Clean Hatred
Disclaimer: Is anyone still doubting that we don't own DMC? Okay, once more, with feeling: We don't own it, please don't sue us for having our little fun.
A/N from Luna: Whoo-hoo, another chapter! On time, this time, too. I'll be moving on to the fic in just a moment, but I wanted to take a second to respond to a couple of reviews.
One, to Demon Spawn: I know, Dante's being really sweet to poor Lia, isn't he? Just wait, he gets even better. As for Dar, well, she's been through a lot, you'll see more about that later. But maybe eventually you'll like how we've developed her. Her hostility is not merely afterthought, it does have a very real purpose. Glad you're enjoying the fic.
Two, to Lady Damned: Thanks for the review, we enjoy even our criticism here in Angel-ville. On your statement of Vergil being OOC, well, we disagree, respectfully. We think he's being perfectly Vergil, in keeping with how we're creating him as a 'good' character. Besides, it is an A/U, so we think a little change in character is not necessarily an impossible thing. Again, not trying to be bitchy, just responding. cringes Please don't yell at us!
So, yeah, moving on, why aren't you reading the fic yet? Go, read, review!
Chapter 9
"Are you sure I can't do anything?"
Adara smiled at Liara's reflection in the mirror. "No, Lia, I'm fine. You go on to see Dante. I am perfectly capable of getting dressed on my own."
Liara grinned at her sister's back. "Well, okay, if you're sure."
"I am. Have fun."
Liara grinned again and impulsively hugged Adara. "Thank you!" she exclaimed happily before pulling away.
"Yeah, yeah," Adara muttered, heat rising into her cheeks. "Get on with you."
Liara let out a delighted laugh at having made her un-flappable sister uncomfortable, but turned to gather her things as Adara had recommended. "So, who's the lucky guy?" she asked as she filtered through her purse.
"His name is Chris. I met him the other night, at the club. Back when I was still upset with you."
"You know, it's actually a pretty good thing you got this date," Liara said with a smirk. "I was beginning to think you weren't interested in men anymore."
Adara blinked in shock, her jaw dropping slightly. "You thought I was…" she stammered, aghast.
Liara burst into giggles at her expression. "Oh, calm down, Dar. It's not like it was a hard conclusion to come to. You haven't had a date in nearly a year. You haven't even looked at a guy since Andre." She flinched as Adara sucked in a breath. "Sorry! Sorry, I forgot. Rule number five: Don't mention the 'A' word."
Adara forced herself to relax and pasted a smile on. "It's okay. Just… try to remember? And, just for your information, I do not have same-sex tendencies. I just don't generally like casual dating. However, I believe I have been celibate long enough, and it is time I rejoined society." With a slight sigh, she smoothed her knee-length, black skirt again and turned to face Liara. "So, how do I look?" she asked, chewing on her lower lip nervously.
"You look fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. But if you don't stop chewing on your lip, your clothes are going to be the least of your problems. Now, I'm leaving. Good luck on your date, don't be too nervous, be careful, and come by Devil when you get done, okay?"
"All right," Adara said, nodding and blowing out a heavy breath, tossing her head and forcing confidence. "It's going to be fine, right?"
"Of course," Liara said, making her way to the door. "Just remember to come see me when you're back." Before Adara could respond, she had slid out the door, closing it behind her.
Left to her own devices, Adara turned around to once again scrutinize her appearance. She unconsciously started biting her lip again, but abruptly stopped and released it when she realized what she was doing. Instead, she ran her hands nervously across her midnight-blue-covered stomach.
"Oh stop it, Adara," she snapped at herself, shaking her head angrily. She turned from her reflection, fastening a slim, silver locket around her neck. She was just slipping into a pair of midnight-blue sling-backs when a knock came on the door.
"I'm coming," she called, hopping toward the door as she tried to get her other shoe on. She managed just as she reached the door and ran her hands across her outfit once more before she swung open the door. "Hi Chris," she greeted with a smile to the man standing on the other side of the door.
"Adara," he replied with a polite nod. "Are you about ready?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute to grab my purse." Adara turned from the door, grabbing her black purse from the nearby table and turning back to her date. "Ready."
"Good. Let's go." Chris moved further into the hallway, allowing space for Adara to pass by.
OoOoOoOoO
The scene inside Devil May Cry wasn't quite normal when Liara arrived, which created the fleeting thought that she must be spending too much time there if she could identify 'normal' scenes. She shook the thought out of her head, focusing on Vergil, who was working at his desk. "Where's Dante?" she asked curiously.
"Hello to you as well, Liara," Vergil said dryly.
Liara blushed faintly at the implied reprimand. "Sorry. Hello Vergil, how are you today? Where's Dante?"
"I am doing fairly well, thank you for asking. Dante's out on a case." A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips when he looked up to see her confused expression. "We do have other cases, you know."
"I know that," Liara said defensively, glaring at him mildly. "It's just been so quiet recently that… I kind of forgot about it."
Vergil's smile grew marginally larger. "There has been a distinct lack of demon activity anywhere else. However, we got a call this afternoon, and Dante decided to go handle it. Speaking of, where is Adara?"
"Oh, she'll be here later," Liara said dismissively. "She had a date."
Vergil's attention snapped fully to her. "A date? With whom?" he asked in mild alarm.
"Oh, just some guy she met at the club the other night," Liara said absently, sitting down at Dante's desk. She cleared a large space on the top and pulled out her well-worn deck of cards, laying out the beginning structure for a game of solitaire.
"She has a date with someone she barely knows?" he practically growled.
Liara looked at him with a frown. "What are you getting so excited about? It's just a date."
"Who's got a date?"
Liara turned to Dante, who had just walked in the door, with a wide grin. "Dante!" she exclaimed happily, standing and practically skipping over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey babe," he greeted casually, kissing her briefly. "So, who's got a date?" he asked again, looking at Vergil questioningly.
"Adara," Vergil answered shortly, glaring at the open notebook in front of him.
"The man-hater's got a date!" Dante exclaimed in surprise.
Liara slapped him on the chest and glared at him. "Don't call her that," she snapped.
"Sorry Lia," he said automatically, grimacing after she turned away from him, her countenance happier.
Vergil smirked at his brother's reaction, mildly amused at how easily Liara had wound him around her finger, despite Dante's forceful personality. His amusement was soon drowned out by the idea of Adara having a date, and he returned to glaring at the columns of numbers in front of him, waiting for his attention. He studiously ignored the playful banter being exchanged between his brother and Liara, focusing again on making certain the columns added up.
He was distracted from his task again when Dante leaned heavily on the desk beside him. Vergil glared up at him. "Did you want something?" he asked irritably.
"So, she's got a date, huh?" Dante asked, keeping his tone low enough that Liara couldn't overhear.
Vergil glared back at the invoice in front of him. "Yes, apparently she does," he responded, his tone equally low.
"You okay with that?" Dante's voice held an unusual amount of thinly-veiled concern.
"Does it look like I'm okay with it?" Vergil asked, his voice edged dangerously.
"Okay," Dante said, raising his eyebrows and moving away. "Dropping the subject."
"Good." Vergil said shortly, starting to add the same column of numbers for the third time.
Seeing his brother was determined to close himself off, Dante returned to Liara, who was still playing solitaire at his desk. He watched silently over her shoulder for a minute before he couldn't resist and reached out, moving the ace of diamonds up to the top and flipping over the card beneath it.
"You know," Liara said idly, a few seconds later, after he moved yet another card, "this is supposed to be a solitary game. Hence the name."
"But I play so much better than you do…" Dante murmured as he moved a rather considerable group of cards based on a red queen onto an open black king.
This time, Liara slapped the back of his hand lightly as he retracted it. "Stop it!" she snapped playfully.
"Make me," Dante teased, moving another card.
"Don't push your luck," Liara responded lowly, glaring at the result of his movement. She flipped another group of three cards off the pile in her hand. "See what you did? If you hadn't moved that, we could have had another ace."
"Oh, it's 'we' now? What happened to 'solitaire is a solitary game'?"
Liara turned from her game to glare at him mildly. "Oh… just shut up."
"Make me," Dante said again, seeming to take an immense amount of pleasure in Liara's glare, if his laughter was any indication.
"I thought I told you not to push your luck," she said mildly.
"Yes, but I never agreed," he said, as he snaked his hand past her and moved another card.
"You're becoming very irritating, did you know that?" Liara asked rhetorically.
"Am I?" Dante asked innocently, a devilish grin spreading over his face. "Good, then my evil plan is succeeding."
Liara glared again and opened her mouth to respond, but the door flying open interrupted her before she could, as Adara came striding in, her eyes fairly snapping with anger. Her hair was escaping from its up-do and she pushed the door shut behind her with an exasperated yell.
"Ugh," she exclaimed angrily, "Men!" She shook her head irritably, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes with a frustrated motion.
Liara frowned at her from her seat, her hand still latched on Dante's wrist where she had grabbed it to stop him from moving another card. "What's wrong, Dar? What happened?"
"Men are pigs!" she exclaimed, throwing herself down on the sofa, as though that were all the explanation needed.
Liara and Dante exchanged a surprised glance before Liara pushed herself up from the desk and made her way over to her sister. "What happened?"
"He… ugh, I don't even want to talk about it. But rest assured, I won't be going out with another man for at least a decade."
"Whoa, that bad, huh?" Liara said understandingly.
"Yeah, that bad," Adara responded, meeting her sister's eyes and nodding slightly.
"Well, perhaps that will make you think twice next time you decide to do something so foolish as to go out alone with someone you hardly know," Vergil said sharply, without looking up from his ledger.
"What did you say?" Adara asked, her words dangerously precise.
"I believe you heard me," Vergil responded, looking up at her.
Adara's venomous glare would have quailed a lesser man, but Vergil met her eyes unflinchingly. "And when, exactly, did you decide you were qualified to make this decision?"
"It's a logical thought," Vergil said mildly, not looking away from her. "While you and your sister are being hunted, it is perhaps not a good idea to be going out with men you have just met."
Adara's jaw dropped slightly, aghast at his presumption. "You…" she started, but her words dissolved before they could pass her lips, so great was her fury. She tried again. "I… I can't believe you! You… how dare you pass judgment on how I choose to live my life?" Her tone became darker, her fury more concentrated. "I have only one thing to say to you, Vergil. You are not my father, you are not my lover, or my boyfriend. Hell, you're barely even my friend! So don't presume to judge who I decide to date! You would be wise to keep your opinions to yourself." She turned her attention from the infuriating man to Liara. "I'll see you at home."
With that, she flung herself off the couch, gathering her purse as she went, and stalked out, the door swinging shut behind her.
Dante and Liara stared at Vergil as he stared at the door. "What just happened here?" he asked, the words directed to no one.
OoOoOoOoO
Adara stalked down the street angrily, muttering curses under her breath, most directed at Vergil. "Stupid man…" She rolled her eyes and readjusted her purse-strap, shifting it higher on her shoulder.
A sudden crash and clatter from a nearby alley shocked her and she stopped dead, her back snapping straight. A low growl started and her eyes grew wide at the familiar sound. She broke into a run back the way she came, cursing her heels that made it difficult to gain speed. Despite that, she practically flew down the sidewalk, fear motivating her to push herself harder.
The growling grew marginally louder, and she cast a desperate glance over her shoulder at the pack of demons chasing after her. They were gaining ground, and she turned forward, pushing her legs even more, trying desperately to reach the offices of Devil May Cry before they reached her.
Suddenly, she found herself thrown to the broken sidewalk, her hands automatically flying forward to break her fall. She grunted in pain as the shock of impact reverberated up her arms. Her knees scraped on the concrete, but she crawled forward, trying to regain her footing. She managed to regain her feet, but precious seconds were lost in the attempt. She ignored the stinging pain in her hands and knees as she started running again. She could feel the shocking slide of warm blood down her shins as she went, but that was likewise ignored.
Her fall, however, had given the demons time to catch up, and she soon found herself surrounded. She nearly tore her purse open, frantically digging through it in search of the dagger she kept in there, the only defense she would have, paltry as it was. Her fingers closed around the hilt and she tore it out triumphantly, the sheath flying from the blade to land a few feet from her. Her purse fell from her hands, smacking the pavement at her feet. She kicked off her shoes hastily and spread her feet, turning in a careful circle, evaluating her opponents.
Adara cringed at the sheer volume of demons that surrounded her. There was no way she was getting out of this one. She took a deep breath and let it out, calming herself as Master Tierce had trained her. She swallowed the lump that had grown rapidly in her throat, ridding her mind of her self-defeatist thoughts. Her shoulders squared confidently and she prepared herself for battle. If she was going down, the least she could do was take some of them with her.
The fight began suddenly, as most usually do. One of the demons grew impatient and leapt for her, aiming his claws at her back.
Adara spun to face him and thrust her dagger through the center of his neck, pulling the hilt violently toward her so the tip erupted out the side of his neck with a spurt of blood. She yanked the blade out as the demon fell to the ground.
The death seemed to signal the beginning of the fight, and suddenly Adara found herself swarmed. She fought back ferociously, using her dagger as well as simple hand-to-hand techniques to incapacitate demons all around her, trying to keep herself from going down.
Her stocking feet slipped in the rapidly growing pool of blood surrounding her and she swayed dangerously. A demon took advantage of her weakness to hit her, his claws raking across her back. She screamed in pain and shock, but managed to keep her balance and plunge her dagger through its eye, killing it instantly. The white substance that spurted out of the hole and landed on her cheek had the consistency of cottage-cheese, and Adara nearly gagged, but swallowed her bile, turning to kill another demon.
Her muscles began to burn with exertion three kills later, as she used her hands to boost herself up with the shoulders of a falling demon, kicking out with her feet and throwing two nearby demons out of the circle. The minute her feet touched the ground, she had an instant to reflect that perhaps jumping into the air hadn't been the greatest idea before they slid in the brackish pool of blood, throwing her to the side as she fell. The impact jarred her even as her arm twisted under her side, the pressure growing until, with a sickening snap, the bone gave out. Adara screamed louder as the pinkish-white shard pierced through her muscle and skin. The demons took advantage of her position, swarming over her, ripping at her flesh with their claws.
Adara didn't know how long she screamed. She could barely feel the tracks of the tears that were flowing down her face at the immense pain, but when she felt the pain disappearing into a fog, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the God she thought she didn't believe in anymore. Her vision glazed over, her senses dulled, but she was still conscious enough to feel when a large weight was unceremoniously hauled off her.
OoOoOoOoO
Vergil had been sitting at his desk when the first faint scream reached his ears. His head perked up, his eyes going to the door. He glanced over at where Dante and Liara sat on the couch, arguing playfully over something. They had shown no indication of hearing it, so he shook his head and went back to his work, telling himself he was imagining things.
When he heard a second scream a minute later, he knew he wasn't imagining things. He grabbed his sword and ran for the door, leaving Dante and Liara looking after him in puzzlement for a moment before they followed.
The screaming grew steadily louder as he ran, the metallic tang of blood filling his nostrils. He turned a corner and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. The enormous swarm of demons was obviously crowding around something, the source of the screaming, and he threw himself into the fight, his sword a blur as he cut down demons left and right. As he fought his way toward the center, the screams were gradually fading. He grew more anxious, fighting more fiercely to reach the clump of demons swarming in the middle.
He threw demons from the pile as soon as he reached it, digging through them, trying to reach the victim underneath them. The dying cries of the demons from behind him alerted him to the arrival of Dante and Liara, but he didn't pay them any mind, other than to direct his throws in their direction.
The figure curled into a ball on the blood-stained street when he got through the pile of demons was hardly recognizable as human, torn apart as it was. But the pile of dark curls and the glimpses of pale skin that were visible through the blood made Vergil's eyes grow wide, and he hastily sheathed his sword, trusting Dante and Liara to take care of the demons as he knelt, pulling Adara's broken form into his arms. By now, the demons were all but defeated, and he moved a few feet away before kneeling down amidst the corpses lain out like wind-flattened wheat. He rested her battered body on his knees, holding her in place with one arm while his other hand gently stroked her hair away from her face, his thumb tenderly wiping blood from one of her cheeks.
Her eyes opened slightly and she looked up at him blearily. "Verg…" she murmured weakly, trying to focus on his face.
"Be silent," he ordered, his voice filled with a false calm. "You're bleeding."
"Okay," she sighed softly in acceptance, her eyes drifting shut again. Before she completely succumbed to unconsciousness, her eyes fluttered open again and she sighed, "You know, your eyes are like snowflakes."
Before Vergil could respond, her eyes slid shut and her body went limp. He groped desperately for her as her weight fell completely on him. His hands slid on her skin, made slick with blood, both hers and others, but he managed to keep hold of her. He moved his arms again under her and stood, beginning to make his way down the street toward the office again.
Dante and Liara caught up with him quickly. "Who's that?" Dante asked rapidly.
"Adara," Vergil answered shortly, not pausing. "If you would be good enough to gather her things? I'm certain she will be looking for them when she wakes."
Liara followed closely as he went, running ahead to hold the door open when they neared Devil May Cry. Vergil carried her through the back door, taking the first right once in the short hallway that held the doors to his and Dante's private rooms.
Vergil gently laid Adara down on his bed, making certain none of her limbs were caught beneath her, before looking at Liara. "Stay with her. I'll be back in a moment." Without waiting for her affirmative response, Vergil stood and walked out the door.
Liara moved to stand at the end of the bed, raising her fist to her mouth and chewing on her index finger nervously as she looked at the barely-recognizable face of her sister. Her head turned toward the door when it opened, but it was only Dante, carrying a pair of shoes, a purse, and Adara's favorite short dagger.
Vergil entered close on his heels, a large bowl of steaming water in one arm, a cardboard box in the other.
"Thank you, Dante. Just put them on that table," he said, pointing to a small table across the room with his chin. He set the bowl of water carefully on his nightstand, placing the box on the chair beside it. He perched on the edge of the bed and reached into the box, pulling out a cloth, which he dipped into the water. Carefully, he began wiping the blood off Adara's broken arm. Once it was clean, he glanced back at the two waiting occupants. "Dante," he said with a meaningful look at his younger brother.
"Right," Dante said after a moment, placing his hand on Liara's arm. "Come on; let's go start heating some more water, in case Vergil needs it."
"But…" Liara started, clearly not wanting to leave.
"Come on," Dante said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her firmly out of the room.
Once the door closed behind them, Vergil turned back to Adara. "This is going to hurt," he informed the unconscious girl, "but it has to be done." With a careful pull and a precise twist, he managed to get her bone back into her skin and set it in place. He grimaced in sympathy, even though, in her unconscious state, Adara hadn't felt anything. He quickly pressed a clean cloth to the wound, applying gentle pressure to stay the bleeding. When it started to slow, he gingerly began to wrap her arm tightly to hold it in place while he tended to her other injuries.
Most of her other injuries were less serious, but a few of them required stitching, which he did quickly, using small stitches so the scar would be smaller. Once he finished cleaning off her front, he lifted her and easily flipped her onto her back, cleaning those wounds as well.
By the time Dante and Liara returned, he had gotten her wounds cleaned and bandaged, and had changed her into a spare pair of shorts and an old t-shirt. His first-aid supplies were replaced in their box, with the exception of a few bandages and some disinfectant, which he planned to keep handy in case they were needed.
Liara cringed at the water in the bowl, which was tinted a vibrant red.
Vergil looked up at her blandly, before turning his attention back to Dante. "I'm going to need plaster."
Dante nodded and picked up the bowl to take out to clean. Liara followed him with the box.
The pair returned a few minutes later with a new bowl, this one filled with wet, white plaster.
Vergil carefully smoothed the plaster over the bandage he had applied to Adara's arm. The thick layer would take a while to dry, so once it was applied, he placed a block under her wrist to keep it elevated from the bed while she slept.
"Do you need anything?" Dante asked, his voice low.
"No, thank you," Vergil responded, moving to sit in the chair beside the bed.
"All right. We'll be nearby, if she wakes up."
Vergil nodded silently, not taking his eyes off Adara.
Dante started moving toward the door, taking gentle hold of Liara's arm and guiding her along in front of him.
Liara couldn't resist one last look, peering over Dante's arm as unobtrusively as possible as he gently shut the door. The sight that met her eyes, she was convinced, would stay with her forever, simply for the utter devastation of the scene. The paleness of Adara's features, covered as they were in bandages, the hopelessness in Vergil's posture, slumped forward with his forehead resting on clasped hands, his eyes closed as he held a silent vigil for the unconscious woman in the bed… Liara shook her head violently to dislodge the resulting melancholy of her selfish indulgence and inappropriate observation of such a private moment.
Luckily, Dante was there to distract her. His warm hand on her elbow threw off all remnants of the image, bringing her mind back to the present, as he led her down the darkened hallway. He opened a door she had never seen before and ushered her through.
Liara looked around at her surroundings in mild confusion, before turning to look at Dante, who was standing just inside the doorway. "Dante?" she asked with a slight frown. "What's going on?"
His voice was gruff when he answered. "It's late. Too late for you to be walking home. Besides, it's easier for you to be here when your sister wakes up."
Liara felt a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips at the veiled concern behind his words. "Dante…" she started in a slightly teasing voice, "are you worried about me?"
Dante snapped his eyes to hers from their previous position, fixed on the ground, and glared slightly. "No," he stated quickly, the vehemence of his denial belied by the slight pink tint rising in his cheeks.
Liara decided to spare his ego and tactfully ignored the blush, turning her attention instead to the large, queen-sized bed that was the focal point of the room. She moved to sit on the end of it, bouncing slightly before turning again to Dante. "It's nice, thanks. But if I take your bed, where will you sleep?"
The sharpening of his eyes told her she had guessed right, that this was his room. His surprise at her question lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a more lascivious expression. "Well, if you're that worried about it, we could always share," he drawled, his tone laden with innuendo.
Liara raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Uh-huh," she said dryly, crossing her arms across her chest and gazing at him steadily. "And let me ask you, Casanova, what, in our short history together, has led you to the belief that I would sleep with you before we even have a first date?"
"Hey," Dante said innocently. "Would I take advantage of you like that? Come on, you can trust me."
"Oh yeah, you're a regular saint," she said sarcastically. "But no. I don't think so, mister. You're riding high with Mr. Lumpy tonight." At Dante's confused expression, she explained. "The couch. You're sleeping on the couch."
Dante's expression turned mutinous, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Liara raised her other eyebrow and looked at him as if daring him to object, and the words died in his throat. Instead, he huffed and grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and a blanket off a chair, pouting toward the door. "Fine," he muttered under his breath. "Geez, we're not even married yet, and already I'm sleeping on the couch," he said sulkily as he closed the door behind him, leaving an open-mouthed Liara staring at the wood in utter shock.
Her mouth worked silently as she attempted to process that comment, but the only word that came to her mind, she spoke into the empty room. "Yet?"
OoOoOoOoO
Dante grumbled all the way out to the main office, through locking the front door carefully, through pushing the stack of papers off the sofa cushion, and didn't stop until he had tossed the pillow onto one end and kicked off his boots, pulling off his shirt and flopping down gracelessly, snapping the blanket open and draping it carelessly over himself.
After a moment of stillness, he suddenly flipped over, tugging the blanket tighter to his shoulders. A few seconds later, he turned again. For several minutes, he tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position on the couch. It was aptly named, he thought idly, as yet another hard lump managed to find its way to his lower back. His tossing and turning achieved nothing more than to get the blanket inexorably twisted around his legs, trapping him within it. He struggled for a moment to free himself, settling the blanket over himself comfortably again once he did.
Finally, he found a position that was less-uncomfortable than the previous ones, and settled down to sleep.
He was just drifting off, when he suddenly shot straight up, the blanket falling from his shoulders to pile in his lap.
"Yet!"