Cyril/Asugi
Recommended Song:
"Finest Hour" by Cash Cash featuring Abir
C-Support:
Shamir: ...and that's the mission. You understand?
Asugi: Get in, get info, get out. Got it.
Shamir: Good, now get going.
*Shamir leaves*
Cyril: …
Asugi: Hey, Spotter. What's up?
Cyril: ...
Asugi: You keep glaring at me, and I'm going to have to change your name from "Spotter" to "Sunshine."
Cyril: …
Asugi: Sunshine it is. I have a mission to get to, but I'm sure there will be enough time for you to glare at me when I get back.
*Asugi leaves*
Cyril: What does she see in a criminal like him?
C+ Support:
Asugi: ...and that's the report.
Shamir: That's...above what we had expected and required.
*Shamir smiles*
Shamir: Great job, Asugi.
Asugi: I'm just doing what's within my abilities and required. Can I go now? My blood sugar is feeling a bit low.
Shamir: Fine. Send Cyril my way if you see him.
*Shamir leaves*
Asugi: ...you can come out Sunshine.
*Cyril appears*
Cyril: You knew I was there?
Asugi: So did Hard Eyes, from the sound of things.
Cyril: I don't understand, why didn't she just call my name?
Asugi: Probably to give you some dignity. Or something. I don't really care.
Cyril: Of course you don't. You don't care about Lady Rhea, or the great life you have here, or Shamir's kindness, or any of it!
Asugi: You got that right. I'm on a noose, and if buttering up and doing some espionage and wet-work gets that noose a little looser, then I'll do what needs to be done.
Cyril: ...I hate you.
Asugi: Now that we've gotten the obvious out of the way, you need to go see what Hard Eyes wants. If you'll excuse me, I have some candies to find. Or maybe a cake...I wonder if Mercedes has any cake…
B-Support:
*Asugi and Shamir are talking*
Knight: I can't believe someone like Shamir is spending time with a criminal, much less one like him!
*Shamir leaves*
*Cyril walks by*
Cleric: Like attracts like. She's a heathen, he's a heathen. Maybe that's why they get along so well.
Knight: I always assumed it was because he was another stray, just like that Almyran mutt she has hanging around her.
Cleric: Disgusting. All of them.
Cyril: ...
Asugi: Do you want to say that a bit louder?
Knight: !
Cleric: !
Asugi: *Looking at the Knight* I heard a rumor of a Knight a few months ago who was caught saying similar things around a House Lord - one I happen to get along quite well with, actually. A few days later, he was known as Brown Pants. Should we try and see if there's a repeat situation? Or is that your nickname?
Knight: Grr...
Asugi: *Looking towards the Cleric* 'I am the Gardener and the Lover of the Loveless. I will grow within you a heart to love, as I have loved. I will prune the hate, and allow mercy, understanding, and compassion in its place. Have an understanding! For the loveless need love, and the Gardener tends to all plans.'
Cleric: The book of Indech, act 8, saying 1.
Asugi: You know the exact quote, but seem to understand it less than a foreigner you seem to look down on - a foreigner Lady Rhea herself chose. Now tell me, why does a so-called heathen embody the spirit of the Goddess more than one wearing her cloak?
Cleric: …
Asugi: ...get out of here. You two are making me lose my appetite.
*Cleric and Knight leave*
Asugi: You okay, Sunshine?
Cyril: You stuck up to them. You stuck up for me. Why?
Asugi: Look, I'm a criminal. I can't erase my past or my record with atonement, no matter what Rhea or the others say. I'm just here trying to get back my freedom.
Asugi: But you Cyril, you want to be here. You put your heart and soul into your work. Hard Eyes...Shamir...she may send me on the missions, but you're the one she talks about with pride. People who look down on others because of something they can't help...I just don't like people like that. Besides, I always thought we may have a little more in common than people think.
Cyril: …
Asugi: In fact, I think I may steal their sweets tonight. Or maybe I can poison them...but that'd waste a perfectly good sweet...decision, decisions…
Cyril: …
Asugi: Oh well, I'll do something. See you around Sunshine!
*Asugi leaves*
Cyril: More in common…? But I'm Almyran, and you're a criminal…
A-Support:
Cyril: Any updates?
Asugi: None that you haven't seen. There are rumblings about generals being replaced, but nothing I can verify in the moment.
Cyril: I understand. Keep up the good work.
Asugi: Heh.
Cyril: Is something wrong?
Asugi: I'm just amused at how stalwart of a soldier you've turned out to be. And the praise? That's new too! What's gotten into you? It's like your heart is made of soft-serve all of the sudden.
Cyril: I just…
Asugi: I get it, it's because of the Professor being back, isn't it?
Cyril: No!
(If Byleth is female - Cyril: *blushing* N-no!)
Asugi: Then what is it?
Cyril: ...we've seen a lot of good people turn to crime simply to feed their families. We've seen knights become bandits, and priests and clerics do terrible things in order to grab what little power they could.
Asugi: …
Cyril: So many people couldn't see past the sin, to see what drove some of them to this point. I realized that...maybe I've been treating you the same way. I saw what you did, and not who you were.
Asugi: …
Cyril: No, that's not entirely it. I was jealous. I was jealous of the time Shamir spent with you, and the way she smiled at your missions when I wanted that. When I felt like I deserved that. It was wrong of me.
Asugi: I thought I told you that -
Cyril: You did! And you didn't have to, but you did anyways. I just...I'm just starting to see what you meant all of those years ago, okay.
Asugi: Heh…
Cyril: *blushing* What?
Asugi: So serious! Come on, Sunshine. Let's get some food.
Cyril: Did you just listen to a word I said?
Asugi: Yup, and I realized all of that years ago. Now come on, I'm hungry!
Cyril: *sighs* *smiles* Fine, but I choose!
Asugi: That's the spirit!
Cyril: And no candy!
Asugi: What?!
Author's Notes:
I've had this support idea in my head for a long time.
In this Fates Fusion universe, Asugi was a thief caught by Shamir and Catherine sneaking into some of the more off-limits places of the Monastery. Seeing how young he was (18-ish) and how skilled he is, they decided to give him an ultimatum - either serve the Church on missions and attend Byleth's class when not on missions, or be tried like a criminal. Asugi clearly took the former, but he wasn't happy about it. Shamir is his primary handler since the two have similar skill sets, which makes Cyril incredibly jealous at first. As seen, Cyril grows out of it in time.
That's the reason the A-Support was added. Originally, I just wanted this to be a C-B Support Convo, but I realized Cyril NEEDS to learn compassion and empathy, and the timeskip was the perfect time for him to do so. I believe that hardship can either make people empathetic or harden their heart even more. I know this from personal experience. I wish I could have shown this growth, but I still might be able to. Maybe.
Asugi is pretty nonchalant about things, but he clearly understands motivations of people and knows enough scripture to throw it in the Cleric's face. (The scripture is inspired by John 15:1-6, a section of scripture I read yesterday and found really impactful.) If Asugi was a unit, he'd actually have a hidden talent in Faith with a boon in Reason, reflecting his natural affinity for Magic in Fates. (I may even write up a support between him and Mercedes, where he'd end as a Father in the Church. Maybe.) Asugi's line about poison was most definitely a shout-out to the Dimitri-Claude C-Support. The knight Claude challenged did not make it to the latrine in times, and has not been taken seriously by anyone since.
Calling this "sibling rivalry" is sort of a joke to me, since Cyril and Asugi seem more like antagonistic siblings, fighting for a parent's attention than anything else. Well, maybe Cyril is acting that way. Asugi just sees Cyril as something akin to kin, but he's not there until the A-Support. There is a Part 2 coming soon, but it's more of a Spiritual Successor than a true sequel.
There may also be a Trio Support with Cyril, Asugi, and Shamir that covers the line about the Knights becoming bandits and the Clerics doing things to stay in power. In my head, this would be a dark and potentially triggering storyline. It's a follow-up to the B-Support. But we'll see. I may need to write a Shamir-Asugi support for that, and I don't really feel like doing so.