Author's notes: Greetings everyone. I'm back, finally, with another chapter. I won't bore you with details this time around of my absence. Just sit back, relax, and read at your own conveniece.
Asuka and Hwoarang exited the hotel quarters, engaged in a light conversation that soon turned into a bickering discussion leading into a meaningless argument. As the norm, they argued often, loudly, and sent people's heads turning in their direction, though they did not pay the onlookers any thought.
Entering the small but quaint restaurant, Asuka and Hwoarang took a seat at a small rectangle shaped table, across from each other. The building, though new, did not pack many customers. Only a small crowd of people was present, while the rest of the tables and chairs stood empty. It was not anything out of the ordinary. Not every business that just opened would bring in customers so quickly.
Asuka pulled a folded menu from off the wooden rack of the table and scanned it with her index finger; Hwoarang followed and did the same. Soon enough, a waiter approached their table and smiled, looking to serve his hungry customers. The minute Asuka saw his face, she asked him to take her order down. As for Hwoarang, he struggled as he read his menu and asked to have more time to make up his mind. The referee bowed in respect to Asuka and Hwoarang's wishes and left for the kitchen.
"I hope they cook fast because I'm starving," said Asuka trying to calm the growls developing within her empty stomach. Again, she felt a little frail as usual, as if she did not eat anything for weeks. Hwoarang could not believe his ears, that his roommate had such a humungous appetite, one that even dwarfed his own.
"Arent you on a diet, runt?" he questioned with a cocked eyebrow. "For somebody as small as you, you sure like to eat a lot."
Ignoring the Korean, Asuka continued to gaze at the menu to see if there were any other dishes she would have an interest in trying, but her order was complete for now. Meanwhile, Hwoarang grumbled in frustration as he kept flipping the pages of the menu back and forth.
"Heh, I'll take anything. It doesn't matter what I get," he said, trying to play it cool.
"Ha," Asuka said with a cached smile. "You are just like dad. He can never make up his mind about anything."
Hwoarang's attitude reminded Asuka a little of her father's. He was peaceful and calm at times, but also frustrated during others. Though not intentional, her saying had left the young man curious about her male parent for a moment.
"Your old man, huh? What's he like anyway? He's probably happy he doesn't have to put up with a little squirt like you right now."
Asuka went into a hazy daydream. She rarely would talk about her father, especially to strangers she barely knew. However, as time went on, Hwoarang was becoming less of a stranger to her and more of a friend despite the constant fights they broke into. Her father was a martial arts master, one who taught her the arts of his technique when she was young. He did it so Asuka could protect herself from the bully-flooded schools she attended. This, in one-way or another, sparked her attitude to change differently from the usual. She became a vigilante like menace that would go from area to area, beating up on all the wrong doers she came across on the streets. With her bold but arrogant personality, Asuka developed a need to solve other people's problems for them, usually by knocking the offender out cold with a stiff right hand. She protected her friends, family, and anybody else that was on good terms with her, but her attitude got even worse in later years. Asuka built a tough reputation where many had feared her. Intimidated by her tough approach, boys refused to talk to or come near her within a certain distance, and any girl that was not her friend simply refused to associate with her in anyway. Hwoarang, of course, did not know any of this and Asuka chose to leave it at that. Though she pretended it did not bother her, her arrogance had ended up making her quite lonesome at times.
"He's just a martial artist," she said, without much care.
"You sound like that's a bad thing," Hwoarang chuckled. "I wish my dad would have known some fighting art back in the day. But no, the bum did not know crap."
Asuka raised her head, interested in learning of Hwoarang's father too as he was hers.
"What was your father like?"
"Why should I tell you? You will not even tell me about your dad. Oh, he's just a martial artist," he scoffed, imitating Asuka's voice.
Asuka clinched her fist on her lap, but restrained it from reaching across the table. She did not like having her voice mocked by anyone, but it would seem Hwoarang would be the first person to walk away without a broken jaw, or a bruised arm.
"You know, I could hurt you right about now, but I think I'll refrain from doing that since we're in a restaurant."
"For your information, little girl, you couldn't hurt me if you had the chance. I'd slaughter you in an instant."
Asuka shook her head in pity, smirking at Hwoarang's bold claims. "Well, how come you did not slaughter me with your amazing skills the day we met, oh great one?"
Hwoarang hesitated before he spoke. "Like I said, it is not my nature to hit puny little girls and send them crying home to their mommies."
"You sound pretty cocky. I hate cocky people," grumbled the nervy girl.
"Oh yeah? Then look no further then in the mirror, you hypocrite, because you're the same way."
In actuality, Asuka would be one to accuse of being somewhat arrogant herself. She never thought she could lose at anything, thinking she was untouchable. She enjoyed putting her opponents down with brash insults and witty comebacks, but she, however, did not see this as a fact.
"Well, anyway." she said, moving away from the subject. "Can I ask you something?"
"That depends on what it is."
"When you said I was hot, did you mean it?"
Hwoarang looked straight at her, not expecting her ask such a thing. As he pondered about the question, the waiter returned with Asuka's order and sat it on the table.
"Sir, are you ready?" asked the waiter.
"Give me the best thing you got on the menu," Hwoarang said, heading back into his talk with Asuka. "Of course I meant it. Why do you ask?"
Asuka put a hand up to place the conversation on hold as she picked food from her plate with a knife and stuck it into her mouth. Hwoarang's eyes were ready to bulge from their sockets as he saw the girl nearly done with the food on the plate in just seconds.
"My goodness. You eat like a pig."
"Shut up!" Asuka said with food crumbs flying out her mouth.
With her food devoured, Asuka smiled as she saw Hwoarang's order brought to the table right after she finished.
"Mmmm, that's looks tasty."
"You better not think of sticking your silverware in my meal, runt."
Hwoarang could tell Asuka was still hungry. She was good at that, but she would not fool him so easily, for he knew she wanted more then just a tasty morsel.
"Oh, come on, just a little piece?" she said sweetly, kicking his kneecap underneath the table with her foot.
Hwoarang cautiously slid his plate closer to him and watched it carefully, never taking his eyes off it as he ate. He could see through the pretend smirk Asuka was displaying, her eyes focused directly on his food. He knew she would eventually try something sneaky, and when that happened he would ready himself to counter it. A minute later, he noticed a small fork reaching close to his hands, but grabbed it before it touched his plate.
"Ok, you. Enough!"
"Give it up, Hwoarang," Asuka commanded.
"Never! You had your food already!"
"Yes, but I'm still hungry."
"Well, bite your tongue then. Sheesh."
Asuka then kicked the Korean in his leg as hard as she could, causing him to scream and let down his guard as well as his silverware.
"Ahh!"
"Ha ha. I win. You suck," Asuka said, gathering the remains of his meal into her hand.
Hwoarang almost lost his temper, but calmed himself by pounding his fist into the table. He could have had more. Unfortunately, Asuka took the rest of his food and swallowed it. The only thing he could do was pay for the bill while he stared irritably at the human garbage disposal that was Asuka.
As they left the restaurant with the day far from over, Hwoarang carried a look of despair upon his face. Something was pestering him inside, or so it appeared.
What's wrong with you?" Asuka asked.
"Oh nothing," Hwoarang said. It's just that…oh look. What's that?" Hwoarang pointed toward the sky and Asuka looked up seeing nothing but the clouds.
"What? Where? I don't see anything."
Just then, Asuka felt a strong hand slap hard across her behind with the joyous sounds of laughter. Her face turned bright red as she looked to Hwoarang, seeing that he had ran off ahead of her in response to her shocked facial expression. Giving chase, Asuka followed him and caught up. Though her shoes slowed her down a little, she was still quick enough to come close, grab Hwoarang, and tackle him to the ground without much effort.
With her face surging with unbridled anger, Asuka raised her balled fist high in the air, ready to strike Hwoarang in his cheek, but his laughter deterred her hand from touching him. He laughed as he looked at the bright redness forming in her cheeks after he had slapped her rear, finding her expression quite humorous. Slowly, Asuka laid her hand down and smiled, laughing with the Korean as she lied on top of him, kneading her arm into his belly by accident.
Hwoarang liked the position he was in, but also found it uncomfortable. As he lied there not wanting to get up, he believed he had to say the words to do so anyway.
"Um, do you think you could do me a favor?" he asked.
"What?"
"Could you get off me? Your knee is sitting on my you know what."
Gasping in surprise of her carelessness, Asuka pulled herself off his body and helped him up from off the sidewalk.
"Man was that funny. So, what do you want to do now?" Hwoarang asked her.
Asuka gave a displeased frown. "Just for that, I'd like to take you on in match somewhere. I want to get some practice in before the tournament. You can be my training dummy."
"Practice? I know a quiet park area we could try. But how can we? We're not even dressed to spar."
"Hwoarang, I'll fight you in what I have on."
Hwoarang held back a laugh. "You're going to fight me? In those clothes?"
"That's right," Asuka said with guaranteed confidence.
"But you got on Capri's and sandals."
"So? I could understand if you're too much of a chicken to fight me."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do you know who your talking to here? I'm no chicken."
"Ok then. Prove it!"
Hwoarang then led Asuka to a secluded area in a park where nobody would come to disturb them. The moment Asuka had took her position she kicked her sandals off and stood barefooted with a cocky smirk, letting her toes nestle between the grass and dirt. Finally, she would get to see some action for once since the last time she was involved in a fight. She punched a fist into her palm and pointed at Hwoarang.
"Ok you, let's go!"
"I'd thought you'd never ask."
Hwoarang immediately swung his foot into Asuka's pelvis, but a clutching grab froze it in place. Still holding her smile, Asuka pushed the Korean down and twisted his leg. Pain creaked in his thigh as he used the one he had free to kick his opponent off the other defensively. Rubbing his leg after getting up, Hwoarang noticed Asuka's foot moving toward him, and with no time to evade took a stinging shot in the abdomen. His head curled to his chest as he bent over, only to have the softness of his stomach hit by Asuka's raised knee on the way down.
Hwoarang had received a small sample of what his Japanese opponent could do, but he was not out of the fight yet. When he saw Asuka going for a punch, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and nailed her in the stomach with a kick of his own. He used a fling of kicks to batter her body until she was tired, nearly stumbling over on her heels. Although Asuka was hurt too, she was not going to give in easily. Before she hit the ground, she swept Hwoarang down with her leg. Hwoarang swiftly caught himself and sprung back up, but met the hard knuckle of Asuka's fist touching the bare flesh on his nose. Quickly, he saw little droplets of blood raining down to his lip as he recovered. That shot Asuka did angered the Korean and drove him to lay on the hurt even more. Though the female Kazama saw the blood leaking from his face, it did not alter her decision to attack him. Hwoarang waited as Asuka drew near, readying his legs to do damage to her kidneys. As her body came within hitting distance, Hwoarang unpredictably changed his strategy, scooped Asuka off her feet, and slammed her on the grassy floor.
"Ha! I got you now. I win," Hwoarang said, standing over her.
"Don't get too excited," Asuka whispered as she drove her foot below his belt.
"Ow! No fair. Your such a cheater."
Both of them lied in the dirt, panting, smiling, and wiping the sweat off their faces. Hwoarang stared up at the sky on his back, as did Asuka. The two of them actually had fun together.
"Nice job, runt. You didn't do bad."
Asuka sat up. "I won't lie. You impressed me a little too."
"Boy, I don't know where this girl gets her strength from, but she has plenty of it," Hwoarang thought to himself. "I wonder if she could beat up Jin. Ha, now there's an idea."
"I'll give the guy credit," Asuka said in her mind, "no one has ever kicked me that hard before. He might actually be a challenge. What's really weird to me is that I'm really starting to like this guy. He's got heart. A little small on the brains and charm, but he's got heart nonetheless. I look forward to facing him in actual combat soon."