kowase | IC INBOX

[ it isn't the sound of cracking glass that signaled the shift in dante's mood, but the sudden thickness to the air itself; the smell of ozone, that metallic taste that sits on the tip of your tongue as storm clouds gather overhead. the sound of shattering glass comes after, followed by the smell of blood and a particularly dangerous growl of frustration, all but confirming that something is most definitely wrong.

maybe don't approach, or do if you've got a death wish, or if you just so happen to be vergil. ]

[ it's late enough that the store is closed, and Vergil is putting together dinner for the evening. it's probably telling with how quickly he switches hands with the kitchen knife he's been holding--how the air in his apartment gets so tense with a sense of heavy, unmistakable bloodlust.

He feels the sensation of rage before he hears the sound of broken glass, and he's already making his way down the hallway by the time the growl is echoing down the hall. Yamato in one hand as he snatches it up from where it sits on the dining room table.

he doesn't have a death wish, and he most certainly is Vergil--which is why he's immediately approaching where Dante is sitting in the livingroom.

Fortunately, vergil doesn't have carpets, and his first note that something is wrong is a half-glass of good whiskey, an expensive glass shattered on the floor--and spots of blood.

It doesn't take long for him to assess what happened. Question was... why. ]

I hardly believe that was an accident. You know your own strength. [ enough that you wouldn't break a glass on purpose. ]

[ it's an incredibly familiar rage that courses through his veins, the sudden need to rip something to fucking pieces thick on his tongue. it is probably a good thing vergil's the only one in the apartment, that something in the back of dante's brain knows it is vergil so he doesn't immediately lash out when his twin enters the living room from the kitchen - he still flinches, head snapping up to vergil revealing the blues of his eyes are all but gone in favor of a familiar red.

would it be too much to ask for a fight right now? to push his buttons until vergil strikes out at him just to satisfy the need to rip something apart, to settle his anger in favor of something more level. dante laughs as he looks down at the mess of shattered glass, whiskey, and his own blood, trying to shake his hand of the last dregs of liquid. ]

Yeah, I do. [ that was one of the nice glasses, wasn't it? ] Sorry about the glass, Verg.

[ it would not be rude to ask for a fight, no. honestly, if Dante were to ask, Vergil would probably go and pack up the dinner he's making and opt to eat out tonight and finish the ossobuco he'd been putting together tomorrow. but for now, he'll cross his arms over, holding Yamato loosely in his hand as he paces, a little, eyes focused on the others' blood-stained hand. ]

It was merely one of a dozen. I can overlook it, so long as you do not make a habit of breaking the entire set. [ four months ago, vittore would have been pissed about the glass, and dante knows it. ]

What has you quite so on edge.

This is unlike you.

[ ...wait, no... he's... seen dante make this face before, hasn't he... ? ]

[ a part of him wants to just walk over and grab vergil by the shirt and drag him to some isolated location of the city and fight him, take out all the pent-up rage and frustration on the only thing in around capable of both handling and it dishing as much back. but there is a voice in the back of his head, a stupid voice of reason that begs him to stop, take a breath, and think about things rationally. sure up defenses, make sure the worst cannot come to pass. ]

I'll do my best, promise. [ four months ago the look on his face would have put vergil on edge, four months ago dante would have been in trouble for breaking as glass, four months ago his brother would have looked at the blood mixed with whiskey and panicked. it's almost funny how far they've come, isn't it? ]

Ah, suppose you're right. [ he runs his blood-stained hand through his hair, unbothered by the whiskey and blood he smears through it, and looks back over at vergil. the smile on his face doesn't sit properly, not with the red replacing blue and black replacing white. ] Anger really isn't a good look on me, is it?

[ he's avoiding the question. ]

[ it really is amazing how far they've come--to a level of comfort that hadn't been there in the beginning, to a place where they could be calm in one anothers' presence even while not feeling calm at all about something.

Vergil's memories came in just as they did before, but he panicked over them far less than he had in the beginning.

even the man's face which is now tainted with touches of something demonic, he's looking right at him with a nearly stony expression.
Surely what's bothering dante is... serious.

Because the last time he'd seen Dante this angry... ]

I have no name, for I am but three days old. [ he mutters under his breath, tipping his head back. It was one of those memories where he... doesn't. feel like himself. his voice is different, his hair looks... black? was it black before it turned silver? ....his brow knits together. ]

It is a good look on you when you have conviction. [ ...wait that came out wrong. ] Something has made you angry.

What is it.

[ i have no name, for i am but three days old.

dante breathes in sharply, fingers clenching around air, eyes widening enough for the sharpness of his edges to flicker and fade into surprise. it feels like that day had been lifetimes ago and yet mere seconds ago at the same time, he laughs again the sound broken and bitter, and he leans back on the couch tilting his head back. good job dante, there you go again triggering your brother's memories again. ]

If I didn't know any better I'd say you were flirting with me, Verg. [ even the humor doesn't fall the way normally does. ] Don't get my hopes up like that.

There is this kid I know. Apparently, he's got some assholes trying to hunt him down which is bad in and of itself. [ he stares at a spot in the ceiling, rage radiating off him in waves despite the calmness of his tone. ] I've always tried to keep my faith in humanity, Mom was human after all, and the old man? He threw away everything for her, for us, so I'll do my best to defend them where I can. [ but. ] But it turns out these people looking for the kid I know. They're the worse of the worse, Verg. They kidnap kids, experiment on them, and try to turn them into their own little pet monsters. And it turned out another friend of mine was one of their victims.

[ hands clench around the air, only to relax and clench again, the black vein-like marks spreading from his arms down toward his hands. ]

People are already on it, doing whatever they gotta to figure things out and protect the people they're after but... [ the fact it happened at all still pisses him off. ]

[ it's a difficult memory, because it feels weird. Like he's seeing it from his own eyes, but he's not making his own actions. Like a puppet? ...He'll ask about it later, now isn't the time, and he doesn't have much to go off, anyway. Just asking Dante for his help... and making the man angry when he says his own name. A Demon named Vergil. ]

Do not be foolish, Dante. [ he doesn't look embarrassed about being called out like that. No, most certainly he doesn't, he doesn't make a crunching noise at the back of his throat to try to wave off the idea-- ] Get your hopes up? Is now really the time to be joking...

[ he's gonna rub a hand over his face with a low sigh. This information is... a lot. He can feel his own temper spiking a little--a part of him irritated, due to past events that weren't his but WERE his--strong beings going after weaker beings and ruining their lives for their own means wasn't something he approved of--no, he was quite angry about it, honestly.

He feels his stomach twisting as he starts to understand--and relate to--Dante's anger with anger of his own. ]

...They do not need 'pet monsters', as they are already monsters themselves. [ he says, matter-of-factly, with a low, quiet growl in his voice.

...His memory flickering a little towards Dante's desert idiots. And to the small boy Wolfwood had recently had him babysit less than a week ago. ]

The kid you know.
He's the one who follows after Nicholas?

[ ordinarily dante might focus on that, derail the conversation and change its course. teasing vergil is easy, and getting worked up is enjoyable, but right now? right in this moment dante is far to pissed off to try his usual tricks of deflecting. so he just laughs, throwing his brother a look that lasts mere seconds before it falls from his face.

vergil's own temper is rising, he can see it in the small ticks on his brother's face - those tiny things most would miss if they didn't know him as well as dante does. he feels a pang of guilt for it and shifts, reaching a hand out in a silent request for vergil to come over to him. maybe he'll settle if vergil's beside him, maybe he'll be able to breathe a little better. ]

No, different kid. [ the thought of that shit happening to kni sends a cold shiver of rage down his spine, however. ] That one though, he'd be a perfect candidate for them. Not just because he's a kid but... [ he frowns a little, almost uncertain on whether or not he should even say this but it's important. ] He's not human, but he's not a demon either. He's something they would love to get their hands on judging by their reputation, and if they did? Fuck. They'd have something truly powerful on their hands.

[ panic surges up in his throat, burning threateningly as he tries to force it back down. ]

Could I ask you a massive favor? When Wolfwood comes around to work, can you please help keep an eye on Kni? [ the outstretched hand falls and dante clasps them together, trembling as his knuckles turn white underneath his gloves. ] Just until all this shit is sorted out. He's just a kid.

[ subtleties in one's actions and body language that most people won't see in a dozen years--ones that dante is so used to that it's normal. vergil was still getting to remember his brothers' subtleties as well, surely, day by day.

So when he holds his hand out, Vergil does what vergil does best: ignore it for a moment, while he responds to the other's words, first. ]

...A creature neither human nor demon. You have my interest, but it sounds like something to ask the boy himself, and not you. [ he wonders... if dante even knows what it is. ] Unless you have a vague idea of what the boy is.

[ ...and then dante asks a favor. No, he requests a massive favor. Vergil looks... unsure for a moment, but. When that's the question that's asked---he nods.

Finally moving to go sit with the other, the appropriate amount of time passed to feel like he wasn't actually feeling on edge in a way that could be settled by sitting next to Dante.

He'll learn back, his arms crossed. ]

...So long as he doesn't make a mess of my shop, I will tolerate having a child around.
If the boy's safety is important to you. [ that's the distinction ]

[ he runs a hand through his hair, gaze flicking to another point in the living room as he tries to find the right words. explaining what kni is, what vash is, is complicated. not because he doesn't trust vergil to keep it a secret, not because he doesn't trust vergil to treat them any different than he does now - it'd be hypocritical of them both, seeing as they are not fully human themselves - but because it's something dante hasn't exactly wrapped his entire mind around. ]

I've got an idea, but it's nothing we've ever encountered before. Vash would be better at explaining it than me. The kid? Well, I don't know if he'll tell you honestly. [ he can only hope that kni will come to trust vergil like he does dante, that he'll come to like vergil like he does dante. ] The important part is that he's powerful, and in the wrong hands, he could be deadly.

[ the last thing any of them need is for all of wolfwood's fears to come true, for that future his friend has lived through to happen in this city.

dante's gaze flicks back to vergil as his brother moves, finally sitting down beside him with his arms crossed across his chest in a manner that makes something fond and warm bloom in dante's chest. the answer is... relieving, tension bleeding from his limbs as he shifts to lay down, using vergil's lap like a pillow and hanging his legs off the armrest. ]

It is important to me, and he won't mess it up. Give the kid a book and he'll be happy as a pig in mud. Thanks Verg.

'Nothing we've ever encountered before.' Is it something that I cannot simply research? You know I have many resources for that sort of thing. [ He doesn't want to talk to your weird desert man who moves like he doesn't have bones. Honestly, he'd probably sooner talk to the kid. But the idea that the kid might not answer... frustrating. ] I have a few feelings about power being in the wrong hands.

[ he's gonna avoid dante's gaze for a moment. a hand moving to rub over his own chin, in clear frustration. and then he shrugs. ]

There is little reason to thank me.
You would have bullied me into helping these friends of yours one way or the other. You are impossible to convince one way when you are set on something. [ not that he has a problem saying no to dante or anything, no, it's just that dante is determined and annoying. yes. ]

I know you do, but they're like me. They weren't born in this world, they came from somewhere else. I doubt there are any books about what they are floating around. [ which is probably for the best, he thinks, if more people knew about them it would be a problem. ] Just cool your jets a bit and get to know him. I've already talked you up a tone, so he's already predisposed to like you a little.

[ while vergil avoids his gaze, dante stares up at him. hair he normally uses to hide his expressions fallen to either side of his face, leaving him exposed. the anger has dissipated into exhaustion and worry. ]

Yeah, but you're just as stubborn when you're set on something. [ dante reaches up, fingers curling around vergil's wrist. he doesn't move to pull the other's hand away, but simply lets it hang there, the tips of his fingers gently pressing against his pulse point. ] It's why we butted heads so often.

[ He is aware about other worlds, but from his experiences, most people who are other beings other than human--or demon--they're something that's written in myth and legend. To hear that Dante's idiot blonde and his small brother are something other... He loathes that his mind drifts toward the thought of Aliens. ]

I see.
And do not tell me to cool my 'jets'. I am plenty calm, I will have you know. [ god have a little faith in him you antsy shit.

he's gonna come over and start cleaning up the glass, now that Dante's seemed to calm down a little.

A hand goes on his knee as the other pulls the bits of glass up off the linoleum, stacking them inside the mostly un-shattered base of the glass that'd fallen to the floor. ]

I had to be stubborn.

Otherwise, you would not listen to me.

I know you're calm, idiot. But I also know how you get when those ears of yours pick up an interesting topic. [ he gives vergil a rather pointed look. ] Do I gotta remind you of the time Nick messaged you about cake and you instead slammed him with twenty questions?

[ he has maybe a little bit of faith in vergil not to bombard the kid with questions, only a little. knowledge has always been something his dearest brother has lusted over, especially knowledge that doesn't pertain to the mortal world, and dante knows exactly how the gears in his head will start to spin like crazy once his finds out what exactly kni and vash truly are.

vergil moves and dante makes a soft noise suspiciously close to a whine, his head falling down onto the couch as he watches his brother go about cleaning up the bits of glass. an apology sits on the tip of his tongue, threatening to burst forth - an apology he forces back down as he forces himself to sit back up. ]

I listen perfectly well, thank you very much.

[ ....oof. Called out. yeah, okay, what he did to wolfwood was definitely high on the 'how rude can you get' scale, but--listen. It's not every day you meet a human who colonized on a different planet, okay? it was important he knew everything.

probably.

He looks at Dante with a furrowed set of eyebrows, continuing to clink together bits of broken class, collecting smaller shards into the unbroken base as he looks up at the other.

He's gonna reach forward to take Dante's hand--any damage he'd done to his hand would have healed, but. He did have to check that his body didn't heal AROUND any large chunks of glass still poking out of his skin, okay. ]

...Yes, well. I do admit that I got a little overzealous that one time. I would not do the same to a child.

And 'listening perfectly well' is not the same as comprehending what's being said to you.

[ dante doesn't fight it, offering his hand to vergil to fuss over as they talk. the damage that had been done healed immediately, leaving his hand exactly as it had been─ except for the few shards he hadn't noticed until now. a good thing vergil checked, honestly. dante's brow furrows, fingers twitch, and he almost pulls his hand away to deal with it himself.

that's what you get when you have an insanely high pain tolerance. ]

Maybe if you didn't nag me so much I'd comprehend more. [ that isn't how that works dante. ] If we weren't twins people might think you were the big old ball and chain with how much you nag.

[ from the pocket of his vest, he's going to pull a small manicuring kit from the pocket of his vest--a pair of tweezers procured as he starts to pull shards of glass out of his hand.

He's at least being careful. Even if it might sting a bit. ]

I do not 'nag'. Do not compare me to some discontent housewife. [ he says, grumpily, like a discontent housewife. ] You merely indulge in habits that require being needled about.
Like sleeping sitting up. Your legs will hate that, one day.

[ at the most dante's hand only twitches as vergil begins to pull the shards of glass from his hand, already healed wounds ripping open anew with each shard pulled free. blood quickly bubbles up, pooling in his hand, flesh stitching itself back together just as quickly as it was torn open. it stings, yes, but dante doesn't really react, high pain tolerance and all that. ]

Uh-huh, whatever you say dear. [ deny it all you want, vergil, but you're 100% a discontented housewife. ] I'll have you know I've been incredibly well-behaved recently, haven't even thrown myself in traffic for money or anything.

I'll be dead before that happens, Verg, lets be real here.

[ there's a ... flash in Vergil's eyes. those cat-like slits glowing a nearly unnatural blue as Dante says something that clearly displeases the other devil. Another shard of glass being pulled out of his hand, this time a little slower, a little more deliberate.

....followed up by a quick, and not quite so gentle press of his thumb, a perfectly manicured nail jarringly pressing into the wound before it's being given a chance to heal.

Blood drips down over Dante's hand, and into Vergil's palm, and he stares up at the other, unblinkingly. ]

Speak easily of your death a little more within earshot of me. I truly do invite it.

[ dante's entire body tenses like a prey animal does the moment it realizes it has been spotted by a predator, his jaw clenches as vergil starts to pull this shard from his hand slowly, a low hiss building from behind his teeth. he doesn't need to look at the man to know that he said something that pissed the other man off, he knew the moment the words left his mouth that his dear brother probably wouldn't take them well.

and it's all but confirmed by the thumb pressed into the wound, blood bubbling around that perfectly manicured nail.

dante meets those sharp, cat-like eyes, expression dropping from his face. a terrible part of him wants to bite back, to casually repeat himself because it is the truth - he isn't destined to die in his bed an old man, should the day finally come where he finally does kick the bucket it'll be waist deep in something demonic. he knows that much. the will he left with morrison the day he marched his way up the qliphoth said as much.

but he doesn't, he bites his tongue and swallows it all down. no need to poke the already angry bear, right? ]

My bad.

[ truth be told, he'd considered biting the man's hand. It was the last piece of glass needing to be removed, after all. Fortunately, he'd repressed the very strange urge and slowly removes his thumb from the wound--a small gout of blood following just for a moment before Dante's demonic healing quickly knits skin and muscle together, leaving nothing but a messy red stain mingling on their hands.

He slides his fingers over the others' hand, lifting it to press and swipe a thumb against his own bottom lip before he's getting up, picking the glass up and starting towards the kitchen. He pauses for just a moment. ]

I speak as myself. Perhaps not as the brother you knew, but as the man I am now.

...

Selfishly.
I'd like you to stay here. As long as you can.

[ so don't go fucking throwing your life away, idiot. ]

[ it's almost a surprise that vergil didn't bite him, or dig his thumb even further into the wound. he probably deserves it from the comments he made. and probably for a few other things that vergil has yet to properly collect on. dante breathes out slowly, watching blankly as the wound swiftly stops healing and closes - thank you demonic healing.

his gaze flicks to the blood still staining his skin, to vergil's fingers as he slides him across his hand - staining them even further with red - before bringing them up to swipe a thumb against his own bottom lip. red once more smeared against perfect skin. ]

Verg─ [ the other man stands and dante finds himself swallowing the rest of his own words, eyes widening at what follows from his brother's mouth. not since they were kid had vergil spoken to him like that, had he ever asked dante to stay here at his side for as long as possible. no, his dear brother spent most of his time pushing dante further and further away.

he's up on his own feet before he truly realizes it, crossing the space with a few easy strides, and settles in front of vergil. his expression softens, the mask slipping to reveal the tender pieces underneath, and dante reaches up to lick his own thumb before gently taking hold of vergil's face. ]

'm not going anywhere. [ it's muttered quietly as if a secret only they can share. he brings his thumb across vergil's lip in a similar manner that he had done previously, half-heartedly trying to clean his own blood from his twin's lip. ] I might do some stupid and heroic shit in the meantime, but 'm not going anywhere.

You're never getting rid of me, big brother.

[ perhaps if he were fully the man Dante used to know--the one who seemed almost desperate to keep the world away from his heart--he'd have just left the room silently after digging his fingers into the others' wounds. Leaving marks he wishes would last, but never would--saying nothing, but leaving the air full of words unsaid.

Vergil could never lift the cage around his heart. But perhaps being reborn has done one good thing for the still ornery devil: it lifted those bars a little. Just enough to let some emotion bleed through. Just enough that he could admit he did not want to live a life where he was alone; not anymore. Not after adjusting to the idea that he'd never come home to a silent house.

That he'd never wake up with his only company being his own thoughts.

Dante grabs his face and the instinct to bite the hell out of him is back--and he bares his teeth, as if he's going to do just that: however, he does hear what the other is saying. And it settles something petty and covetous in him. ]

...I will hold you to that. [ these are the words he decides on, letting his eyes close for just a moment--there's difficulty in looking into Dante's eyes. The raw emotion there, usually hidden under the other man's playful mask. When he opens them again, he focuses on him. A look like a glare. ]

Be a hero. Do what nonsense it is you do when you leave the house.

But you come back to me. [ that's a threat. ]

[ vergil bare his teeth and dante almost responds in kind, pulse surging as he wrangles his demon back down. part of him wants vergil to bite, wants the surge of adrenaline to course through him as fangs tear through flesh. it's a rush, it's always a rush, and dante is somewhat of an addict. but that would just ruin the moment, so he pushes down the desire to dig a nail into his brother's pretty face.

not now, not now.

he responds to the glare with a smile so soft it is almost painful, taking a step closer into vergil's personal space. his free hand lifts to settle on the back of vergil's head. ]

'Course. [ he'd expect nothing less. after all, who else could keep him in line but vergil? there aren't that many within kaisou that can keep up with him and sooner or later vergil will be back to his prime. ]

Cross my heart, hope to ... fly, stick a thousand needles in my eye. [ the smile turns to a comically wide grin and dante tugs vergil in a little, pushing himself up higher to press an affectionate (and teasing) kiss to his twin brother's forehead - a familiar motion, one their mother would always do to them as kids. ] I promise, with all my heart, that I'll come back to you.

IC INBOX - kaisou

action, late july.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject