New Faces (for acuya)

Julia blinked in slight confusion as she saw Kozue’s reaction. The stare wasn’t an intimidating one, but she was still starting to wonder if she’d perhaps said something she shouldn’t have. “Did...did I say something wrong...?” she questioned. But once Kozue explained her bewilderment and smiled, Julia laughed a bit and was suddenly smiling nice and bright again. “Oh, yeah. Well, ya seem like a pretty decent gal. So I don’t mind.”

Julia gave no noticeable reaction as Kozue took off her shirt to put on her training bra. She’d been in so many locker rooms over the years and seen everything their was to see. It was just a completely normal thing to her by this point. “Alright, I gotcha. I’m still not used to gettin’ around here though, or even in Tokyo for that matter. Mind tellin’ me how to get to that pub you were talkin’ about?”

Kozue did some quick jazz hands and shook her head - might've given her the wrong impression with the stare, but she meant well. "Oh, no. Hell no, you're fine. Just surprised is all. Pleasantly surprised."

She took a moment to reach into her bag and bring out her cell phone, dialing it up and getting the directions. "It's called O' Malleys. Sort of like a Japanese attempt at making an Irish pub. Sticks out like a sore thumb, but the drinks are great and it's the only place I know around here that airs hockey games."

She read the directions to Julia, then stuffed the phone away. Japan could be a pain in the ass to navigate, but it was close enough that she should've been able to get there, easy. "Can get a little pricey, but if it does I'll pay for my own, no worries." She did a quick check over her shoulder. "You drink?"

Julia breathed a sigh of relief when Kozue reassured her she hadn’t said or done anything wrong. “Oh good. For a second I thought...well, ya know.”

She then took out her own phone when Kozue started telling her about the pub, typing down the name and directions. If she got lost or needed clarifying on something, she could probably look it up herself. But based on the description, and the fact that it seemed pretty close by, she doubted she’d have a problem.

After putting her phone back into her pocket, she shrugged at Kozue’s question. “Eh. I have one or two beers a month, but I ain’t really much of a drinker. Still like goin’ to bars though. Great places to hang out and talk.”

In Kozue's experience, bars were not great places to talk, but then again, she tended to hang around placces where talking to anyone at all for any reason at all was unadvisable. Apparently, Julia traveled in more pleasant and less violent circles.

"They got a lot of nice stuff there. Imports, fresh stuff from a brewery around the edge of Kyoto. You won't find better in the city. Trust me, I've looked." Kozue popped out of the seat and started to stretch, pulling her arms across her chest. "I'll hit you up with the right drink and you won't want to stop at 'one or two'."

She gave Julia a quick pat on the shoulder and started to make her way out. "Been a while since I had someone to corrupt, should be a lot of fun. Catch you in three!"

Julia chuckled at Kozue’s comment, and waved as she went out into the gym. “Alright! See ya there!” she called out to her. She then gathered up her things and took her leave from the gym.

Once she was outside, she took out her phone and began following the directions just as Kozue had described them. It took a few minutes, and she almost took a wrong turn along the way. But it wasn’t long before she found the place. Kozue had been dead on when she said it stuck out like a sore thumb. Aside from the katakana writing used for the name of the place, it looked exactly like a standard Irish pub. It was almost like someone somehow took a few hundred square feet of space in Ireland and just dropped it right in the middle of Kyoto.

The blonde went on inside, and sure enough, a hockey game was playing on one of the TVs. She’d never really been one to watch hockey, but she took a seat at the counter and watched. New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh Penguins. She remembered Kozue saying she was from Jersey, so she decided to root for the Devils, having no further attachment to either team. The bartender soon came over and asked if she wanted anything. “Maybe in a little bit, thanks. I’m waitin’ for a friend.” she replied with a smile, before turning her attention back to the game.

Stretch. Breathe. Run the ropes. Springboards. Practice falls. Dodges. Corner to corner. Dive rolls. Quick turns. Five miles around the track. Speed bag drills. Heavy bag drills. Practice footwork. Jump rope. Breathe. Fill up on water. Five more miles around the track. Curls. Breathe. Curls. Breathe. Curls. Breathe.

When Kozue was finished with her workout, she was a sweaty, heaving panting mess, and she felt good. She still wasn't where she wanted to be physically by a longshot, but days like this made her feel like she was accomplishing something. And, more importantly for this occasion, it put her in a good mood to have a little fun.

So, when she finally showed up at the bar, she was all smiles. She threw a few waves to some of the regulars who hadn't seen her in a while, then started to make a beeline for Julie - needless to say, she was easy to spot.

"Hey, Jules!" She came around the corner, but stopped when she caught the screen. A Devils game was playing, and Mark Fraser was making a push down the middle, getting close to the goalie, juking left and right...

"Lookatthisshit, lookatthisshit..." And he sunk it in right through the side, inches to spare. "Fuck yeah!"

Kozue pumped her fist in the air, completely unbothered by the fact that the Devils were still down 1-3 in the third period. It was all about the moment.

Hearing her new friend’s voice calling out to her, the blonde smiled as she turned to face Kozue. “Hey there! Glad ya made it!” she said, before turning to look at the screen again just after Kozue did. She had no clue who any of those people were, nor had she been able to discern much about the rules of hockey other than “smack the puck into the goal,” which unfortunately the Penguins had been doing much better today.

BUT! One of the Devils’ players finally had a big moment for his team, and made an impressive goal! “Woo!” Julia shouted while also throwing a fist up, joining Kozue in the celebration. It still looked bad for the Devils, but maybe they still had a chance! Or did they? It was hard to tell for her...

In any case, she then turned back to Kozue again. “Have a good workout?”

Kozue strolled on over to the seat and hopped on the bar stool, taking a quick look at the specialties for the night. The usual stuff, but Kozue was seeing a few new names on the list, too, one's she didn't recognize. She'd been away from the pub for far, far too long, and she needed to catch up on the best stuff.

"My workout was awesome, thank you kindly for asking. Got some nice tone going on." Kozue gave her bicep a quick flex, then waved the bartender over from the back, eager to see what was good tonight. "You're getting real hyped up. Watch much hockey, back home?"

It was a vain hope, but the prospect of having someone to talk non-wrestling sports with was tantalizing...

“Ya sure do.” Julia replied with a chuckle as Kozue flexed before waving the bartender over. The man behind the counter down near the other end of it gave a responsive wave, letting them know he’d be over there in just a moment.

“Nah, not really.” Julia replied. “It’s pretty much always been about wrestling for me. Haven’t ever really kept up with any other sports.” She gave a light giggle and nodded toward the screen. “Honestly, I’m a little clueless about what’s goin’ on there. It’s been pretty fun to watch, though.”

Almost immediately after she finished her sentence, she looked back at the screen just in time to see two players starting to fight. Both guys had a grip of the other’s jersey in their hand, while simultaneously throwing haymakers with their free fist. Several others in the bar had stopped what they were doing to turn around and watch, including the bartender, who by that point had started making his way over to Kozue and Julia.

Kozue centered on the fight, but she kept talking with Julia as it went. Good brawl, but nothing she hadn't seen a billion times.

"It's like soccer. Only on ice. With padding. And sticks. And a puck. And fighting, more fighting." She gestured at the screen, right as a guy from her team got decked with a vicious hook. "But that aside? Similar."

She swiveled around in the chair and faced Julia. "Okay, so, story time. I am achingly curious on how a girl like you wound up in Friction." She gave the bar a quick slap, refocusing the bartender's direction. "You are already the sweetest Friction girl I've ever met. Easy."