Ana stopped short when the arm came out in front of her. She could sense the woman's power before even looking at her, Ana's dark eyes locking with Zerori's blue ones. She didn't even bother attempting to push past, that would have been an exercise in futility.

Ana just sighed softly and tried to mentally memorize the kid's ki signature. She just had to hope she could catch up before he dumped her wallet.

"I'm trying to catch the perpetrator. Ask any of the half a dozen witnesses," Ana said simply and gestured at the group of people standing around the dropped wallets. But in the typical fashion of bystanders no one wanted to gey involved. Some quickly averted their gazes, one even grabbed a wallet and scuttled away.

Ana would have rolled her eyes if she had been one iota surprised. But she wasn't.

"He has my wallet, so...?" Anastasia gestured ahead of herself, requesting permission to continue on her way. The majin had long since disappeared from sight, but she could still catch his unique signature. For now at least...

Word Count: 182
Total Word Count: 715

Power Level:1,461

Weighted Power Level: 1,095

Ana sighed internally, her outer expression expression still as impassive and flat as ever. She was going to have to accept that she might not be able to get to the majin kid before he ditched her wallet. It seemed that this person was determined to prevent her from her pursuit. But Ana was starting to get the suspicion that, that was exactly what she was trying to do. The more Ana stood here, the more she believed that was EXACTLY what the woman was trying to do. Each click of the pen only served to punctuate that.


Ana was tempted to confront her about it. This fake interdiction was clearly a ruse. She probably didn't have any authority to do so. But in the end it really wasn't worth it. Why make more of a scene and argue a useless point? Even if Ana demanded the woman provide some proof of authority she'd probably deny it, or even have some reason or excuse. It'd be faster to play along and get this game over with rather than be belligerent.

However, Ana blinked when the woman asked for her number and offered a meal. Was... was she really trying to pick her up???

Ana pointed at the woman, "You didn't ask for my name or any identification, much less provided your own. Asking for my contact information and offering to feed me seems out of order."

Ana reassessed the entire interaction. Was this all just an elaborate ruse to pick her up? Ana wasn't sure. She had never been very good at the whole social thing, much less flirting and dating. She was just perplexed enough that she momentarily forgot about her ever dwindling lead on her wallet.

If this was just a circuitous way to ask her out, Ana wasn't sure which would be more annoying. For some one to be messing for her just to get their kicks, or for someone who just trying to pick her up. Maybe the former. At least the latter would be just a bit flattering.

Word Count: 343
Total Word Count: 1,058

Power Level:1,461
Weighted Power Level: 1,095

Ana mentally smacked her forehead.  She had been too busy trying to figure out this woman's game and also trying to keep track of the majin boy that she hadn't even caught the woman asking her name. Not only making Ana seem like an idiot, but also making her previous point of the stranger being rude, moot.

Ana sighed quietly, the barest breath out of her nostrils. She might as well just roll with it at this point. She wasn't going to catch the kid. This woman wasn't going to let her go with out a metaphorical fight. The sky is blue, and water is wet.

But when Zerori actually dropped the game, at least just a bit, and showed some sincerity, Ana herself opened up. The only sign of it was a slight widening of her stance, but that was telling for anyone who knew to read her.

"Considering the kid took my wallet, 'In Need of Food' wouldn't be inaccurate," Ana murmured quietly, "It's going to be very inconvenient to replace, you know."

Ana slipped the last comment in to show Zerori that she knew she had held Ana up on purpose. But there was no real barb in the comment. 

Ana put her hands in her coat pocket and looked skyward as if contemplating something for a long minute. Finally Ana dropped her head forward and locked gazes with Zerori.

"Ana."

No other explanation or preamble. No greeting. Just her name. Then she turned and began walking, pausing only to look over her shoulder and gave a look to Zerori that seemed to say 'are you coming?'

Word Count: 270
Total Word Count: 1,328

Power Level:1,461
Weighted Power Level: 1,095

Ana made a mental note to hold Zerori to her word when it came to her 'compensation'. The money wasn't the worst issue, even if Ana had been carrying a pretty penny in cash, but losing all her identification was an inconvenience she did not want to deal with if she could avoid it. Going through the channels of finding out how to get replacements would be a nightmare. When Zerori gave Ana a wolf whistle, she cocked her eye brow, Ana thought that maybe Zerori would have stopped laying it on so thick once she dropped her little game. But maybe the flirtation wasn't a game, but actually genuine.

"Oh now you care about moving too fast?" Ana gave the softest of scoffs, barely audible, but there was no real bite.

"I'm a pit fighter," Ana said with out any further explanation. Much like her name, Ana didn't feel a need to elaborate. She didn't realize that maybe her brevity might make her more mysterious and in turn more enticing to Zerori. Ana was just the type of person who didn't say more if she didn't have anything more to say. Not like her chattering new companion who seemed more than happy to jabber away.

Ana had been down this way a few times. There weren't many ramen shops in this part of town. At least not any good ones. Ana wasn't particularly picky, food was merely fuel to her, but her friend Akira would not stand for anything less than authentic, and this was one of the few restaurants that seemed to pass muster for her. So the odds were in Anastasia's favor that this was the restaurant that Zerori had been talking about. And even if it wasn't, Ana just wanted to put Zerori on the back foot and take control of the conversation.

Ana raised her hand in greeting to the shouts of 'welcome!' by the staff, and at Zerori's offer of seating, Ana led the way to a seat by the window. Somewhere private enough that people wouldn't be able to easily hear their conversation, but public enough for everyone to see them. Ana took the seat by the wall, placing her back against it, and made sure could see and faced the exit.

Maybe she was a little paranoid, but she liked to know her escape routes.

"Hello ladies and welcome to the Wok, can I get you any drinks to start with?" a smiling dog man with a wrapped head band tied around his forehead approached them. He was wearing a red apron, and carrying a note pad and pen.

"Ice water," Ana said quietly, the waiter having to lean in to hear, but then he nodded and wrote that down.

"Ice water it is, and you miss?" he turned to Zerori, and his customer service smile upped a few notches when he faced the patron that he perceived as the more receptive of the two. Ana seemed closed off and cold. Zerori looked like she knew how to tip.

As the waiter took Zerori's order, Ana flipped over the laminated menu sitting on the table. It was really only a single sheet folded in two. The handful of entrees were inside. This restaurant didn't have a large selection, but what it did have it was a master of. Most people didn't need a menu when visiting, as they were either all regulars who ate often enough to know the scant selection by heart, or were able to see the options listed on the black board in white chalk.

Word Count: 596
Total Word Count: 1,924

Power Level:1,461

Weighted Power Level: 1,095

Ana cocked her head when Zerori ordered hot sake. It seemed a little early to be drinking, but Ana didn't say anything about it. She rarely drank herself. Not that she didn't drink at all, but Ana didn't like losing control of herself. That was the primary purpose of drinking. To loosen one's inhibitions. It was too easy to make regrettable mistakes when people drink to excess. But Ana never begrudged anyone else their indulgences. She might partake in Zerori's sake... she would have to see where her mood takes her.

"The chef's special today," Ana said when the waiter asked for her order. She liked trying the different options that the chef would make for the day. It kept things varied and interesting. Ana had her favorites, but she enjoyed mixing up her routines.

When Zerori asked about if it was difficult for her to talk about the pits, Ana's brow creased ever so slightly in confusion, "Why would it be? What do you want to know?"

For Ana her time as a soldier, her time as a pit fighter, it was all just... something that happened. Speaking about these things were like the average person speaking about their time in school. It was just a part of her story. Her life. For Ana this just seemed... the way things are. That wasn't to say that her life hadn't come with it's own struggles. She still woke up from nightmares of her time in the war. Not often, but there were times when she'd find herself laying breathlessly in the dark with the sounds of explosions ringing in her ears. Phantom pains of old wounds and the real pains of new wounds would wrack her body at times.

But these weren't things to hide or things she found difficult to live through. Of course, this resulted in Ana making people uncomfortable when she bluntly answered questions they hadn't been prepared for the answers to. She had little to no tact in social situations. Social niceties and unspoken rules of engagement just passed over her head at times. Sometimes people don't literally mean it when they want to share "war stories". Go figure.

Word Count: 364
Total Word Count: 2,288

Power Level:1,461
Weighted Power Level: 1,095

"Hmm..." Ana tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully as she turned over Zerori's questions. She digested them, and considered her responses carefully. Not out of any particular need for tact, Ana had never been very good at that, but just to give an accurate answer. Finally, she shrugged, "I suppose I'm not typical."

Ana loosened her scarf slightly, the ramen shop was warmer than the outside, and then took a sip of water before continuing, "It is a career choice for me. Fighting... is the only thing I know. I was a soldier before the pits, and when the war ended and there was no need for me anymore... well pit fighting was the simplest work I could find."

"It's bloody, violent, and dangerous work, but no more so than what I used to do..." Ana paused when Zerori's sake was delivered, she continued after the waiter left, "I joined the pits only about 2 years ago, but I don't think I necessarily left. I still pick up a fight or two here and there. I've never really signed a contract with any one fighting circle."

There were slave pits, Ana knew. And there was fighters that were basically slaves after signing sleazy contracts tying them to the pit arena they had signed to. Ana had managed to avoid such fates. The only reason Ana had joined the underground fighting pits, rather than a more legitimate fighting operation, was multi-fold. It was easier to get into. The high turn-over, ie mortality, rate meant there was always an open spot for fighters. Unlike a more official forum. She didn't need to put in her dues and essentially 'audition' for a fight. And while money wasn't really a priority of Anastasia's, it was a much more lucrative profession. High risk, high reward. Lastly, well... a part of Ana needed the danger. She didn't quite realize this herself. But after all the time she had spent fighting for her life, it was her status quo. A fight wasn't 'real' with out that danger. A small part of her was uncomfortable and didn't know what to do with out the adrenaline rush of fighting for her life...

Ana eyed the sake thoughtfully and decided, why not? She took her own saucer and poured a modest amount of the spirit before also taking a drink. She didn't knock it back with quite the same force as Zerori, however. Ana wrinkled her nose just a bit at the fire that roared down her throat, but it smoothed out soon enough. She decided to wait on a second drink, however, she wanted to pace herself, not in the least interested in getting drunk.

"It sounds like the pits on Vegeta were mostly the same as here," Ana responded, "The main difference being that here the pits aren't necessarily... legitimate. They're frowned upon by general society. Fighting in the pits isn't necessarily illegal, but it's far from respectable work. Most pit fighting rings are associated with one crime ring or another."

Ana shrugged, if she was bothered to essentially be working for criminals, she didn't show it, "The usual forms of fighting for entertainment would be the typical martial arts tournaments, with the greatest being the World Martial Arts Tournament. But those fights are... tame. There is no risk to your life and limb. Not like pit fighting. In that, Vegeta and Earth are fairly similar. The fights go on until one of you can't fight anymore... whatever that may entail."

Ana's mind flashed briefly back to the last time she had lost a pit fight... the feel of a hard chitinous foot smashing into her ribs again and again. Each kick forcing more air out of her until there was nothing left. Then her broken ribs crushed into her lung and each kick forced out more blood. It felt like she would drown in it. She couldn't remember how she survived. Only waking up on a cot in a back room with a breathing apparatus on her face attached to a machine that looked nearly as beat up as she was. It was the only thing keeping her breathing, and would be a long time afterwards...

Ana blinked and shook her head slightly to banish the memory. The food arrived with perfect time, two large bowls of ramen placed before the woman. The waiter bid them to enjoy their food before retreating. Ana grabbed a pair of chopsticks, reusable ones made of synthetic wood rather than the splintery disposable kind, and dug in. Her appetite was unfazed by the topic or memories.

Word Count: 767
Total Word Count: 3055