In the dim basement of the hotel, Tōga sat facing the barman they had captured the night before. The small, dark chamber contrasted starkly with the lighted room next door where Ursula was fetching water. Tōga's brown eyes scanned over the man chained to the lone table, his form barely visible in the shadows. They had paid extra to use this discreet space deep underground, several levels below the hotel's bustling lobby. The distance and thick walls would dampen any noises, ensuring that whatever happened in this basement would go unseen and unheard by the oblivious guests above. Here, Tōga and Ursula had the privacy to interrogate their captive without interruption. The barman was at their mercy in this hidden cellar, sealed off from the cheery hotel guests chatting over evening cocktails far removed from his underground prison.

After two fruitless hours of interrogation, Tōga frowned in frustration as the chained barman revealed nothing useful despite his fear. Intimidation and deception did not come naturally to Tōga. Though bruised from his forceful capture, the barman sat stoically against Tōga's questioning, his secrets still hidden behind clenched lips. Tōga lacked the imposing presence to inflict consequences and extract the information he desired. His humble and adventurous spirit recoiled at the thought of striking the chained man despite his growing irritation. Without the ruthless instincts of his compatriots, Tōga's blunt interrogation tactics glanced off the resolute barman uselessly. Tōga pondered how to penetrate the man's stubborn silence as the minutes dragged on in the basement's creeping shadows. Perhaps he would wait for Ursula's return before trying new coercive tactics to pry loose the barman's information. But Tōga wondered if he possessed the capacity to break this man, no matter the methods employed. His kindly nature might prevent him from descending to the depths required to crush a captive's defiance.

Tōga sighed in frustration as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, pulling back the pink strands of damp hair clinging to his face. “Nah, nothing yet,” he said disappointedly as Ursula returned, handing him a refreshing cup of water. He took an eager swig, giving the purple-haired beauty a weary smile before turning his eyes reluctantly back toward the chained man. Two hours of questioning had yielded little but exhaustion on Tōga's part. The barman remained stubbornly silent, his secrets still locked away despite Tōga's efforts. As Tōga gulped down the cool water, its relief only seemed to accentuate the futility of the interrogation up to this point. Lowering the cup, Tōga met Ursula's gaze, nonverbally communicating his failure to extract information from their captive. The man's defiance was a testament to Tōga's gentle nature, unable to access the ruthlessness needed to pry loose stubborn lips. But with Ursula now present, perhaps she possessed the will and the ways to break the man where Tōga could not.

“Our friend here doesn’t have loose lips.”

---

wc: 484

Tōga sighed inwardly as he left the interrogation room, the barback's sealed lips still ringing in his ears. After hours spent trying in vain to pry information from the man who drugged Ursula, Tōga had nothing to show for it. The iron silence only compounded his frustration. He had hoped to bring some scrap of knowledge back to Ursula, something—anything—to begin piecing together the fragments of her traumatic experience. Some small step toward justice or closure after the horrors she endured. But the barback kept his secrets locked behind fire-forged lips. And so Tōga was left empty-handed, wishing he could have accomplished more for Ursula after all they had suffered together over the past few days. Though the path ahead remained shrouded, he vowed not to stop until he uncovered the truth behind her ordeal. Her healing would not wait for loose lips.

When Ursula offered to take over the interrogation, Tōga's curiosity was piqued. "Hmm, sure - that could work," the Rune Knight acquiesced, stepping back into the shadows. As Ursula moved forward into the stark light, Tōga watched her intently, a rag wiping beads of sweat from his brow. Her purple hair shone like a royal mantle as she faced their captive with icy resolve. Tōga's brown eyes bore into her back, intrigued by this bold shift in dynamic. What tactics might she employ that his brute force could not? He hoped her cunning and poise could pry loose where his fists had failed. The barback glared at the regal woman now before him, still stubbornly silent. But Tōga sensed the air tighten, charged with possibility, as Ursula prepared to match wills with their steel-hearted foe.

A lesser man's pride may have been bruised by his fruitless efforts to break the barback, but Tōga harbored no such delusions about his shortcomings. Manipulation and cunning did not reside in his bones - only steadfast perseverance through brute force. But he recognized the need for Ursula's more subtle skills in this battle of wills. Where his fists and shouts could not shatter the man's stony resolve, perhaps Ursula's cleverness could find the cracks that would make him speak. Tōga had made peace with his own lacking aptitude for trickery long ago. Now he watched with quiet anticipation as Ursula took the reins, trusting her to succeed where his straightforward tactics had failed. A cool confidence emanated from the strong yet calculating woman, and Tōga sensed the tide turning in their favor.

---

wc: 414 [898]

"Hah, you're probably right," Tōga conceded with a laugh, relinquishing control of the interrogation to Ursula's capable hands. He could see the fire blazing in her eyes - she was out for vengeance. Even if he was the more skilled interrogator, Tōga couldn't deprive Ursula of the chance to exact some justice on the person who had violated her just nights before. Their overall mission remained firm: glean information about the rash of drink-spikings to trace the attacks to their source and prevent further harm. Still, a bit of personal payback along the way could hardly hurt. When all was said and done, personal and professional motives aligned here.

Brown eyes followed the striking Ursula as she took the spotlight in the underground interrogation chamber, situated deep enough beneath the surface that no cries would reach outside ears. Tōga positioned himself against the back wall, keen to observe as Ursula prepared to take charge. He felt a twinge of pity for the barback whose drink-spiking days were numbered. Though the man surely deserved his fate, Tōga knew well the feral nature that lurked within Ursula's soul. She was a werewolf, after all. Whatever she had planned for her prey, it would tap into those primal instincts lying just below her polished exterior. Tōga watched, fascinated and wary, as the tension mounted within the closed room.

“This may be your last time to talk before something happens, bud,” Tōga explored. “You might wanna take it,”

---

wc: 244 [1142]

Tōga watched with uneasy fascination as Ursulla's beauty transformed into menace before his eyes. In the isolation of the basement, her threats against their captive barman rang out sharp as stones, tinging the shadows with malice. Tōga felt a shiver of apprehension - was he glimpsing darkness usually hidden within his lovely friend? Ursulla could be as terrifying as she was beautiful when roused, he realized. Captivated yet uneasy, Tōga stood very still, not daring to call attention to himself. He had no wish to witness the full fury she could unleash if crossed.

A blaze of warmth flooded Tōga's face before he could master his shock at Ursulla's intimidating display. "W-whoa!" he exclaimed as she playfully threatened to use him - "That’s me! Her boyfriend" - to torment their cringing captive. Tōga struggled not to stare at the beautiful menace Ursulla had become, willing his flaming cheeks to cool. Her teasing reference threw him off balance, making his heart race. He hastily tried to regain composure by bellowing empty bravado and dramatic poses, feeling Ursulla's penetrating gaze on him all the while. Though she likely jested about the "boyfriend" quip, it tapped into sensations Tōga hardly dared examine too closely. The thought of Ursulla turning the force of her focus solely onto him made him burn with a strange exhilaration rather than fear. He blushed anew imagining what demands would fall from her smirking lips then. Tōga blustered louder to drown out his own whirling thoughts and the rapid pace of his heart.

partner-in-crime. Their captive barman quailed as she graphically described flaying the skin from his body to feed to her "boyfriend" for breakfast. Summoning a devilish grin, Tōga made a show of licking his lips, famished at the prospect.

"Nothing like a hearty meal to start the day," he purred menacingly. Inside, exhilaration and unease warred within him. Ursulla was terrifying in her wrath, yet intoxicating too as she drew him into her web of vengeance. Tōga clung to his role, not daring to let his doubts show. The barman trembled, seeming to shrink under their combined malice. Tōga told himself the man deserved this for his attempt to drug innocent patrons. He ignored the uneasiness gnawing at him, pushing it down beneath the heady thrill of playing Ursulla's partner in punishment. She would expect him to match her venom, welcoming none but the boldest and most vicious to share her schemes. So Tōga wrapped himself in a cloak of villainy, hiding any softness from her piercing gaze. Surely their victim would think twice about harming others again after facing the combined fury of Ursulla and her deadly fox-mate.

Emboldened, Tōga leaned in, brushing his lips delicately over Ursulla's flushed cheek. "She’s Precise and deadly with those claws," he purred admiringly. Their captive shuddered as Tōga's tender show of affection belied their vicious threats. To any observer, they appeared as loving partners, terrifying in their sadistic pleasure and practiced teamwork. He’d softly kiss her cheek, just to add to the appeal and the show.

---

wc: 507 [1649]

Tōga and Ursula, an unlikely duo, had captured the seedy bartender who they suspected was complicit in the scandalous incidents of women being covertly drugged at his bar. Tōga, compelled by justice, teamed up with Ursula, herself previously victimized before becoming empowered. Together they plotted to unravel the truth, hoping to bring to light the harmful deeds that had long lurked in the shadows. They now sat face-to-face with their tense and reticent captive, locked in high-stakes mental chess, deftly maneuvering verbal tactics aimed to extract the information they sought, to piece together the puzzle of toxicity perpetrated under the guise of hospitality.

As the night wore on, Tōga and Ursula fell into a rhythm of interrogation, trading off in a cerebral pas de deux aimed at unraveling the bartender's secrets. Questions echoed in the sparsely furnished room as they prodded from all angles to excavate nuggets of truth from their tight-lipped captive. Ursula unleashed fiery verbal salvos, spitting threats through gritted teeth, while Tōga played the role of compassionate confessor, coaxing out revelations. The hours crept by, the bartender's resolve slowly eroding under their tactical barrage. His useful admissions came in fits and starts - not the full reveal they had hoped for, but enough strands of data for Tōga and Ursula to weave into the fabric of understanding they sought. As dawn approached, their prisoner slumped unconscious in an exhausted stupor, the mental wrestling having sapped the last of his strength. Tōga and Ursula exchanged a look - they had succeeded in mining a few more stones to pave their path of justice.

“That was fun – I think we have enough to move forward,”

---

wc: 276 [1925]

A warmth spread through Tōga like the rising sun, enveloping him in its radiance. Ursula's flirtatious words rained down upon him, striking his mind with the dazzling intensity of a meteor shower blazing through the atmosphere. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks as a bright blush bloomed across his face. At that moment, no clever retort or coy reply sprang to his tongue - he simply stood there, smiling bashfully, almost childlike in his joy at her sweet words. Though they were meant for the darker, edgier persona he had adopted for the interrogation, Tōga could not help but bask in their glow. The warmth suffused his entire being, thawing his cool demeanor and leaving him aglow in its incandescent light.

"T-thank you, Ursula-chan!" Tōga stammers, the words tumbling out in a rush like a herd of stampeding bison. He struggles to compose himself, scrambling to gather his scattered thoughts and reign in his flustered state. But before he can fully regain his bearings, Ursula's lips graze his burning cheek in a parting kiss, imprinting themselves on his countenance with startling tenderness. The gentle pressure sends his mind reeling once more, thoughts fragmented like leaves scattered by an autumn breeze. All he can do is stand rooted in place, cheek tingling from the warmth of her affectionate gesture. A final, dazzling flare that leaves him dazed in its wake as she makes her exit. Tōga lifts a tentative hand to his face, fingertips brushing the spot her lips had blessed, as though to confirm it had truly happened. The flush in his skin and the quickened beating of his heart convince him that yes, for one fleeting yet eternal moment, he had been marked by her.

“Hey… this may be weird given the circumstances. but,” he pauses, searching for the confidence to finish his statement.

“We have time until we need to act again…. Would you like to go on, uh --- wanna get dinner?”

-exit

---

wc: 328 [2253]