Description: Lynn gets an unexpected visit (yet again), as hot-blooded Osakan Asuka Kazama drops by in hopes of leads on a certain Dojo Destroyer, as well as to challenge the young Dojo heir about the state of Sunshine City
Obtaining leads on the mysterious-if-staggeringly-blatant 'Dojo Breaker' since identified as Feng Wei has been a nail-biting process for Asuka Kazama. Though the real legwork has been done by the man she considers a helpful ally, but who has in fact been on the case of the God Fist for many months, it's preoccupied her between every meeting. Visting her father in hospital hasn't helped matters, neither has maintaining their home and running the old man's dojo in his stead. While she doesn't begrudge these things, the Osakan most definitely has a lust for vengeance - for JUSTICE - that runs deep within her veins.
When informed by Lei Wulong that her quarry has been reported attacking a dojo in Sunshine City, laying waste once more to the pride and physical welfare of an ancient legacy's heir, she was immediately making arrangements to reach the United States. With little money to the Kazama name, she's resorted to arranging a Neo League match to pay her way; a match which took place one mile above the Pacific Ocean. The resulting damage costs left her just enough to cover the plane fare and her first few night's accomodation...
This, so far as Asuka's concerned, is quite enough. It's all she needed.
Getting around Sunshine with beggar's pockets has been a bit tricky, especially as she's never actually been outside of Japan and has literally zero grasp of the local customs. Thankfully a life patrolling the mean streets of Osaka have prepared her to deal with all manner of thugs and ne'erdowells, and she's managed to work up a comfortable sweat en route to the ancestral home of Ryu Zui Ken. Knuckles raw beneath her gloves and one knee bearing a hearty scrape that doesn't seem to bother her overly, Asuka arrives at a steady jog, skidding up beside the front gates just after sunset, her approach lit by the steady glow of street lamps.
Not one for formalities she doesn't understand, there's no hesitation in the determined tomboy's step as she strides up to the fine cherrywood and brings up a fist. At least assuming it's polite to knock, she proceeds to do so with the same vigour that she approaches everything.
*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!*
While she was no longer sulking or wallowing in damaged self-worth, Lynn Baker was....still not terribly happy. Not happy at all.
"What do you MEAN Mr. Gallo refuses to see anyone?! Who was the one that gave the OK for the Dojo grounds to be used for a tournament match?!" she shouted through the phone. Good thing classes were done with for the day, she'd hate for her students to see her losing her cool like this so...openly. "I'm not about to give this up until someone tells me who allowed the fight that nearly burned down all the dojo's lawn!...hello? He-...." After being put on hold for the 4th time, the poor girl just hangs up, about to toss the cordless phone handle into a wall.
That's when she hears a banging at the dojo doors. Just NOW who could it be? Between Ninjas, Dojo busters, and kids who choke themselves on meatbuns and vomit over her door, she's not exactly looking forward to more unannounced visitors. "Come on...." she groans. She tugged at the sleeves of her replacement qipao (her students insisted she return to the look after she tried to abandon the look), before marching toward the door. If it's another challenge....
"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT, you can stop knocking!" she shouts from the other side of the door as the...vigorous knocking just seems to get louder. Opening the other side of the door, she peeks her head out, trying her hardest NOT to look as annoyed as all get out. "Hello? Yes? Can I help you?"
The issue with knocking so loudly is the knocker really can't hear much else. Consequently, Asuka keeps on a'knockin' despite the yelled invitation to stop. She's pretty sure she heard something, but this is Serious Business that can't possibly wait; and once a Kazama has set their mind to a task, they always finish. Which is why her fist practically smashes poor Lynn right in the mouth when she opens the door finally, only quick reflexes on the tomboy's part preventing a pretty ugly first impression. Or so one might believe.
"Help me?" She echoes the question, hazel eyes widening as the barely-retracted fist is suddenly thrust forth again, this time with a single digit extended to point right between the Ryu Zui Ken mistress' eyes from approximately four inches away. "You can help yourself!!" The dramatic proclamation is made sternly, though Asuka's dialect is so brusque and casual that it doesn't really come across as formally powerful as she'd like. Still, when she pulls her hand again, finger tucking in as she jams the fist against one prominent hip. With an intense frown on her brow she examines the woman before her, and /then/ asks, "You're Lynn Baker, right?"
Of course she's Lynn Baker. She looks just like her photo.
"I'm Asuka Kazama, and I'm here chasing the man who lay waste to this place. He--" Suddenly she falters, glance pingponging from side-to-side, and then tries to stand up on her tiptoes to look past Lynn into the grounds of the dojo proper. The intense frown she was wearing grows more puzzled, her lips pursing to one side as the logical half of her brain reminds her how insane this probably looks. One hand leaves her hip to scratch at the top of her head, tousling her short brown hair. "It, uh... looks in pretty good shape, though."
It isn't only on Asuka's side that quick reflexes save the day. Lynn's own reflexes bring her backwards, instantly into a stance with arm outstretched and palm facing, doubly avoiding a tragic door-knocking accident that claims the noses of hundreds across America. "Hey!!" she shouts, narrowing her eyes and furrowing her brow into a scowl toward the rather loud girl addressing her with finger pointed.
"Help myself how?" she says, definitely not liking the sound of where this is going. "Yes, I'm lynn Baker, and why do you want...."
Oh. She wants the Dojo buster. That guy..... "Oh. Him," she says, taking on a steely tone. "And good shape?" she asks, glancing across the barren lawn, scorched grass long since been cut and brushed away, and wooden guides put up in preparation for a stone path to be laid instead. "It was in better shape before," she grumbles, glancing over to where the sign was replaced, dent and all still pocking the wooden board. Relaxing, glad to hear it doesn't sound like another challenge, the qipao'd girl's arms relax and hang back to her sides. "...so you're chasing him, you said?"
All things are relative, and Asuka concedes the point with a single-shouldered shrug and a chuckle, her hand slipping down to itch at the side of an eyebrow as she laughs off the opening tension of this confrontation. This may not provide the same comfort to her fellow martial arts prodigy, given it effectively appears as though she's simultaneously laughing at Lynn and trying to relieve a nasty case of the lice. Which she's not, for the record! Regardless, the Osakan breezes on, nodding as hand returns to hip, looser now.
"I've been on the case for months now." By which she means, Lei Wulong has been on the case, and she's been bull-heading her way into taking as many of the leads as possible. "Every time I get close, he's moved on or just completely vanished. It's really frustrating, y'know?" Even a complete stranger glancing at Lynn couldn't fail to notice that, which is why Asuka doesn't really pause for a reply this time, either. A bit fidgety, she shifts her hands again, this time hooking around behind her head as she glances up at the stars.
"The bastard lay waste to my home and left my old man bleeding on the floor, turned out he was searching for some magical scrolls of somethin'-or-other," she shakes her head and rolls her eyes, turning hazel eyes back to Lynn as an eyebrow curls upward, "That sound familiar to you? Apparently he wouldn't shut up about 'em, between beating on our students and doing his best to kill my old man. Real nasty. Never seen anyone /fight/ like that, like he didn't care who stood in his way or what he did to them... I guess 'cruel' is the right word..."
Despite the nature of the story she's telling, Asuka sounds decidely casual about the whole thing, even rolling off another shrug before lets the dark subject matter peter off. There's still a lingering intensity in her stare, however; enough to show how serious she is about this.
"So, you know where he went? What he's doing next?"
They both know what that means. Not so much 'what', as 'who'.
And people say Americans are brusque.
Either way, Lynn seems willing to hear her out, frowning as she listens to Asuka make her case. "....Magical scrolls?" She asks, frowning. It doesn't really sound familiar, but then again grandfather was still fairly secretive even to her at times. There may have been scrolls to Ryu Zui Ken in some capacity. "It...sounds familiar, yeah," she says, sighing as her fight wtih Gato still far too fresh in her mind.
"Most of my students were already sent home because I wasn't able to teach anyways," she says, looking a lot more dejected than Asuka strangely enough, despite the obvious personal nature of the Osakan girl's own mission.
"I wouldn't be able to tell you. I didn't bother going after him after he defeated me, and he didn't seem to want any more to do with me afterwards. I imagine it won't be too hard to find him if he's still in town though," she insists, sliding her hands into her sleeves in a minor fidget. "Not a lot of people in this town wearing a yellow changshan."
Social skills aren't exactly Asuka Kazama's strong suit, even if she believes otherwise. People are just so difficult to figure out - the ones that talk plainly aren't obvious enough about it, and the ones that don't drive her completely insane with how backwards they are! It just becomes a crazy crapshoot and then /she/ looks like the nutter because she tries to go about things in the easiest, most straightforward manner possible.
But we digress! Lynn's actually surprisingly helpful, and the tomboy finds herself relaxing more even as she's given news that isn't precisely the best she could hope for. However, noticing the other woman's manner sets something else in motion. Brash she may be, but Asuka hasn't quite played her entire hand yet. "Right," she acknowledges anyway, lowering her arms to settle them casually about her midriff, shifting her weight into one foot as her gaze grows more considering. "Thanks anyway. I'm sure I can catch him. But..."
Her gaze slips askance, lips pursing once more as she actually thinks about what to say next. You know, instead of just coming out and saying it in yet another fantastic example of how to jam one's foot in one's mouth and end up with a thousand kinds of trouble and strife. It's a moment before she looks back, lips tugging downward as she almost assumes the kind of scowl one usually sees on wives and mothers.
"That's not the only reason I'm here. I got tipped off about the attack, by a friend, but I read up on this place, and I've gotta say, I ain't that impressed! It's the responsibility of the strong to help the weak; to defend them when they need it, and correct their behaviour when they're wrong! All this stuff--" She's suddenly extended a hand as if showing Lynn something to punctuate her point, when a swift downward glance confirms she's not actually holding anything. "Dammit," she murmurs distractedly, "Hold on."
Swiftly, she reaches for the inside of her unzipped bodysuit, rummaging about somewhere past the outer curve of her left breast to produce a papery crinkling and then - to the surprise of approximately nobody - a folded broadsheet page, a big red circle drawn around an article regarding the recent assassinations. Fortunately it's in English, neatly evading any (more) awkwardness as Asuka presents exhibit A.
"You'd just let that happen on your turf? I heard you were a strong fighter, Lynn Baker," she notably doesn't append an honorific to that, but does use the full name - it's almost like she intends to be polite but falls a step short somewhere in the trying, "So how come all I hear is you're gettin' beat on while the city goes nuts? Don't wanna teach you how to do your job, but the way I see it, we're cut from the same cloth." A hand beats on her breast - setting about a certain... jiggling, damn you physics - then pumps in the air between them. A show of solidarity she then completely ruins. "Not that I'd... wear socks like that, but you see my point?"
Probably not, because she left her point on the bus when she got off six stops ago.
"I figured maybe we could help each other out, here. I uh, can't exactly afford to go back home anyway..."
She wasn't embarassed about that before, but actually admitting it to someone makes it sound so stupid. Her cheeks flush faintly, an involuntary gesture she attempts to hide by reaching up to flick at her nose with one thumb. It doesn't really work out; she just looks like a Feilong fangirl.
Lynn sighs. "I'm glad I could help. Now if..." Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the rest of it, and when Asuka starts to run down her dojo for whatever reason she has, the young instructor finds herself getting more and more annoyed. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! This dojo has been trying to set an example in Sunshine city for decades!" she snaps back.
The article that Asuka finally manages to rummage out and thrust toward her brings a deeper frown to her face. She knew gangs were resurgent here, but actual assassinations? Holding a hand to her forehead, Lynn finds herself even more frustrated. It really did feel like something was squeezing down on the city like a fist, from the outside in, didn't it? "Do you think I want to let this happen? Do you realize how long this city has been like this? Grandfather, Billy and Jimmy, all of them were doing their best to help police things how they could. Grandfather's dead now, Billy's gone, so is Jimmy, and..." She sighs, falling back against the door frame, the hand clutching the article held up to her head.
"I want to help. This is home. But I can barely keep my dojo from being overrun, by just one guy too." The frustation is more than evident on the girl's face at this point. "I don't even know where to start though." She then glances back up to the...bouncier girl, maybe a little envy showing in her eyes before she straightens up. "...out of money?" she asks, glancing back into the dojo, then back to Asuka. This is really probably going to be a bad idea. A really bad idea.
"...if you can't afford a hotel room, I guess I can let you stay here." Not like this place isn't known for holding indigents before.
From an outsider's perspective, Sunshine does look like a city on the brink. Until recently, Asuka wasn't even faintly concerned with what happened outside her immediate locale; in the manner of most teenagers, she was blessed with tunnel vision, albeit also a rarer tendency to actually push decisively to the end of that tunnel. Times have changed, however, and in the aftermath of war - with men like this brutal dojo breaker roaming the landscape devastating and pillaging at will - she's decided perhaps the time has come for a change.
Running out of money /does/ help with the decision. She can't exactly cycle back to Osaka. But for all her confrontational arrogance, the brash tomboy does mean well; and her 'offer', however disguised it may be beneath a veneer of mutual assistance, is genuine. Lynn's plight is heard out with some care and attention, though a deepening frown forewarns another rant in the brewing, at least until the girl is blindsided.
"I-- uh... that's... not what I meant..." She's all awkward fidgeting again as the offer is made, hands clasping for one another and winding in and out, under the false pretense of stretching out and popping her knuckles. It's pretty transparent. "I just thought, so long as I was here..." She cringes, nose wrinkling and expression self-effacing in its distaste before she throws it off with a shake of her head and a big sigh. An unheard pep-talk brings a shift in confidence and even carries a smile, her head bobbing in what's probably the closest she typically comes to a bow, outside the traditional formality of her classes.
"That'd be great," she concedes, grateful both to Lynn and herself for snapping out of the inability to ask for help. It's this or ending up bumming on the street, and-- well, tough or not, she's an eighteen year old girl of a certain calibre who doesn't exactly dress like an eskimo. A scraped knee could be the least of her worries. "But," she holds up a finger, "If I accept, I'm no freeloader! I can cook and clean, and I'll bet I'm stronger than anyone else you've got around!" To punctuate that, she flexes an arm, flashing a brief grin that's soon gone as she shifts back to more serious mien and subject matter with a final nod.
"And, this means you won't be just one person any more. I've gotta find that man, and make him pay, but I'm not just leaving this place the way it is. You've helped me out, and I meant what I said. People like us - people who try to make a difference - we need to stick together. As for where to start..." A shoulder lifts, another casual shrug. Apparently she's comfortable when it's all businesss. "I'll bet anything there's a connection between all the gang violence and these murders. Maybe we should talk to this Johann Gallo guy. Tournaments are always hidin' something, whether the organizers know it or not... when people are dying? You can bet on it."
She sounds incredibly assured about the whole thing; almost too much, for someone so close to sleeping rough.
Lynn smiles, still low against that door frame. She's slow to rise back up to her feet...but honestly, it really is the least she can do. The dojo was meant to set an example, right? Though she finds herself furrowing her brow a little as Asuka boasts of her strength. "That's fine...though don't try to mess with my students when they're around, alright? I'm trying to keep most of them from not showing off when they want to, after all," she inists.
Extending her hand out to offer that article back to Asuka, Lynn looks the brash Osaka back in the eye, before finally allowing herself a smile. "Thank you." The smile disappears when she mentions Johann Gallo, though, furrowing her brow. She beckons Asuka inside as she talks. No sense in leaving the girl out on the stoop after all. "I've been trying to arrange a meeting all week with him for other reasons. But he's been impossible to even get in smelling distance of. Maybe because of this," she says, shaking the article. Who know. Maybe Mr. Gallo does know something he doesn't want to tell....nah, that can't be it....
"Hey, I know how to deal with students," assures Kazama with that same breezy confidence, though there's a hint of added maturity about it, less the cocky kid and more the girl verging on womanhood as she accepts back the newspaper and slides it back within the warm confines of her bodysuit. Her comment could be construed a handful of ways, some better than others, but she'll most likely behave herself-- though quick to anger, her approach to teaching at her father's dojo has been surprisingly well-ordered.
Though there's levels of 'well-ordered', of course. Either way, she's invited in and that's good enough for now, the tomboy beginning to follow along with a return smile before the topic turns back to business. Her smile doesn't fade, though it grows a little more distant.
"Well," muses Asuka, slipping inside behind Lynn and taking the time to close the gate if it's not done before she gets a chance; doing so with such a level of decency that she doesn't do something like kick it closed. Apparently she might not have been spinning yarns about being a good house-guest. "If /my/ friends were being murdered, I'd probably be a bit cagey about other people too. The trick to helping people who don't want to be helped is getting up in their faces and showing them why they need it; sometimes givin' someone a leg up means dragging them off the floor first, y'know?" Again, she probably doesn't know. Not everyone's approach to problem solving is so direct as the Osakan's tends to be. "Might just have to confront him."
If it sounds for all the world like she's talking about breaking and entering to make a case to the tournament organizer that he might require some assistance in dealing with his very real, very dangerous problems? That's because she absolutely, completely is. This might not end well.
"Y'know where he lives?"
A skeptical look is given toward Asuka. Lynn will have to be the judge of that. General teaching ability aside, the students Lynn teaches might not be looking for the same things Asuka's students do, after all. Closing the door behind her, the instructor frowns. "I suppose so. But the problem is how to get that close in the first place," Lynn muses, slowly trying to guide the indigent Aikido girl to one of the spare guest rooms.
"I don't know where he lives. But I know where he works. Everyone in Sunshine City does, he's one of the biggest names in money in the city. It's why he's on the top of the contributors' list for the charity events," she notes, opening the door to the clean, if a a little sparse, guest room. "And security there is going to be difficult to convince either way."
Strolling along behind Lynn, Asuka falls into a pace less then her usual stride, but keeps the same gait; ending up in more of a slow lope, showing a surfeit of residual energy as she cracks her knuckles and shakes out her wrists. It appears she only really knows two speeds - all out and halted - and that attempting to mix the two is an unusual experience, if not entirely agitating. She's still smiling as she glances around, taking in the very different cultural aspect... even if it's about a million miles from 'American'.
"I'm good at convincing people," she assures in something of a distant murmur, looking about the spartan quarters with something approaching pleasure. In spite of her flamboyant attire, Asuka doesn't own a great deal of things and tends to prefer a predominantly open area to the usual girly clutter. In essence this space isn't vastly different to what she has at home, minus a computer and a few books for studying. Possibly a stuffed animal or two she'd rather people didn't know she owned, but can't quite let go of. "There's always a way."
Turning back to Lynn, she brings her arms up and pounds fist to opened palm, in less of a Chinese bow and more a gesture of intent. The grin on her lips isn't particularly reassuring, nor the spark in her hazel eyes that attests full well to the limits Asuka's prepared to go to in the name of 'helping'. Fortunately or otherwise, she doesn't allow this conclusion to simply be inferred, and makes sure it's sledgehammer-blatant.
"A few pounded heads don't mean a thing if we save a life or two to make up. Besides, who knows? Maybe the guy attacking our dojos is tied up in this somehow; it'd explain why he's headed to Sunshine now, of all times. And beating him's gonna take a lot. A bit of extra practice can't be a bad thing."
Oh boy. this is already looking like a bad idea already.
In any case, the Dojo and the living quarters are decidedly Chinese in appearance, but enough appliances and conveniences to remind people that this is definitely still America...though probably not in the guest rooms, anyways. In fact, the only really tchochke in the room is a small model cherry red Thunderbird. One that looks fairly old, but remarkably cleaned and well maintained for being out in the open like this.
"I don't think trying to beat people up as a first resort is going to help," Lynn chimes in, trying to be a voice of reason. "Besides, they're too used to that in Outer Sunshine, and people are well enough on guard in Inner that it's just going to make them more likely to keep quiet." Perhaps people in Inner Sunshine know more than they want to, but keep quiet for their own good.
"And I don't think he's involved...but I think someone is drawing people into the city for that reason." This time, it's the dojo master's turn to offer a newspaper article, this time of an attack she was very personally involved in: the Freeman attack. "That guy attacked me...and he said someone convinced him to be here, drew him here for some reason."
"Who said anything about a first resort?" Counters Asuka with a good-natured shrug, lowering both fist and palm and moving to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Body language being what it is, she appears less overly brash once she's placed lower to her hostess, looking up with those hazel eyes almost appearing younger than she is. It's not long before the crooked grin reminds Lynn of who she's dealing with though, as the tomboy takes another sweeping glance around. "You've just gotta be prepared for these things; assuming everything will be okay is just a way to get blindsided. Life throws curveballs. Might as well be ready to punch 'em."
That particular idiom probably doesn't feature in any traditionalistic teachings, for the record.
Shrugging once more, the Osakan still appears to concede in part to Lynn's undoubtedly greater wisdom - there's at least some air of humility within her, since she's at least not forcing the issue. She quiets a moment to look over the proferred article, extending a single digit to trace the image of Freeman thoughtfully, tapping against it several times as she reads the nearby text. She's not that fast; she can read and write English passably, but it's still her second language by quite a long way. Her brow crumples in concentration.
"He sounds like a right psycho," she surmises finally, looking up with the article still held before her, glancing Lynn over from head to toe as though checking for signs of lingering injury. Some of the detail - especially when reading between the lines - is decidedly brutal. "Could you take him again, if it came to it?" The answer is a touch meaningless, given Asuka's only drawing on assumption to discern the relative strength of the Ryu Zui Ken mistress. Still, body language goes a long way here, too. "This whole thing sounds real messy. Whoever's behind it, someone needs to take 'em down hard and fast. But you have to start somewhere, can't just go off like a bomb, y'know? Maybe /he's/ the assassin. Money is a pretty good reason."
To punctuate that, she gives the article a papery shake, because Lynn isn't a mind-reader.
Lynn frowns a little more. Sure, Asuka is saying to just be prepared, but her demeanor definitely comes off as itching to get into a confrontation from the get-go, something the girl was taught to avoid until absolutely necessary. Not that she's been terribly good about it either, but she at least tries to observe it. Not to mention that her Dragon was the one of Harmony and all....
"I'm not saying I won't be prepared for a fight if it comes to it. But being prepared for one and expecting one are different things." She lets Asuka pass over the article for now, taking out a small dust cloth from nearby to wipe off the little model. Perhaps she's why that Thunderbird is so clean.
"He was. If you were there that night, you probably could have seen it oozing off him," Lynn recounts with a shudder. She's healed since them, but she still has obvious discomfort as she talks about it. "I'm not sure if I could," she admits. "I gave him enough to drive him off before he could kill me, but...."
She shakes her head a little more as Asuka tries to bring up the idea of him being a hired assassin. "No...it felt like he was attacking at random, but...his soul..." She shivers a little more. "It was dark crimson. It didn't care about anything but blood. I don't think money is behind what he wants. But someone knows that and wanted him to take it out within the city." She turns back around, her expression growing firmer. "...and they might have gotten the police to look the other way too...." It might explain how he's been able to weave through the supposed police net in Inner Sunshine. "....I'm going to talk to Mr. Gallo tomorrow," she resolves, hand slapping flat on the dresser. "You're welcome to come too." She pauses. "...just try not to provoke anything unless it's unavoidable."
In theory, they both walk the path of peace. Asuka would proclaim as much, proudly, she'd just do it while kicking someone in the mouth for failing to realize why walking that path is so incredibly important! Practicing correctional punishment while preaching with a white dove in hand comes across as rampantly hypocritical - probably because it is - but it's a well-intentioned goal the girl possesses; she doesn't have the violent aura that others display, rather she's more like the river rapids... wild, often raging, but focused upon calmer times ahead, and taking things the hard way because she's not able to do anything else.
Two alternate approaches, same end result. Hopefully. Either way, they're both certainly at odds with the brutish behaviour wracking Sunshine City, and with the troubling serial killer Lynn now describes. It draws the first real disquiet from Asuka, as she glances back toward the press cutting.
"I don't know much about souls," she confesses, voice now a clear murmur rather than carrying the borderline-obnoxious weight it typically does, "But that's the kind of person I just can't tolerate. Killing for money is bad enough, but doin' it because you love it? Never mind whoever's behind him, making that stuff happen so they can profit from it..." She doesn't necessarily mean financially, but it's somewhat moot. The point is the same. A shake of the head and she looks up as Lynn brings her hands down, hesitating momentarily with a slow blink of hazel eyes before the earlier grin returns, cooler though equally confident. Now she's talking.
"Hey, it's your city. I'll follow your lead." A bob of the head, before her expression grows more solemn, a second inclination of the head slower and coupled with a more intense stare as she adds, "But it seems to me you could do with the backup. I'm in this to help you do what you need to do, alright?"
It's not taken long to work out Lynn is a good person, and one she can respect. Which is why she shifts to her feet in a single, smooth motion, taking a step closer and extending one gloved hand. Rather than curled for a formal handshake, it's the angled grip of warriors. Or bros. Brorriors.
In theory, the two take different paths to the same end result. In practice...perhaps Lynn is closer to Asuka than she likes to admit, even if she longs to be a normal, fashionable girl. After all, dedication to the fighting arts can often do that to a person. "It's not that far from just fighting because you like it, when you think about it. One wrong step away from a path..." she mutters, sighing. She's probably seen more types like that than she wants to admit.
"So tomorrow, we go to the Financial District to Mr. Gallo's office and demand a meeting," she says firmly, nodding toward her new....'tenant'. She glances at the extended hand, a bit surprised it would be the native Japanese girl to offer it rather than her...but she can't help but smile, fist to palm in a formal bow first...THEN the handshake. She has to respect tradition after all.
"Anyways, it's almost dinner time. I'm sure you need to rest up and get some food in your stomach anyway, right?" she pivots quickly. She's a host now, after all...the violence can wait until tomorrow. Even the natives need some reprieve from it at night when they can.
"It's a deal," returns Asuka over the firm grip, hers carrying plenty the promise of power she earlier mentioned; though that appears to be mutual. They do say you can learn everything about a person by shaking her hand. It may not be entirely true - or even close - but it's a good start. Unlike Lynn, she remembers tradition after the fact, and after the example has been summarily set, closing out her own show of respect with a Japanese-style bow to complement the Chinese. It's a fine display, all told...
The spirit of a warrior transcends racial and cultural boundaries, as it should.
Common ground likewise comes from the need to eat, and the tomboy's stomach rumbles none-too-subtly at the very mention of glorious food. Her flight over from Osaka - in addition to being uncomfortably long - also featured a high-impact, high-altitude Neo League brawl, and her time since has been spent literally running around Sunshine City searching for the Ryu Zui Ken dojo. Oh, and fighting some more besides. Given her woeful encounter with a truly horrifying in-flight dinner, Asuka has rarely been much hungrier than she is right now. Any embarassment over a grumbling tummy is lost in the sheer, bright-eyed enthusiasm she has for eating.
"That sounds /awesome/," she states far too excitedly at the very prospect, falling into that loping stride again behind Lynn, stretching her arms behind her and licking her lips. At some point during the evening she'll most certainly remember to offer her thanks, but the other woman seems like an excellent host... she'll probably be plenty pleased by the mere fact that Asuka is so happy with the reception she's receiving.
Perhaps for a few hours, the black cloud hanging over Sunshine won't feel so heavy.
Log created on 17:15:28 07/03/2012 by Lynn, and last modified on 09:23:23 07/06/2012.