A/N - A rather pointless drabble withimplied ShigeMizu. Thanks again to Amaya-chan for betaing. I redid the names and spacing, so I apologize for any mistakes.
Disclaimer - I own roughly five soccer balls, one pump, two sets of destroyed cleats, three separate shin guards, three pairs of socks, one ankle brace, countless patches, about nine trophies, and three Whistle! books. However, I don't own Whistle! itself.
Mizuno was out late. He knew it too, but he also knew there wouldn't be trouble for him. In an area as populated as his neighborhood, he didn't have to worry unless he strayed into the wrong place. He didn't really know why he was wandering around this late at night, but he liked being away from the restrictive atmosphere in his house. A simple 'I feel like it' wouldn't cut it with his mother, so he'd said he was going down to the bridge to see if Kazamatsuri was practicing there.
Then I'll go down to the bridge. Mizuno changed his aimless course to head down to the water's edge where he knew Kazamatsuri liked to play this time of night. Maybe I should have brought a ball.
When he reached the bridge, it was deserted. Now that he thought about it, he knew he hadn't really expected to see Kazamatsuri here. Not even he would Kazamatsuri crazy enough to practice this late on a school night. He was really the only person who could be here.
Mizuno walked to the water's edge and stared down at his reflection in the moonlight. He wondered exactly how something so pure as the water in this river could bear to reflect such a filthy world. A world where war, hate, and rivalry were carried out as every day functions without a second thought.
Because the river rivaled nothing. It bore no grudges and could not hate those who would dirty its waters. The river only flowed on, into the sea to forgive those who had wronged it. Why couldn't he become like that? A good leader would be calm and forgiving, yet demand respect as the river had. It was no wonder Kazamatsuri liked this place by the river. They were so much alike. Always pushing forward, always showing others the way by knowing their own.
"Beautiful isn't it?" said a voice from behind him. Mizuno spun around to see Shige looking at him.
"How long have you been here?" Mizuno asked.
Shige smiled. "The entire time." Mizuno attempted to glare at his teammate, but it didn't work. Nothing ever seemed to work on Shige.
"I was thinking about why Kazamatsuri likes this place so much," Mizuno confessed.
"Because of the river? It reminds me of you, you know."
"How can the river remind you of me?" Mizuno asked. "It's so.. so perfect. So unlike me."
"But that's exactly why it reminds me of you," Shige said quietly.
"When our team didn't have a real coach, you helped to pull us through. You came up with practices and led the team. It's true the majority of the team followed Kaza, but he followed you. You notice everything, surely you couldn't have missed that."
Mizuno hadn't noticed. He'd known the team depended on Kazamatsuri, but he hadn't really thought that the other boy would have been lost without him there to lead the way. "But I couldn't have led without you and the him by my side the entire time," he objected.
"You really have no idea how perfect you are, do you?"
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