Vergil watched as Silver looked down at the strange boy. "So… if I take him back, you'll tell me everything?" she asked, still a little hesitant. A small drop of blood slipped through her fingers and hit the ground.
"Everything," he answered, trying to keep his eyes on anything but her.
The girl looked at him and snorted, placing her free and unbloodied hand on Caede's shoulder. "Come on," she growled through gritted teeth. Caede looked up at her and gave a squeak as she started walking.
"I'll be waiting," Vergil called to her. A part of him hoped she would never return, and still another part of him hoped she would. He shook his head, grumbling something under his breath. He turned on his heal and, the Yamato in hand, walking into a nearby abandoned building; the only building in fact, where the floors were clear of rubble. He sat in a small straight backed chair removing his jacket from around his shoulders and tossing it at the dusty floor in front of him. The blood soaked bandages were glossy and red as he peeled them from the wounds they covered. "Damnit," he hissed, looking at the torn stitches. He had caused too much unneeded stress upon them, and now he was paying the price for it. But it wasn't his fault, he hadn't been the one to start the fight, he was the one who finished it. "I'll just have to leave them, they'll heal soon enough on their own," but as he stared at the half healed wounds, his thoughts shot back to Silver and how she had wounds of her own to attend to. Vergil gritted his teeth and put his head in his hands, looking at the floor as he sunk forward. "No," he grumbled again. He shook his head back and forth a few times and then sat up. But the question still remained; he wasn't entirely sure himself why that girl's hair was the same as his, and his younger brother's. And further still, how she had required an amulet that looked identical to his. Nothing seemed to be making since, but he had to come up with something before she came back. Then it hit him, like a hit to the stomach, he knew exactly why and where. "…It can't be…" he muttered, his eyes growing wide. "Is it even possible…?" he ran his fingers through his hair, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He leaned back in the chair, lifting his head to look at the ceiling. "I'm sure Father would have mentioned something," he told himself aloud, thinking he could deny what he knew had to be true.
"Mention what?" asked a familiar voice.
Vergil didn't even bother to turn to look at Silver, knowing what would meet his gaze as soon as he looked up. "That was quick," he said, not at all enthusiastic.
Silver scoffed at him, lifting her hand to her face and licking the blood from it. "You had your doubts?" she looked at him past her hand and gave an eerie cackle. "Either way, I want the answers you owe me for running you little errands," she took the amulet from within her sweater and removed it from her neck, tossing it at Vergil's feet. "I want answers and I want them now." Her voice was firm and unwavering.
Vergil sat up in the chair once more and looked down at the amulet that had been tossed at his feet. He bent forward and picked it up, feeling the gracious weight in his hand. "You really should be more careful with this," he said after a minute, his voice deathly calm. "It is after all, a gift from Mother."
"Mother….? Do you mean…" Silver looked at him, a small amount of fear rising in the pit of her stomach. "What are you talking about, my mother or…yours?"
"Ours," he answered, chuckling to himself as he watched Silver recoil at the word as if it had stung her. "You've heard of the legendary dark knight Sparda, haven't you?" he asked, standing up and putting his jacket on once more. Silver nodded, a few strands of white hair falling into her face. "Then you will recall that he disappeared after a while; but what do you think he did all those years after vanishing?"
Silver looked at Vergil for a few seconds and then turned her gaze on something else. "How would I know that? What Sparda did during the time he vanished isn't in any books I've ever read," the pain in her side was beginning to subside, but it was still there, reminding her she was still alive.
Vergil laughed and looked at her with pure amusement. "Look at me and then tell me what you think he was doing," he shook his head and placed a hand over his forehead still chuckling. "I am the Sparda's flesh and blood, just as you are." he tossed the amulet back to Silver, who caught it as if she were catching something foul.
"You're lying," Silver whispered, looking at the amulet as if it were a lump of coal. "You made this all up, just to watch me squirm, I know it!" she looked up at Vergil through her thin bangs, the bright crimson irises glaring through her white hair.
"If only I was, but I'm not. You asked for the truth and you got it," Vergil gave a snort and turned his back to her. "You are a half demon, no matter how hard you try to deny it."
"No, shut up!" Silver shouted, putting her hands over her ears and closing her eyes tight. "I'm nothing like you!" she shook her head vigorously causing her hair to fly about her head like an unruly mane.
Vergil kept his back turned to her, listening as she tried to deny all he had told her. But as he stood there, looking at the wall in front of him, something seemed to pull at him. Something part of him made him want to turn and comfort her, to tell her things would be alright, that being half demon wasn't so bad. He fought it off and turned his head to look at her over her shoulder. "You are what you are, there's no changing it,"
"Demons killed my family!" Silver shouted, her head still bent towards the floor.
"I am your family!" Vergil shouted back, whirling around on the spot. "Whether you like it or not, we are family!" he let out a deep sigh and brushed a few strands of lose hair back behind his ear. He regained his composure and stood up straight, looking down at Sliver as she sunk to the floor onto her knees. He watched as tears streamed down her cheeks, dropping to the floor with a small plip.
Silver's head hung down, her bangs covering her eyes. "I could…never think of you … as a brother…" she said, her voice barely reaching above a whisper. "Please, just…leave me alone," the tears still slid down her face, landing in the same spot on the dusty floor. That same tugging urge to comfort her seemed to surface once more, and as he looked down at her he fought with himself to just wrap her up in his arms. What do I do? He asked himself, finding it hard to turn away from her now. Slowly and awkwardly Vergil walked closer to her, bending down on his knees to look at her at eye level. What am I supposed to do? He was at a loss for what to do next. He watched as her hands clenched into fists on her knees. What should he do? What was he supposed to do? Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning forward with his arms outstretched. Wrapping his arms around her clumsily, he pulled her forwards, closer to him, his heart pounding, feeling her shoulders tense, and wondering if he was doing the right thing. After a few seconds, Vergil could feel Silver's shoulders sagging, the muscles relaxing. "Why…?" she asked, her eyes closing slightly.
Vergil shook his head softly. "Do I need a reason?" he asked, fixing his gaze on a window just ahead. His heart was still pounding, even now, when there was no reason for it.
Silver looked up at him, her once crimson eyes now a soft blue. They were puffy from the tears, and she ran her sleeve across them to wipe them away. "No…?" she leaned back, getting a full view of Vergil's face for the first time. "Vergil…that's your name, isn't it?" she asked, looking at him calmly.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Vergil seemed a little surprised, but remembered that she had been watching over the little renegade camp Lucifer was running.
"You're face is red," Silver said, ignoring Vergil's question all together. Vergil sat up straight at the mention of the color of his face, and immediately turned away from her, hiding his face. Silver sat looking at his back, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "Vergil?" she asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" he shouted, moving his shoulder out of her reach. "Just…uh…" he turned his head slightly to see that she had retracted her hand and was now looking at him, the corner of her mouth twitching in anger. "I mean…I just…" he could feel his face getting hot again, and turned to look at something else. "You should go take care of your side," he muttered.
"Not until I see that you're properly taken care of," Silver answered stubbornly.
Vergil had not expected this kind of response from her, for he whirled around quickly as stared at her, his mouth open as if to say something. "What are you talking about? One minute you're shouting at me to leave, and the next you don't want to leave me side?" he ran his hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. "I don't think I'll ever understand you,"
Silver snorted at him, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's not that I don't want to leave your side, I just don't want to leave you looking like you ran through a barbed wire fence, that's all." She stood up and walked past Vergil, still sitting on the floor.
"Heh, is that so?" he asked, standing and walking behind her.
Silver whipped around and looked him in the eye, her dusty blue eyes burning with intensity. "Yes, it is so," she walked closer, causing Vergil to take a step back. "So if you don't mind…" she took another step closer forcing him to take another step back. As he stepped back, he felt the back of his leg hit something solid and he fell onto a couch. "Sit," she said as she watched him. Giving a sharp nod of her head, she picked up the chair Vergil had been sitting in and placed it in front of him.
As she sat down, Vergil looked up at her from the couch and grumbled. "What are you going to do?" he asked, knowing she didn't have the proper equipment to treat him with.
"What did I say I was going to do?" she asked, reaching into her hair and pulling out a long needle already threaded with a thick suture.
"Hey! Where'd you get that?" Vergil shouted, suddenly jumping up.
"Sit down! I'm going to sew up that wound of yours, before you spill out your guts," Silver said firmly, placing her hand on his shoulder and forcing him back onto the couch.
"I don't even know where that needle has been!" he shouted, trying to stand up once more. But Silver kept forced him back down and fixed him with a hard stare. Scary… Vergil thought to himself.
"I'll need you to lie down," she said quietly.
"What!" Vergil barked. "You can do it fine with me sitting, there's no way I'm going to lay down,"
"Lay down!" Silver snapped, her hair seemed to float behind her like angry tendrils.
"Fine," he grumbled, lying down along the length of the couch. He grumbled and looked up at the ceiling, already regretting what he had told her. Silver had leaned forward, pinching the skin around the wound together and running the needle through it. Vergil winced but continued to ignore it.
"There," Silver said, after finishing up the last stitch. She stood up and returned the chair to where it had been before, wrapping the suture around the needle and placing it back in her hair. Without another word, she walked to a small corner of the room and sat up against the wall. Her head hung forward, her arms crossed over her chest, one leg up and the other stretched forward.
Vergil sat up and looked at her, feeling the stitches tighten. He noticed that she hadn't even taken her own injuries into consideration. The blood caked around the one area of her sweater would attract lower demons, but he hoped that they wouldn't come until morning, when he had gotten a good night's sleep. Stretching out on the couch again, Vergil closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Good night, kid." He said quietly.
Stay tuned for Chapter 5!
