Words That We Couldn't Say

Carmen laughed.

Not loud, and not for long. More like a quick chuckle. But it happened, because she couldn’t resist. Mariko meant well, and she appreciated the advice. However…

”Sorry. It’s, just, Mariko is…” Carmen let her eye wander to the ceiling, gathering her thoughts, before she looked back to Mariko and went on. ”When she and I first met, we had a little match. And I’ll never forget the way she reacted when we first met, and we first sized each other up.”

Carmen leaned forward and rubbed her hands, growing warm at the memory of that night. The sensations were still so clear in her head, like it was a moment in time she could slip into at will.

”I’m a dominant. Typically.” With most people, she’d have to explain that term. Somehow, she felt Mariko would know. ”Most of the women I come across at clubs are intimidated by me at first sight, so it’s a natural fit. But not her. Mariko is so confident and strong and sure of herself - size didn’t matter to her. And I know that I could talk to her all day long, and I could be right, and I could have the best argument, but it won’t stop her from wrestling. When she sets her mind to something, there’s nothing that can really stop her. It’s what I…”

Carmen stopped to scratch her nose, seeing that she was going a little overboard. No need to go that far. ”But no. I don’t think it would work.”

The laugh was actually somewhat reassuring. Not one bit of offense was taken from it. Judging from that and how Carmen started to answer her, it sounded as if the 24/7 champion found the notion that Akino should retire from wrestling to be completely ridiculous. Good to know...or so she thought.

Then Carmen continued. Mariko could see how much respect she had for Akino’s confidence and downright stubbornness, and how much she treasured the memory of their first meeting. That gave further context as to why this whole situation seemed to be so painful, both for Carmen and Akino. But by the end it sounded like Carmen was dismissing Mariko’s false suggestion solely because she knew Akino wouldn’t consider it. Did that mean Carmen believed she should hang up the boots? That’d be quite a heavy assumption to make, so instead Mariko elected to stop playing devil’s advocate here, and ask directly.

“Fair enough. But putting aside whether Akino would retire from wrestling, do you think she should? In your honest opinion, does she have what it takes to continue wrestling here, or should she give it up because of her handicap?”

Carmen folded her arms at Mariko’s question, put in some more time to think about it. It was a question she hadn’t fully dwelled on since she and Akino last parted ways, but it had been in the back of her head. There was no easy answer, no simple way to break it down.

”I’m not sure. There’s so many ways to look at it.” She waved her hand back and forth. ”If a girl with a bad eye walked into my gym and asked me to train her, I’d probably refuse. It would be nothing against her, nothing at all, but as a boxer, I know what it takes to make it in the ring, and that it generally requires two working eyes. Not to mention, no commission in the world would ever host a match with her, and very few boxers would take her on.”

”But,” She held up a finger. ”I know what it’s like to chase your dreams, even if there’s something you can’t control holding you back. So there’s that. I respect that. I think people should do what they want to do.”

Carmen let the words hang, before brushing it off with a shrug. ”I don’t know. My heart says she should, my head says she shouldn’t.”

Up to this point, Mariko hadn’t given much of an indication of her own feelings on the subject. But this time, her expression did very little to hide how discouraging she found Carmen’s answer, though she did appreciate her honesty. Still, she had a bad feeling that if Carmen really felt that way, making amends with Akino was going to prove a rather difficult task.

But then another thought entered Mariko’s mind, and her frown turned back into a soft smile. “You mentioned something about a match between the two of you when you first met, right? Tell me more about that,” she said.

It was clear that night held special significance in Carmen’s mind. Maybe if she had a better understanding of what had happened then, she could find something to work with.

”That match?” Carmen shook her head for a moment, then relented. Hardly any point being secretive that night, and it wasn’t like she’d done something wrong. Mariko seemed like a woman who could keep her secrets, anyway. No harm.

”It was a sensual thing. Best three out of five submissions, whoever won a round got to toy with her opponent for two minutes. Standard stuff.” Carmen reached up and rubbed her neck. ”But she was so amazing. I mean, you’ve never seen anyone move into a submission hold the way she does - when she gets you, she takes control, like she knows the right way to bend it, the perfect way to exert force.”

Carmen slowly rubbed her legs under the table, reliving the night. Even now, she couldn’t hide the lust and admiration in her mouth. ”She was fierce, but at the same time, she was in such control. She was…”

Mariko put an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm, and smiled as she listened to Carmen talk about her first encounter with Akino. She didn’t mind the brief details about the stipulations. What she cared about was the way Carmen talked about the one-eyed girl. There was passion and sincerity in her eyes and voice. This was what Mariko had really needed to see and hear.

“...A lot more than just a blind girl, it sounds like,” she said, interjecting to finish Carmen’s sentence, before pulling her head off her hand to sit up straight again. “I do think you have that respect for her she wants to see. It’s just a matter of showing it to her and ensuring her it’s genuine, but you can do it. The bridge between you two might’ve been damaged in Ueno, but it hasn’t been burned completely. Otherwise, I doubt she would’ve gone out of her way to watch that match with Soledad Vega, don’t you think?” She lifted her glass to drink what remained of her wine, then sat it back down before continuing.

“I don’t recommend barging in on her and trying to fix it all at once. But I’d suggest going to a Friction show when she’s scheduled to compete. Drop by the locker room, maybe apologize - but only if you genuinely mean it, wish her luck, then just hang back and see how she does. If she wins, congratulate her. If not, a simple word of encouragement should suffice. You don’t need to start kissing her ass, but little displays of genuine support like that I think could go a long way.”

"Wow." Carmen was blushing, but she didn’t much care at the moment. The lights of the club would probably hide it well enough. ”You’re an excellent conversationalist, you know that? I feel like I owe you a fee.”

It was a joke, but not too far off the mark. Despite the two of them knowing each other for a sum total of five minutes, she seemed to really understand the situation and have good advice. It was hard to believe someone so caring could be so fierce in the ring, but there it was.

”I’ll try that.” It was certainly better than any idea Carmen would’ve came up with. Her idea of romance wasn’t really good for the delicate approach this situation needed. ”I’m not sure it’ll work, honestly. I’m not the most tactful person, and this is new ground.“ She fiddled with some hair, idly curling a few around her finger.

”But she is worth the effort. I know that much.” She closed her eyes and had a deep sigh. ”Thank you.”

Mariko giggled at Carmen’s joke. “Don’t worry about it. This one’s on the house. But next time, I may ask you to cover the drinks,” she replied with a wink. Though she was glad now she’d made the effort to offer the boxer some help, it wasn’t something all that common of her. And part of her mind was still trying to piece together why she was going out of her way to do it now. But it felt like the right thing to do, all notions of practicality and business aside.

“Let me know if there’s anything else I can do, and I’d be glad to talk it out.” She then nodded toward Carmen’s championship belt. “I may decide to try to take a swing at that someday. But if I do, it’ll be in a ring. I prefer settling that sort of business there than elsewhere. So you won’t need to worry about that, though if you feel like bringing some backup along just in case, I wouldn’t blame you... In fact, it might not be a bad idea to do that whenever you make the trip over to Tokyo.”

Then again, she got a certain vibe from Carmen that said she was the type who didn’t like hiding behind the protection of others. Well, it was her call either way.

“It’s been nice to meet you, by the way. Sorry it couldn’t have been over a more pleasant occasion. Oh, and good luck with Akino. Hope you two can find a way to straighten everything out.” Mariko extended a hand across the table to Carmen, smiling as she offered a handshake.

”I think those are very agreeable terms.” Carmen returned Mariko’s wink with a nod and a smile, sitting back in her chair and enjoying the whole scene. Granted, while she enjoyed Mariko’s company so far, she would’ve preferred the next time to be in something a little more energetic. Casual. A nightclub, maybe.

And the idea of meeting Mariko in the ring was much appreciated, as well. While she was proud of her title and accepted what it meant, when she finally lost it, she wouldn’t miss getting jumped in random places.

”Thanks for the well wishes. And the challenge - my schedule’s full for now, but that’s definitely something I'd want to happen.” She stood up and took Mariko’s hand, this time giving it a proper shake. ”And don’t apologize. This was needed. It was nice to have perspective.”

With a deep sigh and a long nod, Carmen stood up and made her way out of the club, moving with a more pleasant look on her face than the one she'd had coming in.