Second Time for a First Date!

"Unique, sumptuous, unforgettable. Am I going to eat food, or Mariko-chan?"

Abbey giggled as she muttered the words aloud while she checked her phone. She was meeting Mariko for their very first date and Abbey was excited. They both had been pretty busy lately. Mariko had just finished with the Pay-Per-View and Abbey was gearing up for her next match as well. They had a small window where they could meet before things picked up again and Abbey was going to make sure she took advantage of it. The only problem was finding a place where they could have their special moment on a hopefully long journey together!

The only problem was, Abbey had no clue about where to go to have a date in Kyoto! Surprisingly enough, things worked in Japan the way they did in America and with a few clicks of the mouse, she had gotten a reservation to a quaint little place called Okariba. It was apparently a little hole in the wall and was known for serving things that were quite exotic. On the menu was boar, bear, bees, lot's of strange things that Abbey really did not want to try one bit!

"Well... one way or another, we're both going to remember it. Isn't that the idea?" She said. She then leaned back and looked down the roads, waiting for Mariko to arrive. 'I am not eating a bee, though!' She thought. 'At least not first!

Mariko hummed a little tune as she looked into the mirror in her apartment while putting on the finishing touches of her makeup. Tonight’s wasn’t just a something fun she’d been looking forward to, it was something she needed right about now. Things had been busy and crazy as hell since the last wonderful time she’d seen Abbey. It was crazy roller coaster ride, going from the near-euphoric feeling of defying all the odds to make it to the finals of the tag tournament, only for it all to come to an abrupt and painful end. The days that followed hadn’t been easy, but she’d had enough time to move on past it now, and nothing was going to get in the way of her and Abbey enjoying their official first date.

She felt giddy as she got ready, more excited for this date than she could even describe! Wearing a pair of jeans, a blue tank top with some flower designs, and black flats, she finally finished putting her makeup on and headed out the door toward the place Abbey said to meet her. Still fairly new to Kyoto, Mariko wasn’t any more familiar with the selected restaurant than Abbey, and she even had to rely on her phone for directions. But that didn’t matter. As long as she got there, the rest was irrelevant.

And sure enough, she soon turned a corner onto the sidewalk of her destination, and saw her date waiting just up ahead. Putting her phone up and sliding it into her pocket, Mariko grinned while making her way toward the American waiting for her. “Waiting for someone, Abbey-chan?~” Mariko called out once she felt she’d drawn close, hoping to catch Abbey’s attention.

Abbey was a tom boy for all intents and purposes. She had always been more attracted to more masculine things. She loved to wrestle, she loved sports, she read comic books and would rather play superhero than house.

However, as much as a tom boy that Abbey was, her twin sister, Nora Jeane, was one of the biggest girlie girls to ever walk down a pageant runway. The girl was already well on her way to a pretty fabulous career in modeling and while Abbey wrinkled her nose at every bit of it, a few of Nora's tricks and tips to keeping looking your best certainly rubbed off.

So as Mariko approached, Abbey smoothed down the font of her sleeveless, powder blue dress that flittered ever so slightly in the breeze. She wanted to look nice for Mariko and even thought the girl might appreciate Abbey looking a little more girlie than usual, though it wasn't as if she was in danger of looking like a boy, either.

Abbey cleared the distance whens he spotted Mariko and embraced her. She wanted a nice, hot kiss, but decided that maybe a hug was just enough for now. "Mariko-chan, Nn!" She squeezed Mariko's body tightly and then pulled away. "This is going to be great, I hope you're feeling adventurous!" She said and laughed a mischievously as she tugged Mariko into the restaurant.

Their reservations allowed them to be seated quickly and soon Abbey was looking over the menu. "You didn't have any trouble finding the place? I'm so glad we live in an age where I can just have a computer on a phone tell me how to get to a place!" Abbey laughed and then looked down at the menu.

Mariko’s eyes scanned over the blonde as soon as she was close enough for her to get a good look. Clearly whatever tricks she’d gotten from her sister were being put to flawless use as far as Mariko’s opinion was concerned. The way her golden locks and and the skirt of her dress lightly flowed in the faint breeze that blew by, simply wonderful.

Within moments Abbey’s arms were tightly locked around Mariko’s body, squeezing her form. “I’ve missed you too, Tabby-chan.” she said while hugging Abbey back, still smiling despite barely being able to squeeze the words out because of the tight grip she was locked in. Not that she was complaining. After going as long as they had without seeing each other, the tight hug was more than welcome.

“I sure am.” she replied with a chuckle as Abbey tugged her along into the restaurant. She generally was a pretty curious woman willing to try out new things, and lucky for her. Considering the kinds of exotic things offered here, a bit of courage and sense of adventure was almost a necessity.

The two were soon led to their table, with Mariko taking the seat right across from Abbey. “No kidding. I managed just fine because of my phone, but I’d still get lost in this city so easily if I didn’t have it.” she said, laughing along with the blonde. Looking over the menu herself, Mariko’s eyebrows shifted up just a bit as she saw the selection for the first time. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said this would be adventurous.” she giggled. “Hmm... I think I might be leaning toward the bear... What about you, Tabby-chan?”

"Nnnn... The Barbeque boar. That sounds great and, if I'm lucky, it'll just taste like barbecue pork!" The blonde grinned as she looked over the menu. Honestly, she was kind of playing it a little safe. She wasn't sure what she was thinking, but she was in too deep, now!

Once the order was taken, Abbey folded her arms onto her lap and looked over Mariko. "So, how ya been?" She said, smiling at Mariko. "You look good." She added. "And, I got to see your match. Too bad you and Yamato-kun couldn't pull things off." Abbey frowned a bit. "But, just getting to be on a stage like that is pretty cool!"

Nothing on this menu seemed particularly safe to Mariko. There were things on it she never would’ve guessed were even edible in the first place! Still, she’d never thought about what a bear would even taste like, but now that she had the chance she was actually rather curious and eager to find out. Though it may’ve also just been because she was hungry...

In any case, they both made their orders, and now had some time to catch up before their food arrived. The smile she initially wore started to fade a bit when her match was mentioned, but she quickly bright it back as she responded. “Yeah, it was. If anyone told me even a year ago I’d ever be wrestling for a championship in front of a crowd that big, I probably would’ve laughed.” she said with a chuckle. “Oh well. There’s always next time, right?”

She then gave Abbey’s shin a light nudge under the table with her toe. “And how about you, Tabby-chan? You’re looking rather stunning yourself.” she said, grinning to the blonde. “Been up to anything lately?”

Abbey raised her eyebrow as Mariko nudged her under the table. The look she gave Mariko was one of 'Oh, really?' as she turned her head, just a bit. "Yeah, hopefully. I'm sure that Yamato-kun will train even harder." She added. She then let her own leg push forward so her ankle met with Mariko's shin.

"Oh, I make sure I can whenever possible." She then smiled smugly. "It's not hard." She stuck her tongue out at Mariko. "I've just been getting ready for another match. I can't wait! Should be fun, I'm sure." She said and tilted her head a bit. "I don't know the guy yet, but I try not to think about it. there's planning and watching an opponent and trying to do all the right preparation, but I've got my own plan to work with. I say that it's better to make sure your own strategy is solid, rather than chasing after your opponent. They might end up surprising you if you're just trying to shut them down. I always know what to expect from myself."

"Mariko-chan..." Abbey purred as she looked down at the table like she could see through it. "You're not still in high school are you?" She said, as if she were scolding Mariko. She pulled her leg away and shook her head. "I thought we could just make out during the movie anyway." She whispered before the server appeared with their drinks. It was some local sake and some water, as well as a jar that had a snake inside of it, looking pretty grisly.

"The owner would like you to try the snake infused sake." The server said with  an emphatic nod.

Abbey grimaced and poked the jar, watching the snake slosh around. She began to ease it towards Mariko. "This is your weird country, you can go first!"

“Oh I don’t doubt it.” Mariko replied with a giggle as Abbey stuck her tongue out at her. She then listened intently as Abbey talked about preparing for her next match, nodding along as she went. And the more she talked, the more Mariko wished she’d heard all this before her and Yamato’s match at Showdown. They’d prepare by studying everything they could about the United Kingdom Elite, and formed a plan around that. It worked, until it didn’t. The moment a few cracks had formed in that plan, the Ishiis had been forced to improvise. And that left Mariko wide open and vulnerable in the final crucial moments. “Huh.. That sounds like a really good idea.” she replied “I may just have to try that out for my next match.”

The playful atmosphere then returned when she heard Abbey purr her name, causing the corners of Mariko’s lips to push up into a grin again. She was just about to comment on how well Abbey seemed to be reading her mind when the waiter appeared. They always did have impeccable timing. The drinks were set down on the table, as well as a jar holding a snake!

Strangely enough, this was the first thing Mariko had seen in this restaurant that she’d actually seen served somewhere else. It was sold in various places throughout Japan, but she’d always avoided it for two reasons: It was expensive as hell. And, it was just plain creepy! And seeing the snake slosh around when Abbey had poked the jar wasn’t helping matters on that end! But now the waiter was holding out a small cup to her, and she had an adorable blonde girl to not wuss out on.

“...Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” she said, taking the cup. Grabbing hold of the jar, she tilted it juuuust enough to get a small stream of the sake pouring into the cup. As soon as it had enough, she set the jar back down, then slowly brought the cup up to her lips. After a final moment of brief hesitation, she quickly downed the sake, and shuddered as if a massive cold chill had run up her spine at that exact same time. Without a word as to how it was, she quickly brought a hand up to inch the jar toward Abbey. “Your turn.”

"I'm just full of them." Abbey said, her confidence never wavering. That was, until she watched Mariko drink the snake sake and leave no indication of how it tasted. Abbey's nose wrinkled and she eyed the girl from behind her spectacles.

"nnn..."

Abbey poked the jar again and then carefully poured a shot. "I want to smell it." She said, eying the shot. "But if I smell it, then I miht not be able to drink it. I can't imagine it tasting any different from any other kind of sake though..." She said, trying to convince herself aloud more than speaking to Mariko.

"Ok, fine!"

With one hand she grabbed the shot and with the other she pinched her nose and threw it back, gulping it down and then looking at Mariko. She blinked and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure if I taste the snake. I mostly taste burning..." She said, tilting her head and trying to see if Mariko would spill the beans on how she liked it. "Maybe I'm glad I don't taste the snake. Meat is one thing but wouldn't this be more like... licking a snake?" Abbey shivered.

Mariko watched in amusement as Abbey debated how to go about handling the sake in front of her. It took a bit of effort not to chuckle out loud at the sight, but she managed to keep it in while the blonde made her choice, and watched as she quickly threw back the shot.

She wasn’t really sure how she expected Abbey to react, but a part of her was impressed to see her so casual about it. Granted it was only a small amount Abbey drank, but this sake was some pretty strong stuff. Or at least, it seemed that way to her. “Yeah, it’s almost like...a slightly sweeter version of tequilla.” That was about the only way she could think to describe it. Nothing else she could think of had a taste that came closer to resembling it, anyway.

“More like kissing the snake, actually.” Mariko added with a giggle. “I’m pretty sure it’s the venom that gives it that extra kick.” She briefly glance at the waiter to see if he’d clarify, which he did with a brief nod.