Old Flames Reunite

"Alright, so we've got Regina, Becky, Kimberly, and... You are?"

"Kendal."

Roman stared at the girl dressed in vibrant pink colors, stark blonde hair, and a pair of gorgeous blue eyes to go along with her figure. He couldn't even spot an ounce of muscle on her frame other than the fact that she was certainly very bubbly. Her outfit was definitely built on appeal alone and while that might go ways for foxy boxing, it meant very little in any normal match. Even in the Underground, pure sexual moves did NOT get you anywhere. Granted, he only had a few matches like that with a few women, but most of his bouts were heavy-handed, brutal, and tended to be somewhere on the scale of pain to his groin every now and then because most women didn't really care if they punched someone between the legs.

Preferably if their opponent was, well, a guy.

God, his groin was never good and that wasn't in a good, "I'm tuckered out," way.

They were currently within Momentum's gyms right now, handling things out before he did anything else. They were new recruits he was going to work with and he wanted to see if any of them had the potential to go or if some of them had nothing to offer. AFW had a lot to offer people, but if you couldn't handle what they expected of you then you were better off leaving. Even jobbers had their roles and they knew how to make a fight great, but these girls?

"And it says here you... Have no training? Is this clipboard right?" He asked the bubbly girl who smiled, even posing and sticking out her hip as opposed to the other women who looked somewhat nervous or had some confidence in their stances. He held up his clipboard regarding the girl's 'status' and it was pretty piss poor compared to the other women with him. Sabrina was his rising star and athlete, but these girls looked...

Well, decent.

"Like, yeah! I wanted to try out!"

:

Roman stared at the girl silently before planting the clipboard to his forehead and groaned.

'Someone better kill me. I cannot stand here and listen to that valley girl accent for the rest of my day without wanting to grab the nearest blunt object, stuffing it into one of their hands, and then asking them to beat me in.' He stared at the group of them and turned to the next one, a goth girl by the looks of things.

"Let me guess... You have a 'bright' personality and have a habit of being a showman type of fighter, right? This whole goth thing's an act?"

The woman stared at him and scoffed.

"...Yes."

"...Alright, first thing for everybody? Someone grab something blunt. Anything in this gym, alright? Seriously, do it. Right now."

Tsukiko:

Clear across the training hall and somehow in more repellent anguish than the trained athletes strengthening their muscle fibers on brutal workout equipment, Tsukiko lamented stopping by the usual morning spread of refreshments to use the coffee machine the second it's dirt favored sludge entered her lips. Eliciting a dry-heaving gag before justifiably dunking the coffee into the waste bin and using a cup From a water cooler to wash the taste our of her mouth. She never figured there could be any worse tasting java than whatever what was served back at the precinct, although admittedly she'd become somewhat of a coffee connoisseur when it came to staying awake during stakeouts throughout her career.  Still, if she could write up this place for having shit tier coffee, she'd already have it scribbled and stuffed into the GM's pockets by now.

Tsukiko huffed out and started waltzing around the exercise room with her oh so refreshing cup of freezing cold water. Inspecting its occupants with half-lidded indifference but making mental notes on whomever or whatever her cop instincts deemed suspicious. Ascertaining the layout of Momentum's buildings and personnel was all she had on the docket for today...a thrilling task she scarcely found the energy to climb out of bed for. But all thorough investigations started with collecting intel and proper assessment of the situation. Both of which she couldn't pawn off on her partner considering she was flying solo this time around. Spotting one meathead she snagged for illegal drug distribution a few years back and another whom she thinks once ran with the Yamaguchi crime family, but so far no major red flags were being raised.

*...wait...I know that back tattoo...* Tsu narrowed her crimson peepers on one particular trainer taking roll-call, brimming with ill-intent as the sleuth discarded her cup before stepping up right behind him. Arms folded and patiently biding her time before kicking one leg out from behind him with the intent to take him down to the mat. Tsukiko immediately mounting his waist from behind with his arm snatched by the wrist until tucked behind his shoulder blades in a..."Alright, pay attention cadets. For your first lesson, this is what's called a hammerlock...You have one hand on the wrist, the other hand up here and pushing down. This applies pressure on the elbow and shoulder and is exceptionally excruciating when applied correctly. I'm sure Coach Roman here can attest to that, right?"

"Alright, so let's... Fucking Christ!"

Roman had been ready to have one of these recruits slam the nearest blunt object into his skull to put him out of his misery. Sabrina was a mess of a fighter and a listener, but she had the skills and potential to be so much more. However, he wasn't ready to deal with a bunch of fighters who didn't even look like they WANTED to do a single thing in the ring other than flaunting about, but at least the others seemed ready to learn and train themselves up.

He just needed to find a way to deal with this mess before things got worse. Sadly, it seemed that Lady Luck saw him living and about to prosper and DECIDED TO THROW HELL DOWN HIS WAY!

One leg snapped out from beneath him and forced him down to his knee before someone slammed into him and took him to the mat. His face struck the matted floor as he groaned, feeling his face pressed deep into the floor. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. Not pleasure, mind you, but the fact of the matter about being slapped into a hold so firm it was gonna hurt if he moved his limb in any way. It also made it very clear when an arm was snatched back, tucked right behind his shoulder blades as the man bit down against his teeth with a sharp hiss.\

"Hoh... This, like, looks awesome!"

God, this valley chick was an idiot, wasn't she?

And that voice...

He turned his neck as best he could, his eyes beheld a familiar pair of stark white hair and a pair of crimson eyes that only a man in the bedroom could remember. To be frank, an old flame that made his days pretty fun before things went downhill pretty quickly. Roman shuddered and winced heavily as he peered up at the woman quietly.

"W-Well, cadets... As you can tell, my old friend Tsu here's making a very clear example about holds. I can attest that the pain is INDEED pretty fucking heavy," he shuddered heavily before a strained grin came to his face. "She also neglects to mention that certain holds can make opponents do more than just hiss in pain. As Tsu can attest very personally from our experiences together, she has a few... holds she just adored. Particularly all fours..."

And leave it his luck to have it so that he met his ex-girlfriend...

Honestly, could this day get any worse!?

Ghosts from her past seemed to be in ample abundance around here now that she stopped to think about it. From the rancid coffee on par with the blackened sludge served back at her department building, to being reacquainted with who else but Roman Foster. A once viable source of information back in her policing heyday in regards to underworld dealings. Specifically major shakeups within the Yakuza crime syndicates and whenever it was in their mutually beneficial interests to take down any gangsters disturbing his underground fighting arenas and causing headaches for her department's vice squad. Now all she needed was for her old partner to make an appearance to assuredly pry Tsukiko off Roman and it would be as if the detective were right at home.

Habitually honed instincts were already starting to kick in after straddling Roman's lower back and pinning his arm between his shoulder blades. Tsukiko having to stop herself from slapping the cuffs on the dejected fighting coach and reading him his rights like she'd done to dozens of criminal dirtbags in the past. And yeah, while this grinning idiot didn't have outstanding warrants to his name that she was currently aware of, that didn't mean he wasn't guilty of being a two-timing, philandering, skirt-chasing little weasel whom she delighted in making squirm beneath her. However, apparently it wasn't enough pain to stifle that big mouth of his. Tsukiko glared bloody murder down at him and swiftly snatched his ear before he could utter anymore particulars.

"AND what I'm sure what Coach Roman here was about to instruct to his students was the merits of accepting when you're beaten and not further antagonizing your captor. Especially when they know precisely how much torque it takes to rip the human ear off unless they keep their beaks shut, comprende?" Tsukiko ominous vocals being uttered loud enough for the students to hear but with sultry menace all the same as she started straining his ear back. Afterward unhanding and dismounting Roman if he willingly capitulated in not further divulging any explicitly Rated-X details that are best kept between them. Or he could continue mouthing off. Testing the limits of Tsukiko's patience and his own endurance levels towards his still cranked back arm and streeetched out ear.

"Jesus Christ!"

Ugh, this was the problem with WOMEN! Leave it to him to be working around women near twenty-four-seven, but now this? It was almost as if the world was mocking him. The very reason he had become something of a second and part-time trainer to promote Sabrina was all because he owed a debt to some old bat when he was younger and now he was being dragged into all these situations! Watching the matches here in Momentum was a blast and having the highest-class rooms was actually fair, but...

IT WAS ALMOST AS IF GOD WAS MOCKING HIM!

And what better way to drudge up old memories other than his ex-girlfriend? Well, Tsukiko really did know how to keep things interesting. After all, he was something of a wet man, God that title was horrible, and she was someone who needed information. In a way, it was a good way to share info, break down big rings, and even settle a few jobs for himself without even getting his hands dirty.

He acts nice for one night, they get drunk and needless to say...

"...Can we do it again?"

Huh, now that he thought about it, that was a REALLY active morning.

Roman, however, did manage to keep his mouth shut all the while even despite the shifting of movements Tsukiko had made. Before he could go on and bring up the fact that she had one nice little sweet spot just between her... Well, nonetheless, her hand gripped his ear and it was done in such that she could CERTAINLY rip it off. If she were anyone else, he'd call her bluff.

Considering this was Tsukiko though...

Well, it wasn't necessarily a bluff either.

As she finally stepped off him, Roman groaned and eventually picked himself back up, rubbing at his arm and wincing. He looked ready to say something before muttering a few words just beneath his breath. Something about clams and donuts regarding her waist...

"That, girls, is a hold. As you might notice, in some Underground ruling type matches, you won't have to always follow the rules. Like, give an opponent time to think... Or even give them the time to breathe without trying to kill them because they were angry over something..." He planted his hands onto his hips and glanced over to Tsukiko.

"As you can tell, Kiko, I was teaching a class before I threw any of them into the ring to see what they were made of. Especially the ditzy one... You wanna stick around and keep trying something or show them what a real fighter's made of?" Of course, that grin of his was wiped off the moment he looked to her waist with a raised brow.

"...Have you been eating donuts still?"

Bemoaning his arm disjointing predicament though he may be, Tsukiko couldn't help but disagree with his forlorn interpretation of this scene. Especially considering she was having the time of her life putting her womanizing "ex" through excruciating torment that tested his pain thresholds with every inching strain placed upon his shoulder socket. As would any other warm-blooded woman, she'd imagine. Hey Tsukiko may be somewhat rough around the edges whose brought down gang-lords and is a crackshot with her standard issue sidearm, but she nevertheless considers herself as elegant and genteel a lady as any other. A delicate flower amidst a bed or roses~...albeit one who can deck fools twice her size and have them spitting out their molars along with whatever information they were unwilling to share with her beforehand.

Well, lucky for Roman, he got with the program and opted not to divulge that particularly saucy tidbit of information. She patted herself down after relinquishing Roman and standing back up, arms sternly folded beneath her bust but casting a sideways gleam in Roman's direction as he started addressing his trainees. Internally appraising him and coming to the immediate assumption that now much has changed about Roman in the slightest since their bedroom romp...and one more time the next morning. An irksome realization considering she was hoping that the two-timing sleazeball had gotten at least a little less handsome in their time apart. Although considering he was engaging in a far more reputable line of work this time around, perhaps other negative facets of his personality improved as well.

"Grrrr..." Until he made the wisecrack about her waistline, prompting her to simultaneously bristle in red-faced outrage and gut-check the Momentum coach with a fully-strengthened elbow strike. But stepping up to speak to his trainees considering Roman was assuredly in a fit of spastic coughing at the moment. "Alright whaddya say we start with simple calisthenics and routine stretches. Get a little bit of cardio under your belt and we'll call you sweet tarts back here in ten. MOVE!!" Tsukiko barked out to a scattered scramble from the startled newbies, some bumping into eachother before making their way around the training room. She stepped forward but turned to face her old flame with her hands on her hips and a bitter grimace once it was just the two of them. "You know you really are an asshole. But I guess that comes with never knowing when to muzzle that big mouth of yours. The hell are you doin here, anyway?"

"FUCK! It was an actual question..."

Jeez, she really hadn't lost out on that strength of hers, had she? If there was one thing he could say about his old flame, it was the fact that Tsukiko was one of those women who could kick his ass. Now that he thought about it, he did enjoy a woman who could kick his ass around. That was what got him attracted in the first place. Still, the man cradled a hand to his gut and shuddered as he winced. Was he so out of it that a blow like that would have hurt or was it the fact that Tsukiko seemed to pride herself on power and brutality as always?

Jeez, was it any wonder she'd never make for a good bride?

"Strength like that makes damn gorillas shake in fear. I can't imagine that being used in the bedroom..." Except, well, he could. After all, he did like it when she could get a little assertive.

He was being generous on it too, but he enjoyed it. Roman watched the girls salute their newest little coach before getting right to it, finally giving the two old flames some personal time they probably needed. In all honesty, he was just as surprised to see Tsukiko as she was to see him. Was she partaking in this damn organization?

"Says the woman who decided to nearly SNAP my arm off the moment we meet back. Still got a flaring for temper, huh, baby?" Roman sighed before closing his eyes and crossing his arms. This really did feel familiar, only it wasn't anywhere...

Alright, maybe it was a little hot, but not that hot. There were limits.

"What's it look like? I'm a coach here. I owed a favor to an old bat to handle someone she was training. Some new fighter called Sabrina. She's rough, but she's got potential. I agreed to help her out and it brought me here, so that's why I'm here. I decided to take a few girls under my belt, but..." The man groaned as he thought about some of the candidates. Yep, this was his hell right now. Somehow, he preferred being a mercenary once again rather than dealing with this.

Somehow.

He popped an eye open and had a sleazy little girn on his face. "But, that also brings up MY question. What's the most beautiful woman I've seen doin' around here? Don't tell me... You're a fighter?"

...and Tsukiko thought he got the actually appropriate answer to his actual question. Roman possessing all the subtlety of a sledgehammer as he inquired into the sensitive subject of a lady's weight. A tactless faux pas even within respectable social circles, and particularly dangerous when within striking distance of that woman. You'd think someone whose as notorious a casanova as Roman would be clued in to that fact by now, but he never did have a filter from his lunkheaded brain to that blabbermouth of his. Who knows. Maybe this was just his way of saving face in front of his students and breaking the ice between them after they parted on less than amicable terms. Or maybe he actually was just that thick. Tsukiko knew which probability she'd place her bets on. Still, the detective admittedly felt some relief from seeing her old informant alive and kicking again. When you're a part of the game like them, that's something you learn to be exceptionally thankful for. Oh, and for his information...she's been trying to cut back on her frosted and jelly-filled donut vices.

"Aww, well aren't you still the same'ol sweet tongued charmer~...But you forgot to add my captivating allure, bewitching eyes, and heavenly hips~..." Tsukiko adorably admonished with a cutesy girlish voice after having seemingly having her stoic facade melted down into squishy softness from his one complimentary word, hands resting against her blushing cheeks as she swayed and spun around with her eyes closed..but abruptly ceasing her charade to playfully flick his nose with a playful smile. "...but don't call me baby. Still...I suppose that reason passes the smell test. Especially given your particularly...infamous, background when it comes to underground fighting. I just feel sorry for the poor gal who has you for an instructor, especially after what I've seen from your students so far." Tsukiko retreated a few steps, and turned her back to Roman. Folding her arms as she started canvassing the gymnasium again. "As for me...yeahyeahyeah, I'm on the roster. But well, let's just say I've got more important things to be doing here than wearing skintight spandex and practice my mud wrestling."

"...Just because you can be cute doesn't mean I have to find it cute."

Of course, he also didn't deny the fact that she DID have heavenly hips. Still, despite the violence that she had brought upon him, it was good to see her fine. He knew that in his line of work, it wasn't easy to make connections and form bonds. It was why he did technically retire from his work with the Underground and more. After all, while he had impressive skills, his skills with a weapon and a rifle were on another level.

But, that was something that didn't need to be dredged up. Though, if there was ever a shooting competition, he definitely didn't mind the idea of schooling everyone else just to be a little bastard. He chuckled sheepishly before Tsukiko's little flick on the nose caught him, the man wiggling that said nose right back at her and scoffing before a subtle smile built was upon his lips.

"Oh? Would you propose beautiful or snookums? I just love the second one...," he sighed before crossing his arms over one another and giving his old flame a simple shrug. "You know, you could offer to show a little respect to me still, huh? After all, I was a damn good guy in the ring, Tsu. Besides, they're new additions... Not my fault they're all stupid. Well, mostly the valley girl. God, shoot me."

Of course, once Tsukiko had informed him of her latest little role and important things, the man's thoughts shifted about. He chuckled sheepishly and crossed his arms behind his back, walking over and leaning close to Tsukiko just to whisper in her ear...

"I'm sure we could schedule us a private little bit of mud wrestling, maybe without clothes?"

He knew that'd earn him a hit, buuuut what could he say?

Tsu was too cute.

"Hmph, I'm a boxer anyway rather than a wrestler."

Allusions to Tsukiko cat fighting in ankle deep sludge were directed at her basically as soon as she stepped one foot out of her captain's office after being informed of this new assignment. A few jerkass detectives in her precinct by the water cooler whistling in her direction and asking if she had her skimpiest g-string bathing suit already decided upon...*sigh*...she could really go for a jelly donut right about now. This was all she needed after all those painstaking years of building up her badass reputation on the force through busting perps and taking down crimelords. She took a quick training primer beforehand, but what the hell did she even know about wrestling? She felt more comfortable investigating the organizations criminal activities than actually tying on a pair of wrestling boots. She might not have communicated it all that well when first encountering Roman...but she felt substantially more relaxed after meeting a friendly face. With an even friendlier voice accompanying it as the Tension coach began uttering into her ear from behind.

"Oh yeah, is that a fact? Because I remember you being a better lover than a fighter...but not by much..." Tsukiko softy spoken before shifting backwards to lean herself against Roman now standing behind her, relaxing herself and using him as the rock she could really use right about now. Practically on the cusp of taking a short nap as she closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. "...Hmm, figures you'd forgotten the sweet name you thought up for me. You know, on that night..." Tsukiko directed her alluring half-lidded eyes up at Roman, who'd assuredly notice the smooth swivel of her supple rump on his package as her hands were situated his waistband from behind...before she abruptly and rather cruelly separated them by stepping towards the ring. Tucking and rolling underneath the bottom ropes. "OH WELL, guess you had more fun with those other floozy's if ya can't remember. Whattyagonnado? But hey, if ya wanna start earnin back my respect, maybe you can start by showin me a good time in the ring. One quick spar, so I can make sure you haven't lost a step. Come on, whaddya say, coach?~..."