Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: In recent months, I still haven't managed to gain the rights to the Devil May Cry empire. I still wanna own Vergil, but, hey, not happening anytime soon. So please, don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student. I don't even have a job!

Author's Note from Luna Angel: Okay, many apologies go out to everyone who's been waiting for this update for forever. Here's the sitch: I'm taking a full-load of classes at college. Consequently, my brain's pretty occupied, as well as my time. Given that Sol's taking classes as well, we'll try to get updates out, but it might not be on a nice, weekly schedule like it was for a while. To tell you the truth, the reason I haven't updated is simply because I pretty much forgot this story existed, and for that, again, many apologies. I have no excuse, so I won't lie to you and say that something happened that prevented me from physically being able to update. Suffice to say, other things were occupying my mind, and it simply never occurred to me to update this fic. Again, I'll apologize (especially to you, Goddess. We weren't actually ignoring you, just... well, being ditzes). We are not abandoning this fic, however, rest assured. It will continue. The updates may be sporadic though, so if a block of time passes without an update again, just review and yell at us, and we should get another update out ASAP. Anyway, moving on, I'm sorry, and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 11

Adara yawned widely and made a soft, mewling sound of protest as she drifted back into consciousness. She sleepily raised her right arm to rub at her eyes and let out a quiet yelp when the make-shift cast bonked her forehead, bringing her fully awake. With a disgruntled groan, she used her other hand to rub the small bump that was growing on her head. "Great," she muttered unhappily. "Another bruise to add to my already-colorful collection. This is so not my week…" she trailed off into an inarticulate groan.

"It's good to see you awake," a soft voice murmured from her right. Adara yelped in surprise and turned, relaxing again when she saw Vergil. "Your sister was worried about you."

Adara blinked at him in confusion for a moment before her expression cleared. "Oh, right. The fight," she said blankly. "Liara. Where is she, anyway?"

A small frown creased his forehead, his eyes going back to his book. "Out in the office with Dante."

Adara frowned, ducking her head away from him. Her voice was small when she finally spoke, "Oh…"

Vergil's head came up at her tone and he looked at her in concern. "Are you all right? Do you want me to get her?" he asked, moving to stand.

"No!" she exclaimed hastily, her head snapping toward him. When he turned his head to look at her, she blushed and turned away. "No, thank you," she continued, quieter. "Just… can you ask her to bring me something?"

"Of course," Vergil responded. "Whatever you wish."

"There's a black bag under the catch-all in our front hall. Can you have her bring it to me?"

"Anything else?"

"Yeah… maybe a change of clothes? No offense, it's just your clothes… well, they aren't mine."

"I understand," Vergil said, nodding slightly. "I will go ask her now." Without further pleasantries, he turned and left the room, the door falling shut behind him.

"Well, good-bye to you, too," Adara muttered under her breath, scooting backward to sit against the headboard. She closed her eyes and muttered a prayer under her breath, sending it to whoever might be listening. "Please don't let her look in the bag…"

OoOoOoOoO

It was a nod to how much things had changed that Vergil wasn't in the least bit surprised upon entering the office to find Liara and Dante sitting together on the sofa, Liara held loosely within Dante's arms. They were arguing spiritedly about the best place to order pizza from, but their conversation abruptly stopped when they noticed him standing there.

Liara immediately pulled away from Dante, jumping to her feet. She fired off questions in rapid succession, her voice laden with emotion. "How is she, is she all right? What did she say? Did she ask to see me? Is she in pain? Does she want something to eat? Is she thirsty? Well, why aren't you answering me!"

"Babe, calm down, let him get a word in," Dante said patiently, laying a hand on Liara's arm. When Liara flicked her gaze at him and then looked at Vergil contritely, Dante looked at his brother. "Well?" he asked, the one word filled with inquiry.

"She is fine," Vergil said calmly. "She has requested that Liara return to their apartment and retrieve a black bag from under the table in your front hall, and a change of clothes for her."

"Is that it?" Liara asked, her expression falling in mild depression.

"That was all she requested."

"Oh. Okay," Liara replied quietly, her voice almost an exact replica of Adara's earlier small, sad tone. "I'll just go get that for her then." Liara turned and headed toward the door, her head lowered dejectedly.

Dante's attention passed back-and-forth between the sad woman and his brother, before he trotted after Liara. "I'll come with you. Just in case the demons come back."

The door closed with a soft click. Vergil sank desperately onto the sofa. His head dropped morosely into his hands.

OoOoOoOoO

Adara didn't bother looking up when the door opened, keeping her head buried in her arms. The rapidly-drying tear-tracks on her cheeks caused an all-too-familiar pulling sensation as the inherent salt content created a semi-glue on the surface of her skin. For the brief moment the door was open, she could hear the slightly-echoed conversation from the office, her sister and Dante speaking in comfortable tones, though she couldn't discern any of the words.

Vergil closed the door softly behind him, shifting the stack of clothing into his left hand, to rest on top of the bag. He frowned at Adara, a wave of intense concern washing through him at the vulnerability of her pose. As he moved cautiously toward the bed, he schooled his expression into a careful mask of semi-blankness, hiding from her any particular regard, knowing from experience that any advances, even just his concern, would be unwelcome.

"Your sister has returned," he said softly when he reached the bedside.

Adara jerked up like a marionette on a string, her head snapping toward him. Her eyes were wide with surprise upon finding him so close, and she shrank back marginally into the wall. The flash of hurt that passed across Vergil's face before he was able to slap up the mask again was accompanied by an odd twisting in her stomach. The feeling confused her immensely, but she rapidly brushed it off to say, "Was she able to find everything?"

Vergil nodded wordlessly, placing the clothes on the end of the bed, dropping the bag beside it. "I'll wait outside while you change. If you need anything, just yell." He turned without further comment and went back the way he came. Outside, once the door was closed, he leaned back against the wall and let out a low sigh.

As soon as the door had closed behind Vergil, Adara slid sideways on the mattress, turning to let her feet hang over the edge. She gingerly pushed herself up, nearly collapsing to the floor before she managed to catch herself on the table beside her. She held herself up for a few minutes while she waited for the stinging pain to evaporate from her legs so she could stand.

When feeling returned to her muscles, she slowly let go of the edge of the table. She wavered for a moment, but then stood strong and took a tentative step toward her clothes. It took a long minute before she managed to reach them, barely lifting her feet from the floor, more shuffling than walking. She cursed colorfully under her breath when she saw the clothes that were folded there, but shrugged in mild acceptance, knowing she had no alternatives, other than the clothes she had on.

Adara carefully grasped the bottom edge of the shirt she was wearing and began slowly pulling it upward, letting out a small gasp as the stitches in her back pulled slightly with her movement. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she yanked the shirt the final few inches and over her head, letting it go as soon as it was off, paying little attention as it pooled on the floor.

The boxers were more easily removed, needing very little beyond the slight initial push to get them over her hips, from where gravity took over, the garment sliding down her legs. She stepped out of them and cringed as she took in the myriad of bandages covering her skin.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she began pulling at one of the bandages on her left arm, picking at the tape holding it on until one edge was free. She lifted the gauze carefully from her skin, wincing at the angry red color of the stitched wound beneath, contrasting strongly with the paleness of the surrounding skin.

The initial shock over, she started pulling off her other bandages, covering those which were still healing, pulling the covers off those that were merely scars. Relatively few of them had stitches, but the glaring black of the thread struck a discordant note in her mind so that those few bothered her more than the total of her other injuries.

As she picked the last bit of tape off her chest, she sighed wearily at the raised, discolored scar that crossed the swell of her breast. That one wasn't going away, and no amount of make-up in the world would cover it.

Disgusted with herself for her thoughts, she pulled the black, ribbed tank-top Liara had brought over her head, tugging the hem down to get the shirt settled. She leaned forward to slip her legs into the pair of black, satin lounge pants, pulling them as far up as she could before she stood to get them over her hips. With that completed, she sat back onto the bed, pushing herself back into her position against the headboard. Resettled into her place, she felt comfortable enough to call for Vergil.

Vergil opened the door and leaned against the door-jam, looking in at her. "Do you want me to get your sister now?" he asked blandly, already turning to do just that.

"No!" Adara called before he could leave.

Vergil turned in surprise to look at her. "What?" he asked. "But now that you're changed, surely you want to see her."

"Actually, I'd really rather not," Adara said, wincing slightly as she imagined Liara's reaction to that news. "She doesn't need to see me like this."

Vergil stared at her for a moment, then nodded in wordless understanding. "Very well. I will go inform her of your decision."

OoOoOoOoO

When Vergil emerged from the hallway into the office, Dante and Liara looked up simultaneously, their hands freezing in midair. A smile tugged at the corner of Vergil's lips at the ridiculous picture they made, each holding on to one end of a couch cushion, apparently having been engaged in a rousing game of tug-of-war with it. Dante dropped it belatedly, brushing a stray lock of hair off his forehead in a futile attempt to appear nonchalant.

Liara looked at Vergil expectantly, her eager gaze sending irrational pangs of guilt surging through him. He broke the look hastily, turning his head away from the pair of them. A slow heat built in his face and he had to clear his throat before he could trust himself to speak. "Adara…" He paused to clear his throat again. "Adara has… requested… that, for the time being, she be left to heal. Alone."

Liara leapt to her feet, the cushion dropping from her hand to land with a thump on the floor. Her face was a confused mass of emotions, ranging from simple confusion to outright fury. "What!" she exclaimed angrily, glaring at Vergil as though it were his fault. "What do you mean she wants to be left alone? Don't tell me she won't even let me see her!"

Vergil closed his eyes and struggled to speak against the pressure building in his throat. "She asked that you not come see her, at least for the moment. Perhaps in a week or so-"

"A week? You expect me to just sit here for a week waiting to see if my sister will consent to my presence? Are you insane?"

"I'm sorry," Vergil said quietly before turning and leaving the room.

OoOoOoOoO

Several days passed in relative quiet while Adara healed, still refusing to see anyone with the exception of Vergil, who took on the task of shuffling messages between her and Liara. Meanwhile, Liara and Dante were going through the list of card games they knew, alphabetically. They were up through 'S', enjoying rousing rounds of Slapjack. They seemed to have stalled there, having been playing for a day and a half on the floor of the office.

Adara studiously ignored the shrieks and faint thumps from the office, shifting her notepad to the side to study the thick book that rested on her lap. She winced and flexed her calf subtly, attempting to alleviate the numbness that was beginning to grow in the limb from her cross-legged position without interrupting her reading. Her eyes flickered over the text rapidly and her lips quirked in triumph when she located the passage she had been searching for. She replaced her notepad on top of the book and quickly scribbled down another few sentences.

Vergil looked up from his own reading to ponder the woman seated across the room from him, curled up in his favorite armchair, while he was relegated to a fairly-uncomfortable wooden one. His frown deepened as she shifted her focus to her book again, and he placed a marker between the pages of his novel before letting it drop to his lap. "What are you doing?" he asked idly, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Adara didn't acknowledge him for a moment, and when she finally did look up, it was with an expression of confusion. "Huh?" she asked blankly.

Vergil smirked at the clear indication of her inattention, and repeated his question.

"Oh, not much," Adara responded with a too-bright smile.

Vergil raised an amused eyebrow at her obvious lie. "Is that right," he murmured lowly. Adara blushed deeply at his implication, causing an actual smile to bloom on Vergil's face. "What are you really doing?"

"It…" Adara started, trailing off. Her blush increased in intensity, spreading to encompass her entire face. It started inching its way down her neck as she struggled to formulate a coherent sentence. "I…"

"Come now, surely it can't be that bad, can it? Is it really something you feel you need to hide from me?" he asked with a winsome grin.

Adara blushed still brighter when the effects of the smile hit her, ducking her head away in an attempt to hide how very much it affected her. She cleared her throat quietly, trying desperately to compose herself before speaking. Her words, when she managed them, were still somewhat ragged, her voice slightly shaky as she responded, "I, uh…" She cleared her throat again, louder, and looked up at him. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, not Dante, not Liara, no one," she said earnestly.

"I promise," Vergil said solemnly, his smile lessening in intensity, but not leaving him entirely.

"It's a paper for my Social Psychology class."

Vergil's face registered his surprise at the statement, his eyes widening in astonishment. "You're going to school?" he exclaimed loudly.

"Shhh!" Adara hissed urgently. "Not so loud!"

"Why? It's not a bad thing, is it?" Vergil asked in confusion.

"Of course not, but Lia doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"How could she not know?"

"I've always handled the funds in our little family. And I didn't want her to know, because we never discussed it. It's not a bad thing, I just… I don't want her to know that I'd rather not dance for a living, you know?"

Vergil nodded and the two sat in silence once more, Adara going back to her book, Vergil just watching her work. "So, how do you manage it?" he asked after a few minutes.

"What?" Adara asked, looking up with a frown.

"How do you get to class without Liara knowing?" he clarified.

"Oh. I 'get a gig'," she said with a breathy laugh. "It's a good enough excuse, and she hasn't questioned it yet."

"So the other day, when you came in…" Vergil questioned.

"Yeah, I was supposed to have class. It was cancelled; apparently the professor was attacked by a demon. Damn, we need to figure out what the hell is going on. The demons are becoming way too active," Adara cursed under her breath.

Vergil hummed noncommittally, picking his book back up and reopening it to the marked place, resuming his reading. Adara similarly went back to her own work, and a comfortable silence once again reigned supreme in the room.