Where The Wisterias Bloom

Hana took her bottle back, and shook her head, taking another drink from it before speaking up again. It was a long drink, and finished off the bottle, which Hana screwed the lid back onto while she spoke.

"He can't be that good," she grinned, looking down at Carmen. "Not if I haven't heard that much about him. Just because you lost against him when you were new doesn't mean he's going to be the next champ." She was teasing, mostly, but now she was curious. "Why do you think he'll be the next champion, anyway? He's not really that good, is he?"

"Two reasons." Carmen held up her hand. "He's the number one contender." Up went one finger. "And he's better than the current champ." And up went another finger. "He came close to beating Reira last time, and he's still at the top of the heap. So if he can keep her from cheating again and nobody knocks him off, it's a good bet."

She reached into her pocket, did a quick search, and pulled up a picture of him on her phone - a scene of him in mid-air, halfway through a splash off the top rope.

Hana looked at Carmen's picture, glancing over Domino, and nodding in approval. He looked strong. He looked fit. Hana still wasn't convinced though.

"Coming close to beating Reira doesn't sell me," she stated, taking a seat on the bench. "I saw her win the title, and she didn't deserve that win. She came out and stole the title from a mess of a match. She's good, I'll give her that much, but she doesn't deserve the gold."

She set her empty bottle down by her feet, then stretched out her arms, looking back over towards Carmen again, and giving her a smile. "He looks strong though, but I think I could take him."

Carmen took a moment to appreciate the view of Hana's strong, outstretched upper body, before putting away the phone and speaking again. "Oh, you do, do you?" She bit her lip as she imagined the match in her head. She'd gotten a great fight out of her brother, but against someone with real experience between the ropes?That would be a sight. One Carmen would gladly pay to see.

"Well, you know." She crossed her legs and took on a thoughtful look. "You don't really have to think anything, here. There's an obvious way to know whether you could take him or not." She reached over and tapped Hana's nose.

Hana blinked as her nose was tapped, then laughed, swatting at Carmen's hand.

"I don't think anything. I know I could take him," she answered plainly, moving to rise back up to her feet. She turned towards Carmen and looked down at her, folding her arms over her chest. She wasn't trying to brag or anything, just stating what she thought to be true. "I can take anyone in this company, and I know I could take him." Her eyes sparkled, the Okinawan feeling an eager anticipation building up, the anticipation that always came with the thoughts of her next match.

"I'll fight him. I'll call him out and fight him, and then you'll see that I'm right."

Carmen watched the strong, proud woman stand and make her august pronouncement. It was a silly, like something out of a movie made by some guy who thought he knew boxing, but she appreciated the spirit. There weren't enough Hana Fujiokas in the AFW - bright, shining women, willing to have a good clean fight.

"I will." She stood up and patted Hana's shoulder. "You'd better keep being amazing, Ms. Fujioka. I'll be watching you for a while, and I want to be impressed."

Hana smiled at Carmen, and gave her a quick, playful wink.

"You're just going to watch me for a while?" She teased, giving Carmen a playful punch against her shoulder in return. "So you're not going to let me blow your mind every time I fight?"

She lifted her arms up, stretching them above her head for a moment, then let them drop back to her sides. "Seriously though. Thanks for this. I still don't know many people around the company yet, and it was good to have a training partner for the day." She paused, thoughtful for a moment, then continued. "We should do this again. It's nice to have someone else to work out with, don't you think?"

"A very long while." Carmen was quick to add on. She oversold the punch and staggered, rubbing the spot of impact.

"You're more than welcome." She stepped away, walking backwards towards the shower room. A little cleanup was in order. "And I should thank you. It's great to have a female friend who's actually part of the same roster for once. I'd love to be your sparring partner again. Or your regular partner." There was a slight, awkward beat, before she remembered to qualify that. "For a tag match or something, I mean."

Carmen laughed it off, hiding the slight, nervous edge under her voice.

Hana grabbed her bag, and lifted it up and slinging it over her sohulder, then following Carmen towards the showers. "We should make this a weekly thing, then," she answered. "Get in here and beat the crap out of each other more often."

She noticed the slight nervousness in Carmen's voice, but didn't think too much about it, her thoughts on the boxer's other offer. "That would be fun. We could kick a lot of ass as a team. But...aren't you and your brother a tag team? What would he think about that?"