Redgrave's Hunter

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Vergil resisted the urge to roll his eyes upon hearing his brother's cheeky remark, having anticipated this sort of competitive scenario which was a common theme between them, thus keeping counts on their kills as well. He gracefully somersaulted to avoid a giant scissor soared toward him and countered by a spinning slash that prompted a loud shriek from the demon as it fell and dissipated. Vergil landed smoothly and straightened himself, looking at his brother with amused annoyance.

“The appalling lack of universally formal phrases in your less than measly vocabulary is no cause for me to change my locution.” The underlying threat in his words was emphasized by the forbidding manner in the way his right hand flew to Yamato’s tsuka.

The elder twin nursing the notion to simply conjure a portal and jilted his brother right there and then, when Dante’s offer of a deal prompted him to pause and tilted his head askance. And his suspicion was proven upon seeing the way Dante’s grin twitch as though about to widen, prompted Vergil to huff impatiently and resume his movement to draw the Yamato. “Cut your malarkey and follow me, or linger here and starve. I care not, Dante.”

“Oh come on Verg?” Dante whines, the same sort of needling whine that he used to do when they were children and the elder would walk away from him. It’s so familiar and thankfully it doesn’t hurt anymore to think it or to remember it. “One simple little thing for me? And I’ll even throw in an extra to sweeten the deal? I’ll be the picture of educated and fancy wherever you take me.” He speeds up just enough to get in front of Vergil and walks backwards to maintain the distance. 

Dante let out a slow whistle at the damage before him. The client said that this factory was going to be hit next, good on them for having actually good intel. Too bad they were an asshole.

“Gotta say, for a little thing you pack a punch.” He links his fingers behind his head and rocks on the soles of his feet. “I’m almost impressed. How long did that take? I got a bagel and it was already over.”

“Is there a demon that needs killing?”

Huh?

“Or just a squirt who needs proper anger management?”

Huh.

Rust begins to snicker then laughs at what the man said. “Old man. Do I look like someone with anger issues or needs any anger management ere?” Rust smirked as he tears a piece of metal with  his metallic talons, “Lemme tell ya somethin, I’m not that easy to kill so ya can try. Just letting ya know, I might wipe the floor with ya.”

“So whoever your friend is, I hope he has a LOT of money to pay for your hospital bills!” Rust grinned as he rolls his right shoulder and then he puts his arms up, in an offensive stance. “So go ahead, make your first move!”

“Old man?” Dante says, giving the kid a look of mock offense and letting his voice raise into a fake falsetto. “Old man? Why I never! Whippersnappers these days, I tell you. No respect for their elders.” He sees the kid rev himself up and he just snorts and rolls his eyes.

⊰ ♚ ⊱

Vergil resisted the urge to roll his eyes upon hearing his brother's cheeky remark, having anticipated this sort of competitive scenario which was a common theme between them, thus keeping counts on their kills as well. He gracefully somersaulted to avoid a giant scissor soared toward him and countered by a spinning slash that prompted a loud shriek from the demon as it fell and dissipated. Vergil landed smoothly and straightened himself, looking at his brother with amused annoyance.

“Cease your crudity, Dante.” Even he was aware that his reprimand lacked actual anger and sounded as though he enjoyed their banter slightly affectionate even above all. “As self-possessedly sanguinary I am capable to be, I too desire a taste of culture in equal amount.”

Dante looked like he was fighting back a laugh for a few seconds at Vergil’s words before he lost the battle and just held his side for a moment until the hilarity of the situation passed him by.

“Self-possessedly sanguinary, my fucking god you fucking dork.” He wipes away tears. “Can’t just speak in layman’s terms, can ya Verg? Here, let me show you.” He reaches up to push back his hair out of his face, back like Vergil’s for the effect of it all. “‘I’m Vergil, I like to stab things and eat fancy food. Pizza? I’ve never heard of her.’.” He does a mimicry of Vergil’s tone and it comes across pretty damn well if he does say so himself. Well, maybe not all that perfectly, there’s an undercurrent of fondness towards his brother that he can’t mask. Even in the middle of the joke. He lets his hair fall back into it’s natural unkept state and he grins at the other.

Another horde fought, another horde defeated. Ugh, he needed a shower and a nap.

Flopping on his back, careless of the dust and probable demon guts, he stretched and let out a groan as everything cracked; then just laid there, wondering what Nero was getting up to right now topside.

“So what’s so special about all this anyways? Doesn’t look all that impressive to me. Doesn’t even have curb appeal.” Curb appeal, hah. Like Dante knows the first thing about curb appeal. “Why would you want to rule here? Doesn’t even have a pizza joint. Bare minimum standards and it’s not passing.”

Vergil’s volume had dropped, considerably. That was his nature. Like a summer squall, the thunder and lightning was short lived, however violent and terrible it may appear. All that was left to do now.. was pour.

“ .. I was never all that far away,” he admitted, softly. “ .. So when I hear things like ‘I tried to find you,’ it’s hard to believe. Because if you tried, really tried? Why was I never found?”

Memories of V, the sentimental fool, telling all of Vergil’s secrets, upset him greatly.

I wanted to be loved .. and protected.

Idiot.

No one ever loved you, and sure as hell, no one protected you..

Vergil sighed.

“ .. I’m exhausted,” he said, waving Dante off. “If you still seek to berate me for all the evil I’ve done, you’ll need to get in line. Or, I can do it for you. Just find me a mirror, I’m sure I can think up anything you have to say..”

What kind of question was that? Dante didn’t know. Maybe fate had a hate boner for the twins. “I don’t know. Maybe I just missed you, each time. But ask anyone. I looked. Drove myself mad with it. Years Verg, years. I never gave up hoping you were alive.” It seems to be the end of their brief argument. And Dante’s enough of a coward to let Vergil get away with it.

Dante let out a slow whistle at the damage before him. The client said that this factory was going to be hit next, good on them for having actually good intel. Too bad they were an asshole.

“Gotta say, for a little thing you pack a punch.” He links his fingers behind his head and rocks on the soles of his feet. “I’m almost impressed. How long did that take? I got a bagel and it was already over.”

“Yeah, you’re in the right area.” Rust said as he felt no reason to lie, especially what he done to the machinery leaving huge claw marks on them after wrecking them right now like the ones before in previous warehouses.

“Sooo you’re going to stop this…and help out the asshole who owns it? Seriously…how much this guy is payin ya?  Has to be worth somethin…” Rust crosses his arms, “Look, I almost done with destroyin most of the place so…uh…unless you’re going to stop me, ya can try, but I will just knock you outta the way..”

“What that asshole? Nah, he’s not paying me shit.” Dante says. “Otherwise I’d have been here before the bagel. Gotta reputation to uphold.” If Lady or Trish were here to hear that, they’d bust a gut laughing. He’s a natural comedian, too bad no ones around to get the joke. “Called in a favor with a friend of mine. Probably threw a big wad of cash at him. Seems the sort to think that fixes everything. Don’t know, don’t care. I’m here to determine if there’s a demon that needs killing.” He looks the kid up and down. 

⊰ ♚ ⊱

Vergil resisted the urge to roll his eyes upon hearing his brother's cheeky remark, having anticipated this sort of competitive scenario which was a common theme between them, thus keeping counts on their kills as well. He gracefully somersaulted to avoid a giant scissor soared toward him and countered by a spinning slash that prompted a loud shriek from the demon as it fell and dissipated. Vergil landed smoothly and straightened himself, looking at his brother with amused annoyance.

“Least you comprehend the mechanics.” He turned upon his heel, beckoning his brother to follow his lead elegantly as though their surroundings wasn’t made up of aftermath of a diabolic crash just now. “Make haste, Dante, before your belly whines as well with inanition.”

Ah this was the life. Tormenting his older brother, getting him to acknowledge him in so many ways. To anyone else it was a minor interaction, but for someone like Vergil? He basically just had an entire monologue through looks that Dante gleefully loved every second of. At Vergil’s beckoning Dante trots right over. Uncaring of the massive amounts of demon body parts and gore that they’ve left in their wake. Someone else can clean that up. He kills them. That’s his job and he did it. Time to take a bow and go get some chow.

He knows Vergil’s returned, knows it deep in his bones in the way he always has. Devil May Cry has become quiet once more since the two of them returned from the underworld. Dante has one arm cushioned under his head and the other holding a familiar book above him as he reads. V’s old poetry book, or Vergil’s actually.

“Oh I know this one! To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. Holy crap it’s so long. I thought that was all of it. That’s all you ever hear people quote.”

“Have you considered getting air conditioning installed?” he questions after a moment of silence, “ I hear it’s more impactful than a fan.”

DEVIL MAY CRY 3: DANTE’S AWAKENING (2005)

Another horde fought, another horde defeated. Ugh, he needed a shower and a nap.

Flopping on his back, careless of the dust and probable demon guts, he stretched and let out a groan as everything cracked; then just laid there, wondering what Nero was getting up to right now topside.

“So what’s so special about all this anyways? Doesn’t look all that impressive to me. Doesn’t even have curb appeal.” Curb appeal, hah. Like Dante knows the first thing about curb appeal. “Why would you want to rule here? Doesn’t even have a pizza joint. Bare minimum standards and it’s not passing.”

“ .. why didn’t you look for me after Mallet?”

.. He was almost unsure who had said it, at first. But no, that was him. Vergil hated his own voice, in truth. Hated out strained, nasaly, weak it normally sounded, compared to the booming tones of his father..

Throwing pride and caution to the winds, he looked at Dante, leveled the question at him point blank.

“After Mallet, after Mundus, why didn’t you look for me?”

“Why are you so fucking sure I didn’t?” Dante asks as he meets Vergil’s gaze head on. “Why are you so fucking sure I didn’t go back the second I was able and tore through all that crap to try and find any part of you? I did. Trish had to pull me away. We didn’t find anything. I wanted to believe that was proof that you were alive somewhere because where was the body but Trish was convinced that it was designed to take you with it.”

He knows Vergil’s returned, knows it deep in his bones in the way he always has. Devil May Cry has become quiet once more since the two of them returned from the underworld. Dante has one arm cushioned under his head and the other holding a familiar book above him as he reads. V’s old poetry book, or Vergil’s actually.

“Oh I know this one! To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour. Holy crap it’s so long. I thought that was all of it. That’s all you ever hear people quote.”

“Must you always be so nettlesome?”

“It’s part of my charm.” Dante grins, closing the book. “So what do you want to do, since my poetry slam powers are too great for you.” He wants to make sure that Vergil feels welcome here. That he feels like this is home. Or at least a second home. Dante will take being only a secondary home. More than what he had before.

Another horde fought, another horde defeated. Ugh, he needed a shower and a nap.

Flopping on his back, careless of the dust and probable demon guts, he stretched and let out a groan as everything cracked; then just laid there, wondering what Nero was getting up to right now topside.

“So what’s so special about all this anyways? Doesn’t look all that impressive to me. Doesn’t even have curb appeal.” Curb appeal, hah. Like Dante knows the first thing about curb appeal. “Why would you want to rule here? Doesn’t even have a pizza joint. Bare minimum standards and it’s not passing.”

Vergil hated admitting it, but he was well past shame.

“Let’s talk about you not looking for me for another nine years. After all, from eight until, what, eighteen? You didn’t see me, so what was another nine?” Vergil said, raging as he stood there, yelling back at his mirror given life, breath, a soul, wearing a red coat and snarling right back at him. “I was tortured. For just a few months shy of a full decade. He did things to me – “ He composed himself. Dante didn’t need to know all the gory details.. He was like to just throw it back in his face.. Weak Vergil, reduced to a sobbing wh–

Vergil squared his shoulders.

“ .. He did things to me, that would have killed you,” he said, softly. “So maybe it’s good I went through it alone. I wouldn’t have been able to keep myself sane and take care of you.. You know what it feels like, to have your chest cracked open? By the woman wearing the smiling face of your mother? To break .. ? Because this lie of a creature told you how much of a disappointment you were? That was year one. And you not being there, all that I could forgive! I could let that go, after thinking, well, how could he come to you? How could he be expected to come find you .. ? Oh, but then you did find me!”

.. Vergil was standing there, ranting, and crying. Hell with it. Hell with it.. If Dante wanted to take his inventory, fine. Fine..

“And we fought, and I was free, and then you killed Mundus and you left me for dead on that godforsaken island.. Why was I always an afterthought? A written off creature? Oh, Vergil’s missing during the fire. Oh, Vergil’s fallen into Hell. Oh, Vergil’s gone from Mallet castle.. Why has no one on this earth ever fucking cared enough to come looking for me..?”

“I didn’t leave you!” Dante snarls right back. Why is it that only Vergil can get this much emotion out of him? Why is it that Vergil only ever goes for the soft spots with that power? “You wanted to go. You always want to go. You never want me to follow and now you’re pissed because the time I listened? You think I don’t fucking hate myself for that? I tried to reach out but just like when you were here I got no answer. I thought that was an answer. I thought you were ignoring me as you always did. It wasn’t like I could just pop down there whenever I wanted. Then I found out what actually happened.” And how horrifying that had been.