Go East, Young Ninjette

Short, but sweet, and definitely good to know. She wanted to debate Jackie's last point, but the truth was she couldn't think of anything to throw against. Jackie was in better shape than her, anyone could tell that right off the bat. About the only thing she'd have over her is reach, which could be a big advantage, but enough to offset everything else? Questionable.

"Nice." Kozue slaughtered her second mug of the day and slid its empty, conquered husk from hand to hand. "Me, I think I'd try to do the same thing, just with kicks instead of the submissions. Try and pick you away at a distance, wear you out. Probably won't ever find out in the ring, but eh, you never know. Weird how things worked out."

She motioned for the bartender to come back, ready for her final drink of the night. Kozue knew just what to go for, too. Expensive, hard, refined. "Galway Bay of Foam and Fury. Hit me."

"Oh, hitting the good stuff now are we?" Jackie asked with a smile as Kozue made her order, "Well, if we're going to get fancy about it, I'll take a whiskey, Midleton Very Rare. Make it a double," she added, catching the barman's attention. The man didn't appear to be very keen to meet her gaze - he's probably heard her talk about her fighting style a little too much to be comfortable being around her. She turned her attention back to her drinking companion, mulling over the suggested strategy.

"Nice idea, using your reach makes sense, but I'd say the kicks are a bad call," she said, reaching her conclusion, "You'd get more striking power out of it, sure, but it leaves you perched on one leg, takes time to get both feet back on the ground again. Might just be a split second, but time is everything when it comes down to two people focused on speed. You'd be better off with going for your fists, leave both feet on the ground ready to react if I try to close the gap."

She drained her second glass of Guiness, setting it to one side. She was starting to feel the light tingle of a buzz forming, the warmth in her stomach spreading out to her limbs. "Yeah, might never happen though - you can never tell just who'll be across from you in the ring from one night to the next."

"Only the best for the best." Kozue flashed her a quick thumbs up as her drink came in. One of the highest rated beers in Ireland, one she'd heard tons about and always wanted to try. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

As Kozue reached for her drink, it occurred to her that one of them was going to have to drive back, and between the two she wasn't sure who could hold it better. Her remaining workable brain cells told her to make sure this was her last for the night, and she agreed.

"Might be surprised how fast these can move when I put them to work." She gave her thigh a slap."But sure, I'll keep it with the upper body, I can throw them out fast, too. And once I get on the ropes and start flying around..."

Kozue's lazy smile disappeared behind the dark amber of the glass, as she held it up and gave the brew a look over. Divine smell. So rich, so creamy, so full you felt like you could almost drink it through your nose. "Good stuff. Want to share some with each other, swap some sips?"

"Sure, you much of a whisky lover?" Jackie asked, sparing a moment to glare at the barman as he reached for the ice bucket, her whisky glass in hand. A slow shake of the head was all that was needed for him to pour out the measure neat, and she took a sip of it, letting the liquid sit in her mouth. Rich, peaty flavours ran along her tongue as it slipped across it's length, the fumes coating the roof of her mouth and inner cheeks before a satisfied gulp brought the burning heat coursing down her throat. She gave a contented grunt, a satisfied rumble in the back of the throat, and slid the glass towards Kozue, "Takes some people off-guard a little if they're more used to beer."

Kozue took a mouthful of the foam this time and drank it deep. It tickled her taste buds, felt like every drop was dancing along her tongue, boiled all the way down her throat until the feeling left. Bold and sweet with no apologies She was almost reluctant to share, but a deal was a deal.

"Not my usual style, no. But I..." She slid her own mug to Jackie and took the whiskey in return. "...am adaptable."

She took a big gulp, choked it down, and shivered as it burned down her throat, blazing a trail all the way to her gullet. "Oh, wow, that's some real fury." She whistled and shook her head, passing it back to Jackie. "Good. Your insides are gonna look like asphalt, but good."

Jackie chuckled a little to see Kozue splutter, before taking a sip out of the foamy mug set before her. It was a very different drink to what she'd normally go for, and to her unaccustomed palette it tasted as sweet as drinking liquid honeycomb, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant once the cloying sweetness ebbed a little and the aftertaste came alive with the more subtle flavours. She passed the mug back, and scooped up her whiskey with a smile.

"Nah, this stuff isn't nearly as bad as some of the rotgut I used to knock back when I was starting out," she said, savouring another sip, "That stuff was like drinking kerosene and swallowing a match right afterwards. Cheap though."

Jackie rolled out her neck, feeling the tension ease out of them. She was relaxed here, in this little not-quite-right replica of an Irish pub, with American football on the television and the leering guys she pretended not to notice - she was pretty sure they were just mad their little boys club had been invaded by two of the only women to walk through the door with any intention on staying to drink. She'd had to remember the way here, seemed like as good a watering hole as any.

"So, guess we've covered the basics of small talk huh?" Jackie said, her smile still pressing up the corners of her mouth, "Ninja mobsters, daddy issues, the fine art of beating the shit out of bigger opponents, the nest of vipers that is the AFW...seems like we've checked all the boxes."

Kozue chuckled with her mouth full, so bad she had to slam her jaw shut to keep from sputtering all over Jackie. She swallowed it fast and let the last of her laughs come out. "Sorry, sorry. Was just thinking." She wiped her mouth clean and sat the mug down for a moment. Starting to get a little giddy, had to watch that. "With anyone else, I'd say the kerosene thing was just a metaphor. But you? I kind of believe you're crazy enough to know from experience. Not that it's a bad thing."

She sat back and finish off the glass, nodding as it went down and running her tongue along the side to get a little extra. "But yeah, I'm running dry. Congratulations on beating a record, though. Pretty sure this is the longest two AFW girls have been in a bar without making out." Kozue bit her lip and batted her eyelashes, looking coy all of the sudden. She wore it well. "Unless you want to break that streak..."

She managed to hold the look for all of three seconds before she had a quick laugh and pulled back. "Fucking with you." Yeah, the sauce was starting to have an effect. Time to put it down.

Jackie rolled her eyes and snorted out a laugh at Kozue's coy expression, which shattered quickly. The barman looked a little crestfallen, having almost dropped the glass he was cleaning at the Jersey girl's insinuation, and returned to busying himself in some menial task.

"Yeah, can't see that happening, I don't swing that way," she chuckled, shaking her head at the idea of it, "Fuck, I can barely stand most guys I meet, although most of those tend to be wrestlers I guess. Never really had much time for the whole romance idea."

She looked Kozue over, noting the giggling, the slightest sway in her posture, and gave the girl a poke in the shoulder, "Anyway, you are too drunk to pull off a seduction attempt, or more importantly, drive. Which given you came here with a fully laden nightstand in the backseat of your car, may not have been smart. Come to think of it...why didn't you empty the drawers before you started to cart it down the stairs, you daft bitch?" She chuckled as the thought suddenly came to her. She took a deep breath, and straightened up.

"OK, so there's no chance I'm letting you drive - not if I'm going to be in the same car as you anyway. Toss me your keys and I'll get us back to the apartment, we can pack the rest of your crap into the car and by that point we'll probably have sobered up enough that you can head to your new flash pad. Sound good?"

Kozue shook her head, looking saddened by the revelation. "Well, that's a shame, I know a lot of ladies that'll be disappointed. You're just lucky you decided to come over to Tension and stayed away from the Lesbian League. A lot of girls over there like to get handsy, you know? And they don't always take no for an answer." She slid the empty mug down to the bartender. "Right in the middle of the ring. Nasty."

She posed an interesting question, though: why didn't she bother to empty the draw. "Because reasons." As good of an excuse as any. "Sorry, you want anything better than that, you're gonna have to wake me up after I sleep through a hangover."

She fished in her pocket and pulled out the keys, handing them over to Jackie. Typically, she'd be leery about giving her keys to a person she'd just met, but the two of them had shared drinks. They had a special thing going on, Kozue could feel it. It completely transcended boundaries.

"I graciously accept your offer to be my chauffer. Lead on."

"Hey, I just want to get back to my apartment without hitting every obstacle along the way," Jackie said, as the barman ran through the tab on her card. The price-tag for this little drinking session was really going to hurt Armando's wallet, which made it all the sweeter for her. She'd also worked her way into Kozue's good graces, enough that she showed no resistance when asked to hand over her car keys, and the Irish woman ran through their meeting in her head, from the meeting at the stairs to now. She still hadn't seen the girl fight, but she'd picked up enough to gather a pretty clear picture of the girl - enough to take the risk and suggest teaming up? Perhaps not. Even being giggly-drunk as Kozue was, Jackie didn't think the time was right to proposed something like that. As the pair finished up what little remains of their drinks and started to head out the door, she changed tact slightly.

"So, do you have any matches lined up?" Jackie asked her drinking companion, "Figured it would be good to get my next fight organized, but I've not really had the time to study up on everyone on the Tension scene. Figured given our styles have some similarities, might make a good bench-point to see you match with someone, start getting some notes on the go."