kowase | IC INBOX

[It's the touch that causes Nox to blink in surprise, unused to this even being a thing his father would do, but he doesn't resist. He has no idea what's going on in Vergil's head, and his own demon begins to pace again, agitated and frustrated and immensely irritable that it can't fix whatever's wrong.]

The name of my past life-

[Vergil is talking at what seems a mile a minute, and Nox has a million thoughts going through his head at everything else.

It's not until Vergil pulls away and begins to pace that he actually hears the question being asked.]

.......yeah? Why wouldn't I? He came in- [Nox stops at that, words dying in his throat as he suddenly feels, for the first time, a sudden emptiness that feels wrong and hollow. A hand goes to his chest almost like he's been struck, panic suddenly settling into his face.]

I... I don't... fuck.

[He doesn't remember when Dante arrived. Even worse, Nox knows he knew when he did, and now it's just suddenly gone.]

[ vergil is going to stick him with a solid stare as the other... finally comes to realise the problem. it took a lot less longer than he had figured--he's read more than his fair share of tales of people who lost their memories and refused to believe something was terribly wrong. ]

He came in. When. [ he re-affirms the point. Out of all things he and nero had talked about thus far, a lot of it was the importance of family, and how he'd never expected dante nor vergil to ever show up.
the boy was a bit of a brat and a troll; but he was stunningly sentimental.
He would not forget a date like that.

Nor would he forget showing him Red Queen. ]

I do not trust the magic of this place ever since that... incident with the bear, last month.
Something strange is happening to you, and I am not sure if it is a curse of this place, or something actively happening. If you will continue to... lose memories, and forget things, bit by bit.

Do you remember anything strange?
Touching something different, someone giving you something that may have passed on some sort of curse?

[He came in. When.

The words echo in his head, where Nox knows he knew, once. The hand on his chest goes to his head, and he does his best to make sure it doesn’t shake.

He’s usually calm in the most inane situations. But this? This, this he’s scared of.]

I… it’s gone. Like someone… someone took a knife and ripped it out.

[The memory of when Dante came. The exact details of what happened, what was going on- all of it, taken from him in an instant. He’s terrified. Terrified of what this means, terrified of it happening, terrified of him forgetting more in the future. Will he keep losing more memories over time? Will he forget who he was? What family means to him? His whole meaning behind why he fights? Even his demon? The sheer thought of losing so much suddenly makes him feel like a child again, alone and unsure of where to go in a crowded city full of people and sounds. How- how can he stop this? How-

Luckily, Vergil’s words pull him out of his spiral, if only briefly, to try and focus on what’s being said. Nox swallows, tries to focus on the here and now, moving to cross his arms in an effort to keep himself from showing how frightened he actually is.]

Not today, I’d felt like this all day, before I even left for work. [A breath, and he thinks.] Had work yesterday, pretty normal, then had a practice with the basketball team.

[Was there anything out of the ordinary that day? Parents had come and gone, some brought treats, he knew the faces of most of them– wait.

Nox straightens, looking to Vergil again.] Yeah, actually. Some guy was there that I didn’t recognize. Said he was one of the boy’s uncle? And- shit. [He uncrosses his arms and bangs a fist against the wall, frustration apparent all the same.] He handed something out? Said it was from the parents, since they couldn't make it.

[What was it that they guy gave out? Fuck. It’s hazy at best, not even recognizable at worst. He doesn’t remember.]

Edited 2023-06-03 20:55 (UTC)

[ there is the sound of something heavy landing outside, with a low growl, before suddenly dante comes through the door at an almost breakneck pace. despite shifting back to his human form the whites of his eyes are still black, veins spread from them like cracks on pale skin as his gaze scans the room for nero - for some sort of invisible source of his nephew's memory loss. ]

Kid!? [ his voice rumbles with that eerie sort of noise, as though passed through a filter, gaze falling on nero and vergil - the fight draining from his shoulders all at once. vergil's here, good, good. he breathes out as some of the veins spreading across his face fade back into his skin. ] See Vergil beat me here.

[ the heavy sound that lands outside absolutely gets his attention. As much as it can, what with how he's currently pacing out his frustrations as Nero talks--putting the pieces together as he tries to keep something CRAWLING under his skin from coming out.

He hasn't noticed his own eyes beginning to glow a sharp, angry blue, either. ]

Do you remember what he looked like--

[ he starts to demand of Nero--just as Dante bursts inside.
He makes a growling sound, at the back of his throat--only long enough to realise who it was rudely interrupting.

He lowers a hand that had become jagged and clawed, tense as part of him hoped it'd be this fucker who was involved.
Breathe, Vergil, Breathe. ]

You might beat me in terms of strength sometimes, Dante, but I've always been the faster one.
[ ...now isn't the time for banter, he bites back the want to goad the other, turning his attention on the youngest devil between them. ]

How much do you know?
Someone's messed with him.
Stolen away memories.
I am determined to find out who.
And I am sure you are, too.

[Nox feels Dante before Vergil finishes asking his question, and the second his uncle bursts through the door, there is a sudden feeling of being small, and safe.

All I wanted was to be protected and loved.]

Dante! [There's a sort of gratefulness in his tone, and he looks at both of the twins with the look of a child, lost and scared at what's happening, just for a second. Then, he shakes his head and listens, trying to think on Vergil's question... and finding the same fucking emptiness he felt before.

Unknowingly, his hands shake. He tries to keep his voice steady.]

No. You could show me half of Kaisou High's staff right now and I don't think I'd remember them. It's... it's the same feeling, like before. I can't even describe him. Or what he handed out.

[He's scared, he's nervous, he's a bundle of emotions and his demon is agitated and consistently pacing back and forth, back and forth, uncertain what to even do with this problem. It should kill this man, but they don't know who he is, nor would the boy even recognize him. So his demon just keeps pacing, growl sitting angrily in Nox's chest as he stands there, trying to find something to do and failing miserably all the damn same.

It's a whole fucking mess.]

[ his lips curl back into a sneer at vergil's comment, the desire to snap back bubbling in his veins. not the time, not the place. his concern for nero overrides the desire to trade barbs with his brother, easing his face back to something far more human - the whites of his eyes returning ever so slightly as veins disappear and he stalks more into the home. ]

Hey, hey, [ he can hear the shake in his voice, the nervous trickle that slips out between his words. it makes dante cross the space between them and rest a hand on nero's shoulder, head tilting slightly as he tries to catch his nephew's gaze. ] We're here, we've got you. Okay? Just take a breath, try to clear your head.

[ he spares a glance to vergil, a look that all but screams how ready he is to hunt down whoever is responsible and beat the ever loving shit out of them. nero can take care of himself, so the fact someone has somehow managed to mess with him like this? oh, it infuriates him to no end. ]

[ nero will be safe, if only because the universe suddenly demands it. after a year of being alone, both dante and vergil aren't about to let some random asshole make a fool of the kid--their one last line of family that isn't one another.

protected and loved is exactly what the kid is.

and as much as his wish to banter and butt heads with dante has grown in the last few coming weeks, especially after their own little brawl, there were more important things right now.

Like where to go from here, what to do. ]

I will call the school for you. I feel it is pertinent you take some time off while you figure out what has stolen away your memories. Going into your job like this will cause more difficulties than anything else.

[ he appreciates dante being the one to move forward, to grab nero, to ground him.
He's... unbelievably angry right now. shaking his wrist out in an attempt to get the scales to recede. it doesn't take much this time. ]

I think the first thing that we should do is take Nero back to Auguries.
We do not know if he will continue to bleed memories.
It is important we keep him close, in case he starts to forget us, as well.

[ he hopes that, if he's at least WITH them, those memories might... stay. ]

[Something so small as a physical touch from Dante and the words we've got you shouldn't mean so much to someone who's had a stable life. But for Nox, for Nero, it might as well have been something shouted to the rest of the world, a threat to anyone else who wanted to try and cross them all.

We're here, we've got you.

Nox breathes, closes his eyes as Dante and Vergil share glances and listens, exhaling as he hears his father make a plan of what to do next.]

Yeah, considering- [He gestures at all of them, vaguely.] how we are with getting sick and all that, I have the time to take off. So, shouldn't be that much of a problem.

[He won't argue with this. Not right now. If it were something smaller, sure, but not when he feels like parts of him have been torn out by forces against his will.]

Whatever works. I don't think staying here by myself's a good idea, so yeah.

[In case he starts to forget us, as well. Nox visibly pales at the thought, shaking his head and exhaling. But even more then that, even louder then his fear, he's suddenly finding anger instead of terror at even having that possibility be suggested. No. No. He won't go back to a clueless life. Nox refuses to forget the things that make him him. The entire fucking world and the Spirit Realm is going to have to pry it from his cold dead hands before he lets go.]

I won't. [Clearly, firmly. His voice snaps suddenly like a fire's been relit inside.] I didn't fight like hell for you two just to forget about you. I'm not gonna let whatever this is take away what matters the most to me. [His demon practically roars in defiance at this, echoing the sentiment, and while a part of him is still scared of what may happen, at least now he knows these two are going to fight like hell for him.

He's... he'll be okay, now. They're going to protect him, so he'll be fine. He's sure of it.]

Yeah, I agree. He can take my room until we sort this all out.

[ he gives nero's shoulder another squeeze before his hand slips from the kid's shoulder, arms crossing across his chest. at the very least the kid isn't trying to fight them on this. a fact in itself, that worried dante more than anything else. nero has always been stubborn, determined to prove he doesn't need help from anyone and especially not from dante. it makes this... odd. it sets loose something under his skin, a particular violent itch.

but then nero pales, his expression shifting between terror and anger. it's almost reassuring to see, easing some of the tension from dante's shoulders, seeing that he hasn't lost any of that fight. that desperate need to hold onto the things that matter to him. ]

It's okay, Nero. [ the smile he wears doesn't reach his eyes, meant to placate the anger bubbling up in nero's voice. ] We're not going to let you lose anything else, you hear me? We'll figure it out and get you fixed up in no time. Now grab whatever you need for the next few days, you're coming home with us.

Get your things together. As Dante said. I am sure he flew here, but as I do not yet have that ability unlocked, apparently, save for the ability to hover like a fawning sparrow, I drove here.

Put whatever you need in the car. I will call the principal of your school and let him know that Nox Miller is experiencing an illness that has him bedridden for the time being.

...I expect you will have to find a way to explain that yourself later. [ that's future nox problems because current nox is currently forgetting way too much to start making up stories for his future self.
And Vergil is way too high strung to start putting a story together for him on the fly. There's an ITCH in the back of his skull and the scratch yet goes unnamed, faceless, and without proper punishment for doing this to his son. His. ]

...In the meantime, myself and Dante will try to figure out who caused this in the first place.
Did you not run some sort of Detective Agency in your own world in the past?
I am sure you have methods of finding things out based on rumor.

If it happened to Nero...
[ other people may be effected as well. ]

[For a split second Nox looks as if he's going to argue with how Vergil explains everything, but then he exhales and scrubs his face instead.]

Yeah, okay. [If it were Nero, he would dig his heels in. If it were Nero, he'd argue and say he'd be fine and manage. But while he is Nero, he's also Nox Miller. He's had an upbringing with a family who showed him love, friends who cared for him dearly. He's had stability and an understanding for how he feels internally. Nox has had a life that was normal, one without massive parts of trauma or being part-demon since he was born.

Where do you go when you're lost, uncomfortable? To something you know, something you love and want. To something safe. And for Nox? That's with Dante and Vergil right now.

Nox doesn't waste time, leaving the room to go back and get his things. It takes longer than usual if only because he's making sure he didn't forget where everything was. But he manages, everything going into a duffel bag and over his shoulder, coming back into the living room to see the twins.]

I'm sure I can come up with something when this shit is over and fixed.

[His demon snaps, growling in discontent, but it at least settles down enough that it's a quiet rumble in his head rather then something loud and uncomfortable in his chest.]

Let's get going. [He nods to Vergil, noting he's ready to drop things in his father's car.]

[ nero agrees easily with them and that is enough for make dante's eyebrow raise in question - he's still not used to it, the parts of nero that are nox miller. in a way it's good because it makes things like this easier to deal with, but in another, it is unsettling and leaves dante feeling lost on what to do. he's used to having to strong arm nero into things, having to force him into seeing things the way that dante needs him to see them. dante watches nero leave the room before his gaze jerks towards vergil, the other man's voice dragging him from his thoughts. ]

Yeah I did, I'll put some feelers out and see what I can find. [ his nephew can't be the only person to have fallen victim to whatever this is, after all. he'll find out what he can from whoever he is able to. ] I'll let you know what I find.

[ that honestly goes without saying, but dante says it regardless as nero's footsteps signal his return to the room. dante spares him a glance from the corner of his eyes, shaggy hair obscuring the majority of his face. it doesn't take a genius to see the conflict flickering in the back of the kid's head, his more demonic instincts fighting against his need for comfort. ]

Drive safely, yeah? [ dante's gaze flicks back to vergil, lips curved up into something fond and real. ] I'll see you both at home.

[ he watches nero go, to pack up what he hoped was a bag that he'd remember to put all the necessities in. he has no problem being a busybody and going through said bag to make sure he's not forgotten anything--but for now, while they wait, he stands here with dante, trying not to look every bit as angry as he feels.

There's a thrashing in the back of his skull that was getting hard to ignore these days. He, Vittore, a man who used to be terrified at the very idea of violence, was currently wondering how one might hide a body if you accidentally made one within city limits. ]

I have few contacts myself that may aid, but given this may be a city wide-spread thing... one does have to wonder if more than just Nero have been affected by this strange water.

[ he can tell that there's a lot more dante wants to say, but... now is probably not the time to push it.

he WILL give the man a glance when Nero returns, turning towards the door but not quite moving to leave yet. ]

Both of us.
What, you going to take to the sky again.
I am sure it feels fine to go about the city tearing about in ... demon form, but.
You ... are welcome to come along.
There is more than enough room in the back for both you and Nero.

[ or you can fight over shotgun he doesn't care just dont hurt his new ride ]

[Thankfully he doesn't need much in order to have enough to carry with him in the duffel bag, and he glances at both of the twins and pauses. It's obvious they're talking about something, but as to what- he really doesn't bother trying to figure it out, this time. Too much to already focus on compared to what may or may not be happening outside his peripheral.

So when Vergil offers for Dante to come along, Nox immediately clings to the idea, listening and hoping it gets through to his uncle.

Still, if it doesn't–]

Hey. [He looks to Dante, and maybe he's being a bit childish, but there's definitely a look of honesty here.]

Just... come with us, yeah? [His eyes say everything he doesn't want to say in that moment. Please. I don't want you to leave me alone. There's still that anger in him, the need to hold onto his memories with everything he has, but a part of him is still scared he'll forget the two of them even after they try everything.

He can't lose them, he just can't.]

Edited 2023-06-09 23:24 (UTC)

[ it had been the plan, yes, maybe swing by a few places and gather what information he can, even warning a couple of people (important people) that there is some sort of weird memory problem going around. but vergil's offer stills his feet and all but clips his wings.

it isn't so much an offer but a request. one he is mere seconds from trying to refuse when nero's voice fills his ears, his tone small and scared in a way he isn't used to the kid sounding.

fuck man.

he looks between the two before throwing his hands up in defeat. denying vergil is difficult enough, but denying vergil and nero? it's about as impossible as it comes. ]

Alright, alright. I'll come with you. [ he makes a note to text vash later, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants. ] But I'm calling shotgun.

[ its nice not being the one ganged up on, for once. he could get used to this. his focus right now was getting Nero back to Auguries, and keeping an eye on him, to make sure he didn't forget more than he already has.

After that, they could keep an eye on the boy in shifts, to go looking for information. Or to check on others.
He gives Nero a glance and there's another flare-up of something in the back of his skull as Nero tacks on a quiet plead to Vergil's own request for Dante to come along with them.

He sighs, in apparent annoyance, but it's actually closer to relief.

He turns to leave the house, to go get into that too-white Mercedes parked just outside. ]

If you change the radio to something insufferable, I will be cross with you.

[Normally Nox wouldn't be this vulnerable, even as his old self, before being awake. If it was bad, he'd shake it off or find a way to take care of himself. But no sickness ever took away memories, or threatened to bring him back to something he didn't want to return to. It's a whole new thing of fear and worry all wrapped into one. Nox looks to Vergil and then to Dante, and exhales, raising his shoulders in an effort to shrug while he has his duffel bag across the other one.]

Knock yourself out, old man. [He won't argue on this. The fact that Dante is willing to go with them means so much to Nox right now, even if he can't voice it himself.

The statement of the radio actually causes Nox to snort back laughter, amused at it all.]

I don't think you wanna hear any kind of rock music blasting through the car, so I'll keep my hands off.

[The image of Vergil having to listen to that sort of thing is too funny, sorry.]

[ frankly, he much preferred when he wasn't being ganged up on and was in fact one of the people doing the ganging up on - but, it's fine, they won this round. dante's gaze flicks toward vergil as the other man sighs, quick to recognize the relief in a sound that would otherwise appear annoyed. if it happened to nero it could happen to others, it could happen to them - that worry sits at the forefront of vergil's mind, isn't it? it's why he'd prefer dante travel with them, that he doesn't go off on his own and somehow get afflicted by the self-same illness. ]

If you plan on playing all that classical shit I'm changing the station.

[ dante grins walking past both vergil and nero out of the condo, towards the waiting car. ]

Come on, let's get going.

[ Dante is reading him like a book and he's absolutely unaware of it. That was absolutely one of his worries. What if, within the next few hours, days--weeks? something starts to happen to dante, happens to him? what if he starts to forget, too?
he didn't have a LOT of memories about his past life and life with Dante and Nero yet, and most of his memories weren't even GOOD, but he... didn't want to lose them. Covetously, he was desperate to keep each one and line them up until he understood the picture. ]

It is not 'shit', but given you have stopped turning it off in the kitchen whenever I have it on, I will give you grace in the car.

[ the stupid mercedes that will turn into a different car when they get out.
He's in, turning the radio onto some generic station that'll start bleating out some 90's rock (ugh), and wait for the other two to get settled.

The drive over is mostly quiet. Vergil does ask if Nero needs to stop anywhere to pick anything up.
But it's not too long a drive back to the auguries, and Vergil doesn't bat an eye as he gets out of the car -- which is now a bright red corvette, instead of the white mercedes it had been when they left. ]

...I may close the shop for a few days while you're here, as well.
I am certain Dante won't have an issue with that?

IC INBOX - kaisou

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