Hope everyone is having fun with the Bloody Palace update in DMC5!

Thank you again for the favorites and reviews! I really like knowing what you think! Giving my story a chance means enough to me, especially if you like it enough to see it to CHAPTER EIGHT already. I hope I continue to hold your interest :) Hope you enjoy!

Akiari - I had to look up that fanart after you mentioned it and it definitely brought a smile to my face! It must be fate! READERS, if you haven't seen, there's an adorable piece of fanart of Dante and Vergil eating strawberry sundaes. My scene isn't quite as adorable because the idea of uncomfortable Vergil is really funny to me, so I wanted to go a different route haha. Actually when you finish DMC5 and Vergil is hanging around Nico's van, he looks really uncomfortable, so that is what kinda sparked the idea to make them get sundaes in a dingy bar :P

25th January 6:01am

It was crazy. Absolutely crazy. Cyra woke up early specifically to sit and wait for the nurse to walk out of her home and so she could follow her to the cathedral. The plan was to rush in when the door was open and talk to Lady Amelia. Lady Amelia was small, Cyra felt she could take her. What could go wrong? Desperation was pretty funny, Cyra thought. In what other universe would she think of stalking and breaking in, only to lead up to a possible fight? Cyra yawned. How much has she slept in the last week? Cyra chuckled at herself, realizing that the sleep deprivation was making her this bold. No, it made her crazy.

Hours and hours went by, but no the nurse wasn't seen. Maybe there was another door she went through? The real horror set in that maybe Cyra fell asleep at the right time and missed the nurse. It was already noon and it didn't feel like she was sitting and waiting for 6 hours.

Cyra stood up, feeling stiff. She stretched her limbs out before stumbling over through the street, reaching the market. If she missed the nurse, then there may not be a point to go back to the cathedral just yet. Her eyes settled on the vendor that the nurse stopped and talked to the day before. He wore a dirty cloak, hood over half his face, seemingly trying to hide his identity. No surprise, considering his profession was re-selling "Panacea's" Unholy Waters.

Cyra casually made her way to the vendor and noticed he had Unholy Waters for sale. He wasn't the first vendor to sell them. Sometimes they were knock-offs, sometimes they weren't. Cyra knew that some of her free supply ended up in reseller's hands. It hurt that she went through so much effort to keep this town safe, but some can only think about money. She supposed it was fair. People have to look out for themselves, after all. If money was what a particular person needed more than safety from demons, then who was she to judge? At the end of the day, she was still helping someone. Her real anger stemmed from those who sold fakes.

"Hello, miss, what can I help you with?" The vendor said eagerly trying to coax her into a sale.

"Just browsing," Cyra said as casually as she could, avoiding eye contact with the vendor.

The vendor eyed her carefully, "Do I know you?" He asked.

Cyra shrugged lazily, "Maybe, I'm in the market a lot."

The vendor started to recognize her, but played it off, "Yes, lovely weather we've been having lately."

Cyra smiled lightly, "That's why I'm meeting a friend. Actually, have you seen her? She was wearing a white habit."

The vendor smirked, face complacent, "Sorry, haven't seen anyone with that description… Panacea."

Cyra looked up, "So you do know me."

"You're a bit of a household name. I'm more surprised you're not trying to attack my stand," The vendor admitted.

Cyra shrugged, "How about as a 'thank you', you tell me about this woman?"

"I'm just the middle-man," The vendor spoke.

"I wasn't asking about you," Cyra said.

The vendor scowled, "She just comes by to check my inventory."

"Why? Does she bring the Unholy Waters?" Cyra asked.

The vendor felt uncomfortable. He may have made a mistake answering one question, since it's only leading to more, "No, someone else does."

"Someone I might know?" Cyra asked, eyes narrowing.

"How would I know? But probably. Hard to trust anyone these days," The vendor said.

"Can I trust you?" Cyra asked.

"You're asking if you can trust a man who is reselling your passion project?" The vendor asked.

"I am," Cyra answered.

The vendor stayed silent for a moment, "Call me Victor," He said pulled back the hood of his cloak a bit. Part of his face was burned, leaving a bad scar, "But it's best not to trust me. Not my choice."

"Victor the Vendor. Doesn't sound fake at all," Cyra smirked.

"I did warn you not to trust me," He smirked back pulling the hood to cover the burned part of his face again.

"Alright, Victor the Vendor. So who brings in your supply?" Cyra asked.

"Some guy. Uhh long, dark hair. He never says anything though," Victor said.

"That's all you got?" Cyra asked, "Do you know a Lady Amelia?"

Victor shook his head, "Sorry, like I said. I'm just the middle-man. Now if you don't mind scurrying off, I need to have an open table."

"Well, thanks for nothing, I guess," Cyra said and started walking off.

"Don't be a stranger!" Victor called out before she left ear shot. He sighed. Panacea was much easier to talk to than he thought. He assumed she'd be some weirdo creating magic potions who would never be able to hold a normal conversation. No, she seemed like a sweet normal woman. What a shame it was that she gets being taken advantage of so much. Not that he was morally superior. He willingly resold Unholy Waters for a profit.

The nurse walked up to Victor, "Did you tell her anything?"

"Hard to tell her anything when I don't know shit," Victor said.

"She's starting to snoop," The nurse said annoyed.

"Well, I got nothing to share," Victor said.

"Hm," The nurse eyed him curiously and walked off.

Victor rolled his eyes at the nurse as she left then turned his attention back to the direction of the customers, "Panacea reseller! Unholy Waters for sale!" He kept announcing, trying to draw people in.

25th January 10:30pm

Lady and Trish were taking care of a little demon problem on the other side of town, leaving Dante to take care of more local ones while he waited for them to come back and discuss the cathedral. The open portal still hasn't been overwhelming them with demon activity. Dante seemed very eager to take care of all problems as they came specifically so Nero didn't find out. Cyra never met Nero, but she heard Dante mention him a couple of times and seemed fond of him, so she found it odd that he didn't want him involved this time. She guessed he hadn't told him about their return. Vergil hasn't been seen since the previous morning.

Really, she was glad they were busy. It was only a matter of time before she had to keep that promise and explain the cathedral.

Cyra didn't realize how late it was. She spent her whole day waiting around hoping to tail a nurse who may be innocent, or sitting around waiting for a door to open...again, shocking nobody that it was a wasted effort. It was a whole day she could've used towards attempting to make a cure. There were many more experiments to run with Vergil's blood, but she hasn't made progress. Why was this so hard for her? She's never tried to cure a demon, but he was still half human. How was it so different? Maybe asking for Lady Amelia was a waste of time, but what if it was the only way? She smiled a bit thinking about Vergil, only to start feeling guilty because of their last conversation. She groaned thinking how stupid she was for insulting his humanity just because she was frustrated. She hoped he wasn't avoiding her again. They already talked about communicating instead of ignoring her, so she had to trust that it wasn't the reason. Cyra sighed. It wasn't even two whole days, but she missed him for some reason. He probably didn't miss her considering he was fine with being gone. Who knows what Vergil was up to; he didn't really announce what his plans were. She wondered what he'd say if she asked what he was up to? Would he even answer?

"Excuse me, miss?" Cyra heard a voice interrupting her thoughts. She turned her head to see a man she recognized to be Frederick.

"Oh, hello again," She smiled lightly, too tired of be more energetic. It was uncomfortable though, being alone with him during night.

"Ah, I thought it was you! What are you doing out so late?" He asked in a force smile that Cyra picked up on.

"Busy with work, you know," She said calmly, just wanting to leave.

"Can I walk you home?" Frederick asked.

Cyra shook her head, "No, thank you," She said trying to sound polite.

"You know, I'm just trying to be a nice guy," Frederick said and walked in front of her, stopping her halt.

"Excuse me," She said trying to walk past him. Frederick went to reach for her, but her fighter instincts came in and grabbed his arm to use his momentum to throw him past her, landing him on the ground instead, "Leave me alone!"

Frederick stood up, "You bitch!" He yelled and tried to charge at her again.

Cyra misjudged his strength and got knocked over, only to be pinned down by his body. She noticed his right hand was missing, feeling like he would be easier to deal with. His good hand grabbed her neck, pinning her down trying to strangle her, "Get off of me!" She breathed out. Even with one hand, he had a lot of weight to him keeping her down. Cyra's was actually able to budge the inside of his elbow to weaken his hold on her enough to push him off. Cyra took this opportunity to run off, but Frederick managed to grab her ankle, bringing her back down. She kicked his hand away, in turn kicking his face, "Fuck you!" She spat out.

Frederick stood up ready to chase after her again, but a gunshot interrupted his advance. Both Frederick and Cyra looked over to see Dante calmly taking a stride towards them, "I don't think she likes you, pal. Might want to take the hint and beat it," Dante said, his voice smooth.

"Fuck out of my business!" Frederick said.

"The lady seems like she can handle herself, but I don't really like when guys hurt women, so you kind of made it my business, too," Dante said and held the gun toward his face.

Frederick turned to Cyra, "You stupid bitch, how many bodyguards do you have?"

Bodyguards? Cyra thought. She gave a glance at Dante who was still holding the gun at Frederick. They both knew he wouldn't shoot him, but Cyra marched toward Frederick and while he was distracted, she kneed him in the crotch, "I don't need bodyguards. Stay the hell away from me," She warned and turned away with Dante, leaving the main to squirm in pain.

"You okay?" He asked her quietly.

Cyra sighed, "Yeah…"

Dante lightly put an arm around her for a moment to comfort her, which made her feel better. They both walked in silence on the way to Devil May Cry.

"Thank you, Dante," Cyra said after he closed the door behind them.

"Nah, no need. Like I said, you had that," Dante said.

"Don't humor me. You know I wouldn't have. I've been slipping," Cyra said. She went to sit on the couch. The last time she sparred with someone before Vergil was months ago. Shortly after Dante left to the Qliphoth, sparring with people was part of her routine, but the loneliness made her more distant and quit.

Dante went to sit on the couch with her, "You're a badass! Maybe if you slept more, you wouldn't be slipping," He said.

Cyra shook her head and turned her body to face Dante, laying her head on the back of the couch, "I'm sleeping fine. But thanks for politely saying I look like shit," She smirked.

"You know you're the hottest doctor I know, with or without sleep," Dante said casually.

Cyra blushed at his compliment, but dismissed it, "I'm not even a good doctor…"

"What makes you say that?" Dante asked.

"I can't find a cure for your brother," Cyra answered.

"You're trying and that's all that matters," Dante reassured.

"No, it's not enough," Cyra said.

"Hey," Dante said scooting a bit closer and placing his hand on her knee, "You'll figure it out. You always do. Vergil's a tough bastard, he'll hang in there as long as you need, okay?"

Cyra stared into his eyes and she felt him absentmindedly caressing her leg with his thumb. He's never made this level of contact before. Was it just to comfort her? "I don't want to let you down," She said quietly.

Dante's eyes scrunched, hating how defeated she sounded, "Cyra, you couldn't let me down. There's a reason that I came to you first!"

"That may have been a mistake," She said.

"Oh come on, what's with the self-doubt? This isn't the Cyra I know," Dante said.

"You don't get it. I've never had to deal with a demon parasite before. It's just... It might be over my head," Cyra said.

"Is whatever's in that cathedral making you act like this?" Dante asked.

The front door opened, revealing Vergil. Dante removed his hand from Cyra's leg and leaned back more into the couch, "Well, look who it is. Where ya been?" Dante asked.

Vergil didn't fail to notice what he interrupted. Cyra shifted and brought her legs up to her chest, her back facing Vergil. Vergil looked to Dante, "Errands."

"You really want me to save your ass again? You already owe me like 3," Dante asked.

"Are you worried you might need saving one day, little brother?" Vergil asked.

"At least I'll know you'll be there, cashing in a favor," Dante said.

"Hm," Was all Vergil said because his attention went to Cyra as she stood up. Her face looked tired and sad. Vergil was curious about what she and Dante were talking about when he walked in and hoped that it wasn't his idiot brother who made her upset.

"Wait, Cyra, since we're all here, this may be a good time to let us in on the cathedral secrets?" Dante suggested. Cyra didn't even say anything as she passed Vergil to leave through the front door, she just waved out her arm goodbye, giving them enough of a hint, "Guess that's a no," Dante said as Cyra walked out.

"Did I interrupt something?" Vergil asked looking from the front door back to Dante.

"Nah," Dante waved it off, missing what Vergil's question meant, "She just hasn't slept and got attacked by some guy," Dante said still seated.

"She was assaulted and now she's walking home alone?" Vergil asked slightly in disbelief. Dante ignoring the basics in chivalry was a shock to him.

"Hey, she's tough, and she lives 30 seconds down the road," Dante defended, not wanting to insult Cyra's own skills.

"I don't doubt her resilience, but she didn't look very aware just now," Vergil said.

"Don't worry, she smashed the dudes nuts in. He won't be a problem anymore tonight," Dante said.

"Did this person happen to have a hand missing?" Vergil asked.

Dante nodded, "Friend of yours?"

"Not quite," Vergil muttered angrily thinking of him.

Dante laughed, "Going to guess you have something to do with that?"

"I caught him threatening to rob Cyra. She's apparently made herself a target with her business. The fact that she continues to help these people is beyond me," Vergil said.

"Yeah, that's Cyra for ya," Dante said fondly. Vergil noticed the tone and would have questioned it if he weren't more concerned for Cyra.

"I'll be back," Vergil said and walked out to follow Cyra.

"Alright, see you in two days," Dante muttered to himself and got up to go shower. Vergil cut off another person's hands. He supposed it could have been worse, but that's something he had to remember to talk to him about. Maybe there was still a threat of Vergil going back to his old ways, but Dante didn't want to accuse him too early. It could hurt their newly reformed trust.

25th January 11:18pm

Cyra stumbled into her bookstore, letting the door close behind her. Maybe she should get a lock. Getting attacked by demons was one thing; she had wards to keep them away. Getting attacked by humans scared her more. She had a gun to protect herself, sure, but that was more self defense for her lab. The assault only reaffirmed her desire to become a better fighter. Cyra looked at her work station, looking awfully desirable. So much work could be done… The door was heard opening and her heart sank in fear, only for her to turn and notice Vergil instead, "Oh, it's you," She said in relief.

"I didn't mean to scare you. Go get some rest," Vergil said and sat down in the chair he slept in the other night, grabbing the book he started reading. He placed Yamato next to the chair.

Cyra wasn't sure what was happening, "You're staying?" She asked.

"You don't have a lock on your door and apparently there are people who aren't too fond of you, so yes, I'm staying," Vergil said.

Cyra blushed, so thankful that he couldn't see her face. He wanted to protect her? That's why he was there? "Y-you heard?"

"I did," Vergil answered. Nevermind the fact that he dealt with the man first, but she didn't need to know that.

Cyra could have hugged him. She could have ran right over to him and hugged him, bothering his peaceful reading he was about to do, but instead she suppressed that urge. Did this mean that Vergil wasn't upset about what she said the night before? She insulted his humanity - or lack thereof, but it was wrong of her to say. She still slowly made her way over to stand next to him, "You're right, by the way. I could've gotten killed if it weren't for Dante. If I can't handle a human alone, how am I supposed to deal with a possible demon?" Cyra asked, mostly asking herself. Her Unholy Waters could only get her so far.

Vergil closed his book, realizing that he was probably not going to get to read it anytime soon. He inhaled sharply, "I hope you know what I said was with good intentions. For what it's worth, I'd rather you not get harmed and it's frustrating to see you needlessly throw yourself in a dangerous situation."

Cyra nodded, "I know. It's just… I wanted to do something my way. Give me one more day and I promise I'll tell you everything."

"What do you plan to accomplish in one day?" Vergil asked.

"I have to talk to Lady Amelia. She's in charge of that cathedral. It's part of the long story, but I really just need to talk to her alone… If she lets me in." Cyra said.

"And that's planned for tomorrow?" Vergil asked.

"Uhm, well, first I have to deliver something, but then I'll go to the cathedral again," Cyra answered.

"Alright. One day, but I'm going with you," Vergil said.

"N-no, I said you can't!" Cyra protested.

"Take it or leave it," Vergil said making it clear he wouldn't negotiate.

Cyra sighed, "As long as you stay back when I go to the cathedral. Lady Amelia hates demons and can't know you're with me. Okay?"

A demon hating other demons. Interesting development, Vergil thought, "Fine. Now go rest, you look like you're about to fall over," Vergil said opening his book once again.

Cyra smiled, feeling like she got in a victory. She felt oddly content with his concern for her, but something still bothered her, "One more thing… I just… I'm really sorry about what I said… About, um, you not understanding humanity," She was trying not to ramble. The sleep deprivation was kicking in, making her unaware of herself.

"What did I say about apologizing?" Vergil asked. Why was she even apologizing about that? Her words to attempt to hurt him didn't matter to him as much as her ridiculous need for wanting to do things alone.

"This is entirely different. I said something stupid and I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," She said trying not to ramble.

"Well, you weren't wrong," Vergil said casually. He didn't mean to make it spark a conversation, but Cyra made it happen.

"Don't say that! Of course I was wrong!" Cyra said, "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I don't know about what happened seven months ago-"

"I don't think this is the time for that discussion," Vergil interrupted her.

Cyra stayed quiet for a moment, fighting back her urge to force the conversation, "Will you talk to me about it sometime?" She asked meekly. Vergil lowered his eyebrows as he turned his face to her. Did she really care? She looked worried, like she was stepping over boundaries. What a strange concept. What boundaries did they exactly have? He didn't answer her.

Cyra started playing with her hands, "I guess I… I do believe in your humanity. Everyone always wants to focus on...um, that Urizen," She said his name awkwardly, "But, what about V? That's what you called yourself? You beat Urizen..."

Vergil found her use of pronouns odd. When she mentioned V, she acknowledged that he and Vergil were the same person, yet when she mentioned Urizen, she always referred to him as a separate entity. Did she not understand that all three were of the same - That Urizen's urges were still within Vergil? He closed the book once again, much more aggressive than before. He looked annoyed, "You don't seem to understand. That Urizen still lives inside me, just as much as V does. We are one and the same."

Cyra noticed his tension. She wondered how easy would it be for him to unleash Urizen's urges and kill her right then? How strong was the V in him to reign it in? She didn't quite understand how it worked. They were all the same person, but did he have two separate consciousness battling for dominance? If so, the fact that Vergil didn't try to kill her meant that V, his humanity, was stronger, "Maybe… but I see one a lot more clearly than the other." Cyra said

Vergil tried his best not to scowl at her. Foolish, he thought. How could she foolishly say these things so certainly about things she does not understand? How could she say the things he needed to hear the most? "Damn it, woman," He said angrily through a sigh, worried of saying anything more. He didn't want to end up saying something he'd regret, "Go get some sleep."

Cyra wasn't done talking. She wanted to keep trying to convince him something he obviously didn't see, but she didn't want to annoy him enough to push him to kill her, "Do you… forgive me?" She asked.

"I wasn't upset by your words, but yes, I accept the apology," Vergil said quickly, just wanting her to leave.

Cyra nodded, taking the hint, "Th-Thank you...for staying."

Vergil nodded, "Sleep well," He said.

Cyra quickly glanced once more into his eyes, "You too," She smiled and walked off, going upstairs to her room. She went straight to her bed thinking that she'd pass out instantly. If only… she kept glancing at the time seeing tens of minutes go by. All she wanted to do was go downstairs to talk to Vergil more, not caring if it'd annoy him. He was probably asleep anyway, she reasoned. An exhale left her mouth and she forced herself to shut her eyes and let herself be lulled into a well deserved sleep.

Meanwhile, Vergil was in the chair, still thinking about the last conversation with Cyra. He was irritated and mentally repeated how stubborn and foolish she was. Maybe smart and kind weren't the top two qualities to describe her. She was in denial about his existence and morality. That's the only possible explanation for how she is so afraid to talk to human men, yet fine around him. That also reminded him about her door. What kind of woman living on her own doesn't have a lock on her door? Vergil found himself wondering. Even if it was a bookstore, dangerous people can creep around any minute and walk in there. Nevermind the demons. Considering she managed to live there for five or so months without an actual robbery makes her incredibly lucky, but one day that'd run out and Vergil would rather not see it.

Finding it unlikely that he'd be able to sleep in that uncomfortable chair, Vergil stood up and walked over to her workstation. He wasn't too sure what he was looking for, but curiosity and irritation got to him. It felt a bit invasive, but it's not like he was planning on using anything against her, he reasoned. The first thing he noticed was empty cups of coffee everywhere. She had a rather clean workstation every time he saw it so he wondered how many days worth of coffee it was. A notebook was flipped open with his name at the top. Those must have been notes that she took during her research and experiments. A lot of question marks and words being crossed off.

There was a framed photo in the corner that was turned down. He reached to turn it over and look at the image. It took him off guard, though he wasn't sure what he expected. It was a photo of Cyra with an average looking dark haired man. He had his arm around her and they looked happy; Cyra giving off the most genuine, relaxed smile that he's ever seen on her face. It made the corner of Vergil's lip involuntarily twitch into a slight smile of his own. In the photo, her left ring finger had a wedding ring on. This must have been her husband… Vergil wondered what happened, remembering Dante told him he was dead.

She had a real marriage… He let it sink in. He didn't know how long they were married for, but he imagined that they had enough of a history together. Traditions, inside-jokes, things that contributed to years worth of a special bond that Vergil never had nor saw in his future. Perhaps they owned a house together; maybe they spoke of having children. He suddenly felt intimidated at the prospect of getting closer to Cyra, fearing that he wouldn't be good enough to compete with something she already had. Vergil furrowed his brows, gripping the picture frame tighter before he realized he should set it down as to not break it. He wasn't expecting insecurity to be a reason he'd regret getting too attached to a human woman.

He thought back to Cyra's confession the other night about feeling guilty that she knew so much about him even though he didn't tell her. He hoped with his snooping that they would be even, but if anything, it made it worse. That actually felt invasive.

26th January 4:23am

"Cyra, run!" A voice told her - Gabriel's voice. She wanted to run toward the voice but she couldn't move. The voice only got further and further away and she couldn't chase it. Something was holding her back. There were people down the street, but they looked so far away until they started turning into ash. There was a shadow behind her, starting to loom over over. There was nothing she could do. She tried to turn about or scream but he body was frozen.

Cyra bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily. She was in her room... Safe. Her hands rubbed her face almost absentmindedly. Too on edge to go back to sleep, she got out of bed and got ready for her day. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up before stepping in. Her mind was still on her recurring nightmare. In it, she was always alone; always reaching for people; always had some kind of darkness behind her that she couldn't escape. More importantly, it was always Gabriel telling her to run away. Cyra crouched down in the shower and hugged her knees, letting the warm water calm her down. He died three years ago, but the nightmares of his death would probably forever haunt her.

She remembered Vergil stayed overnight, and hoped he was still there, but supposed it was wishful thinking. Of course he had better things to do, even if he acted like he didn't. She felt strange admitting that she missed him and was excited to see him again, but there was a guilt that followed it - the guilt of abandoning Gabriel. Secondly, the more time she spent around Vergil, the more she remembered that he hasn't been cured yet. Then it dawned on her. What would happen after he's cured? She didn't want him to leave and go back to the demon world. If she missed him after not seeing him for a couple days, she couldn't imagine not being able to see him ever again.

Vergil heard the shower turn on, causing the pipes in the little building to bang around a bit, waking him up. Being a light sleeper was a blessing and a curse. It was still dark out. He checked the time seeing it was almost 5am. Perhaps the reason she needed 4 cups of coffee surrounding her desk is because she only gets 4 hours of sleep. Surely her lack of sleep wasn't a habit, he hoped, but he recalled when he first met her that she stayed awake for many hours finding a temporary treatment for his pain. He didn't realize it was a common thing for her.

26th January 5:05am

Too bad Dante was just as much of a light sleeper as Vergil was. When Vergil returned to Devil May Cry, Dante checked the time. He assumed Vergil left last night to make sure Cyra got home okay, but coming back so late - or early in the morning, was odd. Dante inwardly groaned, feeling awkward about his brother and Cyra having something going on. Dante never decided to spark anything with Cyra due to a plethora of reasons such as working for her, and her trauma over her husband. Another reason was that she was far too kind for Dante to want to pursue romantically. She was someone he wanted around without the fear of screwing something up, but he'd be lying if he said he never thought about it, even if those thoughts were brief.

Maybe he was overreacting. Vergil having feelings for a human was some character development that was just happening too fast, even for someone who's humanity was restored. The brother he spent time with in the Qliphoth for months felt real - not some power hungry demon he was thought to be. V truly won that battle and it was clear everytime he looked at his brother. Although who needs feelings, anyway? Nero wasn't exactly a child born out of love. 5am was far too early for thoughts like that. Dante shut his eyes, deciding this was a conversation best saved for another time.