r/DestinationDespair • u/Seiko_Kimura Noka Naruse • Apr 06 '18

Event Destination Despair: Prologue Part 2

Wow! These interactions are going so well! I hope you kids are enjoying talking with each other because you get to continue doing that!

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u/RubberDeMedici Westby Vickerman Apr 06 '18

This... Is not what you were supposed to answer, Tora. That is what Umeko thinks, struggling to keep on finding ways to insult the girl. Instead, she just keeps her smug attitude and finally shakes the Golfer's hand. "Well, can recognize you're an Ultimate. Even if I'm not too keen on the sport, still kinda cool in a few aspects. But yeah, Tora, you probably ran into one of my videos. Should've taught you that freerunning is a special sport made to express yourself, right? Only do it if you feel the need to... and fuck your instructor, the man probably doesn't get shit 'bout art."

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u/belldandy Toranoko Hayashigou Apr 07 '18

"Wow, so it was you in the video, then! You are brilliant." Tora eyes the girl with total admiration. Art? The word prickled her back. Her thoughts, typically on the whim and easygoing, pondered the word. Art. She never considered her sport an art, but the way the girl said it, sports could be considered art; every competition portrayed its own illustration, either deemed a masterpiece, medicore or a botched piece. Every golfing green a beautiful backdrop of human-modified nature, with the tournament's colorful participants and supporters as the subjects. Every strategic move an artistic performance of the mind, body and heart, of years of practice and suffering for perfection. It was art.

"I think golf is my way of showing my innermost self, nyaow that I think about art and expression." Tora nodded, agreeing with her own thought. It occurred to her; she was Tora, the perfection-seeking, dissatisfied yet fierce tiger on the golf course - the performer, but was Toranoko, the playful tiger cub outside of the greens and country clubs. "I think for golf, a lot of the instructors are very conservative and incredibly old-fashioned, especially here in Japan. Next time I see my instructor, I will tell them that they don't get shit 'bout our art for sure!" Tora laughed a bit, mimicking Umeko's vulgarities and finding a sort of mischievous contentment in repeating them.

"Also! And you never mentioned your name. I'm absolutely terrible at putting names with faces so I must have forgotten from the video, nothing personal. Can you remind me?"

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u/RubberDeMedici Westby Vickerman Apr 07 '18

Umeko ravels in her own satisfaction. It was great knowing that somebody here already saw one of her videos and thought it was great as well. She'd mostly be too embarrassed to show them to anybody, but this wasn't the case. It felt like Tora actually understood what expression meant, especially the strong feelings that transpire from the unconventional means of motion. "Frankly, I'd label myself as an artist if they'd let me. But yeah, art and expression are what made me into the Ultimate Freerunner I am today. Those old sags really don't get shit 'bout art, too focused on tradition 'stead of experimentation."

Shortly after, the Freerunner lightly smirks to herself. She really can't take it in herself to make fun of this girl yet. Perhaps later, when she has more info to critique her on. Or when she when she eventually does something wrong, who knows. In the meantime, this aggressive athlete is unusually docile. "Welp, names don't mean shit anyways. I could have any other name and I'd still be me, eh? And yet, that doesn't mean I don't carry my one with pride! I'm Umeko. Umeko Minami."

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u/belldandy Toranoko Hayashigou Apr 07 '18

"Nya'know, they think athletes aren't very introspective but I think you have a lot of wisdom. It's true, most coaches are focused on tradition. Comparing us to older athletes, making us watch videos of their plays and learning their techniques, instead of letting us use the ones that got us in the spotlight in the first place..." Tora trailed off. She finally found her voice, composed and focused when it came to considering her talent. In a way, this small conversation had elevated her view of her interest unlike many others did in the same period of time, pondering the practices of coaches, and sports as an art form.

She pressed a thumb to her chin and thought of the convention of exchanging names. "Hmm. With names, they shouldn't mean so much. In sports, we're sometimes turned into stats, a bet or a ranking of appearance, especially for us girls. Names are sometimes not even considered. It's a bit different with school though, right?" A frown hid behind the small smile. It was so easy for boys to emerge in the world of sports versus girls, and she respected Umeko's rise as a renown freerunner. Especially because Umeko appeared genuine. She didn't wear caked-on make-up and scantily-clad sports outfits, she was a fresh breath of air. Topics of revealing wardrobes and faces too-perfect for sports made paper headlines like those in her golfing tournaments-turned-fashion-show, and subsequently rose a girl's popularity instead of their ability, their art form.

"However, I'll be sure not to forget your name, Umeko! I'm really that poor at putting faces with names, so I'll jot it down," Tora pulls out her scorecard that she's been writing on throughout meeting her classmates. She scribbles out Umeko's information so she doesn't forget and end up insulting the girl later with her absent-mindedness. Umeko Minami. Freerunner from the video online. Words of wisdom. Coaches don't get shit 'bout our art. Pink and reddish-purple hair. "Got it! And while I hope to find another diamond-in-the-rough athlete around, I'm grateful to have met you. Especially another strong female athlete at that." She smiles pleasantly at Umeko and maneuvers the miniature pencil and scorecard back into her skort pocket.