nexus_crossings | It’s a Wonderful Day for Parkour

It’s a Wonderful Day for Parkour

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.]

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"Yeah, I know!"

Fredrik knew he had to focus more if he were not to fall and ruin everything. That and possibly break a bone or two along the way. No, he couldn't afford that because he had to remain fit for playing on stage with his band. Now, the bassist was giggling to himself as he jumped up, grabbing an overhanging rope attached to another house, swinging himself along like a monkey, albeit with a slightly wonky gait.

"We can do this!"

Woah. Don't look down, Fredrik. The Swede felt his balance sway as he quickly glanced down at the ground below. Nope. Not going to do that.

Minoru had a natural talent for proprioception. He had a knack for knowing exactly where his body was in the world around him and the reflexes to match. Countless years of dedicated practice meant he could (and usually did) fall without injury. Though injuries could certainly still happen.

Now, this close to the Finals, was not the time for injuries to happen.

He grabbed the rope that Fredrik flung back, following him onto the next ledge. There was no wonky gait here. Nor any wayward glances. Minoru was hyperfocused, aware of everything, all at once. He was right behind Fredrik and moving fast.

"You're good at this!"

Fredrik turned behind him to face Minoru and saw that the other boy was taking this course in his stride. Of course he was. The bassist was no parkour expert, more an amateur learner who loved to run and jump on things in his spare time. He was moving fast so Fredrik knew he'd have to up his game!

Jumping onto a nearby ramp the Swede ran up it before grabbing into another tree branch swinging his body forwards landing on a flat roof. Ok, time to run. He pelted along the flat roof, careful not to slip and then found he'd have to shimmy down a drain pipe. Ok, he could do this!

“Keep practicing like this, and you’ll keep getting better too!” Minoru shouted back.

Minoru wouldn’t call himself a professional, but others around him certainly do. And he has technically won a few smaller cash prizes on American Ninja Warrior. (He got the bonus for clearing the Mega Wall two years in a row, now.) So by definition, maybe…?

He followed, swinging and landing on the roof right behind Fredrik.

"Yes, I know you are right, I just have to---mind my feet!"

The energetic Swede picking up pace and mindful of his feet, which were often his downfall, tripping him over at the last obstacle. Fredrik could hear Minoru gaining so looked above for a quicker route over the rooftops which was to monkey along a drain pipe. Don't look down!

"Here goes---"

The bassist grabbed hold of the pipe and was happy to know it was secure and strong enough to take a human's weight as he began gripping the pipe and swinging his body like a pendulum to get across. The fall below was around two stories so he didn't need any injuries.

Monkey see, monkey follow!

Minoru had to stop and wait for Fredrik to make it all the way across the pipe. While it was strong enough, as he just proved, to handle the weight of one person, Minoru wasn’t willing to wager on it handling two. And the last thing he wanted to do was send them both down. Two stories was a survivable height, but still.

Once it was clear, Minoru would begin the pendulum swings of his own.

Fredrik was nowhere near a skilled monkey as Minoru was but he was giving it his all as he was now traversing across another roof but this time it was a tiled one which was slightly slippy. Fresh rain from the night before was making the tiles shiny and hard to grip. The bassist now running fast across the rooftop but stumbling suddenly, losing his footing at the end of the roof, near falling into the gutter.

"Ah!----"

His hands thrust out to grab the guttering which was groaning with the weight of a person now hanging off it. This wasn't supposed to happen! How far was the floor below? Fredrik didn't really want to look.

Minoru had just landed on the roof when he saw Fredrik slip. Less than a fraction of a second later, he felt the cause under his right foot - slick tiles on a roof that hadn’t had enough time to dry yet.

What happened next, though, was what separated amateurs from pros - pure instinct. In the time it would take most people to consciously process what the fuck just happened or even begin to figure out what to do, Minoru had already dropped into a purposeful slide toward the edge of the roof. He planted one foot securely in the gutter to stop himself. It wasn’t exactly the most solid fixture, but it did hold. And from there, everything made perfect sense, just like it always did when he was freerunning.

“Two story drop!” He shouted, hopefully cutting right through the panic the younger man was experiencing. “If you can’t do that safely, flagpole! Twenty or so feet to your right! Relax! Inch your hands over slowly. Don’t make any big swings!”

"Minoru!---"

Fredrik was panicking a little but then saw his friend leap into action. Was Minoru part monkey?! He could move so fast. The bassist still holding on, knowing he'd have to drop to the floor below because he couldn't pull himself up. He just didn't have the body strength, nor the space to do so.

"Two story? Is that safe?"

The bassist didn't dare look down because fuck! That looked like a long way down. He might injure himself, so instead began doing what Minoru said and flag-polling along.

Safe was a very relative term in Parkour, and different for every person. Minoru couldn’t answer that question for anyone but himself, but he could at least spell out exactly how high up they were and let Fredrik make the call.

Inching toward the flagpole it was.

“Good job. Just breathe. Focus on your hands. You’ve got this.” He coached, still perched at the edge of the gutter. It was pretty close to the Ultimate Cliffhanger obstacle in American Ninja Warrior. “Solid grip, but let your body stay loose. A little bit at a time. Don’t reach for it until you get there.”

Once Fredrik was safely sliding down a pole, Minoru would drop to the ground. Two stories was within his comfort zone. But any more than that, while possible in the best circumstances, was risky - and pushed the limits of what he could do safely without injury. Anything higher than three Minoru treated with the respect it deserved. Those falls could easily end his career. Or his life.

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It’s a Wonderful Day for Parkour

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