SPLASH!
A glass of ice-cold water proved futile as Asuka remained unconscious on the floor of the bar. Lili frowned as she set the glass down.
Both Lili and Feng stood a tad awkwardly as they stared down at the out cold Asuka for a moment. Eventually Lili tilted her head toward Feng. "Fancy a drink?" She gave a smile.
Feng shook his head with a laugh. "Aha. No drink, I shall head back to my post." Feng gave a nod.
"Oh ho, but I insist! Consider it a thank you for the tea earlier." Lili stated. "Sake?"
Feng gave a resigned sigh. "Very well. I understand you are no doubt well-off, but you should know they certainly jack up the prices ten-fold around here." He muttered. "I would refrain from spending my cash if I were you. Even the rich should cultivate money management skills."
"Hm, I suppose you have a point." Lili tapped her cheek in thought. "I guess Asuka can shout this one." She gave a giggle as her hand swiftly swooped into Asuka's pocket and came out with a wallet.
"Wait, that is not necessar-" Feng looked on but soon shrugged. "Ergh, just one drink then."
And henceforth Lili would head over to the counter and before long, walked over to Feng and handed over the most expensive sake on the menu.
"Oh my...I have much gratitude for this gift." Feng placed a fist to his palm as he gave a slight bow.
"No worries!" Lili chuckled. "I bought Asuka's dojo anyways, so what's the harm in shilling out a bit of her money?" The Monegasque princess gave a smirk.
Feng very much raised an eyebrow at that statement. "You bought Asuka's dojo?"
"Mhm!" Lili nodded with joy.
"I suppose 20 bucks is not too bad of a loss to your finances." Feng laughed as he took a swig of his sake. "I don't often joke. Seems your carefree spirit is becoming contagious."
"Glad to hear! No point in fighting if you're not having fun!" Lili gave a cheer as she struck a sharp pose. "Lili Rochefort's Traditional Kazama-style Martial Arts dojo!" She soon blurted out a chuckle as she scratched her head. "I must work on the name. Doesn't quite have a ring to it, I think..."
"No comment." Feng nodded in agreement. "Well, if you are the one on the helm, perhaps I and others may attend the dojo once more." Feng stated with a nod.
"Oh, that's great!" Lili beamed though her smile faltered a little as she glanced at the knocked out Asuka for a moment.
"By the way." Lili took a deep breath with a sigh. "Asuka...really is not that weak. Rather, she is quite strong." Lili stated with conviction. "She's just terribly unlucky, is all." Lili chuckled.
"I had a feeling that was the case." Feng mused. "She fought well in our brief encounter at the temple."
"Yeah, agreed." Lili nodded. "So, Asuka will still be leading the dojo classes. I mean, I would not have a clue when it comes to Kazama-style martial arts, after all. She is the expert, and she is an expert." Lili gave a smile.
"I see." Feng pondered for a moment. "I shall attend her classes. She is a commendable fighter."
"Yay!" Lili cheered. "I'm sure she'd love having you there too."
"Well, I don't know about that one." Feng laughed. "I would say I'd be happy to mend grievances with her, but she's never conscious long enough to get to that point." Feng sighed as him and Lili shared a jolly laugh.
"So, how long have you known Asuka?" Feng asked. "From where I stand, you two have quite the deep friendship."
"W-what?" Lili's face turned a little red as she waved her hand with a chuckle. "Her and I, friends? Ever since she defeated me at the tournament, she has become my sworn rival!" Lili declared. "It's just fun messing with her, you know? That's why I bought the dojo, ahah."
Feng simply shook his head. "I don't believe you. I think you bought that dojo because you care about her." He stated. "Anybody can see that."
"Psshh..." Lili grumbled.
"Tell me, why did you make it a point to tell me that Asuka is a stronger woman than I'd been led to believe?" Feng smirked.
"Uh, well...err...I..." Lili put a finger on her chin in a frenzied thought.
"You did not want me to look down on her. Because you care, and you value her companionship." Feng stated.
"Darn it! Grr...m-maybe there is some truth to that." Lili pouted with a sigh. "She's the first fighter who ever gave me a proper challenge...it is rather special, no?"
"Yes." Feng closed his eyes as he tilted his head down. "Don't lose your friendship, Lili. For eternity I believed the only meaningful thing to attain in life was ultimate power. Others who stood in my way, good-for-nothing." Feng blurted aloud.
"It was this line of thinking that caused me to make the worst mistake of my life...my biggest regret..." Feng chided as he tried his best to hold in a few tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "I take importance in power...but I forgot just how powerful a strong bond could be...Oh how I wish I could spend just one more day with you...master..." Feng blubbered out.
"Okaaaaay, someone's had a bit too much sake." Lili gave an awkward chuckle as she patted Feng on the shoulder. "There there."
"Ah...how embarrassing." Feng realised he was a wailing mess before wiping away his tears and brushing himself up. "Don't push Asuka away." He calmly stated.
"I will have a lengthy rumination on your words." Lili nodded. Indeed, Lili could not deny that despite her loss in the tournament to Asuka greatly clouding her memory, she could not help but enjoy Asuka's company whenever they met. Of course, Lili still loved teasing and messing with Asuka, but why did Lili suddenly start caring all of a sudden? Now, Lili's the owner of Asuka's dojo and she couldn't pin that on simply wanting to mess with her, no matter how much she tried.
"Uh...I will go and try wake up Asuka now, I guess." Lili chuckled with a shrug as Feng gave a thumbs-up. "All the best."
"Cheers." Lili bowed as she skipped over to where the K.O'd Asuka laid. A sight beheld her eyes which she could not help but find humourous as she saw the drunken and absentminded patrons were walking over Asuka, with one lady accidentally stepping on her as Lili looked on with a cringe.
This time, however, Lili felt she could not just idle by. "H-hey! Can't you see there's a person lying here, darn it?" Lili shouted out with an impertinent fume.
"Wah!" The lady shrieked as she cowered a little. "I-I had no idea! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be sorry. Be better." Lili gave a scowling smile. "I think it's time I teach you some manners-" Lili yelled out before being interrupted by the sound of a ringing phone which was emanating from below.
Un éléphant qui se balançait! Sur une toile, toile, toile! Toile d'araignée...
Lili's eyes faltered down with a nervous gulp as she knew it was none other than Asuka's phone which was ringing. Lili thought it would be funny at the time to switch Asuka's ringtone to a cute nursery rhyme while she was out. And it was, with Lili and the other lady exchanging a smirk, but Lili was gradually feeling her nerves shoot up as the ringing was not going away.
Deux éléphants qui se balançaient! Sur une toile, toile, toile! Toile d'araignée...
It was sinking in for Lili that this may be quite the important call for Asuka. Here goes nothing, Lili thought. She bent over and picked up the phone, answering.
"Hullooo? Bonjour!" Lili chirped as she listened to a rather intense-sounding woman on the other end.
"Oh ho ho, but I am Asuka Kazama." Lili bellowed out before sighing. "Okay, fine. I'm not Asuka." Lili quickly figured there was no way she could imitate the Asuka accent, heck, even other Japanese people had a hard time with her accent. Interestingly, the woman on the other end of the line was speaking English.
"Asuka cannot take your call at the moment, sorry. She's uh..." Lili glanced over at Asuka, pondering on what to say. "She's out at the moment."
The voice on the other end of the line only seemed to further grow louder and explosive.
Lili did her best to answer to the barrage of concerns coming from the line. "O-oh...does she? Is that so? It's at what time...Oh heavens..."
Lili gulped as she spoke to confirm what she had just heard. "So, Asuka is supposed to be arriving for a livestream interview in half-an-hour?" She nervously fretted as she once again looked down and saw Asuka was in fact, unconscious.
Despite the predicament, Lili got over her nerves and a wave of confidence washed over her. "Do not fret. Asuka will be at the interview. No problems." Lili assertively stated, and quickly hung up the phone before the lady could ask anything else.
Lili's surge in confidence was apparent to her. She realised she had heeded Feng's words and indeed wanted to make sure she did not botch anything up for Asuka. She was going to see this through, because she cared about Asuka.
Lili's newfound confidence immediately disappeared as quickly as it had been gained once Lili looked down and remembered Asuka was in no way currently able to do an interview.
"Asuka?! Hey, wake up! Hey!" Lili rapidly gave the unconscious Asuka some soft slaps but she knew this situation was not going to solve itself that easily.
Lili rushed over to Feng's post in a panicked blitz. "Feng! Asuka's supposed to be at some interview for her 'Kansai peacemaker' work but we've knocked her out and I don't know what to do aaaaaahhh! Can you help me?" Lili blurted out in a turbo pace before being hushed.
"I am needed here. This is where our arc ends in this story." Feng stated. "You must forge your own path ahead."
"What are you talking about?" Lili whined. "That sake has made you lose your marbles..."
"I speak the truth." Feng crossed his arms. "Perhaps the one over there is who you should seek, I believe she may be able to help you out." Feng shot a sharp point towards the lady who Lili had chastised earlier. "If my memory serves me well, she was at the Iron Fist tournament."
"Her?" Lili exclaimed with a sigh. "I suppose a chat wouldn't hurt. Thank you, Feng." She nodded with a smile.
"Likewise." Feng nodded in return.
Lili made her way and strode over to the lady who was at the same spot, awkwardly staring down at Asuka. The young-looking lady began waving her hand over Asuka's face.
"So, about before..." Lili cleared her throat.
The lady suddenly looked up with a big fright as if she'd seen a bear. "AAH! P-Please don't hurt me..."
Lili placed some fingers to her lips, being rather amused at how scared the young woman was. "My attitude before was a little improper of me. I'm not too sure what came over me." Lili frowned with a pout. Deep down she did know, but she'd quash those thoughts for the time being and focus.
"Ah...It's okay. I shoulda looked where I was going. I can be a bit clumsy..." The young woman chuckled. She donned a yellow midriff and blue skirt. "It's my first time here, actually. Got a lot of nerves and just wanted to unwind! Don't have any friends here though..."
"My first time too." Lili gave a pleasant smile. "Lili Rochefort."
"Josie Rizal." The woman introduced herself with a handshake, with Lili promptly reciprocating.
"So uhh, what's the deal with..." Josie gestured over to the unconscious Asuka.
"It's a long story." Lili sighed. "But I've currently got to haul her off to an interview. Could you please help me out and come with?" Lili tilted her head with a pout and puppy-eyes combo.
"D'aww, well aren't you just adorable...e-ehh...I don't know, this is looking like some kinda t-trap..." Josie raised an eyebrow. "Such an odd and unique situation..."
Why has Lili not always been getting anything she wanted lately? Lili grumbled as she crossed her arms. "Darn it...it's in like half-an-hour and I can't lug her on my own...I guess I just gotta tell this EarthChanger it's a no-show-"
"Wait a minute...Julia Chang's livestream?" Josie perked up.
"Uh, yeah I believe that's the one." Lili nodded.
"Oh yo! I'm a big fan! Oh gosh oh gosh, a chance to go and meet her?" The bubbly Josie was immediately invigorated with energy. "I'm so in!"
"Fantastic!" Lili beamed a bright smile. "Let's make haste."
"But, Lili." Josie raised a hand. "What exactly is your plan...?"
"Um." Lili gave a chuckle as she thought about the daunting task ahead of them. "We'll figure it out."