The Paladin's "date"

Michael was alone in his apartment. His sister left with a few of their friends for a girl's night, so Jane wasn't there. He sat down on his couch and pulled out his phone. It has been a while since he talked to Mariko, in fact, he hadn't heard from her since the other day. He then called Mariko while he searched for a pair of socks. "Hey Mariko." he would say once she picked up "I was thinking we head out to someplace and get some dinner." Mariko was a nice girl, at least as far as Michael knew, so it wouldn't be bad if this evolved into a date. He wasn't actively seeking one out. At least until his love was out of the "it's complicated" folder.

Not long ago, Mariko had returned to her apartment after a good workout down at the gym, and a nice shower had immediately followed. And once she stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself off, she heard her cell phone ringing, then wrapped her towel around herself and went to answer it.

"Hello?" she said as she picked up and answered the phone, before grinning a bit once she recognized Michael's voice on the other end. "Well, isn't his a nice surprise. How's it going, Michael?" she asked. It had been a while now since she'd last seen him. Several matches had come and gone, but she hadn't forgotten their encounter.

"Dinner, huh? Sounds fine to me. There's a nice jazz club just down the street from my apartment. You can meet me there in…about thirty minutes." Mariko had worked up an appetite at the gym, so having a nice meal with a friend sounded rather nice. It certainly wasn't a date as far as she was concerned, but there was nothing wrong with a couple of friends having a little get-together.

Michael nods, as if she was right there. "Jazz club? Never been to one, but I know which one you are talking about. I'll see you then." he replied. Truth be told, he didn't like jazz, but it may be fun. He looked down at his clothes and realised how inappropriate they looked. He decided to swap out into more proper clothes. After doing so, he got his keys and drove his Jeep to the club. He had plenty of time to kill, so he pulled out a 3DS and began playing till it was around time. After that, he would get out, wait at the entrance and look for Mariko

"Great. See you then." Mariko replied before hanging up. She then lightly hummed a little tune to herself while she got dressed, putting on a small black dress and a matching pair of high heeled shoes. And after putting on her makeup and a coat, she left the apartment and started walking down to the club.

When she was near, Mariko was surprised when she saw Michael up ahead waiting outside the entrance. How did he manage to beat her there? Maybe he happened to live pretty close by, or maybe he just hurried like crazy to avoid being late. But regardless, they were both there now. "Long time no see." Mariko said with a slight grin as she approached him.

"Yea." he replied as looked up. She was looking great, enough to where he is resisting the urge to look below her face. "Just so you know, I don't know much about jazz clubs, so this is all new to me." he admitted. He looked at the entrance and began to walk to it as the talked. He opened the door for Mariko and then let he go in first. he gave Mariko a smile as she said "Ladies first."

Mariko could tell Michael was struggling to keep his eyes from drifting too far down, and it drew a giggle form her lips. But she quickly let it go, and listened as he spoke. "There's nothing much you need to know. Just go in and take a seat, then enjoy the food and drinks, and let the music wash over you." she replied.

She then smiled as Michael went and opened the door for her. "My, how chivalrous. Why thank you." she said before stepping through the door and entering the club. Mariko then briefly spoke to a waiter, who led the way to an open table for the two of them.

The place was fairly dimly lit, with people of virtually every end of the social scale seated at the many surrounding tables. Some wore the fanciest of suits and looked like they could easily be some of the wealthiest people in the country. Others wore barely more than a t-shirt and jeans, and looked like the most average citizens around in comparison. And of course on the stage, a small jazz band was filling the place with some nice music.

"Just southern hospitality." he says as he follows her. The place was quite nice, even with the music he didn't really care for. He sat down in his chair and gave her a smile. "So, any reason why you chose this club?" he asked. He didn't want to seem like he didn't like the music. "Seemed like a strange choice, but then again, I guess I was assuming you had to be stereotypically classy to like this sort of place. Guess I was wrong"

Mariko laid her coat over the back of her chair before sitting down, then answered Michael's question. "Well for one, it's close to home, so I don't need to take a taxi to get here." she said with a chuckle.

"But also, I've always loved jazz music. And the people that come to play here are better than any other club I've seen since moving here. Oh, and the food's excellent too." she said, giving Michael some assurance that there was more to this place than just the music, though that was the part that easily appealed to Mariko above anything else.

"Trust me, I'm not the 'stereotypically classy' type. I came from an extremely small town. Not the kind of place for high end stuff, or people for that matter."

"I see." he replies. He began to listen to the music. It was good, considering there wasn't a guitar plugged up to an amplifier. He then began to relax in his chair. "So, Mariko, have you had any matches. I've had no luck even getting one." he said. He had hoped he would get another one. "But hopefully I would be able to another match soon enough."

Mariko made herself comfortable as well, adjusting in her seat and crossing one leg over the other while watching the band, glancing back at Michael as he spoke. "Really? You haven't had any? Well, I hope you get another soon." she replied, a bit surprised by the fact that he hadn't faced anyone since his debut against her.

She then thought for a moment before answering his question. "I've had a couple since our match. One was a hentai match against Killer King that ended as a draw, and the other was a tag team match that...didn't end too well." she said with a chuckle.