THREEFOLD

CHAPTER SIX - Something's Wrong With That Boy...

It was around dinner time in the Sparda household. Lili was sitting on the couch with Eva, laughing and giggling at another episode of Sex and the City while Sparda was out in the backyard, sparring with Damien and yelling at Otium to join in. His shouts were in vain. Otium wouldn't budge, let alone look his grandfather in the eye. This mildly annoyed Sparda. His own grandson would rather read then train? Just how was his son and daughter-in-law raising these kids? In the kitchen, Tifa was cutting up a celery stalk with a rather large kitchen knife. Vergil, seeing this display (a beautiful woman with a dangerous weapon) was, to be blunt, aroused. With a devious grin, the son of Sparda silently stepped into the kitchen. His footsteps were silent as he drew closer, and the silence remained as his arms reached out towards his wife, gently wrapping around her waist as he brought his face to her neck. Earlier on in their relationship, his sneaking up on her had surprised Tifa from time to time. But she had grown used to it after all these years. A smile formed on her soft, pink lips as she slightly tilted her head to the side, letting Vergil nuzzle and kiss her neck while holding her closer against him.

"What's on you're mind, dear?" Tifa asked in a very soft voice, not wanting to attract the attention of her daughter and mother-in-law.

Vergil growled slightly, kissing her neck slightly harder. "I was wondering..." his hands massaged her hips. "Why you never used a weapon in your battles..." one hand continued to massage while the other trailed down her arms, clasped over her hand and assisted her in slicing the vegetable. "When you look absolutely irresistable holding one."

Tifa blushed, giggled slightly, then turned her head to look at Vergil. "Oh? I thought you'd be impressed that I didn't need a weapon when it came to a fight."

Vergil chuckled at that. "Oh I am." the hand that had massaged her hip had moved onto the front of her pants. "But I would prefer it if you carried a sword, like the men in my family." his hand began to unbutton her pants. "Because I would love to have the opportunity to rid you of your weapon during our little spars, then use it to slice off your clothes."

Tifa shook her head and placed her other hand over his, stopping him from unbuttoning her pants further. "Vergil, not now." she protested. "You're mother and daughter are right over there."

Vergil chuckled and unbuttoned one more. "Then let them watch."

"Watch what?"

At that, both Vergil and Tifa stood straight and looked over their shoulders. Lilianna had stepped into the kitchen with an empty glass, and was looking her parents over with a "Get a room" look on her face. Tifa smiled, then shook her head.

"I thought that program wasn't appropriate for you to watch, but you're father said it was alright." was her response.

Lili shook her head and chuckled. "Right. Good one, Mom." she said with a laugh, then opened the fridge. The daughter of Vergil refilled her glass with orange Kool Aid, then exited the kitchen just in time to see Sarah Jessica Parker screaming at a squirrel and dropping pie crust.

As soon as she exited, Tifa turned around and playfully pointed the tip of the knife at Vergil's chest. "Like I said. Not now."

Vergil chuckled, then lifted his hands in the air in a surrendering way. And very slowly he stepped away from her. "If my dearest commands."

Tifa laughed. "And she does."

Tifa returned to cooking as Vergil stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Lilianna and Eva were stilling roaring with laughter over that television show. Vergil himself was not familiar with the program. He had never taken the time to sit down and watch television (except on one particular occassion when Dante and RD made him watch a movie known as Pulp Fiction, which the son of Sparda found mildly disturbing). To his convinience, he watched the program that had his mother and daughter laughing up a storm long enough to see the blonde that the two called Samantha having sex with a farm boy. At that Vergil rose his eyebrows, then glanced down at his daughter. Sure, the program did not show anything too obsence. The woman was covering her breasts, and the man's parts were not visible, but Vergil didn't like the fact that his daughter was watching it. From what he heard, television had a knack for putting ideas into the minds of others. He personally didn't want to see his daughter mating with someone anytime soon, then blame it on the television.

"Lilianna..."

His voice made Lili stiffen up. Automatically her hand lashed out, grabbed the remote and then turned off the TV. She looked up at her father with a very, very awkward looking face.

"Ye-Yeah Daddy?" she stammered.

Vergil almost laughed at her "I'm so busted" face, but then began to speak. "Perhaps your mother was correct... I don't think you should be watching that particular show."

Then she groaned. "Oh come on, Daddy. Grandma said it was alright..."

Vergil narrowed his eyes. "And you're father says it isn't." he looked at his mother. "No more of that."

Eva turned and looked at her son, shaking her head. "Oh Vergil, don't be too protective. It isn't like we're watching something dirty. The show is actually quite funny, and I am not referring to the sex scenes."

Vergil crossed his arms. "I don't want her watching it. End of story."

Vergil turned on his heel and exited the room, hearing Lilianna groaning. His sharp ears didn't detact his mother's voice whispering into Lili's ear that they would continue watching the series up in her room. If he had, he probably would've screamed at her. He made it into the backyard and saw that Sparda was giving Damien some offense training. The legendary dark knight was deflected and blocking Damien's attacks. Every kick and punch was sent flying at his grandfather with deadly accuracy. Every swing of his sword went slicing or stabbing in Sparda's direction. Vergil looked at his son with a smile. Damien was developing into quite the warrior...

Then he looked down. There was Otium, on the steps of the stairs, reading something called Macbeth. He had a highlighter in one hand, and was highlighting certain sentences, obviously studying for a test or something. Vergil then looked to the side, and saw several other books. They seemed to be for his entertainment, for Vergil highly doubted that his teachers assigned him to read Frankenstein, Gone With the Wind, Hamlet and Macbeth all at once. Otium was as good at multitasking as his mother. But why did the son of Vergil refuse to spar with his grandfather?

As if the boy could feel his father's eyes on him, Otium lifted his head and was looking up into Vergil's face. "Hello Father."

Vergil knelt down beside his son. "What are you reading?"

Otium looked down at the pages. "Macbeth..." he said quietly. "It's pretty interesting... kind of hard to read at some points."

Vergil chuckled. "Hard to read? That seems impossible, coming from you." he eyed the other books again. "You seem to love it."

Otium nodded slowly. "I like to read... these books are interesting." he looked at his father. "I see you reading a lot... well, sometimes anyway. Don't you think books are interesting?"

Vergil chuckled. Perhaps there is some of his father inside of him after all. "I suppose. But the books I read are mostly about him though." he looked up at Sparda, who had now switched to defensive training.

The son of Vergil blinked his red eyes and sighed. "Grandpa is... something else, isn't he?"

At that Vergil just laughed. "Ah yes, that he is." he shook his head as his father was hollering and shouting at Damien as he attacked. "It's almost hard to believe that he is the same devil who defeated Mundus."

"COME ON, BOY! YOU HAVE TO BE QUICKER THEN THAT! DON'T HOLD THE SWORD THAT WAY WHEN YOU BLOCK! JESUS, YOU FIGHT LIKE A GIRL SOMETIMES! FIGHT LIKE A SPARDA! THAT'S IT!" the dark knight shouted with every attack.

Otium nodded slowly. "Very hard to believe..."

After awhile, both Sparda and Damien stopped sparring. Damien was dripping with sweat and had a few welts, bruises and shallow cuts from attacks that he wasn't quick enough to block. They would heal quickly, so he didn't worry about them too much. Sparda on the other hand, didn't break a sweat, and instead brushed the dirt and dust off of his purple coat. Damien wiped the sweat off of his brow, and the two Spardas headed towards the porch, stopping infront of Vergil and his oldest son.

"I see you've been training him well." Vergil said, looking from Damien to Sparda.

Damien's grandfather smiled and crossed his arms. "He's got talent. Hopefully the devil inside of him will come out sooner then expected."

At that, Damien just grinned. "That's awesome! Then I'll be able to Devil Trigger like Dad and Uncle Dante!" then he glanced down at Otium. "Hey Oti, what do you think my devil form's gonna look like?"

Otium looked up, and to his misfortune, all eyes fell on him. He hated being on the spot. While his father and brother seemed curious as to what his response would be, his grandfather had that look in his eye that looked as if he was wondering why Otium didn't want to train and spar. After a moment, Otium spoke.

"I... hope you don't have a Devil Trigger."

His response made all three of his relatives gape at him in surprise. Damien blinked awkwardly, then looked his brother over as if the boy was insane.

"But... how come? I mean, that's what we are." he stammered, just as shocked as his father and grandfather.

Otium began to tense up. He was on the spot big time now. "Well..." his eyes shifted. "I don't like the idea of my brother turning into someone else."

At that, Vergil placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "But he won't be turning into someone else." the son of Sparda said. "He will still be you're brother. Just with a different appearance. His mind and spirit will remain the same."

Sparda nodded. "That is correct. He will still be the same person. Devil triggers do not alter someone's personality."

Otium glanced down. "I guess you're right..."

Vergil and Sparda were about to respond when Tifa's voice cut them off. Vergil's wife stepped into the backyard with a grin on her face. Judging by the smell of food that emanated from the house, dinner was obviously ready. But then Tifa took one look at Damien and shook her head.

"You go wash up before you eat anything." she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Damien groaned. "Oh come on, Ma! I'm starving!"

Tifa shook her head again. "Do as you're told, baby. Supper will be waiting for you when you're done cleaning yourself up."

With another groan, Damien made his way up the stairs and into the house. Vergil and Otium stood to their feet and walked into the house, Sparda following close behind, only to stop infront of Tifa. He brought himself close to her, whispering very quitely in her ear:"Something's wrong with you're son."

Tifa's eyes widened, then she looked up. "What do you mean?"

Sparda glanced up, taking a quick look at Otium, then looking back down at Tifa. "I don't think Otium... wants to be a devil. I honestly think that's a part of him that he does not want to be."

Tifa bit down on her lip and crossed her arms. "It's probably because he's around me. I've never said anything negative about the devils, but... I guess he just wishes he was completely human."

Sparda lifted his glass eye off of his face and rubbed it against his jacket. He placed it back on his eye and folded his arms infront of his chest. "Perhaps it's school."

Tifa sighed and shook her hand at him and turned to enter the house. "Can we not have this debate again? The kids need to be in school."

Sparda made a step toward her. "Think about it though, Tifa. Everyone in this world knows who we are. The people in their school must be pressuring them about it in some light. Suppose Otium saw or heard something about the devils that he... did not want to see or hear." he narrowed his eyes. "You know... very well what you're husband has done in the past. You're children don't."

Tifa stopped in her tracks and stared down at the floor. She was silent for a very long time. She knew he was right. When she and Vergil were raising the children, they never told them about the events that occurred in Vergil's youth. Tifa personally didn't want her kids to know that their father was once a very, very bad man. She didn't want them to know that he was a murderer, that he would kill his own twin just to be mighty. He was a different man now, and she did not want them to know about who he once was. Tifa looked up, then glanced over at Sparda.

"I'll talk to him." she said. "I'll talk to all of them... if they want to leave school, I'll see if I can find a governess and they can be homeschooled."

Sparda nodded slowly. "That sounds like a better idea." he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm only concerned for my grandson. I don't want to pressure you. He is your son, it is you're decision."

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Sparda..." then she looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Well, dinner's ready. Let's hurry up before it gets cold."

Sparda smiled and watched as the brunette stepped into the kitchen and sat down at the table beside her husband. Damien had come back from the bathroom, his hair damp and face cleaned, and took a seat beside Otium, who sat between him and Lilianna. Sparda pulled out Eva's chair and let the blonde human sit down before he took his seat. For the first ten minutes, it seemed like they were going to have a quiet dinner. They obviously were hoping for too much. In the next minute, the back door opened up and in came Dante and RD.

"Hey! Just in time!" Dante shouted.

Lilianna looked over and grinned hugely. "Hey Uncle Dante!!"

Dante winked at his niece and strolled into the kitchen, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Lilianna. "Hey babe. How's life treatin' ya, today?"

At that Lili groaned. "Well, I'm not allowed to watch my favorite show anymore."

Before Vergil or Dante could retaliate, that was when Damien lifted his head up. "Why do you watch that show anyway? It's full of naked women. Are you into that stuff? Do you play for the other team, Lili?"

Tifa looked at him. "Damien, watch you're mouth!"

Then Lilianna jumped in. "You WOULD say that, wouldn't you? Did it ever enter you're puny little mind that maybe I find the show FUNNY? There's a lot more to it then naked women!"

Damien waved her off. "Oh excuses, excuses. You dig chicks and you know it."

"I DON'T!" Lili shouted.

Otium lowered his eyes and continued to chew on a piece of meat. The arguement turned into a heated verbal battle. Damien continued to make lesbain insults while Lilianna went on and on about how immature he acted. Tifa then joined in, shouting at the both of them, trying to shut them up and have dinner in peace. Sparda, Vergil and Dante, however, seemed to be enjoying the show. After an indefinate amount of time, the screams were louder and Lili was ready to throw her glass of milk all over Damien's head. That was, until RD (who absolutely HATED noisy children), stole one of Dante's guns, opened up the kitchen window and shot a bullet into the air, silencing everyone in a split second.

"Thank God..." she muttered, then tossed Dante his gun. "I was going to ask what show it was, but I don't want that to start up all over again."

Vergil glanced at Lili after chewing a piece of steamed broccoli. "It wasn't an appropriate show for a young girl, let alone my daughter."

Recognizing his tone, Dante knew that Vergil did not want to carry on this conversation, even though the verbal fight between his kids had entertained him. So, Dante decided to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, just got a bunch of katana swords shipped in. RD just made another special order, so we'll be getting some new and improved firearms as well. They're worth a fortune, we'll be making a lot of money with them. You know how the weapon sales have skyrocketed ever since we arrived in reality." then he grinned at Lilianna. "And if we get enough money... well..."

That was when RD smacked him slightly. "Dante, don't tell them. It's a surprise."

The triplets blinked and looked up. "What's a surprise!?" Damien shouted.

Dante laughed and looked at RD. "Oh come on, babe. I can at least tease them a bit."

Lili groaned. "Oh come on, Uncle Dante! You can't hold out on us like that! What is it!?"

Dante laughed and shook his head. "I'm not tellin'!"

Although Lili and Damien's plates were half full, they had completely forgotten about dinner and were out of their seats, tugging on Dante's arms and pushing him to fess up. Dante wasn't going down so easily. Between laughs and chuckles, he continued to repeat "I'm not telling!!" over and over, occassionally putting his niece and nephew in a headlock while they squirmed and struggled with him. Sparda and Eva looked up, shook their heads and smiled.

"He has such a way with children, dear." the blonde said with a laugh.

Sparda did not stop smiling. "That he does." then he looked down and continued to finish his dinner.

Tifa smiled at the sight before her, then stood up. "Alright you two, get back to eating. Leave Uncle Dante alone."

"But Mom! He has to tell us the surprise!" Damien pouted.

Lili joined in. "Yeah! What's it gonna be? Tell us!"

Dante shook his head. "Maybe you guys should listen to you're mom now. You don't wanna see her when she's angry."

With a series of groans and protests, the two returned to their seats and finished their dinner, occassionally looking at Dante with that "Tell me!!" look in their eye. But he would only smirk and shake his head, then continue having a conversation with his brother and father. However, Dante would always glance over and look at Otium from time to time. He was a strange boy. Lilianna and Damien were always so energetic and rowdy and loved to play, but Otium was just always silent and mellow. It was as if he was sick and wanted to quarantine himself or something. Whenever Dante and RD would come in and cause a ruckus, Otium wouldn't even acknowledge it.

I wonder what goes on in that kid's head. Dante thought to himself. He sure as hell didn't turn out like the rest of the Spardas. Wonder why that is...

Just what was wrong with Otium anyway...?