Rythmn & Blues

As expected, Clyde was quick to accept the challenge, and Mariko watched in amusement as he strode right up to the machine. Had she been the one up there, she would’ve been totally clueless on how to even work the thing. Evidently, Clyde had done this before. Not that it was much of a surprise.

The bull abruptly began to buck and jerk, the suddenness of the first movement making her flinch instinctively despite how far away she was from it. But she enjoyed the 6.8 second show Clyde put on before he was bucked right off of the bull. Had he not said anything, she wouldn’t have known whether the score was good or not. Apparently it was.

“Well then, congratulations, cowboy~” she said with a giggle. “If you’re not too dizzy, why don’t you come over here and get me a drink?” Mariko winked Clyde’s way, then walked toward the bar to take a seat on the nearest available stool.

“A glass of red wine, please,” Mariko said to the bartender, before looking at Clyde as he addressed her.

“I wouldn’t want to sound immodest, but I like to think I’ve done fairly well for myself since then. Planning and preparing the Ueno show kept me out of the ring for a little while, but aside from a few minor issues it was more successful than I could’ve hoped.” Right about then, their drinks were set down on the counter in front of them, and Mariko took a sip of her wine. She thought about asking Clyde how he’d been too. But she’d seen enough to have a general idea. Especially recently.

“…I was sorry to see what happened in your match with Ami. You were a fine champion. You deserved better than that.”

Mariko took a sip of her wine, then kept her attention on Clyde as he spoke. “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you get some payback on them. God knows they deserve it,” Mariko replied. Then when the Texan brought up the aftermath of their match, she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Why be sorry about that? I never said I minded~” she said with a wink. “Besides, now I’ve got something to pay you back for if we ever end up on opposite sides of the ring again.”

She took another drink of her wine while Clyde made his joking comment. She giggled again, but that did put some thoughts in her head. A quick glance was cast back at the boxing ring, which would’ve served her idea nicely except for the crowd of people all around. Fortunately, there was another way to go about it.

“Hey,” she said, turning in her stool to face Clyde directly. “This place seems a bit crowded. But there’s usually no one in the gym this late. Think you might be up for a round or two, just for old times’ sake?” she asked with a playful grin.

Mariko didn’t flinch or budge as Clyde leaned in to touch her nose with his own. Even without him saying so, the look on his face was all she needed to know that he would be more than up for this. Sure enough, he gave the expected answer.

“Splendid~”

After Clyde paid for the drinks, Mariko got off of her stool and started to walk toward the door, which she was sure Clyde would be opening for her again, being the gentleman he was. And once they had left Mariko would immediately begin walking in the direction of the arena, knowing her soon-to-be sparring partner would be following right along with her.

Once the two of them were inside the gym, Mariko took her phone out of her purse and made a phone call rather than answer Clyde’s question directly. A voice answered on the other line, and Mariko briefly exchanged some words in Japanese before hanging up. She put her phone back in her purse, then grinned slightly at the blonde.

“I just called for a ref and cameraman. Figured if we’re going to do this, let’s make it count. A 24/7 match. How’s that sound?” she said, though at this point the question was irrelevant. Whether he liked the idea or not, the ref would be there in a matter of minutes. “And just to make this a little more interesting, I suggest a friendly little wager,” she said, sauntering up to Clyde until they were practically nose-to-nose.

“Loser belongs to the winner for the rest of the time we’re here tonight~”

After that, Mariko turned on her heel and walked toward the women’s locker room. “Think about it while I get changed. When I come back, let me know if you accept,” she said before disappearing into the locker room. That added stipulation was something neither the ref nor cameraman would have to know about, should Clyde chose to accept it, and Mariko was fairly certain he would. Still, it only seemed fair to give him a say in the matter.