Ignorance and Mirrors

Devil May Cry is owned by CAPCOM. I claim no ownership to its plot, characters, ect.

Niether Trish nor Lady ever mentioned that they didn't notice, but it was hard not to. Nero suspected that they did notice and simply chose to ignore this odd habit of Dante's. But Nero saw, and his curiosity was itching to be sated.

Of late, Nero had been visiting Dante's place rather frequently, escapading with Dante on demon hunting trips with carefully hidden excitement. Much to his own horror, he had grudgingly come to respect and look up to Dante Sparda, despite the older hunter's rather high-and-mighty personality.

And Nero had, as aforementioned, noticed a particular habit of Dante's.

Dante avoided seeing his own reflection. Whether in windows, puddles, or mirrors, the man seemed utterly determined to avoid seeing himself reflected on any possible surface. Nero just had to know why. One day at Dante's he cornered Trish and begged the answer. To his surprise, her expression twisted, and Nero found himself anxiously awaiting her reply.

"Dante's brother died before he met you. In the end, Dante was the one who had to finish him off – his own brother, his twin. Dante may be a devil, but he's not a monster. Nero, he was forced to kill Vergil, a man whom he loved very much, and who looked exactly like himself. Of course, he won't look at his own reflection if he doesn't have to. It pains him to see Vergil in the mirror."

Nero felt disheartened by that, that and the fact that he hadn't figured out the obvious answer on his own. It only furthered his apprehension when Trish later took the time to tell him that seeing Yamato, Vergil's former sword, affected Dante much the same way. Nero reluctantly hadn't noticed that until she pointed it out, seeing as he himself carred Vergil's old weapon.

Several days later, Nero came into the shop to find both women gone. Curious, Nero wandered to the back of the building in search of Dante. He found something that shook him to the core. The bathroom door was half open, and through it Nero saw Dante with his head bowed and his hands braced against each side of the sink. With a look of determination, Dante's head rose and he stared straight into the mirror, before whispering fiercely, and with a sad, sad smile:

"Hey, Verg. It's that day again, the day I killed you. Sorry about that by the way. Damn, I hate mirrors." Dante laughed shakily, and it was a sad, bitter thing. Nero vaguely wondered if he should sneak away, before Dante caught him there, but his feet may as well have been nailed to the floor, for all the effort he was putting into it.

Dante continued to ramble, "That kid Nero looks too much like us sometimes. Reminds me of you, but hell, everything reminds me of you. Nero's nothing like you, though, couldn't be if he tried. You ass." Dante drew in a raspy breath, as if speaking to his own reflection was emotionally tearing him apart. "Shit, I miss you. It's why I can only do this once a year, you know…can't even shave. I shouldn't have let you fall, should have known Nelo Angelo was you, should have known."

Nero's throat was dry.

"Wish you'd come back. I'd happily let you kick my ass, if you would."

Nero took a step back, turned.

"I love you, Vergil."

Nero was running, as silently as quickly as he could, but he couldn't get away fast enough.

"Please come back."

A tortured sound filled the air, and Nero wasn't fast enough to escape the sounds of Dante's secret agony. He cursed his curiosity as he slid out of the shop's door, the words Devil May Cry shining mockinglyin neon lights behind him. He couldn't help but feel guilty for now knowing what he never should, knowing how much Vergil's death had affected Dante, how much it had probably changed him.

Apparently, ignorance shatters as easily as the glass of a mirror.

Nero wished he had never asked.

End.