V delicately turned a page in his book as he read what it contained with a calm look on his face, serene eyes remained drawn to the words that contained integrate annotations of each poem. A thing that no matter how many times he read would still filled him with a sense of peace, back to a time in which he had no worries, no painful memories, no loss or strife. Just sitting on the couch of the sitting room with his legs crossed. Ignorant of the world around him as he continued to read, that was until his brother popped up for a spar from time to time resulting in a solid no whenever he felt no need to play fight. Sadly this would always result in scuffle that would attract their mother's attention in an unpleasant manner, which would result in her seeing them fighting on the floor before almost knocking something over.
Feeling the back of the cushioned couch dip beside him, a wry smile soon formed on his face knowing who it was as he spotted small, thin almost pale arms followed by dainty hands appear from the corner of his eye. He soon felt the side of a head lightly rest on the crock of his neck and head.
"See something interesting?" a female voice asked lightly as a silvery white fringe rested beside the arm. Chuckling softly, he looked up at Hara to see curious eyes, knowing that she would not understand most of what was being displayed. On the other hand, she remained keen on hearing what translation he would bring after finishing each poem. Seeing her interest on the other hand brought back memories of when he would read while she curled up in his lap as a fox from another time- another life which left him musing with mixed emotions. Ignoring the flashes of her fox form being found impaled by the long spike of the tree root, he slowly moved the nearest hand back in order to hold her hand catching her attention. Seeing this she blinked as she felt pain forming in his heart and eyes.
"Just thinking about when I would read this many years ago, when I was whole, I would read this book whenever I could" V explained softly, hearing this she hummed before a fond smile formed on her face catching his attention from the corner of his eye.
"Your younger self looks really cute, if I had met that child. I'd have pinched his cheek or hugged him for looking so adorable. I can see you also had good manners even for being really small" She replied feeling embarrassed for voicing this aloud considering this would be strange considering who she was talking to. Just the thought of a young woman hugging a random child who knew nothing about her would definitely not bode well even for her, heck she would have gone angry mama mode like her aunt had a few times when she had been younger the moment a strange person approached Hara. V paused before a soft chuckle left his lips.
"Would have been interesting to witness" V replied softly before closing his book lightly with his free hand. "But… it wouldn't be unwelcome" he added taking her by surprise, he spotted her ears turn into fox ears as she blushed in embarrassment but felt happy in knowing that he did not find her strange. Looking down at his book, his mood immediately grew sombre earning him an understanding nod from the woman.
"You cannot blame yourself for what happened during your childhood. Your mother even said so when I asked her to talk to you" she said softly. Remembering the day three weeks ago she had summoned his mother's soul for a talk to clear up the resentment and confusion that continued to fester in his heart. Only it had become a day he regretted deeply. Feeling utterly foolish and ashamed even for assuming the worst of his mother, for deluding himself for thinking his own mother liked his twin brother the best to the point she only went to save Dante. Ignoring the fact that Vergil was alone and ambushed by demons. At times his mind often wondered, almost wishing that it was true- that she had abandoned him and left him to die. Sadly, nothing in life went the way anyone wanted and produced results that left one wishing to take back but could not.
"But it doesn't excuse the crimes Vergil has caused" V commented shortly, blunt but resentful for the countless acts Vergil had done. All for power no less. Utterly shameful, disgraceful and unbefitting for an heir of Sparda. Just that thought left him too ashamed to look at his mother only to hear her words, resulted in him feeling more empty and melancholy to respond. Something Hara and Eva understood deeply. Regret was a hard thing to endure, especially for one so young. Leaving one thinking they were beyond redemption and were better off alone.
"That we can both agree on" she nodded sternly as she allowed her hair which had been tied up into a long ponytail to rest by her side.
"Why did you choose to help me?" V asked softly as he watched her blink in confusion. "Of all the people to help, you could have chosen to help Dante or… the boy" he paused as his brows furrowed in thought, his mind went to how Vergil had torn the arm of the boy caring little about the pain he had caused. Nor the screams the boy had released once pain had registered in his mind that something had happened. A thing that gnawed at V's mind more than ever.
Closing her eyes slowly, she snorted softly from his question causing V to quirk an eyebrow at her.
"Why indeed" she mused lowly before looking at him, allowing him to see that she was being honest. A thing he half wished to happen. Strange that she could cause unwanted emotions to fill his mind, especially when he wasn't prepared to face them. And yet, she gave him some sort of strength to face it head on.
"I see my husband in you and that guy was a real troublemaker, not as bad as you considering the mishaps the Vergil had caused. But a troublemaker nonetheless and yet I could relate to the loneliness and pain that gnaws in your heart. The helplessness one would have when left feeling that no one would or was not there to help no matter how hard you cried for help. It's not a way to live, that he and I agreed on. Except the difference was- I was willing to give people a chance. He on the other hand, was scared and pushed people away to avoid being hurt, thinking that if he was all powerful he wouldn't be affected by anything or anyone again. That emotions were a sign of weakness" she said with a semi amused smirk as she saw V cough slightly into his fist from the remarks. His ears started turning red from her expression and words. Looking away shyly he avoided her knowing look until he felt her put her cheek onto the side of his head.
"And yet, it took a person despite being hot and cold to help him realise he was never alone… not that I had any choice since the prick kept pestering me for a fight. Only to sulk off in a corner after every loss I dished out at him" she added in a mocking high tone that had him staring at her in shock before a brief chuckle left his lips, not caring that Griffon had perched on the other side of him.
"The second time he met me ended up us causing a scene in front of a hospital, I'll never let that git live it down for as long as I live" she snickered while a smirk formed on her face, V meanwhile blanched in surprise not believing that such a thing could happen and to her of all people. But then again this was Hara, strange things must have happened during her years. Not that he would want them to happen to him. Although the thought of a very upset Hara fighting back with a nameless boy did sound amusing.
"You two sound really close… it's nauseating" Griffon muttered before releasing a semi strange purr as she scratched the back of his head lightly.
"And yet, he and I are very close. Just shows even rivals or enemies who dislike each other can get along. Been with that guy since I was ten. He did save my life two years before that, not that he fully remembers but he did briefly and told me when he found the courage to do so" she added with a kind smile. "Makes me hope you find your Mrs Right soon" she added with a look of adoration that leaves him feeling bashful and happy that someone wanted something good to happen to him. Was this was what being supporting for others felt like? It left him feeling warmer and content to know that at least someone cared for him as himself.
"Ha! This guy? He's lucky to even keep one-ow!" Griffon muttered weakly as he got pinched in the foot by a vexed V who flashed him a look.
"Oh leave the poor man alone, he's suffered enough" she said with a light scolding as V glared angrily at Griffon. "Besides, they say it's good to stay positive. Keeps you from being depressed all the time. Just place one foot in front of the other" she added before patting V's head in order to distract him, to her relief it worked.
"Besides… even if and I mean IF I was single, I don't date babies" she added with a sly smirk as she felt Griffon's eyes go wide before roaring with laugher at V's embarrassed expression, hiding his face in his hands V groaned weakly from the comment and the meaning it presented.
"Rejected!" Griffon cackled as Hara giggled at the pair, it was nice seeing them so animated as opposed to the stiff silence they had often created.
"Plus I refuse to be considered a cougar just for the joke, I already joke about leaving my husband enough, let's not give him a stroke" she added with mirth in her eyes as Griffon almost fell of the couch from hearing her words.
"Enough out of you bird brain" V muttered darkly as he wanted nothing more than to send the bird away but knew it was a waste of effort, especially since he would hear what the avian would say mentally.
"Wait what?" Griffon looked at her between chortles "What do you mean you joke about leaving your husband?" She nodded while tilting her head side to side.
"I might have made a joke about cheating on him with an eighteen year old" the pair stared at her in disbelief.
"Tell me you didn't" Griffon croaked as his shoulders shook from laughter.
"Hmm… it was a good prank. Taught him to behave and not make a stupid comment" she added while pulling on a confused look just to make them laugh, as expected Griffon lost it while V coughed out a few laughs while covering his mouth. His shoulders shook from how hard he was resisting the urge to laugh, unfortunately his large grin gave it away.
"What a pair… they really love tormenting each other" V commented as he caught her winking playfully at him.
"True but I'm in it for long haul with him, he knows that and would never want it any other way. But I did have to hear him pleading me to not leave him for an eighteen year old thanks to a few acquaintances who helped in the prank" she added before resting on the couch once more, her cheeks hurting from smiling widely.
"Ho ho I'd have love to watch you two in action, wouldn't you Shakespeare?" Griffon asked as he laughed. V hummed lightly in agreement.
"You had better hope not, I have two mischievous twins and they already trouble us enough as it is" she added with a shake of her head.
"Why what's wrong with them?" V asked looking concerned as he saw her looking tired but smiled at them nevertheless.
"One never smiles or laughs, it scares us a lot even as she's now turning four. The other is a shark is what we've slowly found out recently" she added with a roll of her eyes, blinking V and Griffon looked at the other in perplexment.
"Okay! Okay let me get this straight! You have one child who never laughs or is ever happy with anything and the other is a…shark?" Griffon asked only to hear V snicker from the last comment, narrowing his eyes Griffon glared at V.
"Apparently the second one when you've upset her waits until your guard is down to strike you, the first one who is the youngest of the two just lets you have it straight away" she added with a weakened smile. "So, no upsetting the youngest please if you ever see her"
"What exactly can these brats do?" Griffon asked leaving V more curious as he watched them talk.
"The youngest is like her father in power, the eldest is like me but not as strong. Something we've all found out. Not that I'm complaining since she doesn't want to follow in my job. I'd be more than happy to let that happen" she replied.
"Very vague way of explaining" V commented as Griffon nodded sharply.
"Can't really tell you much, you know rules and all that. I've already told you enough and yet I almost know little about you. Not very nice trade wise" Griffon blinked while V made a confused noise until he realised what she meant.
"I see your point, my apologies" V said before making a gesture for her to sit down. Seeing this she moved around the couch and sat down. Allowing her shoes to rest on the floor while she curled her legs underneath her. V soon placed her head on his shoulder, something he would never dream of doing with anyone considering how closed of Vergil was and yet. There was something about her that allowed him to feel a sense of ease and comfort. A thing he wanted to keep to himself no matter how brief it was. A thing that no doubt was related to how Vergil and Dante would always fight over stuff, it was then worry filled V at the thought of her shifting her attention to Dante. After all, everyone liked his brother while he- was just closed off from the world.
No one looked at him or wanted him anywhere near him except- Dante, and yet Hara.
Strangely this left him conflicted. He hated his brother for getting everything he wanted, was lucky with everything he craved while he was always left with the short end. Hated and tormented, filled with misfortunes that his brother never seemed to get.
How unlucky could one get?
All Vergil wanted was to be loved, wanted even and protected. Only he had none of that, he was forced to survive on his own. Craving power just to stay safe except it only led to one problem after another.
Just these thoughts left a dark pit to form in his chest, something Hara and Griffon sensed quickly. Looking at him slightly Hara held his hand close to hers.
"I doubt it Vergil, so stop it. You can be likeable just like now. You only have but to choose for these things to happen. If I had to choose between you and your brother, I'll kick your ass for even thinking of this notion. He's your twin and right now you make my twin and I look bad" Blinking in surprise V looked at her with mixed emotions.
"You… you have a twin?" V asked as she looked up at him thanks to her height.
"Originally triplets… except the youngest didn't make it. Tore us all up when it happened. I mean we all knew he would be born sickly and wouldn't be able to leave the house, but he didn't have to give up his lifeforce to someone else" Hara sighed sounding melancholy to V's ears. A sad weight pressed itself into his chest leaving him feeling as if he was being suffocated, just the thought of this happening to him was unthinkable.
"We could have sorted it out somehow, wouldn't be perfect but I'd rather us all together" Hara added.
"Tell me about your twin" V asked suddenly causing her to blink, a small smile formed on her face.
"He's protective, older, has had his share of misfortunes. One of us could be hot one moment while the other is cold, at times it's very rare when we are both hot or cold. But we are opposites to be fair. Wouldn't trade him but would have wanted more time with him. Not that he's dead or anything!" Hara quickly commented as he was about to ask.
"We're just often doing different things, got split up when we were around four days old and only met but we were different ages. Him being twelve and I was almost five. Bit weird but was glad I could see him" She added softly, sighing from the memories.
"Why did you get split up at such a young age?" Griffon asked, spotting V's frown as he listened to her words. Wordlessly V gripped her hand tightly to comfort in his own way, something she was grateful for. Hara felt her back itching causing her to realise Phantom was curious as well.
"Someone wanted us dead, I'm assure you know that" she commented as she saw V's frown deepen.
"Someone from the past wanted your family dead over a grudge" V summarised, seeing her nod confirmed it.
"A fair few actually but they are in different parts of time itself. Not that it makes us any more at ease" Hara said wearily "but we make do with what cards are given to us"
"Doesn't it scare you knowing that if you appear in a time period that they are on that they will attack you?" Griffon asked while trying to mask his worry, looking up she hummed slightly before going quiet.
"Well, yeah but I can't keep letting them rule over my life. If I keep obsessing over it I'll never truly live and besides" she smirks "I live by a rule of three. That way if they bother me three times I'll have ample right to smack them" she added with a toothy smirk which left them perplexed.
"Rule of-?" V questioned
"Three?" Griffon finished while blinking rapidly as she released a small smug hum.
"Hmm hmm, attack me once then I'll be watching you, attack me twice I'll give you a warning except if you attack me three times…" She paused purposely for dramatic effect only it left the pair shivering at how cold her eyes had become within minutes "well let's say there will not be a next time for you" she explained with a small shrug.
"I also have another rule- don't mess with kids. Mess with them and I'll break your legs but if you mess with mine… hmmm someone's going to lose a spine in the process" Griffon laughed while V's face went blank from shock.
"You're really volatile!" Griffon hooted "makes me glad that we're on your good side. Hate to see the bastard that tries his luck in getting you mad" she nodded faintly in agreement.
"I've learned to be protective of my group, family can either be blood or bonds and that will never change. They're precious and I'll fight tooth and nail to keep them safe. Even my kids are no exception, they're my little ones and using them to get to me is the last thing that anyone should do. Heck my husband might flip his lid if one tried and he is often on guard, if he ever caught wind of his disowned blood father. All I can say is that it would get ugly and fast" Hara relaxed her form against V allowing him to hold her close, feeling his worry she felt a sense of peace knowing that he cared to an extent.
"Why what did that guy do?" Griffon asked as he watched her eyes dim coldly.
"Something unforgivable" she hinted with a small frown.
"Must be a bad thing to make him upset" Griffon mused before noting the lack of emotion on her face, his eyes narrowed from wondering what troubled her.
"His father and his group stormed into the city my aunt was in, that night the people he had hurt never breathed a word of what crimes they committed" V's hold on her tensed up from the thought, surely she didn't mean what she was hinting.
"Excuse me but you said- never breathed a word of what crimes they committed, does that mean?" Griffon paused as she looked up at him with emotionless eyes.
"They were killed. Out of all three of them only a child who was few months had somehow escaped, but was left crying on the top of a cemetery tower while he watched his friend who did her best to keep him safe and hidden from harm die after she buried his mother" she replied with a low tone.
"His cries even now, still haunted me to this day" she added with blank eyes as she looked at her hands, feeling numb and detached as she remembered the night.
"Eh?!" Griffon screamed in shock as he took in her form, solid and still somehow moving. "But-But you're alive! I can feel your aura-well not fully since I'm sure you're hiding it somehow! But-" Hara smiled dryly at the empty space in front of them, refusing to look at either of their faces. Despite feeling their shock and horror she dared not look as she refused to feel their pity.
"Like I said, my husband saved my life by bringing me back before I could fully cross over" Hara allowed V to hold her close as the saddened woman's mind went back to that tragic day.
"Although, I did pay my husband back by wrecking the group until they were utterly defeated a year later. Only I had to impersonate a friend so they wouldn't go after me for revenge. The look on his father's face when he realised it was a small girl was enough to last me a life time. Not that they have the right to exact revenge, since they were the ones who had shed first blood for no reason and before you ask no one died" she added with a knowing smirk, her eyes remained cold causing Griffon to shake his head. V meanwhile bit the bottom of his lip as a lot of emotions filled his mind, anger at how such a person could attack a small child, anger at the helplessness of it all and to make it more frustrating it was humans who did this. Not demons which made it worse. To say he could understand was an understatement, allowing him to gain a sense of kinship towards her ordeal. In a way she had done the opposite of him. She had given others a change and chose to be creative in her revenge. While he had on the other hand, had chosen to charge head first, ignoring his injured weakened state while she bided her time and struck at the right moment.
"At least you chose to avoid bloodshed, but wouldn't it make you feel better if the man had died?" Griffon asked as he ruffled his feathered, unsettled by the information V continued to think about her words.
"Wouldn't make a difference" Hara shrugged nonchalantly "I hate the man, but killing him won't undo the pain he caused. My aunt, her unborn twins and my friend's mother will not come back. Nor will it undo the pain he inflicted on me. I just felt bad when my husband was abandoned just because of the humiliating defeat I caused his father" she bit her lip as she pondered on things "I had asked my husband if he had known sooner of what I did to his man, would he have been more mad at me?"
"Would he?" V asked with a curious look, not that he could blame either one of them. It was a tough thought and decision for either of them, except it was something he was familiar with- revenge. The difference was she chose to do it in the most efficient manner while he chose to straight up attack the target of his torment without a full proof plan or gained any idea of what the consequences would have been for his actions.
"I think he would be mad at first if he found out when we first met properly at ten, he'd eventually settle down, yes. But finding out as we got older, we both didn't truly know anything about the other. Sure, I'm still angry at his father but my husband did nothing to provoke my hatred, I have no reason to attack him. I'm not a savage" she added in an offended tone. Hearing this V smirked wryly from her words.
"I would never think any less of you" V agreed "I must admit, I envy you for that line of thinking" Hara eyed him oddly.
"Vergil… I get it, I truly do. But never drag anyone down for revenge. And this thing you have with your brother, cut it out. I'm sure he cares for you in his own way, just… give him a chance and NO! I don't mean stone wall him while giving him a cold look or pick a fight with him, I mean genuinely talk to him. And another thing! Talk to that boy you hurt- what was his name-?"
"Nero" V pursed his lips in thought. He was deeply surprised that he would remember the name but then again, how could he forget a boy that looked just like his brother. To think his brother would settle down of all things. What a bizarre notion indeed.
"You should apologise and try to make things right, sure you can't change the past" She eyed him sternly earning her a small chuckle from the silent warning. "But you can change and make your own future. Just one step at a time"
"Uuugh why are you two so smart? It hurts my head just trying to even understand your words sometimes" Griffon muttered darkly causing them to smile.
"I'm not that smart, I can be very slow or as someone would say oblivious. At times I can pay attention just by learning from everyone or everything I come across" She commented simply.
"I'd say you're wise in your own way, don't let anyone tell you otherwise" V said in a firm tone despite his eyes softening while he kept looking at her. Pursing her lips to one side Hara shrugged.
"Can't help what is often felt or said. When someone tells you it constantly it scars you, much more than a sword could ever do"
"Words hurt" V agreed weakly "I'll bear that in mind" nodding at him Hara relaxed before looking at the door leading to the outside world.
"You know, the others are still taking their time outside. When are they popping up?" Hara asked catching V's attention.
"Now that you mention it, kitty's not come back yet either" Griffon commented before noticing Hara sit up, now almost off the couch.
"Nero and Nico are almost here, Shadow's sensed them, so she's gone to greet them" Hara explained, turning to smile at the pair she beamed at them happily causing V to feel his chest become warm once more.
"Come on little brother, let's go say hi" She grabbed his hand before leading a reluctant but content V out the temporary hideout.
"Little brother…" V chuckled mentally from the thought "still can't believe she would still consider to think of me as family after all I've done. In fact it should be the other way around considering how old Vergil is and yet… I don't mind" V watched her as she spoke to him before greeting the pair from their van.
"It's nice"