Chapter 3

Several days has passed since Danny's last training session and it was now Friday. It was also late summer as well with some of the city's trees were beginning to develop its autumn colors. Many kids and teenagers were expecting to start school soon, which left many of them wanting to have some last minute fun before starting up their studies again. Adding all these factors together made nearly every pizza place in the city rampantly busy with orders. The restaurant's main dishes were cheap and convenient for their customers. For Petrozzi's Pizza, it's been the busiest they've been all month. The owners somewhat expected it, however the restaurant was considered something of an overlooked gem for its neighborhood. Perhaps its building had seen better days, but the quality of the food has remained consistently good and its fans loyal.

For Danny however, his gig there he viewed almost as a dream job. Pizza was his favorite food – he loved everything about it. Thanks to his employee discount he could have it whenever for fairly cheap. He had been steadily working as a pizza delivery boy for several years. The wage left a lot to be desired, but he was fine with that. Despite the amount of time he has had with the job he viewed it as temporary. The owners were lenient enough with his hours that he still had time for his training. But with how this afternoon was playing out there was no wiggle room for any breaks. Danny was just returning from delivering five meals to the same house as he entered the restaurant.

"Hey Dan," One of the cooks emerged from the kitchen, approaching the counter, "We got two more pizzas for ya."

She then threw them towards his direction. This initially caught him off guard, quickly stretching out his arms to catch them. He set them on the counter and opened their boxes to check if they were okay. One was a simple Neapolitan styled pizza, while the other one was a new variant they recently added to the menu. They called it a Pizza Bianca – it featured cheese sauce with garlic flavorings as a substitute for the more commonly found tomato sauce. Danny had yet to try it himself, but it smelled delicious. It almost looked like it was some kind of fancy garlic bread.

His co-employee then handed him a note, "They're going to different addresses," She explained, "But they're both roughly in the same area though."

With his instructions, he promptly left to deliver the food. The neighborhood he arrived in had some distance from his own. It was outside of the city's most popular college, which students seemed to be the majority of who was living there. Danny never had the opportunity to further his studies outside of high school. It was something that his mother greatly wanted him to have, but with both of their income combined it still would have been difficult to make it happen. As for her son he didn't have any strong feelings towards it – he was never a bad student but one that would get distracted easily by other plans. His grades were only decent enough to just pass. He did sometimes wonder what college life is like, especially when he was present in an area full of occupied dorm rooms.

The first stop he made the Neapolitan pizza was going to a two story building. It looked like an average family home that was converted into a casual dormitory. A young man opened the door, immediately took the pizza and hastily handed him the money before shutting the door with a slam. Danny quickly moved back from the building out of surprise because of his blunt intensity. He heard what he assumed was the same individual announce that their meal had arrived, with cheering from his guests following shortly afterwards. It seemed like they were preparing to have a party. Danny adjusted his hat and went back to his car. He couldn't help but to roll his eyes and frown at that brief interaction – a mere one dollar tip would have made it significantly more pleasant.

The other pizza was to be delivered at an apartment-like duplex building. It was another dorm, but it seemed quieter and more personal than the others he had seen. He checked his note again and read that it needed to arrive to room 307, which luckily for him was on the first floor. Danny knocked on the door rhythmically and prepared to greet the customer with a friendly smile. His expression faded slightly when he saw who opened the door – not that he was upset, but it was another surprise.

"Hey," He blurted out, "You're that girl from the gym."

She looked at him curiously. He then felt a little awkward, not wanting to make her feel bad.

"Um," Danny continued reluctantly, "You kind of laughed at me." His shoulders faintly slumped.

He thought that maybe he shouldn't have brought that up but then her eyes then widened – his comment seemed to trigger her memory.

"Oh, yeah! We did see each other," She replied, "Sorry about laughing; I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it was-"

She too seemed be fumbling with her words. It took her a moment to finish her sentence.

"Funny, I guess," She finally continued, "I wasn't making fun of you, honest. I hope I didn't offend you." She frowned.

He smiled slightly after hearing her response. She did seem truly apologetic just a little unprepared. Besides, he felt he would be a hypocrite to get angry at her for laughing. There's been many times in his life where he's gotten into some trouble for laughing at something he found funny, regardless if it was intentional or not.

Danny shrugged, "It's no big deal," he then handed her the box, "Anyway, here's your pizza. It's twelve dollars and forty cents."

She took some money from her pocket and then counted it. He noticed it was the same hoodie she was wearing the first time he saw her. Of course hoodies aren't uncommon or anything odd, but he remembered her outfit that day looking like it wasn't suited well for a visit to the gym. Even what she was wearing currently seemed too warm for August. She was a rather unique looking young woman as well. She was tall, but somewhat chubby. The features of her face were hard to determine thanks to the large circular sunglasses she was wearing. Perhaps it was deliberate on her part, but with those and her long sandy blonde hair it hid a good majority of her face. She put the money aside and then took the pizza, placing it on the side table near the door.

"Thanks," She responded, "Give me just a moment, I don't have enough."

Danny didn't think much of it, "No problem," He replied, "Take your time."

He put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. The door to the dorm was wide open, making him accidentally peer inside. The little apartment was rather cluttered with art supplies and scattered pages. It seemed like an organized mess though – the notebooks and pencils were all gathered in the same area. Danny felt incredibly nosey after realizing he was looking inside of her home, he took a step back and began to look blankly around the hallway. The girl came back with some extra cash and handed it to him, along with the money she counted earlier.

She gave him a smile, "Sorry about that," She said, "I forgot to add up a tip."

Danny looked at the dollar bills and change, adding it up in his head. She gave him an extra five dollars, the most generous tip he's received his whole shift.

"Awesome, thanks!" He grinned, "Well, enjoy your pizza!"

He gave her a short, friendly wave before making his exit. Before he made any distance away from the door she grabbed his attention again.

"I realize this might be a little forward," She began, "I'm Dawn Schneider by the way."

He stopped and looked at her for a moment before realizing she was introducing herself. It felt a little sudden. He didn't think anything of it though, he liked meeting new people. He turned back to face her, coiling his arms and stretching one of them to give her a hand shake.

He felt a little dumb but remained jovial, "Danny Caplan," He replied, "It's nice to meet you."

Dawn briefly looked a little taken back by his ability. She quickly shook it off, giving him a friendly shake. His springy arm slightly bounced along with the movement.

Dawn returned a smile as she let go of his hand, "You too. I moved here recently to start college," She explained, "Everything's been hectic and I haven't taken any time to explore the city or to get to know anyone aside from meeting a few professors. It's also the first time in my life ever living alone so, it's exciting but a little scary too." She chuckled, doing an exaggerated shrug after finishing her comments.

"I get that," He replied, "You're braver than me – I still live with my mom."

The two then laughed at his finishing sentence and small joke. A slightly awkward lull appeared in the conversation after their laughter subdued. Danny was quick to break the ice again.

"Hey, if you ever need any info on the city I'd be happy to help," He offered, "Or if you want to chat at the Spring Gym any time. I'm there several times a week."

"Yeah," She smiled, "That would be great actually – I can get out of my shell for once."

And that's actually what ended up happening. Despite their initial awkwardness, the two hit it off. Dawn was a pretty cool person to be around after he got to know her. While she was busy transiting into her college life, she would visit the gym with a frequent regularity. She kept company as Danny awaited to her something from his trainer. Mr. Von Gomm hadn't vanished completely, but it was beginning to feel that way in the gym. He explained to him that a lot was going on with the gym behind the scenes, including some meetings he was expected to show up to. Naturally Danny asked him what was going on but unfortunately he was unable to answer in great detail. He expressed that he wishes he could, but that info was currently 'top-secret' as he described it. Without a proper coach Danny on his own continued his exercises.

"I realize I've only been here for a few months," Dawn started, "But the gym doesn't look any different. Maybe just a little barren of posters or advertisements."

"I know, right?" Danny replied, "I'm not sure what's up. I can't shake away the feeling that it's something serious or big."

He then moved back from the punching bag, coiled his arm and punched it. He then did it again with his other fist. It felt surprisingly natural to him but he quickly realized that there was much more he needed to work on. Sure, this was easy against a simple piece of equipment but an actual ARMS fight was far more complicated than just punching rampantly. What tools you use, shielding, and grabbing and throwing your opponent were all important factors. Regardless, he continued to stand back from the bag and punch from a distance. Dawn watched curiously as she was keeping a steady pace on the treadmill she was renting. She had known about ARMS for some time but this has been the first for her knowing someone with the condition. She couldn't think of much of a response concerning the gym, but she was curious to know more about him and his condition.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," She spoke, "When did your arms transform?" She asked curiously.

Danny stopped, looked at her, and then looked at his arms. They were currently in their coiled shape.

"These?" He replied, briefly making them jiggle, "I was only a kid – around 10 or 11 I think. Most of it is kind of a blur now. All I remember is that I had a lot of doctor appointments that winter."

An amused smirk then appeared on his face as a memory came back to him.

"It took a while, but I came to realize that they were pretty cool," He explained further, "Though I remember the Bar Mitzvah my mom threw for me being super awkward. A lot of my extended family had no idea what happened. A lot of them thought I was going through some kind of rebellious phase with my hair." He chuckled faintly.

Dawn snickered to his story as well.

"Yeah, that does sound like a pretty weird family reunion. Though I have never heard of one working out the way the host planned," She replied, her voice trailing off slightly, "So, you're really serious about becoming an ARMS fighter, like a professional one?"

He gave her a big grin.

"Yeah, dude!" He answered enthusiastically, "It's the coolest sport around. If there is one thing I really remember after being diagnosed is that I watched so many reruns of past Grand Prix events. I feel like I have studied about every – both former and current – fighter's style. I bet I could take down most of them if I was just given the opportunity."

Danny stretched out his arm to grab a nearby water bottle. He was about to take a sip before Dawn began speaking again.

"I'll give you this: your passion is efficacious," She replied, "Forgive me, I have one more question and then I promise that's the last of them, but how do you cope with loosing? I can imagine that being pretty difficult to go through."

He fell silent. It was something he honestly had to think about for a moment – it wasn't a question anyone has ever asked him before.

"Earlier I talked about stuff I can't remember very well," He began, "I would definitely put most of my science classes in that group."

Dawn raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering what he was leading up to.

"But, I remember my teacher talking about physics and the science of how we feel objects," He continued, "Her explanation really stayed with me but I'm pretty sure for not the reasons she intended. Anyway, you know when get really close to something you don't actually touch it?"

She shrugged, "Sure."

"Here's my way of looking at it: if I'm thinking that everything might just come to blows," Danny said, "It won't, because it actually can't. And also, all that matters is that you keep improving your own skills which I'm trying to do regularly." He finished with a smile.

She looked surprised by his response, but also charmed at the same time. He didn't look like the kind of guy who would remember that kind of info – but even he said it himself it was his own way of seeing it.

"Nice," Dawn replied, "I like it a lot. I think that's a pretty good mentality towards life in general."

Danny approached her and put his arm on the display of the treadmill, resting his head on the palm of his hand. He looked at her with a curious, if not somewhat mischievous grin.

"Aright, enough about me," He said in a jokingly smooth tone, "What are you going to college for?"

His elbow accidentally pressed one of the buttons on the device's dashboard. The machine let out a beep and his eyes widened. He quickly pressed it again in an attempt to fix whatever he did. Dawn just gave him a mildly amused expression. She was still walking at the same speed. He looked embarrassed briefly but he rested his crossed arms on the display and rested his head on them, far away from any of its controls.

"That's a good question," She frowned, "I'm still trying to make up my mind on that. The most logical choice for me is to get some kind of art degree but… I don't know. I'm not really feeling it."

"Why not?" He immediately asked.

"I've been drawing ever since I was a kid," Dawn explained, "I always viewed it as a fun hobby than anything else. I'm afraid if I study it or try to get a job relating to it, all the enjoyment I have with it will go away. I feel at the very least I can just get an associate of arts degree and do something else for my major one."

She didn't sound very confident with her response. It appeared as if it was something of a sore subject for her. Danny noticed this, so he didn't press on with the questions about it.

"I get that," He replied, quickly going to his next inquiry, "How was the Pizza Bianca?"

It took her a moment to realize what he was asking.

"Oh – it was great!" She answered, "White pizza is my favorite kind of pizza. Not many restaurants in the area make them surprisingly."

"Awesome," He replied, "I've yet to try it, but I'll order one soon after your glowing recommendation."

Dawn then laughed briefly. He seemed so happy and enthusiastic about everything, even the smallest things – she found it endearing. Her sunglasses lowered after her reaction, she quickly pushed them back into place. He looked at her curiously.

"I have to ask," Danny began with some reluctance in his voice, "Why are you always wearing those sunglasses? It's not a bad look or anything, but it's been overcast all week."

She raised her head to look at him directly and blinked. The sunglasses were dark, but it had a rosy color. It was difficult to determine expressions or even her eye color.

"You said it yourself," She replied, "It's not a bad look. It's versatile enough I think it works with about every article of clothing I have – I guess it compliments everything so much I don't ever want to take them off." She teased herself.

Dawn was about to continue the conversation, but the sudden sound of thunder rumbling prevented her. The two of them looked at nearest window and then at each other. During their time at the gym and their talking the grey weather had finally brought itself to create a storm. She stopped the treadmill and got off the device, approaching the window to get a better look at the outside. It seemed it only recently had started raining. The clouds looked murky off in the distance, which probably meant that the storm had just begun and was probably going to get worse.

She turned to face Danny, "I should probably get going," She frowned, "I brought an umbrella if you want to share."

He was pleasantly surprised by her offer. The two only met up at the gym. He did his usual jog and subway ride to get there, while he assumed that she had a car. It turns out that wasn't the case – she took a taxi to arrive. Danny took her up on her suggestion but it quickly became a little awkward. The two were huddled underneath the umbrella, trying to get the attention of any taxi that came by. It was particularly busy that afternoon as many were trying to hide from and avoid the weather. It finally took him stretching out his arm into the street and waving to get the attention of one of the drivers. Dawn couldn't help but to warn him that he could have injured himself by doing that stunt, but she also had to compliment that she felt it was also quick thinking on his part.

They went to his apartment first as it was closer to the gym than her dorm. He paid his part of the fee, thanked her for the company and said his goodbyes. He put up the hood of his jacket and watched the yellow car drive away. The friendship was still young but he wanted to know more about her. Danny felt he had only scratched the surface of her personality. As his mind wandered, he felt a rumble coming from his phone. He brought it out and saw that he had received a text from his trainer. It was about time! He immediately went to his messages.

Hey Dan, sorry about the lack of updates. I know it doesn't seem like it but everything's pretty hectic for the gym right now. Remember that info I talked about a week or two ago? Well, it's finally being revealed tomorrow.

Danny hid under the awnings of the apartment building to prevent himself from getting drenched from the rain. He immediately began writing his response, which was quickly sent out to Mr. Von Gomm:

Awesome! I know you can't reveal it but I HAVE to know at least this: is it something worth getting excited about?

He couldn't help but to stare at his phone. It felt like several minutes passed until the screen showed that his coach was making another text. His reply was short, simple and to the point.

Yeah, it is. It's going to be a pretty big deal.