Asuka is strong; even the Princess sometimes calls her a brute when she goes overboard during training. Her athletic features are thanks to the Kazama genes.
But that doesn't mean she'll carry bags upon bags of general merchandise if she has other options, especially if she can ask for help (aka Lili). This store sale is just too good to pass up.
"Hey Princess, can you help me shop tomorrow? Some items are 50% off, " Asuka asked as she entered their shared room, wiping her wet hair straight from the shower.
Lili paused the video she was watching, looked up at her rival, and teasingly asked, "Are you asking for a date?"
"Is that your idea of a date?"
"Do you have better ideas then?"
"Y'know, like a picnic on the riverbank or beating up some thugs, or—wait, that's not the point!"
Lili chuckled lightly, secretly taking notes in the back of her mind. "Of course, if my rival is so desperate for my assistance, how could I possibly refuse?"
She winked at the bewildered brown-headed girl before resuming her original task. Asuka's veins started twitching visibly under her temple. In an attempt to shoo these annoyances away, she redirected the topic to the weird bird dance video that Lili had been watching.
"What's that thing that you're watching anyway?" Asuka leaned closer to watch the spectacle on the monitor.
"Courtship display. We have an assignment for this topic." Lili answered while writing notes.
The floaty movement of the bird-mating dance looks familiar. Something about its fast-paced, tippy-toe movement seems to have struck a memory in her mind, but she can't reach it. (ahem, Tekken 7 Ending).
"I swear I've seen this before, but I just can't remember where." Asuka reached for her chin and started tapping her cheeks.
Wanting to change the topic of discourse, Lili answered, "Some birds click their beaks once as a friendly greeting."
"I guess I should snap at you as a friendly greeting from now on, so you won't start a fight randomly," Asuka said mindlessly. Of course, it doesn't have another meaning, but Lili's mind raced to that moment when she lost to Asuka in the last Iron Fist Tournament.
(Do you think of me as a bird?)
But that was immediately replaced with a sigh of relief when Asuka went to the bed, hugged down a pillow, and asked, "What do people in Monaco do as a friendly greeting?"
"Kisses on the cheeks is a friendly gesture in an informal setting. "
"Imagine being at a party," Asuka answered.
"You simply can't punch someone as a greeting, dear Asuka." The brown-haired girl let it slide, in part because her eyes were getting heavy. With a yawn, Asuka said a small goodnight and fell asleep.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong for Asuka the next day. Their archery practice was moved from tomorrow to today. She needed to help her classmates with a project. And so on. She was late, and the Princess didn't look friendly when they finally met after school.
"Well, this is hardly punctual. I'm not accustomed to being kept waiting for such an extended period." Lili greeted sharply.
(Oh no, she's speaking alien again. She's maaaad.) Asuka's thought.
"Yeah, sorry. I had a lot of things to do before I could go out," Kazama shakily answered. She still needs Lili's help; it's not the time for the usual sarcastic answers.
(Okay, I need to be friendly... Yeah... How do you appear friendly again the Monaco way?)
"I know we started on the wrong foot. But as your rival, I expected as much that you respect my ti-"
She was interrupted when Asuka suddenly kissed her on the cheeks. With her eyes narrowed, her cheeks heating, and her brain breaking, she looked at her rival, who, for some reason, seemed more dumbfounded by her actions than she was.
"Ah, uhm, sorry. I just remembered what you said last night, like, if I want to be friendly." Asuka stuttered. She doesn't want to argue with someone lending help her way.
Ah, that's it. Lili has grown to know Asuka well within six months of being roommates. That's why she's sure about it; this airhead acted first and did the thinking afterward.
Lili tried to compose herself but failed to hide the lingering smile in her mouth. "Well, if you want to be friendly again, I don't mind. Just don't be late next time. Now let's go, the shop's about to close." The Princess took the lead with a noticeably new spring in her steps.
"Like I'd do that again, ya idiot!" Asuka followed, cursing herself for being an "action-first, think second" kind of dumbass. Needless to say, Lili's mood was great throughout the entire day, and Asuka was not complaining.