Where The Wisterias Bloom

"No need to be sorry. I know what you mean, and I'm not worried about what they think," Hana replied back to Carmen, before turning back to her locker, pulling out a small clothing back. She started to pack her sweaty ring gear into it, then turned to get her two towels, as she continued listening to Carmen. "I'm here to do one thing, and one thing only. I'm here to wrestle. That's it. If they want to ignore me for their hentai stuff, then that's more then fine by me. I'm not going to complain about it"

Once she had stuffed her clothes and her towel into her bag, zipping it closed afterwards, she turned back to Carmen, watching her striking at the locker. "Your dad made a mistake then," she smiled, admiring the woman's movements as her punched away at the cold metal. "You're good. I've seen some of your matches, and you're good in the ring. If you're anywhere close to being that good as a boxer, he should have been training you sooner."

Carmen had been wrestling for almost a year now, and while she wasn't super popular, she wasn't unpopular, either. She got cheers when she came out to her matches, she had to walk around with a pen for signing autographs when she was out in public, and every once in a while, some magazine or the paper would ask her to do a short interview. She didn't headline PPVs and she hadn't a single action figure to her name, but the crowd was on her side.

Carmen thought she had gotten used to adulation, just like with the female body. Then Hana gave her little compliment, and she could feel the blush flaring up around her dark cheeks. Hana couldn't see it with the tone of her skin, and Carmen preferred it that way.

"Thanks. That means a lot." She blew a few stray hairs out of her face so Hana could see the whole smile. "I don't blame him so much, it's the whole sport, really. Japan's not perfect about it, but there's a lot of love for female wrestlers, here. With boxing, it's always an uphill battle. I had a great record, I got close to the title, and I still only made half of what my brother did starting up. My little brother. It's crazy."

Hana dropped her bag onto the bench, and turned to her locker once more. She reached inside and pulled out a light jacket, black in color, and tossed it down beside her bag, before finally closing the locker behind her. She turned back to Carmen and leaned back against the lockers, folding her arms over her chest as she looked back towards the Latina and her smile.

Girl had a cute smile, Hana had to admit.

"You're probably making more then him now, I bet," Hana smiled back at Carmen. "From what I've heard, Tension doesn't take as good care of it's guys as they do us girls." Her shoulders came up into a short shrug, then fell back down again. "It's kind of a shame, really. Back home, we all took care of each other, and we all looked out for one another."

She looked downwards, letting out a sigh before closing her eyes, the large woman seeming to be lost in thought. "Mind if I be honest with you for a moment?"

This was nice.

Carmen had picked up a few female friends since she came to Japan, but most of them were in Friction, now that she stopped and thought about it. She knew a few guys in Tension, but she didn't encounter the women in matches so the opportunity to chat was missed. It didn't help that a good chunk of the females in Tension were a little on the crazy side, either. But Hana was normal. Mentally normal, at least.

"Melissa Sellers had a thing against men. A serious, strange, hate-driven thing that I don't quite understand." Carmen waved it off with a low groan. She'd known a couple of lesbians who got a strange 'female superiority' angle, and it was a lot more obnoxious than either of them realized. "Things used to be a lot more lopsided around here, but times are changing. You're proof of that."

Carmen moved over and leaned against the locker beside Hana's hulking frame. "I'd prefer it." She brought her hands up and laced her fingers behind her head, trying to relax as much as she could against a cold, steel locker. She glanced Hana's way with a tinge of concern in her voice. "What's wrong?"

Hana shook her head, feeling sheepish as she spoke up again.

"I'm already feeling kind of homesick. And, honestly? I'm not sure if I'm going to fit in around here." The bigger woman's cheeks tinged just a faint shade of red, feeling slightly embarrassed by her words, and how silly they must have sounded coming from someone like her. And truth be told, she didn't even know why she was telling Carmen this. She needed someone to talk to, that was all, and Carmen seemed like a good choice.

"It's like...you know. There's really no other women in Tension like me, right? I'm already getting weird looks from people in the hallways, and...argh." She shook her head, and put on a sheepish grin, looking awkwardly towards Carmen.

"I must sound crazy right now, huh?"

Carmen was frankly amazed that someone as big and powerful as Hana could still come off as so cute. She wasn't loud and boisterous like a lot of the other girls Carmen had come across in the AFW, she wasn't some giant trying to dominate the company. She was just this normal girl in a really big body. It was refreshing, and it made Carmen feel at ease, despite the size difference. Somehow, they seemed to be on the same level.

She was quiet for a moment, thinking, and then she pushed off the wall with a little smile playing across her lips. "Let me show you show you something." She took out her phone and started typing on it. "A little while ago, I got into the Twitter thing. Wasn't big on it, but it helped me keep track of things in the company. Little addictive. So, on my way here, it buzzed me, and I looked it up, and well..."

She showed Hana the Tweet that had been sent her way - a little gif of Hana slamming Army with her finishing move, on repeat. "I got this, maybe, twenty minutes after your match. That's fast. So I follow a few links, and I come to this wrestling board, and I see right at the top 'Hana Fujioka!'. It's not the biggest thread yet, but it's growing, and they're not calling you awkward or silly or any stupid crap like that. They're amazed by you. One of them is talking about making a fansite for you. You've just started out, first day, and heads are already turning your way. And it was pretty much the same way with me. Just not as fast."

She stuffed her phone back in her pocket and put a hand on Hana's massive shoulder, giving her a quick pat. "Women like me, especially women like you? You're the future. People want to see more of what you showed them out there. They want to see real matches. They want competition. And when they look at you, believe me, they see someone who's a real challenge. You're everything Tension wasn't before and everything it should be, and if you stick with this league, you'll do great things. You are an excellent athelete, and the more people see that, the more they'll respect it."

Hana raised an eyebrow at Carmen, and leaned in towards her, looking at her phone while the boxer explained things to her. She could feel the blush creeping across her cheeks as she stared at the screen and listened to what Carmen had to say. It was a bit humbling to the bigger woman. Sure, Hana had plenty of fans down south, when she was wrestling for the Okinawa Elite with her family, but it was nothing like this. No fansites or forum threads or anything like that.

When Carmen tucked her phone away, Hana looked away again, and shook her head. "I'm...flattered, I think. I'm really not sure what to say." She chuckled, then sighed again, her cheeks still flushing darker with her blush. "I was hoping my debut would go well, but I didn't expect it to go this well!"

And there was the blush. Carmen had to restrain herself from hugging Hana. Too adorable. And this was a nice change of pace, come to think of it. She'd grown so used to steamy backstage affairs that she'd almost forgotten how fun it could be to simply hold a conversation with a fun woman.

"You made a big impact. Multiple big impacts. Make enough noise and people start turning their heads." She bit her lip for a half second before she went on to the next part. "Are you doing anything Saturday night? Or any night this week?" Whoa, whoa, way too strong, way too fast. Carmen was quick to follow up before Hana got the wrong idea. Or the wrong idea about the right idea. "For working out, I mean. Army's dating this girl now, he's kind of all over the place these days. Could really use a spotter, someone to work with, sparring partner, whatever you like."

God, she hoped this didn't sound as forward as she imagined it to be. It was like hanging around the AFW had erased her sense of subtlety. "Plus," She reached over and gave Hana's bicep a poke, managing her best playful smile. "I'm curious what you have to do to get a body like this."

Hana shook her head towards Carmen, and gave her a shrug, her massive shoulders lifting up, then dropping back down. "I'm free all week. The most I've planned on for this week is working out, and I don't really know anyone around here too well yet, so..."

Her voice trailed off, but she caught herself smiling back as Carmen began to poke at her arm. "I'm good at working out. It takes a lot to get a body like this." She lifted her arm up, and began to flex it, letting her bicep bulge for Carmen. "It's not easy staying this solid, after all!"

She laughed, starting to feel more relaxed, and lowered her arm back down. This felt nice. She was enjoying herself, and Carmen seemed friendly enough. "So yeah. I'm definitely down for working out together. Just let me know when, alright?"

And now it was time for Carmen to have her own little blush again, as Hana's body rippled with power. It really was a wonder to behold, and she could only imagine what she'd be like in the gym. All the guys staring at her as she pushed past their own limits and made it look easy. Amazed by the incredible woman in the center of their gym...

...such an incredible woman that there was almost no way she didn't have someone in her life. And even if she did, there was no gaurantee that she was even into other women. And even if she was, she might not care for older women. Carmen was being silly, letting stupid thoughts into her head. Hana was a fun, enjoyable person, and it was crazy to let her thoughts go that far when they'd just met. She really had to stop hanging around Friction girls so much.

"Saturday would be great." She pulled out her wallet and handed her a business card for 'Rodriguez Gym' - a simple little thing with a pair of boxing gloves in the middle and contact information underneath. "Maybe try at my gym? Just a few miles away. It's not huge, but it's got all the training equipment you could want. Rings, weights, punching bags, anything you'd get in the Tension gym but with a bit more privacy. No random matches busting in."