A Night Out

Like every other time that Kirou has logged out of Immortal Era, Kirou was now staring at the roof of his bedroom. Taking up his phone and looking at the time, he can see that it is just a few minutes after nine that night. Too early to head to bed but too late to do any form of exercise. He could always spend some time practicing other skills but for once, Kirou felt that it would be a waste to just stay in when he could do something 'normal', for once. It was a weekend after all.

After getting out of bed feeling unnaturally refreshed, a side effect of playing the game, Kirou did some basic stretches. Following that he took a quick shower, got dressed, and left his apartment. His destination for the night, even he had no idea.

**********

Eastside, Imperial City.

Kirou was currently walking through the entertainment district of the city.

Clubs, bars, karaoke centers, the works. Kirou passed them all while within the crowd of people currently enjoying the nightlife, moving from one area to the next. He observed the crowd around him and couldn't stop a wry smile from forming on his face. The reason for this is because he was surrounded by couples everywhere he looked.

That isn't to say that he was the only lone male in the crowd but the number of couples around him and those other lone males made that point mute. He could only release a helpless sigh before entering a random club nearby. He wasn't interested in wasting the night away in a bar just drinking alone, nor was the idea of going to a karaoke center alone even remotely appealing to him.

Upon entering the club, the Dragon Lounge as stated on the sign, Kirou was greeted to the sight of a crowd of people dancing the night away on the dance floor. While the music wasn't something Kirou would listen to on his own, it wasn't that bad in his opinion so he made his way over to the bar while listening to the beat. Since the club was crowded, he couldn't avoid bumping into people but he made sure to limit this as he closed in on the bar.

When Kirou finally made it to the bar, he could only chuckle at himself. While it was easy for him to cross the crowd and make it to the bar without anyone touching him, he was planning to blend into the crowd tonight and it wouldn't do for a person that was at the door to instantly appear next to the bar an instant. That would bring up a lot of questions that Kirou would rather not deal with at the moment.

Now that he was at the bar, Kirou sat on one of the barstools while listening to the music playing and waiting for the bartender to finish up with another patron. After a few seconds, a man with a bald head in a white shirt with a black vest over it came over to him.

"What can I get for you, lad?" the man asked while using a cloth to clean the glass currently in his hands.

Kirou looked at the bartender that spoke to him. The man was dressed in the club's bartender uniform, full black with swirls of fire on the sleeves of the shirt. With his bald head, slightly buff profile, and the scar over his left eye, the bartender looked a bit menacing and came off strong to others, even though he had no intention to do so. While others might have been intimidated by this man's looks, Kirou found it quite normal since he was used to people with much weirder body builds.

After looking over the menu sitting on the counter before him, Kirou spoke up, "Hmm, I'm not too sure what to get. Any recommendations, Senior?"

Seeing the completely relaxed expression of Kirou and hearing Kirou address him as Senior, the bartender gave a light chuckle before responding, "Ok, lad. Since you're so polite, I recommend this." The bartender pointed at a bourbon mixed drink on the menu called 'The Revolver.' After seeing that Kirou was looking at it he spoke up again, "It might be a bit hard on the throat but you'll be in for a refreshing taste as you savor it."

After seeing the ingredients for the drink and hearing the bartender's words, Kirou nodded his head slightly before speaking, "Ok, Senior. I'll go with your suggestion and sample the 'Revolver' you're recommending."

"Sure thing, lad. One revolver coming right up." Following his words, the bartender went to the back counter for a few ingredients before returning to Kirou and started mixing the drink before him. He took a minute or two to mix the drink before Kirou before presenting the finished product in a glass.

Kirou eyed the entire process and was quite impressed with how skillful the bartender was in creating the drink. With the drink presented to him, Kirou took a sip before speaking, "Not bad. Just as you said, it's a bit harsh on the throat but it's worth it, considering the flavor of the drink."

"I know right," said the bartender. Seeing that Kirou was enjoying his drink, the bartender nodded at him slightly before going to serve another patron. While he was doing that, Kirou took small sips of the revolver, enjoying the coffee and citrus mix with the harsh taste of the bourbon flowing down his throat.

Kirou eyed the crowd of people dancing on the dancefloor as he enjoyed his drink. It was mainly young couples all around the club but Kirou could spot a few mature couples in the mix here and there about the club. With his trained eyes and knowing what to look for, it was easy enough for him to spot such couples. Having gotten his fill of the crowd of people dancing and being intimate in some places, Kirou turned around on his tool to face the bar counter. Waiting there was the bartender with another glass of revolver in his hand which he traded for Kirou's now empty glass.

"So how's the night going for you so far, lad?" asked the bartender as he put away the empty glass underneath the counter. The bartender had a cheeky grin on his face as he asked.

Kirou took a sip of the second glass before responding, "Just as it looks, Senior. I'm alone in a packed club on a Friday night, enjoying a drink while making friendly talk with a bartender." After he finished speaking, both Kirou and the bartender looked at each other for a minute before they started laughing. It seems that both men found Kirou's situation amusing to the ear.

"Well, lad. From what I can see, it's either you're looking for a place to relax while among the crowd, or you are failing miserably at picking up any chicks at this club. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd put money on the former, rather than the latter." As the bartender said this, he too took out another class and filled it up with a revolver. Since Kirou's glass was still half full, this glass obviously wasn't meant for him.

"If you were a betting man you would be right, Senior," said Kirou as he took another sip of his revolver. Before he could continue, though, the bartender spoke first.

"Enough with all this 'Senior' crap. Just call me Carlos. It's one thing to be polite but I'm starting to get goosebumps from being called with such a respectable title so much." As the now identified Carlos said this, he took a sip of his own revolver.

Kirou chuckled when he heard Carlos's words. He found it amusing that someone found being treated with respect a bit too much for their liking. After another sip of his drink, Kirou spoke up, "Well then. I'll just call you Brother Carlos from now on. My name is Wang Xu, by the way."

"Good to meet ya, Brother Wang." As Carlos said this, both men clanked their glasses together in a toast before taking another sip.

"Should you really be drinking on the job, Brother Carlos?" asked Kirou while eyeing the drink in Carlos's hand.

"Don't worry about it, lad. If anyone asks, I'm on my break. Besides, I've got that someone covering for me," as he said that, Carlos pointed to the other side of the bar where a woman was tending to other patrons.

That woman appeared to be in her twenties, wearing a similar uniform as the one Carlos is in. From Kirou's perspective, he could see that the woman had dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail with dark red tips at the ends. All in all, Kirou could tell that she's a beauty but the uniform was currently doing its best to cover that up.

"Now that doesn't seem fair, you having your daughter cover for you while you are here sneaking in a drink with a patron," said Kirou with a cheeky grin on his face.

When Carlos heard his words, he almost choked on the drink in his hand. After clearing his throat, he looked at Kirou for a few seconds before speaking, "I'm doing no such thing. I'm just taking my well-earned break after working for so long. Hmm.... wait a minute. How did you know that she is my daughter?" As Carlos asked this, his gaze adopted a bit of alertness to it.

Seeing his expression caused Kirou to chuckle for a moment. After he was done, he spoke up, "A few things gave it away. First, I saw when you were talking to her earlier." When Kirou said this, Carlos looked at him as if waiting for his explanation on the matter. "During your earlier talk, it looked as if she was asking for advice on how to make a drink for a patron. I can't speak for other places but here doesn't seem like the place to hire a bartender and have them serve during this busy time when they can't make all the drinks on the menu."

Kirou's words caused the alertness in Carlos's eyes to lower a bit as he spoke, "Well said, but that doesn't explain much."

"True. Next was the fact that she's been glancing over here every so often with an annoyed look on her face." When Kirou said this, Carlos carefully glanced out of the corner of his eye towards the woman, only to see looking in his direction, just as Kirou had described. Before he could comment on it, Kirou beat him to the punch, "While this could just be her being annoyed at the fact that you are skipping work to have an idle chat with a patron, this brings up the final reason."

"And what could that reason possibly be, Brother Wang?" asked Carlos in a curious manner, completely rid of the alertness in his eyes earlier.

Seeing this, Kirou adopted a schadenfreude smile before he continued, "The final reason is that she's much younger than you, Brother Carlos."

Carlos's face drew a blank for a moment when Kirou said this. At first, he was completely clueless but as a few seconds passed, a visible tick mark formed on his face as he spoke to Kirou with a trace of anger laced within his voice, "And what does her age have to do with her being my daughter? Could it be that you are saying that a man like me can't hook up with a young girl like her?" Because Carlos himself was in his late thirties, he felt somewhat offended by that comment. At least, until he heard Kirou's next words.

"Not at all, Brother Carlos. Of course, you could hook up with a woman in her twenties. It's just that I highly doubt that you would do so with a woman possessing so many similarities as you." When Kirou said this, the smile on his face got even more pronounced, prompting Carlos to unknowingly take a step back.

"What similarities?"

"She has the same color eyes as you, similar hair if that trimmed beard of yours is anything to go by, and a similar jawline structure as yours. Besides that, her stare isn't that of a jealous woman being ignored by her man or an annoyed coworker, but that of a daughter pouting at the fact that she's being ignored while asking for help." As Kirou said this, he took up his glass and went over to where the female bartender was. When he arrived, he could see two men trying to hit on the bartender but kept getting refused, only to continue bugging her. He could see that she wanted help but none of the other patrons were willing to provide it while Carlos wasn't even paying any attention to her before this.

Upon seeing Kirou approach, the two men harassing the woman turned towards him. Both were somewhat handsome but that was all they had going for them. One of them spoke when Kirou arrived directly in front of them intending to speak to the female bartender, "Can't you see that we're currently busy here? Get lost."

Kirou only glanced at the one who spoke before downing the drink in his hand and passing the glass to the female bartender, "I'd like another revolver if you don't mind. Ask the old man how to make it since his version fits my preference." As Kirou said this, he winked at the female bartender, prompting her to say a silent 'thank you' before leaving to find Carlos. Since the two guys weren't able to see Kirou's face, they didn't see this action but the female bartender leaving caused them to get angry.

"How dare you get in my way, punk?" said the one from earlier, now visibly angry at being interrupted while trying to hit on the bartender.

"Don't think you'll get away with this, punk," said the other as he prepared to attack Kirou. Before he could do so, however, a man placed his hand on the second man's shoulder, prompting him to turn and see the face of the one holding him.

When the man saw that it was Carlos holding him, all the anger from before disappeared as the color drained from his face. The same thing happened to the first guy and while they were like this, Carlos spoke up, "Hey, Brother Wang, are these jokers bothering you?"

Hearing that question caused both men to tremble slightly but before either could speak, Kirou answered, "Hey, Brother Carlos. I don't think so. Let me ask them." Kirou then turned to both men while a peculiar smile was on his face and spoke, "Are you guys bothering me?"

"No, no, no. Not at all," said the first man.

"We-we-we we were just.... leaving. That's right, we were leaving," said the second one ready to hightail it out of the club.

"That's right. We've already had our drinks so we were just about to leave." As he said this, both men prepared to flee as fast as they could, only to be stopped by Kirou's words.

"Are you planning to leave without paying for your drinks?" Kirou pointed to a bunch of empty glasses on the counter as he said this. Meanwhile, Carlos had a menacing look on his face as he stared at the two men.

"No, no, no. Of course not. We'll pay for our drinks right now." Following those words, both men took out enough cash to cover their drinks as well as giving the female bartender a generous tip before fleeing from the club.

Seeing them leave like that, Kirou could only shake his head before turning to the now smiling Carlos and the pouting female bartender currently putting away the empty glasses. After planting himself on a seat, the female bartender placed a glass in front of Kirou before speaking, "My name is Jane. Thanks for the help back there. At least one of you noticed the distress I was in." As Jane said this, she made it a point to pinch Carlos's side, prompting the man to grit his teeth to prevent screaming out in pain.

"No worries, Jane. You are very much welcome," as Kirou said that, he took a sip of the revolver in the glass, surprised at the taste. He then moved the glass away from his lips before speaking, "I take back my earlier words. Your revolver suits my tastes much better."

This caused both Kirou and Jane to laugh while Carlos was off to the side grumbling while serving the other patrons at the bar.