A/N: Typing in class again… I'm a bad student… meh.

Disclaimer: Boooooooooooooo

Passage of Time

Vergil opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the ceiling, he took a deep breath and reached within himself, pulling on the power of Yamato gently. The ancient katana responded eagerly to its young master's command. It had been too long since it had bathed in the blood of monsters. It wanted desperately to feel the heat of battle again but it knew, it knew that its young master was still healing, he was nearly ready to fight again if need be, nearly, but not quite. The half devil looked at the blade in his hand, tightened his hand on the grip and felt the comfort it gave him to have it. It pulsed white hot energy into his mind, reminding him of battles long ended and times long past. He smiled and closed his eyes again, reveling it the feeling of power, the feeling of being a devil free from anyone's control. The blade certainly preferred the mastery of himself and before him, his father, than those who didn't seek power, didn't want to continue that pursuit for all of their lives. Sparda had pursued a different sort of power but it mattered little to the ancient devil, he now belonged to another. This boy wanted power just as it was meant to be, he had a burning desire for vengeance in his heart, one that couldn't be coddled by human society or soothed by kind words. He was still young, he still had much time to gain more power… Vergil bit his lip as the thoughts of vengeance floating off of the devil arm sparked memories of his mother, it had been over a year but it still hurt him deeply, if only he'd been stronger… if only she'd been stronger, if only he didn't have his human side holding him back…

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, he needed to get up and get ready for school, Madeline would be getting up to make breakfast soon and he always like to be down there to help her. He placed Yamato next to his bed where the devil arm spent the majority of the days. Madeline had been right all that time ago, his nightmares had stopped, or at the very least, they had become extremely rare. He pulled his clothes for the day on and yawned as he made his way to the bathroom, splashing water on his face to help bring his body to alertness. He felt the smallest tingle in the back of his mind, the smallest demonic presence. The half devil gripped the edge of the counter, it was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, and he felt his heart race in the idea of a fight. He looked to the clock in the bathroom, he had plenty of time…

-The Boy in Blue-

Madeline nearly jumped out of her skin when Anthony came in through the door covered in grime and blood.

"What happened!?" she asked, terrified that the boy had gotten hurt, she knew he healed quickly but she still worried. Anthony grinned, white teeth against a dirty face and eyes that lit up with a demonic light.

"It was a minor demon, I took care of it." He said, still grinning, despite the gore sticking to him.

"What?!" Anthony sighed

"I sensed a minor demon and I took care of it." He said simply, as though this were the most basic idea in the world, not as though he had just hunted down something and killed it just for sport.

"But…" she managed, unsure of what else to say.

"It's fine, I'm fine." He said, walking upstairs, presumably to get cleaned up. Madeline numbly continued to cook the eggs on the stove, her mind reeling from the current predicament, what was she supposed to tell him? That people didn't just hunt things down and kill them? He wasn't entirely human so that didn't really apply, and at the same time, the kid held a vengeance against the very monsters that had killed his mother, they were monsters, at least, from how much she understood.

"I'm not cut out for this…" Madeline mumbled as she slid the egg onto the plate.

Twenty minutes later Anthony was back downstairs, looking perfectly cleaned up. It wasn't as though he'd just killed another creature in the back alley of a store. He sat down and started eating, just like he always did. He paused and looked up at her staring at him

"What?" he said, egg balanced hap hazardously on his fork.

"You just…" she sighed, trying to collect her thoughts. "You just sensed a demon and went and killed it."

"It doesn't belong here." He said, taking a bite of his food "It was weak and so I killed it. That's the way things go. Why?"

"It's just… it's just a lot to take in, I thought you'd hurt yourself." She said, though it still freaked her out that he'd just gone out and killed something. Anthony shrugged

"It only got me once, I need to practice more. Besides, I heal very quickly." Madeline could practically feel the grey hairs growing out of her head

"I still worry about you." She said

"You don't need to." He said simply. Madeline made a face at the half devil in front of her

"I never asked for your opinion on it," she said rather grouchily "I am going to worry with or without your permission, now finish your breakfast and let's go, you're going to be late for class." Anthony grumbled a little but sped up his eating.

The half devil took a deep breath when he got in the car, his nerves were still trilling with the heat of battle that he had felt fighting off that minor demon, Yamato pulsed within his mind, fueling his adrenalin, he needed to do that again…

A/N: Tada!

Till next time,

-Winged Element