Arisugawa's Locket
Chapter 100: Anniversary
"Ladies, thank you for coming so loyally to Arisugawa's Locket," Juri smiled, raising a cup in a toast. "Tonight is not just the anniversary of our opening," the orange haired woman smiled, "but also the day we'll be opening up the new expansion to the building."
As she said that Ayeka and Ryouko let the cables they were holding drop, letting the curtain they held up fall and revealing the next door warehouse that the club had bought, now connected to their building and renovated over the past few weeks. The old dance floor had nearly doubled with the new area, while the dining section was in the 'old' section of the Locket. The karaoke stage straddled the new middle of the building, while the library had been moved farther away from the music and dancing. The second floor had also been expanded, with more rooms for women to rent by the hour or the night.
"I hope everyone has a good time," Juri finished, hopping down from where she had been standing on the bar with a hand from Setsuna Meiou. "How was I?" she whispered.
"You were fine," Setsuna reassured her lover, the green-black haired woman once again amused at how un-confident she could be.
"Thanks for inviting us," Aoi Futaba smiled at her friend as Minagi bustled about behind the bar, ably assisted by Mahoro. The tall brown haired woman was there with her lover Yoriko, both of them dressed in police uniforms.
Thankfully, most people thought it was just cosplay as Yoriko sighed. "We nearly didn't make it," she admitted, "there was a police incident and..."
"Nothing too bad I hope?" Juri asked.
"Thankfully no, but it was messy," Aoi said, shrugging. She looked around with a smile, "I like it, it's much more spacious."
"We needed the room," Minagi said cheerfully as the multicoloured haired pirate served them drinks, "it was getting so we couldn't breath some nights."
"The recession hasn't hit you?" Yoriko asked curiously.
"Not too much," Juri shrugged slightly, "we phased out some of the really pricey drinks, because they stopped selling, that sort of thing. Overall, I'd say business hasn't dipped much."
"The other dimensions the bar accesses helps too," Ryouko noted as she joined her twin Minagi behind the bar.
Outside a group of young women joined the line up for the bar, dressed to party the night away. Sumika Murasame looked nervous as she held her girlfriend Ushio Kazama's hand, but she was also quite happy too. Azusa Aoi walked with them, the slightly smaller girl looking with a bit of envy at the other two. Rounding lout the group was Tomoe Hachisuka and her girlfriend Miyako Taema, the two who had first heard about the club.
"I'm really not sure about this," Sumika muttered as they waited in line.
Ushio squeezed her hand comfortingly, "It'll be fine."
"Besides," Tomoe pointed our reasonably as the black haired girl in a tux added, "you are out to Ushio's brother and your father. How can it hurt?"
"There's always school," Miyako pointed out dryly, the smaller brown haired girl wearing a fancy dress.
"And did you two have to dress up?" Sumika added, dressed in a much more casual sweater and jeans, while Ushio was in a dress that was slinky without being too much.
Tomoe shrugged, "We don't get to do it all that often."
Aoi shook her head wryly as she took in the crowd around them All women, all couples and all very obvious, in a lot of ways. It was so different from the romantic vision she had nursed over the years. Speaking of... she looked at Ushio with a pout, "I still can't believe my favourite yuri author is really your brother."
"I'm sorry, I promised to keep it a secret," Ushio shrugged helplessly. "And really, would you have wanted to know that Orino Masaka was really Norio Kazama?"
Aoi sighed as she admitted, "Not really."
"I wish we could have brought Mayu and Koino with us," Sumika noted as the line moved up again towards the doors.
"Too young," Tomoe opinioned, "besides, if we did Lotte would have insisted on coming along too, and you know they'd bar her."
"That must be tough," the girl with odd black and white hair noted sympathetically. She smiled slightly, "I'm Susan, this is my girlfriend Deedee."
Death of the Endless rolled her eyes, the pale young woman in black looking amused. "You know I hate being called that," she grumbled.
Susan, granddaughter of the Discworld's Death, grinned, "I know, that's why I call you that."
Cyber Six was doing door duties that night, as well as being a bouncer when needed. She was dressed in her 'Adrian' drag outfit, which made a few ladies do a double take, at least until they actually recognized her. "Come on in," she smiled as she let the latest bunch enter.
Priss Asagiri nodded to her cheerfully as she and Sylvie went in, then she waved as she saw Arisugawa. "Hey, Juri!" she grinned, "Been a while."
Juri smiled back as she said, "Yes it has. How's the band and all?"
"Eh, we broke up," Priss shrugged, "but Sylvie and I are doing a duo thing. I just have to make sure the studio doesn't package us as bubblegum pop."
"It's fun, though," Sylvie smiled, keeping a hold of Priss' arm.
A voice called for Juri and she gave them a apologetic smile. "Sorry," she said with a shrug and headed off.
The majority of the Sailor Senshi were at one table, sharing a pitcher of beer as they talked. "So Setsuna, is Juri making you happy?" Minako asked archly, the blond winking saucily. She was sadly without her girlfriend tonight, as the captain was busy with police work. On the other hand she brought her own handcuffs for when she and Minako played, so it was a acceptable trade off.
"Very," Setsuna practically purred, her green black hair shimmering.
Rei Hino laughed and Ami Mizuno blushed cutely as the black haired woman sat by her blue haired lover. They were often called the 'Fire and Ice' couple, even by people who didn't know they were Sailor Senshi, but they seemed to suit each other. A lot of it was that Ami was quite capable of figuring out Rei's extremes, while Rei provided a added spark to Ami's steady existence.
Haruka Tenoh looked over at Ami thoughtfully as the sandy haired woman noted, "You're pretty close to graduating, right? Are we going to have to call you Doctor Mizuno soon?"
Ami chuckled softly as she took a drink. "I'm debating going for advanced courses, but I'm not sure," she admitted, "I don't want to hold Rei back..."
Rei hugged her girlfriend gently, "You're not holding me back, Ami. Grandfather shows no signs of planning to retire, remember?"
Ami laughed softly as she poked Rei in the side. "But do you want to keep living at the Hinata Dorm?" she teased.
"Well..." Rei drew it out thoughtfully then admitted, "I'm actually kind of liking the place."
"We really need to get out there one of these days," Michiru mused as she snuggled close to Haruka, resting her head on her shoulder.
Two women were up on the karaoke stage singing, and they were surprised to realize it was Nabiki Tendo and her new girlfriend Nina Einstein. "Love lifts us up where we belong, where eagles fly on a mountain high," Nina sang warmly.
"Love makes us act like we are fools," Nabiki countered even as she took Nina's hand, "throw our lives away, for one happy day..."
"We could be heroes!" Nina cried, "Just for one day..."
Just then Juri Arisugawa reached their table even as Nina and Nabiki kept singing from Moulin Rouge. "Sorry I've been neglecting you, love," Juri apologized as she gently kissed Setsuna.
"I'm glad your busy," Setsuna noted, "it means the grand opening of the new section is a success. I noticed a lot of familiar faces tonight..."
"Yeah, the regulars turned out and we got a fair number of newcomers too," Juri agreed. "Which is good, because we got the old warehouse for a song but the renovations aren't cheap."
"Hey, when we talked to those kids from the future, they told us that the Locket was still open in their time," Minako frowned, "doesn't that mean you're going to be successful?"
"It doesn't mean we didn't go out of business and restart later," Setsuna pointed out gently. "The future's not set in stone."
"Can I get you all a refill?" Keiko asked cheerfully, the young woman in her usual suit, her brown hair tied back in a braid.
"Yes please," Haruka grinned. "This round is on me."
"Is May doing okay up at the bar?" Juri asked as Keiko refilled everyone's drink but her's. Juri didn't drink on the job, other than coloured ginger ale.
"It's fine, Juri," Keiko reassured her, "we've got things in hand. Take a few minutes and relax with your friends."
"Thanks," Juri smiled wryly as Keiko hurried off.
Keiko ducked into the kitchen, watching the staff work away. Sasami Jurai was in her adult Tsunami mode as she ran the kitchen, Shampoo and Ukyo ably assisting her. They worked together but apart, each preparing dishes to be sent out. It could be faster if they assembly lined, but Sasami felt they would lose much of the flavor in the cooking.
"More orders," Keiko smiled at them sympathetically as she put the slips in the rack waiting to be attended to.
"Here's the order for table six," Sasami said with a grin as she put the three plates on a tray to be carried out, "and we're just about ready for table three. Then we'll get to your latest order."
"Got it," Keiko agreed as she scooped up the order and hurried out.
Meanwhile, in another part of the bar the android watched with some amusement as her companion ate. The black haired Chell scarfed down the food hungrily, then followed it with a long drink from her glass of beer.
"Is your friend all right?" Amelia had to ask, the former bounty hunter now dressed in a simple waitress outfit.
"Chell is fine, she mostly just communicates with hand gestures," the android said calmly, "I am GlaDOS, this is Chell."
"Hmm," Chell nodded slightly.
"Uhm, how will you be paying?" Amelia had to ask, noting that Chell was just dressed in a orange jumpsuit and GlaDOS appeared to have no pockets.
GlaDOS picked up something from the floor beside her and thumped it onto the table. It appeared to be a nugget of pure gold. "Will this be sufficient?" she asked calmly.
Amelia blinked then nodded. "I think so, we'll have to get our money changer to make change," she offered mildly.
"Keep it, I'm sure that Chell will eat enough to make up the difference," GlaDOS noted dryly. Chell calmly flipped her the bird then continued eating.
Amelia just decided they were too odd and went to serve someone else.
Over by the library, Maggie Mui, Michelle Cheung and Yomiko Readman were happily exclaiming over the new books and expanded selection, while Nenene Sumerigawa, Nancy Mukahari and Anita King watched with some annoyance.
"I can't take you three anywhere," Nenene noted, the brown haired woman shaking her head.
Michelle pouted, "Don't be so mean."
"And look, new Bella books! And a new selection of erotica too!" Yomiko exclaimed, the bosomy woman practically jumping between sections of books.
"Maggie, don't try to set up a fort under a table and start reading," Anita scolded her sister, "the waitresses will get cross."
Midori bit back a laugh as the redheaded waitress assessed where everyone was. Hyatt and Excel were serving in one section, Amelia was moving between tables at the other side, while May was holding the fort at the main bar. Ryouko, Mahoro and Minagi were slinging drinks, while Alpha took up the slack for food and drink deliveries. They were busy, but not overwhelmed thankfully.
"Hi, is there anything I can get you?" Midori asked a attractive blond and her companion.
"Just sake for me," the redhead smiled at her companion, then Rika Minami asked warmly, "how about you, Shizuka?"
Shizuka Marikawa smiled back, "Bring a bottle, I think we'll share it."
Rika put her hand over Shizuka's and squeezed gently. "Thank you for coming along with me tonight," she said as the waitress rushed off.
Shizuka bent forward a bit and kissed her lingeringly. "Where else would I go, silly?" she teased.
"I dunno, I just... had a bad feeling," Rika admitted, "it's probably nothing."
Shizuka winked, "Wanna go upstairs later? I bet I can make those bad feelings just go away."
To be continued...
Our Cast: Arisugawa Juri and Keiko are from Revolutionary girl Utena, Cyber Six is from the series of the same name, Alpha is from Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Mahoro is from Mahoromantic, May is from Hand Maid May, Excel Excel and Hyatt are from Excel Saga, Ryouko and Minagi are from Tenchi Muyo, Midori is from Mai Hime, Nabiki Tendo, Shampoo and Ukyo are from Ranma ½, Setsuna is from Sailor Moon and Amelia from the Trigun movie, Badlands Rumble.
Characters: Aoi and Yoriko are from You're Under Arrest, Sumika Murasame, Ushio Kazama, Azusa Aoi, Tomoe Hachisuka and Miyako Taema are from Sasameki Koto, Susan is from Soul Music, Death is from DC Comics, Priss and Sylvie are from Bubblegum Crisis, Minako, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Haruka and Michiru are all from Sailor Moon, Nina Einstein is from Code Geass, Chell and GlaDOS are from Portal 2, Maggie, Michelle, Anita, Nenene, Nancy and Yomiko are all from Read or Die the TV, and finally Shizuka and Rika are from High School of the Dead.
Notes: For the 100th episode I tried to bring back some characters as well as feature a few new ones. The Portal bit was mostly inspired by fanart, though there are hints in canon that GlaDOS might actually like Chell. The Shizuka/Rika bit is set before High School of the Dead starts, more or less.