It’s a Wonderful Day for Parkour

[itmeanstruth]

The twins had returned to the Nexus after a brief visit to their world. It was that time of year again - time for the American Ninja Warrior qualifiers.

For anyone passing through the plaza this beautiful afternoon, the grin on Minoru’s face said it all. He’d beaten the Seattle course, clocked in a great time and scored a spot in the Finals! But this was no time to rest on laurels. There was still a lot to do before he set his sights on Mount Midoriyama again.

“If I’m going to make it all the way to Total Victory this time, I need all the practice I can get!” He exclaimed while hopping on top a picnic table. The plaza and the surrounding areas were full of obstacles to train on. “Anybody want to race? Let’s do it!”

[open for anyone who wants to do a little freerunning or parkour. Either with Minoru or with each other, threadjacking here is fine by me.]

Comments

[itmeanstruth]

“Hey Ray!!” Minoru waved energetically, sprinting toward her with a hand raised for high fives. “I made it! I’m going to Vegas again!”

Technically, she helped quite a bit. Her advice helped him get his priorities back in line. He probably never would have made it through this year’s qualifiers if he was still trying to balance school on top of everything else.

[teh_girl_wonder]

"Awesome!" She high fived him. "Then we have to make sure you knock the competition on their asses right?" She grinned brightly.

"Look like you're happier than the last time we spoke, take it, you did it? How'd your family take it?"

[itmeanstruth]

“Surprisingly better than I thought!” He admitted. “Isamu freaked out, but of course he did. School is his thing. Always has been. Always will be.”

That part, he could laugh about.

“I was actually more surprised how Papa reacted. I thought for sure, going back home for the qualifiers, that I’d get the same lectures about being lazy or not applying myself or whatever. But he didn’t… He was almost… supportive?” Minoru scratched his head. “Not of me dropping out, but of me taking my time. Taking classes online. That kind of thing.”

But enrolling in anything, even just a single class, was going to wait until after the Finals this year. He stood his ground on that.

[teh_girl_wonder]

"Sounds like my brothers." She chuckled.

"Well at least he didn't lecture you." She looked at the courses. "On that note, give me a few moments to warm up. So glad I wear bike shorts under my skirts." Yes Minoru, this time she is so racing you in her skirt.

[itmeanstruth]

“He may not have been pleased, really… but man, when I made it up the Mega Wall again, he was jumping up and down and waving fans right along with Isamu.”

Minoru stretched a little himself, keeping himself loose between matchups with all his friends.

“No problem at all. Go ahead.” He nodded. “Where do you want to race this time? Challenger’s pick. I need all the surprises I can get before Vegas.”

[teh_girl_wonder]

"Man, sorry I missed being there in your cheering section." She started in on simple stretches. "Would have loved to have seen it. Though you know damn well I'm going to be dragging my siblings and our friends when you're in Vegas. Well not Baby Brat, he's too young for a Vegas trip." Yeah we're not bringing a 13 year old to Vegas!

It was clear that she hadn't lost any flexibility playing the good student in the Batclan.

"Hm Challenger's pick, and guessing you don't care what's thrown at us right?" She looked around. "Forty percent ground, then percent air, and the last fifty being off structure, around the main square twice?" Should get you some practice jumping around."

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru shrugged. “For the qualifiers, I kind of like to keep it really small. Just Isamu and my parents, really.”

The qualifiers looked really awesome on TV, but they were kind of boring for live spectators. There were a lot of people to get through. That meant a lot of waiting for your turn, and a lot of watching people crash and burn. The Finals, though, were every bit as exciting live as they were on TV, maybe even more so.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if Ziggy buys out an entire section of the stands again this year. I’m sure you can get in on some seats with the big group.”

And if for some reason, he didn’t, Minoru would make sure to help everyone order some tickets. Anyone who wanted to come cheer him on was welcome!

“Okay, so, that’s, what, half a lap on the buildings, using those banners across the road over there as a slack line, and then two laps around the plaza itself?”

[teh_girl_wonder]

Rayan nodded. "Got it. And really you'll make it to the main event, with training help like the show out today, I can't see how you won't." She grinned brightly. "And if I brought all my family, not just my brothers and foster dad.... there'd probably be about fifty of us. And pretty sure the loudest would be my boyfriend's adopted mom figure. Though, she's loud enough to shatter glass if needed and going to sporting events with her is fun."

Rayan finished up her stretches as she talked. "So I don't think you'll have a problem finding my crew even if we're not sitting with Ziggy and the others." Though she had a feeling Mira and Jason both would want to sit with that bunch only to talk music with them.

"Sounds good."

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru already secured his spot in the Finals, but how far he could go was definitely up in the air.

Last year, a surprisingly high number of ninjas made it to Stage 3 and he finished 14th. This year, the obstacles might be a lot harder because of that. Who knows what will be standing between him and the famous Mount Midoriyama tower.

“Oh, wow!” He chuckled, both surprised and impressed at how many people Rayan might bring to cheer him on. “I’d better tell Isamu to order more fans.”

Membership in the Fan Man Fan Club came complete with your very own purple uchiwa fan to wave. Isamu saw to that last year by handing them out to everybody he could find. He was planning on doing it again this year.

But that could wait. He had a different challenge at the moment.

“You ready?” He perched on the edge of the bench, and waited for Rayan to get ready too. “Let’s go!”

Minoru took off, sprinting across the street.