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The rain was coming down hard, but it wasn't of consequence to Vergil, unlike his twin, his devil half is that of an ice demon. Getting sick from the rain is impossible for him. Actually, it's very difficult for him to get sick, due to his devil half.
The calm river turned into a roaring constant flow. It's raging waters almost drowned out the sounds of the raindrops hitting the ground.
He stopped his small walk when he smelled blood. With Yamato clenched in his fist, he rushed forward. The cries of a young child soon fell upon his ears, and he froze.
"M-mom... Please... P-please get up... Mom..."
His jaw clenched and his grip around Yamato's sheath increased at the very familiar sight.
A young boy with fiery orange hair, looking no older than eight, was nudging the bloody body of a human woman, presumably his mother. The blood on his face, or his hand or clothing was his.
The wound on the woman's back wasn't of human nature, but rather it was the giant claw of some monstrous being.
"Mom, p-please... T-this has to be a game... Y-you've got to get up..."
He decided that it's his time to speak. "She's dead."
The boy stopped nudging his mother's body and turned his head to look at him slowly. His mocha brown eyes were red and puffy from his crying. His lips were still quivering, holding back the wails of sadness and pain. Truly deep down, the boy knew that Vergil was right, but he didn't want to admit it... He didn't want to believe it.
"N-no... M-mom... She can't be..." The boy sniffled.
Vergil sighed and continued to walk towards the boy. He crouched down to his height "She's dead, gone. Stop denying it."
The child couldn't keep it in any longer, he leaned into the half devil and released his agonising wails.
Vergil himself may have locked his humanity away long ago, but even then his heart cries out for the boy. He knows what it's like to have your mother killed by a demon.
His free hand wrapped around the child, pulling him close, the scene and the pain filled cries mirrored his very own when his mother had been murdered.
The boy's sobs died down and they pulled back. The air fizzled and a black void was beginning to form.
It seems like the demon has come to finish the job.
With a quick flash, the blade of Yamato pierced its was through the skull mask and into the demon's head.
It let out a deafening screech before it faded away into nothing.
Vergil raised a brow, he never saw a demon fade away after they're killed. The body usually sticks around.
The boy's eyes were wide.
"W-what was that!?"
"A demon." Was the simple answer. "And it seems to be the one who killed your mother."
He sheathed the Yamato and turned his heel.
"W-wait!" The boy called out. "T-there's more out there right!?"
Vergil stopped and looked at the boy once more. "Indeed there is."
"Then train me! Teach me how to fight and kill them!" The child slapped a hand on his chest. "I-if there's more out there, then they can come after my friends and family!" There was a fire in the boy's eyes, a level of determination and resolve so few little humans have, and yet they're in the eyes of a child no less.
"You want to learn how to kill demons?"
"Yes! I can't... I can't let them hurt anyone who's important to me! They... They already took my mom... I'm not letting them take anyone else."
They stared at each other for a moment. Both Vergil and Dante went down different paths, but they still took on demon hunting. The older Son of Sparda knows how the boy feels, who is he to deny him the chance to become a terror to the monsters that have claimed the life of his mother.
"Very well." He inclined his head. "I'll teach you the art of hunting demons, but it'll not be an easy path. I'll train you to the bone, until your mind, your instincts, till the very fiber of your being can fend off and kill any demon that crosses your path without difficulty, and without mercy." He turned heel once more. "I'll be awaiting for you at the warhouses. Come to me once you've have sorted everything out, and once you're ready."
"Ichigo." The boy said and Vergil stopped. "Ichigo Kurosaki, that's my name. And it isn't "Strawberry", it's "He Who Protects"."
"Vergil, Son of Sparda." Was all he gave him before he left.