Chaotic Bar Fight, Enter the Space Sheriff

Edward and Norvin were greeted with a broad smile and a cheerful hello from the bombshell clad in a Sailor Scout outfit behind the bar's counter. To their left, a vast dance floor stretched out, while to the right lay generous seating arrangements. At the back stood a wall of shelves brimming with an array of liquors, fronted by a counter.

A row of stools sat in front of the counter, only one was currently occupied. There was around ten other customers currently sitting down at the tables, having a bite to eat and lots to drink. The walls had all kinds of interesting decorations ranging from Super Sentai posters to a shelf with multiple Gundam model kits on display. It was quite the vibe!

A curving, twin set of stairs on either side of the bar's drink counter lead up to gaming lounge.

Norvin ascended the stairs as Edward paused to pick up some sodas. At the top, a collection of pool tables, a ping pong table, and various arcade games came into view. Scanning the room, his gaze settled on the new booth that Edward had raved about earlier—their reason for being there. It was time for Virtual On!

Edward walked up to the bar and noticed an older Asian man perched on a barstool, checking him out with a broad grin. Edward glanced back and arched an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side.

"Something funny?"

The smile got even bigger and the man chuckled.

"Hahah no, just happy to see you."

"Okaaaay, and why is that?"

The suave looking man appeared to be in his fifties, he was wearing a fitted suit and had small, circular, black round sunglasses perched on the end of his nose.

Instead of answering, he winked at Edward and went back to his drink while slightly turning away from him, indicating the conversation was over.

Edward had seen this strange fellow here once or twice before, always nursing a drink by himself on that same stool; the man had never paid him any attention before though, and vice versa.

The big man shook his head slightly, sighed and turned to order the drinks from the now giggling bar maid. She knew both of the men that were in front of her very well too.

"Wow, Eddie, Mr. Makoto actually spoke to you; he usually doesn't talk to anyone," she exclaimed.

Makoto cast a brief glance in her direction before returning his attention to his drink.

"Well, aren't I special? Just let me have two cokes for now Courtney. We took the bikes here tonight. No booze, I'll get Mr. Makoto's drink too."

"Awe, that's cute." Courtney teased. Makoto rolled his eyes.

He was on a first-name basis with all the waitresses at Makoto's, but had never met the bar's owner. The man exuded an enigmatic aura of mystery and power, reminiscent of the vibe he got from Norvin. Prior to this, he had only taken physical note of one other individual, the previously mentioned Norvin.

'He may be small, but he's definitely dangerous.'

The Virtual On cabinet stood adjacent to the deepest, central area of the second level where Norvin was. Surrounding it was a ring of couches for people to lounge on, a table at the center, and atop a small three-foot square platform, a headless suit of armor was displayed.

It stood there with a large curved sword in both hands, taking on a classic stance, where the business end of the weapon was pointed down, at an angle to accommodate the long blade of the unique sword.

It's armored hands grasped the handle and held it up near the chest, while being slightly twisted in the torso area. The whole statue wearing the armor seemed to be in a epic pose that flattered the giant blade.

'That thing looks cooler every time I see it, wonder what actually happened to the head?'

Norvin smiled; he loved all types of armor, whether it was used by a fictional Kamen Rider or real, like the suit worn by the dark mannequin before him.

He walked over and was about to reach out and touch it until Edward's voice caught his attention. Edward took a sip from his drink, burped and then handed Norvin his own. 

"Ready to lose bro?"

"Doubt."

After a few rounds, the roomies were all smiles. They settled onto the couches, wondering when their invited guests would arrive. Norvin was looking forward to finalize a sale and get back to playing Virtual On, while Edward was excited about introducing Norvin to his new girlfriend, eager for him to understand why she meant so much to him.

"Hey, remember that dude downstairs in the suit Vin?"

"The guy on the stool? Yes of course Ed, I remember everything, did you forget that?"

Edward rolled his eyes and continued.

"That's Mr. Makoto, he owns this place."

'Not bad.' Norvin immediately added the already good image of the old man sitting at the bar into his great books. Someone that liked this type of culture and setup a place he was willing to visit for fun was a good guy in his books.

The fact that the older man held the aura of a modern-day samurai while dressed in Armani didn't hurt either. Norvin had noticed the older man's sharp looking pinstripe suit, cool 'kung fu uncle' sunglasses hanging off his face and the 'walking cane' that leaned against the counter of the bar beside him.

That cane in particular had caught his forever remembering eye. It had a tiny seam where a seam would need to be, if there was a hidden blade inside. Either Makoto was very corny, or very dangerous. Judging by the mysterious vibes he gave off, it was the latter. 

"I wonder if he knows what happened to the head of this guy? Also, is Makoto his first or last name?"

"Good question!"

"I don't really want to ask him, but I do want to check out that cane of his, I think that's one of those cool sword canes."

Edward rolled his eyes, narrowed them at Norvin and smirked.

"You should invest in a suit like his, help you to stop dressing like an anime character Mr. Edgy.

"Its better than the kind of suits you wear, part of the Russian Mafia, Eddy?"

Norvin pulled at the extra large collar of the jacket he was sporting with both hands to 'pop' it in dramatic fashion, then pretended to dust off one of his shoulders.

Both laughed and started heading down the stairs. Norvin reached the bottom and turned to the bar counter, intent on getting another cola; Edward took his time walking down as he was distracted by a text he had received a minute earlier. It read, 'I just pulled up.' The sound of the front door opening drew both their attention.

A huge smile adorned Edward's face, his cheeks flushing a bit. No.. a LOT!

An absolute beauty had just walked through the door, and looked around for one second before locking her eyes onto the largest person in the bar and walking forward, an equally large smile plastered across her face too.

Norvin's smile faded as he recalled she was the reason Edward had ditched him the last couple of nights. He wanted to observe her closely to ensure his time was not being wasted for no good reason...

She was around the same height as Norvin, both of them coming in at around 6 feet. She was tall for a girl but both still looked short compared to Edward. 

"CASSIE!"

Edward leapt over the railing of the stairs he had been going down, landing way softer than you would have thought for all that weight he carried. 

The gorgeous blonde hugged Edward, he bent down slightly and both shared a quick, yet quite passionate kiss!

Norvin paused where he was standing, shook his head at the sight and took a quick look at the bar counter where Makoto and Courtney were. They also were shaking their heads at the scene too, but in different ways, Courtney was snickering into her hands a little bit. Makoto reached for his cane, then looked back down to his drink, a tear rolling down his cheek.

'That's weird, what, is he touched by the two of them somehow?' Norvin was a little weirded out by the strange reaction.

Several patrons paused to stare briefly before returning to their own business too.

Norvin got his second soda, still weirded out by Makoto as he now approached the couple.

Edward started the introductions off.

"Vinny, this is Cassie Young, Cas, this is my best bro Norvin Veldman...Please like each other."

Norvin raised a hand to shake with while snorting at the last part of Edward's introduction. 

The trio engaged in conversation for a few minutes, with Norvin and Cassie acquainting themselves before drifting to the bar counter. Edward ordered three root beers, weathering some playful ribbing from the barmaid, Courtney.

She and Edward had gone out once, and while the date was alright, it lacked the chemistry he sought. Despite this, Courtney and Edward remained amicable, though she never missed an opportunity to playfully embarrass him in front of other potential love interests.

The reason Edward was able to go on so many dates without gaining a bad reputation, was that he never tried to score unless the feelings were there. None of those women had felt like more than a friend, so he kept it in his pants and was able to stay friends with all of the ladies he wined and dined.

 Makoto was no longer sitting down but had moved towards the door to the kitchen, Norvin looked over and made eye contact with him. In an unexpected move, he tilted his head and pulled the handle of the cane up and down extremely fast, showing Norvin the blade of the sword for a brief instance before disappearing into the back of the pub.

'Huh? That is freaking weird, first the crying and now he's whipping his sword out?'

"Hey Eddy, that old du.."

CRASH! A loud sound came from out front of the bar, cutting Norvin off.

"Let's go see if those were our cars! Come on!" Cassie tugged at Edward's sleeve, her concern evident that someone might have crashed into her beloved Porsche.

"Okay." Edward concurred, and together, the trio made their way back to the door and stepped outside.

As the doors opened, they saw Greg assisting a blonde fatty in lifting Norvin and Edward's supermotos off the ground. It was clear what had transpired without much speculation.

At the same time, Cassie and Edward yelled, "HUEY! WHAT THE HELL!?"