamura rubbed his eyes like it would go away and it was just a bad dream, but while Daiki pulled away from Mac and stopped kissing her he still had his arms around her and she was smiling up at him with a happy and soft look on her face.
"Whyyyyyy…." Okamura wailed.
Fukui and Liu exchanged looks and didn't know if they should laugh because Okamura had dropped to his knees and held his hands to his head like his world fall apart, and was really overdramatic about it all, or if they should comfort their overdramatic captain who had once more failed at picking the right girl to become his girlfriend.
"Um…" Fukui cleared his throat. "That's bad luck."
Liu nodded.
"What's the big commotion?" Himuro asked coming up behind them and eying Okamura curiously taking in the tear-streaked cheeks. "What's up with the Captain?"
"Well…" Fukui said and glanced at Mac who was now leaning against Daiki's chest as she listened to Sakurai and Namamura who had joined the two. She was smiling as she did.
"Oh," Himuro said as he realised what the problem was. "You didn't know that Aomine-san was Potter-san's boyfriend?"
Even Okamura looked at Himuro now making him give them a confused look.
"Seriously, you didn't know?" Himuro asked when they didn't say anything.
"No… how could we know?" Liu asked.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Himuro looked at them. "I mean, they are always together and often touching, and the way Aomine-san is watching Potter-san and how he has glared at Okamura-Captain every time he has talked to Potter-san like he wished he was going to catch fire?"
Fukui and Liu exchanged looks again and then looked back at Mac and Daiki and noticed the content air around Daiki who for once didn't seem bored and lazy but was busy playing with Mac's hair and seemed to really enjoy having her leaning against him.
"I thought he was just being overprotective like Murasakibara," Liu spoke. "He glares at Okamura as well whenever he is close to Mac."
Himuro snorted, "that might be the case, but I have a feeling that every one of the Generation of Miracles has a Mac-complex and are overly overprotective of her. But that doesn't change the fact that it's obvious that her relationship with Aomine-san is different from how her relationship with Atsushi is."
Okamura sniffed as he stared at Mac. "She is perfect."
Himuro shrugged as he got a pensive look as he looked at her as well. He thought about what she had said about Taiga and he couldn't help but wonder if she was right. Had he really missed that shot because he was worried about losing him as a brother? But that was not possible, was it? The look in his eyes had clearly been pity. Himuro was sure.
But what if it wasn't?
He sighed. He was not going to be able to stop thinking about this for a while. Mac's words were echoing in his mind over and over again and wouldn't leave him alone.
...
...
AN: What do you think? XD
Hope you liked it. I realised that it's been a while since I wrote a practice match, or any kind of basketball match really, so I hope it was okay. I tried not to drag it out too much and still give enough so you had a feeling on how the match was. :)
Thank you for reading and supporting the story! :D