Amaranth

A/N: Now seriously... how long has it been since I updated this? ^^; problem is.. I've been too lazy and my muse flew off to Mount Olympus... so... at last I'm lifting my lazy hand up to the computer... and I'm trying to write this. Since I've gotten over Kamelot, I've been hooked to Nightwish due to Anette's amazing vocals. The best song so far that I've ever heard is Amaranth, that's why this chapter is named after it. Originally, I wanted to dedicate this song to Dante.. or Vergil... you know, considering one of them died, but I changed my mind in the end and went about dedicating it to Vergil instead because he's such a lonely man.
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UPDATES:
1) Vergil dumped Amy (months ago) so I jumped him like I said I would. And yeah.. we're still together..
2) It seems that whatever we do on MySpace... uh... either consists of him dominating me... and me waking him up to more.
3) Crushing on Daaaannnntteeeeee.....!!!!!! XD Lol... yeah, since Vergil and I are not really a couple but having an affair after that "break-up".
4) No, scrap that. Dante and I ARE a couple! *giggle*
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Caress the one, the Never-Fading,

Rain in your heart, the tears of snow-white sorrow,

Caress the one, the hiding Amaranth,

In the land of the daybreak...

~Amaranth~

~Nightwish (Dark Passion Play)~

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Rebirthing

MazdaKitsune
Chapter 3- Amaranth

The large form of Sparda towered over her and Vergil, the environment around them reducing to total silence. Jade could swear she heard the frantic beating of her heart, the rapid shallow breaths of fear that she took. All was still for a while.. and sudden she found herself under attack, screaming as Sparda lunged towards her with razor sharp claws, ready to tear her heart out. Instinctively, she brought Yamato up to defend herself, and enraged, the demon lord threw her to the side. pain flared up her whole body and she screamed again, this time in fear for her life......

Jade's eyes snapped open and she found herself lying in a bed, covered in sweat with her heart beating away at her chest with the speed of Dante firing Ebony and Ivory. Someone's palm rested on her forehead, but her vision was unfocused, blurred, and her chest tightened painfully, cutting off air to her lungs. She whimpered, desprate for oxygen before she could pass out again.

"She's having a panic attack..." A seemingly familliar voice said. "Calm down and breathe, child. You're safe now."

Somehow, her mind obeyed the gentle but firm command, forcing her heart to slow just enough for her to take in a wheezing gulp of blessed air. Her eyes watered and she blinked to clear her vision. "D-Dante...? Vergil...?" she croaked, searching for them.

The hand left her forehead and Dante's face appeared above her, a relieved grin on his face. "Welcome back, babe. Man, when you started screaming like that, I think you almost gave Verge here a heart attack."

Jade slowed down her breathing at his voice and pushed herself up, ignoring the flare of pain in her arms. "Where am I..?"

"You're in my mansion." The voice from before said, and she turned to see Sparda standing calmly by her side, Vergil once again deliberately not looking at her. The Legendary Knight smiled down at her and once again placed a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry to have startled you, dear child. It only occured to me later on that you are a friend of my sons. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to traumatize you by attempting to take your life."

"It's... it's alright, Mr. Sparda.." Jade stammered, then rubbed her head when he lifted his hand away. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"Well, Vergil brought you back, all passed out from shock, I think." Dante rubbed his nose as he began to explain. "You've been out cold for a day now. That is... until you started screaming at the top of your lungs about five minutes ago. Hell, we were catching up peacefully in the den, and suddenly we hear you screaming like a demon had a bite out of your ass or something... Dear old V was the first to arrive, but no matter how much he tried, you wouldn't wake up. Until dad came along and did one of his mind thingys again..."

Sparda suppressed a snort of laughter and carressed Jade's hair. "I take it that you're confused and hungry, young one. I shall leave you to yourself now and see if there's food in the kitchens. Come, son.. let's not distress her further."

"See ya later, babe." Dante pressed a kiss to her forehead before following his father out. Strangely, Vergil stayed where he was, and Sparda did not call him out. He was staring out of the window, his face an unreadable mask, and slowly.... Jade felt the tension in the air rise. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she said quietly, "Um.. thank you for saving me... I.. uh.."

Oh, pretty smooth, Jade. She chided herself with a wince when Vergil turned a cold eye on her and walked away. You could have just kept quiet and let him do the talking first. Absently, she had started picking at the scars on her arms again as was her habit, and was startled when a warm hand closed over her wrist, stopping her. She looked up in surprise to see him close to her, observing her face.

"Don't." Vergil said as he sat down next to her with a first-aid kit. "It won't heal properly if you keep doing that, and the scar will just be more prominent." He opened the kit and rummaged inside for some lotion and a cotton swab. "You pretty much injured yourself when Father threw you off to the side. Nothing much, just some scrapes and bruises. But it's wiser to treat them properly or risk it getting infected. Besides, your skin would get marred by the remains of scars."

Jade just nodded dumbly at his words, watching him busy himself with the cotton and lotion. There was a slight crease between his eyebrows, and she knew for a fact that it appeared there each time he was concentrating on something... which was probably all the time as that look almost seemed perpetual now. It was so like him... so like him to be cold, precise and ever so meticulous with his work. She wondered how it must have been like growing up as him. Did he ever laugh, or smile or even relax and say something warm to someone? There must have been somebody he smiled to before. She couldn't imagine him never smiling once in his life....

Something cold touched her skin and she almost jumped. Vergil paused from where he was swabbing a scrape on her arm and looked up curiously at her. "Did I hurt you? I apologize if I did."

"No... no, you didn't. I'm sorry." Jade shook her head to clear her muddled senses. Vergil's fingers had closed over her elbow and had turned her arm up in order to reach some of the scars there, and his palm was pressing warmly against her skin. His touch left her breathless somehow, and the way he was gently touching her many scars... it left her heart fluttering. "What's that you're using on me?"

"Aloe Vera. It's supposed to reseal the skin and soothe it fast without leaving too much of a mark during the wound's healing process." Vergil said without stopping, frowning when he saw the remains of an old scar running down the side of her right arm, from wrist fading towards her elbow. "This...."

Jade followed his gaze, and her face flushed red. The memories of how she had gotten it was fresh in her mind, and it was the result of Vergil accidentally hurting her during one of his nightmares. "I... I got it from a cat."

"It looks too deep to be from a cat's claw." Vergil stated flatly. "I gave this to you, didn't I?" He searched her face, but she stayed silent. After a minute, he realized that she wasn't going to give him one, and started on the rest of the scrapes that he could see on her back, moving further up on the bed to get behind her. Jade was thoughtful, silent throughout his gentle ministrations, moving when he told her to move, twitching when he brushed a sore spot.

"Vergil?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you leave?"

"To restore my pride." Vergil said shortly, his eyes flicking to the back of her neck, discreetly noting the invisible mark he had left on her left shoulder before turning back. No, he would not admit to her that he had left because her very presence made him loose control, driving him mad with need. "There's a wound on your neck. I need you to bend forwards slightly."

Jade complied, bending her head so that her neck curved up to him. He hesitated, then gathered her hair and draped it over her shoulder to access the skin easily, touching the scar lightly with a finger. Instantly, she gave a yelp of pain, jerking away from him. "That hurts!"

Vergil frowned, taking in the seriousness of the wound. It didn't look serious, but the stretching of the skin probably caused it to hurt. Furthermore, there was dried blood on it, making it painful to move. Drawn by the scent and sight of her blood, Vergil struggled with himself. "There's... some dried blood here, so it'll hurt a bit if you stretch the skin."

"Really?" Jade made to twist around, her hand coming up to touch it gingerly, but Vergil's hand shot out and closed over her wrist tightly, holding her in a vice-like grip.

"Don't..." he said harshly, his breathing rough and irregular. "Don't move an inch, Jade. I can't control myself if you do."

Jade nodded mutely, instantly going still in his arms. Vergil tried to calm himself down, to ruthlessly crush the demon struggling within him, but it was difficult and painful. His demonic instincts demanded that he mark his mate, to claim her and satisfy his hunger on her. He let out a growl of frustration, and felt the shiver of fear that rippled through her. She was afraid of him.. He can't... He shouldn't...

Vergil leaned forwards and pressed his lips to the wound on the back of her neck, gently running his tongue over the dried blood to clean it off. Jade gave a gasp and tried to twist around. "Vergil! What..."

"Shh... Didn't I tell you not to move?" Vergil breathed against her ear, his arms tightening around her waist. "You've let me have your blood many times before... why are you scared now?"

Jade went as still as a stone, her eyes widening slightly. She wasn't afraid, would never be afraid of giving him her blood, but his voice had dropped several octaves lower to a deep growl filled with possessiveness. The sudden change in his demeanor made her blood run cold, as did the sudden icy blue aura that swept over her, making her shiver, goosebumps appearing on her arms.

Vergil seemed to notice this, and whispered in her ear. "You're freezing cold, Jade... Do I really scare you that much...?"

Jade closed her eyes when she felt his breath on her ear. "No..."

"Liar." Vergil returned to the scar on her neck and started sucking softly on it, cleaning it with his tongue and urging the wound to heal. A shudder rippled through her and she moaned softly, unwittingly urging him to do more. Her moan made him trail kisses to the side of her neck, sucking on the skin softly before his lips drew back to reveal sharp fangs, the fangs of a predator. His eyes glowed a ruby red with his bloodlust as he prepared to bite her. But before his fangs could sink in, Jade stirred against him with a pleading whimper.

"Mm... Vergil..."

Vergil froze when she said his name, inches from biting her neck, his senses snapping back into place. Abruptly, he let her go and swung his legs off the bed, standing as frustration swept over him. Jade opened her glazed and dreamy eyes and stared at him, confused. "Vergil? What's wrong? Did I... Vergil!"

He had started walking to the door, and he looked back over his shoulder at her with a cold glare. "Don't." He snarled, wrenching the door open. "Follow me." With that, he left, leaving her shaken and confused.
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Dante turned when he heard a slam and rapid, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. "Well, that didn't go well..." he commented. "Looks like Mr. Emo lost it."

"Don't rile your brother up," Sparda advised without turning from the sandwiches he was making. "He's already going through a hard time recovering from his previous nightmare with Mundus. You remember when you were ten and you hid his favourite book?"

Dante winced. "Yeah. He went dominant on me and locked me in the cellar for days with the spiders till mom persuaded him to let me out."

Sparda chuckled. "You see? No telling what he might do now..." His voice trailed off as Vergil stalked through the kitchen, his face looking as if he had just been told that Dante was better than him; he was royally pissed off, but at who, nobody knew.

Dante made to slide off his chair, but Sparda held him back with a light frown, noting that his eldest son's eyes were glowing a ruby red. "Hold on... Let him cool down a bit first."

"It's not Vergil that I'm worried about. It's Jade." Dante said, tearing his gaze away from his brother's back to look towards the stairs. "What in the world did he do to her?"

"I... I'm fine, Dante..." Jade's small voice said as she appeared, looking flushed, confused and very dishelved. "Maybe it was my fault. He was helping me with my wounds.. and then he.. got attracted to one of the bleeding wounds on my neck and tried to.. but he left when I said his name."

"Young one..." Sparda walked over and took her by the shoulders, his sharp gaze travelling over her and coming to rest on her right shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over at his youngest son. "Dante..."

"I didn't do anything!" Dante protested. "What.. oh." His cerulean eyes rested on the same spot before flicking to her other shoulder, a slow smirk coming to his lips. "Ah... I see..."

"See what?" Jade frowned, evidently confused as she looked back and forth from father to son. "Dante, just what the Hell is going on?"

"I'll go handle Vergil." Dante automatically said, sliding off his chair. "Catch you later, Jade, Pops."

"Wait!" Jade glared as the Red Devil beat a hasty exit, leaving her outraged and even more confused than she already was. Sparda shook his head and steered her to a chair, pushing her down onto it. "Do you want some tea and sandwiches, Jade?" He began to busy himself with a teapot. "My darling Eva used to say that I made tea which was out of this world.. but I think I'll leave it to you to judge. Anyway, you'll need it to handle what I'm going to say to you."
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"Verge?" Dante cautiously poked his head into the ground floor's study room. It was dark, and he could make out Vergil's shape by the corner of a window. "Verge, c'mon..." He made his way into the room, only to be stopped by a cold glare of ruby-red eyes. Damn, Vergil was sure going dominant on him...

"Go away." Vergil ground out. "I don't want to see anybody, least of all you."

"I know how you feel, but it's not-" Dante began, but was cut off when a Summoned Sword almost ran him through.

"You know how I feel?!" Vergil snarled incredously. "YOU know how I feel?! You're nothing but someone whose easy charm wins the heart of many women around you! You have NO idea HOW to treat a lady, but sleeps with them and leaves them the next day, and doesn't take responsibility for how they feel! And here you come and tell me that you know how I feel?" He turned away, nails digging into the palms of his hands. "You have no idea how I felt when I saw your mark on her shoulder. I thought Jade was special... I know she was when I saw your mark on her shoulder. I thought Jade was special... I know she was when she willingly offered her blood to me. But YOUR mark was on HER shoulder and I knew you branded her as mate... yet she isn't your mate. When she says my name.. I don't know if she's saying it merely because it's me.. or she doesn't mean it when she looks at me and sees you. You bastard, I felt her LOVE for you, hidden deep within."

Dante was silent as Vergil continued his little rant. His suspicions were confirmed and as much as he wanted to punch him in the face and let loose a few rounds into his brother's head, he held his anger and temper in check. Fighting and angry words were not going to get him anywhere with this one. Their earlier fight had already caused their father sorrow... There was no need for more, especially when they were handling the delicate matter of fighting over the claim of a lifemate. "You done yet, bro? Or do I need to pull up a chair and wait while you continue to whine?"

"You-" Vergil's porcelain skin flushed red with rage, but Dante held up both hands.

"Chill! Look, I know we had this talk and this fight over and over again, but for Pops' sake, let's not start another fight in the same day. Something tells me he won't let us go for a second one. What happened between Jade and me.. that was a long time ago, okay? Yeah, sure I used her for the mating season-WHOA!!! DAMMIT, WOULD YOU CALM DOWN?!"

He shouted in outrage as yet another Summoned Sword tried to bury itself in his body and he leaped aside with a growl. "Look! Yes, we were in love before, okay? That was why I left my mark on her shoulder! We used to love each other and I thought it would be forever, but it didn't turn out!" Dante spoke rapidly in case Vergil tried to spear him with another Sword again. "I can't erase what I left there, but since I'm not bound to her anymore, it'll fade in a few months or so! Jade's free and in case you hadn't noticed, she's currently infatuated with you, you idiot! Why do you think she offered her blood so willingly to you? Do you want me to spell it out? SHE. LOVES. YOU!!"

He turned away. "And if you still don't get it, then explain to me why you told Jade you loved her before you put her to sleep back at the ritual site."

Vergil regarded him, the red of his eyes flickering back to it's cool blue. He shared a special connection with his twin, but he wasn't expecting Dante to be in his mind during that time. "You have no right to incade my privacy."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Except I wasn't invading it... the words came through our mental path loud and clear."

"Do not test my patience, Dante."

"Fine. But you know, if you really love her, stop acting like a jerk and tell her." Dante walked back to the door, but paused by a cd-player on the way and held out his hand, Summoning a cd by way of telepath. "And if you don't know... Jade's favourite band is Nightwish, her favourite song the third track of the Dark Passion Play album, Amaranth." With that, he put in the cd and walked out.

Vergil closed his eyes, calming himself down as the clear vocals cut through the air, sounding very much like Jade.. wait. It WAS Jade. His eyes snapped open and he turned to see her standing behind her, a wary expression on her face as she sang softly.

"Baptized with a perfect name... The doubting one by heart... Alone without himself..." Jade looked at him, only her lips moving. "War between him and the day... Need someone to blame... In the end little he can do alone..."

"Jade..."

"You're not alone, Vergil." Jade said as her chin trembled and she moved forwards to hug him, burying her face in his chest. "You're never alone. You have me to share your pain with... All those nights, I held you, I stayed with you, but even while you recovered, you refused to share your pain with me. You have me now.. Please... let me share your pain, ease it for you.. I don't want to see you suffer like this.."

Slowly, Vergil's arms surrounded her, held her close. "My pain is not for you to know, Jade.." he said softly. "It's too much for a human to handle.. it would drive you mad as it made me mad and made Dante lose his memories."

I love you...

There it was again, those words unbidden. Why could she turn away the darkness in his mind with a simple touch, make him feel at ease with her voice? She was his light, the one to complete him. But Vergil couldn't say them, couldn't tell her... "Jade."

"What is it, Vergil?"

He looked down at her, his expression unchanging. Then his thumb swept across her cheek, rubbing it softly. "Explain to me this feelings. Why... do I feel warm inside when you're in my arms? Why is it that you gave your blood so willingly to me, to help me, to want to share my pain? Why does all this make me ache, yet put me at ease?" He stared into her emerald eyes. "I don't understand this... but I do know one thing." His eyes rested on her left shoulder next and he bent to nuzzle the skin through her shirt.

"I am your mate." Jade said softly, closing her eyes. "Your father explained everything to me. Vergil... why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I? When I don't know how to love?" Vergil regarded her. "It has frustrated me many times, Jade. Time and time again, I didn't know how I could tell this to you. Your very presence drives me mad, drove me insane so I had to leave. I didn't know what to do or say."

"A simple 'I love you' would've sufficed." Jade smiled slightly. "I'm scared, Vergil. I admit, I don't know what we've both done. You're not Dante, and I barely know you. But.. I'm willing to work it out." She looked at him hopefully. "I'm willing to get to know you, all of you... but a little at a time."

Vergil looked down at her. "I'll never understand you, human." He bent towards her neck, lips brushing against her pulse.

"But in time you will." Jade closed her eyes as his teeth sank deep, connecting them together. and she offered herself to him yet again.

(tsuzuku)