Complications (log)
Who: Soren (inallhonesty) and Vergil (yamato_devil)
Where: Devil May Cry
When: Monday 26th June, evening
Summary: Soren goes to investigate whether Vergil would be a threat to him or not. Both of them end up getting more than they bargained for.
Notes: Come for the angst, stay for the emotionally-retarded half-demons trying to smackdown each-other. And comment. xD
‘Devil May Cry’… it’s not a very convincing name for a detective agency, Soren thought to himself dryly, blood red eyes focused on the flickering neon sign above him. I guess it must be a warning. Shaking his head and deciding to focus on the task at hand, the mage glanced through one of the windows, eventually ascertaining that yes, someone was indeed home. (Fortunately, he managed to do this without being spotted.)
Now or never. Walking forwards and pushing the doors open, Soren strode into the shop, generally expecting to get an odd stare at the very least. (After all, it wasn’t every day a pale kid with black hair in two ponytails, blood red eyes and a rune marked on his forehead charged into your ‘detective agency’.)
Hm. Perhaps I should have thought of a cover story.
It was another average day at Devil May Cry. Since his brother had left a few hours ago, Vergil had remained in the front room to man the phones, having dragged an old punching bag into the room and securing it before removing his trench coat, exposing his muscular upper body and adjusting his stance, rapidly punching and kicking the punching bag.
Although he and his brother were currently on good terms, it felt nice to have the place to himself for a change without having his brother disturbing his training with his general presence or noise-making skills. Sensing another nearby, Vergil frowned and caught the punching bag, stopping it mid-swing and turning to face the door.
Hn. The foolishness of demons knows no bounds if one is so stupid to attack me here.
Soren’s eyebrows arched, although he didn’t look too stunned, merely examining the white-haired man for a moment. All brawn, probably. Best case scenario, Soren decided, he’d be able to run mental rings around the hunter. Giving Vergil a pointed stare, he confirmed, “You’re the detective who runs this agency?”
Who is he? Vergil asked himself as he took in the other's physical appearance. Short and frail-looking, he did not seem too formidable and with his weak aura, he doubted the other was really anything out of the ordinary as far as lesser demons were considered, even though he had managed to take human form. It was then when he noticed something else mixed with the aura, though he could not put his finger on it.
"You could say that," he responded emotionlessly, folding his arms across his chest, keeping one eye on Yamato which he had placed on the coffee table Hn, he could be suppressing it. Best stay on my guard.
Soren followed his gaze to Yamato, although he didn’t look very alarmed by the matter of a sword in plain view. (This, to be fair, was more due to his upbringing rather than his level-headed nature.)
“What exactly does this place detect?” Soren questioned calmly, having by now decided on at least a loose plan of action. Even as he spoke, however, slowly walking towards Yamato (to get a closer look at the blade), he was gripping the tome he held in one hand just a bit tighter.
Without warning, Vergil darted forwards with lightening fast moves and snatched Yamato from the table before Soren could even get close enough to look at it, although he kept the blade sheathed, holding the hilt tightly "Hn, why do you want to know?" He questioned, shooting him a rather suspicious glare, though he made no move to attack him.
He might be brawn, but he’s pretty fast, Soren noted. That was a disadvantage, if they should come to blows, it would take Soren precious seconds to react. “Do you treat all prospective customers like this?” he inquired, eyebrows arching. He’s not very good at pretending.
"Only those that have demon blood," Vergil answered smoothly, keeping his gaze focused on the other. Why would a lesser demon be foolish enough to walk right up to our front doorstep, I'm not suppressing my aura, he should be able to sense it, could he truly be that foolish, or is this just a game?
He could not see any weapons, but it was entirely possible that he could have them concealed so he remained on his guard. He had underestimated his opponents enough in the past and that had cost him, now he made sure to never underestimate anyone. "What business do you have here?" He demanded.
It was only for approximately three seconds that the surprise showed on Soren’s face before being covered with confusion, although he realised in retrospect that those three seconds could have been enough. He’s good. I didn’t really try to hide it, though. “Demon blood…?” Soren shook his head, closing his eyes as strands of black hair fell in his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There isn’t such a thing.”
"Hn, I'm not a fan of games, so I suggest you stop yours now. I can sense your aura, you most definitely have demonic blood, now let us stop this nonsense and fight so I can kill you and get back to doing something useful." Vergil commented emotionlessly, easing Yamato out of the sheathe and narrowing his eyes, no longer caring what this other presence that he was sensing actually was.
Well, this went wrong remarkably fast, Soren took a step back, gripping the tome. He wasn’t afraid, but if he was going to prepare a decent incantation, he’d need more space. Cast, distract and get the hell out, that should work. “Kill me…?” Crimson eyes met cerulean. “I see.”
Not wasting any time, Vergil abruptly teleported, appearing right in front of Soren and forcing him up against the wall, pinning him there and holding the edge of the katana to his throat. "Any last requests?" He questioned almost tauntingly, his steely gaze focused only on the other.
Soren tensed, leaning back. No, this was not going according to plan at all. It’s my own fault for walking into such a situation, I should’ve researched this more. I can’t believe I was so foolish… His eyes reflected little of the worry, even fear, that he felt, although his fear was somewhat assuaged after a moment as he felt a familiar energy coursing through his veins.
I can cast. “Elwind,” he muttered, gripping the tome tightly as the anima energy abruptly blasted forwards from it, the aim being to knock his assailant back, at least in time for Soren to attempt to bolt.
Feeling the sudden force as it hit his chest, Vergil was thrown backwards, straight through the coffee table. Ignoring the splintered wood, the half-demon was swiftly back on his feet. Realising that the other was more powerful than he had thought. Summoning his Phantom Blades, he decided to take a different approach, launching the glowing blue swords at Soren.
I wont be defeated by a lesser demon.
Of all the places to die, Soren thought to himself, diving to the ground to avoid the glowing swords. Projectiles, he could dodge projectiles, he’d had a few horror experiences when his misguided best friend tried out archery. I’m not dying here. Not like this.
Soren was a strategist, so now was the time to strategise. Spotting what appeared to be a small dagger out of the corner of his eye, he quickly grasped it, abruptly diving forwards, aiming to catch Vergil by surprise and stab him in the sword arm. It wouldn’t do anything about the magic that the other seemed to be casting, but it would help with the immediate situation.
Soren had always been terrible with knives, as he managed to miss utterly. Instead, typically, he caught the white-haired man right in the chest, stumbling backwards almost as soon as he'd half-fallen onto him. Did it...?!
To a degree, Soren's plan worked. Vergil had been caught by surprise so had not managed to dodge the knife. He had felt the pain but it had barely registered in his mind. Such a small, mortal weapon would not be able to harm him much at all. Glancing down at the knife protruding from his chest, he rolled his eyes and abruptly pulled it out, tossing it aside as he felt blood oozing down his chest.
Frowning, he twirled Yamato in his hand swiftly before lunging forward again, using his Phantom Blades to pin the other to the wall by his clothing, immobilising him and pressing the tip of Yamato to his neck, not speaking as he moved to deliver the final blow.
Soren’s eyes widened and he was too caught by surprise to even try and resist when he was pinned to the wall, although he did choke out a surprised, “Y-you’re not human!” (He would, of course, later curse himself for stammering -if he got out of this alive-, but the situation had caught him by surprise.)
…this can’t be the end.
"No, I'm not," Vergil agreed emotionlessly. How could he not know that? For that matter … he is so emotional. I have never met a demon so emotional apart from my brother and he's half … human.
Lowering Yamato and making the Phantom Blades disappear, Vergil took a step back. If there was any possibility that this boy was human, he had to make sure. Not because he actually cared about human life, but because Dante would never forgive him for taking a human life.
Without warning, he Triggered. Standing in front of Soren in all his demonic glory, he closed his eyes and focused on his senses, heightened now. I can sense it now … but I still sense the demon … could he be a half-breed? Not sure of what to believe any more, Vergil reverted back to his human form quickly and stared questioningly at Soren "What are you?" He demanded.
Gripping the Elwind tome (and mentally preparing to cast another spell, just in case it was needed), Soren stared back at him, pushing any fear from his mind as he responded in a cool, level voice, “You should know, you attacked me.”
So he was a demon in a human form… I guess that explains a lot, he was moving too fast to just be a human. Deciding to just clarify the situation and get it over with (although he did inch towards the general direction of the door), Soren brushed his hair from his forehead, fully exposing the rune marked there. “Well?”
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" He demanded flatly, looking unimpressed, then again he had no idea what the symbol actually meant so it would be foolish for him to think that it was by any means impressive to have a strange mark on your forehead.
"You came here," he added icily. "Either you wanted me to end your pitiful life for you, or you are simply foolish. A demon as weak as you should have more sense than to challenge the son of Sparda."
“I’m not a demon,” Soren frowned irritably, although it was now that he noted that he seemed to have nearly lost his life over what looked to be a misunderstanding. (Then again, admitting what he actually was was worse than a demon, so it was problematic.) “And I didn’t come here to challenge you.”
…he doesn’t know what the mark means? Then how did he know what I… probably the eyes. “What are you?” he added as an afterthought, making another slight move towards the door.
Has he never heard of the legend of Sparda? Dante and I are mentioned enough times. Frowning, as he despised revealing what he truly was, simply out of a matter of pride, not humiliation, he answered emotionlessly "If you must know, I am half-demon, half-human. My father was a demon, my mother was a human."
Soren couldn’t hide the surprise that time, although he wasn’t quite sure if this was a positive or a negative development. So after all that talk, he’s nothing but a filthy half-breed…? “…I see,” he responded quietly, although he sounded a bit more at ease than before, just a bit.
If he’s only a half-breed, then I’ve got nothing to fear. “You don’t look like one,” he added blandly, gazing at him.
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "Hn, to my knowledge there were only two half-breeds born, myself and my brother, therefore I would expect other hybrids to look human, like my brother and I. You certainly look human."
I guess that means he knows what I am. Quelling the stab of alarm at that, Soren shook his head. “You aren’t marked. You look a little too human.”
Marked? Could that be what that strange symbol on his forehead means? A sign of being a half-breed? Deciding that he needed to know more, he questioned, "That mark on your forehead, you acted as though it held some kind of significance, what is it?"
Soren’s eyebrows arched. For a half-breed demon hunter, he’s not very knowledgeable. “It’s the mark of being a Branded,” he responded coolly, unable to help being slightly more tense at talking about it. So, he lacked the courage to tell his only friend, but he could still converse with a stranger about it…? “All untouchables have it." He paused for a moment, eventually amending, "Or are meant to."
"Hn. I knew that half-breeds were viewed as beneath a normal demon, but I have never heard of systematic branding of said half-breeds to identify and humiliate them," Vergil commented emotionlessly, sounding quite thoughtful as he took in the other's appearance again. "You are foolish to believe it."
“There is nothing to believe or disbelieve,” Soren replied, although he didn’t sound particularly offended. “That’s simply the way it is. The Branded are lower than dirt.” In truth, it all bothered him a great deal more than he let on, but he wasn’t exactly about to go and cry on this guy’s shoulder. This is just confirming what I knew, now…
Shaking his head dismissively, Vergil answered calmly "So, how many half-breeds are there?" He had to admit, it was interesting to hear of others like himself, even if they were being treated in an appalling way.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Soren responded somewhat stiffly, somewhat embarrassed at his lack of knowledge. Still, it wasn’t as if there was a census of Branded. “I’ve only met two others. Both were deceased at the time.”
So there are others besides Dante and I ... whether that is a good thing or not is highly debatable. Gazing at him suspiciously, Vergil questioned, "So why did you come here? If you had no knowledge of what I am, then it makes no sense why you would come here out of the blue without even suppressing your aura."
“I’d heard you were a demon hunter,” Soren shook his head, admitting, “I’d assumed that you were human. I wanted to see if you were a threat to me or not.” He didn’t particularly fancy being hunted down and killed, after all, even if it was probably what his kind deserved. “I take it you don’t hunt halfbloods.”
"Considering there have never been half-bloods to hunt, the answer would be no," Vergil responded calmly before adding "But unless you are allied with Mundus, I have no need to kill you." Deciding to leave out the part about how all the demons he had killed had attempted to kill a human in the past, he left it at that, wanting to spare his pride.
For a moment, Soren idly wondered what exactly a ‘Mundus’ was. He’d never been particularly schooled in demonic law. Remembering after a moment -Lord of the underworld. Not Lucifer.-, he merely nodded. So this guy was a do-gooder? It figured. “So you only kill evil demons?” His eyebrows arched. “I guess that must be the vast majority.”
"It is, but humans are weak, they cannot protect themselves, so my brother and I have to protect them instead." Vergil replied, before turning away from him. "So, you came here to ask us for protection, to ensure we wont kill you?"
“I don’t need protection,” Soren shook his head. “I assumed a demon hunter would be willing to hunt anything with demon blood, so I came to see if I needed to be worried. I’ve got no intention of harming anyone.” Not directly, anyway. “So there are two of you?”
Two do-gooder Branded ‘detectives’. Would wonders never cease?
Does this kid not understand the word 'brother'? Rolling his eyes, Vergil answered "Yes, there are two of us. My brother and I are twins."
“Your poor mother,” Soren murmured, sounding more thoughtful than anything, although it evidently wasn’t meant as mocking. “I’ve never spoken to any others,” he eventually elaborated. “Only their families.”
Anger flickered in Vergil's eyes and his grip tightened around Yamato. It was one thing for this ... half-breed to insult his heritage and ever other half-breed's, but it was quite another to bring her into it. "What about my mother?" He demanded coldly.
Soren’s eyebrows arched and he glanced at him blandly, not looking apologetic in the least. “It must have been a nightmare for her. That’s all I meant.”
"You speak of it as though being a half-breed is worse than death," Vergil commented emotionlessly, forcing his anger down and turning away from him again. "My mother was a gentle, caring woman. She fell in love with my father, a demon. She knew what she was doing."
Soren, for his part, did look somewhat surprised by that. Why anyone would choose to have half-blood children was beyond him, and it seemed like a rather cruel decision really. Vergil’s mother may have been gentle and caring, Soren decided, but she must be either very naïve or a bit thick if she’d thought that was a good idea.
Thankfully, Soren didn’t voice his thoughts on that particular matter. “Being an abomination of nature isn’t worse than death, but it’s not far off,” Soren pointed out, able to censor his words at least somewhat. (After all, if he’d said it was worse than death, he probably would’ve ended up with his head lopped off, and he did like living.) “I’d assumed the circumstances were otherwise. They generally are.”
"You are a fool for thinking that," Vergil replied. True, he had always despised his own existence, being neither one nor the other, but he had never thought of himself as unworthy, as an abomination of nature that would have been better off dead. It confused him but also angered him.
"So you are suggesting that my father forced himself upon my mother and that my mother was always ashamed to have two half-bloods as her sons?" He questioned icily, he wasn't sure whether the other was simply trying to talk himself out of a bad situation or whether he genuinely meant it, but he was only making the situation worse.
"You have clearly never felt loved," he added flatly, although it felt strange to actually be defending the human ideals and emotion for a change. "Because I remember whenever my mother looked at my brother and I, she was proud of us. Not ashamed."
Then you were lucky. “Then our experiences have been very different,” Soren responded coolly, still not looking intimidated in the least. Really, did he not look so young and frail, he’d probably be somewhat intimidating himself, with cold eyes and a bland, cool tone. “Any halfblood that I’ve ever heard of has been the result of an unwanted union.” All two of them, in fact. “I suggest nothing. You know the affairs of your family better than I would.”
"Hn, I refuse to have anyone dishonour my family, regardless of what we are. I'll give you a choice," his grip tightened on Yamato. "You can leave now, or you can remain and I will make you leave with force."
Soren’s eyebrows arched. “I’m not trying to dishonour your family. If you say that was the way it happened, then I believe you.” Honestly, was this guy thick or something? “If you take offence, it’s your problem.”
"Then watch your words in future," Vergil answered icily before shaking his head, deciding it would be best to simply drop the subject. "You have my word that my brother and I won’t kill you."
Unfortunately, Soren seemed to have a intrinsic aversion to watching his words. “Very well,” he nodded, his hair falling in his eyes. “And I take it you won’t tell anyone.”
"Aside from my brother, I wont tell anyone." Vergil confirmed, just wanting the boy to leave now so he could get back to his training.
“Fine,” Soren agreed, moving towards the door, although he didn’t turn his back on Vergil. Not believing the other’s words for a second, he decided that he’d have to be extremely careful for the next few days at least.
This complicates everything.
Where: Devil May Cry
When: Monday 26th June, evening
Summary: Soren goes to investigate whether Vergil would be a threat to him or not. Both of them end up getting more than they bargained for.
Notes: Come for the angst, stay for the emotionally-retarded half-demons trying to smackdown each-other. And comment. xD
‘Devil May Cry’… it’s not a very convincing name for a detective agency, Soren thought to himself dryly, blood red eyes focused on the flickering neon sign above him. I guess it must be a warning. Shaking his head and deciding to focus on the task at hand, the mage glanced through one of the windows, eventually ascertaining that yes, someone was indeed home. (Fortunately, he managed to do this without being spotted.)
Now or never. Walking forwards and pushing the doors open, Soren strode into the shop, generally expecting to get an odd stare at the very least. (After all, it wasn’t every day a pale kid with black hair in two ponytails, blood red eyes and a rune marked on his forehead charged into your ‘detective agency’.)
Hm. Perhaps I should have thought of a cover story.
It was another average day at Devil May Cry. Since his brother had left a few hours ago, Vergil had remained in the front room to man the phones, having dragged an old punching bag into the room and securing it before removing his trench coat, exposing his muscular upper body and adjusting his stance, rapidly punching and kicking the punching bag.
Although he and his brother were currently on good terms, it felt nice to have the place to himself for a change without having his brother disturbing his training with his general presence or noise-making skills. Sensing another nearby, Vergil frowned and caught the punching bag, stopping it mid-swing and turning to face the door.
Hn. The foolishness of demons knows no bounds if one is so stupid to attack me here.
Soren’s eyebrows arched, although he didn’t look too stunned, merely examining the white-haired man for a moment. All brawn, probably. Best case scenario, Soren decided, he’d be able to run mental rings around the hunter. Giving Vergil a pointed stare, he confirmed, “You’re the detective who runs this agency?”
Who is he? Vergil asked himself as he took in the other's physical appearance. Short and frail-looking, he did not seem too formidable and with his weak aura, he doubted the other was really anything out of the ordinary as far as lesser demons were considered, even though he had managed to take human form. It was then when he noticed something else mixed with the aura, though he could not put his finger on it.
"You could say that," he responded emotionlessly, folding his arms across his chest, keeping one eye on Yamato which he had placed on the coffee table Hn, he could be suppressing it. Best stay on my guard.
Soren followed his gaze to Yamato, although he didn’t look very alarmed by the matter of a sword in plain view. (This, to be fair, was more due to his upbringing rather than his level-headed nature.)
“What exactly does this place detect?” Soren questioned calmly, having by now decided on at least a loose plan of action. Even as he spoke, however, slowly walking towards Yamato (to get a closer look at the blade), he was gripping the tome he held in one hand just a bit tighter.
Without warning, Vergil darted forwards with lightening fast moves and snatched Yamato from the table before Soren could even get close enough to look at it, although he kept the blade sheathed, holding the hilt tightly "Hn, why do you want to know?" He questioned, shooting him a rather suspicious glare, though he made no move to attack him.
He might be brawn, but he’s pretty fast, Soren noted. That was a disadvantage, if they should come to blows, it would take Soren precious seconds to react. “Do you treat all prospective customers like this?” he inquired, eyebrows arching. He’s not very good at pretending.
"Only those that have demon blood," Vergil answered smoothly, keeping his gaze focused on the other. Why would a lesser demon be foolish enough to walk right up to our front doorstep, I'm not suppressing my aura, he should be able to sense it, could he truly be that foolish, or is this just a game?
He could not see any weapons, but it was entirely possible that he could have them concealed so he remained on his guard. He had underestimated his opponents enough in the past and that had cost him, now he made sure to never underestimate anyone. "What business do you have here?" He demanded.
It was only for approximately three seconds that the surprise showed on Soren’s face before being covered with confusion, although he realised in retrospect that those three seconds could have been enough. He’s good. I didn’t really try to hide it, though. “Demon blood…?” Soren shook his head, closing his eyes as strands of black hair fell in his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There isn’t such a thing.”
"Hn, I'm not a fan of games, so I suggest you stop yours now. I can sense your aura, you most definitely have demonic blood, now let us stop this nonsense and fight so I can kill you and get back to doing something useful." Vergil commented emotionlessly, easing Yamato out of the sheathe and narrowing his eyes, no longer caring what this other presence that he was sensing actually was.
Well, this went wrong remarkably fast, Soren took a step back, gripping the tome. He wasn’t afraid, but if he was going to prepare a decent incantation, he’d need more space. Cast, distract and get the hell out, that should work. “Kill me…?” Crimson eyes met cerulean. “I see.”
Not wasting any time, Vergil abruptly teleported, appearing right in front of Soren and forcing him up against the wall, pinning him there and holding the edge of the katana to his throat. "Any last requests?" He questioned almost tauntingly, his steely gaze focused only on the other.
Soren tensed, leaning back. No, this was not going according to plan at all. It’s my own fault for walking into such a situation, I should’ve researched this more. I can’t believe I was so foolish… His eyes reflected little of the worry, even fear, that he felt, although his fear was somewhat assuaged after a moment as he felt a familiar energy coursing through his veins.
I can cast. “Elwind,” he muttered, gripping the tome tightly as the anima energy abruptly blasted forwards from it, the aim being to knock his assailant back, at least in time for Soren to attempt to bolt.
Feeling the sudden force as it hit his chest, Vergil was thrown backwards, straight through the coffee table. Ignoring the splintered wood, the half-demon was swiftly back on his feet. Realising that the other was more powerful than he had thought. Summoning his Phantom Blades, he decided to take a different approach, launching the glowing blue swords at Soren.
I wont be defeated by a lesser demon.
Of all the places to die, Soren thought to himself, diving to the ground to avoid the glowing swords. Projectiles, he could dodge projectiles, he’d had a few horror experiences when his misguided best friend tried out archery. I’m not dying here. Not like this.
Soren was a strategist, so now was the time to strategise. Spotting what appeared to be a small dagger out of the corner of his eye, he quickly grasped it, abruptly diving forwards, aiming to catch Vergil by surprise and stab him in the sword arm. It wouldn’t do anything about the magic that the other seemed to be casting, but it would help with the immediate situation.
Soren had always been terrible with knives, as he managed to miss utterly. Instead, typically, he caught the white-haired man right in the chest, stumbling backwards almost as soon as he'd half-fallen onto him. Did it...?!
To a degree, Soren's plan worked. Vergil had been caught by surprise so had not managed to dodge the knife. He had felt the pain but it had barely registered in his mind. Such a small, mortal weapon would not be able to harm him much at all. Glancing down at the knife protruding from his chest, he rolled his eyes and abruptly pulled it out, tossing it aside as he felt blood oozing down his chest.
Frowning, he twirled Yamato in his hand swiftly before lunging forward again, using his Phantom Blades to pin the other to the wall by his clothing, immobilising him and pressing the tip of Yamato to his neck, not speaking as he moved to deliver the final blow.
Soren’s eyes widened and he was too caught by surprise to even try and resist when he was pinned to the wall, although he did choke out a surprised, “Y-you’re not human!” (He would, of course, later curse himself for stammering -if he got out of this alive-, but the situation had caught him by surprise.)
…this can’t be the end.
"No, I'm not," Vergil agreed emotionlessly. How could he not know that? For that matter … he is so emotional. I have never met a demon so emotional apart from my brother and he's half … human.
Lowering Yamato and making the Phantom Blades disappear, Vergil took a step back. If there was any possibility that this boy was human, he had to make sure. Not because he actually cared about human life, but because Dante would never forgive him for taking a human life.
Without warning, he Triggered. Standing in front of Soren in all his demonic glory, he closed his eyes and focused on his senses, heightened now. I can sense it now … but I still sense the demon … could he be a half-breed? Not sure of what to believe any more, Vergil reverted back to his human form quickly and stared questioningly at Soren "What are you?" He demanded.
Gripping the Elwind tome (and mentally preparing to cast another spell, just in case it was needed), Soren stared back at him, pushing any fear from his mind as he responded in a cool, level voice, “You should know, you attacked me.”
So he was a demon in a human form… I guess that explains a lot, he was moving too fast to just be a human. Deciding to just clarify the situation and get it over with (although he did inch towards the general direction of the door), Soren brushed his hair from his forehead, fully exposing the rune marked there. “Well?”
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" He demanded flatly, looking unimpressed, then again he had no idea what the symbol actually meant so it would be foolish for him to think that it was by any means impressive to have a strange mark on your forehead.
"You came here," he added icily. "Either you wanted me to end your pitiful life for you, or you are simply foolish. A demon as weak as you should have more sense than to challenge the son of Sparda."
“I’m not a demon,” Soren frowned irritably, although it was now that he noted that he seemed to have nearly lost his life over what looked to be a misunderstanding. (Then again, admitting what he actually was was worse than a demon, so it was problematic.) “And I didn’t come here to challenge you.”
…he doesn’t know what the mark means? Then how did he know what I… probably the eyes. “What are you?” he added as an afterthought, making another slight move towards the door.
Has he never heard of the legend of Sparda? Dante and I are mentioned enough times. Frowning, as he despised revealing what he truly was, simply out of a matter of pride, not humiliation, he answered emotionlessly "If you must know, I am half-demon, half-human. My father was a demon, my mother was a human."
Soren couldn’t hide the surprise that time, although he wasn’t quite sure if this was a positive or a negative development. So after all that talk, he’s nothing but a filthy half-breed…? “…I see,” he responded quietly, although he sounded a bit more at ease than before, just a bit.
If he’s only a half-breed, then I’ve got nothing to fear. “You don’t look like one,” he added blandly, gazing at him.
Vergil raised an eyebrow. "Hn, to my knowledge there were only two half-breeds born, myself and my brother, therefore I would expect other hybrids to look human, like my brother and I. You certainly look human."
I guess that means he knows what I am. Quelling the stab of alarm at that, Soren shook his head. “You aren’t marked. You look a little too human.”
Marked? Could that be what that strange symbol on his forehead means? A sign of being a half-breed? Deciding that he needed to know more, he questioned, "That mark on your forehead, you acted as though it held some kind of significance, what is it?"
Soren’s eyebrows arched. For a half-breed demon hunter, he’s not very knowledgeable. “It’s the mark of being a Branded,” he responded coolly, unable to help being slightly more tense at talking about it. So, he lacked the courage to tell his only friend, but he could still converse with a stranger about it…? “All untouchables have it." He paused for a moment, eventually amending, "Or are meant to."
"Hn. I knew that half-breeds were viewed as beneath a normal demon, but I have never heard of systematic branding of said half-breeds to identify and humiliate them," Vergil commented emotionlessly, sounding quite thoughtful as he took in the other's appearance again. "You are foolish to believe it."
“There is nothing to believe or disbelieve,” Soren replied, although he didn’t sound particularly offended. “That’s simply the way it is. The Branded are lower than dirt.” In truth, it all bothered him a great deal more than he let on, but he wasn’t exactly about to go and cry on this guy’s shoulder. This is just confirming what I knew, now…
Shaking his head dismissively, Vergil answered calmly "So, how many half-breeds are there?" He had to admit, it was interesting to hear of others like himself, even if they were being treated in an appalling way.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Soren responded somewhat stiffly, somewhat embarrassed at his lack of knowledge. Still, it wasn’t as if there was a census of Branded. “I’ve only met two others. Both were deceased at the time.”
So there are others besides Dante and I ... whether that is a good thing or not is highly debatable. Gazing at him suspiciously, Vergil questioned, "So why did you come here? If you had no knowledge of what I am, then it makes no sense why you would come here out of the blue without even suppressing your aura."
“I’d heard you were a demon hunter,” Soren shook his head, admitting, “I’d assumed that you were human. I wanted to see if you were a threat to me or not.” He didn’t particularly fancy being hunted down and killed, after all, even if it was probably what his kind deserved. “I take it you don’t hunt halfbloods.”
"Considering there have never been half-bloods to hunt, the answer would be no," Vergil responded calmly before adding "But unless you are allied with Mundus, I have no need to kill you." Deciding to leave out the part about how all the demons he had killed had attempted to kill a human in the past, he left it at that, wanting to spare his pride.
For a moment, Soren idly wondered what exactly a ‘Mundus’ was. He’d never been particularly schooled in demonic law. Remembering after a moment -Lord of the underworld. Not Lucifer.-, he merely nodded. So this guy was a do-gooder? It figured. “So you only kill evil demons?” His eyebrows arched. “I guess that must be the vast majority.”
"It is, but humans are weak, they cannot protect themselves, so my brother and I have to protect them instead." Vergil replied, before turning away from him. "So, you came here to ask us for protection, to ensure we wont kill you?"
“I don’t need protection,” Soren shook his head. “I assumed a demon hunter would be willing to hunt anything with demon blood, so I came to see if I needed to be worried. I’ve got no intention of harming anyone.” Not directly, anyway. “So there are two of you?”
Two do-gooder Branded ‘detectives’. Would wonders never cease?
Does this kid not understand the word 'brother'? Rolling his eyes, Vergil answered "Yes, there are two of us. My brother and I are twins."
“Your poor mother,” Soren murmured, sounding more thoughtful than anything, although it evidently wasn’t meant as mocking. “I’ve never spoken to any others,” he eventually elaborated. “Only their families.”
Anger flickered in Vergil's eyes and his grip tightened around Yamato. It was one thing for this ... half-breed to insult his heritage and ever other half-breed's, but it was quite another to bring her into it. "What about my mother?" He demanded coldly.
Soren’s eyebrows arched and he glanced at him blandly, not looking apologetic in the least. “It must have been a nightmare for her. That’s all I meant.”
"You speak of it as though being a half-breed is worse than death," Vergil commented emotionlessly, forcing his anger down and turning away from him again. "My mother was a gentle, caring woman. She fell in love with my father, a demon. She knew what she was doing."
Soren, for his part, did look somewhat surprised by that. Why anyone would choose to have half-blood children was beyond him, and it seemed like a rather cruel decision really. Vergil’s mother may have been gentle and caring, Soren decided, but she must be either very naïve or a bit thick if she’d thought that was a good idea.
Thankfully, Soren didn’t voice his thoughts on that particular matter. “Being an abomination of nature isn’t worse than death, but it’s not far off,” Soren pointed out, able to censor his words at least somewhat. (After all, if he’d said it was worse than death, he probably would’ve ended up with his head lopped off, and he did like living.) “I’d assumed the circumstances were otherwise. They generally are.”
"You are a fool for thinking that," Vergil replied. True, he had always despised his own existence, being neither one nor the other, but he had never thought of himself as unworthy, as an abomination of nature that would have been better off dead. It confused him but also angered him.
"So you are suggesting that my father forced himself upon my mother and that my mother was always ashamed to have two half-bloods as her sons?" He questioned icily, he wasn't sure whether the other was simply trying to talk himself out of a bad situation or whether he genuinely meant it, but he was only making the situation worse.
"You have clearly never felt loved," he added flatly, although it felt strange to actually be defending the human ideals and emotion for a change. "Because I remember whenever my mother looked at my brother and I, she was proud of us. Not ashamed."
Then you were lucky. “Then our experiences have been very different,” Soren responded coolly, still not looking intimidated in the least. Really, did he not look so young and frail, he’d probably be somewhat intimidating himself, with cold eyes and a bland, cool tone. “Any halfblood that I’ve ever heard of has been the result of an unwanted union.” All two of them, in fact. “I suggest nothing. You know the affairs of your family better than I would.”
"Hn, I refuse to have anyone dishonour my family, regardless of what we are. I'll give you a choice," his grip tightened on Yamato. "You can leave now, or you can remain and I will make you leave with force."
Soren’s eyebrows arched. “I’m not trying to dishonour your family. If you say that was the way it happened, then I believe you.” Honestly, was this guy thick or something? “If you take offence, it’s your problem.”
"Then watch your words in future," Vergil answered icily before shaking his head, deciding it would be best to simply drop the subject. "You have my word that my brother and I won’t kill you."
Unfortunately, Soren seemed to have a intrinsic aversion to watching his words. “Very well,” he nodded, his hair falling in his eyes. “And I take it you won’t tell anyone.”
"Aside from my brother, I wont tell anyone." Vergil confirmed, just wanting the boy to leave now so he could get back to his training.
“Fine,” Soren agreed, moving towards the door, although he didn’t turn his back on Vergil. Not believing the other’s words for a second, he decided that he’d have to be extremely careful for the next few days at least.
This complicates everything.