Dancing in the Dark (For Tai)

Marilyn Uehara strode out of the AFW's training gym. It had been roughly four days since she had her debut and loss, and those days had seen her put through rigorous training and sparring as a result. But now it was Friday night, and with the weekend off from both training and the AFW, the American was looking forward to a night filled with three of her favorite activities: Drinking, dancing, and being around her friends from the developmental league. As such she was clad in a tight, reddish-purple miniskirt, her favorite outfit for the dance clubs back home in San Francisco, with her long hair put back into two long thin ponytails.

(Admittedly, Marilyn is not that tan ;p )

With her grueling training forcing her to stay in the gym until night had begun to fall, Marilyn had brought her clothes with her, changing into them after her shower, even doing her hair in the locker room. Now, all that was left was for her friends Natsuko and Sophie to call her and tell her where to meet them....

One reason Ace liked the AFW gym was its 24/7 availability, often liking to visit at night, when it had less inhabitants.

These past few days since her victory over Miss USA had been great. The victory had left Ace feeling less depressed, more confident, and fired up to get back in the ring.

Hopping off the bus at the stop a block away from the gym, Ace once again lamented Japan's lack of 24 hour bus or train service. One issue of her preference of hitting the gym at night was usually having to make the last bus or last train back to her area of town. Sometimes she failed, and had to hire a cab, which was annoying.

Adjusting the strap of her gym back, with her workout clothes inside, around her shoulder, Ace turned the corner of the building and made her way to the entrance. Clad in a Rush T-shirt and tight jeans, she looked more like she was going to party than exercise, when she saw a woman standing in front of the doors, with a familiar length of purple hair...

"Hey! Marilyn right!? It's me, Ace!"

Having grown tired of waiting for her friends to call, Marilyn was about take out her phone when she heard a somewhat familiar voice call out to her. Looking up, she saw Ace. It seemed like the Canadian preferred the rocker girl look when she wasn't in the ring. Honestly, Marilyn approved, although she felt overdressed now when put next to Ace.

"Hey Ace, what's up?" She called in way of a friendly greeting, waving at the girl.

Ace waved back, quickly meeting her at the entrance, whistling a little at her outfit.

"Wow, you look nice...going clubbing or something?"

She asked, looking the tall girl up and down.

"I'm just here to work out. I like it when there isn't as many people around"

"Um, well I am actually." Marilyn replied. "I love going out to clubs and dancing, but haven't really been able to do much of that since coming over here. Lucky for me though, some friends of mine know a club in downtown Tokyo that is practically an all night dance club."

She looked back towards the gym as Ace mentioned doing her workout. The American smiled, relieved that her training was over for a few days.
"Yeah, I just finished. My coaches have been pushing me pretty hard since our match. I'm pretty amazed I've still got energy after today."

Suddenly, Marilyn's phone beeped, indicating a text message.
"That should be my friend Natsuko." She said to Ace. However after looking at the screen she sighed in disappointment.
"Who just cancelled. Crap. Well so much for the night of drunken revelry and dancing....."

"Aww....sorry to hear that..."

Ace rubbed the back of her head, feeling awkward.

"Well uh...I'm really not much of a dancer, but, I uh...do know of this little rock and roll bar not much more than a few blocks from here....if your looking for a night out...I could go there with you?"

She offered, shrugging. It wasn't a strange offer, but the girl wasn't sure how Marilyn would react to an opponent who beat her offering to hang out.

Looking at Ace thoughtfully, Marilyn considered a moment before answering.
"A little rock and roll bar you say..." she mused out loud. "Well, I'll look way out of place, but what the hell? I like rock, and they've got liquor, so there's that."
She smiled as she accepted Ace's invitation, but then frowned for a moment.

"Wait, you said you were coming her to work out right? I don't want to like....interrupt your training or anything." she went on.

Ace waved her hand, a gesture of dismissal.

"Nah, its alright. Skipping one night of training isn't gonna harm anything. Besides, whats the point in a life of fighting if you can't relax and enjoy yourself from time to time?"

Ace asked, adjusting her bag.

Letting a brief but loud laugh, Marilyn nodded in agreement with Ace's statement.
"I wish someone would tell my coaches that." she replied. "After our match, I think they decided they wanted to kill me, but figured a bullet was too merciful, so they're just going to work me to death."

Looking about, Marilyn asked. "So it's just a few blocks right? A little walk won't kill either of us, I think."
With that, she put away her cell phone, ready to start following the Canadian....

"What? Why? You should be proud! You did really well in that match, hell you almost beat me! You should tell your coaches to back off. Not everybody wins their debut match. Hell, I didn't. Don't let anybody make you feel bad about doing your best, alright?"

Ace replied, before turning and walking off, leading Marilyn through a few various blocks before they came to their destination, the bar "Gravity".

Inside would be a long bar, several tables and chairs set around the room, various guitars on the wall, highlighted by light purple lights, and a stage with full band instruments set up for live music, and small tv screens around showing various music videos.