A Spar to Remember

[321Shazam]

Yasha wasn't the most keen on using the facilities that the wrestling promotions provided to train. However, management insisted that she could at least give it a try to help build up the gym's prestige. Yasha knew her time as a Rumble Rose had increased her popularity but she didn't think that simply going to a gym would help build it up. Yasha usually trained in her wrestling gear but the gym goers seemed confused as to why Yasha wasn't wearing gym clothes getting a lot of eyes on her. Yasha would start off with by doing cardio on the treadmill at it's max speed to test her stamina and help increase her current speed as she kept up with the treadmill even though she wasn't in er normal running stance due to the treadmill's limited room for her to lift her knees.

Yasha

[CyanDimitrik]

Drake - or perhaps better known as Domino - is starting to become a memorable face around here. The people are generally amenable to his presence, despite his non-affiliation with the federation at large, and he's even helped one or two of their roster in spars. Allegedly. It's certainly nothing official, but if one were to ask him?

'Sure beats the Hell out of listening to more patronizing garbage.'

In fact, it's done him some good. Not only is he able to focus more on his own workouts, but he's in an overall better disposition. Being faced with non-stop ridicule and belittlement, despite his consistent performance, was starting to leave a noticeable impact on his attitude. A surly Domino is hardly a Domino at all, and he's started to loosen up again. Good times.

Of course, finding someone to spar with is nothing short of awkward, so there's that. There's that constant gnawing concern that he's going to approach someone, and they're going to have a freakout and call him a perv'. And yet, a spar is something he wants at the moment - something to hone himself on; a proverbial whetstone, albeit probably female-shaped. He has a match coming up tomorrow, and he intends to use that person to make a statement. He won't allow himself to mess that up. They've already relegated him to a throwaway card. They're due a wakeup call.

And so, Drake makes his way out of the hilariously underused male locker room, wearing a pair of loose-fitted white shorts, cross-fits, and a matching t-shirt. It's nothing special, but it works. But no sooner does he enter the room that he spots someone he's seen before a few times over. She has a memorable face, but the wrestling gear is perhaps the biggest dead giveaway.

"Hey, no way," he says on approach with a small, but guarded smile. There's that concern gnawing at him again. "Benikage, right?" After a beat, he quickly lifts a hand, "Don't mean to interrupt your workout!"

[321Shazam]

Yasha had gotten used to the attention that her attire everyone quickly went back to their usual gym routine. As Yasha was running at the fastest speed the treadmill had she'd hear someone say a familiar name. Yasha would stop the treadmill and would look over at the person addressing her. He was an attractive looking man that brought up her gimmick back at Rumble Roses. Yasha would chuckle a bit before she'd respond to him by saying. "I haven't been called that in years. I go by my actual name now, you can call me Yasha, Yasha Adachi. Who are you? No offense, but I didn't know that men came to the LAW gyms seeing how it's a mainly female organization." Yasha said friendly introducing herself to him.

[CyanDimitrik]

She doesn't know him. Of course not. Not with the billing his federation has been giving him. It's so expected, it barely even registers at this point. It does still register, mind you - just not as hard as it used to. He breathes an almost imperceptible sigh of disappointment.

"Drake," he replies. "Or Domino, in the ring." At least some hinting will maybe put things on the right track.

"Anyway, I've been here a few times so far." He puts on a small smile and lifts his hands, palms out. "No funny business, honest. Just a better place to train than my other options. Less... noisy." That's a way of putting it. 'Noisy.' "Doesn't bug you, does it?," he asks. And then, he tries out her actual name, "Yasha?"

[321Shazam]

Yasha would smile as she heard Drake say her name and would nod to show that he pronounced it correctly. Then Yasha would ask him. "You seemed like you wanted to ask me a question before. What did you want to ask me?" Yasha asked as she got a bottle of water to begin taking a sip of it to hydrate herself after a bit of a run on the LAW treadmill. Yasha was also keeping her eyes on Drake's body and could tell he was in good shape but wondered why he approached her specifically. She had never really heard of him before so she wasn't familiar to the reason why he was called Domino, and she thought it would be rude to ask such a question regardless.

[CyanDimitrik]

Did he? He didn't, at first. After all, it's her workout he's interrupting, not the other way around. He may've already taken enough of her time, and seeing his 'in the ring' hint didn't seem to land, he's left at something of a loss. But, well, screw it.

"Didn't originally, but now that you mention it," Drake begins with an impish smile, "you wanna go a round in the ring? Could be fun."

Maybe the hint did land, in retrospect, and she just didn't comment on it. But if it didn't and she accepts, this could be a pretty entertaining thing, taking her by surprise.

[321Shazam]

Yasha heard Drake's proposition for a spar. Yasha would smile and would kindly respond by saying. "Why not, it'll give me the chance to test my skills against a someone that's not a woman. Are you sure want to do this?" Yasha asked as she walked over to the sparring ring. Yasha would then ask Drake. "So why do they call you Domino? Is it a gimmick or you just thought it worked for a marquee?" Yasha asked before she rolled under the bottom rope to enter the ring and would go to a corner to begin stretching to limber herself up.

[CyanDimitrik]

"A gimmick? Eh..," Drake considers the wording. He didn't care for it. It felt too.. active? Fake? Domino isn't something to do, it was something to be. Maybe it only made sense in his head in that context here, but his fans - the real fans - got it. They knew it meant more than a catchy callsign. "Kinda," is the best response he can manage. "It's a little more than that, though."

He climbs into the ring, giving the woman a curious look while she's busy heading to her corner. He moves back to the opposite. "I'll explain it afterwards, if you like. And yeah, I'm sure! It'll be interesting to see what someone with your background can really do, and how I measure up." In short? Good training. Solid training. And hopefully her question about his name signifies she knows he's a wrestler. Otherwise...

Well, otherwise this might seem like a guy shooting for fetish-fulfilment right up until he proves otherwise!

With an anticipatory, wry smile, he begins winding his shoulders and arms, limbering his sleekly-toned frame. And once finished, he takes ahold of his collar and tugs his shirt up and over his head, revealing the aforementioned upper-body. The shirt is tossed to the ring apron outside the ropes. "Ready?," he calls to her as he starts for the center of the ring.

[321Shazam]

Yasha would finish doing her stretches and look over at Drake as he took off his shirt. Yasha had to admit he had a toned upper body. Then Drake would walk toward the center and ask the former Rumble Rose if she was ready to start the spar. Yasha would nod then respond by saying. "Let's get started. Good luck." Yasha said before she signaled for a collar and elbow tie up. Yasha would then push against Drake as much as she could before she would then transition to a Side Headlock to put some pressure on Drake's head early on in this spar.

[CyanDimitrik]

Good luck?

That's.. seriously the first time an opponent, whether in spar or actual match, has ever said that to him. It earns a briefly stunned look, followed by a bemused grin. Either she's cocky and that was the nicest-voiced trash-talking he's ever heard, or she's kind of sweet. It's too early to tell!

The invitation to lock up is accepted, and Drake closes in with her. His hands set to her shoulder and collar, suddenly very aware that the majority of her attire is just netting. And no sooner does this hit him than she transitions the lockup to a headlock, pressing his cheek against her chest. His arms wrap around her midsection tight, not trying to pull away from her, but rather to cinch in. His body tenses, and he attempts to use the position to his advantage by hoisting her into the air and dropping back with her!