A Sport all the Better

There was a calm to the wind today. Taking deep breaths, Midnight let his head fall back, chin raised to the sky as he basked in the bright sunlight. His white hair thudded against his back, firmly tied into a tight ponytail. This was the last match of the week, sports tournaments have been going on all week to give everyone a chance to shine. Soccer was the last match to take place, and Midnight could feel his friends' presences in the crowd; Azure and Crimson yelling despite the game not having started yet, Breeze whistling loudly and yelling instructions to him, Scarlet happily watching him prepare to play.

It made him happy, to have them all there in the crowd supporting him. He had watched all their matches as well, despite not being as excited as they were. They all played different sports, each so unique in their own ways that it made Midnight wonder what it would be like if they all played the same sport.

Would Crimson be as powerful as he is on a basketball court, commanding his team and leading the defense? Would Breeze be as agile and quick as she is on the sandy shore, blocking and diving for the ball? Would Azure showcase her flexibility and arm strength just as she does on gym mats? Would Scarlet be quick to strategize, would he use tricks and jokes to get out of a precarious situation as he does when running between second and third base? Would Midnight himself be able to overlook the field and control the ball towards his comrades as well as he does on the soccer pitch?

They all had differing skills that made them suitable for their sports, those skills were what made them choose their sport after all.

With a harsh * of a whistle, Midnight called for his team to return to their bench. He heard his friends cheer together and with a reluctant smile he glanced up at them and gave a small wave. This seemed to make them all scream louder, Crimson pulling a large sign out of nowhere with Midnight's name on it. Before he could feel embarrassment creep upon him, Midnight turned away and garnered the attention of his team.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" he waited for shouts of acknowledgment from his team. When they quieted once more, he continued. "We've prepared for this day for a long time, spent hours upon hours in the heat practicing for this very moment! Let's go out there and show everyone exactly what we prepared for!" He ended with passion, throwing a fist into the air for emphasis. His team copied the gesture. "Everyone hands in!" He shoved his fist into the middle of several bodies, all beaming with excitement. Other hands joined his own, piling atop one another.

"Konoha on three!" he yelled, pushing down on the hands as he counted. "One... Two... Three!" And then he pulled his fist up, everyone else's hands flying to the sky in unison, everyone screaming out Konoha in honor of their village. And then his team was off, people running at different paces to get to their starting positions, Midnight following in a slow jog. He hurried to his place just outside of the mid-circle, standing by and waiting for his strikers to begin kickoff.

The other team piled onto the field soon after them. Once everyone was in place, the middle referee blew his whistle, the pitch high and piercing and Midnight watched his strikers begin the game.

Midnight ran down the pitch, dribbling the ball before him. The cheers from the crowd fell away, silence permeating through his ears as he maneuvered around opposing players on the field. He passed the ball through an opponents legs, spinning around the other and sprinting forwards to accept the return pass. He received the ball once again, gaze moving up and catching on the goalkeeper before him, imposing figure that stood between Midnight and the final goal.

Kicking the ball slightly forwards, the keeper rushed out, thinking he made an error, but Midnight smirked, speeding up just barely and tapping the ball softly around the rushing keeper. The keeper dove forwards and missed the ball by a hair. Midnight leaped over the keeper and stopped the ball's momentum with his left foot. He looked up at the goal, smile overtaking his features at the sight of an empty goal.

With a soft tap from his right foot, he kicked the ball into the goal's right corner, the ball hitting the back of the net snugly and staying there. When he turned around, the sound slowly came back to him and he was greeted by intense cheers and screams. He looked up to the stands, waving wildly, eyes finding his friends with relative ease. Azure had at some point during the match also gotten a sign and was waving it around with Crimson. Breeze was shouting wildly, no doubt trying to tell him how she would have scored. Scarlet had his fingers between his lips and was whistling, pausing to smile and wave at Midnight.

Grinning maniacally, Midnight jogged back to his team's side of the field, earning pats on the back for his goal. They set up once more, the time the last thing on their minds. The other team set up the ball and when the referee blew his whistle, they kicked it off once more, sending the ball flying over Midnight's team's heads. But seconds later, before Midnight could even make a move to run after the ball, three whistles sound, signaling the end of the game.

Midnight joined his team in cheering for their win, everyone coming together for a group hug. They separated quickly after, lining up on the midfield line and shaking hands with their opponents, giving the same respect to the referees.

As soon as he came off the field, he was accosted by his friends, Azure jumping on his back and crawling all over him, Crimson throwing an arm around his shoulders and crushing Midnight against his much larger form. They were both speaking loudly, far too loudly for being directly by Midnight.

"And then you were like whoosh!" Azure exclaimed, hands flying and clapping as she explained. "And the ball went shoom! And it went in!" Crimson was nodding enthusiastically, agreeing with every word Azure said, making even bigger gestures that almost knocked Midnight off his feet. His arm was grabbed and he was dragged out from between his two excitable friends and Breeze was curling her arm over his shoulders, bending Midnight in half and she rubbed her knuckles into his head.

"Nice fight-o, Middie!" she exclaimed, pulling at his ponytail and flinging it away from him. He let out an indignant, "Hey!" before he was pulled away and another arm was wrapping around him.

He recognized Scarlet's spindly arm around his waist and wrapped his own arm around Scarlet's neck, dragging the shorter boy into his chest, the fire user immediately protesting and struggling to escape. "No, no, no, stop, Midnight, no, stop, this is gross you are covered in sweat!" He screeched, pulling at Midnight's arm around him. The ruckusScarlet made caught his other friend's attention and then Crimson was screaming;

"DOGPILE!"

And with a startled yelp, Midnight was falling to the floor, being buried underneath Crimson's large form, Scarlet being squished beneath him. There were two more jumps that followed, obviously being Breeze and Azure, laughing as Midnight at Scarlet being trapped beneath their behemoth friend.

Despite his annoyance, Midnight couldn't stop his own laughter from bubbling up. His friends may be insane, but they were his friends and they made playing his sport all the better with their support.