*Disclaimer*

A.N.: So, I left you guys alone again…Yeah, I didn't choose my name for no reason ;)

But seriously… August was really busy for me. I was only home for short periods of time and on the first half of the month I made a special peregrination to England to find myself the magic of Harry Potter! I went to Stonehenge but there were far too many tourists to properly feel the druids magic (but I actually saw some people trying – Wizards!). And my wonderful journey ended with the Harry Potter Studios where I saw the real magic behind the magic. It was amazing!

I was so happy that I was certain I would have lots of energy to write more. But unfortunately I spend the rest of the month bedridden with the flu. Well bollocks!

Now that I'm back to college September went by without me noticing and that was that…

To make it up to you I've decided to post a double chapter. This is the first one.

This chapter ended up being a bit Kagami centered but I hope it's not too bad :P Ended up adding yet another fandom. I feel a bit like J. K. Rolling; with a list of over 40 students with parallel lives to the main characters. She knew the stories of everyone, and sometimes she would talk about them in interviews and confuse the heck of readers because they didn't remember reading about them.

xxx

Time goes by faster when you're having fun. Except Taiga wasn't having the best of times lately.

When Halloween came around and the unmistakable smell of baking pumpkin filled the castle, Taiga wasn't feeling as cheery as he should have. In fact, he was feeling downright morose as they carefully picked the beautiful glistering seeds of the Puffapods in the green house. Kuroko, who he was paired up with, was carefully trying to pluck the reason out of him, as if it was a pink seedpod. It wouldn't be the first time the other boy tried to influence him like that, and while he didn't feel particularly upset with it, he just wasn't very happy with the guy at the moment.

Eventually, Kuroko seemed to give up and instead turned to talk to Furihata and he was pretty much ignored.

Taiga was sulking. He really was. And the reason for that was Quidditch.

"Okay everyone put the pincers away. It's lunch time, so hurry up if you need to take a shower!" Professor Longbottom called loudly over an obnoxiously noisy quartet of honking daffodils he had been given as a gift.

As they moved, the redhead couldn't help search for a particular blue haired head. Aomine was walking with the other Slytherins and he didn't seem very happy himself. He could only hope that they were having similar problems. More specifically, one Madam Hooch.

With the first Quidditch game of the season in just two weeks it was very overdue that he got his game license. Coach Aida was loading them with Spartan practice every other day and was extremely adamant that he played the game. Except Madam Hooch seemed to hate him to death and was determined to make his life as miserable as possible. And if Aomine's frown was something to go by, then he was in the same condition. Of course their team had more than enough players to take his spot, but Coach was making pressure and demanded explanations because the other members had all gotten their licenses already. Like Takao, Kuroko and even bloody Furihata of course! He couldn't even remember how many tests he had taken by now and some people – cough*Kuroko*cough – had made it on the first try! It was beyond frustrating!

"Bakagami!"

The loud voice by his ear made him jump considerably. Midorima wasn't looking very happy with him as he regarded him with an unimpressed frown.

"What in the world is wrong with you? Do you know just how long I've been calling? Some people have lives too! They're not here to just do your biding, you idiot-nanodayo!" The green haired boy chided him while fixing his own glasses with a superior and pissed look. If Takao was around he would probably start talking about reading in between the lines and how "Shin-chan" was actually worried about him… Fat chance, he was! "Here, Bakagami."

Taiga moodily received the paper that was outstretched for him and watched the other go without another word. He knew what it was without looking but quickly scanned it just in case. It was indeed another summon from Hooch. He had another test that afternoon, right before dinner. Great.

xxx

Of course there was something else dampening his mood. Tatsuya.

Despite his initial efforts to avoid his brother, the Slytherins seemed intent on upsetting him. The elder students had taken the habit of wandering around places he usually went just to show him how buddy-buddy they were with his former best friend/brother.

They could regularly be seen by the painting of the Fat Lady and in result, had gotten into quite a number of fights with the older Gryffindors that didn't appreciate their suspicious behavior.

That day he merely noticed a slimmer of a fight and caught a glimpse of their slimy serpent green as he entered the common room after lunch. His afternoon Potions class had been postponed as Professor Goose wasn't feeling well. He had hoped to relax a bit before his test but his mood seemed to have dropped to the end of the ocean.

"Those damn Slytherins!" Hyuuga-senpai didn't seem to be in a good mood either. He walked in to the room loudly followed by a placating Teppei-san. "I talked with Ishida the other day! Since he's a third year I thought that maybe he could get them in line! He says that everyone is losing their minds with them! That particular group doesn't respect anyone but themselves! Hanamiya and the rest of them!"

Taiga had been lazily lying on the couch as he listened but the mentions of Tatsuya's new friends seemed worrying enough that he sat up straight as his sempais continued without noticing his presence.

"His brother is coming next year apparently and he's worried. Because you known… they say that their parents are all higher-ups on that group… What is it called? Uh… That dangerous one!" Hyuuga wildly gesticulated as if it would help him remember what it was.

Kiyoshi seemed to ponder calmly as if the Quidditch Captain wasn't in the verge of exploding. "The Aedituo?"

"No, not them. One of the other two!" The dark haired teen sighed as he rubbed in between his eyes, as if a headache was forming. "Ah… definitely not the Mixtionis. No one pays them attention…"

For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Kiyoshi-san looked worried. His eyes grew big and he gasped softly. "… you mean Vastitas!?"

"Yeah… That one. Ishida is worried. It must be bad inside his House, you know. So many kids with Daddies and Mommies on those gangs. He says that they're trying to call other kids in to their ideals already and that got a lot of fighting going on."

"What happens when they get other kids for their causes? Do they get inside the group? Can they get out?"

The two Gryffindors looked startled as the red head suddenly jumped into conversation looking as agitated as a mother Horntail without her eggs in sight. Hyuuga hesitated, carefully choosing his words before answering him. ".. I don't really think that get integrated in the groups. They're just children after all!" He sent a questioning look to his friend on his right.

Kiyoshi nodded his concordance on the matter and Taiga felt a bit calmer but the matter still worried him. It must have shown on his face because his two sempais regarded him carefully now. "Why are you so interested in this, Kagami-kun?" Teppei-san asked him kindly and without any sort of prying, simple concern for him, but it still disarmed him enough to make him stutter while thinking of an appropriated answer. He hadn't thought about telling anyone about this matter, after all, he still didn't know these people very well. He liked his upperclassmen a lot but they were still Gryffindor to the core. What if they didn't approve of his friendships? What if hey judged him? What if…?

"Kagami-kun's brother is a second year Slytherin. Hanamiya-san seems to have cleverly manipulated him on to his side and away from Kagami-kun." As per usual, Kuroko seemed to have made his way to the middle of the conversation without anyone noticing; but his sudden appearances and subsequent panic always managed to dispel even the tensest and most serious of moods, so no one complained too hard about it this time.

Teppei-san warmly smiled as he vigorously pated his red-haired junior. "No wonder you looked so worried, Kagami! Don't worry, we'll ask Ishida-san to probe around for us! Maybe he'll find out Hanamiya's intentions for Kagami's brother. Right Hyuuga-kun?" The warm action made the other's face as red as his hair.

Kagami couldn't tell just how relived he was about his sempais' acceptance. As sad as it was, the latest times were slowly corroding his trust in his friends as the paranoid fear of betrayal carefully enveloped him. Who knew when he would be dumped in the mud again by the people he thought knew him best?

Hyuuga-senpai spurted indignantly as if the idea was ridiculous. "Why in the world would Ishida listen to us? Better ask Kamiya first! He can handle Ishida better than us!"

"Kamiya Taichi-senpai? That really nice senpai? He showed me around the other day when I got lost!" Takao suddenly chimed in from behind a large armchair where he had been comfortably relaxing trough their conversation, unnoticed. "Isn't Ishida-san a Slytherin? What's his relationship with Kamiya-senpai?"

"They used to get into a lot of fights. But by the end of last year they seemed to be best friends. Something must have happened." Teppei laughed softly as he remembered a particularly heated fight.

"It was such a blessing! Things got a little calmer after that!" Sneered Hyuuga as he made himself comfortable on the sofa besides Kagami.

Teppei chuckled also taking a seat. "Oh, don't say that! I remember how hard you laughed when Kamiya told us that he had dropped a stinky bomb inside Ishida's cauldron during Potions."

"You're remembering it wrong!" But there a ghost of a smile on his face. "I was gagging hard because he stunk! And if I was ever laughing of such an immature prank was because I couldn't understand how he thought that wouldn't backfire!"

By then everyone was silently chuckling, Vastitas forgotten and a lighter air surrounded the common room. Taiga was starting to relax a bit more, problems gone for the moment, as it is the nature of children to quickly let themselves be distracted. Until Takao sheepishly broke the calm.

"Ano… Sorry for asking this but… lately everyone's been talking about these Aedituo and now Vastitas. What's that about?" Asked the raven haired first year which made the second years look baffled.

"I thought Takao-kun said he was aware of our world even if he was muggleborn." Kuroko calmly pondered as he watched the other but ignore the little embarrassed shade he turned.

"Ah…! Let's just say my uncle only brought the good side of the magical world to us."

"Actually I liked to know better as well!" Kagami suddenly chirped in and stealing all the attention away from his friend. "Vastitas is really well known in America but I'm not sure how it started or anything. And I barely know about the other two…"

Kiyoshi seemed to be the first to recover from the earlier shock and immediately called the attention to himself. He looked like an old man gently smiling surrounded by his grandchildren and about to tell an amazing bedtime fairytale by the fireplace. Except this was quite the serious theme.

"If you want to start from the beginning I guess you have to start with Voldemort. Do you remember that, Takao-kun?"

The other rolled his eyes at the question. Everyone knew about that! The dark wizard that some adults had trouble saying his name for some strange reason. Even his uncle was a bit nervous about it at times. "I don't remember-remember! I was a baby! But my parents sometimes talk about that one year were we lived in Korea. My uncle came and made them leave everything behind. My parents say that's why I like kimchi so much!" He smiled a bit, thinking of his favorite dish.

Kiyoshi nodded gravely. "That sounds about right. Muggleborns and their families were in danger at the time, though it took people a while to realize it. Many were locked up before anyone could think of running away." There was a heavy silence as the children silently thought about the poor people that suffered during those dark times. For them that had been born during or after that, it seemed just so far away and distant from them and their lives. But then the older student continued. "After His fall, Harry Potter himself chased the remaining Death Eaters and brought every single one to justice. But that left, of course, their families. Their wives, husbands, children… anyone that may have shared their ideals and supported the uprising from the shadows… and still holds a big grudge against the Savior to this day."

"That's where the Aedituo comes in." Hyuuga took over. "It started as an obscure political party that defended the purity of blood. But they couldn't push very hard because most of their names were on the Aurors' blacklist. They were being watched carefully to prevent another uprising."

"Why did they let that party exist? Wasn't it clear they were supporters of Voldemort?" Takao looked perplexed as he regarded them.

The older Gryffindors smiled sadly and Kiyoshi sighed deeply. "Because of mankind's oldest disease: Greed! The parties' heads were still old rich families. And they had a big number of anonymous supporters among the crowds."

"Because they had supporters the government couldn't just arrest them or make them disband without plausible reason. They hadn't done anything besides some boring speeches and fund gatherings. Just normal stuff. So they waited. And then the problems started."

The three youngsters had their utmost attention locked on the two telling the story, caught on the flow. "What happened?"

"Violent gatherings. Mobs. Assaults on muggleborns. Attacks on muggles. You name it! But they couldn't implicate anyone from the party itself. Any path that may have led to them was mysteriously gone and they had the gall to show up and condemn the people that participated. They just dead-on denied any involvement on anything."

"The bastards just didn't like to dirt their hands. Or they could clean them perfectly. They're just pristine!"

"This was about the time that Mixtionis appeared. You could say that they are the opposite of Aedituo. Their propaganda was that purity of the blood was slowly killing the magic and to fight it we should breed with muggleborn wizards or muggles. It was a huge commotion!"

"It was about that time that PSS first showed up and people started to panic like crazy! It happened from night to day. Suddenly they had half of the magical world on their side." Hyuuga snickered as gesticulated, emphasizing just how quickly it had happened. "But they lost them just as quickly. PSS patients started showing up that were muggleborn or half blood and their propaganda lost all meaning! There were some suspicions that they were lying about their blood line but there was never a full investigation about it."

"Why not?"

"You know the saying "He who raises their voice first loses the argument"? Someone accused the Aedituo of forging statistics and all hell broke loose! Full battles in between the two groups' supporters broke through the whole country. A lot of muggles were hurt or died and an even higher number had to have their memories erased. It cost the government a lot of money and time to fix. And Mixtionis was no Aedituo. No matter what they did they couldn't prove that they weren't actually involved in it and lost all credibility. The only ones that stayed were the fanatics and they only did worse! The most dangerous thing about Mixtionis is the wars they wage against Aedituo."

"In the end they are just a bunch of hippies playing politics!" Hyuuga in a very bored way dismissed the subject before turning to the main point of the afternoon. "Now… Vastitas… They are a totally different story."

"What's their campaign?"

"They don't have one." Hyuuga Junpei watched amused the confused faces of his juniors and smirked confidently. "Many people are as confused as you. You see, because they're referred together as this decade's troublemakers, everyone thinks that Vastitas is a political party just like Aedituo and Mixtionis. But they're not!"

"What are they then?"

But Taiga cut his senpai's answer. "Anarchists."

"At least that is what they call themselves. But really they're just looking to cause some chaos and destruction. That's what vastitas means: devastation!" Hyuuga continued gravely.

"They spend their time instigating the other two in their fights, but they also love destroying public – and private – property. Some things they do are Death Eater worthy!"

"But… why? What's the point?" The small raven haired boy looked around the room for someone with an explanation, looking as horrified as the others had been in the beginning.

"No reason. It's just for their entertainment I'll bet! No one really understands them. Sometimes one or two names come up but there are no arrest made. Most of these people are on the run right now."

"But what about Hanamiya and his gang? They said their parents are higher ups in Vastitas. Can't they arrest their parents or something?!"

"Oi, oi… First of all… who will believe the words of a bunch of children? And second, if you are referring to use them as bait for their parents that would be against what Dumbledore believed in. You guys may not understand yet, but Hogwarts has a lot of power over people. It's not just a symbol, a monolith that you look at. It's also power. A building like this, with such magic inside, it's magical on its own. It has been through a lot too. No… bottom line is: while they are Hogwarts students they're protected! No one harms a Hogwarts student!"

xxx

After that somewhat dark and tense conversation the day had gone by so fast that before he had time to blink he was already touching down after a couple of test maneuvers under the sharp eye of the fair haired hawk witch.

The heavy theme had weighted his hearth and his body so much that he felt he had flown like an elephant with tampered propellers. Not that it mattered much because really… she was just going to fail him without a second thought.

"For the love of Merlin! Kagami-san what were you doing in there?!" Hooch suddenly came from where she was sitting completely surprising him. It wasn't usual for her to really talk to him at all. "Flying without your hearth on it can be incredibly dangerous! It's an art that requires full concentration! Never seen you do anything like this. Perhaps you have given up? Because it looked like you were not even trying!"

The old witch admonished him and something snapped inside Taiga. Maybe it was the accumulated stress that had reached its breaking point. Maybe it was the new information about all the trouble Himuro had possibly gotten himself into. Maybe it was about knowing that he had been ditched for that type of people by the one he trusted most. Whatever it was that made him yell to a teacher, Kagami found a couple of hours later that he was extremely grateful for it.

"Maybe I just got tired of trying!" This sudden remark brought the silent to the Quidditch pitch where they were, Madam Hooch looking taken aback. Anyone would have shut up right then, but the damage was done and the flood doors had been open and before he could stop himself he was pouring out his frustrations. "Because you were just going to fail me! I mean, do you realize this is the first time we have talked since… well never! You are my teacher! You are supposed to teach me, guide me, but every time you just said: You have failed the test Kagami-san. Do you wish to reschedule?" By this time the hawk eyed witch had recovered from her earlier shock but he didn't give in. "How am I supposed to learn if you never tell me what I'm doing wrong! I don't even know what you want from me! All I know is that you didn't give me a chance!"

"Kagami-san!"

"No! It's true! To you I'm just the other guy that was reckless in class! And I'll never be more than that!" He barely noticed the tears that now marred his face and the horrified look the other was giving him. It was just too much for him. "You never gave me a chance and Coach is always asking if I have my license already! Everyone is counting on me and I can't because you won't let me! And Kuroko can't play by himself and Furihata is a wreck! And they all keep telling me that must play in the game because it's the Slytherins but there isn't enough time and I don't know what I'm doing and Tatsuya can't even help because he's in trouble and he may end up in Azkaban and I need to help him!"

He really stopped paying attention to the nonsense that was coming out of his mouth and his tears had evolved to a full blown sobbing mess probably making his words incomprehensible. But the unexpected feeling of warm robe clad arms immediately cut his rant as he froze. Still not understanding completely what had just happened he could only look at the dark cloth of the teacher's coat and let her softly pet his hair.

"There, there… Come on son, it's alright! Shh…" The calming tone and the warm embrace brought a new wave of tears and soon he was swallowing all his embarrassment as he wept in the shoulder of his flight instructor.

They stayed like that for a few good minutes as the sun slowly descended and slowly but certainly the tears came to a stop and a wave of mortification came as Taiga realized just what had just happened in the spasm of half an hour. He must have looked miserable as he slowly untangled himself from the embrace because the older witch merely smiled reassuringly.

"Feeling better son? Let it all out?" A comforting hand gently rubbed his shoulder making him even more self-conscious.

He nodded weakly feeling terrible for letting his frustrations on his teacher. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, Madam Hooch."

She looked a bit conflicted and for a brief moment he had the weird feeling that she was embarrassed. "Well… usually I would condemn this kind of attitude but… I think I'll let it slide this time." And then she looked serious again her pointy finger raised in a warning. "But just this once Kagami-san! Are we clear on that?" Taiga managed to stifle his sudden need to laugh at her quick change in demeanor and nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Madam Hooch."

"Good! Now… I believe we need to reschedule this test." Just the reminder of made Taiga want to slump in the ground. He just had two more weeks. Would he have enough time to try again? "I think you need some time to calm down and regain your balance. How are you next Wednesday?"

That surprised him again. That was the fastest it had ever been. "I have some free time before Astronomy."

"Perfect! Meet me here then." Her hand squeezed his shoulder patronizing but firm and her smile grew. "Sometimes adults forget that even youth people have problems of their own. Stay strong boy!" He nodded once more to that, hoping that the heat he was feeling on his face wasn't the fierce blush he was imagining. "I'm ashamed to admit but it's true that my previous methods may have been a bit unbiased as of late… And despite what you may think, I truly think you are one of the most talented people this school as had. So… this time I'm going to tell you exactly what is that I expect from you!" As she spoke her smile grew more and more excited ignoring his rapidly growing confusion. "I'm about to give you a hellish test that would make professional players cry! And you…" By this point his eyes were the size of saucers but nothing could beat the feeling of excitement that her words were creating. "…you my boy… are going to pass it!"

xxx

Tetsuya liked interesting people. Being a dull person himself being surrounded by the strange, the mysterious and the fascinating seemed like the best idea to make up for it.

That was why he liked the GoM. They were all different and eccentric people of their own. Their bright and strange personalities were so unique he would often spend hours observing them.

Midorima-kun was probably the most eccentric person he knew and his antics of late were far more enjoyable as he wouldn't just bury himself on the library with Akashi-san anymore. Watching him interact with Takao-kun was highly amusing as his poor social capacities seemed to be stretched beyond his limit.

Takao was also an interesting friend to have around. He seemed to drawn people to his side as flies to honey. His strange fascination with Midorima-kun was a treat to his observation hobbies. And of course there was that thing that was happening behind everyone's backs… He had yet to find out what it was and that too was exciting! Tetsuya loved mystery after all!

Akashi might be the least interesting of his friends to watch. His eccentricities stood out the least from all of them but what he really enjoyed was watching his mother-hen moments with the other students. Watching Akashi interact with people was amazing because of the sharp contrast between his commanding persona and his caring attitude. This was especially strong towards his friends and most recently, Murasakibara-kun. The boy usually needed a lot of attention and babysitting.

And speaking of Akashi… that reminded him of Furihata-kun. Furihata was probably his current most interesting friend. And why? The brunet was the most normal person Tetsuya had ever seen! He had normal habits. Normal tastes. Normal clothes and hairstyle. Everything about him was normal and banal. It was so out of place that it was impossible not to be interested. Especially because he was incredibly scared of Akashi-san for some reason. Or maybe there wasn't a reason and now that he was thinking about it, Tetsuya thought that maybe Furihata was an eccentric of his own! He was afraid of almost everything! Even minor things like ghosts and bugs and things that would never hurt anyone! Even more fascinating! And it was fun to see Akashi sight helplessly every time he was paired up in Herbology or Potions with a guy that couldn't stop shaking when they were close.

But the point he was trying to make… Ah… Interesting people. He liked to watch and be around those people.

Aomine had been his best friend for a long time. Watching his brotherly relationship with Momoi-san was also fun. But Aomine by himself was good enough. He was always full of energy and ready to jump in on his head! He liked to include Tetsuya in his antics and that made him very happy.

When pressure started to affect them, Aomine crashed the lowest. It seemed his energy and his vibrancy were gone. That was when he had decided to save them. To save his best friend.

Strangely enough, the first friend he ever made in Hogwarts turned out to be just another Aomine! Or so he thought. The more Tetsuya compared his friends the more they became similar and the more they became different. They were each other's opposites without being different.

And after a lot of observations Tetsuya managed to reach some conclusions. Aomine and Kagami were similar in their good traits and opposites on their bad ones. It made them a perfect version of the other while not being perfect themselves.

For example… Both were very competitive but were unlike any hooligans for they had strong fair-play. They were passionate about their feelings but dumb about the deep ones – and most of things – while they cared about their respective adopted siblings. Momoi and Himuro.

They were both kind but while Kagami was motherly and soft, Aomine was sharp and awkward and never let himself be stepped on. When he was upset, Aomine would disappear and hide himself in a dark corner to sulk. Kagami would suck it up and work himself out of it.

Kagami made Aomine's fire light up very quickly. And maybe the other way around as well! There had been a time where Aomine was constantly sulking, looking as if the world had lost his color and maybe it had. But now he saw in Kagami a rival. It made Tetsuya just so happy to see his excitement every time they had a chance to compete with each other.

Yes… He probably owed Kagami-kun from possibly saving Aomine-kun from depression. And that was why he felt he now needed to help him. Lately, the red head had been frowning more and he often was lost in thought, forcing Tetsuya to explain the classes to him at the end of the day.

He understood at some point that Himuro-san had probably hurt Kagami in a way that was going to scar ugly but was it just that? He had used his people watching skills with intent and tried his best to understand what could possibly be upsetting his friend. But while it had given him very interesting insight on his person it did not help him. Knowing that the boy liked the smell of the fresh soil in the Green Houses or that the sound of pages turning made him sleepy was interesting and normally he would rejoice and take notes on his wild observation notebook but now he was looking for something a little bit deeper.

At some point he thought that he may have done something to anger the other. The negative reaction he had shown when he decided that maybe a direct approach would be more efficient, showed him that Kagami was upset with him. Why, he was not sure, and it kept him worried over it for a while. But after some more digging he came to the conclusion that whatever Kagami was feeling for him was an effect and not a cause.

That relaxed him. Kagami-kun wasn't truly mad at him. Unfortunately, relaxing only made him let the problem drag on for longer. After the conversation they had had with their sempais at the common room, Tetsuya decided that enough was enough! After the heavy topic and with his caring nature for his brother, Kagami-kun would certainly be wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Cracking him would be easy and while it would be cruel it was necessary so that he could help him.

He had not managed to corner the other after that conversation and the red haired boy disappeared quickly after that. But it was no problem because today was Halloween! And Tetsuya had a plan!

Even in his worse moods, Kagami would be unable to resist the luxurious Halloween Feast. Let him devour his problems first and them, when they were alone in the tower he would strike. Yes! It was a good plan!

xxx

His plan was entirely ruined.

They had left Gryffindor's Tower for dinner and Kagami had yet to show up but there was nothing strange about it. Tetsuya had not been worried because he was sure the amazing smell of the feast would reach whatever obscure corner the boy was hiding at. He twisted his nose as he thought of that. Kagami was not Aomine. It would be strange if he was really hiding.

But he was not worried. And the Grand Hall was simply magnificent that night with its Halloween decorations and the starry sky above them. He strategically choose a seat by the end of the table so that the late Kagami would have no choice but to seat beside him. And then he waited. And waited.

They were already halfway through digging into the delicious dinner, and he was losing his appetite, worried sick for his missing friend, when he finally arrived making a lot of people stop eating to watch. He just felt so relieved he barely paid attention to Madam Hooch that had arrived at the same time!

"I was starting to worry, Kagami-kun. It was unlike you and your stomach to miss this feast." He put his best nonchalant face as the other took a seat to his left, red in the face from embarrassment. Another thing where he differed from Aomine-kun. Kagami was very humble and didn't particularly liked to be the center of attention.

"Oh… Sorry about that! I was… caught up on something."

That was when he realized his plan had been ruined. Thanks to the proximity of the other, Tetsuya noticed that the redhead's eyes were red and puffy and his shoulders looked far less tense than they had been all week. Kagami had been crying.

Tetsuya felt like sulking as he watched the other fill his plate with an enthusiasm that had been quite subdued lately. "That's not fair, Kagami-kun. You could rely on me more…"

He had meant to whisper that but the other listened to him fine even over the noise of the Hall. His face of guilty surprise made him feel even worse. He hadn't meant for that to come out.

The red head carefully studied his face for a moment and in the end, sighing and slowly dropping the food back on his plate, he meticulously cleaned his greasy hand before using it to mess his hair.

"Idiot!" This change in attitude caused him to lose his ability to counter that with a sarcastic comment, as of usual, and he could only try to bat the offending hand away. "Thank you. Thank you for worrying about me."

That surprised him more than it should; but on all his observations, Kagami had never come out as a particularly perceptive person. So it felt strange to have the other see so clearly trough him. But also, the bright smile he was offering him was real and conveyed far more than his words. In the end he could no longer feel mad about it.

"Next time, rely on me more." He told the other resolutely.

Kagami chuckled and offered him his fist to bump. "Okay! I won't forget!"

It was not a strange gesture to him. Aomine would often greet him like that, but it was the first time Kagami-kun had done it to him. When their skin made contact he couldn't help but feel proud of their progress.

If the redhead noticed his happy mood, he didn't comment, but attacked dinner with far more gusto than before. He even tried to fill Tetsuya's plate more, claiming that it was time he start eating like a man! And by the time they were stuffing themselves with dessert there were no more remains of the sad air that had followed Kagami around the whole month.

xxx

A.N.: So I wanted to make an introduction to the gang and the three group troublemakers that will be our antagonists in the story. The chapter ended up being a bit heavy maybe.

Now, before running to the next chapter, enjoy Coach Aida Riko's wandlore:

Aida Riko - Ebony, twelve and a half inches, reasonably supple and unicorn hair core – Very good at Combative magic and Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider. In the experience of Garrick Ollivander, the ebony wand's perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose.

So why did I chose this wand for Riko? For one, I think that, in her world, be it Japan or any other, being a coach girl in a guys' team is harsh. I'm sure she has just a tiny bit of pressure in her shoulders to prove herself just as good as any other guy! So she has a lot of guts and doesn't care what other people may think of her. Not that she is an outsider per se… but she doesn't look like she has many female friends. Also, when in KnB the guys wanted to recruit her as their coach, she stayed firm until the end on her decisions which made their lives hard.