Friendly Friends being Friendly

Thread PL: 16,000

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Aside from a few regular faces, Diono's was empty despite all of the rampant tourism at this time of year. His boss was out for the time being, so Yogu was in charge. At the moment he was tending bar, serving drinks to people and making the closest thing he could get to polite conversation. As it turned out, Yogu and old drunks had a lot in common. Whether that was a good thing or bad thing was up for debate.

In the short time since his last adventure, Yogu has jumped right back into is life of mundanity. Spending quiet nights cleaning shot glasses then sneaking off to play pretend martial artist. He got a lock for his bike, the Hunka Junk, as a little present for himself. He's also begun to make a habit of keeping it in the back by the trash instead of out front for anyone to go and steal.

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At the moment, Yogu was absentmindedly wiping down the counter with a rag (because he saw bartenders do that in shows) while staring out the window at the beach. The desire to be anywhere but where he was started creeping back in. And that is, of course, when Marrow shows up.

At first, he thought nothing much of the door opening, glancing over at the new customer. Then, a double take, quickly followed by the realization of what was happening. The girl that stole his bike and beat the crap out of him just walked through the door. Yogu slams a fist down and points a finger, getting the attention of everyone inside. "NO! Nononono- Just NO! You are not comin' in my bar!" Now if that wasn't a friendly friend being friendly, I don't know what is!

Yogu pops below the bar and just as quickly pops back up, now holding a baseball bat. "GET OUT!" Yogu had not forgotten just the kind of person the girl was. A threat like that wasn't going to deter her. He sighs and puts the bat back, defeated before she even gives a response. "You gonna be a paying customer, or are you here to rob us?"

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aww, they're becoming buddies.

Total WC: 360

Yogu couldn't not comment on 'You're the Diono?'. "What? N-No, I am not the Diono. That's my boss, Dion." He frowns, realizing he wasn't exactly sure why the place was called Diono's. Something to ask his employer-slash-roommate the next time he saw him. The girl sits down directly across from Yogu, much to his ire. By the sound of it, she really was just going somewhere to eat. The comment about how much of a profit the little beachside establishment makes got a rise out of him. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it when he remembers he knew absolutely nothing about the financial side of things. He had an incredibly loose grasp on how money works to begin with.

Yogu begrudgingly nods along to the order, "Yeah. It's gonna be a minute." He grabs the soda gun and pours cola into an iced glass, setting it down. "There." Yogu's strategy for dealing with her was to avoid eye contact and to get her out of there as quick as possible. He speedwalks into the back and gets to work, slapping patties onto a sizzling hot pan. The door chimes go off, signaling the entrance of more regulars. He walks back into the dining room, largely forgetting about the food in the back, swapping back to customer service mode. It was a couple of old friends that get together at Diono's during the week to relive their glory days. He serves them all drinks, at this point knowing their orders by heart.

Yogu does just about everything to avoid Marrow and her order, until he sees the smoke billowing out from the kitchen. After putting out the grease fire he's left with some sufficiently charred rocks of beef. It would be fine, he just had to annihilate it with cheese. Just as he's about done, he remembers that he forgot to make the fries.

A few minutes later and he comes out with a cheeseburger that's an eighty-twenty ratio of cheese and burger, along with some above average fries and a shot glass of mayo. "There ya go. Bone apple teeth, or however you say it." He looks over her around the restaurant, hoping to see someone in need of a drink or some food. No one was. So he sits across from her, and with literally nothing else to do, decides to talk, "So where's your partner in crime? Did you retire to live it up on Papaya Island like these guys?" He gestures at the ten or so old drunks around the room. Aside from their conversation and the faint hawaiian music playing from a speaker that Yogu did not quite know the location of, the restaurant was dead quiet.

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Total WC: 815

Yogu becomes confused at Marrow's confusion. "Well, it's my bar when he's not here." He declares in an unconvincing manner. The young bartender/cook/janitor tries to imagine the restaurant being named after him, but Yoguno's® sounds more like a plague and less like a place you eat at.

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Being thanked by the girl was far worse than the fight that they had just days before. Nothing had ever sounded so alien coming out of someone's mouth. The thanks was incredibly generous though, considering the quality of the food. An equally as stilted and forced "You're welcome." struggles to get out of his mouth. He goes back to the absentminded running of the bar rag back and forth on the table, pretending to be busy so the girl won't try to talk to him. This doesn't deter her from making a comment about his cooking. A comment which Yogu was already trying to craft a response to before she even spoke. She gets a glare from him that mutates into a disgusted grimace watching her splat mayo onto her sandwich. "Great, now I forget what I was gonna say..." She asks for a refill, and somehow such a simple request feels like an insult. He grunts a "Yeah, yeah..." and fills the cup again, sliding it across the table as unenthusiastically as possible.

Their conversation carries on, with Yogu finding out a little bit more about how their whole operation is run. He makes a mental note of Nichols' name, figuring that if he can run into them twice in less than a week, there was a pretty strong chance he would again. They already had a better track record of showing up in his life than most of his friends and family the past year. "More of ya, huh? Ooh, when I got my bike back from you guys, I was messing with a gang? Scary." He pulls up a seat for himself across from the girl and props himself up on the bar with his elbows, pointed away from Marrow and looking out the window so he doesn't have to look at the upsetting way she eats. "Also, I'm pretty sure it's introbert." He snootily corrects incorrectly.

There's a long period of silence that is broken by Marrow's words yet again. And yet again, Yogu had no clue if she meant to come off as harsh as she did. "Yeah, well, I'm sure being the bodyguard of the guy who buys the stolen scrap offa greasy little morons must be sooo lucrative." He leans forward in his seat and grabs a beer out of a mini fridge stashed under the bar, popping the bottle cap off with the edge of the bar. "Why the hell do you care?" He asks, now genuinely curious to see where this conversation was going.

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Total WC: 1,281

"Well, yeah, 'course I gotta padlock. Who wouldn't after that?" Yogu was trying incredibly hard to not give her credit for the padlock idea. He totally would've thought of that on his own. Definitely. The whole bike thing had really turned into a financial nightmare for Yogu. He'd already spent about four times what it was actually worth just getting it at that garage sale. Not to mention racking it down and getting it back, which cost just about as much. But all the money he spent just to have the thing sitting out back behind Diono's most of the time, accumulating a fair bit of rust and probably a family of mice, couldn't be the only reason he was attached to it. No, there had to be a reason. Yogu just wasn't sure of it himself.

Upon further reflection, he supposed it was the first thing he'd really had for himself in this new life of living in (relative) peace on Papaya Island. It was a symbol of that new life. He got it by saving up money working a real job. No beating the crap out of strangers and emptying their wallets, no stealing, no scamming. It was a symbol of the (incredibly small amount of) responsibility and maturity he had gained in the past few months. But as he would soon be reminded, the girl he was talking to didn't give two shits about any of that.

"Well I guess I just don't save smart." Yogu was going to leave it at that, but for whatever reason felt the need to keep going. "I got the bike just before this job. Which is my first job. Well, my first job that's lasted more than two weeks. Funny you mention bein' a hobo; cause I was for like a year, year and a half. And I'm not lookin' to see if I can pull at your heartstrings or whatever, so don't give me more crap about how you 'don't care'; I get it. I'm just tellin' you why I have the bike." He leans back in his seat and takes another sip of classic generic-brand beer. "The bike was the first thing I got after scroungin' up Zeni." He leaves out the part where he got scammed at the garage sale for it.

"So there ya go. Satisfying enough answer?" He finishes the beer and throws it in the bin. He leans down and pops open the fridge, grabbing another bottle. He looks up at Marrow, "You want one?" He sits back up with either one or two beers, "So. What kind of other stuff do you do if fencing stolen bikes is the smallest stuff. You a hitman or something? Bank robber?"

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Total WC: 1,735

He didn't quite get what the girl was saying with all of that about the padlock. But he was interested to hear where she was going with this. He's caught off-guard when she leans forward, and he takes his own elbows off the bar, backing away in slightly nervous discomfort.

Yogu was curious to hear about this pattern that the girl saw in his actions. Because these days, it was starting to feel like he was making it up as he went along. It didn't sound like she wanted to talk about that, though. He still wasn't sure the reason he gave was a good enough one for that whole street brawl they had a few days ago.

The girl questions if their conversation meant that she cared or not. "I'd say it does. No one else has asked me about that stuff, so you at least care more than most people." He chuckles to himself at that, "See, you're not such a cold-hearted criminal!" In truth, Yogu had no clue whether or not she actually did care. But having the conversation they just did meant that on a base level they had to care at least a little bit. No matter how much they tried to suppress that. Of course, Yogu wouldn't dare to make a serious claim that deep down the girl could empathize with others.

Yogu finally gets her full opinion on what he had to say while he's getting the beers. It was only fair that he gave her one too, seeing as how she let him bum a cigarette last time they met. "Well, I don't see why I wouldn't be telling the truth. I got nothing to hide if it wasn't clear by how I charged you guys to get that bike back." Although he did conveniently leave out the part where he spent a few months in jail before breaking out, making him a fugitive from the law. Yogu could see how telling her about that would maybe help with making things feel a little more friendly. At the same time, he could see her turning him in to the cops in exchange for some kind of reward. So he decides it's better not to add that addendum to his tale.

At this point in the conversation, Yogu becomes a little lost. He wasn't really sure what she was going on about. It seemed so simple to him why he cared about the bike. And yet he still couldn't really put it into words that felt right to him. Something about her choice of words really didn't sit right with Yogu. Almost like it made him sad that someone thought that way. Then she says that she'd care if it was something more valuable, and Yogu figures out a response, "See, that's exactly it. You've got your gang, and if one of them got kidnapped or something like that, you and the rest of them would try to get 'em back, right? So, you've got your gang and I have... My bike..." Well, that made him feel pathetically lonely. He wouldn't have started talking if he knew that's where that thought would end up.

For a moment Yogu looks past his new drinking buddy with somber contemplation before chugging his beer, tilting his head all the way up until all he could see was the ceiling. He throws the bottle over his shoulder into the bin. His heart wasn't in the conversation anymore. It was hard to hold interest when all Yogu could think about was how lonely he was. Diono's was like his solitary little island within the island. He listens with mild disinterest to hear her talk about the things she didn't do in her criminal career. "Makes sense. ...Where are your parents, if you don't mind me askin'? Or you're family in general, I guess. Can't imagine they'd want their kid off doin' all this crap. You run away from home?"

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Total WC: 2,396

It sounded like the girl was actually disappointed by his answer. "Well sorry it wasn't some story about how it's a priceless heirloom or that it had ten thousand Zeni stashed in it or something." He says glumly.

His energy picks up when she tells him that he can think what he wants. This gets an even heartier chuckle out of him, Yogu seeing it as the same angsty teen talk he still catches himself saying sometimes. Being on the receiving end of it was an eye-opener. He gives an exaggerated eye roll, "Oookay kid, whatever you say. Y'know people usually say that when they get insulted, not when they're told they're someone that cares."

Yogu listens to her explain her counterargument, and it made a lot of sense. So the comparison maybe wasn't a good one. One was a person's life, and the other was a bike. She was also right about the Hunka Junk costing more to keep going than to replace. "Like I said, I'm not exactly smart, am I?" He says, defeated. He was starting to really believe she can't get it. The way she went about explaining why the person's life was more valuable was certainly unique though. Yogu pauses for a moment, listening to her talk about the hassle it would be to replace her teammates while he works up the courage to dare to blurt out, "Kinda sounds like you're tiptoein' around saying you care about them to me."

He reaches down and grabs another beer while he listens to the sad story of her parents. "Well, shit, kid. Sorry I decided to bring that up." It did help to explain the way that she acts a little. Yogu was just about to steer as quickly away from this topic as possible, but she presses him on why he brought up parents. "Well... I dunno..." Yogu points a finger gun at the bottle. Then he pretends to shoot, firing a miniature ki blast from the tip of his finger, sending the bottle cap shooting across the restaurant, sailing over the head of an old drunk that was slumped over a table drooling, and smacking into the wall with a soft thud. "Guess it just popped into my head."

The sentiment of doing what she wanted regardless of what her parents wanted was one he agreed with. The life his parents wanted for him, the life that his siblings were living right now, was not one that he wanted. Even after everything he's gone through since he left home. Because as crappy as his life was when you looked at it objectively, it was still his own. Something that he got from his own efforts. Just like with his bike. But that still didn't explain why he wouldn't just go and replace the Hunka Junk with something that works. The option that would, in the long-term, be much better for his wallet. But he decides then that he's going to fix up the bike until it's as good as it was when it was built, however long that would take to do. Still, pledging to do that didn't explain jackshit. In fact, it only further mystified Yogu as to why he was doing it. "I guess I feel like the bike, is why..." He mutters under his breath between sips, giving what was probably the most self-honest answer of the night.

He clears his throat, remembering that he needed to move on from the sad parent topic. "So... Why are you here? I can't imagine you as the touristy type, and as much of an unbelievable coincidence this is, I don't think you tracked me down here."

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Total WC: 3,009

He nods along, listening to what she had to say about not being able to change someone's opinion. For whatever reason, it made him think of the accords. To Yogu, it was thinking like this that allowed the accords to get put into place. Or at least, it was that thinking that allowed it to stay in place. When the accords happened, he was outraged and wanted to do something about it. Then he figured it was too big of a problem to do anything. That someone would step in to stop something so draconian. He thought much the same about the accords that Marrow felt about other people. It was out of his control, why should he care? He should just go into hiding, make sure the problem was so far away it couldn't effect him. He told himself he would come out of hiding when he had the strength to do something about it, but it had been months with no real growth in sight. Hiding away on an island helped no one. Least of all, himself. He was starting to see that now.

But, maybe the girl was right. Maybe these things were out of their control, and it wasn't worth the brainpower. But could they really sit there doing nothing when they had the unique set of skills that they did? Should he not at least try Kamehameha'ing the problem away? Did people with the abilties they had not have a responsibility to? He supposed the girl's answer would be a resolute no.

He gives no praise or condemnation to her words, instead acting as what he assumes a bartender should act like, giving a simple nod of understanding. He mostly did that because he still wasn't sure if he agreed or disagreed with her words.

She did admit that she cared about them, though! She said it! It wasn't exactly her going 'I care about my friends', that would never happen, but it was close enough for Yogu to consider it a win. As for the rest of what she said, she was kind of right. It didn't make much logical sense to do most of what he did. "There's nothin' wrong with doin' something for your benefit. Well, except for crime and stuff, but there's no point talkin' any more about that." Mostly because he wanted to stay away from mentioning his own criminal history. "I think the point I was failing to get to was that you're just a kid, kid. I was in a similarish spot when I was your age, I guess. Sayin' you can't get it isn't going to get you anywhere. Why give up so quickly? You got your whole life to 'get it'. You'll figure it out eventually." He takes a long sip, feeling like those words mght've actually meant something.

She brushes off the whole dead mom and absent dad thing like it's nothing. Much to Yogu's heartbreak. There was nothing more disheartening to listen to than someone brushing over the death of a parent so easily. Regardless of whether or not he should've expected an uncaring response from her. No matter what reason she could have for feeling that way about her parents, it was impossible for him to see that as anything but someone cramming their feelings as deep down as possible until they can't feel them anymore. Because that's what he does. Of course, someone like Yogu didn't have the sense to understand that that's why their talk made him sad. So he decides it was the comment about the many orphans out there that upset him. Yogu decides not to push the topic any further, believing that it would, deep down, pain Marrow to discuss.

He listens to her explain what she was doing out here, and it intrigues him quite a bit. She was here to... Be normal, basically. Hearing her say it wasn't going anywhere got a laugh out of him. "Well, forgive me if this sounds a little harsh, but what effort have you been puttin' in? I mean, this hasn't exactly been a fun conversation, has it? You're not gonna acclimate yourself with any 'regular people' when in conversation, ya go on about how you don't care about what anyone thinks aside from the people in your criminal group that you work with. Do ya... Got any friends? Or stuff ya do for fun?" It was a genuine question. "What have you done to acclimate yourself other than walk into a restaurant and order food from a dude you already know? A dude who, I might add, you only know 'cause ya basically robbed him."

An old regular calls Yogu over to close out his tab, so he hops up and leaves Marrow with that for some time. To further illustrate his point, while closing out the tab he goes out of his way to be extra friendly to the regular. Striking up a small conversation about the sports game that Yogu knew nothing about with the old guy. By the time the old drunk was finally shuffling out the door to get home, he has a big smile on his face while waving goodbye, "See ya tomorrow, Yogu!" He says with a slight cough to punctuate his farewells. He walks behind the bar and sits back down across from Marrow. "Anything else I can get you?"

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Total WC: 3,907