An Easy Meal

Agni couldn't help but smile, at least he was a good sport about losing. As Agni would be had this situation been reversed. He gave a small nod before rushing after him towards the door after a small check of his gloves, he was sure they would of gotten torn but for some reason they didn't. Maybe it was immune to damaging him or something?

With a small shrug he rushed after him before going to follow him inside, forgetting he had yet to exchange names and now they were going to eat together.

Sam leads the kid into the restaurant and sits down at a table near the window, giving them a good view of the street. He gestures to the seat across from him and picks up a menu, looking it over. "Gotta admit, you surprised me. I didn't pin you as a power-wielder. Probably woulda played my cards smarter if I did, but hey, live and learn, right?" He looks back at the menu and sighs. "Normally I'd get the chicken curry, but I've learned the hard way it's never smart to eat spicy food when you got an injury in your mouth."

Agni followed the man glancing out the window for a moment before taking the seat across from him. "Well I can't really say I knew you were one off the bat, were it not for that one dodge I probably would of never figured it out." Agni admitted, it was almost impossibly to tell one person with a power to one who didn't have one, at least for now.

"Yeah I bet, oh like I said I'm new around here, any recommendations?" Agni asked looking at the menu, since this was his first visit and fight after all.

Sam pursed his lips thoughtfully as he perused the menu. "Well, as the victor, always go for one of the more expensive dishes. You ain't paying, so why should you care? Especially if the other guy picked the fight. Hmm... I've always been a fan of their Peking duck. Lotta flavor, nice and juicy, can't go wrong."
One of the waitresses approaches the table. She looks back and forth between the two for a moment, noting their injuries, and promptly asks, "You were the two fighting outside just now?" Sam nods. "Who lost?"
"That'd be me, sweetheart." Sam said with a smile, raising his hand.
The waitress nodded, writing it down on the order pad. "Drinks?"
"I'll just stick with water. Need something easy for the throat."

Agni simply let out a small laugh. "More expensive doesn't always mean it's better." He took that into mind but he was quietly interrupted by the girl asking who lost the fight, which the man easily said he did. "I'll have water also" Agni echoed before thinking a bit on what he was going to get.

While he did he slowly adjuted his tie having not out it in straight since he was walking while doing it, quickly adjusting his gloves also as he stared at the menu.

After the waitress left to fetch their drinks, Sam shrugged. "Well, it's also kind of a statement, letting people know not to mess with you. Either way, I still recommend the duck." He lightly rubs his blackened eye, and nods. "I'm gonna be getting the egg drop soup, personally. Need something smooth; think my tongue's swollen a bit." He puts down the menu and smirks. "Been a bit since I've been whipped so bad, pipsqueak. How long have you been working on that power of yours?"

Agni gave a small nod, since it was the only thing he decided to go with it, since why not. Then that question came up and Agni scrached the back of his head. "Well I've been fighting for six years, but the exploding fists thing, well it's only been a week or two since that started happening to be honest." Agni admitted, really he just got lucky with his attacks, at least that's how he saw it.

"What about you?" Agni asked yet recalled he didn't know exactly what his power was, sure Agni blew stuff up that was a no brainer but what could this guy do with his powers?

Sam kept his smile up as he looked at the boy, but had to suppress his anger. A week? He thought. A week and he's this strong? Meanwhile I've been trying to hone mine for over year... Some kids get all the luck.
He blinked and realized he had just been staring at the kid for several seconds and shrugged. "Oh, uh, I've been fighting on the streets for about eight or seven years, got my powers about a year ago. Nothing too impressive, just a bit of strength and speed is all." The waitress came and dropped off their waters; he quickly took a drink from his, leaving a line of blood where his lips touched the glass. "I try to keep it on the down low. Always nice to have an edge in a fight and all." His tone was relaxed, but his respect for the kid was now mixed with a spark of hatred; the kid was a good fighter, and Sam got stupid, sure, but against a kid who can conjure explosions? That was more luck than skill at that point.

Agni quietly took note of the guy taking a bit to answer him, but maybe he was just thinking. With that Agni looked at the water before taking a quick drink of it. "Yeah I suppose a edge is nice." Agni agreed before sighing. "But I do have a major flaw with it, for some reason when I do it, it's like I'm doing a while set of pushups with just that one punch, after those two I was already getting a tad bit winded." Agni admitted.

He then let out a small laugh. "And when I jump I uh normally land on my butt since the attack sends me flying also." he added as a small joke, sure his powers were strong but they had major drawbacks.

Sam nodded. "That sorta stuff is what you gotta get under control. From what I've learned in a fight, it's that getting tired and off balance are quick ways to get knocked out." He took another quick sip of his drink, still suppressing his anger. Head on your shoulders, Sam. You picked a fight and lost. Own it. He thought to himsef. The waitress returned to the table and pulled out the order pad.
"You boys ready to order?" She asked.
Sam nodded. "Egg drop soup, please. And a crab rangoon, too. How about you, pipsqueak?"

Agni gave a small nod. "Yeah that's true." Agni agreed, he had to learn how to not use all his stamina with those attacks. With this it was fine but should he fight him again while he has knowledge he can't afford to just throw punches left and right. He would lose the fight before it began. Honestly he was a tad bit jealous of this guy, Agni would kill for just a speed or power boost instead of exploding people's faces.

Agni took one more glance at the menu before looking back at the waitress. "The Pecking duck." he said with a small shrug deciding to just go with the thing he said.

For a good long while, Sam simply sat in silence, staring intently at the line of blood on his glass, fascinated by it. Surely there's got to be a way to unlock the power this has... He had been getting more and more frustrated that his powers were making no progress; he knew his power, his ability to manipulate his blood, the very lifeforce that flowed through his veins. Meditating on this power, thinking what it could unlock, and simply altering how it flowed within him wasn't making him any more powerful. He had to stop thinking about it as an internal power, but as something this kid could do; a force that could have a significant external effect on the world if applied correctly. This meant he had to practice with it more, exercise these powers more liberally...
He blinked, realizing he had been completely silent for over a full minute after the waitress left. "Sorry, spaced out there for a minute..." His smile returned. "A-anyways, you got a name, kid? I kinda feel bad just calling you 'pipsqueak' all the time."

Agni had to admit, he did notice him staring at the blood for a abnormal amount of time, but using this time he thought about his powers. He got explosives while this man got more speed and power, how was that? Also what was this whole power thing and why did Agni have more power backing behind his fists then this guy. It made no sense to him. Still he quickly shook his head ridding himself of these thoughts before he heard the guy.

"Oh yeah, I spaced out also." Agni echoed before hearing him ask for a name. "My name is Agni Ken, Guess I also forgot introductions." he said with a shaky laugh, he just forgot since they outright started fighting one another.

Sam nodded and slowly said the name, as though tasting it on his tongue. "Agni... Pleasure to finally have your name. Call me Sam. Just Sam." He never liked giving out his last name; in his line of work, it's always harder to track a "Sam" than a "Sam Guivine", and people who were harder to track tended to live a bit longer. He stretched out his shoulder. "So what's a kid like you doing this far in East Diamond, anyways? I know you said you're new here, but just about everyone who's heard of Ruby City knows this district isn't exactly safe for kids."

Agni noticed he didn't give a last name, but that was alright. He only did since Agni wasn't a common name and it felt it would be stupidly easy to find him. Even in this city. But with that question Agni let out a small sign recalling what he was doing. "Well i mostly walked around to clear my head, I sorta wandered in here." Agni said before shaking his head.

"Though I guess I was really just looking for a fight, always helped my clear my head, you know?" Agni asked wondering if it was the same for Sam. Agni enjoyed fighting ever since he was a ten year old. Sure he did it to protect but he still enjoyed it a lot.

Sam shakes his head lightly and lowers his voice. "Look, Agni, there's something you gotta know about East Diamond. A lot of these guys here, especially some of these smaller gangs, are down right vicious. The EDM? Those big guys sound scary, but for the most part won't waste the nickel putting a bullet in your head. The smaller gangs around here? They won't. They catch a kid on their turf, they're gonna jump you in pretty big numbers for the change in your pocket. And sure, you can handle yourself in a fight, don't need to remind me, but these guys ain't gonna be going fisticuffs with you like I was. If you're lucky they'll pull a knife on you. If not, a glock. You want to look for a fight? Go to the mall in Ruby Central. Plenty of crime there, lotta opportunities to play hero. Here? Lotta opportunities to get shot. And with your power, you really don't want to draw attention to yourself. I'd recommend not exactly making a hobby out of beating the crap outta people here for a free meal. Exploding punches? That stuff's a bit harder to conceal than just some skilled boxer like me. The gangers hear about this, they're gonna get spooked and start thinking you'll get bored getting Peking duck every Tuesday and come down to where they live for a chuckle. They'll shut you down before you build up." Sam keeps his tone serious as he says all this, his non-swollen eye fixed on Agni with concern. "Believe me when I say they'd be more than happy to 'clear your head' for you."
Sam may not have been happy with this kid's silver spoon, but he still respected him and didn't want him to get killed. He knew going into such detail might run the risk of the kid questioning how he knew this much, but Sam figured the kid would chalk it up to him being local. Even so, he still had his sob story he always told authorities who started questioning him when he was too close to a crime in Mocca City.

Agni remained quiet while he talked, yeah he figured this would be his main point. While Agni now had powers and while he did seem to be able to handle himself very well in a fight he knew, he knew fully well that one shot to the head and he was done. Agni had nothing to counter his point except maybe the hero part, he never wanted to be a hero just to protect his family, and the people around him if he could. But he wasn't exactly protecting his family by looking for fights around the city that was for sure. While Agni might of questioned how he knew all this he knew it wasn't his concern, not at all.

"Yeah, you're right. I wasn't thinking straight." Agni finally agreed with a small sigh. "Don't worry, I won't make this a habit." Agni promised, and well he never broke promised if he could keep from doing so.

Sam nodded. "Good. Now, to be completely honest, kinda hurt me to say that. Because I'd love to have a rematch with you some day now that we both know the stakes." His cocky grin returned, his serious demeanor gone. The waitress showed up and placed their food in front of them. Sam grinned, showing his bloodstained teeth again, and rubbed his hands together. He took a quick sip of water to wash the metallic taste out of his mouth before he began eating his soup, slurping the broth uncomfortably loudly.

Agni gave a cocky smile at this. "Yeah, I'd love a rematch also, not very often I get to fight a great opponent." Agni said and it was the truth, out of all the people Agni has fought, powers or no, Sam was the best fight without powers he had, while sure the fight got a little out of hand around the end Agni would love to just go blow to blow, no powers involved. It's how he always fought before.

Agni went to eat his food, a bit more quiet then Sam though, though he wasn't disgusted by the loud slurping as his family did that. All the time. he had to admit it was a good choice that duck.

Sam made quick work of his soup and sat back with a satisfied smile. He looked over to the crab rangoon he had ordered and decided he would save that for after he got home; risky carrying around a bag of food when you have a black eye, sure, but despite the roughing up, he was sure he'd be able to outrun any rival gangers on his way home. He wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin provided, and patiently waited for Agni to finish his meal. As he did, he scanned the establishment for any familiar faces; he didn't expect anyone from his gang to be there, but he wanted to make sure that he could sell them a good lie when he got back without being called out on it. When Agni finished, he flashed him a smile. "Well, pipsqueak, thank you for making my day a bit more interesting." He extended hand across the table to shake. "Feel free to take off whenever, waitress already knows you're not paying.

Agni watched him quickly destroy his soup at a fast pace before letting out a small laugh. "Just like Hanako." He commented silently to himself before hurrying up himself deciding it was better to dig in rather then keep someone waiting, he actual are pretty fast before taking a drink of his water at the end to wash everything down setting it back on the table before wiping his mouth.

Agni would of commented on that, felt bad about calling him pipsqueek and asked for his name. Then returned to calling him pipsqueek. Agni looked outside before nodding. "Yeah, I should get going." Agni said before getting up adjusing his tie one last time. "It's been nice, see ya." Agni said giving a short wave before exiting and walking back the way he came.

Sam watched the kid go. The way he saw it, either the kid would heed his advice and never show his face around East Diamond again, or he was going to blow him off and be a regular face around here. He wasn't at all sure which he would rather have; Agni was entertaining to say the least. He shrugged and wrapped up the crab rangoon, and paid the check when it came, leaving behind a measly 5% tip; as good as the waitress was, he had to look out for his own wallet, and paying for two tabs at the Fireopal was the exact opposite way to do that. He made his way out of the establishment and began heading home.