Hello~!
Yeah, so, uh, kinda stopped updating this for a while. I got kinda stuck on how to continue, and what vignette I'd want to write after the cliffhanger I left everyone on last chapter.
So, well, here it is! As always, if you have any thoughts, do leave a review!
For now, enjoy!
Cu had lived through many things. He'd ran across fields with naught but a pair of slacks covering his legs, in his time learning under his teacher. He'd served as a loyal knight. He'd lived through betrayal, through loss, and through that final confrontation, stabbing his fear forward as his guts bled out.
He'd gone through many things, so something like this wasn't all that strange.
"Hey, stop glaring so much, little lady." He said, leaning back as he watched the woman, Talulah if he recalled, glare at him. Perhaps them being stuck within this strange abandoned underground complex they'd fallen into contributed to her ire, but it wasn't like it was completely his fault. "Come on, it's only been three days!"
She glared even more.
He smirked in response.
In truth, Talulah didn't quite know what to think of this bastardous lupo before her.
He was strong, extremely strong. His physical abilities were superb, his arts strange yet devastating, and his instincts sharp and precise. His movements spoke of years, perhaps decades of battle, and his spear was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
But then, they'd fallen underground, and he'd reigned himself, told her that there wasn't any point fighting. She'd glared at him, her sword still raging in flames, but he merely turned and stared at her, that excited smile he held throughout the battle no longer there, replaced by cold sternness.
"Look, either we work together and leave or we die. Choose."
She chose the former.
As hostile as she'd been, she was...intrigued, mystified even by the individual before her. Who was this man truly? What was his relation to the Wrought Iron Hero? What was his story?
"Alright," Cu said, standing up and pulling his spear out from the metal floor. "Let's move."
She stood up as well, following behind him as they continued on their way through the dark corridors.
Talulah looked around as they walked, observing the area as they passed. The entire area almost felt like a bunker, one abandoned and taken over by time. She could see some of the metallic walls rusting, but the entire place was definitely functional.
She made sure to keep this place in mind.
He'd continued making advances to her, attempting to bring up topics to chatter about. She'd mostly ignored him, though she couldn't quite help but listen when he'd begun retelling his many duels against Emiya.
She found herself impressed when she heard that the Wrought Iron Hero could use his Arts to bombard an area with what was essentially a giant concentrated explosion, but the spearman merely laughed, stating that such a feat was hardly as strong as that white haired lupo could be if he truly did fight seriously.
She'd attempted to ask of course, wondering what he meant, but Cu simply shrugged, telling her that if Emiya did, if they both did go all out, then entire cities would probably disappear, and he wasn't going to tax himself on damage repair, especially considering the low wages he received.
It made her wonder if bribery could bring him into Reunion.
He was a master storyteller, she realised, and before she could do anything, she'd found herself enraptured by the many tales he seemed to have. He spoke tales of beginnings, of trials and of triumph, of failure and of regret. He spoke of things he had, and of those he'd lost. He spoke of what had been, and what could've been.
She wondered if any of those stories held any truth to them, and as outlandish as some of them sound, she couldn't help but believe.
Because the man had said it himself. If there was a hell, then he'd be condemned into the darkest pit it had.
Before she knew it, two days had gone by, and they'd made it out the entrance of the damned underground complex. She was hungry, tired, yet oddly satisfied with the entire experience.
He'd attempted to butter himself up to her again, but she'd glared at him, just like she had for the past several days. The man simply smiled, laughing along as he turned and left, waving a lazy hand in farewell, going on his own way.
She watched his slowly retreating from, and oddly, she couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Oh, finally returned?" W said, smiling coyly as she watched Talulah return. "What took you so long? Had some fun out there?"
It was meant to irritate her. The bomber loved ruffling the feathers of others, getting a rise out of them and enjoying their annoyance.
Talulah was emotionless, unbreakable, her mask a complete blank. None had seen her express anything, and when she spoke, she sounded monotonous. She wanted to pull something out from the emotionless woman, to see what she'd look with expressions dancing on her face. It'd become somewhat of a personal goal for W actually.
So when a small smile suddenly appeared on the woman's face, W could only watch in silence.
"I did." Talulah said, her voice sounding surprisingly light. In fact, her steps were light, as if she bounced with every step.
W stopped.
Is she...excited?
The woman walked past, and W's eyes slowly followed her as she disappeared into her room. She blinked, and blinked again.
"...what?"
[Individual File: Cu]
Cu, last name unknown. Race lupo. Previous inhabitant of Siracusa before moving to Lungmen, but stays rather nomadic. An ex-mafia, now works as an off-hand member of Lungmen's Penguin Logistics. Elder brother to Texas, another ex-mafia member who'd moved to Lungmen and currently worked as a member of Penguin Logistics.
Often came into conflict with Emiya, also known as the Wrought Iron Hero to most. Fights with a spear, style unknown. Full capabilities of Arts are unknown, but seems to be some sort of cloak that could be created, protecting Cu and damaging anything around it. (Further information needed)
Trained by someone known as Scathact (Unable to find any further information). Loves partying and fighting, developed a hobby for fishing and brewing cocktails. Rather outgoing and cheerful, extremely vicious and unrelenting in battle.
Talulah frowned at the file, somewhat disappointed at the lacking information she'd been able to gather about that lupo. There simply seemed to be a lack of information, the things he does as a member of that Penguin Logistics a complete mystery, even to the other members working within that group.
Unlike Emiya, his historical footsteps were empty.
It was irritating, maddening even.
She sighed, leaning back onto her chair. It'd been a couple days since she'd returned, and she was...distracted. The days since she returned passed in a blur, and she often found herself returning to that day a week ago, when they'd fought within that eye of the storm, carving out chunks of the earth as they clashed.
It'd been far too long since she fought so hard, and it was fun, exhilarating. Her fingers twitched as she recalled it, her heart beating faster, adrenaline flowing.
Was this how it felt to be excited? Was this why W looked so gleeful as she watched her bombs explode?
She didn't mind it.
She let out a slow breath, ignorant of the odd stares she was receiving from everyone else in the room.
"Hey, what the hell's wrong with her?" Mephisto whispered, looking extremely uncomfortable at this new side of the leader he'd been working under. "She sick or something?" He further added, and W could only turn to him and shrug, feeling just as uncomfortable as everyone else in the room.
"Gah, I don't know. She's been like this since she returned." W whispered back, looking at the other who'd been called in. Faust was playing with his scarf, doing his best to look away, Crownslayer looked on in silent confusion, and even Skullbreaker seemed uncomfortable, slowly backing away.
The silence stretched on for some more time, no one quite sure what to do.
Oh my god.
"Hey, Talulah, snap out of it. What did you call us here for?" W said, somewhat fed up.
Talulah blinked, surprised, before she turned to them. "Oh, you're all here." With a sense of disappointment, Talulah placed down the file she'd been reading. "W, how many bombtails did you secure?"
"Just 7." She said with a click of her tongue. "Had to use a lot as distractions."
"Hmm. I see."
"...That's it?" W couldn't help but ask, and the woman merely looked and raised an eyebrow, confused at what W was asking about. "I lost most of the bombtails, and you're fine with it?"
"Hn. Crownslayer?"
"Target eliminated." The lupo said.
Talulah nodded, picking up the file she placed and rereading it once more. Silence fell upon them once more, and W twitched slightly. "Hey, what about that guy you were looking for? What are we gonna do about that?" She asked, and the woman blinked, turning toher eyes to the bomber.
"Oh, right." She said, surprised. "Forget about it. The Wrought Iron Hero works under Rhodes Island."
"...forget about it?" W repeated slowly.
Talulah nodded.
W turned to the others, and seeing the others just as surprised as she was, she only had one thought in mind.
What. The. Hell.