Not sure if I made it before the deadline. I’m posting this anyway since the thread isn’t closed.

The only one who can win

Midnight couldn’t understand why he was picked for the football team.

He had only played football a few times during his academy years. So when he was chosen as one of the new players, he figured that they only needed him as a substitute. To his surprise Kakashi Hatake, the couch, placed him in the main lineup.

He sat on a stool at Ichiraku’s ramen, contemplating about that day’s training session. As usual he was the one who messed up. The one who dragged the whole team down. The others said that he’ll do better in the real match, but he knew it was not going to be the case.

“This is stu.pid,” he said, “I am a ninja. I’m supposed to be training and going on missions, not playing games!”

“The football tournament is a way to maintain a peaceful relationship with the other villages. You can consider it a mission.”

Midnight turned around and saw that it was Kakashi. Kakashi sat on the stool next to him and ordered a large bowl of ramen.

“If it is to maintain relationships, then winning is unnecessary,” said Midnight.

Kakashi merely smiled and said nothing. It was as though he didn’t think the question worth answering. After all, no self respecting ninja would go to a battle—or a game—without intending to win.

It was not like Midnight didn’t care for winning. But if he had the choice, he wouldn’t be part of the game at all.

“Kakashi-sensei, can I ask you something?” he said, “why did you pick me for the football team? I’m not as skilled as Lee. I can’t anticipate the opponent’s movements like Sasuke. I can’t even trick and deceive them like Naruto.”

Kakashi put down the bowl of soup he was drinking and said, “I did not choose you to do what someone else can do. I need you to do what you are best at.”

“Something I am best at? What is it? What could it be?”

“Who knows? Only you would know.”

“Err,” Midnight was a little disappointed. “I don’t.”

Kakashi stood up, put his hands on Midnight’s shoulders and said with a very serious tone, “Tomorrow’s the final. The Hidden Cloud are strong. Your team needs you, Midnight, so don’t let them down.”

His team needed him? Why would they need somebody who was about as useful as excess baggage? Kakashi must have been messing with him—that would not be so unusual of the copy ninja. Then again, if Kakashi did not see him worthy, would he actually put him on the main lineup?

“Sensei, what am I supposed to do at the match tomorrow… uh“

Kakashi was not there. He was always as fast at running away as he was at copying techniques.

*****

The final was a nightmare.

The first half ended with the Hidden Cloud scoring three goals to nothing. They were a powerful team and also incredibly fast. The Leaf could barely keep the ball for seconds, let alone attempting to score. To top it off two of the Leaf’s best players, Rock Lee and Hyuga Neji, were absent due to injury. The second half started off equally bad.

“Crap, even my ultimate technique isn’t working on them,“ said Naruto, now transformed into a hot girl in bikini. The Cloud players merely stared at him for half a second then moved on.

“You’ve used it too many times,” said Midnight, “only amateurs will fall for it now.”

“Nothing is working against them,” said Kiba, curling his fist in frustration, “this is bad. We have no way of stopping them. Are we going to lose like this? It is embarrassing.”

Midnight did not want to lose. He did not care much about the tournament, but seeing how the Cloud players were looking down on the Leaf made him pissed. He wanted to show them the true spirit of the Leaf’s ninja.

Why did Kakashi say that the team needed him? He still couldn’t figure it out. Right then there was only one thing left for him to try. He put his hands together, rapidly forming three seals.

“Lightning cloak!”

Lightning sparks surrounded him. This was an old technique passed down in his clan. A technique that granted the user an unusual speed at the cost of extreme exhaustion afterwards. It was impractical for both missions and wars, that’s why it had become a lost technique that Midnight had only read about in a book. But who’s to say that what’s useless for missions can’t be used in a football match?

He ran toward the ball and *ed it, feeling excited at how fast he had become. With swift movements he made his way to the opponent’s goal, easily bypassing the defenders. He shot the ball infused with lightning chakra and-

“GOAL!”

The whole stadium cheered. A new hope was born for the Leaf.

“Awesome,” said Naruto, “when did you learn such a technique?”

Midnight grinned, “I’ll tell you after we win.”

The match continued. In the remaining twenty minutes the Leaf scored three more goals and brought home victory.

After the match Midnight ran over to Kakashi and said, “sensei, you knew that the lightning cloak was the key to victory from the start, right?”

“Nope, I was merely curious to see what you’ll come up with, “said Kakashi nonchalantly as he was reading his favourite novel. “You surprised me. Well done.”

So the copy ninja was messing with him after all.

Midnight never took part in another football tournament. That year he was promoted to jonin and no longer had time to play. However, for many years to come people still remembered the boy who once sped through the pitch like a bolt of lightning.