Spoilers/Warning: This fic contains spoilers about the game and its ending so consider yourself warned. And also there's some swearing in here, due to the Sparda brothers' potty mouths.
Dedication: To Laryna6, AnimeGamer10, ShinimegamiXOXO, The Tyrant Hamster, Zeromaru Chaos Mode, Some Random Reviewer, Kirstie, rose-mirror21, C.Y., yodel, Dav Strife, Kerriane Harrington, Shades of Blood, HolyBatman, Meirelle, Dra Gan the Dragoniodian King, Avrile, MissPixel, Ryoko-starwind, Kay-Marie, not available, dusty, Alexander-Godslayer, KngofPirates, d-twizzy, darthjag, and Red-Demon50 (yeah sitcom, eek XD).
Disclaimer: Star light, star bright, please grant me my wish tonight! I wish I owned Devil May Cry! … What do you mean you don't want Capcom to sue you? Sigh.
A/N: Eek, sorry for the really long delay in updating! Blame school, not me! I'll shut up now so you can read this long overdue chapter. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcomed! Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Dinner and a Mystery
Lady's glare bounced from one occupant of the room to another, but predominantly it was pinned on Dante. Why was the landlord blabbering about a film being shot here? And why was that … girl standing practically naked beside Dante?
'I can't deal with this right now,' she sighed tiredly in her mind. Ignoring her 'roommates' for the time being Lady marched into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge. Also paying no attention to Vergil's protests, she took out a carton of milk and began to chug it down.
Everyone looked at her as she drank the milk in greedy gulps. Finally she finished with a satisfied "ah!" and sipped at the remaining liquid inside.
"Hungry?" Dante grinned at the milk moustache she wore. Lady was usually more refined than this, but it looked like she'd chucked good manners out the window for once. Now if only she'd lose her uptight attitude more often …
"Yeah," she said as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "And for your information, it was a cakewalk."
She shared a sly look with Cerberus; there was no way in Hell she was going to admit to them that she'd almost died. But Vergil didn't look convinced at her words and frowned.
"You're dirtying my kitchen."
"What? Well sorry for not being hygienic enough for you," she said sarcastically. "Next time I'll tell the demons to try to keep me cleaner while they attempt to kill me."
Ignoring her jibe Vergil motioned to her bloody left shoulder, which she had just noticed was starting to bleed through the bandage she'd messily put on.
"Shit!" she cursed it as she put the milk carton down on the counter. The wound should have closed a while ago, but she'd been hunched over while in the car. Mr. Gunderson and her had to move the front seats all the way up so that Cerberus could sit in the back. Even then it had been a tight squeeze for the demon hound, and they'd had to put the heater on full blast despite the humid summer weather. It had been frigid in the vehicle, and she fervently hoped she wouldn't catch a cold.
"Here, I'll help you with that," Dante immediately offered, mostly out of concern but partly to get some distance from the scantily clad Nevan. He liked chicks, and Nevan was definitely a looker, but even though he knew better, she looked like a pre-teen and that kind of disturbed him.
Lady didn't argue. While pressing a hand on the cotton pad she hurried over to the bathroom and passed by Vergil on the way there.
Her ring suddenly flared to life in a blinding display of green light. Everyone immediately closed his or her eyes against the visual assault, but Lady thought she saw several green sparks shooting out of the peridot set in the middle of her ring. Said sparks wafted over to Vergil's body and before entering his form, turned blue in colour.
As suddenly as it had begun, the light show ended. Once Lady's eyes had adjusted back to the current illumination level, she stared at her ring.
After they'd left the brewery the ring's light had dimmed to a pale glow. She'd hoped it would have faded back to normal but she hadn't expected it to do this to get there. The green stone looked like any ordinary piece of jewelry now.
"What was that?" Lady asked the question everyone else was thinking. Dante looked from her hand and then to his brother before quirking an eyebrow at the latter.
Vergil stayed stock still for a moment before he began to unbutton his shirt. Nevan gave a yearning sigh as she caught sight of his actions, but the bandages wrapped around his torso kept his muscular chest mostly hidden.
Instead of unwrapping the long cotton strips he shoved a few of them aside to reveal his flesh underneath. Checking a spot where he knew a wound had been, all he saw was flawless skin.
'Impossible,' Vergil thought. 'Unless …'
Hastily he checked another wounded spot and to his disappointment it was still there. It wasn't as severe as before, but that was no consolation to the half-devil. His demon healing ability hadn't returned, and most likely his other powers hadn't come back either.
"You OK?" Dante asked with a small frown. Lady noted how it made him look more mature, but she quickly quashed the thought. The words Dante and mature didn't seem to fit together in the same sentence.
Vergil just grunted in annoyance as he adjusted his bandages back into place and fixed his shirt. His cool blue eyes bored into Lady's own, and she glared right back.
"I guess that was the energies from the demons I took care of," she finally said after an awkward silence. "The ring just collected it during the fight. Cerberus did the same."
Everyone's attention went to the three-headed demon who calmly stared back.
"I suppose this is what Mr. Chu was talking about," Vergil said as he eyed Cerberus critically. "Too bad one of us can't get the energies he absorbed. His enlarged size will add some strain to our situation."
Translation: dealing with his increased mass was going to be a pain in the butt.
To his credit Cerberus only looked offended and didn't try to retaliate at Vergil's words. But he did rise from his spot and pad over to Dante.
The younger Sparda felt the air get increasingly colder as Cerberus approached. He couldn't help but shiver as the devil dog stopped right in front of him.
Almost tentatively the middle head stretched his neck towards his 'master'. Picking up on his cue Dante reached an arm out and laid a hand on the wintry muzzle.
An icy white mist seeped from the hound and seemed to be sucked up by Dante. It turned crimson right before it entered his body.
It took only a few seconds but once it was over Cerberus had resumed his puppy form and Dante had stopped sniffling. Feeling much better than before, he performed an experimental punch. It was hard enough that the wind it caused rattled the end table on one side of the couch.
"Cool," Dante grinned, pleased that the boost in energy had affected him so much. He gave a thumbs-up to Cerberus who wagged his tail happily.
As Dante and Vergil further investigated their partially regained powers, Lady took a first aid kit and walked to the bathroom. The twins may have been healed but her wound was still bleeding freely. And whether it was instinct or just habit, she didn't like being openly injured with demons present, 'allies' though they may be.
Entering the bathroom with the colour scheme she utterly hated, Lady was about to close the door when Dante suddenly zipped inside. In his previous condition he wouldn't have been able to make it, but now he managed to scoot within before she could stop him.
"Hey, be good out there for a while, eh?" he winked at Vergil and Nevan before shutting the door on them. He missed the killer look Lady was giving his back but he received it full force when he turned to face her.
"What? I said I'd help you didn't I?" he asked cheekily with a huge grin on his lips. "And besides," he added when it looked like she was going to punch him, "it's awkward putting on bandages with just one hand."
"Fine," Lady said through gritted teeth, some of her hostility stemming from the stinging sensations on her shoulder. "But no funny stuff!"
"I promise to leave that to the comedians," Dante smiled as he opened the first aid kit. His smile widened when he caught sight of her rolling her bi-coloured eyes at him in the mirror.
As he set out medical supplies she took off her ruined blouse and let it drop to the floor. The motion aggravated the wound but she forced herself to ignore it. If Dante and Vergil could take a sword through the chest with barely a flinch, she could put up with an itty-bitty cut.
"Ready?" Dante asked as he turned to her with a wet face cloth.
She only nodded, cursing the fact that he was only wearing some tight black jeans and the flesh God (or was that Satan?) gave him. The air moved as he came closer to her and sent goose bumps running down her legs.
'Dammit, he's only treating me! I can DO this!' she told herself and steeled her body as he stopped before her.
"Uuuh, it may be easier if you took off your t-shirt."
She glared at him for all she was worth.
"To get to your wound!" Dante said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I promise, no funny business, OK?"
Against her better judgment she managed to shrug her left arm out of its sleeve. The air tickled her exposed side as she stood partially dressed in the tiny bathroom with Dante.
'I must be going crazy,' she thought darkly to herself. Why else would she willingly live in a firetrap of an apartment with a goofball, a homicidal psycho, and demons?
'Oh yes, that's right. Dante still needs to give Kalina Ann back. And replace my bike if I had my way,' she thought as she pointedly looked away from him. Lady didn't catch his triumphant grin as he leaned closer to her.
The temptation to see if he could push her buttons further niggled in his mind, and after a (very) brief debate with himself, he decided to go for it.
Slipping a finger underneath her bra strap, he began to slowly move it down her shoulder.
Lady's knee suddenly found itself lodged into his gut.
"Oof!" Dante almost doubled over. His face came perilously close to smashing into her shoulder and the smell of Lady, sweat, and blood greeted his nostrils.
"What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked, her voice reverberating in the small room.
"I was just moving it to get better access to your wound!" he said a bit breathlessly. Though her knee had left him gasping a Cheshire cat grin threatened to explode onto his features. Her response had been expected, but teasing her never got old.
She gave him a withering stare before she imperiously said "humph!" and locked her eyes with the acid green tiles.
'Score one for me,' Dante smirked as he began to clean the blood from her shoulder and upper arm. Honestly, with priceless reactions such as that, how could he not tease her?
Once that was done he got another clean cloth and a bottle of alcohol.
"This is gonna sting," he said as he wetted the cloth with the anti-septic.
"Go ahead," Lady said as nonchalantly as possible. The words were barely out of her mouth before her shoulder exploded in pain. She almost collided with him when she yelped at the unexpected sting the alcohol brought.
"Sorry," he quickly brought the cloth away from her flushed skin. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she muttered, her face almost as red as the area around the cut. "You just … caught me by surprise."
"I'll give you better warning next time," Dante said seriously but his eyes were bright with mischief.
"Yeah right," she couldn't help a smirk of her own. "Just get on with it."
"As you say, milady," he gave her a mock bow, which also brought his face close to her breasts.
The rest of his treatment went smoothly and soon her left shoulder sported a pad of cotton expertly taped to her skin.
"Thanks," Lady said as she gingerly put on her blouse again. She'd have to throw it out later, but there was no way she'd let Vergil see her undressed.
"Anytime, babe," he winked at her.
Lady shot him a warning look but left him unscathed. Opening the door she exited/escaped the bathroom while Dante kindly cleaned up the mess.
As she quickly walked to her bedroom she caught sight of Vergil in the kitchen. He'd set their dinner on the kitchen bar that they ate on since there was no room for a table, even a dinette set, in the space they had available. Their eyes made contact, but his gaze quickly flitted to the blood on her otherwise clean clothes.
Lady found herself hurrying to her room; his looks were disconcerting but then again, what about him wasn't? Her hand touched the doorknob but it was unexpectedly pulled away from her grasp as the door opened.
To her surprise Nevan was standing in front of her wearing her clothes. The demoness now sported a charcoal gray skirt with the waistline folded in several times to make the hem even shorter. A burgundy blouse, one of Lady's favourite shirts, was buttoned halfway up so that it left Nevan's breasts tantalizingly exposed to the world. The only accessory she wore was a black leather belt with a gold buckle tightened around her trim waist.
"I hope you don't mind me borrowing your things, sweetie," Nevan spoke first and gave her a languorous smile. "But Vergil said it would be alright."
Turning around Lady glared at the half-demon in question. He was summarily ignoring them but there was no doubt that he could hear their conversation.
"He said he didn't want me gallivanting around in all my wonderful glory, but unfortunately I don't have enough power to summon my dear bats," the red-haired succubus continued as she breezed past Lady to sashay to the kitchen.
"I said it was inappropriate for you to be unclothed when there are garments available," Vergil corrected Nevan while giving her a sharp stare. "She refused to wear Dante's old clothing."
"Can you blame me?" Nevan inquired smoothly as she moved behind Vergil in an almost predatory manner. "Sugar's a charming boy, but his taste in clothing could use some improvement."
"Hey! I didn't have a lot of money to buy stuff before. Cut me some slack," Dante said as he emerged from the bathroom.
"Well … I guess it's OK for her to borrow my clothes for now," Lady stressed the word, "but I want her to get her own later on."
"You can take her shopping tomorrow," Dante said and then grinned as he saw Lady's crestfallen features. Better her than him, he thought. "By the way, mind if I hang onto the cash you got?"
"Sure," she said as she dug out the remaining bills from a pocket. She was living under his roof after all, and the job had been thanks to him in the first place. However Lady only handed Dante the majority of the money and kept a few large bills for herself.
"Expenses," she smirked at his raised eyebrow. "Bullets don't come cheap, and we have to buy Nevan some clothes, remember?"
"Right, right," Dante accepted it without much fuss. She'd earned her keep so Lady was privileged to get a cut of the rewards.
"If you're all done chatting already, dinner's getting cold," Vergil called out from the kitchen. The two turned to see him already sitting on one side of the counter. Nevan had seated herself beside him as she looked down at the meal spread out before her.
"Change later, Lady. Let's get some food first," Dante said as he made his way to the table.
"… Fine," she sighed as she closed her room's door again. The mission had left her thirsty and famished, something the milk had only curbed momentarily. And the smells coming from the kitchen was making her drool, not that she'd ever mention that to Vergil in this lifetime. She didn't think his ego needed another boost anytime soon.
Sitting in the last available stool, which happened to be across from Nevan, Lady began to dig into the food. Tonight Vergil had made minestrone soup and buttered crusty bread. Even though the soup already had tomatoes in it, mostly likely a concession to Dante's obsession, he still drank a bottle of tomato juice.
'Sheesh, it's a miracle that he hasn't turned red himself,' Lady thought as she watched him take a swig from his bottle. Vergil's drink of choice was a glass of ice water.
Watching Vergil and Dante eating across from each other was uncanny. So close together, even with their different clothes and hairstyles, it was obvious that they were twins. It was like looking into a very messed up mirror, and Lady wondered what ran through their heads as they sat in front of the other.
'Heh, Dante's probably wishing for pizza and Vergil's most likely thinking about world domination,' she snickered to herself. Lady turned her head away lest one of the brothers caught her laughing at them.
To her left Lady saw that Agni and Rudra were sharing a bowl of soup and some bread. They were conversing with each other; actually it was the only conversation happening at the table; about how interesting human cuisine was. Cerberus was tucking into some kibble, which he sometimes supplemented with wild animals he'd caught himself. Glancing up Lady saw that Nevan was simply watching the Sparda brothers eating.
"Is something the matter?" Lady found herself asking the only other female in the room.
"Not at all, sweetie," Nevan focused her crimson eyes on the human. "It's just that this isn't the kind of food I eat."
"So what do you eat?" Dante asked around a mouthful of bread. Vergil wished the counter wasn't between them; he'd seen the mishmash of food in Dante's mouth and wanted to kick his brother's legs for his lack of etiquette.
'He always did have atrocious table manners,' Vergil grumbled to himself.
For an answer Nevan just grinned at Dante, the lust quite evident in her expression.
"Right," Dante smirked and thanked whatever powers looking after him that there was something obstructing her way to him. He'd have to remember to keep an eye peeled for her in the night; there was no telling what she'd do when everyone was asleep.
That time didn't take long to come. With Lady tired from her mission and Dante still dealing with his sickness, everyone decided to turn in early.
Well … almost everyone.
"Are you sure you want to go out this late?" Lady asked with a hint of concern as she stared at Nevan primping herself in front of a hanging mirror. The demoness had just told them her intent to leave the apartment in search of some "food and fun".
"Of course, darling," Nevan said as she tied the bottom of her borrowed blouse so that her midriff was exposed. "Nighttime is the best part of the day."
"But there are dangerous people out there!" Lady argued. "And didn't you say your powers were weak as well?"
"I've got more than enough to handle a bunch of mortal men," Nevan grinned, revealing some very sharp canine teeth.
Lady shot Dante a concerned look. Yes she knew Nevan wasn't human, but she looked like a high school freshman, and dressed the way that she was, she was sure to attract trouble. She wasn't even wearing any shoes for crying out loud!
Apparently Dante did not share her concern for the demoness.
"Be back before sunrise," was all he said as he tossed Nevan his set of keys. Deftly catching it in her hand her grin widened.
"Will do, sugar," the red head laughed before winking at Lady. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."
Lady grumbled something incoherent as she watched the demoness go. It was true that the other female could probably handle herself out there, but it just seemed wrong for someone so young looking to be out with pimps, gangsters, and criminals.
'What am I saying?' Lady asked herself as she grumpily headed for her room. 'Nevan will probably feel right at home with those crooks.'
"Hey, don't worry babe!" Dante called out to her from his 'bedroom'. "Nevan's a big girl. She can take care of herself."
"Whatever. Like I care," she mumbled but even to her ears it was unconvincing. "Good night."
"Sleep tight; don't let the bed bugs bite. Unless you want me to," Dante responded with a wink at her. Lady shook her head at his continued come-ons but smiled anyway.
Vergil, who had gone to his side of the divider as soon as dinner was cleaned up, didn't reply. She didn't think he was asleep yet, just indifferent or anti-social, probably both.
With a tired sigh, Lady finally entered her room to get some much deserved rest.
With a prodigious yawn Dante reluctantly joined the rest of the waking world. After rubbing the grit from his eyes, he sniffed loudly and checked the time. The clock on his nightstand told him that it was well into midmorning, and so he dug himself deeper into his blankets. It was only 10 a.m. after all, and it was way too early to even think about being conscious.
The brick wall at the head of his bed started clanking as the pipes behind it jostled against each other. It was a sure sign that someone was awake and taking a shower, and Dante was willing to bet that it was Vergil.
Since his brother's room faced the windows to the west the rising sun would (eventually) get to him first. He always rose earlier than anyone else in the flat, but Dante didn't mind; he was more of a night owl anyway.
Taking a tissue from a nearby box, he wiped his dribbling nose before lying back down. Snoozing for a few more hours sounded good and after several long moments he was starting to drift back to sleep … until an outraged and mortified scream broke the peace.
"Never a dull moment in this house," Dante muttered to himself as he regretfully sat up in his warm bed. That was as far as he got before Lady's door exploded open and she ran out.
His eyebrows rose at the sight of her dressed in only a pair of black boy shorts and a white tank top. Not noticing her watcher's fascinated stare Lady hovered around the imaginary borders of the twin's 'rooms'. She was doing an interesting 'dance' that involved her semi-hopping from one foot to another in agitation. The look on her face clearly showed her distress, disgust, and embarrassment.
"What's up?" Dante asked, and her head whipped around to face him.
"What's up? What's up! That's up!" she pointed an accusatory finger at her door.
Following her gesturing appendage, Dante guffawed in amusement. Almost in an uncanny imitation of last night, Nevan was standing naked at the entranceway with nothing but Lady's comforter wrapped around her. Pale skin seemed to glow softly in the morning light, and Dante wondered how the female demon could look so harmless and beguiling at the same time.
"What were you doing in my room?" Lady almost shrieked at her unwanted visitor.
"Aww, you didn't expect me to sleep on the couch, did you sweetie?" Nevan inquired as she approached her recent bedmate. "Besides, you were so soft and warm last night. It was divine."
To accentuate her words, Nevan draped her shapely arms around Lady's shoulders. The human clearly shuddered at the contact.
"Chill out," Dante said as he leaned against his bed's headboard. "She just likes you."
"She was practically on top of me!" Lady said as she pried Nevan's limbs off her.
"It's a small bed."
"So sleep with them!" she jabbed her finger in Dante's direction.
"Whoa there! Let's not be too hasty here," he immediately said while Nevan laughed.
"That was my first choice, but one is injured and the other is ill. I don't think either brother is up to … entertaining me," she sighed airily as she wrapped her arm around Lady's waist.
The young woman didn't think Nevan meant they'd be playing innocent games like Monopoly or Clue. And it was really weird having a girl, albeit a sexy one, hitting on her.
Taking a wrist in her hand, Lady tried to unwrap Nevan from around her waist. The demoness wouldn't have it though and held on tighter. Lady felt the strength in those seemingly frail arms. Even when she was in a weakened state Nevan still had the upper hand, or arm so to speak. It irked the human that she was once again reminded of her mortal limitations.
Before she could shout at the other to release her, the bathroom door swung open and impacted the wall with a bang. Amid a screen of steam Vergil stalked out. He was wearing dark tanned slacks and a black dress shirt that wasn't buttoned all the way. The white bandages were a stark contrast against his shirt, but it was his scowling face that attracted everyone's attention.
"Well good morning, sunshine!" Dante said, the one to break the awkward silence as usual. "Got out of the wrong side of the bed today?"
"Did you touch my things?" was Vergil's reply as he disregarded his brother's usual idiocy.
"What things?"
"My items in the bathroom," he clarified with an impatient wave in its general direction.
"Now why would I do that?" Dante asked casually. "You use girly stuff anyway."
"I do not!" he bristled at the insult.
"You are such a princess," Dante continued, ignorant or ignoring his brother's dangerously rising ire. "I think you own more hair care products than Lady and me combined!"
"Well …" Lady said as she watched Vergil stalk closer to Dante's bed. "It's true."
He stopped to turn his glacial glare at her.
"Well it is, pineapple head," she muttered under her breath. Nevan heard her and giggled.
"What did you call me?" Vergil asked as his lips drew back in a snarl.
"Look, you probably just misplaced them," Dante said before any violence could break out. "They couldn't have walked away by themselves, right?"
His words were dismissed as Lady and Vergil continued to glower at each other.
"Unlike you, I do not misplace things," he said without breaking eye contact with her. "Someone must have taken them and I want them returned now."
Obliging his words, a container of hair gel fell from the air and hit Vergil on the back of his head.
A/N: Do I pick on Vergil or what? ;)