(Preshow) Preshow Facility

[Violet]

It was the familiarity of it all that caught her attention once she was whisked through the doors and into what she was told was the Syntech Station 17. Although it differed in ways from her previous experiences, it was all still so…the same. In one direction, she saw the concourse that went towards the barracks, in another she spotted what looked to be a gym complete with equipment, and large swathes of land dedicated to practice for the more dedicated players. Off in yet another direction was a giant monitor that read SHOPS AND FOOD. In that moment, she was suddenly famished, and padded off in that direction.

Weaving her way through people and fake trees and a myriad of other obstacles, Violet dismissed one after the other of the different kinds of cuisine. She wanted something comforting, something she hadn’t had in years. That something eked its way out from the plethora of bars and diners and high scale restaurants, so simple in its decoration that it could have been easily overlooked. MOES RAMEN AND SUSHI BAR was inscribed artfully on a large wooden sign, and she knew she had to poke her head in.

The decoration was very much like any restaurant you would find in the more suburban areas of South City: a pair of short double curtains hung in the doorway, hiding a set of larger wooden doors that were shoved open and against the wall inside. The floral print was beautiful, the texture silken and soft against her hand as she pulled them back and ducked inside.

Wood paneling surrounded a simple dining room and bar area. The restaurant itself wasn’t made for large throngs of people, but for a few to take a seat around the U shaped dining table, where an elderly man dressed in his traditional garb stood, waiting to take her order.

His face lit up with a smile as he greeted her, beaconing for her to take a seat at his table. She gave the briefest of nods and took his invitation. “What shall it be today, ma’am?”

“Let me start with the Phoenix roll and for my main, I will take uh…” she looked over the hand scrawled menu that was posted on the wall behind him. “Tonkatsu ramen, extra noodles, please.”

“Got it,” he nodded. While he prepared her meal, Violet took the opportunity to check the smaller monitor that hung above the menu. She frowned slightly, noticing unhappily that she missed the live draw. She was a little late to the signup, but she wasn’t expecting the matchups to happen so quickly.

Several moments later, her first course was served, and she ate hungrily, dipping each piece of her Phoenix roll into the soy sauce and then straight into her mouth, grunting happily after each bite. She was even more pleased when her soup arrived. Watching him prepare it whet her appetite greatly, but the way she consumed the noodles and broth would have made even a Saiyan recoil in horror.

When all was said and done, she thanked the man and took her leave, intent on heading towards the main bar area and grabbing a few drinks. She didn’t know who this partner of hers was other than a name, and she was none too happy that she would be paired up with such an unknown. The last time she paired up with someone she didn’t know, she ended up spending several years in Hell, something she did not intend to repeat anytime soon.

Rules were rules, however much she disliked them, so Violet bit the bullet and resigned herself to this fate. She found an appropriate bar and took a seat, the light of a hundred monitors lit the domed area while she consumed shot after shot of the finest whiskey they had, and slowly, she gave herself over to that seductive heat that coursed through her stomach and into her veins.

Violet smiled into an empty glass. She was free…or at least as free as she’ll ever be.