Chapter 4
Vergil walked in at that moment, his face a picture of disdain as he saw that the vampire was more alert if still altogether extremely weak. Still, his brother appeared to be happy about this so he refrained from saying a thing. After all, it was only because of Dante's generosity and his love for family values that he still had a roof over his head. So it was that he silently allowed the vampire to make use of some of his older clothes without kicking up a fuss. However, he made sure to have a sour expression on his face whenever he was in the vampire's presence.
As soon as he saw him, Dante leapt to his feet and beamed.
'This is Vergil. We're twins.'
'I kind of gathered…' came the soft-spoken reply. Vergil smiled inwardly but said nothing. Dante appeared to be unabashed however and continued on with the introductions.
'And Vergil, this is Reiko.' And then in a whisper. 'And he acts more like a person than any other vamp I've met.' Vergil could only glare at him before noticing that the vampire was watching them anxiously. Odd, that a being such as he could actually show some emotion. And then, before he was fully aware of what was happening, Dante had left the room. Vergil growled and Reiko smiled mildly in a weak attempt to calm him.
'I think he expects us to make conversation.'
'He asks too much of me,' Vergil hissed in answer. Reiko looked at him directly.
'Because you do not converse with the likes of me.' Vergil raised an eyebrow but Reiko merely continued. 'Do not act so surprised. I actually get this a lot from everyone I happen to meet. Both mortals, hybrids and my own "kind" so to speak,' he said, his tone one of resignation. Vergil watched him silently, questioningly, only his eyes showing any expression. The vampire noted this carefully and seemed to hesitate before deciding to continue onwards. 'You might have already noticed that I am not like other vampires. At least, Dante seems to have noticed. I heard him whisper to you, which was naïve of him; a vampire's hearing is acute. I'm unlike other vampires in that I somehow managed to retain my soul and am therefore more feeling and more capable of emotions than any other vampire you may have come across. As a result, they hated me but it was not just because of the fact I had something that they didn't. They hated me in such a manner because I could not bring myself to accept what I had become.'
'You refused to take blood?'
'No. If I had done that, I would have been dead a while ago. I refused to kill.'
'A risky manoeuvre for a vampire.'
'Indeed. Because of me, word began to spread that yes, there actually were beings such as vampires and that it was best to stay indoors when it became dark. Of course, there were urban legends, there always have been but previously there had been no survivors to confirm whether the rumours were true.'
'So hunting became harder, much harder.'
'Yes.'
'And the vampires put you in the coffin and locked you in to get rid of you.'
'…'
'They did, didn't they? What exactly did they do to you?'
'I…I cannot say…I fear they might still be out there. I fear they shall hunt me down…and…' He shook his head at this point. 'I wasn't meant to tell you any of this. I was only meant to say that you had nothing to fear from me. I don't understand why I have told you what I could not tell your brother.'
'So, what are you going to do for food now?'
'Nothing. I can do nothing. I can only wait now.' The room fell utterly silent as the vampire made no move, becoming just like a perfect, beautiful statue. Vergil found this to be a great help to him; he wanted to get his thoughts in order and he wanted to swallow the feeling of surprise that had unexpectedly assuaged his senses. Something about what the vampire had said had struck a chord deep within him and for some reason, Vergil felt as though he could relate to him. He swiftly checked about, searched for Dante's aura, found that he was in the kitchen and then turned back towards the vampire, who had moved again, his face a picture of utter seriousness.
'What I say now is not to ever pass your lips. Do you understand?' He watched as Reiko nodded slowly.
'If it so pleases you.'
'I understand to some extent a little of what you have gone through. I used to work alongside Mundus, the dark prince of the underworld.' At Reiko's questioning look, Vergil hastened to add, 'I wasn't totally willing. I was brainwashed to some extent. I wanted power and he promised me power, if only I would work under him. And when I naively agreed, he took away all my control. I became nothing more than a puppet. I was nothing more than his slave, in total servitude but completely unaware of it. But what I was aware of was the fact that while I was in the underworld, the demons hated me with a wild passion, because of my blood. They felt that it was impure, and that it had been tainted by the human race. They could not understand why exactly I had been brought down to the underworld to work as one of Mundus' henchmen. When I first started out as a low level grunt, they used to torture me and burn me, doing whatever they pleased. I had to learn how to fight them and because of the hardships I endured thanks to the other full blooded demons, I was able to rise through the ranks at a startling pace. Eventually I became his most trusted servant. When I say I understand what you have gone through, I talk only of the knowledge that I was hated by everyone. It wasn't just in the underworld either. Both of us are feared even on the mortal plane.'
'Humans have a tendency to fear what they do not understand.'
'Because our appearance is different from others, there are many who treat us with disdain.' He paused here, lost in his own thoughts. He blinked as he soon grew aware that Reiko's eyes were still fixed upon him unwaveringly, his hazel eyes piercing and attentive; it was obvious that this vampire was an avid listener, eager to learn of any life experience he could. 'Before you ask, there is a point in me telling you all of this. I could never fully embrace what I was. Half human, half demon, yet utterly powerless to stop my mother from being murdered. I wasn't able to embrace the fact that I had failed her.'
'The moral of what you tell me is already clear. It has already been afflicted upon me. To refuse to embrace yourself is to cause suffering to oneself. I refused and I was imprisoned. I refuse even now and without taking blood, I shall soon die. I asked to be freed from the coffin because I wanted to die in the living world, like how humans die. I thank Dante for unwittingly realizing my one wish.'
Vergil said nothing to dissuade the vampire from committing his bizarre suicide; it was not in his nature to do such things. He merely nodded before leaving the room and the vampire to lie back on the bed and wait.
---
Time passed, hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks and before anyone was truly aware of it, three weeks had passed. The vampire was still alive though by this time he had become even weaker and paler than was normal for his species. Dante still hadn't been able to understand why his new friend's health was steadily deteriorating, and his worry and concern, so reminiscent of his mother, came to the fore, ensuring that he stayed by the vampire's side more or less constantly. Vergil was dismayed to find that a friendship had formed between the two and looked to be cementing, forming a tight bond between the two. He could see that the time was drawing to a torturously slow close for the vampire, could see the pain that was constantly in his eyes. He knew that the vampire was suffering in what Vergil himself perceived to be a needless manner but at the same time, he knew he could not do a thing to sway him, could do nothing to make him change his mind.
Yet he had the suspicion that if anyone could change his mind, it would be Dante. Hs twin was filled with a hope and an optimism that he had never been able to possess, not even when they were both young. He was also filled with a love for human life that had been inherited from his father. As for himself? Well, he still maintained to this day the opinion that they were all stupid and worthless beings who all deserved to be shot. Reiko and Dante were both alike in that they shared a love and respect for the world in which they lived. It was ironic really, that Reiko lacked a respect for his own life and this angered and saddened the older twin considerably.
His own crimes had been a hell of a lot worse. They had been heinous and the consequences might not have been too bad considering it was going to rid the entire world of the human population but it had still resulted in the fact that he had been pitted against his brother, his only living relative. And what was perhaps the most shameful thing was that he had been a useful aid in Mundus' plans and had helped him rise to power. Because of him, Mundus had come within an inch of achieving his ultimate goal.
In his eyes, he was worse than Reiko. Much worse. And if that was so, then did that mean that he should die or try and commit suicide? Surely not. He wouldn't, he couldn't. His pride would not allow it. If he wasn't allowed to top himself then what possibly made Reiko think that he deserved the privilege of escaping from the memories of his past actions? It was something that irked him almost constantly but he never confronted the vampire about it. That one conversation had been enough, and he was not planning to talk to him again.
Still, his brother appeared to be more or less impervious to the elder twin's disapproval of the male vampire and continued to spend time with him.
And when Reiko eventually became bed-ridden, Dante made sure to spend even more time with him. Vergil was at once alarmed and dismayed by the gesture, believing that there was no way in which any good could come out of it. Still, he knew that his brother, naïve as he was despite his legendary status, would have to learn the hard way. He could only hope that the vampire would die an easy death, that he would not force his brother to suffer with him in his last moments. The sooner life returned to normal the better, and Vergil was keen to have his brother back. If he really wanted to be honest, he missed him.
He had become accustomed to the constant teasing and bickering and the arrangement that they shared a place together was altogether easy. Their world was a quiet one and it suited the elder twin perfectly. That was until Dante had brought home the vampire and had started to lavish affection on him.
It was the affection more than anything else that scared him.
