Mi Hermana y Yo

Carmen nodded as Amy explained what she knew about Nathan's boxing history, taking in what she could about it. It wasn't exactly encouraging, but it wasn't quite discouraging, either. She got the picture of a guy who wasn't bad, had some decent potential, but hadn't yet received the opportunity to actualize it. She could respect that. Even work with it.

She saw a man walk up behind Amy, but quiet until he spoke up and introduced himself. Not that he really needed to, Carmen could guess it was him. Calm aura, pleasant vibe. Solid build, as far as she could tell with the coat on. Polite, more than she would have been in his place. Sounded like Nathan.

"Carmen Rodriguez." She shook his hand and gave it a solid squeeze, sagely nodding his way. Not trying to crush it, just getting a feel for how much power he had. "Was just talking about you, obviously. Nice to meet another boxing in the league." She rolled her eyes to the side with a little groan. "One who isn't an asshole, anyway."

"Charmed." Nathan squeezed back firmly, unaware that she was testing his strength. His handshake was business-like, like he'd been taught in his school career center. He reached out to shake Army's hand as well. "Hey, I think we talked over the phone. I'm Nathan, good to meet you."

Nathan raised an eyebrow at Amy. He had been right to be suspicious, but at least the people she had recruited for her Reform Nathan project this time seemed to be reasonably civilized. At the very least, it looked like he was about to enter some sort of discussion, and not another trial by combat. "Oh, you're AFW too? I guess it was too much to hope that Amy had set up just a plain, friendly lunch. No offense." Nathan paused. Carmen Rodriguez. The name was familiar. And the boxing connection felt familiar, too. "Actually, have we met before? I feel like I know you somehow."

Army, for his part, was trying to understand the complexities of the red bird when Nathan addressed him. He never could quite figure out the point of the thing, what it was actually supposed to do, what made it unique and why it was even included in Angry Birds. "Hm?" He looked up and gave the guy a shake, then stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "Yeah, that was me, nice meeting you. Amy's said a lot about you, man. Not exactly nice things, but...things."

Carmen reached over and gave Army a little slap on the shoulder, trying to remind him that it would be nice to have a few male friends in the AFW that he didn't manage to piss off. "If you keep up with women's boxing, you probably saw me a few times." She shrugged, not too surprised that Nathan had some inkling about her. She wasn't super famous and it wasn't like female boxing matches ever made the headlines, but most people who kept up with boxing ran into her name every now and then. "I challenged for the title and had a stint in the Olympics. Brought back the silver."

Nathan wasn't offended by Army's revelation. He didn't even seem surprised. Instead, he rolled his eyes. "Did she now? Sounds about right."

But Nathan stood a little straighter at Carmen's admission. "Right, the Olympics. You're that Carmen Rodriguez. I watched the gold medal bout. I'd never seen anything like it. It was brutal- I couldn't believe you were both standing for the decision." Nathan wanted to shake her hand again, but didn't make a move. "Well, I already said that it was nice to meet you, but it's an honor, Miss Rodriguez."

Amy liked the way things were going. Maybe there was something to this whole honey flies vinegar something something something business after all. She clapped her hands. "Right, so now that everyone's here, shall we get a move on? Army, where to?" She'd done her job, getting Nathan and Carmen in the same space, and now she was ready to address her own needs- namely, her hunger.

The steak and sushi place that Army talked about was called Steak and Sushi. The owner was, apparently, not very creative with names, though the decor was a different story.  It was a East-Meets-West sort of thing. Japanese music with a Western twang. Waitresses in geisha outfits with cowgirl hats and blonde wigs. Reruns of Kung Fu playing on the TV, even though Carmen was pretty sure Caine was supposed to be Chinese, not Japanese.

It was...different. But the steaks were awesome, and that's what Army cared about.

The group made their way there quickly enough and got into a lucky hour, right after the lunchtime rush. It wasn't long before their food arrived - a bunch of mini-steaks for Army, and Carmen tried the squid.

"So, Nathan," Carmen worked some of the squid between her chopsticks and took a quick bite, deftly working it with her fingers. It had taken her a little while to get the hang of it, but practice - lots of practice - had made perfect. "I don't think there's anything wrong with not wanting to hit women, but...it seems a little odd that you'd join the AFW with that problem."

Amy was delighted with the restaurant. This was the exact sort of weird novelty that she'd come to expect from Japan, but never could find on her own. She gawked openly at the environment and at the Japanese interpretation of Western culture, even between bites of her order of seaweed salad and yellowtail.

Nathan wasn't so sure. He thought that seeing a table full of foreigners at this sort of establishment probably wouldn't do much for Japanese perception of gaijin in Japan. But when his own set of mini-steaks arrived, even Nathan had to admit; the food was pretty bomb.

Nathan chewed his food slowly, thinking. "The league does seem like a weird place for someone with my hangups to be, but I don't have a problem fighting women, just striking them. I make do with grapples, which a lot of other people on the roster do. Punching just seems so outright violent."

Carmen clicked her chopsticks together and had a moment to really consider what he was saying. Nathan seemed like a nice man, which the AFW needed more of. Most of the wimpier men had gone away in the past year, but there were still too many Kings, too many Kent Quicks, and too many Haru Fujiwaras for her tastes. Nathan was the exception that needed to be the rule.

"I see what you mean. But." She took a moment to sip from her glass of water. "I say this as someone who's been punched in the face by men a lot: it hurts, but getting powerbombed, body slammed, sharshootered...that hurts worse. Much, much worse. I'd take a punch over a submission hold any day, all day."

Army nodded and dosed his steak with a little more sauce. "Yeah, I got over that shit the first time a girl punched me in the face. Chivalry's cute, but it loses fights."

"True, but you're an asshole, it comes naturally for you."

Army sliced off a chunk and popped it in, speaking with his mouth half-full. "There's that, yeah. That's the secret, Nate. Gotta be a dick."

Amy laughed, and even Nathan managed to crack a smile. It had been a long time since he’d positively socialized with anyone other than Amy. Books were nice, sure, but they weren't exactly the chatty sort. And while he’d made a few friends by frequenting a basketball court near the campus, his was still a rudimentary Japanese, so the conversations in between pick-up games were basic at best; he could only ask what somebody’s favorite food was so many times, after all.

Anyone else he’d met had of course been part of the league, and those people were all on one extreme or the other of any number of scales. This lunch though, this felt good; talking and socializing with normal folk. Not gangland ninjas, not dick-hungry nymphos, not retired professional assassins, but people that made jokes and used logic and reacted to external stimuli like human fucking beings.

So Nathan didn’t even mind that he was finding himself increasingly without a leg to stand on. He hadn’t considered that his submission holds could be more harmful than straight punching. And while he didn’t mind losing fights, if Carmen “the Surgeon” Rodriguez was the caliber of fighter that he was holding back against, then he was only really hurting himself.

But he wasn't entirely convinced yet. Nathan put down his cutlery and leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. “Sorry, but that’s a little hard to believe. Are fighters really more likely to get injured by slams and submissions than from strikes? You must both have seen some pretty gruesome looking bodies leaving the boxing ring; I know I have.”

This was nice. This was actually really nice.

Carmen didn't have a problem with Army's other friends, like Ro and John Mitchell. They were good people, and John was an honest, decent man. She had her own friends, too - Lorenza, Charlie, Clyde. But she didn't get to hang out with them in settings like this thanks to the demands of the AFW. They oftentimes didn't travel in the same circles, so the opportunities rarely came up, and when they did, things tended to be tenser. Sometimes even sexually charged.

But this?Just some good people enjoying lunch. She didn't get nearly enough of that in her life.

"I don't know anything about 'more likely', but I just know what I've experienced." She shrugged and rolled her glass around with her wrist, letting the ice cubes clink. "I mean, yeah, I've seen it get pretty gruesome in a boxing ring, no doubt, but you've got to think about the differences. In boxing, you're only allowed to target so many area. Above the waist, in front, more or less. In the AFW, nothing is off limits except the midsection, and sometimes even that's not well enforced. We're talking about a much wider range of trauma, which leaves you open to a wider range of damage. More targets, bigger chance of injury. Plus..."

She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, staring at Nathan straight on. "I haven't been here all that long, so maybe I'm not in the place to say, but Tension feels like it's getting more competitive. The belts are starting to move, old faces are getting more active, newer faces are showing up. There are women coming in like me all the time, women who don't need to seduce you to mess  you up or screw with your mind. Women who can straight up beat most men, even skilled men, down into the floor."

Army leaned over and gave Amy a quick kick in the shin under the table, keeping an innocent look on his face the whole time.

"If you don't step it up, you might not just wind up losing. You'll get hurt. Seriously."

Carmen was making excellent arguments, and Amy could tell that Nathan was slowly changing his mind. She was a little miffed- hadn’t she made the same points when they’d sparred in the gym?- but mostly she was glad. She had plenty to worry about on her own plate without having to keep track of Nathan’s, too.

Amy winced as a kick connected with her shin. She attempted a glare at Army, tough when you’re trying not to laugh, but he just continued to chew his food, his face the picture of innocence, apart from the mischievous glint in his eye. Amy raised an eyebrow. Oh, so that’s how you want to play it? She picked up Nathan's fork and held it menacingly next to her face. I will end you, she mouthed. Then, before their tablemates could notice, she plunged it down into her salad and took another bite.

Nathan spoke, and Amy turned her head. His words made her eyes go wide. “Finally! Sorry.” Amy shut up. Fucking finally.

Nathan had said, “Maybe you’re right.”

Nathan paused for a second after Amy exploded, then continued. “Okay. From what you’re saying, it sounds like even if I did let myself loose, I’d be in for a real fight, maybe even face an injury or two. If you’re in the league, and you’re the one saying so, I think I could believe it.” Nathan sighed and brought his hands up to his face, a sudden weight on his shoulders. He had a lot of catching up to do. “I haven’t drilled in a looong time.”