Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from DMC.
Note: This chapter didn't seem as good to me as the last one. But I'll let you decide on whether it's good or not.
magusanubis: I hope I updated soon enough.
Bloody Demon Empress: You're the first one to say this story is cute. Thank you.
After having a nice long rest, Rona woke to find a plate of bacon, eggs and toast sitting on top of her TV.
"This had better not be a bribe." She muttered before stumbling out her bedroom door.
"How could you accuse us of trying to bribe you?"
Rona looked to her left, towards the end of the hall, to see Dante.
"Even my own brother doesn't serve me breakfast in bed." She paused and soon added; "I see your clothes are dry since you're wearing them."
He smiled and bowed like a gentleman.
"You must have cast a spell over him." Virgil commented behind her. "He doesn't act like a gentleman for anyone. Right Dante?"
Dante chuckled and, walking toward his brother, said in a most cocky voice, "No. I'm better."
Virgil, after giving him a slight smirk, suddenly punched his brother's chest, obviously starting a fight.
"Why did this have to happen to me?" Rona asked the ceiling. "All I wanted was a life out of the ordinary. I never asked to break up fights between demon twins." She sighed in her exasperation and turned towards Dante and Virgil who were surprisingly still in one place.
"If you guys break anything, you're buying me replacements." She announced, hoping they were paying attention.
"No problem." Dante grunted while trying to push his brother back.
"No need to worry." Virgil spoke calmly, almost as if he were fighting a mouse.
Rona watched for a few more seconds before turning towards the bathroom.
"That's not very comforting." She muttered. "I'm going to take a shower. If your fight ends before I come out, could you call the school for me? The number is on the fridge. It is entitled 'High School.' It shouldn't be too hard for you." She then closed the door before she could hear their answers.
"Will do!" Dante answered, now trying to avoid being thrown into the wall.
"I'll do it." Virgil retorted. "You will only make things worse with sarcasm and taunts."
Dante pushed Virgil away. "I wouldn't put her job on the line."
Both glanced at the cordless phone hanging on the wall, the back to each other.
Without warning, they both lunged for the phone as though it were the sword of Sparda. And, just as before, Virgil was the one to reach it.
"Back away." He growled as he held the phone.
"You don't have the number." Dante said before racing his brother to the fridge.
This time it was Dante who won.
The twins stood in the kitchen, facing each other, daring one another to make the first move.
After standing in their stalemate for fifteen minutes, Rona walked in.
"And you called us immature last night?" She commented.
Shaking her head, she took the number from Dante and moved to take the phone from Virgil. He instinctively pulled away, forgetting he wasn't in his world and that he wasn't holding his father's sword.
"Give me the frickin phone." She growled, jogging his memory of what was going on.
"And thanks for not breaking anything." She added as she walked into her room.
Rona had decided to take Dante and Virgil to the park, something she hoped she wouldn't regret. She had told them this park was next to the rodeo grounds and that it was more out of sight than anywhere else.
"And I don't want you to try killing each other. It might be somewhat hidden but people will still be able to see you." She grabbed her long tan colored trench coat and walked towards the door.
"Oh, and don't wear your coats. It's too hot out." She added as an after thought.
"Then why are you taking yours?" Virgil asked with a hint of curiosity.
"It's supposed to rain. I only said not to wear your coats. Not to leave them."
Virgil watched her walk out the door.
Dante, after standing next to his brother for a moment, said, "She's smarter than she looks. She almost reminds me of Lady."
Virgil almost seemed to hiss at him as he walked out the door after Rona.
Their walk seemed to take an hour in the heat. This made Dante concerned about Rona since she was only human. Every once in a while he would ask her if she wanted him to carry her. Her answer was always the same. No.
"I've lived here my whole life." She explained after getting annoyed with his persistence. "I can handle it."
They finally arrived and were met by two people Rona did not want to see.
"Rona!" The taller of the two cried out. Her bright red hair was close to the same length as Rona's with only an inch difference. Rona's reached below her shoulder blades while this girl's was barely to the edge. She wore a black belly shirt with spaghetti straps and a low back with black jeans that were the style most Goths wore.
The shorter, which was closer to Rona's height, had blond hair and was dressed as a cheerleader with a baby-doll T-shirt and short shorts she never should have bought because of her over weight form.
"How about we leave." Rona suggested.
"Why?" Dante asked. "They seem like friends of yours."
"They aren't." She snapped. "You see the one in black? That's Luna. She only talks to me when she wants me to buy her something or call someone for her. The other is Marian. She talks to me only because she likes my brother. She knows every guy and knows almost every backseat ever made. I know what she's going to do if she meets you two. Enough of an explanation?"
"Incoming." Dante announced.
Rona looked towards Luna and Marian to find it was too late to leave.
"Hi Rona. I didn't expect to see you here. Especially with a couple of hot guys." Marian said while checking out Dante and Virgil.
"Hi, nice to know you're the same as you always were." Rona answered under her breath.
"Rona, this guy was telling me you were quitting your job at the school. Is it true?" Luna asked; being the one to take any opportunities she could to turn people against Rona.
"No. Of course not." She answered.
"Let's go sit in the shade."Ronasaid to Dante and Virgil but ended up with Luna and Marian joining them.
The five of them sat beneath a large tree that stood near a play area for children.
"You said roommates. You weren't talking about these two hotties, were you?" Marian asked, hoping she was wrong.
"Yeah." Marian suddenly looked depressed. "They just got here last night. I'm kind of showing the around."
"Why don't we go up to my house?" Luna asked, suddenly acting like Marian.
"No thanks." Dante answered before Rona could. "I was hoping to catch some time with Rona and my brother. We haven't seen Rona in years."
"In what way?" Marian muttered to Luna.
"By the way, Dante? Weren't you going to teach me how to shoot?" Rona asked, having heard Marian.
"You never asked." He answered. Knowing what she was thinking, he checked to see if he still had Ebony and Ivory.
Rona suddenly grabbed Ebony and rolled out of Dante's reach before running.
"Were they always like this?" Luna asked Virgil.
"Worse." He replied before calmly walking after them.
While Dante and Rona were running around the park, Luna and Marian began talking about Dante and Virgil. Neither one cared that they didn't really know their names.
"I like the shirtless one. He is so fine." Luna confided in Marian.
"Then I get the one in blue." Marian answered, not really caring which one she got.
Dante finally caught Rona after she had tried to stop and aim the gun at Marian. Evidently Marian had seen for she had chosen Luna for a shield. Not that it mattered to Rona. She knew the bullet could still kill Marian if it went through Luna well enough.
"It'll only be one shot per person. I promise they won't suffer." She said while struggling in Dante's arms yet again.
"Just give me the gun." He growled.
"Someone's coming." Virgil said, acting as a lookout since he wasn't interested in helping Dante take the gun from Rona.
Rona looked over and soon handed the gun to Dante only to yell, "Aris!"
She ran to her brother and jumped into his arms. She didn't see the looks Dante and Virgil gave each other. Dante had a look in his eyes that told Virgil he hoped her brother could keep Rona from killing anyone. On the other hand, Virgil hoped he wouldn't.
Marian tried to bravely greet Aris until Rona said, "Get lost. He won't get the chance to stop me a second time."
Rona watched with pride as Luna and Marian ran. She knew their excuse would probably be that they had an errand they couldn't keep waiting.
Rona explained everything to Aris with an occasional input by Dante and Virgil. Aris appeared to be happy for his sister but was hiding the fact that he was worried.
"Did the crystal glow?" He asked.
"Black." Virgil answered for Dante.
You need to get out of here, Aris thought. He couldn't tell his sister that something was wrong, that the necklace was still summoning parts of her dreams.
He watched her with Dante and Virgil. He watched as Dante treated her like a sister, playfully pushing her and laughing with her. Could he trust him to protect her? He never would have trusted Virgil with his sister. She was too precious to him. But he would have to. They were the only ones that could protect her from her dreams.
"I have to go. The clouds are coming in and I have some windows I need to shut in my apartment." Aris said as he rose to his feet.
Rona, Dante and Virgil followed suit and said goodbye. They all watched as Aris walked back the way he had come. Only Rona had the feeling it would be a while before she saw him again.
"Let's go." She whispered. "We'll take a different road this time." She turned and walked in the opposite direction of her brother.
The rain started to pour before they were able to reach Rona's apartment.
"I can't believe this. I had to wait an hour or more for my clothes to dry last night and now I have to do it all over again." Dante complained with Rona laughing behind him.
"I'm staying out here." She said with a content smile. "I think I'll go for a walk while I'm at it."
Dante and Virgil looked at her as though she were insane.
"I'll see you later." She said before walking away.
"Should we follow her?" Dante asked.
Virgil looked at him and told him to go inside.
"I'll watch her." He said with his cold calmness.
Virgil found Rona sitting on a swing at the back of the elementary school. She gently swung back and forth as she faced the sky, her face pelted by the rain and her hair slicked back by the water.
"It should rain more often." Virgil said as he sat in the swing next to her. "It almost makes you seem more than a human."
"I've always loved the rain." She answered. "I used to dance every time there was a strong rain storm. My mom used to tell me that was why the rain was so strong. She told me it was because my dancing was like an offering to the rain clouds, asking for a great storm. But the only time that storm came was when…"
Virgil saw the sad look in her golden eyes and understood.
"Do you still dance in the rain?" He asked.
She looked at him with a smile that couldn't hide her sadness.
"No. I haven't done that in years. I can't bring myself to dance. It reminds me too much of the past."
Virgil stood from the swing and extended his hand.
"I'll dance with you." He whispered.
She smiled and took his hand.
The rain seemed to respond to their slow dance and calmed down to a near drizzle, singing a song they would never forget.
"Will you stay with me forever?" Rona whispered against his chest.
Virgil only looked down at her with wonder at her question. He didn't know if he and Dante could return and didn't care. But the thought of possibly being forced to leave suddenly made him fear that his stay was only temporary, that he might have to leave her in a world without…what?