Discalimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!

...

...

2nd year - Too Academy

...

Mac put down the letter with a pensive frown. She knew it would come since she had told him that she wanted to meet Takaichi, so she wasn't surprised by the letter. It was just… so fast. A part of her fought against the change she had put in motion, but another part…felt surprisingly peaceful. She had expected more panic.

She looked at the owl and smiled a bit as she noticed Nao eyeing the regal-looking owl with suspicion.

"It's fine, Nao," Mac said as she picked up Nao and scratched his ear. "I'll write an answer soon, will you wait?"

The owl seemed to nod before he flew onto the back of a chair and seemed to make himself comfortable.

"Hey, Kenzie," Daiki said as he entered the living room and Mac realized that her uncle must have opened the door for him. She hadn't heard it.

"Ah, hey, Daiki," Mac smiled and accepted the quick kiss with a smile. "I didn't know you had arrived already."

"Oh? What has your attention now?" Daiki asked as he sat down on the sofa before he blinked as he noticed the owl. "Oh, where did the owl come from?"

"Daisuke," Mac said and Daiki looked at her. "He told his boyfriend and said he wanted to meet me."

"You sure you're ready to meet him?" Daiki asked.

"Mm," Mac said. "I want to, and Daisuke said that his boyfriend wouldn't tell anyone."

"Good," Daiki said and Mac noticed how he looked at her and she smiled.

"I'm fine, Daiki, you don't need to worry about me," Mac said.

"So, when are you meeting them?" Daiki asked.

"I don't know yet," Mac frowned, "Daisuke said I could decide. And… you will come, right? Daisuke suggested that we could make it a double date sort of thing…"

"I'll be with you," Daiki promised and Mac smiled relieved. "You already told me about the double date part."

"Right," Mac said. "I don't know when, though… We have basketball practice and I want to spend time with the others as well."

She didn't want it to be too long because then she would have time to second-guess herself and the decision. She didn't want to give her too much time to back out again (though the secret was already out), but she wasn't sure she wanted it to be too soon either.

"It's Tuesday now, so maybe on Friday or Saturday if they are free," Mac finally said. "That way I will have time to prepare myself, but not too much."

"Okay," Daiki said. "If you are sure."

Mac smiled and made her way over to Daiki and kissed him making him blink at her when she pulled back.

"What was that for?" Daiki asked but he had put his arms around her to keep her close. He never turned down an opportunity to hold her.

"Thank you," Mac said and he arched a brow at her. "For always supporting me."

"Of course," Daiki smiled. "Always."

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him again, but she remembered that her uncle was home, so she kept the kiss from going too far.

...

"Oi! Don't just stand there like dolls!" Mac yelled. "We can't slack off if we want to win!"

Tetsuya silently groaned as Mac pushed them harder, making them run laps in between shooting. It was like being back at Teiko.

"Mac-cchi, you meanie!" Ryota whined as he ran.

"If you can complain then run faster!" Was all Mac answered making more than Ryota groan.

They ran and shot and ran and shot, and then some more.

Had he missed this? Tetsuya wondered as he felt his muscles burn and breathing becoming more and more laboured.

"Stop!"

"Finally…" Ryota and Takao both moaned as they sank down to the floor as their legs gave out. They weren't the only ones either, the others also sank down and soon were spread out all over the court.

Mac was sitting down as well, but she was smiling slightly as she looked at the others and took in her exhausted friends.

"Good work," Kagetora said. "Be sure to drink enough water and stretch to avoid injuries."

Riko was handing out water bottles to them all and bit back a laugh at the exhausted sounds they made.

"Thank you," Mac smiled tiredly at Riko as she accepted the water and quickly started to drink it.

Mac wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she put the empty bottle down. She had to get up so she could start to stretch, but her muscles protested the idea of moving. She pushed it back and got to her feet again and smiled amused as she noticed the others do the same thing.

...

"You're mean," Ryota pouted at her. "I can't believe you've gotten even worse, Mac-cchi."

"Worse?" Mac arched a brow. "Are you saying I am bad, Ryota?"

"Yes," Taiga agreed. "I know Kuroko always said that you would be worse than Riko, but I never really believed him…"

"Hmph," Mac rolled her eyes. "Maybe you need to be pushed more."

"Eh? No way!" Ryota and Taiga protested making Mac bite back a smile.

"You're weak," Daiki said before he yawned. "Kenzie was not too bad today."

Mac laughed softly as she took in the looks Daiki got, though she watched them all with a pensive look. Had she pushed them too hard?

"I can't feel my legs," Takao groaned as he sank down to the floor with a dramatic huff.

"Dramatic," Shintaro said, though Mac noticed that he was shaking slightly as well even as he tried to hide it.

"I forgot how harsh Mac's practices could be," Tetsuya said from his position next to Taiga. He looked tired, but he was smiling slightly.

"I want sweets," Atsushi grunted.

"We're fine, Mac," Seijuro spoke up and Mac looked at him and saw him smiling slightly.

"Of course," Kiyoshi agreed easily. "Nothing we can't handle, Mac. They are just having fun being dramatic."

Mac smiled as she heard the protests from Ryota and Taiga.

"Fine," Ryota said. "I agree with Kuroko-cchi, I forgot how hard you pushed us before a game. I missed it."

"You don't sound like you missed it," Riko said dryly making Mac laugh softly.

"Well, you did well," Mac said. "We're getting stronger, and our teamwork is also getting better now."

...

Peter Wilson looked up when he heard the door to the hotel room open and then close and saw his friend Robert Thompson walking in.

"Hey, Robbie," Peter said. "Did you get to play tourist today?"

"You should have come," Robert said. "It is so much to see."

"I'm sure," Peter said. "I wanted to watch the video coach gave us of the team we will play first."

"You're such a workaholic," Robert said. "You should have been Captain and not me."

"Nah, I can't be bothered with leading the others," Peter dismissed. "You can do that."

"Thanks," Robert rolled his eyes. "So, are they good? What was their team called again?"

"Vorpal Sword," Peter shrugged. "Though, most of them are known as the Generation of Miracles here in Japan."

"…eh?" Robert looked at him confused. "I thought this team was put together for the sake of the tournament, unlike us and the others who are a team all the time."

Peter nodded, "If I understand it correctly, then they used to be on the same team at Middle School. Well, seven of them were, but they went to different schools for High School."

"Okay, but Generation of Miracles? Isn't that kind of… cheesy?" Robert asked.

"Yes, I think so," Peter said. "But from what I can tell…they are strong. This video is from when they were at Middle School. So they are missing a few of the players that are listed on their team. But I am sure that these seven are the main ones and the others will be subs."

"That's your way of saying not to underestimate them, right?" Robert said and Peter nodded.

"They even have a girl on their team," Peter said and Robert blinked and then stared at him.

"Come again?" Robert said.

"They have a girl on their team," Peter repeated.

"Huh, you're not playing with me, are you?" Robert asked and Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay… just… did they say anything about any team having a girl on their team? You sure she's not just a manager or something?"

Peter shook his head, "No, she's a player. She's good too, from what I can tell. This is over a year ago, though, but I doubt that she's gotten worse since then."

"Okay, interesting," Robert said. "I can't wait until we will play them."

"Me too," Peter said. "We need to make sure that we are prepared. I really want to play Jabberwock and show them how to play decent basketball. They need to be taken down a peg or ten."

Peter really hated Jabberwock and how they played basketball. He fisted his hands as he glared at the screen in front of him and pushed back the memories threatening to come back.

"Hey, we will beat them," Robert said firmly breaking into his thoughts, probably knowing just what Peter was thinking. "We are all behind you, Pete."

"I… yeah, I know. Thank you," Peter said.

...

Sato's house

...

"Good work today," Professor Sato said when Mac put down her wand having been practicing dueling and non-verbal spells. It was hard, but Mac was starting to get a handle on it.

"Thank you," Mac smiled. "I just want to get it right."

"You're making progress," Sato said leaning back in his seat. "I believe you are ready to practice against Daisuke soon."

"Eh? Daisuke?" Mac blinked.

"He agreed to practice with you," Sato said but she saw his lips twitch upward slightly as he watched her. "It will be good for you to practice against someone and not just a training dummy."

Mac nodded, "sounds good."

With that she turned back to her desk and started to clear it and her mind was already starting to turn to the day ahead of her with preparations for the basketball tournament. It had been a couple of long days with practice. She knew she had pushed them all hard and she felt a little bad at how harsh she had been.

"I hear you are meeting Daisuke and Takaichi this weekend," Sato said and Mac blinked before looking over at her professor.

"Yes, I thought it was about time I met Daisuke's boyfriend," Mac said and was happy that she managed to keep her voice calm and not show the nerves she felt at the upcoming meeting.

Sato knew she was trying to hide the nerves she felt from him as he watched her, but he felt proud of how far she had come. She was looking forward and it showed the strength he knew she had inside of her.

"I know Daisuke is looking forward to you meeting Takaichi," was all he said and Mac smiled a little as she nodded.

Mac paused and looked down at Nao before she looked up and met his eyes.

"Do… do you think I'm doing the right thing, professor?" Mac finally asked.

Sato leaned back as he considered her for a moment.

"Do you?" he returned and she frowned a little.

"I… yes, kind of… but…" Mac struggled a little to find the right words.

"You're nervous," Sato summed up and she nodded.

"I just… there's no going back now…" Mac said. "I... He knows."

"Yes, he does," Sato agreed. "He isn't going to tell anyone, Mac. He is kind, and from what Daisuke said really happy to be able to meet you. And not because of the Girl-Who-Lived, but because you mean so much to Daisuke."

Mac flushed a little but smiled softly.

"Okay," Mac said. "Sorry, I just…"

"It's natural to be nervous, Mac," Sato said. "You are stronger than you know, and I know you will be just fine."

"Thank you, professor," Mac said a little embarrassed, but mostly pleased.

...

Too Academy

...

Mac was reassured after talking with her professor and the last doubt she'd felt was pushed away. At least for now. She was so used to hiding and not involving the magical part of her in her life, but she was ready to take a step forward.

But she would still focus on her friends and the basketball tournament, and looking over her notes told her that they had gotten stronger.

"I think we should take a day off training today," Mac said bringing their attention over to her and she saw Kagetora arch a brow at her.

"Eh? Why?" Ryota asked.

"You need a break;" Mac said and frowned a little. "I think I might have pushed too hard yesterday, and I'm sorry. I think I forgot why we are doing this, and lost sight of an important part of why we are doing this."

"Mac…" Daiki frowned but she shook her head as she ran a hand through her hair.

"We're doing this for fun as well as winning," Mac said. "If we lose sight of that then we will just make the same mistakes as last time. So, I thought that we could just do something for fun today and forget practice for one day."

"Sounds like a good idea," Seijuro said. "Any thoughts about what we should do?"

Mac smiled knowing that with Seijuro's agreement, the others would follow as well, though they had started to look excited before Seijuro voiced his agreement.

"I am open to ideas," Mac said. "I was thinking either bowling or a movie, maybe making dinner together?"

"Bowling!" Taiga and Ryota said at the same time before they scowled at each other.

"Sounds fun," Daiki shrugged and Takao grinned as he looked at Shintaro.

"What do you think, Shin-chan? Do you want to go bowling?" Takao asked.

"I don't care about what we do," Shintaro said as he pushed at his glasses.

"Right," Takao said amused.

...

They ended up deciding to go bowling, and Mac could barely remember the last time she had been bowling. It had to be years, so she was looking forward to it.

"Will we split up in two groups or do teams?" Tetsuya asked.

"Let's do teams," Kiyoshi grinned. "It will be fun!"

"Sure," Mac said. "I call Tetsu!"

"Oi, I wanted to be on Tetsu's team," Daiki scowled at her.

"Well, too bad, Daiki," Mac said as she threw her arms around Tetsuya's neck and hugged him while sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend.

"Fine," Daiki sighed.

"Hah, I got Tetsu," Mac said and pulled away as she grinned at Tetsuya who smiled softly back at her. He looked rather emotionless as he did so, but she knew that he was happy.

Mac pulled Tetsuya with her to get their shoes and get ready as the others split up into teams as well. She decided against doing it more organized since this was just supposed to be fun.

"How is your grandmother, Tetsu?" Mac asked as they got ready.

"She's fine," Tetsuya said. "She and mum were out shopping yesterday and bought too much food for us, so they have invited all the children in the neighborhood for a garden party."

"Sounds fun," Mac said. "Do you need to be home in time for that, or?"

"No, I said I was busy today;" Tetsuya said. "Though, I might be there in time depending on when we are finished here."

Mac nodded, "okay. Let me know if you want to leave early to join your family, okay? Though, I don't know how long we will be doing this today."

Tetsuya nodded, "I will."

...

"Ah, well," Mac smiled amused as she looked over at Seijuro and Shintaro, "I guess I should not be surprised that they won."

"Akashi always wins," Daiki grumbled but he smiled when Mac looked at him.

"True," Tetsuya agreed. "Though I had fun."

"Me too," Mac said as she enjoyed hearing the others talk and laugh around her. It was reassuring and warm and she wondered if anything really calmed her down like this. "It was fun."

"We have to do this more often!" Ryota cried as he flung himself down into the empty seat beside Mac and immediately hugged her. "And next time I want to be on your team, Mac-cchi!"

"Loud," Mac groaned but she smiled all the same and patted his arm. "I'm sure we can do it again at another time."

She pulled away and hid her amused laugh when she caught Daiki's glare at Ryota. It was all very familiar.

...

Before she really knew it the week had passed, and it was time for the double date and Mac was waiting with Daiki for Daisuke and Takaichi to arrive. They had agreed to meet at the train station not too far from where she lived.

"Are you okay?" Daiki asked.

"Yes," Mac smiled. "I feel calmer than I thought I would."

"Good," Daiki asked and Mac felt warmth knowing that he was there and cared.

It was true, she did feel calmer than she had thought she would feel. However, there was a small voice in her mind that was whispering that she was making a mistake. She managed to ignore it, though.

"There they are," Mac said spotting Daisuke and another boy (she assumed that was Takaichi) coming toward them. She felt Daiki squeeze her hand in support making her give him a smile before turning her attention back again.

"Hey, Mac!" Daisuke smiled when Mac and Daiki came close enough. "Aomine."

"Hey, Daisuke," Mac said softly while Daiki nodded without saying anything.

"Taka, I want you to meet my friend, Potter Mackenzie, and her boyfriend, Aomine Daiki," Daisuke said, "Mac, this is my boyfriend, Kawabe Takaichi."

Mac turned her attention to the boy or young man beside Daisuke for real now as she pushed back the small voice in her mind that said she was making a mistake.

Kawabe Takaichi was not as tall as Daiki, but a little taller than Daisuke. He had his light brown hair pulled back in a small ponytail and she noticed that he had one ear pierced. Unlike his boyfriend, he also had a small beard. Though it was his grey eyes that Mac noticed the most, they were warm in a way she didn't think grey eyes could be, but they also had a sharpness to them that told her that he was reading her just as she was him. It made her smile a little.

"Nice to meet you, Kawabe-san," Mac said. "You've made Daisuke very happy."

"Nice to meet you too, Potter-san," Takaichi smiled warmly, "I have been hearing very much about you these last few days. Before that, you were always the mystery friend that Daisuke would occasionally mention, but never name."

"Sorry about that," Mac frowned a little and she felt Daiki tense next to her.

"Eh? No! It wasn't meant as a dig at you or anything," Takaichi said quickly. "I understand why he didn't say anything."

He trailed off a little and looked at Daisuke who grimaced slightly, but soon smiled as he looked at Mac.

"He really didn't mean anything bad with the comment, Mac," Daisuke said. "I have mentioned you before to him without telling him a name, I didn't realize it, though, so he just mentally labeled you as my mystery friend."

"I see," Mac said but she relaxed a little and felt silly.

"Well, nice to meet you too, Aomine," Takaichi said looking at Daiki. "Daisuke tells me that you play basketball with Potter-san. I've never really seen the sport before, is it fun?"

"Nice to meet you," Daiki said a little gruffly, but he smiled a little when Mac gently pulled at his hand. "And yes, it is fun. Right, Kenzie?"

"Of course," Mac agreed easily.

...

Daisuke mentally grimaced as he saw the guarded yet guilty look on Mac's face, it was well hidden but he could tell she felt guilty about Takaichi's comment.

"Well, the class is starting soon," Daisuke said breaking up the small tension that had spread among them.

"Then, let's get going," Mac agreed. "Daiki is already late enough for his regular classes so it's best to not make him late to this one as well."

"Oi!" Daiki protested. "I'm not always late, they just start early."

Mac rolled her eyes.

"Besides, it's only because they split us up into different classes," Daiki said.

"So, it's their fault?" Takaichi asked smiling.

"Yes," Daiki nodded and Mac laughed.

"Of course," Mac agreed.

Daisuke smiled amused and thought it would be nice to get a chance to get to know Mac's boyfriend a little better as well, he hadn't met him much either.

"I am looking forward to this," Mac said turning her attention away from Daiki and over to Daisuke and Takaichi. "I am curious about making candles. How did you think about this?"

"I didn't," Daisuke said and looked at Takaichi.

"I heard about it from one of my friends," Takaichi said when Mac looked at him. "She said she had tried it when she had been on her first date with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend is a muggle, so they have done a lot of non-magical things for their dates. They are now married and have a daughter of their own."

"Sounds nice," Mac said. "Well, it will be interesting."

Daisuke had tried really hard to come up with an idea for a double date that would fit all of them. He'd told Mac that he would find something for them to do so she could just focus on the preparations for her basketball tournament and not worry about this double date more than she needed to. He wanted to have something that took the pressure of having to talk all the time off. What if they didn't have anything to talk about? What if it became awkward?

It had been Takaichi who had come up with the idea when he had seen Daisuke worry about it. By going to a candle-making class they would have an activity to do, and hopefully, the conversation would come naturally. And if not, then they had something to focus on and maybe that would help to make it easier.

...

They arrived at the place where the candle-making class would be held in time and quickly saw that it was mostly older people who were there. Though, Mac didn't mind that. She watched as Daisuke talked with the woman who was going to lead the class and was directed to a table they could use.

"Come on," Takaichi said. "Let's set up."

Mac and Daiki walked over with him to one of the workstations that consisted of two desks pushed together so they formed a larger square. It was easily set up for four people.

"Is that a heating thing?" Takaichi asked curiously and Mac noticed that he was looking at the hotplate that was standing in the middle of the table.

"Yes, it's a hotplate," Mac said. "It's electric."

"Cool," Takaichi said. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"Huh," Daiki said.

"It must be strange for you," Takaichi smiled at him. "But I haven't been much in this part of the city before."

"Guess it would be the same for me if we had gone to your part," Daiki said with a shrug.

"Maybe we can do that next time," Takaichi suggested carefully.

"Sounds good;" Mac smiled. "Daisuke said you worked at a restaurant?"

"Mm;" Takaichi nodded. "I want to open my own restaurant one day, so for now I'm working and learning from others."

"That must be interesting," Mac said. "To learn from others like that. Do you know what kind of food you want to serve? Will you specialise in something?"

Mac noticed Daisuke joining them, but kept her attention on Takaichi who seemed to light up as they talked about food.

"I want to have different kinds of food from all over the world," Takaichi said. "I know it might be too much, so I need to find the right balance and something that fits together."

"If you get him started he'll never stop talking about food," Daisuke said fondly.

"Like Kenzie with basketball," Daiki said and Mac huffed while Takaichi rolled his eyes.

"So? There's nothing wrong with being passionate about something," Mac said. "I like hearing about what others have passion about."

"True," Takaichi grinned.

...

Mac managed to relax more as they started to process of making candles, and she even found it fun. It was relaxing in a way that she hadn't expected.

"You look like you are challenging Taiga or something," Mac said amused as she watched Daiki try to get the wick to stay where he wanted.

"It's harder than it looks," Daiki said with a huff. "It's so…small."

"Agreed," Daisuke sighed. "You two make it look easy."

Mac glanced at Takaichi to find him rolling his eyes amused and she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

"Oi," Daiki scowled at her, but she knew he wasn't upset.

"Sorry," Mac said. "Just… you're funny."

He pouted a little but smiled when Mac reached over to help him get the wick balanced.

...

Daisuke smiled as he watched Takaichi talk with Mac as they stepped outside when the class was over. He felt some of the worry he'd felt melt away when he saw the smiles on their faces and heard the easy conversation about their candles. He was aware that Daiki was also keeping quiet and was watching the two as well, and he briefly wondered what the other boy was thinking.

"What are you thinking?" Daisuke suddenly asked as he fell back to walk with Daiki.

"Huh?" Daiki frowned at him.

"Are you worried?" Daisuke asked.

"Worried? Hm, not as much anymore," Daiki shrugged.

Daisuke glanced at him before looking back at Mac and Takaichi who were still talking, and he wondered if Daiki was also keeping back in order to give the two of them room to talk.

"Are you worried?" Daiki asked.

"I would lie if I said I wasn't," Daisuke smiled a little wryly. "I know she is pushing herself, and I worry that she pushes too far."

"Kenzie is stronger than that," Daiki said. "I know she is worried, but she is moving forward. And she is the one who told you that she wanted to meet him."

"True, but…"

"Kenzie wouldn't have done it if she didn't want to," Daiki interrupted a little gruffly making Daiksuke blink. "You don't need to feel guilty because to Kenzie you are her friend and that means that she wants to meet your boyfriend. She has been wanting that for a while, and now she is ready. So, all we can do is be there and support her."

Daisuke smiled as he gave the younger boy a look, "you surprise me."

"Eh?" Daiki blinked confused but Daisuke just smiled and looked back at his boyfriend who was now holding Mac's candle and seemed to be examining it.

He hadn't expected Daiki to see through him like that and tell him that he didn't need to feel guilty. Because he did feel guilty, but for more than just because of Mac and feeling that she was pushing herself over him. It was also because he had realized how he had hurt Takaichi by not telling him about Mac.

He hadn't thought he had mentioned Mac much or at all to Takaichi, but he must have done it enough for Takaichi to mentally name her the mystery person like he had told Mac earlier. Daisuke was just so used to telling Takaichi about his day and his life, so stories of Mac had come up. Though, nameless (obviously). He never wanted Takaichi to feel like Daisuke was shutting him out of his life by doing so, but that was how Takaichi had felt and Daisuke hadn't realized.

So yeah, he felt guilty.

"I see why you and Kenzie are good friends," Daiki huffed bringing Daisuke out of his thoughts to look over at Daiki and found him watching him with an amused expression mixed with resignation.

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked.

"You both overthink everything," Daiki shrugged.

Daisuke laughed, "I guess you're right. You don't do that?"

"Nah, no point," Daiki shrugged again. "Too much work."

Daisuke shook his head.

...

Mac blinked when she realized that she hadn't heard from Daiki or Daisuke for a while and looked around only to find the two several steps behind her and Takaichi. They seemed to be talking, though.

"Ah, I thought they had been quiet," Takaichi said amused.

"Mm," Mac said. "Are you coming?"

Daiki rolled his eyes as he met her eyes but he smiled all the same while Daisuke laughed a little sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said.

"So, what now?" Mac asked taking Daiki's hand when he reached for hers, before she frowned when she noticed the smile on Daisuke's face. "What?"

"Nothing," Daisuke said, "I was just thinking that I liked seeing you and Taka-chan talk and getting along."

Mac smiled before she looked away a little embarrassed, though she didn't understand why. Takaichi just rolled his eyes before he quickly kissed Daisuke's cheek.

"I'm hungry," Daiki said.

"You're always hungry," Mac said with a smile.

"What about we go and find someplace to eat?" Takaichi suggested. "I could eat."

"Where?" Daisuke asked.

"Some place normal for muggles," Takaichi said. "Where do you go to eat often? Or do you go somewhere often?"

"Well, there's the Maji's," Mac said. "It's not… fancy or anything. Just fastfood, really."

"Fastfood? Sounds interesting," Takaichi said. "I am curious about this."

"Of course you are," Daisuke smiled fondly. "So, do you want to go there or are you tired of it?"

"Nah, it's fine," Mac said.

"It's good," Daiki added.

...

"Are you okay?" Daiki asked when it was just the two of them again and Daiksuke and Takaichi had left. They had eaten at a local Maji and both Mac and Daiki had found their reactions to the burgers amusing. Though, they seemed to have liked it.

"I'm fine, Daiki. Really, I am. I think… I think I made the right choice in meeting him," Mac said. "It went fine, right? Do you think they also had a good time?"

"Yeah," Daiki said. "It looked like it."

"Good," Mac said relieved. "Did you have a good time?"

"I always have a good time with you," Daiki said before he grinned making Mac laugh and push at his arm.

"Be serious, Daiki," Mac said but rolled her eyes when she noticed the smug look on his face.

"Serious? Well, they are nice," Daiki said. "And Sato is just as much of a worrier as you, so I get why you are friends."

"Hm," Mac huffed, but shook her head slightly. "Fine, well, I am glad you and Daisuke have a chance to get to know each other as well."

It had been a nice day, and Mac had liked Takaichi and found him to be interesting to talk to. She was glad that Daisuke had found someone who made him smile, and that she had a chance to know him as well.

"I think everything will be alright," Mac said. "I… maybe I can soon take a step further into the magical world without having to hide… Maybe… I can be strong enough to stop hiding?"

Could she do it? Was she strong enough? Was she ready? She wasn't sure why meeting one person would make her think so, but it settled something inside of her. She thought back to when she took the OWLs and hadn't she almost wished that she'd had someone to talk to about her magical homework?

She hadn't quite understood the feeling she'd had back then as she had observed the others taking the exam and how they seemed to be friends. It had almost been like she had been… jealous? No, not quite, but something close. Maybe a longing? Or curiosity? Could she have been part of a group like that in the magical world? Would they have been able to see her as just Mac and not the Girl-Who-Lived?

She didn't regret her choices, and she knew she would choose her friends and her life now every time, but maybe there was a way in the future? Could she be brave enough to really open up the magical world? To really step into it?

"So confusing," Mac muttered frustrated as her thoughts spiralled away from her.

"You'll figure it out, Kenzie," Daiki said and she felt his hand under her chin as he tilted her head up so he could meet her eyes. "You don't have to find the answers to everything today. Just be happy that you manage to take a step forward and meet Kawabe and Sato like this, and everything else can wait."

Mac blinked as she looked at him and then smiled softly, "thank you, Daiki."

...

...

AN: Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! XD

So... this is a very late update, and I am sorry for how late it is. I promise that I haven't given up on the story, though! XD
I am a little rusty in writing, so I'm not completely happy with how this chapter turned out. I figured it would be better to get something out again and hopefully, I can get back into writing. The next chapter should be the start of the tournament! XD

So, again, thank you for reading! I will do my best to get back to a semi-regular update schedule! XD