Familiar Taste of Poison

by blinkingfox

Vergil has been poisoned and it's up to a human woman to heal him. Through the journey, the two end up learning about themselves and each other. (Post DMC5. Vergil/OC. I want to dig into Vergil's character now that his mind has been cleared of the nightmares and he's more accepting of his humanity. Just for fun.)

21. Annoying

2 February 9:01pm

Cyra stopped outside Devil May Cry the second the doors closed. Go back in there! She tried to reason with herself. Just the same, if he didn't want to talk to her, she shouldn't annoy him. Though his actions confused her. Cyra balled her fists out of annoyance and looked back in the direction of her home. Lady and Trish must still be in there. Cyra wanted nothing to do with them at the moment. She glanced over to the clock against the building to check the time.

One late night store visit later, she was armed with a brand new wooden baseball bat. At this rate, she'd end up with a collection she never in her life thought she'd have. Securing it in her backpack that she retrieved from Devil May Cry, she ventured off to a train stop - thankful they still ran so late. There was currently only one thing on her mind.

That elementary school. Something of note had to be there. It couldn't be a pure coincidence that cult activity would rise right when Amelia turned on her. Investigating at night would be the best time to do it secretly; away from the eyes and ears of authority and citizens. It's also just as dangerous assuming the cult meets at night. If she got attacked, said authorities and citizens would be nowhere to be seen.

Two train stops and a couple blocks of walking later, Cyra arrived in front of the old elementary school. This cult could be nothing, and Dante was sure to think so, but what else was Cyra going to do? Dante didn't deem Amelia a threat, so Cyra would take the off time to scout for information.

The elementary school was small and run down. Years of neglect was obvious, as if instead of renovating to make the school bigger, it was abandoned in favor of a larger building. This school looked more like a wider church. Cyra hasn't been around this part of town much and if there was more time, she'd have looked into the history of the school out of curiosity. Perhaps there would be time later. For now, she had to find a way in. The front door was locked and barred, so she started patrolling the perimeter. If this location was used as a cult site, there would have to be an easy way in, unless the police interfered. That in of itself was strange because she figured there'd be a lot of yellow tape warning to keep out and that it was official police business. But nothing… Was this the right location after all? How many abandoned elementary schools could this city really have?

Behind the building had an emergency exit with a brick conveniently wedged in the doorframe. It couldn't be that easy… She thought. She looked around her surroundings to check if people were watching and pulled the door open enough to slip right through, careful to close the door back on the brick like she found it.

Inside the school was like a scene of a horror movie. It was just an empty hallway, no lockers, and a few doors on each side. Considering one of those doors must lead to the principal's office, or a reception, this school must only have 3 classrooms. Pretty small after all. The first door to her right was locked with no windows to peek through. If there was a cult here, members could have keys to this place. Or it could be in the reception.

The first door to her left had a rusted doorknob. It wouldn't even turn. There's no way anything would be happening there in this condition.

Cyra continued down the hall to the next door, stepping over glass that must have broken from the photos and displays that lined the walls. Once upon a time, this school must have been proud of itself. Hopefully it didn't end it's lifespan due to misery, and that it was abandoned simply because it wasn't big enough. Unfortunate that it couldn't be repurposed for anything else. The next door to her left at least had a doorknob, and with her luck, it opened!

Slowly, she pushed the door open, but unfortunately for her, the creek of the door was so absurdly loud, it echoed through the entire building. How the hell could they handle that noise? Was it too hard to oil up some hinge?

But she'd quickly forget about that god awful noise when she saw what was in that room.

A shrine and altar. Not just any shrine. It had a statue of what she recognized as the Greek Goddess of Remedy… Called Panacea. Approaching the shrine, she started eyeing the little trinkets or "offerings" perhaps. Bottles of the unholy water the vendors sold… She knew it was Victor's because it actually had a label saying "Panacea's Holy Water." instead of the plain glass bottles she gives away for free. These people didn't even know what they were worshipping. But why were they worshipping her? She couldn't fathom it.

Cyra was human. She may have been giving away medicine, but only because she wanted to help, not be treated as some God. She crouched down to inspect the other items and some of them were even little notes she wrote for her customers. Unlit candles were thrown about, obscuring some of the items. Some were objects she wasn't exactly sure why they were included, but she didn't want to assume it was because she touched them or something….

The deafening squeak of the door startled her, making her stand back up, whipping the bat out of her backpack, readying herself. She remained quiet waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the doorway, but she could recognize that silhouette anywhere.

"What do you plan to do with that bat?" Vergil asked.

Cyra immediately relaxed and let the bat hang towards the floor, "Smack you for scaring me. What are you doing here? You should be resting."

Vergil approached Cyra, acting like he didn't just somewhat get threatened by her, "How can I rest knowing you're venturing off to a place like this?" Vergil retorted and gestured towards the scenery behind him. The school really was a dump. The fact that she had alcohol earlier wasn't something he thought about bringing up to her.

Cyra sighed, "I heard this place had a cult site and thought it could be for Amelia. I told Dante about it, but he said cult sites never amount to anything. Turns out he was right 'cause it's just about me…." She cringed.

"For everything you do for this city, I'm not surprised," Vergil said.

"You really think this isn't a little bit surprising? It'd be like worshiping just any other doctor for giving them pain meds," Cyra said.

No, people would worship anything. Fortuna worshipped Sparda, he thought bitterly, "Doctors require payment. You offer something as valuable as medicine for free. Letting a delusional person come up with an explanation will only lead them to assuming you create it out of nothing, linking you to a god."

Cyra stared up at him during his explanation, but slowly let her eyes drop back to the shrine, "Some would say that's also what a witch does."

"Then consider yourself lucky they don't deem you a witch," Vergil said.

"Why do you think that's their explanation anyway?" Cyra asked.

"Suppose I'm still rather cynical about humans," Vergil said.

"I mean you're probably right… Just feels so weird. I never made medicine for this..." Cyra said.

Vergil let out a chuckle, "Most people would be ecstatic to be worshipped. Yet, it's always the uninterested or undeserved that get worshipped."

Cyra smirked, "Do you think I deserve it?" She asked, slightly flirting.

Vergil couldn't bite, but he wanted to. He settled for keeping it straight business and glanced at her, "You don't deserve what these people would do to you had they met you."

Cyra's smirk dropped. Well, she tried, "You think Frederick and his friends had anything to do with this?"

"They always seemed to think you were worthy of robbing. It's likely they were just planning to exploit these people," Vergil said.

Cyra sighed and stayed silent for several moments, "Vergil?"

God, he loved when she said his name, he thought and quickly cringed at his own thought, "Yes?"

"Why did you follow me here?" Cyra asked.

Should he be honest? Should he say that he lost the game of chicken? Cyra left Devil May Cry without a word and it felt wrong. He wanted her to keep talking. When Cyra left, Vergil walked after her with the intention to stop her, but she was already too far ahead. By the time he changed into his usual clothes, Cyra was already at the train station. He'd be the first to admit he was worried about where she could be going long distance, especially inebriated. She claimed it was a few drinks, but Vergil thought anything made a difference. Amelia may have been subdued for the time being, but there was no telling what else this city had to offer. The vital stars made him feel good enough to be out and about, "Had nothing better to do."

"I mean, you coulda rested," Cyra said. Vergil was about to speak, but Cyra interrupted, "No time to rest, I know," She smiled, "But it is confusing how you said you had to stay away from me and yet here you are."

"Maybe you are a witch after all and I'm under some sort of spell," Vergil said lightly. It was partially true. He just couldn't stay away from her. At least he knew with Amelia that being with her wasn't a secret. Should he tell her that Amelia literally knew everything?

Cyra slightly blushed at that comment, "Well, I promise I'm not a witch, so there must be another reason."

She was baiting him, of course. Cyra knew exactly how to play him - That, or he was that addicted to her that anything she did was the right thing to do. It dawned on him that he may be wrapped around her finger. He'd just let her bait him if it wouldn't end with her being killed. Amelia's words never left his head. Speaking of, Amelia would find a way to remember this entire conversation as well. Saying nothing would be safer.

-Shit, Vergil, what are you doing!?-

That shrill, squawking voice… A sharp pain registered through his head for a split second, causing Vergil's hand to reflexively pinch the bridge of his nose. I'm still protecting her….

"You okay?" Cyra asked, snapping Vergil out of whatever he was going through.

"I'm fine," He answered, a bit more irritable than he cared to. He focused back on her before he could let his mind wander even more. How was he simultaneously swooning and annoyed when Cyra showed concern for him?

Cyra nodded, accepting that her previous flirtatious comment wouldn't get a response.

It must have just been a residual memory of that bird. His shrill, annoying voice was hard to get rid of. Though it ruined the nice moment he was having with Cyra. No, there couldn't be any nice moments, he had to stop thinking about that. Gods, he was going crazy wasn't he? Bottling up all these secrets, not to mention his own thoughts and feelings about them was starting to take its toll. Damn being a human. It doesn't help that he's doing it alone. Keeping Cyra in the dark was driving him further and further into madness, but it was for her own good, he had to remember. She must be stressed as it is knowing she has a cult after her. This is what being selfless was and Vergil learned it was miserable.

"You can talk to me, you know…" Cyra said as if she was reading his mind.

"I said I'm... fine," He began sharply, but forced himself to soften up, looking back at her, "Let's go, you've seen enough here."

"No," Cyra answered, "I didn't ask you to come here so I'm staying as long as I want."

"You don't need to be here when the cult members return, trust me," Vergil said.

"The police probably arrested them or something," Cyra said.

"What makes you think that?" Vergil asked.

"Police officers were still investigating the you-know-what murders and one mentioned this cult. I think they investigated yesterday," Cyra said.

"We don't know how many members there are nor if they would have all been here to get arrested, so I suggest we leave before we find out," Vergil said.

Cyra crossed her arms and looked at the shrine once more. He was right… Of course he was always right, "Lead the way."

Vergil turned to leave, glancing back at him once to see if Cyra was following him, which she was. They walked through the ungreased door, hopefully the last time they'd both have to hear a door so loud, and continued towards the exit.

Unexpectedly and at the blink of an eye, Vergil brought out Yamato to cut the rusted doorknob to the right. He grabbed Cyra's arm and pushed the door open, pulling Cyra in the room with him. He pushed his body against the door keeping it closed as he held Cyra up to him, hand covering her mouth.

"What are you-!?" Cyra reached her hand up to lower his hand from her face. Vergil looked down at her to shush her when they both heard voices coming from the hall beyond the door - sounded like three people. Vergil was right after all, Cyra confirmed. There were more and they were there! If Vergil didn't come to save her, she would've had to deal with them herself. The voices disappeared and were replaced with that unmistakable squeaky door that led to the shrine. After that, silence. Vergil lowered his hand from her mouth and let go of her entirely, even though Cyra made no effort to move. She missed being so close to him. She was just thankful he didn't push her away. Who knows when she'd be able to stand so close to him?

"There may be more," Vergil said quietly.

Cyra leaned more against him and turned to wrap her arms around him instead, "You saved me again."

Vergil relaxed a bit. Relief washed over him knowing he still was able to protect her. Who knows what they would have done if they found her. Cults were unpredictable. While they worshipped her, they could have killed her with the belief that her blood would grant them eternal youth or some nonsense. He only brought up one arm to rest on her shoulder, even though he wanted to engulf her in his arms, "I told you I would," He said softly, not a shred of a condescending or smug tone in his voice.

Cyra reluctantly let go, not wanting to annoy him. Vergil walked away from the door to be in the middle of the dusty, baron classroom. He took out the Yamato and slashed twice in the air, creating a wide purple vortex. Cyra's eyes widened, though Vergil nonchalantly looked back at her, "This way," He said when she didn't budge.

"Did you just….make a portal?" Cyra asked.

"Are you not familiar with the Yamato's abilities?" Vergil asked.

Cyra straightened herself out, "Haven't seen it before is all. We just… walk through?"

Vergil smiled and held out his hand to her, "We just walk through."

Cyra reluctantly grabbed his hand out of uncertainty of said portal, but she knew she trusted him. He guided her through and before she knew it, she was in an outside area, standing on grass. A quick look around confirmed she was behind her bookstore, staring right at the backdoor. Cyra let out a breath of air she wasn't aware she was holding, and let her shoulders relax, "Wow...That's amazing…" She breathed out. Unable to help herself, she looked around once more just to confirm everything is what it appeared to be. The portal was somehow disorienting, "How did you get used to it?" She asked, looking up at Vergil, an unidentifiable expression on his face. It was sad, yet soft, "What?" She asked, then realizing she was still holding his hand. Cyra quickly let go and wrapped her arms around herself, forcing herself not to apologize.

"Nothing," He answered quietly, erasing that questionable expression, "Now, any more trouble you want to get yourself into tonight?"

Cyra silently chuckled, "I think that's enough adventure for me today. Can't say the same for you, tomorrow. You got a lot of explaining to do to me and Nero," Cyra wasn't going to forget tomorrow was when Dante and Vergil would tell Nero everything, and explain what the hell injured Vergil.

"A headache to be sure, but Dante will handle most of it. Nero isn't going to want to hear a thing I say," Vergil said.

"He doesn't seem to like you much," Cyra said.

Vergil had to leave before she started asking questions. Bringing up Nero was a horrible idea, "Not many people do. Have a good night, Cyra" He said, attempting to walk off.

"I'm not one of those people," Cyra said, interrupting his walk, "I care about you, okay? You, your problems, your thoughts," She listed, "Just… remember that."

"Are you still drunk?" Vergil asked.

Cyra scoffed and rolled her eyes, knowing he was teasing her "Yes, I'm absolutely hammered off of drinks I had 3 hours ago!" Her words dripped with sarcasm, " ...I'm fine!"

Vergil chuckled at her reaction, but looked back at her, that same unreadable expression as before, "I know…."

Cyra smiled and nodded, assuming it was to her previous statement. Accepting he wouldn't talk that night, it still made her hopeful that he'd open up to her eventually. He obviously still cared about her. What he said the previous night about staying away from her didn't match up with his behavior that night, but she was relieved to know he wouldn't just disappear from her life, "Thank you for coming after me..."

Vergil wasn't sure how to take gratitude for something that he believed was selfish. No matter what, he'd want her to be safe. Walking back into her home, she left him with his own thoughts. Without wasting any more time, he decided to head back to his own "home." He's been too busy fighting demons or coming up with any other excuse possible than wasting time at Devil May Cry.

Opening the door, he was greeted with Dante and Lady in the middle of a conversation. Dante nodded his head over to him as a greeting, while Lady turned around to see who Dante was looking at. Her face noticeably lowered at his entrance, but Vergil paid no mind to it as he proceeded to head for the stairs.

"Hey, have you seen Cyra?" Lady asked, interrupting him. Now he really noticed she was glaring at him.

He glared back, "She's home."

"You just saw her?" Lady asked.

"Yes. Am I being interrogated?" Vergil asked.

"Now why would you think that?" Lady asked, feigning innocence.

Dante stepped in, "Lady said she stormed off a bit ago and was worried, is all."

"And you conveniently just happened to see her?" Lady asked.

Vergil turned to Dante, "You're aware of that cult site she was interested in?" Vergil asked, Dante nodded, "She went to investigate on her own so I followed her. Turns out the cult was for her, rather, Panacea. We left and now she's at home. Any more questions?"

"Aw man, I should have known she'd go by herself…" Dante muttered, "So more crazies we have to worry about?"

"I don't expect them to be a problem as long as Cyra doesn't show herself to them," Vergil said.

"I knew her whole free medicine thing was going to backfire…" Lady said.

Vergil looked to Lady, "Cyra was upset before she decided to go investigate. I seem to recall her mentioning you had something to do with."

Lady froze and glared back at Vergil again, "I was just trying to talk some sense into her and she wasn't having it."

"What happened?" Dante asked.

Lady crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "If you must know… I saw Cyra getting drinks with some guy earlier. I interrupted her date because I wanted to catch up with her, which made her mad, but telling her it was a good idea moving on from you, made her storm off."

Wait, what? Drinks with some guy? Hearing talk of her moving on from him hurt, even though that's what he wanted… wasn't it? The less she had to do with him, the better. His mind went back to who she could have drinks with. The only other male he knew of that she'd spend time with was Victor. They had just met, but he believed they became fast friends.

"Cyra has friends other than us?" Dante humored.

Lady let out a laugh, "Yeah, and with a cop no less!"

A cop?… NO. Vergil thought, tearing his attention away from the two. That cop from last night that Cyra used to know. It couldn't be him. They got drinks together? Why was he jealous?

"Her husband was a cop," Dante said quietly as he shrugged, glancing quickly over to Vergil.

"Oh yeah," Lady muttered and turned her head to follow his gaze, landing on Vergil, "Wow, did color drain from your face or is it just me?" Lady taunted.

"Just you," Vergil said to her and walked back to the main doors of the Devil May Cry to exit. So much for resting at home, he thought. There was always bad news when he went in there. He hated it.

Dante let out a sigh and dropped his shoulder, "Why'd you have to do that?" He nearly whined.

"Do what?" Lady asked.

"He's just gonna go off to the demon world again," Dante said.

"So? He likes it there, doesn't he?" Lady asked.

"Well for one, he's supposed to be resting. And two, he's being an idiot over Cyra and making him jealous isn't helping. At all," Dante said.

"I think they're better off not together," Lady suggested.

"It's not your place to call that," Dante said.

"Why not? I'm here to protect the human world from demons, aren't I?" Lady asked.

"Yeah, so am I," Dante said.

Struggling for words, Lady wanted to bite her tongue and let Dante believe what he just said, but she couldn't help it, "Dante… If something happened to Cyra, what would Vergil do?"

Dante chuckled, "Vergil's whole life led up to this - being strong enough to protect what he cares about."

"Okay, but what if he couldn't, and he goes mad. Would you… Would you really be able to kill him again? Could you handle that?" Lady's face was full of remorse and sadness for her friend. Even if Dante didn't speak it, she knew what it did to him having to kill him 25 years ago. She was there when he talked about Mallet Island to her. When she heard Vergil was responsible for the Qliphoth, she could see it in Dante's face that he was in pain, even if he didn't show it. Having to kill his brother again would destroy him.

Dante peered deep into Lady's eyes, seeing her concern and apprehension for admitting what she said. She wasn't worried about Vergil, or Cyra, or the world! She was worried about him. He smiled softly, "If it means letting my brother have a chance at something like this… I'd go through whatever I have to."

Lady tore her eyes away, tightening her face with sadness and anger. It was a touching declaration that she had to be sure not to shed tears for, but he still sacrificed so much for Vergil, and he'd never know. Dante loved his brother so much, even if he was a ticking time bomb, at least that's what Lady believed. His fuse was Cyra, "Well then I guess Cyra will need an extra bodyguard so we don't let that happen," She said and walked out through the front doors, leaving Dante alone.

2 February 11:48am

Nero opened the door to Devil May Cry, seeing it was empty, "Hey, get your ass up!" Nero called out.

Dante came from around the kitchen, visibly half asleep. He had his usual clothes on, but his red leather jacket was hanged up on his wall, "Is it time already?" Dante yawned, making his way to his desk with a cup of coffee.

"Don't start blaming it on hunting demons all night," Nero said.

"Not this time. Was so excited for this little get together, I could hardly sleep," Dante said sarcastically.

"Yeah, whatever," Nero dismissed, "So where's everyone else?"

"No idea! Vergil's been MIA since last night, and the only way he'll show up is if Cyra drags him here," Dante said.

This piqued his interest, "What's the deal with those two anyway?" He still had no idea.

"Question of the year. Don't even know myself right now," Dante said, honestly. Vergil told him he ended it with her, even if he didn't believe it.

"Does she know about me?" Nero asked, even though he knew the answer, he wanted to hear it in someone else's words.

Dante pushed his lips together, knowing he wasn't going to like this information, "No."

"Of course," Nero glared at nothing in particular.

"I know he'll tell her, Nero, so don't tell Cyra and let him handle it-" Dante started.

"What's with you just keeping shit from everyone!? Poor innocent Vergil needs to figure out his feelings, gimme a break," Nero said.

"Listen Nero, it's not like that. Don't tell her. Do this favor for me, okay? Not him," Dante said.

"Why should I?"

"Because he's still my brother and your father! It's not about being ashamed of you, he's just focusing on his humanity right now and overwhelmed with everything. It's good. Cyra is really good for him and she's been helping him. Now, I don't know if they'll even amount to anything, but I'm not going to let you ruin everything he's done to rebuild himself. You haven't spent the last 9 months with him," Dante spoke. Perhaps he's said too much and it'd be better coming from Vergil, but who was he kidding? Vergil would never share that kind of information with Nero, even if his life depended on it, "You can hate him all you want, but let him have his chance. For me."

Human side? Overwhelmed? Rebuild himself? What the hell was this shit? He thought. He was still so pissed at Vergil. He felt he deserved to be pissed off at his own father who abandoned him and ripped off his ARM for fuck's safe! What Nero didn't know was everything Vergil went through. The torture and the misery... Sure, some would say his lifelong pursuit of power led him down the route, he still did not live an easy life.

"Tch," Nero tore his eyes away from Dante, "I'll give him to the end of the week."

"Heh, well I'll try to make him hurry then, cause like I said, I don't know what's up with them. There might not even be anything to tell," Dante said.

"So is that the reason you didn't tell me you came back? To protect him?" Nero asked.

Dante nodded, "Well, mostly his ego, I guess. He didn't say it outright, but being weak around you of all people wouldn't sit well with him. Being in the Qliphoth tree for so long infected him with something and he's better now, but he still hasn't been able to recover fully."

Nero chuckled, "Worried I'd kick his ass again?"

Dante smirked, "He's not too keen on losing streaks."

The front door opened, revealing Cyra. Both Dante and Nero's eyes glanced over to her without a word, "Uh…I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

Dante grinned, "Nah, we were waiting on you to get the story started."

"She already gave me the quick version. Just tell me what the next step is. We hunting this witch, or what?" Nero asked.

"Trish and Lady are out on patrol now. I talked to Morrison and demon activity is spreading into other cities. I don't know if it's because of Amelia, but we have a whole lot of jobs to do," Dante said.

"Well, what's the hold up?" Nero asked.

"Where's Vergil?" Cyra asked.

"Haven't seen him last night," Dante said.

Cyra sighed, "I hoped he'd be here…"

"Get used to him disappointing you," Nero muttered under his breath.

Cyra's eyes snapped to his direction, but didn't respond. The air in the room turned thick, or maybe it was just her imagination. There were so many questions she could have asked Nero, but thankful Dante spoke up so she wouldn't further embarrass herself around him, "Ya know, I think I know where he might be…" Dante admitted begrudgingly.

"So are we going after him or hunting demons?" Nero asked.

"Well, I know my brother, and I think it's important to stop whatever he's doing," Dante said standing up and grabbing his weapons.

"Deja vu… He's not summoning another tree is he?" Nero asked sarcastically.

"No, but wherever there's a portal to the demon world, there's a Vergil," Dante said.

"Are you saying he's in the demon world?" Cyra asked, concerned. The news was somewhat surprising, but it would explain where he was most of his days. No wonder he wasn't recovering if he was fighting all the time.

"Yep," Dante said, popping the 'p,' "You still consider yourself his doctor, right? Come with and yell at him for me," Dante's conditions were already broken, since Vergil willingly went into the demon world again, so he wasn't going to bother protecting him from Cyra. In fact, he now encouraged it. Dante already headed out the front door, Nero following behind him.

"I think I've annoyed him enough and taken the hint a few too many times. I'm good," Cyra said.

"Nahhh, annoy him more," Nero mused.

Dante grinned, "I've been trying to make him talk to you, and this is the perfect way. So long as you stay far away from the portal."

"What do you mean 'make him' talk to me?" Cyra asked.

Dante shrugged, "Oh, darn, have I said too much?"

"Dante…?" Cyra pleaded.

"Just tryin' to help. You know how to use that bat, right?" He pointed to the bat that was clearly sticking out of her backpack.

Cyra tightened the strap on her backpack, "I still gotta break it in. You think I'll get to do that with demons or Vergil?"

Nero even chuckled at that, "You almost used it on me."

Dante smirked at them getting along, "Alright, let's get going!"

10 minutes earlier

Vergil did in fact go into the demon world. Not to fight demons to distract him, for once. His new theory was seeing if Amelia's tether could actually reach across a different realm. Vergil brought up his blade and sliced his own hand, watching as blood leaked from his own flesh. Starting at the wound, nothing happened right away. Maybe he was wrong. A group of large arachnid-like demons started heading for him. Vergil felt a pang in his head for a moment, reminding him of Phantom - a demon he recognized during his time serving under Mundus. He brought up his hand to sooth the slight pain, also remembering one of his nightmares took on a form like Phantom. That one never agreed to a contract with his human self, therefore needing to kill him.

Shock washed over him, expecting Griffon to say something about it in his mind. Angrily, Vergil readied into a stance and slashed at all the demons. Their attacks weren't very fast. Lesser demons were in fact just fodder and these were no exception. Vergil didn't have to dodge, but he opted to dash around to kill them quicker for his own merit. Fighting them was not his plan, nor would he devote extra time for them.

The group screeched as they died from his attacks, unexpectedly exploding orange ooze as a result. Vergil managed to dodge the ooze with ease. The area around him was peaceful again. Fighting them took no time or energy at all. Between Trish's help with destroying those pods, and Vergil healing in the demon world, was his power actually returning? He looked back to his sliced hand and saw that while it wasn't fully healed, which would have been the case normally, it did show obvious signs of progress. Vergil smirked and closed his fist.

Just then a larger arachnid-like demon jumped down from above. Vergil was able to dodge away from it with quick reflex, but the shockwave of the attack still sent him back. Recovering with a backflip, he was still able to land gracefully. Well, well, well. Weak, but I welcome a larger challenge than those lesser spider demons.

The arachnid started screeching something Vergil did not understand. Perhaps this one can't speak. No matter. He wouldn't be speaking either way by the time Vergil was finished with him. A preemptive strike would have gotten the job started, but Vergil's style was observing weaknesses.

The demon spit mist out, clouding the area around Vergil, before it started to mutter a deep laugh, "I will make you feel pain!" It yelled before jumping backwards, seemingly disappearing.

The area did not clear, but it only took Vergil a moment to realize what happened. He jumped through the portal. Vergil followed suit through the portal, landing right on top of the demon. Perfect opportunity to stab through his head.

The arachnid demon slammed one of his legs into the ground, releasing waves of fire from beneath him. It tried to shake Vergil off, but his grip with the blade was too strong. Fire attacks kept coming, burning the area around them. Vergl pulled the Yamato out to jump off of him only to dash forward, slashing at the demon's face. It started slowing down, and before it could do another attack, a gunshot from behind Vergil hit the demon in the face, starting it.

Vergil, annoyed, turned to see Dante, Nero, and Cyra behind him, Nero with his arm outstretched after firing his gun, "Been a while since a big demon tried to show its face in the human world. You gonna keep all the fun for yourself?" Nero asked.

Wait, Cyra? Vergil hardened his face and while the demon was staggered, attacked the demon by slashing rapidly around it before he landed down on his knee, sheathing his blade. With a click, the arachnid demon was sliced apart. It's limbs gave out, defeating the demon for good. Vergil began to walk away from the demon, predicting it to explode much like it's lesser variants did.

It was then that Vergil realized he wasn't even close to fully recovering. He was able to use his abilities, but he was feeling weak after using them. Though he'd be caught dead before he showed his weakness now. Using up all his strength was worth it though. Whatever it took to keep a demon far away from her.

Cyra was in awe watching him. She'd never seen him fight and wasn't aware of his abilities. He moved so quickly and confidently. Was he teleporting or was he just that fast? She almost didn't even realize the fight was over, but she started taking steps forward to meet him, "I've never seen you fight before…" She muttered out when he was close enough.

Vergil ignored her and walked up to Dante, "Why did you bring her here?"

Dante smirked, taunting him, "Why did you go into the demon world?"

"So this is because I didn't follow your conditions? How childish. She could have been hurt," Vergil said angrily, but calm.

"Hey, we just wanted to know why you didn't show for story time. I guessed you'd be here, and Cyra wanted to join," Dante said.

"Are you trying to get yourself hurt again?" Cyra asked.

"Asked: the human willingly going to a portal to the demon world," Vergil retorted back to her.

Cyra rolled her eyes, "Did you not see who I came with?"

Vergil narrowed his eyes at her, "Fine. Suppose you do what you want, regardless," He said, pushing passed Dante to walk away from them.

Dante spoke up, "You know, I can't help you if you don't let me."

But it didn't stop Vergil. Nero crossed his arms, frustrated, "Now what? He's just going to mope around for a few days?"

Dante looked over to Cyra who was just starting in Vergil's direction. She wanted to go after him. No, needed to, but she's been given enough reasons not to, "Well, your turn," Dante suggested.

"My turn?" Cyra asked.

"He won't listen to me, but he might listen to you," Dante said.

Cyra shook her head, "Nah. He won't."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," Dante added.

Cyra gave him a tired look, nearly rolling her eyes, "I have been trying."

Dante pursed his lips together, "Alright, well if you tried, then there's nothing we can do. Let's get going, Nero," Dante said and started walking off, leaving Cyra to stare at him dumbfoundedly.

"Wait, you're not seriously trying to guilt me are you?" Cyra asked.

"Now why would you be feeling guilty?" Dante asked.

"I don't know, but it sure seems like that's what you're doing," Cyra narrowed her eyes.

"Don't know what you're talking about!" Dante feigned innocence, but Cyra could see through it.

"Dante, he practically told me to leave him alone. I'm not gonna beg for him to be with me… or whatever," Cyra finished awkwardly.

"Who said anything about that? I just wanted you to yell at him for going into the demon world," Dante smirked.

Cyra blushed and cringed slightly, "Don't you play pretend, Dante-"

Dante shrugged and threw an arm over her shoulders, walking with her away from the demon portal, "And here I thought I could play you two like fiddles."

"What?" Cyra asked.

Before Dante could answer, Nero charged up his gun to fire at the air behind them, "Looks like we got company," Shooting down a demon Cyra didn't notice just yet. Dante removed his arm off of her to conjure his own devil sword.

The two dispersed the demons quickly enough, but Cyra's eyes settled on the corpse of one. Claws far too large for its humanoid rat-like body. It was familiar. Too familiar… Those claws, they've attacked her before. Gabriel… More of them started to jump out of the portal but Dante fought them all off by himself with ease.

Cyra's legs gave out and she fell back, landing on her backside. While Dante could handle the enemies, Nero crouched down next to her, letting a hand rest on her shoulder. Empathy got the better of him as he consoled her in a hushed tone, "Hey, you're okay."

Balling her fists managed to subside the nerves a bit, but being that close to a demon she unfortunately recognized. The sound of footsteps landing next to her went unnoticed, unable to tear her eyes off the demon Dante was attacking. More rat demons started to jump out of the portal but Dante fought them all off by himself with ease.

"Don't worry, she's fine," Nero said to Vergil, who she only noticed came back.

"Get up unless you want to get attacked," Vergil said.

"She's obviously in shock," Nero said, defending her from Vergil's cold tone.

"And you insisted on being near a demon portal," Vergil said.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem!?" Nero asked, standing up to square up to him.

"Hm. Take her home," Vergil said, ignoring his question. Cyra shot her attention up at Vergil, glaring at him, even though he was no longer looking at her.

"You're already beaten up; You do it. Let me and Dante clean up another one of your messes," Nero said.

"Nero!" Vergil commanded, stopping Nero. Vergil stared hard at Nero, silently praying he wouldn't fight him on this.

Nero glared and looked away, "You owe me." With that, Vergil readied his blade and slashed at the two rat demons that jumped towards him, killing them with ease.

Nero turned back to Cyra, "C'mon, let's get you out of here," He said as softly as he could to her, trying to mask his irritation with Vergil.

Cyra pushed his hand away and stood up on her own, glaring at Vergil. The twins were fighting off the remaining demons. Fear for the demons was no longer on her mind, it was replaced by anger at Vergil. She wasn't sure why. Speaking to her the way he did? Why did it matter? He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her, yet he still followed her, showed some level of care for her, and simultaneously disrespected and embarrassed her not even half a day later?

"You wanna leave?" Nero asked her.

Cyra stayed, glaring at Vergil for a moment longer before she turned to Nero, trying to keep it together so she didn't snap at the wrong person, "No, but… thanks for having my back."

"Don't mention it," Nero said.

Cyra looked back over her shoulder to see Dante strike down the final rat demon who then turned to say something to Vergil, but he just stormed off. Again. Was that all he was going to do? Cyra frowned and turned back to run after Vergil, leaving Nero by himself but with no intention to stop her. She was now Vergil's problem.

Dante briskly jogged up to Nero, "Well, had to improvise a bit, but it worked."

"Didn't peg you to be a matchmaker," Nero said with a grin.

"I see myself more of a puppeteer. It's for their own good, anyway. She exists to want to help but Vergil is too much of a bonehead to admit he needs help," Dante said.

"If you say so," Nero said, monotonously.

Dante felt bad Nero had to put up a wall pretending his feelings about Vergil didn't matter, "Thanks for playing along Nero."

Nero didn't respond, but he glanced back over to Cyra marching after Vergil.

"Are you following me?" Vergil asked, not looking back at her.

Cyra scoffed, "Yeah, how does it feel?"

"Annoying. Go home," Vergil said.

"Why are you acting like this?" Cyra asked.

"I won't tell you again," Vergil said.

Cyra picked up her pace into a run so she could get in front of him and stopped him. He didn't have to stop, but he did. It was a good sign to Cyra. He was willing to listen! "I can tell something is bothering you and I know what it's like bottling up emotions. It's not fun."

"Something is bothering me," He said honestly, making Cyra feel sad, "You. Now leave."

"Why are you so impossible!?" Cyra said.

"I'm the impossible one? I've told you everything the other night yet you insist on speaking to me," Vergil said.

"You followed me this morning! You-"

"To save your life. Would you rather I didn't or did you always plan on going out to a lowly rat demon?" Vergil interrupted.

Cyra ignored the almost insult, trying not to focus on the rat demon again. Vergil had no idea, "You held my hand…"

"I also implied you may be a witch," Vergil said casually.

"Then tell me-!" She began with a yell and forced herself to calm down, balling her fists before she looked back up to him, fighting off the tears she could feel about to surface, "Then tell me I mean absolutely nothing to you and never have and I'll be able to leave you alone."

Vergil's body felt weak. Due to the recent fighting, of course, but the thought of saying that to her made his body feel heavy. Hope that he wouldn't recite such words shined from her eyes, but they were still desperately looking for an answer. He knew the answer she wanted.

-Just lie to her!-

Vergil shut his eyes quickly at the familiar voice. Why did his voice only show up when he was feeling at his lowest? As if everything else wasn't bad enough. Without a doubt, Cyra would ask him if he were okay, so he wanted to spit something out quickly before she'd get the chance. Lying to her was the furthest thing from his mind, "You're being ridiculous."

"Tell me," Cyra demanded.

Vergil's eyebrows scrunched together, frustrated with himself. He sighed, "Are Dante and Nero watching?"

Cyra's eyes glanced behind Vergil to see the other two devils made no effort to hide the fact they were staring, "Like gossiping schoolgirls."

Vergil started walking forward, around Cyra, "Follow me."

The cliffside wrapped around the city, leading to a park area dense with trees, but not enough to be a forest. It looked so alone, not a single animal in sight aside from birds. Vergil went towards a large rock formation and sat on the end of it, the Yamato placed next to him. Cyra wasn't sure if she wanted to sit or stand at first, but she opted to sit next to him with enough distance that another person could fit in between them. The urge to sit closer to him ate at her, but it was for their own good, she tried to reason.

Leafs from the trees above them shaded them from the sun's rays. The area was peaceful. Cyra never knew it existed and wondered when Vergil found it or how much of his time he spends here. He seemed like someone that meditated and with how quiet it was, it would seem to be an ideal spot.

Cyra's attention fully went to Vergil when he spoke up, "Are you alright?" He seemed so angry before, but now he seemed soft and concerned?

"I'm fine," Cyra answered quickly, not matching his soft tone. She was still angry at him.

"Forgive me for how I acted," Vergil said.

"Yeah, I'm used to you being hot and cold towards me," Cyra said.

Vergil couldn't even deny it, and he knew he hurt her. Telling the truth or keeping it away from her wouldn't do much to protect her, but it might give her peace of mind over his own behavior. He was angry she endangered herself, but he was also admittedly jealous she spent time with someone that wasn't him. Gah, curse caring about a human. Could the reason she even went out to get a drink with that police officer be over him? Lady mentioned that she was upset over moving on, which is what he thought he wanted. As long as she was safe and happy, he'd learn to be happy, too. Cyra deserved much better, but no one could protect her as well as he could - at least when he was at full strength. Hell, even now, he could protect her better than that cop. The problem was that no normal human would attract the threats he would. His mind was rolling in circles. He was tired of thinking about it and was anticipating a certain bird's voice start screeching in his head. Vergil inhaled, "That sorceress has the ability to transfer memories through a tether, yes? Well, it would seem that she can absorb memories as well. When I fought her, she seemed to know our entire conversation from the other night."

"She's the one that did that to you yesterday?" Cyra asked, dropping the edge in her tone replacing it with a neutral tone. No pity. Vergil nodded. Cyra sighed, "So she really knows about us then."

"I told you Cyra, there is no us. If it's not one demon, it'll be another," Vergil said.

"...Right," Cyra said quietly. Stab me in the heart why don't you? "Is that what's bothering you?"

"Among other things," Vergil answered with a sigh, "None of which I care to discuss. This particular one concerned you, so it's only fair you knew," He lied. There were plenty more that was about her. Hell, it was almost all about her in some way.

They stayed in silence for a bit. Cyra wanted to be angry and yell at him, but it was a miracle he even said something in the first place, "You really weren't even going to tell me," Cyra said, "I had to ask you multiple times and follow you in order for you to tell me."

"Good thing you're tenacious," Vergil said.

"But I want you to want to tell me," Cyra said slowly so that he'd take it in, "You're always telling me to speak my mind, so why can't you do the same?"

"The difference is I can tell when you want to say something but won't. I don't feel the need to share everything I'm thinking," Vergil said.

"Well, maybe you should!" Cyra threw her hands up, "I know panic attacks, and I can tell you're on the brink of one. I'm tired of having you snap at me when I'm just worried about you!"

"Then stay out of my business and I won't snap at you," Vergil said.

"Whatever, Vergil. I know you're just pushing me away to protect me, but I can't just shut off my feelings for you like that. Unless I'm just delusional, I don't think you can either considering you're not very good at it," Cyra said.

Was that an insult? She wasn't wrong, he thought, but it stung his pride knowing he wasn't good at something, even as trivial as this, "You're not delusional," Vergil admitted, "But this is beyond what I want."

"Well unless you tell me to fuck off, I'm never going to stop worrying about you," Cyra said.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Vergil said.

"Then you're stuck with me," Cyra said.

"No, I don't get to be the selfish one anymore," Vergil said.

"Then let me be the selfish one," Cyra offered, staring at him.

Vergil looked back at her catching her eye contact, "Turns out I was right after all," He said softly.

"About what?" Cyra asked, hope glimmering in her eyes.

"You really are annoying," Vergil said.

Cyra scoffed and stood up, intending on marching away, but Cyra felt a hold on her wrist preventing her from moving. She turned back angrily and saw Vergil with a soft look on his face, silently pleading for her to stay. Cyra's anger dissipated instantly when she saw that look. He needed her. Last time he needed her comfort, she denied it, but this time there weren't any of Amelia's mind games tricking her. She feared he may never express how he truly felt or what he was thinking, but she could read those eyes like a book, and she wouldn't deny him this time. Vergil let go of her wrist when he knew she wouldn't leave and Cyra sat back down next to him, without another word. Vergil laid back flat alongside the stone, closing his eyes, relieved that she stayed. Company never seemed so inviting before her.

It was a comfortable silence, just listening to birds and feeling the light breeze on her face. She turned her head to look at Vergil. He was laying down, resting his head on one arm while the other was resting on his stomach. It was a peaceful sight. His eyes were closed, assumingly appreciating the same joys of nature. Was nature something he even cared about? Humans aside, she thought this world was beautiful. Maybe nature was something he liked as a child? Maybe even before he was trapped in the demon world, he would spend time appreciating what the planet had to offer between his bouts of achieving power. Poor, Vergil, she thought. He still had so many things that he was worried about - things that she may never know, but she hoped that he knew he was worth living peacefully now. Even if it wasn't with her. Sadness forced her attention back ahead, away from him.

Long fingers brushed along her back, playing with the ends of her hair. Cyra's heart started fluttering when she realized what he was doing, casting away all previous thoughts. The urge to look back at him grew so strongly, but that'd be admitting her defeat. She was still angry, still frustrated. Not glancing back meant he couldn't get to her head and let him do whatever he wanted.

And yet… isn't that what she's been letting him get away with?

"You know, you can be very sweet sometimes…" Cyra said quietly, unable to stop herself.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"But even more confusing…" Cyra added.

"I don't understand it much myself," He said, honestly. Staying away from her seemed so easy in theory. It was for her own good, logically he could adhere to that. But it felt lonely? Even the sheer silence was welcoming as long as he was with her. It felt the way he'd expect 'home' to feel. The sun rays felt like they were smiling on his face. But how? How could he stand to enjoy something like this?

"Since you won't just outright tell me anything… Can you just answer one question for me?" Cyra asked.

Vergil's hand froze, retracting from her, feeling uneasy. Her question could be anything. It could be about literally anything he was thinking. It could be about her. Even about Nero. Oh god, he hoped it wasn't about Nero. Vergil wasn't sure why he felt he couldn't mention Nero to her and it'll only get worse every second he doesn't tell her. Suddenly he hoped she did ask about Nero to get it over with, but then his mind spiraled back into what other questions she could possibly ask. Still, he knew her asking came from a place of caring, which is why Vergil answered with a quiet, "Depends on the question."

"When I saw a memory of yours the first time - the one where you stabbed yourself… I still remember that pain and although I don't have the details, it was just miserable. I'm guessing you wanted to get rid of so much more than just your humanity. So my question for you is… Is what you got rid of coming back?" Cyra asked.

How perceptive. He purged his trauma, his nightmares, every lingering memory of being tormented as Mundus' slave. His memories of that experience are still there, but they were no longer haunting him every waking second. Out of all the questions she'd ask, he wasn't expecting that, "That's too good of a guess," Vergil said.

"It looks like you get sharp headaches sometimes…Like you're remembering something unwanted. I just based it off that," Cyra said.

There was a part of him that thought she was going to pity him if he said yes, but Cyra wasn't like that and he knew. Was he actually feeling self conscious? No, it's because his pride wouldn't let him admit it. Admitting he wasn't of complete sound mind was a sign of weakness, and he couldn't keep letting Cyra see those sides of him. Why did she want to be with someone as weak as he was showing? Taking care and being kind to someone seemed to be in her nature. How would she have gotten along with his human self, when he called himself V? Oh, she'd have a field day taking care of him. Was he actually feeling jealous of his human self? What was going on? "Yes," Vergil suddenly blurted out as if his head was going to explode if he didn't say it. Maybe he was having a meltdown.

Cyra was surprised he even answered, let alone so quickly and aggressively, "Well, I guess it's not something you want to talk about, but I understand. Those feelings were miserable and I'll never truly understand what you were going through, but even what I experienced would have made me want to just erase everything."

"I don't talk about it because it doesn't matter," Vergil said.

"It's clearly stressing you out. Talking helps, you know," Cyra said.

"It's in the past. How would talking help?" Vergil asked.

"Because even things in our past can hurt us. You know this… Talking isn't about changing it. It's about knowing you're not alone because you have someone to share your mind with. It's therapeutic, really!" Cyra said.

"There's nothing therapeutic about subjecting you to my misery," Vergil said.

Cyra sighed, "You're impossible…"

"You say that, but you'd thank me if you really knew what was going on inside my head," Vergil said.

"Have you ever seen someone go through so much pain all alone and you can't do anything to help them?" Cyra asked, sadly.

A flashback hit. He was a child, all alone. He saw his home being destroyed by demons, but no one came to look for him. Not his mother, not his brother. So he ran off, feeling alone. Feeling betrayed. Feeling like a failure... When has he not felt alone? Cyra's words resonated with him. If he had someone, anyone, at that moment, maybe his life would be entirely different. Vergil snapped out of his flashback and saw Cyra staring at him with sad eyes. They weren't of pity, no, he knew her by now. Those dark, sad eyes were from feeling powerless to help him. All because he wouldn't open up to her. He didn't deserve to have someone care about him that much.

Vergil ignored her question.

Cyra expected it. She sighed. So close. When would that wall he had to defend himself break down?

"Remember the 20 orders of medicine I got last week? Well, I finished, so I'm delivering them tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?" Cyra asked, changing the subject.

Vergil wasn't even going to bother questioning why she decided to finish that list; especially after discovering there was a cult formed for her. Even with that knowledge, she wanted to help people. His answer to her wasn't even a question, "Alright."

---

AN: Awww they getting along again.