Devil May Cry © Capcom
Bouquet of Calendula
Jason M. Lee
Diverge-verse: Bufonidae
Vergil wasn't sure what to expect when the principal called again, other than being glad that he hadn't been out on that possible summoning-gone-wrong job that was practically at the opposite side of the county, so he was able to leave wearing his suit. (Dante's case files were in sore need of reorganizing again, and that wasn't even getting into how some notes were mixed up with other folders. Plus, there was always the off chance of clientele entering the shop.) The most he got was that Nero had gotten into another schoolyard fight, but the details on what lead up to this one had been scarce.
Seeing Nero practically slouching in one of the chairs out in the hallway in spite of his backpack with an air of frustrated annoyance wasn't surprising. What prompted a quirk of his eyebrow was the cardboard box his son was tightly clutching, as if it contained a very important item. The somewhat bent shape and imprints indicated that Nero might had gotten into a scuffle on protecting the box while trying not to crush whatever was inside it. Noticing the raised eyebrow, the boy's jaw tightened, but lifted his chin and stayed mulishly silent. Logic meant that his son wanted to say his piece without having to retell it twice, something which Vergil silently approved, taking a seat next to him and settling in for the wait. At least it was the end of the school day, and a Friday.
As the secretary was escorting father and son into the principal's office, Vergil didn't miss the venomous glares exchanged between Nero and the boy whom he recognized as one of the school bullies who was just leaving. The boy's parents, whom he also recognized from past parent-teacher meetings, also shot glares at him, which he simply responded by not saying anything at all and coolly ignoring them save a brief glance. In too many ways, they reminded him of certain devils and demons, where their "power" was simply a facade that hid their weaker constitutions. (Not completely dissimilar to fables of the donkey wearing a lion or tiger's skin before it got eaten.)
Pleasantries were exchanged, and both adults waited for Nero to talk, letting him choose his pace. For a brief moment, Nero fidgeted before sighing gustily and carefully cracking the lid open, gesturing for the principal to look. Curious, both of them leaned over and blinked at the wart-like brown skin, and yellow and black eyes staring back silently until it let out a croak.
"A toad?" Jizo asked, squinting and readjusting her bifocals.
Nero nodded, closing the lid back. "Julius was trying to make Kyrie kiss this toad when we were outside getting tree leaves for science lessons, said that he found it in a stream near his house. He kept shoving it into her face all the while talking shi- stuff about princesses kissing toads." A scowl not unlike his father's. "He even tried to force some of the other girls to do it too. I told him to quit it. He wouldn't." A shrug, as if to say 'well, here I am'.
Jizo tented her fingers in front of her face with a thoughtful look. "Other than it obviously being not sanitary, was there also another reason why you fought Julius?"
"Toads have this gland-thingy under their skin that could make people really sick."
Vergil blinked in mild surprise. He knew his own library had several science texts, but those were more at the university level and he didn't had that many that specifically covered animals of the Human World. Even what few children's science books on animals covered more broadly. "Where did you learn that?"
Nero squirmed, as if realizing what just slipped out. "It was when you were out on that job with Uncle Dante a few weeks ago, Father. Aunt Lady was babysitting me because she had a broken leg, remember? Uncle Dante had gotten cable, so we watched a lot of Animal Planet and National Geographic and a couple of the other science channels, said that I might learn something. One of the shows talked about poisonous frogs and toads, like the cane toad from South America and Au- Auspa- Australia, and I guess it kinda stuck." Steel glimmered in stormy blue eyes, meeting his father's own head on. "I didn't know which type of toad this was, and I know you told me not to get into pointless fights, but this wasn't right because Julius was hurting the toad and trying to also hurt the girls. Grandma always said do what's right that'd help others weaker than you, even if it means getting into trouble yourself."
If pride hadn't been already slowly growing in his chest, it fully bloomed. A calloused hand gently and fondly patted Nero's hair, causing his son to partly duck his head in embarrassment and rub the side of his nose. Vergil didn't stop the small smile from appearing. "Well done, Nero."
An approving smile from the older woman as Jizo set about writing something on her notepad. "Well spoken as well, young man. No punishment for you over this matter, so I wish you both a good weekend. I'll see about speaking with Julius's parents regarding his behavior. And perhaps a very... nice chat with them as well."
At the reflecting gleam that caused her bifocals to completely cover her eyes, father and son fought off the shivers that went down their spines, glad that they weren't on the receiving end of her accompanying smile. It reminded them of when a very vindictive Eva got very creative ideas, leading to her cackling.
(Dante had swore he'd rather go through multiple waves of Nobodies and Shadows instead. Even Sparda made himself scarce when Eva started doing that particular laugh.)
On the way home to Devil May Cry, they briefly stopped by the flood canal to release the toad at one of the few patches of vegetation growing along its banks. The feeling of content mixed with pride upon seeing the satisfied look on Nero's face, prompting another ruffling of his son's hair. A quick detour to the local Chinese diner resulted in a happy Nero, a whining Dante who had been just about to order pizza when they returned, and a rather amused Lady who had swung by to drop off their share of the pay and decided to stay for dinner.
And although he didn't show it externally, Vergil was internally pleased on needling Dante and Lady with certain comments that caused mostly flustered noises from her and partially flustered noises from his younger brother.
A/N: True toads belong to the family Bufonidae, the most well known example being the cane toad that's native to South America and an invasive species in other parts of the world, most infamously Australia. And yes, I used to watch a ton of cable science-channels like Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic back in the day when they were actually about teaching.
Principal Jizo refers to the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha of East Asian Buddhism, or better known as the Buddhist monk Jizou 地蔵 in Japan, who is seen as a protector of children, especially those that had died young. His statues are commonly seen along the roads with red bibs or hoods tied around the head.
Why yes, Vergil's a Shipper on Deck in regards to Dante and Lady in this little 'verse.
Day 28 - "kissing a frog/toad".
