When Mizu's technique begins to gradually slip more and more, Vergil half-expects that he will need to intervene and tell Mizu that he's practiced and experimented long enough. Thus, it comes as more of a surprise when Mizu actually brings it to an end before there can be too much sway or wobbling in his movements. Vergil still watches carefully as Mizu returns to the bed, watching for signs that he might not quite make it there after that exertion. But Mizu is steady on his feet, and he bows while returning Vergil his blade without any threats of tipping over. Even when he sits back down on the bed itself, it isn't the collapse that occurred before. Mirage Edge dissipates once more in wisps of blue smoke that disappear quickly as Vergil lowers his hands back to his lap. He supposes after a moment of recuperating from all that motion and activity, Mizu will likely take his leave then if he's recovered that much.
Vergil isn't sad or disappointed about the fact Mizu will take his leave, and return to his home in Wintermute, but Vergil can't say he's...minded this extra time with Mizu either. It hasn't been unpleasant.
"Drink," he says, nodding to Mizu's glass and the pitcher still on the nightstand. It will help with his breathing, forcing him to slow it back down to something gentler, and continue re-hydrating him after the day's activities. Vergil doesn't leave Mizu's words without a response though. Prompting him to care to his physical needs merely took some priority. "You seemed to take to it quickly. For as different as it is to you. You've been keeping a close eye on how I wield it."
Which perhaps goes without saying, Vergil finds impressive. It's one thing to watch Vergil's swordplay alone and be able to replicate it well. It's another to watch it when it's being used against Mizu and replicate it well. He was attentive to his footwork, where his hands ought to be with each movement, and how he should be angled toward and imaginary opponent. Even with Vergil's natural abilities and his own discipline, he couldn't claim to be able to do the same in return.
Mizu waves a hand at Vergil when he insists she drink water. Yes, yes, water. She knows. She would have gotten there on her own in time, if he'd provide a modicum of patience. Still, she drains the glass quickly and pours herself some more. It would be easier to be flat, lying down, than vertical for the lightheadedness, but Mizu doesn't mean to monopolize Vergil's bed all day. Nor his time. She doesn't mind however much time they spend together on a sparring day. Together or apart, she sets aside a whole day for it, so there's nothing else, no other demands on her time. The library and the forge can wait.
Her breathing is a little better, and Mizu grins tiredly at Vergil for the compliment. A small nod. It is often easy in Japan to identify the school a swordsman trained in and know what techniques he will use. Those fights take little effort as she uses the techniques that best counter that style, and that is all. It takes a particularly skilled fighter and/or an unfamiliar one to demand that much of her. But oh, what fun it is to learn by fighting someone.
"I mean to defeat you," Mizu says, "I must know how to predict what you do, down to every detail, so I can more effectively create and utilize openings and advantages. It is even better practicing with Mirage Edge to understand the movements. Not as easy to incorporate for use with my sword, but can't have things be too easy. That'd be boring."
There's few people she's meant to defeat she gets along with well, none she's explained that she's doing that. Then again, no one's been interested in or paid attention to the fact she does it.
"You've seen only a sliver of the styles I know. So many of them are useless to outright foolish against you."
Some would think it foolish to challenge him at all, Vergil thinks but gives no voice to it. Even if he were less talented or skilled with a blade, Vergil's raw strength and speed outclasses Mizu entirely. Most wouldn't likely even bother trying, and they would be quick to yield the moment the tide turned in Vergil's favor. But not Mizu. Mizu pushes forward and pushes himself hard to stay on his feet and in the fight for as long as he can manage, and it's Vergil that has to bring the fight to its end.
Instead, Vergil hums thoughtfully.
"You're beginning to sound like Dante," he says. "But I would hazard there's more truth to your words than his."
Dante and Vergil have fought one another more times than either of them could possibly count. So, Vergil could never reasonably claim that Dante knows nothing of his mind or what he might do when they fight one another. They both know each other well after all these years and conflicts between them. But Vergil would struggle to believe Dante is nearly as consciously thoughtful about it as Mizu is in navigating his knowledge of Vergil. He doesn't read Vergil as an open book as he claims. Dante moves on instinct, quick to react and change his approach if necessary, but it's never a carefully selected decision to counter what Vergil does. He doesn't intentionally bait Vergil into creating vulnerabilities that he can exploit. He's just as wild and unpredictable as Vergil is calculating and controlled. Fighting Dante is akin to taming the wind in that regard. He does as he wills for better or for worse, and perhaps that's why there's always been a part of Vergil that's enjoyed their bouts with one another. There is something of merit there with Dante's approach even if Vergil would be loath to acknowledge as much, and he knows he's doing well when he's able to defeat someone as unpredictable as Dante.
"You would find his approach more difficult to memorize than mine. He has good instinct, but that's the trouble with trying to predict what he will do."
Mizu wonders what Dante says that sounds similar and whether or not she would agree with it—or believe it. Vergil expresses some doubt, and Mizu trusts Vergil's ability to assess his own opponents. It might not be exactly true, whatever Dante says. Should he arrive, Mizu will assess his words for herself, same as she does everyone. She wouldn't take Vergil's word with blind faith.
Her smile doesn't go away. Instead it lops to one side. "I welcome Dante to arrive. I will defeat him as well, should he be willing to fight, and enjoy the process along the way. I never tire of getting better, and an unpredictable opponent forces other skills to improve."
By the time she defeats one, much less both, of them, Mizu's fathers shouldn't stand a chance. That alone would make her smile were she not already smiling. It is strange to feel so happy. The anger remains, as ever, but it isn't forefront as usual. Mizu stretches and checks how she feels. Not the best, but she can walk.
He shakes his head a little at the expression of gratitude, finding it unnecessary.
"I think you'd agree better this than the alternative of someone else finding you and making a scene over it." No doubt another Star Child would be sent into a panic to find him as bloody of a mess as he was passed out near the train station. Assuming he even made it that far, of course. Vergil isn't unconvinced that he wouldn't have made it more than a few steps before his legs gave out on him from the loss of blood alone. So, if he thinks Vergil is insistent and a pest when it comes to taking care of himself after their fights, he would be in for quite the rude awakening if anyone else with less familiarity with him were to find him. At least Vergil's willing to offer a modicum of trust in Mizu that when he says he will be fine, he's able to believe it. "I hope we can..."
He almost says see one another again, but it feels immediately foolish and causes him to stay his tongue. To Vergil, it's a childish thing to say even if he does enjoy Mizu's company and there is perhaps something here that could be considered a comradery of sorts. Besides, Mizu's focus is on his own goals and his own aims. Not to say that he hasn't been willing to lend Vergil a bit of a hand now and again or that he's been opposed to any time they spend outside of what directly links to those goals, but only a fool would entirely ignoring Mizu's motivations. And Vergil would do well to remember that, he thinks. Lest he get ahead of himself and make a less safe assumption that leads to a tension or fracture in things. He would hate to lose Mizu's company because he chose to be overzealous.
Vergil looks away for a brief moment before he corrects himself, "I hope we can spar again soon."
The sentiment is no less sincere even if it wasn't entirely what he intended to say at first.
Mizu gives an exasperated sigh at that idea. "I do not understand that attitude," Mizu says, "It's entirely different from my time in Japan. There, a woman and child might sit outside in the freezing snow, and no one will do a thing. A person can collapse injured and unconscious, and people will avoid whatever blood or organs they spill."
Mizu nearly died once because no one would give her aid, especially not someone like her. If she hadn't found her mother— If she hadn't found the woman who first raised her, she would have died. She was a fool then, the way she got that injury. Mizu has learned better. Ah well, Mizu would not let anyone accost her terribly. At worst, she would invoke they take her to Amrita Academy, what passes as the most intensive medical care. Then, once they left, she would take her leave. That would be that.
More water before she leaves, the best no one gets the wrong idea about her ability to walk herself home. She hears the pause in Vergil's words and makes no move to leave while he chooses them. Mizu waits. Then she gives Vergil a weird look. With this healing ability, it will be soon. "We could probably spar again in a few days. Incredibly, needing to spend time at the library may become a larger impediment than anything else. I cannot count on research time on days we spar."
He briefly wonders if he's said something wrong at the way Mizu's expression shifts. Not that he had expectations for how Mizu would respond or react, but a strange look wasn't really accounted for and usually doesn't signal the correct thing has been said. However, before Vergil can begin kicking himself for fumbling with his words, Mizu indicates that it may only be a few days before they can do it again. He doesn't release the tension that crept into his shoulders though, uncomfortably folding his arms once more. That feeling of having said something wrong still eats at him, but he pushes it aside for now rather than dwelling upon it.
"You could bring books with you," he suggests. "It would give you something to do without exerting yourself too soon."
Mizu is clearly too stubborn to fully and completely rest as he probably should even with his healing ability. The fact that he was willing to lay down and sleep at all today, and the simple fact he's still seated now after a bit of minor exertion is nothing short of a miracle. But perhaps he would be less eager to bolt before he had enough immediate recovery to manage independently if he felt like the time at rest wasn't such a waste.
"We also do not always have to spar like this either. You said as much yourself that there are other ways for you to improve than merely fighting me. You also previously assured me before you'd improve your hand-to-hand. Neither time with Mirage Edge nor hand-to-hand ought to leave you unable to make use of the rest of your day."
Bringing books with her would undoubtedly extend the time she and Vergil spend together, if not paying much attention to each other, after sparring. Perhaps Vergil still wants more assurance she is not about to keel over and only tolerates her insistence she is well enough on her own. Bringing books or some other means to occupy herself would free him up to do as he pleases, and he does like books, while permitting him to keep an eye on her and assure himself the fragile human is not about to expire. That earns a rise in her mood, but it does not have time to express itself.
Time with Mirage Edge.
That simple phrase amid the conversation about alternative sparring options sends her heart racing through her chest. She will get to wield it again? His sword. Not his primary sword, no, but his sword, a sword he made. The sense of responsibility to keep watch or the desire to face a better opponent are not enough to explain such a great allowance with something so personal. Mizu has no idea what has moved Vergil to such lengths, but she dare not ask, lest that prompt him to remove his offer, his permission.
Mizu makes note to work on forging blades like Mirage Edge for practice. She can always reforge the same steel time and again. There are not enough Star Children for her to master it. She could give each a blade of questionable quality and still not have one that meets her standards. Her standards are high, higher than some people's yes, but best she make one she likes. There will be more time spent forging in her future. Oh right, conversation.
"I am improving my hand-to-hand. I'd planned to reach a certain level, but," Mizu shrugs. She can handle losing, much as she isn't used to losing while grappling, even against larger opponents. "We can always practice before then. And Mirage Edge..." There's nowhere to look to see the blade, disappeared as it is. "It would be a pleasure." An absolutely heartfelt sentiment.
She smirks. "I assure you that I have never relied solely upon fighting you to improve my skills. I set aside time daily to train. I never want my skills to rust."
Being in Folkmore doesn't appear to have lessened Mizu's desire for revenge in any meaningful way. Perhaps it is delaying it a bit in terms of direct action, but that delay does not mean much to Mizu. He's eager, but he's willing to demonstrate some patience and take advantage of the time he has here to study, learn, and train. Vergil wonders if the same would be true if he hadn't come here, but he doesn't think so. If there was a genuine barrier to Mizu pursuing his quarry, he'd seek the path forward while maintaining his skills. Obstacles could never likely dissuade something that seems to be so deeply embedded into the fabric of Mizu's being that it pulses through him with every beating of his heart.
"You would be boring if otherwise were true." It would be too stagnant in fighting Mizu again and again if there weren't signs of improvement each time, if Mizu didn't push him in his own way. "I can assure you that it's not a reflection of your skills or strength, so I don't mean it as an insult, but it's actually more difficult for me to hold back than anything else when we fight. Outside of fights and sparring as a child with Dante, every fight for me has been to the death."
He hums in light amusement as he looks away from Mizu again. In the grand scheme of his life, most were no contest. He dispatched his foes quickly and easily, usually with a single strike of Yamato. A few, however, Vergil's life was on the line, too, not just his opponent's life. There was no room for mistakes or easing up at any point during those battles, and Vergil had to use every ounce of his strength and power to see them through to the end.
"You're not the same. Each time we've fought, you've grown even if it's just a little. It keeps it...interesting. I have to rely on more than just my power alone, and the more you improve, the more I must think." He looks back at Mizu again, considering the other man for a moment before he smiles faintly and looks back outside the balcony. "I suppose in a strange sense, I almost want to see you defeat me in battle someday. For a human to have worked so hard and honed his skills so much to accomplish something like that, I would think of that as something remarkable, not shameful."
Vergil still views it as an impossible feat. As he said, he's holding back a great deal in each fight with Mizu to avoid putting an end to their sparring too early or to bring about irrevocable harm to Mizu. Even as Mizu grows and Vergil happens to find himself needing to access more of his power to maintain his victory over the other swordsman, there is still a great wealth of it not yet tapped into. It's unlikely Mizu will ever go that far as a human to result in Vergil approaching their sparring with his all. But he would not rob Mizu of the accomplishment if it were to happen. Bruised as Vergil's ego would be in the moment for losing, another part of him wouldn't see it as a shameful defeat and would be able to recognize all that Mizu would have had to do to get to that point.
"That being said, if your plan next time is more explosives, I would advise you to reconsider." He glances at Mizu out of the corner of his eye. "You reveal things as well each time we fight, Mizu, and you would do well to remember that."
He's mostly teasing, but there's also an undercurrent to which he is being sincere, too. Mizu won't be able to pull something like the stunt he pulled today again. Vergil will be prepared for it next time.
"I did not have anyone to spar with growing up, so most of my fights have been to the death," Mizu says. It's something that they have in common. "I chose to use a bokken when I fought my way through the Shindo Dojo because I needed information from its master. The students were only between me and my goal by happenstance, not by choice to serve one of my fathers." A pause. "Plus, the master would have been less inclined to give me the information I needed if I slaughtered all of his students. Better to injure and maim."
No doubt some of those men would have been fine killing her, but they were not threats. Taigen was her most worthy opponent, and still she won. There have been similar circumstances when she's chosen not to kill. The hunt for information and the hunt for her fathers are not the same. A reputation as such a killer would impede her, not help her. Mizu is not the Four Fangs. She has no desire to be.
Vergil is much harder to kill than most men, so Mizu hasn't had to hold back the way she knows he is. After all, he could have been in that warmer form with thus far impenetrable scales the whole time. Instead, he usually works to avoid, block, or parry her attacks. When she manages to injure him, he heals quickly, so it doesn't limit him for long in their fights. Except for the explosion today. Mizu had bet he could survive it, and she was right. That said, she can still see the evidence of what it cost him today. Today. Mizu believes Vergil will be better prepared for it in the future. She still smiles at his words. "You would be boring if otherwise were true," she repeats back at him. "I will not promise the presence or absence of explosives. Though I remember our promise not to kill each other. The last opponent I used an explosive on, I stuck it in his neck. I deemed that too likely to kill you if successfully carried out."
She's mostly teasing, but Mizu cannot forget those moments when she thought she was wrong and that she'd gone too far. When Vergil's double disappeared, and she was left alone in the street unsure whether he were alive or dead. It may be much rarer for her to need to hold back on her attacks, but as determined as she is, as ferociously as she fights, Mizu never forgets her aim is not to kill him. He is not her enemy.
"Don't worry. You'll get to see something that remarkable one day. I'll make sure of it."
Even if they could have some form of appreciation for Mizu's restraint, most would probably be horrified at the notion that they just narrowly avoided having their heads blown from their necks because Mizu happened to have thought it through in the moment. Vergil holds no such horror. He's asked for Mizu to give it his all during their fights, only holding back from exerting a lethal force. Such considerations should cross Mizu's mind if he has any chance of forcing Vergil to genuinely yield. So, at the mention of it rather than looking at Mizu with disdain or anger over the matter, Vergil merely rolls his eyes.
Honestly, he thinks if Mizu's temperament were different, he'd likely prefer the company of Dante over Vergil if he has the mind for such stunts as that. Then again, Vergil is of his own temperament and he... Well, he minds his brother a lot, but he can't truthfully say he dislikes his brother's company. But Dante is not here. It is Vergil alone. So, Mizu doesn't really get his pick as it were.
"Time will tell one way or another," he says, agreeing as far as he's willing to possibly agree to the notion that Mizu will ever best him.
Vergil wouldn't say that he's sad or disappointed by the time Mizu eventually leaves. They fought well today and the conversation afterward didn't feel like such an uncertain mess afterward as some of their others had in the past. If anything it was...nice. Pleasant even when occasionally coupled with less pleasant memories and thoughts. Easier than expected.
He doesn't offer to walk Mizu to the train station, having felt he infringed upon the other swordsman's dignity enough by carrying him to the apartment in the first place. Thus, he only walks him to the door out of politeness rather than concern, but he does linger by his door for a few moments longer after the door is closed behind Mizu. The half-devil listens to Mizu's footfalls to be certain they remain steady in gait and pace, satisfied before Mizu can even leave his earshot. Vergil steps away then to attend to the dishes he'd neglected in favor of Mizu's company. As he walks from the front door to the kitchen, he glances into his training area. He remains fastidious and focused as always as he cleans the dishes and eventually changing out the sheets on his bed, but his mind drifts easily again and again to Mizu wielding Mirage Edge.
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Vergil isn't sad or disappointed about the fact Mizu will take his leave, and return to his home in Wintermute, but Vergil can't say he's...minded this extra time with Mizu either. It hasn't been unpleasant.
"Drink," he says, nodding to Mizu's glass and the pitcher still on the nightstand. It will help with his breathing, forcing him to slow it back down to something gentler, and continue re-hydrating him after the day's activities. Vergil doesn't leave Mizu's words without a response though. Prompting him to care to his physical needs merely took some priority. "You seemed to take to it quickly. For as different as it is to you. You've been keeping a close eye on how I wield it."
Which perhaps goes without saying, Vergil finds impressive. It's one thing to watch Vergil's swordplay alone and be able to replicate it well. It's another to watch it when it's being used against Mizu and replicate it well. He was attentive to his footwork, where his hands ought to be with each movement, and how he should be angled toward and imaginary opponent. Even with Vergil's natural abilities and his own discipline, he couldn't claim to be able to do the same in return.
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Her breathing is a little better, and Mizu grins tiredly at Vergil for the compliment. A small nod. It is often easy in Japan to identify the school a swordsman trained in and know what techniques he will use. Those fights take little effort as she uses the techniques that best counter that style, and that is all. It takes a particularly skilled fighter and/or an unfamiliar one to demand that much of her. But oh, what fun it is to learn by fighting someone.
"I mean to defeat you," Mizu says, "I must know how to predict what you do, down to every detail, so I can more effectively create and utilize openings and advantages. It is even better practicing with Mirage Edge to understand the movements. Not as easy to incorporate for use with my sword, but can't have things be too easy. That'd be boring."
There's few people she's meant to defeat she gets along with well, none she's explained that she's doing that. Then again, no one's been interested in or paid attention to the fact she does it.
"You've seen only a sliver of the styles I know. So many of them are useless to outright foolish against you."
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Instead, Vergil hums thoughtfully.
"You're beginning to sound like Dante," he says. "But I would hazard there's more truth to your words than his."
Dante and Vergil have fought one another more times than either of them could possibly count. So, Vergil could never reasonably claim that Dante knows nothing of his mind or what he might do when they fight one another. They both know each other well after all these years and conflicts between them. But Vergil would struggle to believe Dante is nearly as consciously thoughtful about it as Mizu is in navigating his knowledge of Vergil. He doesn't read Vergil as an open book as he claims. Dante moves on instinct, quick to react and change his approach if necessary, but it's never a carefully selected decision to counter what Vergil does. He doesn't intentionally bait Vergil into creating vulnerabilities that he can exploit. He's just as wild and unpredictable as Vergil is calculating and controlled. Fighting Dante is akin to taming the wind in that regard. He does as he wills for better or for worse, and perhaps that's why there's always been a part of Vergil that's enjoyed their bouts with one another. There is something of merit there with Dante's approach even if Vergil would be loath to acknowledge as much, and he knows he's doing well when he's able to defeat someone as unpredictable as Dante.
"You would find his approach more difficult to memorize than mine. He has good instinct, but that's the trouble with trying to predict what he will do."
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Her smile doesn't go away. Instead it lops to one side. "I welcome Dante to arrive. I will defeat him as well, should he be willing to fight, and enjoy the process along the way. I never tire of getting better, and an unpredictable opponent forces other skills to improve."
By the time she defeats one, much less both, of them, Mizu's fathers shouldn't stand a chance. That alone would make her smile were she not already smiling. It is strange to feel so happy. The anger remains, as ever, but it isn't forefront as usual. Mizu stretches and checks how she feels. Not the best, but she can walk.
"Thank you for... all of this."
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"I think you'd agree better this than the alternative of someone else finding you and making a scene over it." No doubt another Star Child would be sent into a panic to find him as bloody of a mess as he was passed out near the train station. Assuming he even made it that far, of course. Vergil isn't unconvinced that he wouldn't have made it more than a few steps before his legs gave out on him from the loss of blood alone. So, if he thinks Vergil is insistent and a pest when it comes to taking care of himself after their fights, he would be in for quite the rude awakening if anyone else with less familiarity with him were to find him. At least Vergil's willing to offer a modicum of trust in Mizu that when he says he will be fine, he's able to believe it. "I hope we can..."
He almost says see one another again, but it feels immediately foolish and causes him to stay his tongue. To Vergil, it's a childish thing to say even if he does enjoy Mizu's company and there is perhaps something here that could be considered a comradery of sorts. Besides, Mizu's focus is on his own goals and his own aims. Not to say that he hasn't been willing to lend Vergil a bit of a hand now and again or that he's been opposed to any time they spend outside of what directly links to those goals, but only a fool would entirely ignoring Mizu's motivations. And Vergil would do well to remember that, he thinks. Lest he get ahead of himself and make a less safe assumption that leads to a tension or fracture in things. He would hate to lose Mizu's company because he chose to be overzealous.
Vergil looks away for a brief moment before he corrects himself, "I hope we can spar again soon."
The sentiment is no less sincere even if it wasn't entirely what he intended to say at first.
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Mizu nearly died once because no one would give her aid, especially not someone like her. If she hadn't found her mother— If she hadn't found the woman who first raised her, she would have died. She was a fool then, the way she got that injury. Mizu has learned better. Ah well, Mizu would not let anyone accost her terribly. At worst, she would invoke they take her to Amrita Academy, what passes as the most intensive medical care. Then, once they left, she would take her leave. That would be that.
More water before she leaves, the best no one gets the wrong idea about her ability to walk herself home. She hears the pause in Vergil's words and makes no move to leave while he chooses them. Mizu waits. Then she gives Vergil a weird look. With this healing ability, it will be soon. "We could probably spar again in a few days. Incredibly, needing to spend time at the library may become a larger impediment than anything else. I cannot count on research time on days we spar."
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"You could bring books with you," he suggests. "It would give you something to do without exerting yourself too soon."
Mizu is clearly too stubborn to fully and completely rest as he probably should even with his healing ability. The fact that he was willing to lay down and sleep at all today, and the simple fact he's still seated now after a bit of minor exertion is nothing short of a miracle. But perhaps he would be less eager to bolt before he had enough immediate recovery to manage independently if he felt like the time at rest wasn't such a waste.
"We also do not always have to spar like this either. You said as much yourself that there are other ways for you to improve than merely fighting me. You also previously assured me before you'd improve your hand-to-hand. Neither time with Mirage Edge nor hand-to-hand ought to leave you unable to make use of the rest of your day."
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Time with Mirage Edge.
That simple phrase amid the conversation about alternative sparring options sends her heart racing through her chest. She will get to wield it again? His sword. Not his primary sword, no, but his sword, a sword he made. The sense of responsibility to keep watch or the desire to face a better opponent are not enough to explain such a great allowance with something so personal. Mizu has no idea what has moved Vergil to such lengths, but she dare not ask, lest that prompt him to remove his offer, his permission.
Mizu makes note to work on forging blades like Mirage Edge for practice. She can always reforge the same steel time and again. There are not enough Star Children for her to master it. She could give each a blade of questionable quality and still not have one that meets her standards. Her standards are high, higher than some people's yes, but best she make one she likes. There will be more time spent forging in her future. Oh right, conversation.
"I am improving my hand-to-hand. I'd planned to reach a certain level, but," Mizu shrugs. She can handle losing, much as she isn't used to losing while grappling, even against larger opponents. "We can always practice before then. And Mirage Edge..." There's nowhere to look to see the blade, disappeared as it is. "It would be a pleasure." An absolutely heartfelt sentiment.
She smirks. "I assure you that I have never relied solely upon fighting you to improve my skills. I set aside time daily to train. I never want my skills to rust."
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Being in Folkmore doesn't appear to have lessened Mizu's desire for revenge in any meaningful way. Perhaps it is delaying it a bit in terms of direct action, but that delay does not mean much to Mizu. He's eager, but he's willing to demonstrate some patience and take advantage of the time he has here to study, learn, and train. Vergil wonders if the same would be true if he hadn't come here, but he doesn't think so. If there was a genuine barrier to Mizu pursuing his quarry, he'd seek the path forward while maintaining his skills. Obstacles could never likely dissuade something that seems to be so deeply embedded into the fabric of Mizu's being that it pulses through him with every beating of his heart.
"You would be boring if otherwise were true." It would be too stagnant in fighting Mizu again and again if there weren't signs of improvement each time, if Mizu didn't push him in his own way. "I can assure you that it's not a reflection of your skills or strength, so I don't mean it as an insult, but it's actually more difficult for me to hold back than anything else when we fight. Outside of fights and sparring as a child with Dante, every fight for me has been to the death."
He hums in light amusement as he looks away from Mizu again. In the grand scheme of his life, most were no contest. He dispatched his foes quickly and easily, usually with a single strike of Yamato. A few, however, Vergil's life was on the line, too, not just his opponent's life. There was no room for mistakes or easing up at any point during those battles, and Vergil had to use every ounce of his strength and power to see them through to the end.
"You're not the same. Each time we've fought, you've grown even if it's just a little. It keeps it...interesting. I have to rely on more than just my power alone, and the more you improve, the more I must think." He looks back at Mizu again, considering the other man for a moment before he smiles faintly and looks back outside the balcony. "I suppose in a strange sense, I almost want to see you defeat me in battle someday. For a human to have worked so hard and honed his skills so much to accomplish something like that, I would think of that as something remarkable, not shameful."
Vergil still views it as an impossible feat. As he said, he's holding back a great deal in each fight with Mizu to avoid putting an end to their sparring too early or to bring about irrevocable harm to Mizu. Even as Mizu grows and Vergil happens to find himself needing to access more of his power to maintain his victory over the other swordsman, there is still a great wealth of it not yet tapped into. It's unlikely Mizu will ever go that far as a human to result in Vergil approaching their sparring with his all. But he would not rob Mizu of the accomplishment if it were to happen. Bruised as Vergil's ego would be in the moment for losing, another part of him wouldn't see it as a shameful defeat and would be able to recognize all that Mizu would have had to do to get to that point.
"That being said, if your plan next time is more explosives, I would advise you to reconsider." He glances at Mizu out of the corner of his eye. "You reveal things as well each time we fight, Mizu, and you would do well to remember that."
He's mostly teasing, but there's also an undercurrent to which he is being sincere, too. Mizu won't be able to pull something like the stunt he pulled today again. Vergil will be prepared for it next time.
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No doubt some of those men would have been fine killing her, but they were not threats. Taigen was her most worthy opponent, and still she won. There have been similar circumstances when she's chosen not to kill. The hunt for information and the hunt for her fathers are not the same. A reputation as such a killer would impede her, not help her. Mizu is not the Four Fangs. She has no desire to be.
Vergil is much harder to kill than most men, so Mizu hasn't had to hold back the way she knows he is. After all, he could have been in that warmer form with thus far impenetrable scales the whole time. Instead, he usually works to avoid, block, or parry her attacks. When she manages to injure him, he heals quickly, so it doesn't limit him for long in their fights. Except for the explosion today. Mizu had bet he could survive it, and she was right. That said, she can still see the evidence of what it cost him today. Today. Mizu believes Vergil will be better prepared for it in the future. She still smiles at his words. "You would be boring if otherwise were true," she repeats back at him. "I will not promise the presence or absence of explosives. Though I remember our promise not to kill each other. The last opponent I used an explosive on, I stuck it in his neck. I deemed that too likely to kill you if successfully carried out."
She's mostly teasing, but Mizu cannot forget those moments when she thought she was wrong and that she'd gone too far. When Vergil's double disappeared, and she was left alone in the street unsure whether he were alive or dead. It may be much rarer for her to need to hold back on her attacks, but as determined as she is, as ferociously as she fights, Mizu never forgets her aim is not to kill him. He is not her enemy.
"Don't worry. You'll get to see something that remarkable one day. I'll make sure of it."
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Honestly, he thinks if Mizu's temperament were different, he'd likely prefer the company of Dante over Vergil if he has the mind for such stunts as that. Then again, Vergil is of his own temperament and he... Well, he minds his brother a lot, but he can't truthfully say he dislikes his brother's company. But Dante is not here. It is Vergil alone. So, Mizu doesn't really get his pick as it were.
"Time will tell one way or another," he says, agreeing as far as he's willing to possibly agree to the notion that Mizu will ever best him.
Vergil wouldn't say that he's sad or disappointed by the time Mizu eventually leaves. They fought well today and the conversation afterward didn't feel like such an uncertain mess afterward as some of their others had in the past. If anything it was...nice. Pleasant even when occasionally coupled with less pleasant memories and thoughts. Easier than expected.
He doesn't offer to walk Mizu to the train station, having felt he infringed upon the other swordsman's dignity enough by carrying him to the apartment in the first place. Thus, he only walks him to the door out of politeness rather than concern, but he does linger by his door for a few moments longer after the door is closed behind Mizu. The half-devil listens to Mizu's footfalls to be certain they remain steady in gait and pace, satisfied before Mizu can even leave his earshot. Vergil steps away then to attend to the dishes he'd neglected in favor of Mizu's company. As he walks from the front door to the kitchen, he glances into his training area. He remains fastidious and focused as always as he cleans the dishes and eventually changing out the sheets on his bed, but his mind drifts easily again and again to Mizu wielding Mirage Edge.