And They Give It All They've Got | Asuka + Abel | The Furniture Car

Abel Lazarus

Abel isn’t quite sure Why there’s a restaurant in… What he’s going to assume is Mostly a furniture store. He thinks that’s a safe assumption. Is it just to maximize earnings? Who would even Want to eat when shopping for furniture?

Either way- he won’t currently complain Out Loud about it. Right now it’s a bit of a blessing- Especially since it’s serving seafood. He orders himself a plate of sushi and is Content to let himself Attempt to enjoy a moment alone. He puts a single headphone in and listens to music and scrolls through his digital copy of the bible, how handy they have an app for that really. (Ignoring that the only reason he’s casually reading that at the moment is because he doesn’t have anything else to read downloaded.)

He looks probably as peaceful as he can manage- which means he still looks moody but. Only a little bit.

It would really, Truly, be a very good time to come annoy him. He isn’t expecting it- and he isn’t already annoyed. Perfect time to ruin his day.

Asuka Fukuda

Well, would you look at that! Somebody who hasn’t had his day ruined!

There’s no good reason for Asuka to bother him. For once, she’s mostly content. There’s nothing to complain about, Asuka isn’t in incredible pain, and she most certainly hasn’t been bothered by anybody lately. She’s not even that hungry, so why she’s in the restaurant is anybody’s guess.

“Wooooow. Totally a smart idea to be listening to stuff and not paying attention when somebody could want to kill you. Great idea! It also leaves your food right out in the open!” The cheerful tone isn’t even mocking - it sounds like a genuine point. She even mimes grabbing a piece of sushi, before backing up slightly. It’s not as bad as her usual mocking behavior, not really, but it’s probably just as irritating considering it doesn’t look like she’s going to shut up any time soon. So much for a moment of peace.

"I don’t know why I expected intelligence from you though. I mean… C’mon, challenging the thing keeping you hostage like that? With threats of death? You basically used up all of our “breaking the rules” chances by throwing a tantrum the way you did! Do you feel proud of yourself?" The genuine curiosity actually does make everything worse, turns out!

Abel Lazarus

His mood sours so quickly. He eyes her miming to grab a piece of sushi and swats at her hand. Sure he probably should have learned his lesson about sitting here in the open not paying attention but whatever. Doesn’t matter. He pulls his headphones out and gives her a Very irritated look.

“Being killed already seems preferable to talking to you.” Now he’s not in the mood to eat. Thanks, Asuka. He debates throwing one of the pieces of sushi at her but he’s not pissed enough to act that impulsively.

“Yeah, actually. At least I didn’t stand there looking stupid like the rest of you.” You did, Arguably, do the dumber thing here Abel- but that’s fine. You can think whatever makes you able to live with yourself. “This whole game is dumb- Jack’s been here for years- clearly we can just Not do the game.” Not that he wants to be here a long time- and not that he genuinely thinks no one will kill-

It’s more that he doesn’t enjoy Thinking about Death- therefore he’s Not long form thinking about What this game means Until it happens. Right now it’s just an inconvenience stopping him from working until he’s exhausted- Later…

Well it’s not later yet! “Now why don’t you [Frick] off. I don’t want to talk to you.”

Somehow I’m getting the feeling this thread is going to end somewhere familiar.

Asuka Fukuda

Alas, the irritation is going to do nothing here. As far as Asuka’s concerned, in the moment, it’s a sign for her to open her mouth and keep talking. Besides, it’s such a bad argument, one that’s going to be easily refuted.

Not like a guy in this state is going to be able to fight back effectively if yet another conversation with Asuka turns physical!

“Awww. Well, if you’re so eager, you can always stop talking to me and try to fight the cat again! I’m sure that’ll go, like, totally well.” It’s clear it’s not a genuine suggestion by Asuka’s tone, the laugh carefree. Neither of them are going to go and do something so stupid - because clearly neither of them would want to risk their lives. Asuka just can’t fathom the idea of anything else being true!

“But let’s ignore that!!! Besides, Jack’s a fucking nightmare and I could overpower him, so he doesn’t count. Like… C’mon, he’s totally the worst.” Asuka will never admit their fight got cut off. She won. She was winning. There is no alternative history to explore there.

There’s a pause, Asuka examining Abel again. Hmm…. She’s actually not totally trying to pick a fight for once, despite the attitude, so….

“The earring kind of clashes with the rest of your outfit. Like…Maybe it’s the fact you need bandaids and your outfit got all fucked up, but it totes does! If anything, it kind of gives personality that nothing else you wear does!!! …You wanna talk about why you want to look so bland, or why you went for the earring with a bit of falir, or…..?”

Oh. Wait. Maybe she is trying to pick a fight after all, crisis is back to being scheduled, carry on.

Abel Lazarus

He gives a pretty exasperated sigh when she decides to keep talking. Annoying. Extremely Annoying. The idea of punching her gets more and more appealing as she Speaks. Maybe Viper losing to him gives him enough confidence to think he might be fine in the fight too. I mean technically it’s not a given or anything but he can’t make Asuka promise not to touch his injured side all things considered so. That isn’t boding well for his likelihood of winning.

Asuka Fukuda “But let’s ignore that!!! Besides, Jack’s a fucking nightmare and I could overpower him, so he doesn’t count. Like… C’mon, he’s totally the worst.”

Temporarily he’s off that train of thought because he feels a good flash of satisfaction that she’s implying she can beat Jack. Maybe she’s lying sure but Abel does still think the idea of the guy who basically admitted he’s killed before getting beat up by a short and frilly teenager is… Hilarious. Genuinely funny. Does make him almost positive fighting her is a bad idea-

Asuka Fukuda “The earring kind of clashes with the rest of your outfit. Like…Maybe it’s the fact you need bandaids and your outfit got all fucked up, but it totes does! If anything, it kind of gives personality that nothing else you wear does!!! …You wanna talk about why you want to look so bland, or why you went for the earring with a bit of flair, or…..?”

Okay. Listen. Absolutely trash his outfit. He literally dresses in EXACTLY the same clothing as his uncle so it’s hardly original and he’s aware of that. He also thinks highly enough of his Uncle that someone else thinking the outfit is bad doesn’t matter because clearly it’s the pinnacle of fashion. Making fun of the bandaids is definitely Whatever too- annoying still but mostly in a way that makes him think she’s childish.

The earring. The earring, the only way he can Keep wearing the golden cross- The status symbol that means more to him than his own life- That’s where his line is.

He can’t even think this through At All. Blood loss be Damned, he’s even forgotten his lesson on Not aiming for the head! He reels back his left fist and aims RIGHT for Asuka’s jaw to make Sure she shuts up.

… You think he’s sensitive about the earring or something?

Asuka Fukuda

In Asuka’s (nonexistent) defense, she really thought this guy didn’t look like he fought at all. Also, his injuries totally should have stopped him from fighting back effectively, right?

As it turns out, Asuka was wrong, and the only warning she gets of that fact was a fist was aimed right at her jaw and hits. She lets out a pained noise, stumbling backwards slightly as she processes she got hit. She wasn’t even being that bad about teasing!? Ugh, she’d hate to be related to this guy if he got this angry every time somebody questioned his fashion!

Of course, she’s not fully processing those thoughts either. Instead, lunging forwards as quickly as possible, Asuka grabs hold of his injured arm and tugs. Hard. Not directly on the injury, maybe because she doesn’t want the pain blinding, but enough that it’ll definitely hurt.

“If you wanted to fight, you should have said so! Who the fuck gets so sensitive about an earring, huh!? Guess it means something, right? Ugh. You had to aim for my face, huh? You totally didn’t fucking have to punch me in the jaw - it’ll swell and ruin all my makeup and stuff!”

It’s complaining just to complain. As far as Asuka’s aware, that annoyed him before, and no amount of pain is going to stop her from making that worse. She’ll cry and whine about her wounds later - so long as Abel suffers, she’ll be happy.

Abel Lazarus

Unfortunately for Asuka tugging on his arm when he’s THIS worked up mostly works to just piss him off more. It hurts- it hurts BAD- but his adrenaline is high enough he can’t feel the full force of it. It’s NOT about to stop him from fighting her. She’s REALLY picked a sore spot huh?

Asuka… congratulations on being the first person he dislikes who Actually earned it I guess? Not that she Really did anything That bad- but he is a bit… Intense.

Asuka Fukuda You totally didn’t fucking have to punch me in the jaw - it’ll swell and ruin all my makeup and stuff!”

“I don’t Care. I’m making sure people have a warning sign for how sh*tty you Are to talk to.” He kicks at her legs and gives a frustrated yell- hoping that he’ll either make her lose her footing for a moment or take her out.

Should he be continuing this fight now that it’s revealed she’s going to play dirty? Definitely not- but. He is mad enough and sure enough he’ll win anyway that he won’t try to run away mid fight, though. It feels good. He feels like he’s overheating and dizzy but he also feels SO high on adrenaline. If the fight starts to drift into her favor he might try to run for it- but right now? Right now he’s itching to keep hitting.

“Why don’t you shut up and fight?” Come on Abel. Calm down. This isn’t a good place to make enemies.

Asuka Fukuda

Most people probably don’t need a warning sign, to be fair. Asuka and the words she spews with no regard for others is the warning sign in itself. Still, a little extra present for warning never hurt anybody, did it? Asuka and her three facial bruises as of now….

The kick finds its mark perfectly. Asuka lets out another grunt of pain, barely avoiding tripping over her own feet and falling flat on her face. Instead, she just falls down. She’s not going to let this guy win, though, not really, but… Ow. Ow, for somebody who looks so plain and harmless looking he hits surprisingly hard. She’d probably respect him if he wasn’t attacking her and was attacking somebody like Jack instead.

Still, Asuka is able to get herself up and, with a surprising amount of energy, swings a hit directly towards Abel’s stomach. She wants him to double over, just so she can aim for his arm with more ease. A dirty tactic still, but hey! If it’s a tough opponent, all that matters at the end of the day is that you win, right?

“If you want a fight, I’ll give it. I guess I shouldn’t have wasted any time warming up, huh?” This is the best place to make enemies, Abel. If it’s Asuka, you’ll probably have at least half the other passengers backing you and your decisions.

It’s just kind of funny this all started because of an earring, huh? Oh well, Asuka’s not the introspective or hindsight-ing type, so who cares!?

Abel Lazarus

He’s Triumphant when the kick knocks her down. That Shows HER- but he’s distracted enough by a throb in his shoulder to let her get up after and really he should have realized that things might not keep going well if he doesn’t take advantage of the immediate aftermath of a good hit. To win a fight Abel, you should kick someone when they’re down.

Unless you care about it being fair or something.

The swing towards his stomach must have hit where Viper had gotten him- or maybe it’s his shoulder trying to remind him to stop- Either way- Whatever it was- It successfully doubles him over. Not for too long- but probably long enough.

He wheezes and struggles to regain his breath as quickly as he had when Viper got him in the stomach- damn what… oogh thinking is hard at the moment. Definitely NOT helped by his strange insistence to get into more fights while Already injured. He aims a punch for Asuka’s stomach but even if it makes contact it can’t have been very impressive.

“[Frick].” He’s regaining his breath after the weak punch but something tells me he isn’t going to get to keep it very long. Good luck running off if she gets the upper hand right now buddy. Your stamina is Double compromised.

Maybe you should- hm, I don’t know, Stop picking fights?

Asuka Fukuda

The fact Asuka was losing this fight was sad. On so many levels. You’d think she was used to fighting, with how often she ran her mouth. She definitely had the muscles for it. Yet, somehow, the idea that she’d need to instantly dodge just didn’t seem to hit.

At least something did hit though - that punch! Asuka had doubles over. It seems like Abel really managed to hit something hard, because she can barely recover. Trying to force herself to stand up for another round, Asuka finds herself wincing in pain, still somewhat bent over. One arm is curled protectively in front of her stomach, but she can’t do much else.

“Fuck…you!” Not the most creative of rebuttals, certainly, but what else is she going to manage right now? The dice have decided to laugh at her misery, and I will too.

So when Asuka goes to throw another punch, clumsily, a few things happen. Asuka’s arm accidentally presses into her stomach, causing her to flinch from pain. The pain in her legs from Abel’s earlier successful kick means that there’s a dull pain in her feet. A pain that is a greater distraction and means she’s not standing quite like what she believes.

In a comedic series of events, Asuka trips over her own feet. She makes contact with the ground head first. It doesn’t seem too serious in terms of blood, but it’s still enough that Asuka just lies there. It seems she managed to get herself knocked out.

…Congrats to Abel for winning? I guess this validates his decision to pick a fight!

Abel Lazarus

… Is… She dead? He looks down at her panting and confused. This one doesn’t panic him because. Well- that was hardly his fault if she’s dead, right? She fell over and hit her own head. This one he’s got his hands clean on. It was a kind of pathetic display all things considered. She talked all that sh*t and then. Knocked herself out. His anger kind of escapes him like a balloon that’s been let go because it’s hard to keep any of that built when… He’s sort of just pitying her.

He prods her with his foot. Oh good- she’s breathing. Cool. She’s fine.

He brushes himself off and catches his breath finally. Alright. Well, this is done. Serves her right for making fun of his earring. It’s definitely Totally a look. He grabs a piece of his sushi and pops it into his mouth. Man. He’s hungry.

He picks up his plate and eyes Asuka before walking off close enough to watch and make sure she eventually gets back up (Probably it’s better to make sure she’s not Going to die or whatever) but far enough she won’t be able to stop him from walking off before she opens her mouth again. He doesn’t feel too bad about this one- mentally at least. His arm hurts pretty bad and that bruise on his stomach is definitely worse but. Sushi and the glory of winning are pretty nice.

Thanks Asuka! He feels a LOT better about himself suddenly.