sparda boys ( closed )

[unfollowed]

Who: Nero and Dante
What: Family talk. Kinda.
Where: Dante's shop
When: 09/09


[ Nero's been mulling over this ever since that little group chat thing happened and certain reveleations had been discovered before abruptly being cut off thanks to having a short temper when emotional. Kids, right? But having been told by Kyrie that Dante could very well be someone he's been looking for all his life, he's finally decided to come around to the other demon hunter's shop to confront discuss with him about a certain Yamato wielding twin that he apparently has blood ties to.

This should go well, right?

It's with little care that he pushes the shop's door open, Red Queen strapped to his back and makes his way inside, boots scuffing against the flooring as he goes. The desk is where he beelines it for, coming to stop once he's in front of it and, perhaps as a "peace offering" of sorts, drops down a takeout bag filled with burgers and fries, his demonic hand setting down a soft drink with a straw stabbed through the top. ]

We need to talk.

Comments

[alwaysimpaled]

[As Nero enters, Dante is sitting with his feet on the desk, and a magazine over his face. He doesn't seem to be awake as Nero sets down his offering and declares his intent. However, there's a sigh as a hand comes to toss the magazine to a nearby couch and he sits up.]

I kinda figured this was coming... but can't blame me for wanting to put it off...

[unfollowed]

[ Hey, at least he's talking with words and not a hail of gunfire? ]

Kyrie suggested you didn't say anything to me as a means to protect me. Fine, I can buy that considering the shit I've had to put up with for being a little different.

[ He doesn't exactly have the personal experience of being hunted down on the daily for simply being a descendant of Sparda as Dante here has. So, yeah, he gets it. Who would want to draw attention to another descendant of Sparda and have them put up with that? Dante's infuriating at times but he's not cold. ]

So then I have to ask this... did you know about me all this time?

[ And is that partially why he's an orphan who no one wanted? ]

[alwaysimpaled]

[He shakes his head a bit, leaning back as he takes a burger from the bag.]

I don't know for sure now, and unless we get our DNA tested or something I doubt we ever will definitively... there's just a lot of hints that make it an educated guess.

I didn't say anything in our world because I didn't know for sure, and even if I did, probably wouldn't have been a good idea for a variety of reasons. Just figured if he showed up here and it was a possibility, you deserved to know.

[unfollowed]

[ Try as he might, Nero can feel his temper already starting to flare as he glares a little to Dante helping himself to a burger there. ]

An educated guess? You can't just say something like that and then say it's an educated guess! What's the point in even saying anything in the first place then?!

[ Scowling, he turns away and is tempted to storm out but, instead, he sighs heavily to himself, eyes falling shut and comes to sit back on the desk a little, arms folding in front of his chest. He's quiet for a moment before, maybe a little softly- ]

...what was he like?

[alwaysimpaled]

Because if I can figure it out, he'll figure it out too. And that's... not something I want to happen.

[He takes a bite of the burger, chewing and swallowing rather quickly.]

When we were kids... we were pretty close but... when Mom was killed, we got separated and ended up very different. The demons that killed her ended up making me reject my demonic side. Vergil... he embraced it.

When we met up later he was... detached, aloof, and obsessed with power. I hate to say it but, he had a lot in common with Sanctus. Another reason I didn't say anything.

[unfollowed]

[ He'd ask why he doesn't want that to happen but had sort of been filled in on the whole he's an acts first and asks questions later sort of guy from the sounds of it.

Although, as Dante continues to speak, he looks down to his demonic arm with a curious sort of expression before he holds that arm out and quietly summons Yamato to appear within the palm of that hand. Hopefully Dante is ready for this because this is about as honest as Nero is going to get with him thus far. ]

A little before I ran into you once I had this sword, I got into a really bad situation where I'm pretty sure I was dying. Sure felt like it being stabbed so many times.

[ What a fun day with Agnus that had been... ]

I saw... a man. I'd been seeing him for awhile now in my dreams. His glare was cold but... there was something gentle about him, I don't know, just a feeling with the way he would look to me. Anyway, he asked me what my soul was saying, that he could feel it crying out or something. [ Pausing for a bit, he looks to his reflection within Yamato, recalling the face of the man he saw. ] I asked him what he wanted instead and he said he wanted power. So, I said me too.

[ He glances over his shoulder to Dante then. ]

That's when I did the whole devil trigger thing for the first time and this sword here pieced itself back together for me.

That sound like him at all?

[alwaysimpaled]

[Dante goes quiet, eyes going to Yamato. He wanted so dearly to know what Vergil was thinking when he summoned the Temen-Ni-Gru... to the point he'd convinced himself he did it to take the secret of Nero and his mother to the grave with him. Didn't really excuse the city he sacrificed for it, but it was something.]

Might controls everything. Without power you cannot protect anything or anyone, let alone yourself.

[He sets the burger aside, opening a drawer on the desk and pulling out a small photo.]

Definitely sounds like him. I don't know what happened to make him turn out like that but... I'll always be kicking myself til the day I die that I wasn't there for him. Who knows how it would've turned out if I was.

[He flicks the photo at Nero, revealing a picture of a much younger Dante and Vergil along with Eva.]

That's the best picture I have of him... I was lucky I found that one. There wasn't much left after Mundus' hunting party took Mom.

[unfollowed]

[ Blue fingers come to pluck the photograph off the desk and, falling silent, he looks to it with curious eyes. It's strange to see Dante so... young? But what's more is the boy standing beside him... looks like a younger version of that man. Who was he? Why did he abandon him? What drove him to be the way that he supposedly was? More importantly, why was he coming to him in the afterlife now? ]

I'd ask him if he knew about me... but I somehow get the feeling this family doesn't open up much about certain things.

[ Especially if Dante himself didn't know that his twin brother possibly had a kid. ]

If he comes here, I need to know. If I'm his son then he won't hurt me. He helped me.

[alwaysimpaled]

I wouldn't be so sure about that. This family is all kinds of fucked up. He sent demons to my first shop as an 'invitation' after he summoned the tower. Our first encounter came to blows within three minutes, and he left me impaled on Rebellion at the top of the tower. We spent the next several hours trying to gut each other, and even as I reached out to him after we'd settled the whole birthright thing, his last interaction I had with him was him cutting my hand.

[He picks up the burger and takes another bite, eyes still on Yamato.]

More importantly... you have that. Yamato is a part of him just as much as Rebellion is a part of me. That's why I was so surprised to see you waving it around like it was second nature. I broke it. He's already shown that familial bonds don't mean much to him, especially when it comes to what's 'his'...

[unfollowed]

[ There's a look that touches Nero's face at Dante's words. It's not heartbreak but more... disappointment perhaps? He wants to believe that Vergil would treat Dante differently than he would him but... it's not as if he has anything to base this off of aside from the other's words regarding him. Why wouldn't he then? He has memories and a life before everything happened to them with Dante. But with him? They share nothing aside from the same blood and perhaps looks, nevermind a bond with Yamato.

It's looking to the photograph again that he sets it down on the desk. ]

Yamato pieced itself back together for me. Even that creepy little scientist couldn't do it. It came to me, it calls to me. It's just as much mine as it is his.

[ Whether this was due to familiar blood, the blade itself finding Nero worthy to be wielded by him, or given to him by Vergil himself in the afterlife, he believes the blade to now be his and fingers grip the hilt of the blade tighter before he allows it to vanish and return to his arm in wisps of glowing blue. ]

Or what? You think I'm just meant to hold onto it until he decides to come back for it? Why not just leave it with you then?

[alwaysimpaled]

If I thought that, I wouldn't have left it with you in Fortuna. As far as I'm concerned, you've more than earned to wield that.

[He sighs again, clearly enjoying this line of thought.]

However, if he shows up here, he will be drawn to it. If he just wants to reconnect, then I'll be out of your hair, but he's going to have to go through me first. Considering Yamato, I wouldn't be surprised if you got drawn to him too...

[He sits up, leans forward and snaps his fingers in front of Nero's face to get him to look at him.]

If that happens, call me. This is not up for debate.

[unfollowed]

[ The snap before his face does, in fact, pull him out of his thoughts enough to look to Dante and it's the look on his face that shows he may very well know exactly what he's referring to in terms of being drawn; he's felt it before. ]

I can take care of myself, old man.

[ He says that before he looks away, jaw tight, but eventually sighs. ]

But fine. I'll let you know.

[ Even if he looks less than thrilled with agreeing to that. ]

Besides, I get the feeling I'll know if he shows up here... even without actually seeing him.